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"So, what did Queen Asteria say?"

"The Elfin Queen was overjoyed to have the fourth seal She’s still terribly worried about the third seal and what Shadow Wingwith it The Dahns Unicorns have reported several troubling attacks on the outskirts of their lands At first they thought the raids were frooblins, but on closer inspection, the wounds don’t oblin strikes"

I polished off s and bacon "Well, at least the fourth seal is safe and secure, and we didn’t have too hard a ti it I’m headed out now I’ll be back in an hour or two, and I’m on my cell if anybody needs me"

"I’ Maggie in e If Ca I’ve errands to attend to, and those blasted Fae Queens are cluttering up the edges of my land I need to rimaced Over the past couple of ht of Morgaine, Aeval, and Titania reconstructing the Seelie and Unseelie Courts

Torn apart in the Great Divide when Otherworld split off from Earthside, the Fae Courts had been decimated, and Aeval and Titania effectively banished A couple , they’d decided enough with that shit and were now rebuilding their kingdom with a little help froood idea, but one thing was certain: It kept the question nohere they were going to set up their actual court Titania was trying to clai

"Just be careful Those three are dangerous, and I don’t trust any one of theie in her playpen and iven her a stuffed ht to suspect theotten herself s of Fate order you around, you listen" The dragon slipped into his long white trench coat and headed out the door

He was right about the Hags of Fate, I thought None of us wanted Caaine technically was part of our family tree, we all knew blood didn’t ensure loyalty But Camille had had no choice Grandmother Coyote had seen to that

One favor the new Queens of Fae were doing for us, however, was taking soeneral populace Ever since we crossed to this world, we’d been seen through lenses clouded with mystique, and we’d been both despised and revered

Noith Earthside Fae co out of the ork, it evened the score But I wasn’t counting chickens yet Once the FBHs realized that the Queens of Fae weren’t going to chum up to the ordinary Joe and play footsie, the e in the blink of an eye And the three Queens were anything but jovial

I scribbled a note for Iris, as busy with the laundry, kissed Maggie on the cheek, and grabbed hts returned to Chase I really didn’t think he wasequally asinine In the back of my mind, I wondered why I was still so upset After all, I’d spent the night with Zach and had an incredible ti to tell Chase about it Not rub his nose in it, but be clear about what I’d done Maybe I should cut Chase soued, it wasn’t just the lying that botheredby o Zach on a friendship basis as well So I’d focused on Chase, given him my exclusive attention And then he went out and screwed so about equally, I sped along the freeway until I ca in south Seattle He actually lived around Renton, though his zip code still tied hi lot, I looked around for his new SUV, and sure enough, there it was, in the lot So either he was ho his phone, or he was out with somebody else--namely, Erika Or, a little voice said, maybe he was home, but unable to answer his phone I jumped out of the Jeep and took the stairs two at a ti out my key As I stared at it, I wondered briefly if this was the last ti ive it back, and the thought made me unaccountably sad

But when I went to open it, I found the door was unlocked I pushed it open, gingerly stepping over the threshold The lights were on, though it was broad daylight Chase got plenty of light in his apart off the lan nu rooh it Books were scattered everywhere, everything on the desktop now littered the floor: pencils, pens, papers His laptop co Somehow it had survived the fall My heart in h the , I ran to the bedroon of suitcases, the closet was full, the bed was stillto ht on his answering erprints, I hit the button and sat down to listen The first was fro him his suit was ready to pick up The second was fro him to call her as soon as possible The third was from Erika I stopped short at that one

"Chase, where the hell do you get off? I thought we agreed that this tis --whether it’s work, or that creeped-out cunt you’re sleeping with Callat all"

Whoa Was this the real face of the wo on the side? I stared at thewhat the hell he saw in her Sure, she was pretty, but herI’d ever find attractive about her I never--not once--had treated hiued, but I never played dirty The fourth ain, and the fifth was also froes

As I sat there, I noticed a picture on the nightstand and picked it up Chase had taken it a few o, it was ofon his favorite Armani jacket I’d left hihed till he cried and wouldn’t let me pay to have it cleaned Before I could stop

I tucked the picture infor the phone As I picked it up and dialed Sharah’s number, I decided to see Erika next I’d talk to her, because I wanted to face her down I wanted to face the demon who had come between Chase and me A demon from his past and from my insecurities

And I prayed--for once, I prayed--dear Lady Bast, let Chase be there Let him be safe and sound and with her Because if he wasn’t, then we really had so to worry about

CHAPTER 20

I didn’t knohere to find Erika, but it didn’t taketo find Chase’s address book After that, it was a sih the entries until I ca in one of those furnished hotel suites, which told me she hadn’t fully made up her mind whether to move back to Seattle or not

I scribbled the address and phone number in my notebook, stuffed it in erprints were everywhere, but Sharah knew that I’d been here As I eased out of the parking lot, I ave me a quick nod

The route to Erika’s took me ten minutes She’d settled in as close to Chase’s as possible How long had she been in town? A week? Two? Four?

When I entered the luxurious hotel, it occurred to me that Erika had to have money No way Chase could afford this on his salary I sauntered up to the counter and leaned across the la the charht noanted every scrap of insurance on aveand leisurely--I flashed him a slow smile "I need some information," I said