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I grinned at her and plunged on until there was nothing left but the strange fae fruit she’d added.
Ciara picked it up and held it out. “It’s not poisonous.”
A warning clanged in my chest. The last time a fae had offered me fruit, I’d wound up bound to him in a bargain. I shook my head. “I’m full.”
Her lips quirked, and she pushed it toward me. “The food here won’t ever fill you up. It’s nourishing,” she added when she saw my wide-eyed look, “but you can never eat too much.”
“Is this heaven?” I asked.
Her smile dimmed for the first time since we arrived. “Far from it.”
I accepted the strange fruit with some hesitation. Ciara was sweet, but there had to be other differences between the fae and humans. I just didn’t want to find out through my tastebuds.
She sighed. “Just try it. I promise nothing bad will happen if you do.”
I hesitated still, but that felt like a fae bargain I could live with—and curiosity was slowly winning over my reluctance. I braced myself and took a bite. It melted on my tongue, its syrupy sweetness oozing like honey but with a sharp, bright tang. Warmth flooded through me, flushing my cheeks, and I couldn’t help taking a second bite.
“It’s a blood apple,” she told me with a smug grin.
I nearly dropped it.
“Not real blood,” she assured me. “It’s just the extremely clever name some ancient fae gave it based on its looks.”
As unappetizing as the name was, I couldn’t deny that she was right. “I’ve never tasted anything like it.”
“It only grows in the Otherworld. It’s forbidden to plant in your realm. I’m not certain it would grow anyway. There’s so little magic in your earth.”
But there was magic. It was impossible to wrap my head around it. How would I look at my world the same after this? Especially if what she said was true about other creatures.
Before I could pry more information from her, a shadow fell over the table, and I looked up to find Gage glowering down at us. He wore a tuxedo, his tie knotted at his throat, and there was no sign of his holsters bulging under his arms—the guns I was going to need later sadly missing.
The suit made him look almost civilized, but there was something of that predatory fae that remained. I sucked in a jagged breath, struck again by that terrible beauty and that supernatural aura that called out to me.
Monster. I had to remember what hid beneath that perfect face.
I returned his glare. “Lovely impression of a caveman.” But his sneer faltered as I stood up, a momentary look of surprise ghosting across his face. “Do I meet your approval now?”
His gaze skirted along me as if determining just that, pausing a little too long in spots that told me he was definitely not a gentleman. What happened to not his type?
Gage arched a brow, lifting a long, tattooed finger and spinning it slowly. I scowled but turned, trying not to trip over my own feet. Maybe the glamour extended past the surface because I moved smoothly, gracefully, as the skirt of my gown fluttered around me like wings. He didn’t speak when I stopped and faced him. After a moment, he cleared his throat slightly and shrugged. “You’ll do.”
My cheeks burned, but I refused to cower. Instead, I scanned him from head to toe, sighed, and said, “I guess I can be seen with you, too.”
His lips twitched. “Is that so?”
I pinned a bland smile on my face. “It’s not like I have a choice.”
Ciara coughed politely, and her brother’s mouth drooped into a frown.
“Yes, dear sister?” he said through clenched teeth. “Is there something you feel you have the right to add?”
She rose to her feet, tossing me an irritated eye roll—but not before I saw a flash of hurt cross her face. “Try not to kill him,” she muttered to me, and I almost snort-laughed. But then she turned on him. “Lach, you can be such a prick. You should tell her she’s gorgeous.”
She didn’t wait for a response before she disappeared into the crowd.
I scowled at him. “Are you rude to everyone?”
Shadows darkened his eyes. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.” He crooked his arm. “My sister will recover. She always does.”