Page 31 of Prince of Never

‘And as your accomplice in that, I imagine he’d be furious with me.’

‘Quite possibly.Does that bother you?’

Did it bother me?Maybe it should.But I wasn’t going to give Ves something for nothing.For the first time since this whole mess began, I had some modicum of control, and I wasn’t going to give it away for free.‘And what do I get out of it?’

His lips curled into a mischievous grin.‘I knew there was something I liked about you.How about you tell me what I want to know and I will take you to a marvellous festival.You must promise not to run away, though.’

‘A festival?’

‘Oh yes, it’s quite the affair; food, magic, wine, dancing, the finest craftsmen from all the land come to sell their wares.I’ll even provide you a beautiful dress to sweeten the pot.What do you say?’

I considered him for a moment.All I’d seen of this place so far was the castle, the dark forest, and that awful marsh.But I’d also seen the beautiful spring beneath the castle and the eccentric little village.There had to be more to this world than scary creatures and nightmarish places.My curiosity tingled.The idea of exploring a fae festival was exciting.And it would be a good place for Ethan to find me.

I only hoped he was listening.

‘Alright, you have a deal.But I don’t think I’m going to have the answers you’re looking for.’

His smile widened.‘Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?’

Chapter 15

Tarian

OfalltheplacesI expected to find the fae who had changed the course of my entire fucking life, it wasn’t here.The door was slurring drunkenly to the side, barely containing the spill of light and sound from within, and a wood nymph was draped over a balcony above, advertising her wares by baring them to the world below.The sign above the door had once been painted, but the paint had long since worn away, replaced by some crude scratchings that read Puck’s Pot.

Fucking oracles.I’d never met one I liked, and I was sure this was not going to be the exception.Adjusting my hood, I pushed my way inside.

The room within was dim, the light filtered by the layers of grime on the windows and then choked by the smoke of half a dozen hookahs stationed around the room.I headed straight for the bar, where a short fae with a potbelly and green scales running up his arms was staring into space.

My approach seemed to prompt him to remember the cloth dangling from his fingers and resume polishing the counter, which only became grubbier as he wiped at it.

‘What can I getcha?’He shot me a glare of resentment as he asked the question, like I’d interrupted him doing something important.That glare sharpened as he took in my face, and he frowned as though trying to place me.

‘Information,’ I said, dancing a coin between my fingers.He stopped examining my face to watch the coin, the cloth going still again.

‘Aye?’he asked suspiciously.

‘I’m looking for a Haddock Sloan.I’m told he frequents this… establishment.’

His expression darkened, and he threw his cloth to the counter.‘I told ’im trouble finding ’im ‘ere again would see ’im banned.If yer gonna beat ’im, take ’im outside this time.’

‘Noted.Is he here?’

‘Aye.Wish ‘e bloody weren’t, though,’ he grumbled, before gesturing to a card table in a corner almost obscured by smoke, where a handful of players were hunched over a game.I flicked the coin onto the counter with a nod of thanks.

As I approached the table, a chorus of groans went up from the players.One of them—a goblin with long, floppy ears and a snout-like nose—stood and snatched at the cards held by the player with his back to me.The goblin turned the cards upside down, peering at them with narrowed eyes, before throwing them down on the table and jabbing a finger at the player he’d snatched them from.

‘Yer cheatin’,’ he hissed.

‘Now, now, you’ve searched my sleeves and my pockets and my hat and turned my chair upside down.How could I possibly be cheating?’

The goblin slammed a knife into the table, causing his companions to jolt and cards to scatter to the floor.‘I haven’t checked yer gullet yet.Maybe I’ll try searchin’ that next.’

As the goblin made a swipe for his opponent’s shirt collar, he dodged it, showing impressive reflexes for a fae of such bulk, and began trying to sweep the pile of coins off the table and into a satchel.

‘I see our game has gone a little stale and maybe it’s time to move on,’ he said, fumbling with his stool and his words.The huge, mountainous male beside him dropped a heavy hand over the satchel, and as the fleeing fae tried to tug it free, he yanked too hard and toppled off the stool to land flat on his back at my feet, his hooves kicking into the air.When he caught sight of me standing above him, he squealed and tried to right himself, but I placed a careful boot on his chest, stilling him.

‘Haddock Sloan, I presume?’

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