Changeling on the Job: A Changeling Wars Novella by A.G. Stewart Read Free Book Online

have a deal.” I closed my eyes, thought of my home, of growing up thinking I was mortal. The magic tingled at my fingertips. When I opened my eyes, the crown was a stuffed mallard, a rubbery-looking poop protruding from its behind. There was really no good way to wear this thing. I supposed that was the intention.
    “You won’t regret this,” Dorian said, snatching up the duck with a smile and handing over the vial.
    “No,” I said, “I probably will.” My magical signature arose from the bag that Dorian tucked the duck into: dark chocolate with a hint of coffee. I reached over and tapped the bag to get rid of it. The Evar king might figure I’d transformed the thing, but no need to make things even easier for him.
    Dorian regarded me as he closed the clasp on his bag. “This is the way of the Sidhe, you know. You cannot gain without giving up something in return. There are no clear bargains, any gifts without strings. If you want to survive among us, you’ll need to learn to craft your own advantages.”
    I tucked the vial into my pocket, where it clinked against the butter knife. “And I suppose that piece of advice comes without any strings? Just handing out free advice to Fae newbies?”
    “Gratitude can be powerful, too.”
    I narrowed my eyes. “You’re awful, you know that?”
    “You don’t really believe that.”
    The guy just oozed smugness. With a flip of his coattails, he turned and strode away into the trees. As soon as he’d walked out of earshot, I turned to my hound. “Don’t even start. I know that was a bad idea.”
    She just grinned wolfishly. “Life with you is going to get a lot more interesting. I’ve been around the Evar family. They’re a bunch of snobs—well, even more so than most of the Sidhe—and they’re not going to like what you did to their ancestral crown.”
    “I’ll worry about it later,” I said, trying to keep my voice airy. Inside, my stomach tied itself into knots. Good thing I made my home in the mortal world. “Now let’s cleanse this guy and move on.”
    It didn’t turn out to be as easy as I’d expected. I sometimes forgot that time passed differently in the Fae world than it did in the mortal one. By the time we got back and drove back to Chris’s house, Kailen was just pulling up. It was a little past ten, and the streets were empty. I should have been grateful that I’d lost so little time; instead, I just felt a little sick.
    Anwynn, in the passenger seat next to me, turned her big head toward Kailen’s black BMW, then back toward me. I didn’t look over, but I heard his car door open and close.
    “He’s looking this way,” Anwynn said. “He knows what your car looks like, you know. And I’m not exactly inconspicuous.” Her gravelly voice filled the cab of the car. “Would you like me to tell you that your hair looks great and you should go get him, girl?”
    My cheeks heated. “Shut up.” I got out of the car, the cool night air instantly making me feel better. I had a job to do. And lives to save.
    Kailen watched me approach, his hands in the pockets of his pea coat, his expression blank. Most of the Sidhe tended toward breathtakingly beautiful, but Kailen seemed to have a leg up on most of the Sidhe. His dark brown hair was slightly mussed; it ruffled with a breeze. Hazel eyes locked onto mine, and though I was determined not to look away, it seemed as though he’d made the same decision. My steps felt wobbly, unsure. He, on, the other hand, looked unfazed.
    It wasn’t fair.
    I stopped on the other side of his car, glad for the huge lump of steel and rubber between us. “I found some unicorn-purified water,” I said. “I’m going to take it up to him, but I think we should ward the place anyways, in case the guy who started this whole thing decides to come back.”
    “Good idea,” Kailen said. “I’ll work on that.”
    I brushed past, my breath held, Anwynn on my heels. Together, we started up the wooden front porch of