Elle’s hand went to her sword, and I felt my palms heat up.
“Enough!” Liam shouted, and everyone fell silent. “Haven’t I gotten us this far? You just need to trust me.”
Sounded familiar.
Five sets of dark eyes glared at my friend Liam.
“It’s them we don’t trust,” the horned guy said, glaring at Elle specifically.
“Likewise.” She crossed her arms and pinned him with a glare.
Liam sighed. “Cam, cut it out. I need you to come with me and scout. I need the rest of you to protect my family. Can you do that?”
They mumbled their consent, and Cam, the horned asshole who had it out for my bestie, drained his cereal and stood. “Where are we scouting?”
Liam sighed. “My dad’s island.”
The place where we both almost died? Oh, great. Good plan.
I was so glad I’d asked for Liam’s help. He was going to get us killed.
After renting a boat, the four of us headed out to Orcas Island, off the coast of Bellingham. Cam—whose name, I’d learned, was short for Cameron—and Elle glared and sniped at each other the entire time.
“So, this is who you were with for those few weeks?” Cam glowered out of his hoodie at Elle and me.
Liam just nodded, gripping the wheel of our rented speedboat.
Cam looked at Elle. “I’m his Seeking buddy.”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay, well, I’m sorry I stole your friend for two weeks. Grow up.”
I cleared my throat loudly. “So, how did you and Liam meet?” I screamed over the passing wind, the chill biting into my skin.
He and Liam shared a look, and they both broke into a grin.
Cam relaxed back into the seat, putting his arms behind his head. He was like a darker, more emo version of Liam. Black hair whipped around his small horns, and his eyes were so brown, they almost looked black as well. When he smiled, I gulped at the slightly elongated canines that pressed onto his lip.
“Nine years ago…was it nine years?” Cam looked at Liam, who steered the boat across the river and closer to Orcas island.
“Eight,” Liam corrected him, and they both started to laugh.
Cam nodded, “Eight years ago, I was selling faerie crystals on the black market.”
My stomach tightened, and Elle growled. Faerie crystals. My faerie crystals? The ones my mom died looking for?
“Yeah, yeah, get over it. We do what we have to in order to survive,” Cam snapped. “So, I went to this site to make the drop-off with my client, and Liam ambushed us. Stole the crystal, and we almost killed each other.”
Elle and I both frowned. “What part of that story is funny?”
Cam couldn’t wipe the grin off his face. “The meetup site was some remote farm. When Liam stole the crystal, my client took off, and since I never got the money, it was up to me to retrieve the package again.”
Liam slowed the motor, and I could see the island off in the distance.
“He tried to run through the barn, but I tackled him,” Cam said. “And we both landed in a huge, steamy pile of cow shit.”
Elle relaxed next to me, and I felt my own lips turning up in a smirk. “Well, what happened?” I asked.
Cam shook his head. “I was thirteen. What do you think happened when I fell into a pile of cow crap?”
Liam laughed uncontrollably, and I felt myself relishing that sound. Seeing him with his friends and family had changed me. I wanted him like this all the time. He was light and bright and normal.
“You went from black-market thief to barfing punk in two seconds,” Liam chided.
“You vommed, too!” Cam said, pointing at him.
Liam rolled his eyes. “I have a strong gag reflex.”
“Eww. You both were covered in shit and throwing up?” Elle shook herself in disgust.
Cam nodded. “So we stripped down, streaked out of there in our boxers, and became best friends.”
Liam bobbed his head. “And every year for his birthday, I take him out into the barn and make him scoop cow shit, just to keep him humble.”
Cam flipped him off, and they both laughed.
Wow. This version of Liam—Liam 2.0, who had friends and smiled—was my favorite.
“Get down!” Liam suddenly called out. “We’re here.”
Both Elle and Cam pulled swords and flattened themselves to the boat deck. I crouched onto the seat and peered over the top of the boat.
“I don’t sense any crystals…do you?” Liam asked.
Oh, right, I was a Seeker with abilities. Idiot.
I had been so engrossed in Cam’s story that I hadn’t used my power. Taking in a deep breath, I conjured the crystal in my mind’s eye—the way it felt, looked—then sent my feelers out and tried to see if anything pulled.
Nothing.
No pull, not even a knock in the gut to tell me there was one even remotely close. I shook my head.
“Looks like they’ve left,” Cam said, and pointed to an empty dock.
Liam sighed. “My father has hundreds of properties. He could set up his ‘new world’ in any of them. He only needs three crystals, and I’ll bet he has them.”
I frowned. “Hang on. I have eight, you have one. He had three, last we were here, and you took two. He should only have one.”
Liam shook his head. “Think of my father as a mafia boss. Nothing moves on Earth without him knowing. He has his finger on the pulse of the fae black market constantly. He’ll have snatched up the other two.”
I shivered. “What about those people he stole them from? Will they be okay?”
“Hah! You care?” Cam sneered from his place crouched on the deck.
“Maybe I do!” I shot back. “And maybe that’s in your best fucking interest, considering I’m going to get all twelve crystals eventually.”
Cam’s gaze cut to Liam. “Did you hear that? She just admitted she’s going to steal the crystal from us. How can you ask me to trust you when your judgement
