Chapter 2 is a continuation of the press conference, because this scene needed to last longer. So, even though the kiss Merry and Frost shared in chapter 1 was described as ‘chaste’, apparently it was enough to smear lipstick all over both Merry’s and Frost’s faces. What kind of cheap ass lipstick does Merry wear that it smears that easily? Is she buying dollar store knockoffs? There’s so many different types of smudge-free lipsticks out there that this should never even be an issue.

Sexy

But it’s cool, they just magic away the lipstick even though Merry had just complained about how the only reason she didn’t just use glamour instead of makeup is that it’d take too much concentration to hold it, and she needed all her concentration for the press. But hey, just glamour away the smeared lipstick instead of wearing non-smudging lipstick to begin with!

They kind of gloss over the fact that there’s some racism in the fey, in that a good amount of faeries view Merry as inferior because of her human blood. Then someone asks about the assassination attempt and whether it was a spell that caused the cop to shoot Merry, and Doyle steps in to answer because Merry didn’t know how to answer without lying. This is a common theme throughout this series – Merry is supposed to be a ruler. She spends a lot of this series screaming about how she has to be respected and needs to appear powerful, and yet she constantly allows her guards to take authoritative stances over her. She allows them to constantly talk over her, answer for her, etc.

Anyway Doyle fucks up the responses and somehow the press figure out that it was sidhe magic that bespelled the cop into shooting Merry and to distract them of this fact, Merry and Doyle shift the conversation to them having sex. Then they ask if Frost is also having sex with Merry. Then they ask if they all have sex together – I think this book is before they start doing stuff like this on the regular.

Also, throughout all the conversation with the press, LKH keeps using ‘mike’ as the shortened form of microphone and it’s just so jarring to me to read. I know it’s acceptable, but I’ve always known it as mic. Apparently people pronounce this as ‘mick’? What? No. Every single time I saw mike throughout these paragraphs, it totally took me out of the story. Anyone else have a problem with that?

God this press conference goes on forever. They eventually start asking about how everyone enjoys being detectives in LA and like, they’re all really not. This is probably one of the last books where the fact that Merry was a private detective is even mentioned.

Oh yeah they eventually ask Rhys who he fucks Merry with and it’s Nicca, the faerie Merry fucked wings into last book. After having sex with her, the wing tattoos (or birthmarks, since he was born with them) on his back burst through his back and now dude’s got real wings.

The press keep asking questions about who she’s had sex with, how many times, etc. BORING. This press conference sucks and Merry’s publicist sucks. Merry eventually gets super distracted by Galen and starts eye-fucking him while on stage. Then they kiss, which causes some of her other guards to start whining about why they haven’t gotten kisses and they’re all fucking on stage for this. Ugh.

Eventually a demi-fey the size of a butterfly flutters onto the stage and whispers into Rhys’ ear, which causes him to leave the stage. The chapter ends with the press conference ending, and as they’re leaving the stage, Doyle tells them that two bodies were found nearby, one of the fey and one human reporter. Time to investigate!