Signs of Cupidity (Heart Hassle Book 1)

It’s the day before I’m set to find a fae to glamour me. Ronak has everyone up at first light. I’m quiet and tense, unable to laugh at Evert’s jokes or pretend that I’m not completely freaking out. I’m so nervous about leaving my safe little bubble with the guys that I feel like I’m going to puke every time I think about it.

We all stand outside the cabin going over the plan. Again. Currently, the guys are arguing over which fae I should visit.

“The sirens could do it easily,” Evert suggests.

“Sirens hate outsiders even more than genfins do,” Sylred points out. “The elves are powerful. They’re the best at glamour besides the high fae.”

“And they’re also the most loyal to the high fae,” Evert counters. “Can’t risk it. What about the harpies? They hate the high fae bastards.”

Sylred shakes his head. “Their island is way too far away for her to reach.”

They toss more ideas back and forth but I watch Ronak. His eyes meet mine, and I know he’s already decided where I’m going and that I’m probably not going to like it. “Okay, Not-First. You can stop pretending to listen to their ideas. Where am I going?”

The guys stop talking and look from me to Ronak. As usual, he’s wearing an unreadable expression and has his arms crossed in front of him. He clears his throat at the attention that’s suddenly on him. “She’ll be going to Arachno.”

Sylred’s mouth opens in surprise and Evert’s expression turns incredulous. “Fuck no, she isn’t!” he exclaims. “Are you trying to get her killed? Arachno is a crazy bitch.”

Ronak stays calm despite Evert’s outburst and talks directly to me. “Arachno is a very powerful gwyllion fae. She’s not someone you want to cross, but she’s our best chance at getting you the glamour you need.”

“No,” Evert says, shaking his head. “It’s too dangerous. She’ll kill Emelle without hesitation. We’ll send her somewhere else.”

Ronak finally turns to him. “Despite how much she’s practiced, Emelle’s flying is barely sufficient. Her wings know what to do, but her muscle strength is severely lacking. She’ll tire too soon to get anywhere far.

        ‘Arachno is banished on the island directly below ours. It’s the only island she has a hope of going to and from in a short amount of time without being seen. Arachno might be a nasty piece of work, but she’s also always up for a bargain, and we know what she trades in. As long as Emelle brings her something worthy, it’ll be fine. Plus, Arachno’s banishment island has a barrier over it, just like ours. She’s least likely to run into any extra fae trouble there than if she were to go somewhere else.”

Evert is still shaking his head unhappily. “I don’t like it.”
“Be honest,” Ronak says. “Do you really think she can make it anywhere else, find the right person, not be seen or caught, and make it all the way back with a glamour?”

Evert clenches his jaw and runs a hand through his long black hair. “Fuck.”

I would try to comfort him if I weren’t so freaked out. I try to put on a brave face, but I’m pretty sure I’m just grimacing.

“Sylred, show her,” Ronak says with a nod.

Sylred kneels down in the sand and starts drawing a map of the islands. “This is us here,” he says, pointing. He draws another, smaller island below us. “This is where Arachno is banished. It should be the same type of barrier as ours, so you should have no trouble passing through. Look for a cave, or rock formations. She’ll prefer somewhere dark and concealed.”

“Okay,” I say shakily.

“Don’t make any other deals with her. Don’t say anything other than what we specifically tell you. She’s tricky and she won’t hesitate to ensnare you,” Ronak says.

“What am I trading her?”

The guys exchange a look. “Think she’ll be satisfied with some genfin hair?” Sylred asks.

Ronak nods slowly. “Yes, but Emelle should bring more than that, just in case.”

“We can use something from the banshee bitches,” Evert says grudgingly.

Ronak nods and then frowns. “Dammit. I hate digging up corpses I just buried.”

“You do that a lot?” I ask.

“You’d be surprised,” he replies dryly.

We go over the plan and the guys make sure I have my request memorized word for word before dispersing. Ronak and Sylred leave to dig up the banshees while Evert supplies me with weapons and then takes me to the training yard so I can get in my last hours of practice flying before I have to leave tomorrow at first light.

We don’t speak much. Evert just takes me through the motions as I make running leaps into the air, get as high as possible, and then touch back down. Sometimes I launch into the air from the ground. Sometimes I leap off tall branches or the ladder from the obstacle course. I also practice endurance by flying up all the way to the barrier and circling around as many times around the as I can before exhaustion and muscle spasms set in.

As pretty as my wings look, they’re incredibly heavy for my slight frame and my wingspan is longer than my body. Without wind currents to help carry me, I tire quickly. Evert stands by to watch me, handing me water whenever I need it and rubbing out the knots in my back and shoulders when the muscles lock up on me.

That night, the guys try to distract me with stories of them as kids when they first met and formed their covey when they were just boys. I’d normally be eating it all up, but I’m too preoccupied with worry to enjoy it. I end up curling up in front of the fire and pretend to sleep. I can’t stand their worried looks that they send my way when they think I’m not looking.

I barely sleep. I toss and turn all night, and then before I know it, Sylred is shaking me awake. “It’s time.”

I sit up and braid my hair tightly. Sylred tries to force-feed me, but I can only tolerate a few bites before my stomach rebels. Evert straps two of Ronak’s daggers on each of my thighs, where they’ll be hidden under my skirt, and then ties a waterskin at my waist.

When I get outside, Ronak is already waiting for me. He hands me another leather bag. I have no desire to look inside, since I know that it’s filled with the contents for the trade I’ll make with the gwyllion fae.

We go over the plan three more times before the guys are satisfied, and they all walk me to the edge of the island. It doesn’t take very long for the edge to come into sight, but none of us speak as we walk. As we get closer, I can see the shimmering dome barrier end right at the island’s rim. I stare at the edge, knowing I’m only minutes away from jumping off the side of it. Even with wings, the thought isn’t comforting.

“Ready?” Ronak asks.

No. “Mm hm. Yep.”

I feel numb when Sylred steps forward and gives me a quick hug. I barely have the wherewithal to pat him on the back. As soon as Sylred releases me, Evert stalks forward and forces me to focus on him by grabbing hold of my cheeks and tilting my head up to look at him. “If you don’t want to go, just say the word, Scratch. We can figure something else out.”

It’s sweet of him to give me an out, and I appreciate it more than I can express. But I also know that if I want to have a chance at evading the high fae, I need to do this. Ronak’s right. I don’t blend in. At all. I stick out like a sore thumb, and the minute I leave this island, it won’t take long for word to get back to the prince. And since I’m the only one who can fly and also pass through the barriers, I’m my only hope.

Evert studies my face like he’s trying to get under my skin and read my thoughts. When he sees that I’m not going to back down and refuse to go, he sighs. “Get in, get glamoured, and get out. You understand me?”

I nod with his hands still holding my face. He kisses me on the forehead before releasing me.

“Remember, don’t make any other deals. Don’t engage in conversation. Keep on track. She’ll try to trick you. Don’t let her,” Ronak says.

“Okay.”

“I should’ve trained you to use close-range weapons for self-defense,” he says with a frown, looking down to where I have the daggers strapped to my legs.

I pat the strap on my back where the quiver rests. “I have the bow and arrow, too. I’m not completely defenseless. And a dagger can’t be that hard to use. I’ll just swing it around and hope I stab something.”

His lip twitches slightly. That basically equals uproarious laughter from Ronak.              

I turn back to the others, feeling like I have a huge stone stuck in my throat that I can’t swallow down. “Right then. Guess I’ll just get to it.”

“You got this, Scratch,” Evert says with a nod.

I really hope he’s right. I turn my back to the guys and walk to the very edge of the island, until my toes are touching the barrier and I can lean over and see the vast sky below.

I look back over my shoulder one last time, memorizing the guys’ faces. Just in case I don’t come back, I want to remember them just like this. All three of them looking at me like they give a damn. With a deep breath, I turn back around and I dive off the island and into the endless sky.