Page 76 of Beltane

I laughed and tapped ash into the crystal tray at the center of the table, ignoring the threat in his tone. “What can I do for you three?”

Siobhan’s dark eyes dropped to the books in between us. “What’re ya reading?”

I cleared my throat and shifted my hips, trying not to look as obvious as I felt. But she probably saw right through me, so what was the point of lying? “A loophole.”

“You think the queen’s that sloppy?” Finn blew out a disbelieving breath. “That deal was binding. Forever.”

“Figured that much out for myself, surprisingly.” I took another long drag and blew out the smoke, returning my attention to the old leather skin in front of me before flipping a page. I expected them to get up and walk away, but when all three continued to stare, I lifted my eyes back to them. “What?”

Finn shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Gods, he’s thick.”

“You’re not thinking back far enough.” Siobhan tsked her teeth and stood, giving me one last disappointed sigh before turning to walk away. Finn’s eyes glittered as he watched her go, eventually rising himself to stalk after her. Donnelly stayed behind, leaning back in his seat while studying me.

I didn’t know if he planned to stay to help me translate or if he was doing his weird silent-but-deadly hunter shit, so I started to go back to my research, but he cleared his throat and drew my attention again.

“Ya know,” he finally said, “you’d get a lot further by asking around rather than holing yourself up in here, looking at books you can’t understand.”

Donnelly rarely talked, so when he did, I paid attention. This was more advice than he’d given me in days.

“Okay,” I said, stabbing out my cigarette butt. “How do I get out of the deal I made with the queen?”

“You can’t.” Donnelly shook his head and tilted it to the side. “But perhaps you could ask a different question.”

My shattered heart crumbled further, slicing open the insides of my lungs, tearing through my rib cage. “How do I get back to my realm?”

He took a deep breath and curled his lips into a devilish smile, his eyes glimmering. “You’re getting warmer. Ask a different question.”

“Why would you help me?” We’d never been particularly close, and I certainly hadn’t had much to say to him since I’d been trapped into staying here.

“Like you said, you saved the world. You saved all of us. Why shouldn’t you be rewarded?” Donnelly’s bright blue gaze shimmered with amusement. “Alas, the queen has forbidden any of us from outright telling you what to do. You are an honored guest. But, if you were to maybeaskthe right question, I might be permitted to give you the right answer.”

I paused and considered this. I believed his reasoning and his motivation. I even believed the queen would forbid any of them from offering help. She wanted me to be her little prize, her beautiful human counterpart. But Siobhan, Donnelly, and Finn had gone out of their way to help us before. Perhaps Donnelly would do it again.

“Is there a way for me to get back to my realm?”

His smile widened. “Yes.”

“Does it involve the fairy queen?”

He chuckled and clapped. “There ya go. That’s using your upstairs brain, yeah?”

“How? Tell me. Please.”

“I’ll tell you a story.” He hummed and looked at the pack of cigarettes resting on the table between us, crossing his hands in his lap. “For a price.”

I groaned and rolled my eyes, running my hands over my face and back through my hair. “Just like a fucking fairy. Fine. What do you want?”

“You give me that last cigarette, and I’ll tell you how I evaded the Ghost of Agincourt.”

I sighed, exhausted by all of this shit. I’d been over it since Siobhan gave us the curse four years ago, and now, I almost begged Donnelly to stab me in the face just so it would end. Deciding he likely had the best intentions at heart, I grabbed the pack and tossed it across the table to him, sending the lighter over next.

“I take it we have an accord?”

“Yes. I gave you the cigarette. Tell me your fairy tale.”

He grinned and lit it, inhaling deeply on my last bit of humanity before blowing the smoke out in a thick, sultry breath. “Once upon a time, the king was not so opposed to humans. He used to casually enter the human realm and mingle with royalty. He’d dress up in their human clothes and attend their human events, and even pass out gifts to anyone who, in his opinion, needed his magical assistance. As you might imagine, Alberich got into quite the scandal when the peerage found him dallying in a princess’s bed.” Donnelly leaned back in the chair and put his feet on the table, crossing them at the ankle while he smoked and regaled his memory.

“They tortured him for weeks before I found him.” He shook his head and tapped ash on the floor, taking another long drag. “He was practically in pieces.”

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