“And remember that Bastian is only half incubus. I assume that you’ve experienced his powers in dreams?”
I nodded, feeling a blush come over me. “Hon, stop getting embarrassed around me. There’s no need. I feed on sex and desires. I have been the literal fantasy of nearly every desire the human race has come up with. Talking about sex with me is like talking to your doctor about a scrape on your elbow.”
“Anyway, a full-blooded incubus can twist a person while in dreams, and they’ll wake up different. Even the Fae are vulnerable to the words spoken by a full incubus. Women have murdered their families after being compelled. Kingdoms have been ruined. They’re some of the most powerful and most dangerous beings.”
“So they’re hunted?”
Astriel nodded. “To the brink of extinction. The last Queen of the Dark Court tried to stop it. Her consort was an incubus, and she knew that just like other dangerous beings, they needed to be punished for crimes, but not punished for their existence.”
The waitress came to the table and set our plates down. Massive plates of food. The waitress glanced at Astriel and began to get a strange look in her eyes as she stared at her.
“Thank you,” Astriel said. “You can go now. Don’t come check on us.”
The girl nodded with a smile and walked away.
“You used magic on her, didn’t you?” I whispered accusingly.
“Sweetheart, I use magic on everyone. It’s what I am. It just doesn’t work quite as well on you fairies if I’m not expending a significant amount of energy. Yet another good reason for me to steer clear of you.”
“So you could whisper in my ear all sorts of things, and I would do what you say?”
“No, I’m not a siren. That’s out of my realm of possibility when dealing with full Fae. Humans are easy to control, and half-bloods are possible with enough power.”
“I have so much to learn,” I said feeling more and more lost. There were so many different kinds of Fae. So much to learn about magic. So much to learn about myself. I felt like all I did was ask questions and try to learn as fast as possible.
And something inside me told me that I wasn’t learning nearly fast enough. I didn’t know why, but it pushed me to be ready for whatever was coming.
“Yes, you do,” Astriel agreed. “But it’s okay. At least for now, you have Bastian to lean on. He’s one of the few people in the world that I would trust to save my bacon. On that note, how about we eat a bit because if I have to look at a pretty girl like you wearing a paper bag like that any longer, I might start throwing things.”
I looked down at the illusion of the little black dress. “You can see through the illusion?”
“Of course, I can see through my own illusions. Wouldn’t be very helpful if I couldn’t tell what I’d glamoured, would it?”
Just one more time where I felt stupid. I was beginning to get used to being an idiot. I looked down at the breakfast and wondered how anyone could eat all this. “That’s a lot of food.”
“You’ll be surprised at just how much food you need now that you’ve claimed your magic,” Astriel said as she began to eat.
I picked at the food, not used to this kind of unhealthy eating. Two links of sausage, two fried eggs, some kind of beans, hash browns, several slices of grilled tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and what looked like burnt sausage patties.
Astriel picked up a sausage link and began biting pieces off it, not bothering to use a fork and knife.
I reached out to pick up the fork, and it felt like I’d just touched a hot stove. “Fuck,” I whispered.
“It’s steel, sweetheart. Use your fingers or start carrying around your own silverware. You’re a fairy now that you’ve got wings, and you can’t go around holding steel or iron.”
I blinked at her. “Seriously? I can’t touch metal? How am I supposed to drive? How am I supposed to function?”
She grinned. “Carefully. Or wear gloves. It’s one of those few cons that comes with being able to do things that humans couldn’t dream of doing. And not aging. That’s a pretty big plus in my book, so I’m happy to wear gloves and carry my own silverware.”
I nodded. “I guess that’s true.” I picked up the paper napkin and tore it in half, wrapping one half around the fork handle and the other half around the knife.
“There you go,” she said as she continued eating her food.
I dug into mine, and though it was one of the greasiest breakfasts I’d ever had, I felt like I couldn’t get enough. The more I ate, the more I wanted. I could have eaten another plate with how hungry I was.
“I’d skip the black pudding,” she said pointing at the burnt looking sausage patties. “It’s an acquired taste, and you’re American.” She said it as if that was a good reason.
I glanced at them and shrugged. I was hungry. They were food, and I wasn’t going to turn down food right then. I cut a bite off one and put it in my mouth and began to chew. The flavor was stronger than I’d expected. Like a heavily seasoned steak with the texture of a soft sausage.
Astriel stared at me with the hint of a smile as though she expected me to make a disgusted face. “Not half bad,” I said as I cut another bite of the black pudding.
She shook her head and finished her plate, leaving the black pudding
