Free Traitor by Claire Farrell

I’ll contact you if I have any news.”
    “Are you okay?” I asked.
    “Your people are safe, aren’t they?”
    “That’s not what—”
    “Of course it is. All I have to tell you is that Esther’s Circle have been here pestering me. They want to speak to Esther, to persuade her to return to the fold.”
    “Really?”
    “I need to be alone, Ava. If you haven’t got anything important to say, then please leave.”
    “What’s with you?”
    “I’m tired. I have to work. I can’t do anything for you today. I can’t do anything for anyone.” He slipped into the back room, slamming the door after him.
    I turned back to Finn, who had just finished cleaning up the glass. “What’s going on?”
    “We’ve been having trouble,” he said. “It’s supposed to be a neutral place, but there have been arguments. Violence. Attacks, really. He’s been called a traitor. Worse things, too.”
    “Why? Because of me?”
    “Maybe. Or maybe he stood up to the wrong person. He’s been asking the wrong kinds of questions. He knows better than anyone that asking questions can get us killed. But he’s changing. And he’s terrified.”
    “What do you mean, changing?”
    Finn sighed, leaning his tattooed arms on the counter. He glanced at the backroom door and lowered his voice. “He thinks he’s losing his power, that he’s becoming more human. I’ve never seen him scared before.” He shook his head. “He thinks helping you is healing whatever it is inside him that’s keeping him here. He’s not making any sense, but he’s afraid he’s going to just fade away.”
    “But he’s an angel.”
    “Yeah, and he’s a fallen one. Need big karma to take that back. He thinks he’s running out of time or something. Or he’s doing the wrong thing. He’s a mess.”
    “Why are you telling me this?”
    He hesitated. “Maybe you could let him go. Tell him to stop helping or something. I’ve never seen him like this, and I don’t like it. It makes my skin crawl to hear him talk, the things he’s been saying. Leave him out of your battles.”
    I frowned, sitting there and staring into space as Finn went about his business. What Finn was saying had to be bullshit. An angel couldn’t become human or fade away. That wasn’t possible.
    “What’s he like?” Finn asked, disturbing my thoughts.
    “What? Who?”
    “ Phoenix .” He said the name reverently, his eyes full of awe.
    “You know of him?”
    He grinned. “He was practically my idol, the young royal doing whatever he wanted.”
    “Some kind of playboy fae?” I asked, trying not to laugh.
    He wiped down the counter. “Not exactly. The fae had some tough years. We barely managed to keep a hold of our place on the Council at one stage. Everything changed when Fionnuala married the great warrior Conn. ”
    “Is marriage that important to the fae?”
    “The right one is. Her family were powerful but unpopular, and Conn was a real hero to many of us. Phoenix looked like him, and a lot of us saw it as a sign. Phoenix didn’t seem as uptight as his mother.”
    “Where’s Conn now?”
    He sagged against the counter. “Everything went wrong. We heard Conn was sick and a witch had cured him, but he died soon after, apparently from a festering wound. Not long after that, Phoenix disappeared. The rumours whispered that Phoenix had died, too. Then, there was talk of Fionnuala losing her seat if she didn’t have an heir. And up Phoenix pops, walking werewolves around like puppies.”
    “Didn’t anyone question what happened to him?”
    He blinked. “You don’t question the boss, Red. Besides, he’s back, and he’s going to marry a member of the British Committee. He might restore the faith a little.” His eyes tightened. “Like I said, we’ve had some tough years. Is he a leader?”
    “He’s like an angel of death on the battlefield,” I said, smiling as Finn’s eyes widened with hope. “Whatever you’ve heard about him, multiply it by ten. Between