“Excuse me,” I called. She looked up with an eyebrow raised. “I was wondering if I could borrow your phone so I can make a quick call?”
She narrowed her eyes at me, very much judging. I pressed my lips together so I didn’t say anything snippy and let her judge away.
“One call,” she said and held it out.
“Thank you.” I sighed, relieved, and took it. I swiped until I was able to enter the number. Holding the cell to my ear, I waited as it rang. Please answer, Annie... Please answer… I wanted to curse when I got voicemail. The good thing was that it was her recorded voice.
“Uh, hey, Annie. I was calling to see where you were staying.” I cleared my throat. “I’m in town for a few days. I’ll call you back in about an hour. Hopefully, you hear this by then. Bye.” I clicked the phone off and handed it back to the owner. I thanked her again and settled in for the long ride home.
Overall, the trip was long and anxiety-inducing, and to top it off, I got my first taste of a headache post-Fae. It was mostly brought on by the rancid smell that emanated from every surface. I spent the whole time breathing through my mouth. It was not glamorous. I even received some funny looks.
Five stops and a delay later, the train finally rolled up to my stop.
I jumped out, glad to be out of that enclosed smelly area, headed to the information booth, and found a map. I walked in the direction where cabs were lined up and hopped in one. I rattled off the address, and the driver pulled away from the sidewalk.
Snapping the map open, I perused it to gather an understanding of my exact location. I squinted and realized it was upside down. Feeling dumb, I put it right side up. I wished I had my phone’s navigation.
The cab eventually slowed, and I looked out the window. I saw familiar street names. Glee filled me, and my knee bounced. It had been two months and a few weeks in Faerie. I wondered how much time had passed here. It couldn’t have been long. Conan said my sister didn’t look old.
With a renewed sense of excitement, I leaned forward to check the timer. Shit, I needed money. How had I forgotten that major fact?
“You can stop here,” I said, and he jerked to a stop on the side of the road. “Do you mind waiting? I left my wallet at home, so I have to borrow money from my friend.” The lie flowed awkwardly from my mouth.
I ignored his disgruntled expression and hopped out. My giddiness multiplied when I stepped out, my worry turning to excitement. My eyes settled on a large building on the other side of the road.
Then I was standing right in front of the steps of the townhouse. I jumped up the stone steps and brought the large knocker down on the large white wood door.
Seconds later, the door swung open, and Rosalind’s shocked face stared out at me. The same face I remembered. It couldn’t have been long.
“Rae?” Rosalind’s shock melted into delight, and the next thing I knew, she had thrown herself into my arms. I grunted, glad I had super strength to catch myself. “It’s so good to see you. It’s felt like it’s been forever. We’ve been wondering how you’ve been. We’d started thinking the worst when we heard nothing from you—”
Camilla’s twang came from the hallway, leading into the darkness to the left. “You’re going to talk the ear off—Rae!” She smiled and strode to me in brown cowgirl boots with purposeful strides. I met her halfway, and we hugged tightly.
“It’s so good to see you guys,” I said wholeheartedly. We had only really spent maybe three days together, trapped and chained to a pole, thrown into a dungeon, and then running from certain death. But it felt so much longer than that.
“What have you been doing?” And just like that, Rosalind brought me out of the high of seeing them again. “Are you closer to freeing,” her voice went down, “magic?”
“You could look at it that way. I have to meet with an Unnatural who allegedly has information on how we could do that. Rian and I had to separate, so I came to see if I could stay with you until he catches up with me.”
“Make yourself at home,” Camilla exclaimed.
Rosalind clapped her hands together. “Yay!”
I grinned, but quickly turned sheepish from what I was about to ask. “Can I borrow money to pay my cab?”
“I’ll pay the cab on my way out,” Camilla said, and I noticed the heavy satchel hooked over her shoulder. “I’ll see y’all later.”
“Thanks!” I moved out of the doorway, and she stepped past me, throwing me one last smile before the door clicked shut behind her.
“Who lives here?” I looked around, mouth dropping at the pretty surroundings. The glow of soft yellow lighting cast across the creamy walls. I trailed my fingers on the surface of the table where bright red roses sat in a crystal vase. The contrast of the red was distinct against the paleness of the rest of the house.
“Eliza, Thea, and I all live here. Camilla asked us if we wanted to move in after…everything.”
“I had no idea you lived here, too.” I couldn’t hide the excitement in my voice. “Where are Selina and Jasmine?”
Her eyes dropped. “Jasmine moved to Dallas with her family. I think she has plans to go to the police academy. As for Selina, I don’t know. She said goodnight one day, and the next, she was gone.” A frustrated edge sharpened her tone, her worry weighing her down.
“Did they leave their numbers for you to contact them?”
“Yeah, so at least there’s that.”
I smiled at her disgruntled tone. It didn’t surprise me that they left as soon
