Page 8 of Bitten By Desire

“Shall we pay our respects?” Julian asked.

I nodded as he steered me into the queue. While we waited, I watched Tittwell with interest. The imp helped himself to fistfuls of chicken skewers as he took in the surroundings. When his eyes found me, I glanced toward the front of the line, waited a few seconds, then looked up again.

He’d fixed his gaze on someone behind me, and when I turned to look, I found a beautiful couple practically gliding through the room as everyone stopped to gawk. Both were slender with delicate features and an almost ethereal grace about them. The crowd seemed to gravitate toward them, and I found myself tugging at Julian’s arm as I took an involuntary step forward.

Then I remembered the only other time I’d ever seen a being so alluring, and I squinted harder. A new picture formed, overlapping the couple with twiglike bodies with sharp nails and teeth. Very similar to what I’d seen as the true form of the Queen of the Seelie Court.

Fae, Julian hissed in my mind.

The people in front of us left to approach the new couple, and we turned our attention to the widow of Gerard Montague.

“We are so sorry for your loss,” I said, accepting her hand and almost gasped when a rush of pain, fear, doubt, and self-loathing fell over me like a ton of boulders.

“Merci, I am afraid I do not recognize you? I am Lorraine Montague.”

“Bonjour, Madame Montegue,” Julian swiftly took over, taking her hand. “I am afraid I’ve only had business dealings with your husband in the periphery. But he always impressed me as an honest man. I am Stephan Mercer, and this is my lovely wife, Georgette.”

“It is a pleasure despite the circumstances. Thank you for coming, and for your generous donation to the arts,” Mrs. Montague said without missing a beat.

She’s studied every donation. Sharp business sense and good memory, Julian commented in my head.

The Fae are coming closer, I responded.

In a barely perceptible shift, Julian stiffened, and I knew he was ready for whatever happened next. I recalled the way he tore through a pile of the twig-like creatures who’d attacked me in the other realm before we’d escaped. But I also remembered how he’d been bitten himself.

“Forgive me for asking,” Julian said, “but who is that striking couple coming this way. I don’t want to be rude by forgetting a name of someone like that.”

Lorraine glanced up, and her forced smile disappeared as her eyes widened in fear.

The couple also stopped smiling, and the air in the room shifted as their faces turned cold and malevolent.

“Do you know them?” Julian whispered to her.

“They’ve been following me for weeks,” she whispered back. “Gerard behaved as though he couldn’t see them, yet…here they are.”

“Here they are indeed,” Julian said, shifting his stance so that he was between the Fae and Lorraine. “Darling why don’t you take Lorraine somewhere private so she can have a moment while I speak to these people?”

I grabbed the woman’s arm and got about two steps toward the other side of the room when the Fae made their move.

They blurred from view, having used super speed, but Julian matched them, and the three figures reappeared, he with each one’s neck in his hands as they tore at his body with nails they no longer tried to hide.

Chaos ensued as the partygoers ran for cover, screaming and knocking over trays and even the portrait of Gerard. The dragon shifter joined Julian’s side, partially changing so that a long reptilian head replaced his own. His thicker, larger claws. swiped at the female fairy, tearing it cleanly in half.

Lorraine screamed as Tittwell blocked my retreat.

“Tittwell will get the Widow Montague to safety. Thank you, Miss.” He grabbed her other arm and tugged with unexpected strength, but I held on tight.

“I don’t know you,” I said, using the training I’d had with Daphne to both release her from his grip and block him from her. “And I don’t trust you.”

“Tittwell does not know or trust the young miss,” he countered.

“Please stop,” Lorraine said, tear tracks weaving down her cheeks. “We can’t go anywhere. We have to help them.”

“If you kill them, we can’t question them!” Julian shouted at the shifter as he grappled with the other fairy.

“The man sounds familiar,” Tittwell said, giant eyes growing wider.

Ugh. I grabbed the little man by his collar and called up my own magic.

---