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Chapter 50: Prying Eyes
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Prince from the Other Side Chapter 1: Just a Touch of Magic
The stage spotlights shone their eyes on me as I trailed off on the final warbling note of the finale song. I knew the magic was working. Cheers and applause erupted with earthquake force all around the tiny London bar; patrons banged on the bartop with the flats of their hands. This pub was an offbeat little venue that booked tiny local acts, like me. It was dusty, dark, and the spotlight was a spare, overworked bulb that would probably burst into flame any day now. I stood there with my second-hand guitar, my thrifted, flowy yellow skirt, and let myself enjoy the moment, no matter how pathetic.A few of my more loyal fans—I had a small but dedicated Instagram and TikTok following—cheered my name from their spot just in front of the little makeshift stage: "Hester! Hester!" I stepped back from the microphone, lowered my guitar. and put my hand over my heart. The magic of the music, of the small but attentive crowd, of the joyous outpouring of voices all snapped into their place. Th
Prince from the Other Side Chapter 2: One Small Wish
Together, Cass and I dismantled the gear—guitar, mic, amps, pedalboards, and endless wires, and packed them up into the trunk of her brother's car where it was parked out front.Waiting there, like one of her court sentinels back in Faerie, was dear Toby: a bulky Midwestern American beefcake of a man, pale from years of night work and as yellow-haired as a cornfield. He was about twenty-four or twenty-five—and he was just about my best mortal friend in this fragile world. He and Cass were close, and he played the protective big brother to both of us. For instance, never letting us get on the train with all our gear, which we'd never be able to replace if it were stolen. He was the third and final member of our little crew: my rag tag roadies. As always, he could see the tension written on my face."How'd we do?" he asked, aiming his question at Cass. "Brilliant. One of the fans actually wanted the set list, you believe that?""Don't overdo it on the confidence," laughed Toby, cl
Prince from the Other Side Chapter 3: View from the Top
Three hours later, Toby and I were sitting on the roof of Cass and my apartment building, looking over out the London skyline as it blazed with Saturday night life under a pink sky. This was an after-show tradition we always made time for, when we could. At first, Toby had started coming with me to the rooftop during the evening because of pretty fair concerns for my safety; it must be infuriating to have protective instincts for someone who didn't seem to take her safety very seriously. Sometimes I did genuinely forget about the fragility of my mortal form. And sometimes I just wanted to drink whiskey on the roof and listen to London roil by below me. So here we were, basking in the warmth of the summer night, with the bottle and a comfortable silence between us. The post-show glow was still thrumming in my veins, all the accumulated energy and magic purring as if with electricity through my body. I'd found that it had a staggering effect on mortals, like a haze of adrenaline or e
Prince from the Other Side Chapter 4: You're On The List
I knew the danger of wishing too often and too hard. Wishes were not simple things: there always had to be a magical balance in the world, and this fallout from my last wish—catching the eye of Sy Dage's entourage—should have been enough to warn me. I had a sinking feeling that if I wished myself out of my Stellar Lounge obligation, I might end in a plane crash or some other terrible accident. I wanted to continue my mortal life. I just didn't want to do it anywhere near Sy Dage. I didn't set an alarm for the next morning, so I woke up comfortably at noon, cocooned in the nest of overstuffed pillows and fluffy blankets that made up my bed. I'd taken a lavender salt bath the night before, but as soon as I levered myself out of bed, I wandered back to the bathroom, stripped off my overlong t shirt, and sank into a fresh bath. I knew I spent too much of our precious spare cash on creature comforts, but the creature comforts of mortality were too valuable to me. The smooth, ticklish lick
Prince from the Other Side Chapter 5: Glamored
I knew I was distracted during my set that night at the pub, but my usual fans only showed in half the numbers and the bar felt sleepy on a Sunday night. Everyone busy drinking alone and dreading Monday. Cass's face told me as we were packing up that she was still sour over the four hundred I'd let go to Birdie the night before, and I carefully didn't ask her about tips for this gig. There was a prickly silence between her, Toby, and me in the car on the way home. This was a new kind of silence for us—not weary, post-show silence of late-night exhaustion, but tense and anticipatory. I didn't break it until I was back on the roof with Toby and we were halfway through the bottle of cheap red wine he'd brought up from the kitchen. "Cass is mad at me," I said dully, staring out at the muggy midnight city."I mean, she thinks you're trying to sabotage your own career." Toby shrugged, passing the bottle back to me. Toby was never one to mince words. "Just because I don't want to do on
Prince from the Other Side Chapter 6: Rot and Chocolate
Unseelie magic tided over the stadium with the force of tsunami coming into shore. I flinched bodily, partly from visceral disgust and partly from astonished admiration. The lyrics rolled, just that one lonely voice, flowing into the dark. It was gorgeous—darkly, silkily, deeply gorgeous. And the magic inside of it was scathing, seething, like ripe rot and h*llish heat wrapped in chocolate. I felt myself wavering on the spot, and I grabbed Toby's arm for support. I'm sure he mistook it for excitement, because he grinned at me, electrified, as Sy Dage's lonely voice roiled through the air, binding the audience into an invocation of emotive power. Suddenly, the darkness behind Sy was broken by fresh spotlights, revealing a full band—drummer, bassist, vocalists, backup guitar, strings. The rich sound of the band swelled into life. A stagehand scurried out onto stage and handed Sy his guitar, which Sy slid on with smooth, practiced ease. The jumotron cameras zoomed in on his fingers
Prince from the Other Side Chapter 7: A Hint of Gold
It became immediately clear as soon as I climbed into the car—which would, more appropriately, called a limo—that Sy's good guy welcoming act up in the box had been just that—an act. He didn't say one word to me as we got into the car or until we stepped out of it again and waded into the warm brown-wood interior of the pub. The pub was literally a two minute drive away, but the crush of fans outside the stage door—so dense that we had to be surrounded by security to make it the ten feet to the car—demonstrated that Sy Dage did not just 'go' anywhere. His every movement was a production, coordinated by a team of security and managers and professional organizers. The pub was crowded, and a quick flicker of familiar magic against my senses told me where most of the crowd had come from: Sy's concert. They were humming with his darkly gorgeous Unseelie magic. It made my skin crawl.There was a massive cheer from all around as they spotted Sy. Cell phones were raised for photos. Women
Prince from the Other Side Chapter 8: Family Matters
I knew who to expect before I opened the door, but still I only had a moment to brace myself for the devastating stare from my uncle, the High Fae Lord Raelen, before I was face-to-face with him.There's a reason mortals have always been awed by fae-folk in their full, true forms. Lord Raelen was nearly seven feet tall to mortal eyes—which mine, at the moment, were. His whole being shimmered with an opalescent brilliance, from the elegant folds of his long white cloak to the silver sheen of his long, slick hair. His face was a portrait of otherwordly dignity and nobility, with sharp, slanting cheekbones and cool silver-blue eyes. Lord Raelen was one of my few true family members, my father's brother. He'd raised me, after my parents' deaths in my youth. He was my only real connection back to Faerie during my stint as a mortal away from home, as well as a High Lord of the Seelie Council. And he looked very, very angry. I dipped a courtesy. "I greet you warmly, Uncle. Well met."B
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- Prince from the Other Side Chapter 50: Prying Eyes
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- Prince from the Other Side Chapter 46: Justice
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