Lie Down with Dogs by Hailey Edwards Page A

Hopefully we’ll be gone before that happens.”
    A month ago, this wouldn’t have been an issue. I would have spotted the guy working his mojo in a condo filled with humans and kids, labeled him as high risk, and then gotten rid of him. I would have done it alone, or if I was desperate, I might have called for backup. Now? Forget about it.
    Being a princess meant examining all things dangerous and then determining what threat, if any, was posed to me. I hated feeling targeted. I hated having my work taken from me. But I knew the fae were unsettled, and I was an obvious target. Kill me and they got the war so many clamored for.
    Before someone lowered the doom-and-gloom hammer on my evening, I addressed the room a second time, hoping for better results. “Food and a movie.” I raised my hand. “Who’s with me?”
    Mai lifted a timid hand.
    “Good enough.” I headed for my room. “I’ll grab my laptop, and we’ll check out delivery possibilities on the strip.” The rumble in my stomach convinced me dishing out for fast food was a great idea. I would shop for groceries to stock the pantry tomorrow. Tonight, there was a plate of curry chicken calling my name.

Chapter Twelve
    R ook was waiting for me when my eyes closed. He greeted me wearing extravagant black-and-white regalia, some fae cross between a tux and a suit of armor. His pitch-black hair hung in a single braid down his spine. His pale skin luminesced, and his sharp eyes mocked my slack-jawed reaction.
    We stood on black-and-white checkered tiles made from polished marble. There were no walls or ceiling. Beyond the floor lurked an abyss. Over our heads, stars twinkled in unfamiliar constellations. I awarded bonus points for the enormous moon hanging overhead, so round and bright it lit the room.
    I stood before him in a T-shirt, panties and fuzzy yellow socks. “I was wearing pajama shorts when I went to sleep.”
    His tone was all kinds of innocent. “Were you?”
    I concentrated very hard on wearing jeans, and they appeared. “Why so formal?”
    Rook scowled at my wardrobe choice. “To be treated as a royal, one must look the part.”
    “Okay.” I gestured around us. “What’s all this?”
    He snapped his fingers, and classical music filled the air. Narrow white bars snapped into place, creating four walls that boxed us into a square-shaped room. As the song—a waltz, I think—played, each note popped into existence on the corresponding line. Music was being written before our eyes.
    “Your coronation ball will be the likes of which Faerie has never beheld,” he promised.
    “That’s not necessary, really.” I spun in a slow circle, watching the progression of the song. “I’m not much of a dancer.”
    “That’s what all this is for.” He held out his hand. “I want you to shine, Thierry.”
    I walked up to him and slapped my hand into his. “By shine, you mean not embarrass you.”
    “You could never do that.” He delivered the line with such sincerity, I almost believed him.
    Up close Rook’s wood-smoke-and-embers scent enfolded me, and my belly tightened pleasantly.
    He reeled me closer, until six inches separated our chests, and beamed at me with such pride, I let myself imagine what our life might be like as a couple. Though his political aspirations had brought us together, Rook was not unaffected by me. And, if I were honest, I wasn’t immune to his appeal. He was a beautiful man. I also suspected he had a decent heart hidden underneath his ambition, but being railroaded into marriage and the whole kidnapping-my-mom thing meant I spent more time dreaming of strangling him than making out with him.
    Of course, that could be said about most men in my life.
    “What were you thinking about just now?” He peered down at me. “You were smiling.”
    “I was thinking of how often I daydream about strangling you.”
    “You’re passionate.” He decided, “There are worse attributes in a wife.”
    He slid his arm around my