Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(2)

“Z, you need to tell Daniel to make a new rule.” Neil pulled me out of my self-centered revelry. “Anyone who dates a vamp is also allowed one faery. It’s the Zoey rule.”

“Yes, I’m sure Daniel will get right on that.” It had taken Daniel a long time to get used to Dev. Their first encounters had been violent and Dev almost hadn’t survived them. The boys had settled into a nice friendship with some brutally hot sexual chemistry they chose to ignore and I dreamed about at night. Despite all Daniel’s newfound comfort in his sexuality, I still didn’t think he was going to use his power to get Neil laid.

Sarah let her head drop to her palm as she watched the crowd thoughtfully. “They seem happy to have him back.”

“Yes,” I murmured, watching as Dev stopped looking for me when a lovely blonde tapped his shoulder and requested a moment of his time. Dev seemed to know her but then he probably knew all of them. Biblically. Being a priest in Faery was something completely different than our world. Apparently the Fae believed their bodies were temples that should have lots and lots of visitors. “I’m remembering all the time we spent talking about how much of an outcast he was. You wouldn’t believe the stories he told me. Everyone hated him because he was all mortal. If that’s hate, I suppose love would be a big old orgy.”

“Heh, we regular folk never had a problem with Prince Devinshea,” a voice said.

I found a squat little gnome peering up at me from beneath his red cone cap. It’s nearly impossible to tell age on a gnome because they get wrinkly fast, but if I had to bet, I would have said he was decades my senior. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of travel tips he could give me.

“Because he was the Green Man?” That was the reason his twin brother, Declan, had given me. Dev was an outcast with the royals because of his mortality. His status as part Green Man had made him popular with the peasants. They were the ones who had to farm, so being able to make crops grow was undoubtedly a bonus to his status among the commoners.

The gnome nodded as he looked out over the crowd. “Yes, he was a good Green Man. You have to understand that we went without for many years after his grandfather died. When the prince was found to have powers, we all rejoiced. It was more than that, though. Prince Dev, I guess I should call him High Priest now, was always a kind one. He never looked down on a single creature, not the way the other one did.”

I wrinkled my nose in agreement. He was talking about Declan, Dev’s twin and the future King of Faery. “The other one is an arrogant prick.”

The little gnome looked shocked for a moment but then threw his head back, laughing. His voice boomed and echoed across the courtyard. It was so much deeper than one would expect, but then there were many surprises in this odd land.

“Yes, he is, Your Grace,” the gnome agreed.

My fingers went straight to the gold chain around my neck that marked me as the wife of the High Priest of Faery. It was a dead giveaway. The way I was dressed didn’t exactly help me blend into the crowd. I was dressed as a royal with rich fabrics. It made a stark contrast to the working folk of the village. My husband and his brother had carefully orchestrated my introduction into Fae society. This afternoon was the parade through town, but there was also to be a series of balls and parties welcoming the newest member of the royal family. I doubted it was going to be anything as fun as a barbecue with a nice keg of beer. Of course, if it was anything like this reception, I would be able to slip out with no one noticing I was gone.

“Is there anything I can get you, Your Grace?” the gnome asked.

“Please call me Zoey,” I offered, holding out my hand. I was happy to be nice to the first person who had done something other than gawk at me. The gnome was the first member of Faery to say hello.

He looked at it not quite knowing what to do. “Your Grace?’

“Oh, it’s called a handshake,” I explained with a friendly smile. “You put your hand in mine and we shake. Then we know each other and can be friends, though you should probably tell me your name first.”

The gnome stared at me for a moment and smiled gamely before putting his small hand in mine. “I am Loran. I run the gardens in town and sometimes help out my friend with this pub of his.”

Sarah grinned, as enchanted as I was to be talking to a gnome. “If this is a pub then the owners probably know Dev well.”

“That boy can get his drink on,” Neil threw in.

Loran laughed again. “Yes, His Grace can drink with the best of them and often did. He wasn’t welcome with the nobles so he spent his time with us, as much as he could. Queen Miria tried, you know. She tried to force the nobles to be kind, but when she wasn’t looking they treated that boy something awful. Now, of course, the joke is on them.”

“What do you mean?” I had assumed they still hated him. He was still mortal, after all.

The gnome shook his head as if the truth were so obvious. “His ascension. He bonded with an ancient god and now he has power beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. He can bring us back. He can give us children again. Before he left he managed to help a few have children but not many. Now we can be fertile again. We can be great again. Thanks to you, sweet lady.”

The gnome was looking at me with the greatest of hope in his eyes, and it both warmed and terrified me. These people were expecting so much from this trip, and I wondered exactly what it was going to cost us.