Page 24 of Twist of Fate

“They will not touch my mate,” Connal growled.

“We don’t kidnap humans, Connal! Why do you think I’ve been giving you so many lessons?”

Connal scowled. “I don’t know, but no one is touching my mate but me.”

“I don’t want my memory zapped,” Luke yelled. “My brains have already been through the wringer today. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m hallucinating at the moment, so none of this will matter. Oh, maybe I’m unconscious and this is all a dream. Gotta take notes so I can tell Gomez. He’ll love this one.”

Connal’s eyes narrowed. “There is no one but me for you now.”

Luke scoffed. “Wrong again. Now, Your Majesty or whatever I’m supposed to call you, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I really need to get back. I’ve got a very important interview this afternoon. I can’t miss it.”

The consort arched a very impressive brow. “An interview, huh? Because from what my warriors tell me, you were being attacked by nearly a dozen of our kind.”

Our kind? Drugged concussion induced fever dream? He really had to lay off the fantasy movies with Gomez if it impacted him this much.

“Your warriors?”

“Yes, Connal and his brothers.”

Luke flicked his gaze to Connal. “All three of those guys are your brothers?”

“Yes, my mate. And we will all keep you safe as is our duty.”

“I don’t need⁠—”

“Bah! Another human mate. Too many humans in the Unseelie.”

Cosmo rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, Luke. Garzaxie is just a little cranky about all the newcomers we’ve had in our realm, but our King is very pleased with our work and certain hobgoblins need to get with the program.”

Hobgoblin? Luke shook his head. “None of this makes sense, but seriously, I need to get back for my interview.”

“You can’t⁠—”

“Connal, if you don’t⁠—”

“We must prepare a feast,” Garzaxie said. “Prepare the human!”

Luke took a quick step back. Why didn’t that sound like a dinner invitation? Unless, of course, he was going to be the main course?

Garzaxie clapped his small hands together with alarming enthusiasm. “Move, move! We do not present a human mate looking like he crawled out of a ditch.”

“I didn’t—” Luke started, only to cut himself off as two more figures appeared out of thin air.

Actually appeared.

One moment there was nothing, and the next the room was occupied by what had to be attendants—or servants or whatever the hell this place called them—moving with the kind of quiet efficiency that suggested they’d done this before. That was…not a comforting thought.

“Stand still,” one of them said.

“I am standing—hey.”

Hands descended on him from multiple directions before he could finish the protest. Someone brushed at his shoulders while another tugged at his sleeve, and the air stirred around him as fabric slid over his skin in a way that didn’t make any logical sense. His clothes didn’t come off so much as…cease to exist, replaced instantly by something else.

Luke glanced down and huffed out a breath. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Dark fabric fitted itself to his body like it had been tailored specifically for him, the subtle threading catching the strange ambient light in a way that felt intentional rather than decorative. Even the boots—because of course there were boots now—settled into place as if they’d been waiting for him.

Luke's hand went immediately to his waistband. The thumb drive remained in a hidden pocket, and his phone pressed against his hip. Whatever had changed his clothes had left their contents in place.