My fey snorted but clasped arms with him, nonetheless. “I’m sure. But you won’t get off that easily.”

“Forgive me for trying to improve your sadly deficient palate.”

“Forgive me for thinking that you’re more worried about the deficiencies of your purse.”

The pilot laughed. He did that a lot, more than my fey, who other than for the brief moment of excitement outside, seemed pretty dour. But the pilot was young, with a round and surprisingly pleasant face for a Svarestri and amused gray eyes.

I looked into them and got a sudden flash of piles of silver haired bodies, lying dead and broken on the battlefield, during the fight for the capitol. There’d been heaps of our dead lying around, too, which was why I hadn’t thought much about it at the time. I’d just been trying to stay alive. But now…

I really wished I could stop remembering now.

But I didn’t have time to hear any more of their uncomfortable banter, because another fey had just hurried up.

“The wine will have to wait,” he said, panting slightly as he came to a stop beside us. And caused me to do a double take, because he was the first light fey with a belly that I’d ever seen. It was pretty small in comparison to the vampire’s from the imprint, but it nonetheless managed to stretch the front of the blue velvet robes he wore. He also likely had a double chin, only I couldn’t tell because he wore a beard.

I hadn’t known that the fey could grow those, either. But I guessed so, since it cascaded down his chest in a silvery white ripple, as if Father Christmas had just come back from the salon. And was having a really bad day, I thought, seeing his expression.

“What is it?” My fey asked, sounding like he already knew.

“He’s in a temper. You’re needed.”

The pilot clapped us on the shoulder. “Annnnd I’ll have that drink in your honor—or your memory,” he said, and walked off.

My fey scowled; I could feel it stretch our face. “Where is he?”

“Where he always is.” The bearded fey looked up at the ceiling and then back down, and his expression was troubled. “There’s something else…”

“What?”

The bearded fey shook his head. “You’ll see when you get there. You’d better hurry.”

My fey did not hurry. Nor did he get back on the claustrophobic elevator. Instead, he crossed the huge expanse of what I guessed was a landing bay at a saunter, giving me time to look around.