Brave (A Wicked Trilogy 3)

“These people look friendly,” Ren said under his breath.

“Right?” I whispered back.

Daniel made a quick round of introductions, and when he got to the woman, I learned that her name was Liz, and she ran the San Diego branch of the Order.

“We’ve been told that we are all fighting on the same side,” she said, crossing her arms. “As you can imagine, it is hard for us to accept that.”

“Just as it’s hard for us to accept the same from the Order,” Faye replied, standing beside Kalen. “But we’re all here.”

“We are.” Liz lifted a hand. The Order members sat as her gaze found me. “So, you’re the Halfling?”

I lifted my chin. “I am. Most call me Ivy, though.”

She ignored that. “And you’re the one the Prince held captive but escaped?”

I nodded.

She inclined her head, and I guessed that was some kind of ‘good job’ nod. “What is in your backpack?”

Tink stopped shimmying around, and Fabian turned to me. “My . . . my friend is in this bag.”

Daniel lifted his brows. “Your friend?”

“Yes.”

“You have a friend in a backpack?” he persisted.

Ren pressed his lips together.

“Yeah.” Carefully, I let the bag slide off my arm. I knelt and placed it on the floor. I reached for the space between the zippers, and felt a nip of pain. I jerked my hand back.

Tink bit my finger!

That little bastard!

“Behave,” I warned, shaking the sting out of my hand.

A soft laugh came from inside the bag.

“What in the hell?” Daniel stepped forward. “What’s in your bag, Ivy?”

“A pain in my ass,” I muttered as I unzipped it. “Come on out.”

Several Order members stood while others tried to see over those standing. Sighing, I straightened as one tiny hand came out of the bag, curling around the material and then another.

Liz’s eyes narrowed. “What is . . . ?”

Spiky, icy blond hair appeared, and then a forehead, followed by two big round eyes. Then, because Tink knew everyone was watching, he slowly lifted his wings so they became visible.

Someone cursed.

Liz’s mouth dropped open, but she didn’t speak.

“Is that . . .” Daniel trailed off as Tink lifted a hand and wiggled his fingers.

“Such a showboat.” Ren sighed, folding his arms.

I fought a grin. “This is Tink. He is a . . . well, he’s a brownie.”

“A brownie?” Liz shook her head. “They’re in our world?”

“No. Just Tink.”

Tink took that moment to fly out of the bag and zip up to my shoulder. He landed there, picking up my hair and . . . hiding behind it.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Anyway, he was in my bag. He’s a . . . shy little guy.”

Ren made a choking sound.

“You have a brownie?” Miles blinked rapidly. “I thought they were—”

“All killed off by the Winter Court?” Fabian answered for him. “Nearly all of them were. Tink is the only one of his kind in this world.”

Tink peeked around my head as he balled his fists into my hair and whispered, “I look adorable, don’t I?”

“Something like that.” I cleared my throat. “I’d like to tell you one day about how I met Tink.”

A glimpse of wonder snuck into Liz’s expression. “I would very much like to hear that story.”

I smiled at that. “But we need to talk about the Prince and the Halfling.”

“That we do.” Liz watched Tink move to my other shoulder, the look of incredulity still filling her expression. She gave a little shake of her head. “We have not been able to discover who the Halfling is, but we know where the Prince is. As far as we know, he has not made contact with the Halfling.”

I was too realistic to let hope take flight. Just because they didn’t think the Prince had gotten with the Halfling yet didn’t mean it hadn’t happened. “And where is the Prince?”

“He’s been holed up in one of the resorts,” Miles answered. “The Valencia.”

Never heard of it, but I was betting it was nice. Sounded like it was.

“And how many fae does he have with him?” Kalen asked.

“About a dozen that came with him,” Liz answered. “But he has more. The fae here have been gathering at the resort.”

“The Order has not gone after him?” Fabian frowned.

“There are humans at the resort. Too many who would get caught in the crossfire. It would draw a lot of attention. And the twelve fae he brought with him are Knights.” Liz’s jaw hardened. “The Order is brave and we are willing to die for our cause, but not foolishly.”

“And why do you believe he hasn’t met with the Halfling?” Ren asked.

“We lucked out when he left New Orleans. He was seen and we were able to follow,” Miles explained.

One of the Order members who was over by the tables answered. He’d been introduced when we first walked in. Pretty sure his name was Rob. “We were able to track him once he entered the city from the license plates of those who traveled with him. He arrived at the resort, and we’ve had eyes on him the entire time. He hasn’t left once.”

Something . . . something about this wasn’t making sense.

“Two of his Knights have come and gone, appearing to be running errands.” Liz walked up to the map, pointing to a black pushpin. “This is where the resort is. We’re thinking that the Halfling is somewhere in this area.”

A weird chill curled its way down my spine as I looked over at Ren and then Fabian while Tink hung on to my hair. The Summer Prince had said his people became aware that Drake had left New Orleans. Marlon had told us where Drake had gone, and meanwhile, the Order had seen the Prince leave.

That was . . . that was too many coincidences or sloppy work on the Prince’s behalf. The latter was hard to believe since Drake had managed to go unseen this entire time, setting up a base camp just outside of New Orleans without the Order ever discovering his location. But now? Everyone in their mother had seen him.

I didn’t like this—didn’t like this at all.

I took a step back.

“What’s wrong?” Tink asked, speaking directly into my ear. “Your shoulders are suddenly as tense as a turkey around Thanksgiving.”

My brow puckered. “I . . . I don’t know.”

“They must be aware that you know they are here,” Faye spoke, her expression pinched. “And they have to be wondering why you haven’t attacked yet.”

Daniel nodded as he widened his stance. “I think they believe we are too afraid to do so.”

“Is that not the case?” Fabian asked.