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Fae children usually learned. Hopefully he d have time in
the next few days to teach her some basics, so she didn t
look totally helpless at court.
I don t suppose you could collect our luggage? Her
170 Motor City Fae
voice was wistful. Or at least my suit? I m not looking
forward to meeting a queen in a pair of filthy shorts and a
tank top.
When we get to Chicago. He d be able to, if he
remembered exactly what he was teleporting and where it
could be found. Otherwise it could get tricky. But if need
be he could have the Chicago Guardian arrange to have
something delivered.
Do you think they re following us? They d drifted
along in silence for a while, so the question startled Ric,
who d been nodding off again.
Yes. He was too off-kilter to prevaricate.
Oh.
Damn, now he d scared her. That was good, in a way,
because if she was scared, she d be more careful, but he
didn t want her unhappy. But they can t be absolutely
sure of where we re heading. Cleveland is actually the
closer portal to Detroit. Hopefully, they ll think we re
going there.
So why aren t we?
Partially because it s the most obvious. She nodded
at that, quick to pick up on the strategic advantage. Also
because the Guardian in Chicago is someone I trust
implicitly. Unless she s hit by the same kind of treachery
as Aidan, the Chicago portal is likely to be safe, whereas I
seem to recall that Cleveland has a few of Owain s
followers on the staff.
Got it. Her fingernails tapped softly on the steering
wheel for a second, as though she was having an inner
debate. Finally she gritted her teeth and turned to glance
at him. She?
Ric laughed. Goddess, she was jealous. Silly though it
was, the thought of her being possessive of him was
Cindy Spencer Pape 171
flattering and, well, warming, in some strange way. She.
Lady Deirdre of the Night Sky, or as she goes by in this
incarnation, Diandra Knight. She s an old friend of mine.
Friend or friend? She practically growled the last
word. He could see her skin flush, feel her own
embarrassment over her reaction.
Both, I suppose, though we haven t been friends since
long before you were born. We had a moment or two,
back in the Victorian era, before we decided we preferred
each other as friends without the benefits.
Just out of curiosity, how many of your former
friends can I expect to encounter at court? And are any of
them going to be trying to skewer me when my back is
turned?
You ll meet a few. With a lifespan like ours and a
culture that doesn t blink at promiscuity, you get around a
bit. I can t think of any with cause for animosity,
however. I ve not gone around breaking hearts. It s
always been a bit of fun on both parts. No, the only ex-
lover he could think of who might have a grudge against
Meagan was Llyris herself and that wasn t about love at
all, but power and possession. His headache came back.
He needed to tell Meagan about his relationship with the
queen, to explain why he couldn t admit to caring for
Meagan once they crossed the portal.
There s a truck stop. She pointed at the upcoming
exit ramp. Should we take a break?
Please. A good stretch would do wonders for his
stiff and aching muscles. Some real food would do even
more.
Fifteen minutes later they d fueled the Jag, fueled
themselves with some personal-sized pizzas and availed
themselves of the restrooms. Meagan was clutching a
172 Motor City Fae
jumbo soft drink as they headed back to the car. She d
also purchased a doughnut for now and half a dozen
chocolate bars, claiming she was going to need them in
Elfland. Goddess, she made him laugh almost as often
as she made him hard.
Ric was still looking shaky, but he insisted he was
fine. He d demanded his keys back, blinking them out of
her hands when she d refused. Elf guys were still guys,
she supposed. Still had to be all macho and tough, still
hated to let a girl drive their car.
Did it take a long time to learn magic? There was so
much to learn about this wild new world and so little time.
Did it take you long to learn to paint? he countered.
Or is it something that was always part of you and grew
as your knowledge and skills increased?
Got it. It made sense if you looked at it that way, she
guessed. As least as much as the terms magic and sense
could go together.
Next to the parking lot was a small grassy area with
two scarred wooden picnic tables. It wasn t exactly a
park, but after two hours in the car, it looked awfully
inviting. She gestured. Can we sit outside for a minute?
Ric hesitated a moment before nodding and turning
toward the grass. Only for a bit, mind. We need to keep
moving.
As soon as I finish my doughnut. She d gone for the
biggest, gooiest, chocolate-frosted, cream-filled
concoction available, figuring that after the day she had,
she d earned some chocolate therapy.
Ric sat right beside her on the bench. They leaned
back against the table, facing the parking lot. When Ric
draped an arm around her shoulder, she snuggled into his
comforting heat.
Cindy Spencer Pape 173
There were people in the lot, but no one paid much
attention to anyone else, so she didn t resist when Ric
leaned over and kissed a glob of Bavarian cream off the
side of her mouth. Instead, she kissed him back, keeping
her hands to herself, but letting him know with lips and
tongue what she d like to be doing if they were alone.
There was a sweetness to this kiss as well as the usual
hunger and the rightness of it almost brought tears to her
eyes. She felt like she belonged here in his arms like she d
never belonged anywhere else. Ever.
She was so caught up in the mind-blowing heat of
Ric s lips and tongue and hands that she never noticed the
two men who must have been hiding behind the scraggly
trees. She only knew that when Ric wrenched himself
away from her, dragging her bodily off the bench and
behind him as he stood, she felt as though a part of her
had been unceremoniously hacked off.
Meagan heard a pathetic whimper that probably came
from her. Ric didn t say a word, but an enormous,
glowing sword appeared in his hand. She had to peek
around his shoulder and wished she hadn t. Two
men& no, elves they hadn t bothered with a glamour
stood facing them. They both had glowing swords, too
and they were advancing on Ric and Meagan with cold,
calculating death in their tilted eyes.
Ric stepped forward, one hand brandishing his sword,
the other pushing Meagan more firmly behind him.
Meagan s eyes were locked on that giant hunk of sharp,
shining metal and so were those of Ric s opponents. She
could tell he wanted their attention focused on him, not
her. When she got through being scared, that was liable to
piss her off.
Where was a state highway cop when you needed one?
174 Motor City Fae
Meagan looked frantically toward the parking lot for help.
Surely someone would notice a sword fight, even if
they d ignored an R-rated kiss. That s when she spotted
something really odd. The patch of grass where they stood
seemed to be encased in a giant soap bubble. A filmy,
iridescent dome surrounded the area. Without her new elf-
ray vision, she doubted she d even be able to see it, but
she d bet anything it shielded them from the view of the
other customers of the truck stop. Way too many people
were looking right past three pointy-eared guys in leather
jackets wielding swords. Obviously, this spell was a lot
stronger than the look-the-other-way spell Desmond had
used at her house.
Maybe it was a force field. To test that theory, she
threw the remains of her Super-Gut-Buster soda at the
shimmering dome. Sure enough, it sizzled where it hit and
bounced right back onto the grass. Damn, so much for
running for help.
The two assassins closed in on Ric, seemingly content
to deal with him first and ignoring her. The metallic clash
of sword on sword echoed harshly through the enclosed
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