Solstice (Midsummer #3)

13. Lex

13

Lex

F ebruary in Maine sucked. There was four feet of snow on the ground, and the wind chill cut right through my wool coat, making me long for Virginia’s humidity.

“You’re sure this is the right place?” I looked out the window at the shitty run-down Victorian. Shutters hung off the siding, and one of the rooms on the second floor had a busted window with cardboard blocking the inside.

“Yes, Mr. Fairfax.” Theo nodded from the rearview. “I haven’t had a chance to scope out the property, but I can if you give me five minutes.”

“No.” I shook my head and looked at Ivy next to me.

She pursed her lips and nodded. “We should go.”

“We’ve come all this way,” Miri said from the third row, looking between the two of us.

In for a fucking penny, am I right?

I opened the door and climbed out, helping Ivy and Miri before shutting it behind us.

“Wait here,” I told Theo.

“Sir, I am strongly against that plan.” He clenched his jaw, resistance in his steely eyes.

I didn’t blame him. I paid him a ton of money to keep us safe, and here we were, walking into Lemony Snickett’s worst fucking nightmare without him.

“Noted,” I said. “Wait here.”

We turned and headed toward the entrance. Sure, the place looked creepy as hell, but I’d stood my ground against a fairy queen, so whatever waited inside could take their best shot. The rotting floorboards creaked as we walked up the stairs, holding firm while we crossed the porch to the door. I opened the flimsy screen and gave the wooden entrance two firm knocks.

No one answered.

“You think it’s empty?” Ivy looked at the picture on her phone of Smythe coming in and out of this same place. This was definitely it.

“Can I help you?” came a voice from around the corner. I straightened at the familiar sight.

Smythe still had his glasses and his salt-and-pepper hair, but he looked ragged. Two years ago, he’d been healthy and attractive. Now, his cheeks had sunken, and dark circles lined the bags under his eyes. Time had not been kind.

“You.” He backed away, his wide eyes shifting between us. “No, no, get off my property. I’ve got nothing to say to you.”

“Wait, please.” Ivy went down the stairs and rushed after him. “We mean you no harm.”

“Your fiancé used his gift on me in broad daylight, where anyone could see. Then he left me there, a grave violation of proper etiquette.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, holding up my hands in solidarity. “I admit it was a shitty thing to do.”

He paused and let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders relaxing. “What do you want?”

“We just want to talk.” Ivy took another step toward him, but he quickly moved farther away.

“About?”

Two other people came around the side of the house, each with fairy tattoos going up their arms. I assumed these were the halflings he’d found after leaving Ireland.

“Pete?” one of them asked. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, Victor.” Smythe nodded, putting his hands on his hips. “This is Lex Fairfax and Ivy Washington. Surely you know Princess Miriam.”

“Aye.” Victor looked between us. “What are you doing here?”

Ivy cleared her throat and glanced at me before speaking. “The last time you saw Lex, you warned us not to go into the woods.”

“I did.” Smythe’s lips thinned. “And you didn’t listen. Now there’s a bloody patch of cursed thistles blocking the Veil.” Smythe looked at Miri. “I assume that’s your doing?”

Miri straightened and crossed her arms, but the fact he didn’t know they were gone meant he hadn’t heard much out of Faerie. Maybe we knew more than he did.

“I don’t know what you did when you went into the woods that night, but word’s spread about you four.” Smythe shook his head. “If you have the king pissed off enough that he’s looking for a way out, then there’s no fairy on earth that will help you. Least of all me.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. Smythe knew more than he was telling us, but I’d been a shit to him the last time I’d come for a visit, so it made sense he was reluctant to cooperate now.

“Get off my property before I call the police.” He turned and walked toward the back of the yard, Victor and the other fairy following him.

“If you change your mind,” Ivy called. “We’ll be at the B it had worked on him before. But I had promised myself I wouldn’t do that again unless it was an emergency.

Did this qualify as one? I mean, we’d come all this fucking way.

“C’mon,” Ivy said, nodding toward an anxious Theo waiting in the SUV.

I pursed my lips and hesitated, but Miri grabbed my hand and tugged me along, dragging me with my tail tucked between my legs. Granted, Smythe had a point. We’d screwed with fairy royalty, sticking our noses where it didn’t belong. We were warned. We didn’t listen. Now we paid the price.

“He’s scared,” Ivy said after we climbed into the vehicle, closing the back door behind her. Miri and I were in the third row, and Theo patiently waited for us to give the go-ahead to leave.

“We need to convince him to trust us,” Miri said.

“How?” I sighed and rubbed my fingers over my eyes, exhausting seeping into my pores. “I already fucked that up two years ago.”

“We could bribe him,” Ivy cut in.

“Just like a Washington,” I teased, shaking my head.

“You got any better ideas?” She raised her eyebrows.

Honestly, I didn’t. I opened my mouth to tell Theo to drive, but the front door on the house opened and got our attention. Victor stomped down the stairs, coming closer to the SUV. I went on alert because his scowl meant he was pissed. Theo unholstered his gun just as Victor knocked on the back window next to Ivy.

“I just want to talk,” he said, holding his hands up. “I swear I won’t hurt you.”

Ivy looked at Miri and me, and I shrugged. There were four of us and only one of him. Even if he was a fairy (or halfling), I suspected we could take him if we used our powers. Ivy bit her bottom lip and opened the door, scooting back so he could come inside.

“Theo,” I said, “Do us a favor and hop out for just a moment.”

Theo squared his jaw but didn’t argue, just did as he was told.

“What can we do for you?” Ivy asked once the coast was clear.

Victor had dark eyes and obsidian hair. Objectively, he was beautiful, and if I didn’t know he was part of a race that wanted to enthrall or annihilate mine, I’d say he was attractive. But, things being what they were, I stayed on guard. I didn’t know why he was here, and until I did, I had to be prepared to fight.

He cleared his throat and looked between us. “I apologize for Peter’s behavior. He forgets this is your realm. We’re guests here.”

“He’s half-human,” Ivy said. “It’s his realm, too.”

“Ahh.” Victor smiled, softening his gaze at her. “Yes. Half-human. Half-fae. Belonging nowhere.”

“Why did you come out here?” I asked. “What do you want?”

“I can help.”

“With?” I didn’t trust that this guy had changed his allegiances.

“You wanted answers.” He straightened and shifted his shoulders. “I can give them to you.”

“Why?” Ivy asked. Thank God she was just as skeptical as me.

“You’re marked. Any fairy can see it. A group gift, and I recognize its signature.”

I narrowed my eyes, still unsure about his intentions.

“Siobhan,” he said, clarifying. “She used to do this all the time. The Midsummer festival. The lust.”

“You know Siobhan?” This piqued Ivy’s interest. “How?”

“She’s my cousin. We were basin-mates, raised by the same nursemaid, once upon a time.” He smiled, seemingly lost in a memory before continuing. “She knew what she was doing when she gave the gift to you, and I don’t say that lightly. If she’s wrapped up in this, I’ll help her, and I think that means helping you.”

“Okay.” I crossed my arms, suspicious but willing to play along. “Help us. Tell us about the king. Is he on this side of the realm? Is the queen?”

Victor shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Has he found a key?” I continued.

Again, Victor shrugged and frowned. “I have no idea.”

“Well, gee, Victor.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, frustration clawing through my midsection. “Thank you so much for your help.”

“Your gifts. They’re getting more powerful, yes?” Victor’s eyebrows rose as he looked between us. “That’s because Siobhan’s vision is coming true.”

Ashley said that Siobhan was a banshee, that she would get instincts about events in the future. Ashley believed we might have been a part of some grand design, especially if Siobhan continued to help us.

“The moment she saw Ivy, she had a vision. She was supposed to give the gift to her. She didn’t know why, just that she had to.” Victor looked at X. “After she kissed you, the queen sent her away. Siobhan spent some time in this realm, even came to visit me once or twice. She said the king was growing weary of the separation, that he planned to end the quarrel with the queen by killing the child.” Victor’s attention came back to me and Miri. “That didn’t happen.”

Ivy’s lips thinned, but she didn’t confirm or deny we had Poppy.

“She said something happened to the four of you when you made a vow in the ruins. She couldn’t predict that. After you promised your lives to each other, the magic mutated. It took on a life of its own. She only knew she was supposed to give the gift to you, but after that…” He shrugged. “We both believe everything happens for a reason.”

“If the king gets out, is there a way to put him back?” Knowing about our gifts was great, but we had bigger problems to solve here.

“I only know of one fairy that could curse him, and that was hundreds of years ago. There’s no telling where to find them or if they still exist.”

Great. Just fucking great.

Where the hell would we find someone like that if everyone in the fairy fucking underground hated us? Better yet, if no one even knew such a powerful fairy still existed?

“What about powers?” Ivy said. “What magic does the king have? What gifts?”

Victor snorted. “All gifts. All magic. He’s the king.”

“What about…time travel?” Miri held her sweater tighter around her waist. “Could the king or queen go back in time? Hurt us before we knew what was going on? Or maybe…manipulate memories?”

“I’ve never heard of that.” Victor shook his head. “Not to say it’s not possible, but all magic is elemental. We’re connected to the earth, and the earth only moves in one direction. I don’t know anyone who can manipulate space and time, not even royalty.”

My heart plummeted to my stomach, both at Miri’s question and Victor’s answer. He didn’t know anyone who could bend the rules of space and time…but we did. Was this why the king wanted Poppy? Could he use her to go back in time and kill us as children, ending this before it even began?

I had never even considered the possibility. Miri shared my look of apprehension and glanced at Ivy, who stayed stone-faced and stoic through the whole thing—a true politician. The only tell she had was the flush snaking up her neck.

“What will you do if he gets out?” Ivy raised an eyebrow. “Are you preparing for war? Preparing to run and hide? Will you join him or fight him?”

“Fight him?” Victor laughed, looking between us like we were ridiculous. “Ivy, there is no fighting him. If the king gets out, he’ll burn this entire realm to the ground and kill everyone in it. It’s all he’s ever wanted to do.”

“Can we stop him?” I grabbed my cigarettes and lit one, rubbing at the back of my neck with the other hand while the nicotine buzz washed over me. I’d been trying to cut back, but if ever there was a time to light up…

“I don’t see how.” Victor shook his head. “No one in this realm will be able to stop him.”

“How many fairies are there on this side? Was Peter right? Will no one help us?” Miri’s eyes pleaded with him to give us good news, to tell us we had some allies.

“Peter is right that word has spread about the four of you, but fairies are secretive. No one will say anything to a public that doesn’t know we exist.” Then he sighed. “But will we fight him? Will we help you?” Again, he shrugged. “Some may, if only to protect the humans they love. Most will flee. There’s a reason we’re terrified of him. He’s done incredible things. Despicable and horrendous, but undeniably incredible.”

I should have been more scared, but instead, an ice-cold, electric rage brewed just under my skin. If this motherfucker came for us, I had to find a way to defeat him. I had to protect my spouses and my family. I had to protect this whole planet.

No pressure.

“Where’s Siobhan now?” I asked. “Is she still with the king?”

He nodded. “Last I heard, she and her warriors rejoined his army. I haven’t seen her since, but I don’t think she’s with him in cause. She’s trying to find a way to protect the queen.”

“What about you, Victor?” I took another long drag. “Will you fight with us?”

He smiled. “I’d like to think I would.”

“Why?”

Victor flashed me another grin. “Because the humans I know are loving and generous. And if they were in my shoes, they’d do it for me.” He looked between the three of us before adding, “I hope you’re worth it.”

Yeah, I hoped we were, too.

He opened the car door and put a foot on the ground. “I have to go. I wish I could have been more help.”

After he left, I turned to my wives with more questions than answers and absolutely no plan for what to do next.