Ridley
“This is fucking miserable.” Not that anyone can hear my complaint. I’ve been alone in this damned place for three fucking weeks, Faerie time. Who knows how much time has passed back in Billings? Sometimes, the human world moves faster, sometimes slower. I sure as hell hope it’s the latter.
Because, so far, I’ve been damn near all around Faerie and found no one. Neither of my brothers, Rafferty’s camp, nothing.
“I hate this place.”
“That’s not a very kind thing to say.”
I stiffen at the voice of my youngest brother. “Taranus,” I all but growl as I turn around. Of any of my siblings, he is the last one I want to see.
He grins at me. “So nice to see you, brother. How long have you been here?”
“A fucking while. Where’s Rafferty?”
Something flickers in his golden gaze. Jealousy, perhaps? Not surprising; Taranus has been jealous of Rafferty his entire damn life. I, however, never warranted that kind of attention. Then again, I never had my eye on the throne. “His camp.”
“And that is where?”
Taranus’s golden gaze narrows on me, and he tilts his head to the side and crosses his arms. “Why do you want to know?”
“I have shit to do, Taranus. People counting on me. So how about you cut the crap and take me to him.”
“You mean those supernaturals you’ve been running around with? The ones you abandoned your family for?”
Now, I do growl. “Where. Is. Rafferty.” I don’t bother posing it as a question this time. No need for pleasant pretenses when Taranus is a fucking asshole.
Taranus’s grin spreads. “This way. Keep up if you can. You might be a bit out of practice.” He disappears, and I follow, tracking the signature left behind as he dematerializes. Something I can only do here in Faerie as, back in the human world, it vanishes instantly. Not enough magic in the air.
I re-form in the center of a large camp, and no one bothers to look my way as they continue about their business. The place is packed and much larger than it was the last time I was here—less than a week in human time.
Taranus doesn’t bother to check and be sure I followed, he just starts walking, leading me down a dirt path between massive tents.
“Ridley!” I whirl, barely managing to open my arms as a slender woman slams into me.
“Flora,” I reply with a joyous laugh as I wrap my arms around the only fae in this entire damned world that I actually care for. Familial relation with Rafferty aside, of course. Taranus, however, can fuck right off. “I have missed you.”
“If that were true, you would visit more.” She releases me and glances up, our vast height difference putting her at just below my shoulder. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to Rafferty.”
“And Taranus was your greeting party?”
“So it seems.”
She glares after my youngest brother. “Lovely. I imagine he was chock full of warmth at your arrival.”
“Of course he was. Threw me a party and everything. So sorry your invite got lost in the mail.”
Flora laughs and slaps my chest as we begin walking. “Everything okay with you?” she asks, after a brief moment of silence.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re here. The last time you were here, it was because you needed a root.”
“I can’t simply visit for the fun of it?” She doesn’t respond, just arches a dark eyebrow. I concede with a sigh. “My friends are in need of help.”
Flora stops in her tracks. “Friends? You have friends?”