"…and in other news, multi-millionaire investment banker Nigel Bryant, has been officially declared missing after representatives from his firm…"
Of course he had. My great-grandfather, the last remaining fairy prince, Niall Brigant, would never be seen again, well, in this world at least. He and all of the other fae who couldn't tolerate living in this iron-filled world forever had retreated to Faery and sealed the doors shut behind him. I was glad that I'd met him. I don't have much family, so every little bit I find is important to me, but I had to agree with Niall that staying here, in the human world, was too dangerous. Not for the fairies, but for us. I only hoped that was left of the faction that opposed my great-grandfather had either died off or followed him back to their separate world.
"Sookie, Eric left you another message," Amelia informed me as she came downstairs to join me for a cup of coffee.
"That's just great. You would think that rescinding my invitation for any vampire to come in the house, refusing to answer calls from anyone that doesn't have a heartbeat, and eating nothing but Italian for the last month would be a hint."
I am finished with the supernatural. Well, I mean, as finished as a telepathic barmaid who works for a shapeshifter can be. I checked the message. Another "I miss you, my lover. You will realize…" Blah, blah, blah. Having gorgeous blue eyes and the best behind I'd ever seen just wasn't enough to make up for the fact that Eric was technically dead. I decided to spend my day enjoying something he could never do. I put on my favorite white bikini and positioned myself in my favorite lounge chair to enjoy a few hours of coconut oil and sun before my shift at Merlotte's started.
It had been the most normal month I'd had since I first noticed Bill Compton sitting in my section at the bar. I'd woken up, had a cup of coffee, chatted with Amelia, worked, gone home, and gone to bed. Every day. No excitement, no adventure, and best of all, no one that I knew had died a bloody gruesome death. I hadn't been hit, shot, or bitten, and the only torture I'd had to endure was the few minutes a night that I let my guards down to scan the heads of everyone in the bar for anything important I might be missing. My boss, Sam, who liked to change into a collie and hang out in my living room three nights a month, couldn't have been more happy that I'd broken all ties to the vampires. Well, except for the bond that I share with my "husband" Eric, but I could even almost ignore that. In the rare moments that I let my mental barriers fall, it had been hard to miss Sam's wishes that I would decide to date again. Well, to date him again. I just wasn't ready yet. I had jumped from vampire to weretiger to Viking vampire too quickly and it was time to slow down. Life was looking good. So was Sam. No need to rush into anything, this time.
Sam walked me out to my car after my shift ended. He still kept looking around like he expected a Were or a vamp to jump out and grab me. He was looking for the wrong kind of trouble.
My visitor was standing by a black truck with teal and pink flames up the side. My brother's truck, and at first, I thought it was my brother. I waved at Sam, who was glaring at the truck and the pretty boy next to it. I walked over to see what Jason wanted. Even up close he could almost pass as my playboy brother, but there were some subtle differences, most notably, his ears, while not pointed, were not exactly as round as they should be. He was also a little more handsome that any human should be. He was a half fairy, and I recognized him a little too late.