Page 87 of Crown of the Fae King

I resisted when she tried to lead me out the door. “I need to talk to Wickham for a sec, then I’ll be down.”

Flann offered Everly his arm. Brian followed them out and closed the door, leaving Wickham and me alone.

“How am I going to let Griffon know I’m out and I’m okay?”

“Already done. I had Brooks call him.”

“I need to see him. He’ll be upset—”

“We’ll figure something out. Just not the now. We dinnae ken who is watchin’—”

“O’Ryan. O’Ryan is watching.”

Which meant I wouldn’t be seeing Griffon anytime soon.

The brothers werehappy to play the part of conquering heroes, though Alwyn was the true star considering the meal he prepared. I ate the bare minimum, my stomach churning with the emotions of the day, and I had a little piece of the cake topped with fondant handcuffs. But I doubted the crew would be enjoying themselves if they knew the enemy was behind us getting arrested--Wickham insisted we share that detail after supper. Our “no business at the table” rule was getting ridiculous.

However, the longer I watched Wickham, lost in thought at the end of the table, the more I believed he needed time to digest the news himself.

Eventually, the team paraded down to the study. After the past few days, calling it the war room seemed too…prophetic. I’d been willing to turn my life upside down because I’d had no legitimate reason to refuse Wickham. But I sometimes wished I was back in Idaho, serving pancakes and avoiding the Weavers, oblivious to the possibility of a coming war between Man and Fae. I wasn’t looking forward to fighting monsters and I certainly wasn’t prepared to play chess with a fairy so ancient he was mentioned in The Covenant.

Persi had the TV on but clicked it off when she saw me. “Looks like you won’t have to ask your professor after all.”

“Ask him what?”

“How old The Covenant is. It’s on the news. Oldest document in the world stolen from The Bod. Carbon dating and all. Fifteen thousand years. Written on…humanskin. I wonder if Carew knew that.”

I was suddenly desperate to wash my hands and did. When I returned to the study, Brian, Flann, and I debriefed everyone on the events at the precinct. O’Ryan had apparently given the same routine to both brothers, trying to get them to slip up and give something away. It seriously concerned him that we’d been looking at Fae lore.

“I think O’Ryan took The Covenant,” I said. “And the books. And he’s been removing material from libraries everywhere, trying to keep us—to keep anyone—from figuring out what he’s after.”

“I agree.” Wickham rubbed his chin with two fingers, frowning. “I think our access to The Covenant set off an alarm, or maybe alarmed some fairy assigned to watch over it. O’Ryan should have thought to take such precautions on his own. I’m just glad we got to see it before that could happen.”

“We do have plenty to work with,” Urban said, pointing to our giant list. “So what if the libraries have nothin’ more for us? We’ve an entire network of witches. Surely, their collected wisdom can yield somethin’.”

Wickham lowered his brow. “Ye’re thinkin’ of my sisters.”

“I am. And that village. TheSeanathairmight be gone, but there are surely elders left.”

Wickham nodded. “Aye. We’ll reverse engineer this. Start at the source. I’ll go to Muirsglen tomorrow. And I dinnae like the idea of leavin’ Lennon with O’Ryan about, so I’ll take her with me.”

“No you won’t.” It was time to put my big-girl foot down. “I’m not going anywhere until I see Griffon.”

It was all stupidly complicated,but I couldn’t argue with the reason for it.

Wickham contacted Brooks who then contacted Griffon. We met the next morning at the little café where he’d taken me—and Wickham—on our first date. I was nervous being on campus again, with news crews stalking the place. So, against Everly’s objections, I wore jeans and a sweatshirt as a half-hearted disguise, with the hood over my hair. Urban insisted on coming along. He and Wickham promised not to hover.

Griffon was there, seated at the same table at the back. He wore more casual layers than usual, probably to keep students from instantly pegging him as a professor. He stood when we entered. My guards took a table beside the door and acknowledged the professor with a quick nod before turning their backs and angling themselves to watch out the windows.

I pulled off my hood and stalled with five feet between us, suddenly awkward. But Griffon shook his head and in two steps, pulled me into his arms and lifted me off the floor while he squeezed me tight.

“I’m sorry I made such a fuss,” I said, when I was earthbound again.

He cut me off with a kiss. A quick one. But it was enough to know he’d wanted it as much as I had. He released me and stepped back to look me over. “You seem to have weathered your ordeal. Or have you donned a brave face on my account?” No mention of the way I was dressed.

I shook my head and smiled. “I’m all right now…now that I’m with you.” Inwardly I groaned. I’d never said such cheesy things before Griffon.

“Ditto,” he said, and moved a chair close to his before we sat. There was already a plate of pastries on the table, and the waiter brought me a cup of coffee. “So, you must have convinced the police you had nothing to do with the robberies.”

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