“Can we go?” I said, maybe a little too eagerly, but I didn’t care. I wanted to keep the embarrassment to a minimum, and besides, he knew my nature better than he knew his own. He could sense my every feeling and emotion, so there was no point denying my impatience. We were done here anyway, and the sun was beginning to set. It made sense to go find a quiet little inn somewhere that had a vacancy and get my brains fucked out.

I was only surprised Cair hadn’t hoisted us into the air with the same notion.

“As you wish.” He held out his hand for me to take, but instead of guiding me to the village gates as I’d expected—hoped—he stopped at a stall that sold quills and leather-bound notebooks. One we’d already browsed. He even hemmed and hawed over the pieces as if he actually needed them, prolonging my suffering.

Again, bastard.

I rolled my eyes and faced away, scanning the path ahead and taking mental note of how many monsters I’d have to weave through now that my skin was starting to feel a little too warm and sensitive. That was how my gaze caught on the cloaked figure, loitering not far from where we’d just been, red eyes focused right on us.

On me.

They were tall and lean, their face framed by the edge of a hood, showing how the ghostly gray skin on their face had sunk between the bones. A species I hadn’t yet encountered.

My brow furrowed under the weight of their stare, and I opened my mouth to ask Cair if he knew them, but the creature smiled, showing no fangs or forked tongue, before disappearing into the crowd like a blur of smoke. It was odd, and a small chill rolled down my spine, but after spending the day being greeted and fawned over by the Fae people, it probably wasn’t a total reach to say they were just another curious being hoping for a look at the prince and his half-human mate.

Or they were one of the creatures Rathe had arranged to watch over us from the shadows…

I shrugged and made a conscious effort to ignore it, focusing on the image of Cair kneeling at my feet as he peeled blue silken panties down my thighs with his teeth.

Chapter Six

LUCA

I should’ve listened to my gut.

Story of my life, really.

Five cloaked and masked creatures spread out in a semicircle in front of us, cornering us like foxes to chickens. My heart thundered in my throat. They were ghostly in appearance, smoke billowing from their spindly frames like a sinister aura, and the longer I stared, the more intense the chill creeping down my spine got. It was a species I didn’t recognize from my books, not that I was in any condition to recall it, even if I had read about them. I was too busy observing their calculated steps, remembering how to breathe, and cursing myself for being at fault to really focus on the particulars.