But it seemed the day wasn’t done with her yet. When she arrived back at her apartment, the landlord was waiting for her with a notice of eviction in his grubby little hand.
“You have to be freaking kidding me,” she hissed, snatching it from his hand. “Conduct unbecoming? Economic liability?”
She glared over the paper at him without moderating her gaze. Normally she made sure to keep a happy, or at least neutral, expression on her face because if not her resting bitch face took over and told everyone she looked at to fuck off and die in a variety of unpleasant and painful ways.
“We received word that you’ve been let go from your place of employment,” he started. “And subclause thirty-four, paragraph C states—”
“Let me look at that,” Garlick demanded, pushing his way past Daffi, his tail lashing like a helicopter blade.
The landlord blinked and, with no available excuse not to, handed the scroll over to the cat. Garlick sat on his hind paws and started to read, his whiskers twitching once in a while.
Silence fell. The landlord looked at Daffi, who ignored him, and then at Oberon, who shrugged. She was grateful for the reassuring presence of the big fae at her back. At least if it got ugly, she knew she had the backup of his big… axe. For a moment she wondered where he’d stashed it and then decided she really didn’t need to know.
“Can he actually like… read?” the landlord finally asked, watching the cat in amazement. Although he was at least aware of the magical world, Daffi didn’t know to what level. He might be used to dealing with the magically inclined rather than a full-on witch and had never interacted much with a familiar before. And even then, for a familiar Garlick was… unusual.
“I probably read better than you,” Garlick commented without taking his eyes off the scroll. “I also understand contract law as well as being more than capable of preparing legal arguments.”
He sighed and rolled the scroll up with a snap, handing it back to the landlord.
“Good news and bad news,” he told her.
“Oh?”
“Bad news. He can totally kick you out, like now.”
She blinked. Okay, it was a shitty end to a shitty day, but she would not cry. Not even when Oberon slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close. For a moment she ached to just lean back against him and let him take her back to his home. Forget all this and become his queen. No one would dare arrest a queen of the fae. Would they?
Despite the temptation, she straightened her spine. That would be running. She was a McGee and a McGee never ran from anything. They faced it head on. Always had, always would. They might not have blue blood in the magical world. They might be run-of-the-mill “steady” witches, but they were witches. And a witch always dealt with shit when needed.
Remember, the headline on the paper tucked in the landlord’s arm declared. Remember who you were before you forgot.
She ignored it. She knew exactly who she was, thank you very much. She was the witch currently being evicted from her flat. Pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers, she sighed.
“Okay, you said good news as well?”
She needed good news. She really did.
The cat grinned.
“This gentleman didn’t realize that by evicting you without notice, he just made himself liable for your living expenses until you’ve found somewhere new.”
The landlord started. “Wait, what? No I did not!”
The cat trotted away, his tail held like a banner.
“Sub clause, nine forty, paragraph D. Read it and weep. Don’t fuck with me on contracts, bitch. I’m demon trained.”
“I can’t believe you managed to get us a reservation at this time of night.”
Daffi looked around with wide eyes as they hauled her trunks through the door into what turned out to be an expansive corner suite. She’d passed by this place many times but never thought she’d end up staying here. The Mad Pumpkin was one of the premier hotels for the magical community in the city. She’d never so much as looked at getting a table downstairs. Even the afternoon tea was out of her price bracket.
“Nothing is too good for my bride-to-be,” Oberon exclaimed, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her close for a quick hug. “You deserve the very best and I intend to give it to you.”
“Thank you,” she said, lifting her chin to look him in the eye as he let her go. With a little distance between them, it was easier to think. “I can’t believe that asshole got a judge to negate the contract like that.”
“Not fucking right. Asshole should have paid up because he evicted us,” Garlick muttered, slinking by them and leaping up into the window. Immediately he plunked his ass down and started to wash his unmentionables, a sure sign he was either distressed or trying to piss her off. Since he wasn’t looking at her while he was doing it, chuntering under his breath instead, she was going with the former.
Her lips quirked and she looked back at the big, handsome fae. “Seriously,” she repeated. “Thank you.”
He nodded, his expression dropping serious as he studied her face. “You are my bride. What is mine is yours. My crown, my kingdom, my wealth… all yours.”
Surprise rolled through her. He meant it. He seriously meant it.
“Uh…” She didn’t know what to say as her brain short-circuited. “I really don’t know how to thank you. We’d have been out on the streets tonight…”
Which was true. After she’d paid her rent and bought her rail pass, she barely had enough in her account at the end of the week to get lunch at work each day. To say working as a curator at the museum didn’t pay well was an understatement. She shuddered. With her asshole landlord getting out of paying their expenses… without Oberon offering, she didn’t know what they’d
