Chapter Text
The club is lit by pulsing blue lights, twirling and circling, the dance floor packed with shiny, drunken patrons. Vivi and Heather spin, shrieking, at the heart of the chaos. Vivi’s head is thrown back jubilantly, cheeks dusted with glitter. Heather’s eyes are glued to her, a huge smile on her face.
I pick an ice cube from my drink and suck it between my teeth.
From across the bar, a man shoots me a smirk. I scowl.
Behind me, I feel Cardan’s hands spread across my waist. “Jude,” he murmurs, voice rough.
A thrill shoots through my legs, and I lock my knees as I turn to meet his dark gaze.
His eyes are inky black and sparkling in excitement. Judging by his breath, he is well on his way to intoxication.
“Are you about to ask me to dance?” I tease him, fluttering my lashes in mock adoration.
A slow, easy grin spreads across his face. “You know me so well.”
Despite his slurred speech, Cardan is surprisingly coordinated as we spin across the floor. He leads me happily, beginning a popular jig played at nearly every revel in Faerie. We weave through the jumping patrons, earning more than a few odd looks.
Overhead, the lights flash to red as the song changes, slowing down. An announcement that the evening is wrapping up crackles over the loudspeakers.
Cardan groans. “Curse this tavern!” he exclaims petulantly, earning several cheers from the crowd.
I laugh, then clutch my head. Confusion flickers through my mind.
I’ve barely had one drink tonight. I must have lost my tolerance for whiskey.
Standing on tiptoe, I speak softly into Cardan’s ear. “I’m going to get the car,” I say. “Can you get Vivi and Heather?”
He presses a long, deep kiss against my mouth. His lips are swollen.
I decide to take it as a yes, and slip out into the parking lot.
The cool night is a relief after the sweltering club. I check my phone. 2:28AM.
Barks of laughter come from two men standing by the exit. I ignore them as I pass, keeping my head down as I move towards our parking space.
“Ay, I’m talkin’ to you!” More laughter.
I hunch my shoulders and walk faster.
“Come back baby!”
Footsteps patter behind me, and then my path is blocked by a man, looming over me.
I turn, intending to head back inside and find Cardan, only to find his friend impeding my exit. I roll my eyes.
“Come on, give us a smile. Drawls the taller one. His face is markedly ugly, mouth jutting out beneath small, cruel eyes.
“Nah, she’s sexy when she pouts.” His friend chimes in, and I feel him pressing against my thigh.
My head is spinning.
I clutch my keys between my knuckles. “I suggest you both leave me alone. This is your warning.”
Inwardly, I curse myself for not bringing a dagger.
They exchange a glance, snickering with laughter.
“‘This is your warning!’” The taller one parrots in a high-pitched, girly voice. “‘This is y-’”
His words are interrupted as Cardan lunges between us and slams his fist into the man’s face.
The tall figure folds like cardboard, spilling across the sidewalk.
His companion curses, scrambling in the opposite direction.
No more than a dark blur, Cardan sprints after him.
I try to watch, but my temple is pounding in agony.
I take a step, but the ground shifts beneath my feet and I fall.
My knee blooms in pain. Suddenly, I am not in the human world at all, but back in Faerie.
The Fae surround me, jeering.
The taste of everapple coats my tongue. Thick blood streams down my leg.
No, that’s wrong. Cardan pricked my finger, not my leg.
“Cardan.”
And the parking lot has begun to fill with boisterous patrons heading to their cars. A dark, curly head fights through the sea.
“Cardan.”
Something strange happens then. I blink, and his head disappears, but I am being carried through the crowd. With great effort, I crane my neck and catch a glimpse of his strained face. His heart thunders beneath my palm. I wonder what he did to those men.
“Cardan?”
“Jude,” he replies softly, head swiveling from side to side. Despite his calm voice, his eyes are frantic. From the corner of my eye, I see his tail lashing against his legs.
“Cardan!” shrieks a different voice, and Vivi’s worried face swims at the edge of my receding vision. “I heard…” my ears ring concerningly for a few seconds. “...said they spiked a girl’s drink.”
Cardan curses. “What did they look like?”
“One was almost as tall as you, horsey-looking…the other was a lot shorter.”
“I just knocked them both unconscious.”
Either Vivi doesn’t ask why, or my hearing goes out again. I blink once more, and I’m lying across the backseat of the car. My head rests on somebody’s lap.
“Can she go to sleep?” Cardan’s voice asks, miles away from me.
“Google says to make sure she stays awake,” Heather replies from even further. She says something else that I can’t hear.
“I’m so tired,” I tell them, but it comes out jumbled.
“We’ll be there soon,” Cardan promises. “What is...what’s your favorite color?”
“Green,” I reply, nausea churning my gut. My vision refuses to clear, no matter how hard I blink. His face hovers blurrily above me, fingers stroking my cheek.
Saliva builds in my mouth. A moment later, I vomit violently against the back of Vivi’s seat. The movement jostles my throbbing head.
I just want to sleep.
Cardan leans down, pressing his lips to the side of my temple.
“Did you know,” he whispers in my ear “when I read Alice in Wonderland, you were all I could think of?”
“I’m not blonde,” I say dumbly, the words heavy and slow in my mouth. It’s as though my limbs are each drifting on their own cloud, away from my body.
Cardan smiles sweetly. “You do have a talent for drinking things you shouldn’t.”
I must smile at that, because his own grin grows wider. He is referring to my mithridatism. Obviously, ingesting Fae poisons did nothing to inoculate me against mortal drugs.
My eyes close of their own accord. I hear his sharp intake of breath.
He’s urging me to wake up, voice laced with panic. Heather and Vivi’s words mingle with his, equally desperate.
“Slap her-”
“-don’t let-”
“-my magic isn’t-”
“-down the street!”
“Jude, please!”
I am being shaken, but it feels like getting rocked to sleep. This must be how death arrives.
I urge my eyes to open, if only so I can catch a final glimpse of Cardan’s beautiful face.
For a second, I succeed.
His eyes are dark and utterly terrified, lips parted as he pleads for me to stay awake.
Everything about him is so pretty.
My vision turns black again.
I’m sorry, Cardan.
The voices are getting quieter now.
The lights are brighter.
Faintly, I hear someone screaming.