Melissa Marr - Wicked Lovely

The Summer King knelt before her. Is this what you

Four-ball, side pocket. Aislinn pushed the cue forward with a

As freaked as she was by the faery approaching her

Aislinn closed her eyes as she finished describing the faeries

On the outskirts of Huntsdale in a gorgeous Victorian estate

Donia knew Beira approached when the wind shifted, bringing a

On Monday Aislinn woke before the alarm went off. After

Hello? Leslie snapped her fingers in front of Aislinns face

Aislinn stood motionless, gazing in the direction of the vanishing

As she tried to make sense of the earlier eventsWhy

By the time she was far enough away from the

When Aislinn walked up the steps to Bishop O.C. the

When Donia walked into the library, she saw Seth. Aislinns

After the taxi dropped her at the railroad yard, Aislinn

By the end of the week, Aislinn was sure of

When Donia returned home from her evening walk, Beira was

Seth stirred the pasta absently. He glanced at her. You

A half hour later Aislinn walked down Sixth Street, feeling

Early the next morning, Donia awakened on the floor, Sashas

Keenan was shaken when he left Donia; he walked aimlessly

When Aislinn wokethe clocks red numbers proclaiming it past 9:00the

Donia walked past the faeries outside Seths homea few familiar

When Sunday morning came, Aislinn wasnt surprised to find Grams

Donia knew who it was before she reached the door.

Keenan stirred his drink idly. The Rath usually cheered him

Aislinn didnt stop running until she was at Seths door.

Its her. Beira stomped her foot, setting frost rippling over

When Aislinn woke the next morningstill curled in Seths armsshe

Keenan heard Elenas statements as clearly as if she were

Aislinn stood motionless as Keenan walked on. Some of the

Donia knew they were coming, but it still made her

Clutching the silk-smooth wood of the Winter Queens staffmy staffDonia

The Summer King knelt before her. Is this what you freely choose, to risk winters chill?

She watched himthe boy shed fallen in love with these past weeks. Shed never dreamed he was something other than human, but now his skin glowed as if flames flickered just under the surface, so strange and beautiful she couldnt look away. Its what I want.

You understand that if you are not the one, youll carry the Winter Queens chill until the next mortal risks this? And youll warn her not to trust me? He paused, glancing at her with pain in his eyes.

She nodded.

If she refuses me, you will tell the next girl and the nexthe moved closerand not until one accepts, will you be free of the cold.

I do understand. She smiled as reassuringly as she could, and then she walked over to the hawthorn bush. The leaves brushed against her arms as she bent down and reached under it.

Her finger wrapped around the Winter Queens staff. It was a plain thing, worn as if countless hands had clenched the wood. It was those hands, those other girls whod stood where she now did, she didnt want to think about.

She stood, hopeful and afraid.

Behind her, he moved closer. The rustling of trees grew almost deafening. The brightness from his skin, his hair, intensified. Her shadow fell on the ground in front of her.

He whispered, Please. Let her be the one.

She held the Winter Queens staffand hoped. For a moment she even believed, but then ice pierced her, filled her like shards of glass in her veins.

She screamed his name: Keenan!

She stumbled toward him, but he walked away, no longer glowing, no longer looking at her.

Then she was alonewith only a wolf for companionshipwaiting to tell the next girl what a folly it was to love him, to trust him.

Four-ball, side pocket. Aislinn pushed the cue forward with a short, quick thrust; the ball dropped into the pocket with a satisfying clack.

Her playing partner, Denny, motioned toward a harder shot, a bank shot.

She rolled her eyes. What? You in a hurry?

He pointed with the cue.

Right. Focus and control, thats what its all about. She sank the two.

He nodded once, as close as he got to praise.

Aislinn circled the table, paused, and chalked the cue. Around her the cracks of balls colliding, low laughter, even the endless stream of country and blues from the jukebox kept her grounded in the real world: the human world, the safe world. It wasnt the only world, no matter how much Aislinn wanted it to be. But it hid the other worldthe ugly onefor brief moments.

Three, corner pocket. She sighted down the cue. It was a good shot.

Focus. Control.

Then she felt it: warm air on her skin. A faery, its too-hot breath on her neck, sniffed her hair. His pointed chin pressed against her skin. All the focus in the world didnt make Pointy-Faces attention tolerable.

She scratched: the only ball that dropped was the cue ball.

Denny took the ball in hand. What was that?

Weak-assed? She forced a smile, looking at Denny, at the table, anywhere but at the horde coming in the door. Even when she looked away, she heard them: laughing and squealing, gnashing teeth and beating wings, a cacophony she couldnt escape. They were out in droves now, freer somehow as evening fell, invading her space, ending any chance of the peace shed sought.

Denny didnt stare at her, didnt ask hard questions. He just motioned for her to step away from the table and called out, Gracie, play something for Ash.

At the jukebox Grace keyed in one of the few not-country-or-blues songs: Limp Bizkits Break Stuff.

As the oddly comforting lyrics in that gravelly voice took off, building to the inevitable stomach-tightening rage, Aislinn smiled. If I could let go like that, let the years of aggression spill out onto the fey She slid her hand over the smooth wood of the cue, watching Pointy-Face gyrate beside Grace. Id start with him. Right here, right now. She bit her lip. Of course, everyone would think she was utterly mad if she started swinging her cue at invisible bodies, everyone but the fey.

Before the song was over, Denny had cleared the table.

Nice. Aislinn walked over to the wall rack and slid the cue back into an empty spot. Behind her, Pointy-Face giggledhigh and shrilland tore out a couple strands of her hair.

Rack em again? But Dennys tone said what he didnt: that he knew the answer before he asked. He didnt know why, but he could read the signs.

Pointy-Face slid the strands of her hair over his face.

Aislinn cleared her throat. Rain check?

Sure. Denny began disassembling his cue. The regulars never commented on her odd mood swings or unexplainable habits.

She walked away from the table, murmuring good-byes as she went, consciously not staring at the faeries. They moved balls out of line, bumped into peopleanything to cause troublebut they hadnt stepped in her path tonight, not yet. At the table nearest the door, she paused. Im out of here.