The Dark Fae (The World of Fae #1)(7)

When the steaming hot platters of sizzling beef strips, onions and green and red bell peppers arrived, so did the royal female fae.

Only this time she was visible and sported a hot pink halter top, faded blue jeans, and a pair of golden sandals. Must have been her favorite as they were the same she’d worn with her fae costume. Her brown hair hung down to her hips in satiny curls now, but the clips with the sapphires still pulled the strands out of her face.

Alicia could see how Deveron could be smitten with the beautiful fae.

She smiled at Cassie, ignoring Alicia and said, “Micala and Deveron sent me to keep you company. Deveron said he’d left enough money that I could have lunch on him also. I sure am famished.” She turned to Alicia and smiled, but the look wasn’t entirely friendly. “Aren’t you?”

***

Deveron stood before his mother as she gave him one of her you’d-better-mind-me looks.

She wore her royal gowns of deep purple with an embroidered golden sash draped diagonally across her body. She only wore the sash when she administered court. He imagined he’d pulled her away from her duties to dispense justice in the fae realm.

Which meant she was peeved with him.

“I understand you have been entertaining two female humans at a beach resort.” Her voice sounded cold and irritated.

What he wanted to know was who ratted on him?

“It doesn’t matter how I know, but that I do.” She couldn’t read minds, but she came awfully close to it. “What did I tell you, Deveron?”

Don’t mess with the humans. But the fae traditionally played games with them. Why stop what had been a satisfying ritual for many millennia?

Should he tell her he had a most important mission? Discover how the human could see them? Or would his mother put someone else in charge of the investigation?

Most likely.

But if she caught him having anything further to do with the human girl, his mother might go through with her threat to turn him into a human for a time. That would end his desire to be with them.

That’s what she’d said anyway.

“Yes, my lady mother,” Deveron acquiesced.

“I mean it, Deveron.”

He bowed his head. “I understand.” But he had no plan to give in to his mother...not when the girl needed to be thoroughly investigated. And he had every intention of doing the job.

Did others like her exist? It could lead to the downfall of their people, couldn’t it?

If nothing more, it definitely put a crimp in his playing tricks on the humans when one knew what he was. But it was a challenge he couldn’t resist.

“I must return to court, but I have an important errand for you to handle,” his mother said.

The old errand-to-run trick that would keep him from returning to the beach resort.

Well, whatever it was, he’d either get someone else to handle it, or he’d take care of it quickly.

“Yes, my lady mother. What is the task you wish me to accomplish?”

She smiled and the look was pure wickedness.

Definitely, not good.





CHAPTER 4





The female faery took Deveron’s seat at the Mexican restaurant, turned to Cassie and said, “I’m Ritasia. Deveron is my brother.” Alicia quickly closed her gaping mouth. So the faery wasn’t Deveron’s girlfriend, but his sister, to take up where he left off.

“I’m Cassie and that’s Alicia,” Cassie offered. “Are Micala and Deveron coming back soon?”

Ritasia shook her head. “I’m afraid not.”

“That’s too bad.” Alicia hoped the tone of her voice didn’t give away the fact she was tremendously pleased. She turned as their waitress carried another platter full of fajitas to their table.

Ritasia smiled. “I caught the waitress and she threw my order on.”

“Good.” Cassie piled guacamole, sour cream, beef and peppers on top of a tortilla. “Especially since you are so famished.”

Alicia rolled her eyes. Cassie never met a stranger. She acted as though she’d known the fae forever.

Then the man behind them complained to the waitress, “How come she got her meal before I did? I ordered the same thing twenty minutes ago.”

Ritasia winked at Alicia.

Had the mischievous fae intercepted the man’s fajita order?

Ritasia folded her stuffed tortilla into an envelope, then said to Alicia, “It must be nice to have a girlfriend here with you. Being with my brother and his...friend isn’t the same as being with a girlfriend.”

“Why did you come then?” Alicia asked.

“To keep an eye on my brother. Why else?” Ritasia smiled broadly.

“He seems old enough to be on his own.” Alicia stabbed her fork into a slice of beef, then added it to her tortilla. She didn’t feel that the sister fae was watching out for her brother.

Rather, Ritasia intended to trifle with the humans now that he was gone.

***

Deveron paced across the green marble floor of the castle keep of Venicia. Escorting the Venician princess, Lorelei, to her coming out on her sixteenth birthday, wasn’t what he had in mind to do. But no matter how hard he’d tried to get his mother to reconsider, she wouldn’t. He wondered then if she had some ulterior motive. He was to escort the girl wherever and whenever she wanted for a whole lousy week!