"It's a bloody good thing we did!" snaps Ewan. "Get off that bed, now."
"You don't tell me what to do!"
"Okay. I'll call your mother then, should I?" Ewan puts a hand in his back pocket.
She stumbles to her feet. "No! Okay. But don't take me back to her."
As if we have any choice.
Mac holds his hands up, palms out. "She's nothing to do with me anymore. Take her."
I grit my teeth at how dismissive he is, but I bet I don't have enough fingers to count how many girls he's had in this bed in the last week alone.
"Didn't you notice her magic was stronger?" snaps Ewan.
"Hey, some kids have stronger magic if they're bred right. I just thought she must be from a purer line."
I wish Vee were here to spot if he's lying.
VEE
Heath appears and leans down to whisper something to Xander. Xander's face hardens, and Joss shifts closer to catch the conversation.
"Trouble?" asks Seth and takes a nervous glance over his shoulder.
"Maybe."
"What is this place? There're some seriously weird people here. I swear half of them are on drugs."
Nobody pays attention to Seth, whose interest in his surroundings grew after Syv left with assurances she'll help.
Xander walks away with Heath, and Joss shuffles over. "They just found a certain fae queen's daughter."
"Elyssia?" I burst out. "I bet her mum isn't happy she comes here."
"Nope. Especially as she was in bed with the fae's premiere magic dealer."
"Wow. What's happening?"
"They've gone to collect her. Hopefully Xander won't need to carry her out over his shoulder."
I chew my lip at the imagery. Yep. Could totally see that happening.
Xander reappears with Ewan and a girl. Ewan's hand grips the girl's arm who stumbles as she walks through the doorway towards us. Last time I saw Elyssia, she was pinned against her lounge room wall by a demon. This time, she's the image of teenage rebellion, dressed in tight, deliberately distressed clothes and her white blonde hair trailing from the ponytail around her heavily made-up face.
And either drunk or high.
The unimpressed girl pulls her arm away from Ewan's grasp as she approaches and rubs her eyes.
"We're taking her home," says Xander, tone short. "Come on."
"Oh no, you're not taking her," replies Heath. "You're the last person Portia wants to see."
"I have her daughter!"
"Exactly. I'll go with Ewan."
Elyssia sinks onto the sofa and rests her head back, staring at the ceiling. Xander sits opposite, elbows on knees. Is he waiting for her to try to run?
"Why's she here?" I ask Ewan. "Does Portia know?"
"Nope. She's run away from home."
"Oh." I look at her. "Why?"
"Remember Portia said she was sending Elyssia away? Yeah, well Elyssia doesn't agree with arranged marriage. Fae kids spend time too mixed up with humans these days, and then they don't want to play their roles. Especially fae princesses. "
Poor girl. How old is she? Nineteen? I know she finished school recently. I can't imagine any of her friends are facing exile.
And I don't want to think what Elyssia is facing when she's delivered home by the Pony Boys.
10
HEATH
I park my car outside Portia's house. Each home in the street is still and quiet, but I know Portia's will be on alert.
I look over my shoulder at Elyssia, who's slumped against Ewan's shoulder. "Wake her up."
Ewan scrunches his nose. "She's a little too friendly when I do."
I can't help laughing. "I'm sure you can defend yourself."
"Do you know how uncomfortable it is that both mother and daughter sexually harass me?"
"You're hilarious! Poor Ewan." He pulls a face as I laugh at him.
"She's barely twenty years old!"
"Ah well, at least she's not a teenager."
"Gross, Heath."
Ewan shifts away from the princess, and Elyssia's head lolls sideways as he moves.
"Hey! Sleepy head! Time to go home."
Her eyes flutter open. "What?"
"We're home. Your mother freaked out when we called her. Prepare yourself."
"Oh shit." She rouses herself further and sits. "Please stay with me."
The girl's a bedraggled mess. More hair escaped her ponytail and her make-up smudged into dark lines on her cheeks. Her clothes are creased, and she faintly smells of the sickly incense from the club.
"How did you think you could get away with trying to leave?" I ask.
Elyssia unclips her seatbelt. "How would you feel if you were forced into a life you never asked for?"
I give a harsh laugh. "Really? You're asking me that question? Believe me, Elyssia, there's no running away from this shit."
She casts her eye down. "Crap. Sorry."
I don't understand the whole fae lineage and politics situation, but I do pity her. Nobody likes life out of their control, but she can't help what she's born into any more than a human child.
Elyssia refuses to allow us to support her on the unsteady walk from the car and up the garden path. She fumbles her key in the front door lock and slinks through the door between Ewan and me, the bodyguard more than eager to open the door when they see who's with us. There's no sound in the house, and the solidly built guy with his crew cut hair returns to his seat between the stairs and door, in the large entrance hallway.
I pause, waiting for Portia to appear.
Nothing.
"Portia?" I call. "We're here."
"I'm in the kitchen." I’m surprised by her even tones, as if we've called around for a quick visit. Shouldn't she rush out to see if her daughter is okay?
Elyssia repeats shit under her breath the whole way from the hall into the kitchen.
Portia sits at the kitchen island counter with a goldfish-bowl-sized glass in front of her on the granite top. She sips the red wine and appraises her daughter. In contrast, Portia's immaculately dressed and groomed in black slacks and a blue shirt partially open.
"Thank you for returning my daughter."
Neither she nor Elyssia speak to each other. I didn't expect a tender reunion, but I expected more than indifference.
Ewan sets Elyssia's rucksack on the floor, and Portia cranes her neck to see what he has. "Well, there's no point unpacking that."
Elyssia glares at her mother.
"You're leaving tomorrow, darling girl. We agreed you could have another month to spend with your human friends, but you've broken that agreement. I need you gone." Portia gives us a tight smile. "By that I mean away from danger. Where did you find her?"
Now this I've rehearsed. "She was at The Warehouse, living it up with some human friends. I expect she was staying with them."
"I was at La Fee Verte," interrupts Elyssia.
"I do hope you're lying," growls Portia. She climbs down from the stool and approaches her daughter. Portia seizes Elyssa's chin and studies her face. "Is this drugs or alcohol?"
"Magic."
The two stare each other down. Elyssia is definitely her mother's daughter; I can't imagine they'd ever live together, long term, without a lot of problems.