Poor Sucker

Blair crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, offended. "How long have you known me? Have I ever blabbed to anyone about anything? I am the black hole that all secrets come to but none ever leave."

Ash sighed. "Okay but you really can't tell anyone about her. Or me. I only came here to ask you about furniture!"

She waved her hand impatiently. "We'll deal with that in a minute. Who is she?"

"I can't tell you her name but I can tell you that she's an earth fairy."

Blair was dumbstruck. An earth fairy? Of all the races in the fae world that it could be, she was outglamoured by an earth fairy? This didn't make any sense! Earth fairies were good with plants and dirt not illusion magic!

What was her specific power set? Her name? Her age? If she was one of the ancients and had been practicing for millennia, it might be possible…

Blair was good at a lot of different branches of magic but inventing was her real specialty. Illusion magic was one of her weaker skills. Maybe everyone could do this with their glamours but no one else had ever tried because looking like a human in public was all they needed.

If this fairy was in hiding, she must be desperate. Was changing her glamour the result of desperation or was there something more to it? Blair was dying to talk to her but Ash would never allow it. He was already giving her a death glare.

"Furniture," he reminded her.

She let out a heavy sigh. There were so many better things to talk about, like the Cromwell clan's motives for finally making a move after so many generations or the mysterious fairy girl masquerading as a vampire.

"What about furniture?"

"I wanted to know if you were aware of any fae furniture makers in the area. I really don't want to bring humans to my new castle if I can avoid it but I don't know how to assemble things myself," Ash confessed wearily, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.

"Try the place on Baltimore Avenue; it's run by elves. They should have what you're looking for."

Blair tried very hard not to be crushed by disappointment. This drama was the most interesting thing that happened in decades and all he cared about was getting new furniture?!

"Are you going to rebuild the coven?" she dared to ask. "Since you have a new castle and all."

Ash's red eyes flashed murderously before going dull. "No. I'm better off alone."

Sympathy flooded through her. A vampire, alone? That wasn't how they worked. They might be kind of cold fishes on the surface but they cared deeply about their kin. He couldn't mean that.

Maybe he needed a few decades to cool off and recover from the loss before rebuilding. But that did raise the question of who would even be willing to rebuild with him. Finding a female vampire who would leave her coven behind was incredibly unlikely.

Vampire covens, unlike witch ones, were fairly similar to werewolf packs. They were all bonded together by their own brand of magic.

Witches grouped up because it was easier to trade spells and keep each other safe but if someone wanted to leave and join another, it was no big deal. Blair's coven now had roughly half of the people it did twenty years ago.

Witches liked to travel. She was one of the weird ones who stayed put for centuries.

"Ash…I'm so sorry for your loss," Blair murmured. "But you can't be alone forever. It isn't in your nature."

He scoffed. "Like a witch would know anything about my nature. I survived, I'm fine, and I don't need anybody's help."

She gave him a disbelieving look. "Oh? Then what's the deal with fairy girl?"

"We came to a mutually beneficial agreement."

Mutually beneficial? What could an earth fairy in hiding do for a vampire who had just lost everything he ever cared about? Blair didn't know Ash's exact age but did know he had to be at least as old as she was.

His coven was the family he had been with for at least half a millennium and they were all gone in one fell swoop. It was shocking he was willing to deal with anyone right now at all.

Stupid vampires. They always bottled up their feelings. Sooner or later, this poor sap was going to explode from unprocessed grief.

The Mayhews were annihilated weeks ago. Had he walked all the way here on foot? Where had he been sleeping? Had he saved enough blood pills to get by or was he starving too? He had come here for those today according to Lizette at the front desk.

Blair sighed and hesitantly reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. Ash stiffened from the unexpected contact.

"I want you to know that your secrets are safe with me. If any Cromwells come knocking, I won't tell them a thing about you. I won't tell anybody about your fairy friend either. So hang in there, okay?"

He gave her a ghost of a smile before heading back out front. "Yeah. Thanks, Blair. I should go now. Ru—I mean, the fairy will be waiting for me."

Ru, huh? By any chance would it be Ruby Gardner, the young fairy who went missing yesterday? Her aunt and uncle had set the fae community on high alert, supposedly worried sick. But Blair had their number.

When you had been around as long as she had, you recognized different types of eyes. Flint and Lily Gardner weren't concerned about their niece. They were barely holding back their fury. Whatever she had run away from, it couldn't be good.

Blair wouldn't sell her out. She was still curious about her unique glamouring abilities and wasn't likely to find out why they were like that if Ruby went back to her family.

Besides, she had given Ash her word. Poor sucker was all alone in the world. He needed to be able to trust somebody. But maybe he already did. He was certainly defensive of his new fairy friend earlier, even if he wouldn't go into specifics about their association.