? ? ?
As the time spent inside the Bloom had little effect on the amount of time that passed in mortal reality, I put off leaving as long as possible, nursing my soup until Holly and Caleb threatened to leave without me. As I hadn’t driven, and it was after dark, that wasn’t an option I relished. Still, I was also waiting for one more reply, but if Kyran received my message, he didn’t write me back or meet me in the Bloom. The other issue was with the leaving of the Bloom in general. I felt pretty good during dinner, but I knew the effects of fading would crash back down on me the moment I stepped out the door.
At least I was prepared for it this time, though I should have warned Caleb and Holly. I’d mentioned I was fading, but their concern as I all but stumbled down the front stairs of the Bloom made me feel even worse. I really needed to cement my tie to Faerie.
I could join a court, a little voice said in the back of my mind. I was going to see the prince of the shadow court, after all. He’d surely have no qualms against taking me home to his court. But then who knew when I’d see my friends, my life, or hell, even the mortal realm, again. The shadow court had no natural doors to mortal reality. I’d be stuck in Faerie—and I was damn near powerless in Faerie.
The idea did not appeal to me. Besides, with Falin busy fighting the queen’s duels, I was the only one with ties to both Faerie and the mortal realm searching for the alchemist, and he had to be found before more Glitter hit the street.
I called my father while Caleb drove. He answered on the second ring.
“Alexis, since you’ve deigned to call me, should I assume this is an emergency?” His voice was flat, bored sounding, so I wasn’t sure if he was trying to make me feel guilty—hey, he cut me out of his life first—or if he honestly didn’t care one way or another.
“No emergency, but I need a ride to your house.”
As I spoke, I caught Caleb’s eyes flicker toward me in the rearview mirror. The look seemed to question why I hadn’t asked him for a ride. We were in the car already. I shot him an apologetic smile, but I didn’t explain. In truth, I’d considered having Caleb drop me off, but that came with its own slew of problems, the least of which was that I’d eventually need a ride back home, and closer to the top of the list: the fact that my father was currently the acting governor of Nekros whom no one knew I was related to. Oh yeah, and he was pretty much considered the biggest public enemy in Nekros to witches and fae. My life was complicated.
My father said nothing for several moments. I imagined him sitting on the other side of the phone, fingers steepled as he waited for me to say more. I didn’t, not yet.
“Alexis, you do realize the hour, do you not?”
I hadn’t checked. It was after nine when we’d tossed rice at the newlyweds and Tamara and Ethan had driven away in a car Holly and I had decked out with the tackiest JUST MARRIED signs we could come up with. Caleb, Holly, and I had headed directly to the Bloom after that, as Holly hadn’t eaten at all today to ensure a tricky door didn’t cause her to miss Tamara’s wedding. Typically no time at all passed while inside the Bloom, but occasionally hours or even days slipped away. The latter had only happened to me once, thankfully, and that was before I’d known the importance of signing the ledger. Still, I was guessing at best it was about ten, and at worst sometime after midnight. Yeah, probably a little late for a visit, but it was what it was.
So, I played the one card I had that I was sure would work. “I’m scheduled to meet Dugan.”
“And you didn’t lead with that because . . . ?”
Because it was my business and I didn’t want him to get any ideas about his whole breeding program plan for me. Not that I’d had any illusion that I’d have been able to get to the pocket of Faerie and meet with Dugan without him finding out.
When I didn’t answer, my father said, “I can pick you up in thirty minutes.” Then he disconnected without saying good-bye.
? ? ?
It took my father only twenty minutes to reach the house. I had enough time to change out of the bridesmaid dress, but I was still walking PC when he arrived, his fancy Lamborghini glamoured to look like a much more mundane sedan. Good move—the sports car would have stood out in our neighborhood. I mean, the Glen, or Witch’s Glen as it was often called, was a nice area, but it wasn’t that nice.
He idled as he pulled up to the curb, and then leaned over and popped open the door. “Get in.”