Page 11 of By the Fae

“Both,” I said, and then because Sugar Paste wasn’t the type to tolerate not talking through our problems, I added, “The new girl at work.”

“What about her?” She smiled, enjoying this way too much.

“She has to shadow a senior designer for the next few weeks.”

“Oooh, you’re worried she’ll pick you?” Sugar Paste absentmindedly scratched the cat behind its ears, dislodging large clumps of orange fur, which then drifted to the sofa cushions like little tumbleweeds of anarchy.

I inched away from them. “Yes, no, I’m not sure.” Why was it bothering me so much? Holly wouldn’t pick me. That I’d already made sure of.

“Well, she’s obviously smart, right?” Sugar Paste said. “Has a master’s? Worked tirelessly to get where she is?” I nodded. “Then there’s no way she’ll choose you.” She laughed, and despite the slight, I found my shoulders dropping in relief. “Why in the Eight and a half Kingdoms would she pick the most miserable fucker in the office, when she could just as easily work with the guy whose magical fae power is to change his appearance at will?”

I’d forgotten Sugar Paste had met Seth. “He doesn’t change it at will. He changes it to whatever, whoever, you find most desirable. Everyone will see something different when they look at him.”

She sighed. “Remember at your company barbeque, I thought there were two Horns?”—her nickname for her husband—“I thought all my birthdays had come at once.”

“You were well up for a bit of DP with Seth.”

She snorted out her laughter. “I can barely fit one of those things inside me.”

This was why I liked Sugar Paste. She wasn’t like all the other humans. She didn’t make everything about love, despite being absolutely head-over-heels for Taur. She was more than happy to chat shit for hours on end, and shit-talk humans for even longer.

“I’m fairly certain she’ll choose Seth to shadow,” I said. Holly had flinched when I mentioned his name. Of course, she’d choose the guy that appeared in the guise of her dream boyfriend, or girlfriend. If only she knew what he was like under all that glamour. It’d be such a shame if someone were to simply strip him of his Harness Stone.

“I wonder what she sees when she looks at him,” Sugar Paste mused.

I’d wondered the same, but I’d never voice this. Maybe I was reading too much into it. It really was none of my business, but there was this nagging sensation . . .

What did Holly Briar, wearer of camping equipment, see when she looked at a being who automatically transformed into everyone’s individual fantasy?

I’d never considered how Seth appeared to August, or even Seth himself, so why should it concern me what Holly would see?

“What do you see when you look at him?” Sugar Paste asked.

“It changes,” I said, using my old fae tricks of dancing around the truth. “There was a time for about six weeks I saw Taur as well.”

She rolled her eyes, but her smile never faltered. She watched me for a few moments. “You want her to pick you?”

“No. Gods, no. I don’t want to work with her. I can’t stand to be near her.” It must be true if I said it out loud. So, what was this sinking feeling in my chest? “She dresses like an old lady and, at the same time, a toddler.”

Sugar Paste didn’t say anything.

“She just makes me feel so irrationally annoyed, and I can’t figure out why.”

“Maybe you like her.” Sugar Paste reached out her foot and pushed my knee with it, transferring a gallon of cat hairs onto my jeans.

“No chance. I already told you, I can’t bear her. I wouldn’t be able to say it if it weren’t true. Fae can’t lie.”

The almost imperceptible shrug she gave didn’t escape my notice. She lifted her hand to her chin. “You just need to get laid. You haven’t brought anyone home in about four months. It’s starting to feel awfully quiet at night without the constant squeak of your bedsprings.”

I laughed, but maybe she was right. It had been four months. Maybe the lack of sex was addling my brain. I probably needed to take my frustrations out on someone else. Or in someone else. I was a nymph, after all.

“Taur more than makes up for the shortage in my nighttime lamentations.”

Sugar Paste flashed me a toothy, dopey grin, not even remotely abashed.

I didn’t want to work with Holly. That much was true. But there was also one factor I wasn’t prepared to admit aloud.

Whoever she eventually chose to shadow, it couldn’t be Seth.

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