The Dark Fae (The World of Fae #1)(9)

Deveron released an exasperated breath. “Come. Let’s check out the shopping areas.”

“We might pick up Princess Ritasia’s trail along the way.”

“If it hasn’t gone cold by now. But you’re right. Let’s go.”

Deveron and Micala visited every beach resort T-shirt and post card shop...all the typical souvenir shops. Then they surveyed the classier boutiques. They found not a sign of either the humans or his sister.

“Do you think maybe they returned home? Maybe they were leaving today. Or perhaps Alicia worried about you having discovered her secret, and she convinced her friend they should return home.”

Disagreeably, Deveron had to consider that option. “She may very well know that the fae killed people like her in the past.”

“We may still do so, my lord. Your mother may have the girl eliminated if she feels Alicia is a threat to our people.”

“Then we must find her first.”

Micala’s brow furrowed into a deep frown. “Not to protect her, surely.”

Deveron scowled. “What do you take me for? Protection of the fae kind is tantamount in any situation.” Then he ground his teeth as he considered another matter. Princess Lorelei. “You don’t think my mother intended for me to court the Venician princess, do you?”

“She wishes an alliance with their people, yes. It’s either you wed Princess Lorelei or your sister takes the princess’s older brother for her mate.”

“Ritasia can have the Venician prince. I won’t wed Lorelei. She’s a mouse.” What he wouldn’t have given for a princess who had Alicia’s spunkiness. The nerve of the girl to douse him with sodas. And yet, just that boldness was what he liked in a woman. He shook his head to think his thoughts would even go there. No way would he risk all to become interested in a human.

“We missed that card shop over there, my lord,” Micala suddenly said.

They transferred themselves to the sidewalk outside of the shop but before they walked inside, Micala pointed at the concrete. A sparkle of luminescent sea green faery dust—Ritasia’s—caught their attention. The two followed it to a movie theater.

Deveron smiled. “I believe we have found our quarry.”

They appeared inside the building, then followed the trail to the third door on the right. Micala opened the door for Deveron, then the two proceeded to follow the dust, shimmering like a trail of tiny Christmas lights on a dark night. They both made themselves visible, then followed the trail up the stairs.

Due to the early afternoon hour and the fact the feature had been playing for a week and a half already, the theater was half empty. Both he and Micala spied Ritasia and the two human females sitting dead center in a row of seats, otherwise unoccupied by other humans.

Despite the seriousness of the feature as a car chase scene screeched across the screen, Ritasia and Alicia saw Deveron and Micala at once.

Ritasia shook her head at him.

He could have done the same with her. He stalked down the aisle toward them.

Cassie, finally noticing Micala and Deveron, smiled with enthusiasm.

Micala went around the other way to sit beside Cassie.

Deveron said to Ritasia so he could sit next to Alicia, “Move over.”

“You’re always so diplomatic when you want your way.” Ritasia scooted over to free up the seat next to Alicia.

He took the seat and looked at Alicia. She ignored him. He smiled. It wouldn’t work.

Alicia folded her arms.

Deveron reached over and took her hand in his and held tight. “Tell me who your parents are, or I can’t protect you.” Not that he was certain he could anyway, or that he would want to.

She glared at him and tried to pull her hand away. But when she’d couldn’t, she turned her attention to the movie and pretended he didn’t exist.

Fae females were always ready to please him, being he was a prince. And human females were intrigued by his looks and actions. The fact the fae-knower wouldn’t be charmed by him intrigued him to no end.

“Do you know how powerful fae magic can be?” he whispered in her ear. He breathed in her peach scent and realized at once she had a slightly different fragrance than humans. Almost like...

He shook his head, ignoring the notion that flitted across his mind. “And do you realize no matter how much you try, you can’t ever resist me?”

Alicia shuddered. Not because she was afraid of the dark fae, but because he tickled her ear with his warm breath.

“What do you know about us?” he asked, as one dark brow rose in a cocky manner.

“That you’re evil.” Alicia tilted her chin up as she waited for his response.

At first he just stared at her.

Then his lips curved up, every bit as dangerously as she knew he was. “All the more reason to tell me why you can see and hear us in our other state, before I resort to dark fae techniques.”





CHAPTER 5





Alicia noticed then that Ritasia strained to hear their conversation in the movie theater as the car chase continued across the screen. From the frown wrinkling Ritasia’s brow, Alicia assumed the fae wasn’t getting the gist of her conversation with Deveron. Alicia sighed heavily. She had no idea what the dark fae could do to her as her father had only mentioned that humans who could see them would be terminated. Now she wished she could meet him, if only so that she could talk to him about her peculiarity and what to do in the situation she now found herself in.