Lavender sent a glare of warning at the one next to Seth, which made her instantly wither and resign herself to batting pretty orange eyelashes at him. “They’re my half sisters,” she ground out as she turned back to me. “Let’s just say Puck comes by his wandering eye honestly.”
“Oh.” I glanced down at the king, who was looking more than a little irritated with the silly brood he had sired. Guess what goes around comes around. . . .
“Lavender,” Seth said, leaning a little away from the doe-eyed gaze of his companion, “would you care to introduce your siblings?”
She huffed. “I guess.” Then she went around the table in rapid fire. “Ivy, Lilly, Daisy, Rose, Pansy, Flora, Blossom, Petunia, Hyacinth, Iris, Dahlia.” Here she paused and sent another look of warning to the woman beside her fiance. “And your little friend, Seth, is Calla.”
Calla twisted her face into a grimace and stuck out her tongue at her elder sister. She looked like she was about to say something petulant and snotty when she suddenly straightened and snapped to attention, as did all of her sisters. I glanced around to see what had happened to settle them down in an instant, but the reason was immediately evident.
Standing in the doorway in all her imperious glory was Lavender’s mother, Queen Mab, her beauty as stunning and unchanging as the first time I’d seen her. The king rose to his feet and took Mab’s hand to escort her to her seat at the other end of the table, then kissed her fingertips with an adoring gaze before leaving her side. Mab slowly surveyed the king’s brood with barely disguised disgust and then turned her golden eyes upon her own daughter.
“Hello, Lavender, darling,” she said with a hint of a smile. That trace of warmth vanished in an instant when she glanced at Seth and gave him a nod. “Werewolf.”
He forced a strained smile. “Your Majesty,” he replied with a polite nod, although his tone clearly conveyed Bitch.
The queen bristled, but before she could send an angry retort his way, Lavender piped up, “Mother, you remember my friend Trish Muffet, of course.”
Mab narrowed her eyes at me as if she was deciding whether or not she cared to admit it. “Of course.”
“And this is our friend, Nicky Blue,” Lavender introduced.
Mab clucked her tongue. “Perfect. Another nursery rhyme at my table.”
“Mother!” Lavender hissed, her magic sending up a crackle of electrical charge at the insult, a tiny pop of purple spark shooting off and landing on my hand. I winced and sucked in air through my teeth, rubbing at the skin where it had burned me. “Mr. Blue has business with my father.”
Mab lifted her brows at her husband. “Indeed?”
The king lifted his goblet of wine. “Mr. Blue recently did me a courtesy, Mab. He is now a friend of ours.”
She made a little noise but said nothing.
“I welcome all of you to my table,” the king said, looking pointedly at his wife. “Let us feast and then we shall discuss whatever business brings you here. I—”
“Sorry, sorry!” came a cheerful voice from behind me.
I turned to see Lavender’s sister Poppy rushing into the dining room, her bubblegum pink hair a bit disheveled, her clothes not quite in perfect order. And to my amazement, she wasn’t alone. Beside her, looking a great deal better than when last I’d seen him, was J.G. Squiggington, the former publisher of The Daily Tattletale, whose brain had been pretty much turned to mush by a fairy dust overdose courtesy of Sebille Fenwick.
“J.G.?” Lavender gasped.
He gave us a boyish smile in response. “The one and only—thank Christ, most people would say. Am I lyin’?”
“Not in the least,” I heard Mab mumble.
“You look fantastic!” Lavender gushed, hurrying over to give him a quick hug. “The treatments with Poppy are going well?”
Poppy flushed very prettily and cast an adoring look at J.G. that was hard to miss. “Totally.”
Lavender drew back and glanced at her sister and J.G. “Oh?”
Poppy suddenly jumped up and down with a quick clap of her hands and threw her arms around her sister. “I have some, like, totally awesome news!”
I exchanged a glance with Nicky, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable at the tension I could feel in the air. “You know,” I said, scooting my chair back, “maybe Nicky and I should—”
“We’re getting married!” Poppy announced.
Lavender’s face went slack. “Wow. That’s . . . well . . . I’m happy for you guys, I guess, but are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, J.G. was in pretty bad shape. . . .”
J.G. put his arm around Poppy’s waist and drew her close, planting a big wet one on her cheek. “And I still would be if it wasn’t for this gal right here! She’s the shit—and seriously fuckin’ hot, too, you know what I’m sayin’?”
“Oh, God,” I mumbled when I saw the king’s jaw tighten ominously. “Nicky.”
He nodded and pushed his chair back from the table.
“And here’s the best part,” Poppy was saying as Nicky and I stood to go, “we thought we’d do a double wedding with you and Seth!”
“Ah, shit,” I breathed.
“I beg your pardon?” Lavender gaped, purple sparks dancing all around her now.
“Over my dead fucking body!” Seth snapped, standing abruptly, his eyes glowing with anger.
“Seth, honey,” Lavender said with a glance at her parents. “Please.”
“No, Lav,” he replied, his voice growing louder. “Now, if you two want to get married, have at it. Good luck and congratulations! But you are not hijacking our day.”
Poppy’s eyes welled up with tears. “But I thought you’d be happy.”
“Happy?” Lavender screeched. “Are you serious? Why would I be happy about having to share my wedding day?”
Nicky and I started edging to the door, hoping to duck out before magic really started flying.
“Ms. Muffet and Mr. Blue,” the king’s voice boomed. “Please do not leave on account of my children’s little squabble.”
“Oh, yes,” Mab interjected. “By all means—please stay and witness the tragedy that is my family. I sit here surrounded by my husband’s bastard daughters and my future sons-in-law who are a werewolf and a gossip peddler. Yes, do stay and add your own low-born blood to my lovely assembly.”
Now it was the king’s turn to launch himself to his feet. “Mab! I would speak with you. Privately.”
Everyone in the room went instantly still, their eyes focused on the king and his queen. Mab rose to her feet in a shimmer of golden fairy dust that just about made J.G.’s eyes roll back into his head. Then she peered down her nose at each and every one of us before sweeping from the room.
The king made a courteous bow and offered us a smile. “Please,” he said, gesturing to the table, “enjoy the feast. I shall return momentarily.”
“It was Mother’s idea,” Poppy said quietly as soon as their parents had left the room.
Lavender shook her head. “I’m sure it was, dearest. You and J.G.—well, I wish you every happiness. If you love each other, then I’m excited for you. But you deserve your own day.”
As they all resumed their seats and began to eat in silence, Nicky and I looked at each other again, weighing our options. Part of me wondered if we should still slink out and leave the family to settle their issues in private. But then another part of me didn’t want to squander the chance we had to speak with the formidable king and possibly get some answers to our questions about what was going on with the Agency.
“Please stay,” Lavender said, grasping my hand in hers. “I haven’t seen you since you left The Refuge.”
My gaze snapped toward where Poppy was cooing over J.G., trying to sooth the sting of her mother’s tirade. The Refuge. “J.G.,” I said, “when you were investigating Sebille Fenwick and the cult at The Refuge, did you come across any information on Dracula?”
J.G. shrugged. “Yeah, sure. They were in league for a while.”
I nodded. “We need to chat.”
“That bloodsucker was a helluva lot better at covering his tracks than Sebille,” J.G. said, snipping off the end
