Page 29 of Fake Dating a Human 101

Shayne wasn’t quite ready to see Lily, but there she was, standing in her cute littleRegional Policesweater, appearing as shaken as could be expected after what she’d just witnessed. His gaze got caught on her for a moment, until she turned around at the sound of him crunching over sticks and stones through the forest, and then he yanked his gaze in another direction and plunked it on the dreamslipper.

Mycra.

He marched for the female where she stood beside Dranian in Cress’s body and Foxy Luc. The group of them hid in a small clearing in the woods surrounded by thick pines and spindly black branches. Mycra was looking intently at Dranian, studying Cress’s body and face a little too closely. Eyeing his cold turquoise irises most of all.

Shayne meant to let Lily be, but her scent wafted over him when he brushed by her and his wretched feet came together, right in a squishy patch of mud. A strenuous amount of her tension tickled his faeborn chest, coming off her in waves. It could have been fear, though it was hard to know for sure since she was practically a she-wizard with the way she could ward off meddling fairies interested in her secrets.

The mud’s moisture leaked up through Shayne’s toes as he exhaled. He turned around.

Lily’s lashes were all stuck together. One thick strand of hair covered part of her face, but neither of those things stopped her from staring into his eyes. Probably using her wizard powers to see right into his soul like she did with unruly humans on investigations.

Shayne slid off his crossbow and tossed it against a tree, then he reached for Lily and dragged her gently into a hug. He held her against his chest for just a moment. Then he asked, “Are you alright, ugly Human?”

She inhaled—the breath was shaky, he noticed. He almost smiled, not because of her distress, but because even though she hid herself better than most humans, Shayne had her mostly figured out.

“I’m fine,” she lied.

He held her a little longer anyway.

“Of course you are.” Shayne wasn’t stupid; it was clear she was loving this hugging business by how she didn’t try to pull away from him. “But it’s okay if you’re not fine,” he said. “No one’s invincible. If you want to cry—”

Her hands came against his chest, and she shoved him back—he let her, as usual. She wasn’t that strong, which was part of her charm. “I said I was fine,” she repeated.

Shayne nodded. “Right, right. You did say that.” He reached for his crossbow and lifted the strap back over his head, fastening it slowly as he held her gaze. “Feel free to use my robust, shapely shoulder to cry on when you change your mind.”

He flashed her a smile. Not because he needed it, but because she did.

When he turned, he planted his attention on Mycra. “Pretty Fairy,” he called. “I need a word.”

Luc raised a brow. He looked between Lily and Mycra. “Well, that’s rude,” he said. “Calling one of them pretty and the other ugly.”

“No one asked you, Foxy Luc,” Shayne stated. “I have my reasons.”

The sound of Lily’s teensy feminine grunt lifted behind him.

“I’ve met the person who owns this body,” Mycra finally said, still looking at Dranian in Cress’s skin.

“You have?” Dranian asked.

“I crossed him many years ago.” Mycra’s expression turned wary. “He led a raid that killed someone I cared deeply about.”

“Ah. What a relief. I was about to make you explain why you were ogling Cress,” Shayne stated. “He’s taken, you know.”

Mycra’s bright eyes expanded, and Dranian blushed, turning Cress’s shapely jawline redder than anyone had probably ever seen it. Shayne smirked, wishing he could have taken a selfie with him and put it as the background image on Cress’s phone.

His smile fell though when he thought of Cress’s phone. Of Cress. Of Mor. Of Kate, and Greyson, and Violet. When he thought of what Cress and Mor might have to face soon because of him. He imagined them fighting off the Lyro scouts in the street outside Fae Café. They would be all right as long as Mor airslipped to the Sisterhood’s yarn store and called in a favour. Cress would have to hold them off until the Sisterhood got there…

In Dranian’s body.

Shayne ran a hand down his face. He turned to Luc. “You know the first thing Mor and Cress will do once they realize who’s responsible for this little body-swap robbery is try to figure out where we are. If they get even an inkling we’re in the Ever Corners…” He couldn’t finish the sentence or fathom the thought.

A broad smile took over Luc’s face. “Oh dear. You mean the High Court of the Coffee Bean mayfinallycome to my rescue?” He batted his lashes. “It’s about time.”

Shayne’s lips tightened. He’d spent three hundred and thirty-six dollars in the human mall on ‘vacation wear’ to support his lie of going on the exact sort of fun-filled beach holiday he’d read about in a magazine—all so that no one would actuallycome here. “You might not care, Foxy, but if anyone in the North Corner reports seeing this body and thinks this is Cress—” he nodded to Dranian “—we’ll have far more than my family chasing after us. The whole Brotherhood of Assassins will take Dranian captive for Levress and we’ll never get him out of the Silver Castle. It’ll be goodbye forever.”

Luc shrugged and began carefully rolling up the sleeves of his over-the-top imperial coat. The threading on it was so detailed, it made Shayne go cross-eyed to look at. “Then I suppose Prince Cressica had better hurry here if he wants to get his body back in one piece,” Luc said.

Dranian’s red face turned white instead, and Shayne stifled an eye roll. “Don’t be so dramatic. I was careful to cover my tracks when I left the human realm, so unless someonehands thema map, they won’t find out we’re here,” he promised. “And you’re trying way too hard with that coat. Is this your attempt to dress up as a king for Halloween? Because Halloween is long over,” Shayne said.

---