Before Cam could ask her what she meant, Avery stood up on her toes and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket. The female mortal was stronger than he ever would’ve guessed; that, or she caught him slacking because her quick tug had him almost falling into her. He stumbled his steps as she pulled him away from the middle of the alley, tucking the two of them in the shadows, all while pressing her lips to his.
So this was a kiss, huh?
He’d never had one before. When a kiss could easily lead to more, Cam figured it wasn’t worth the temptation.
Seven decades wasted, as far as he was concerned.
As she started to pull back, Cam reacted without thinking. His hand shot up between them, latching onto her arm, locking his palm around her sleeve. His thumb found bare skin, caressing the inside of her wrist as he prolonged the kiss a few breaths more.
He was touching her. The realization beat at his brain. He wasn’t supposed to be touching any female mortal—especially not this one.
Cam dropped her arm. A second later, Avery pressed against his shoulder, using the leverage to push off of him.
She didn’t even look at him. Her head swiveled, searching down the alley. “Good,” she said, sounding pleased. “They’re gone.”
They? Who?
And, more importantly—
“What was that about?”
She turned back to face him so quickly, her long hair nearly slapped her in the face. Even behind the light brown strands, he couldn’t miss her impish expression.
“Oh. Oops. Sorry about that. I shouldn’t have done that without asking. I just… when I heard someone coming, I didn’t want them to catch us sneaking around. If they thought we had a reason to be back here, maybe they’d leave us alone.”
Cam blinked. “You mean like a ruse?”
“Exactly!” beamed Avery.
She kissed him to fool another human. Cam didn’t know how to feel about that. Worse, how had she sensed some soul spying on them before the Othersider with the actual sensing abilities could?
When it came to Avery Hayes, all of his senses were off. From outside of his office, to that empty road in Spring Valley, to now…
“You didn’t have to do that. Not that I minded or anything, but I am an Othersider. Short of any soul going at my head with a blade, nothing can touch me.” Nothing except a pretty mortal with honey-colored eyes. “So long as you’re with me, nothing will touch you, either.”
Except for Cam, he amended. Now that he’d done it once, he was already wondering when he’d be able to do so again.
That was dangerous thinking, though. The curse might not be triggered with something as simple as a touch or even a kiss, but damn if Cam didn’t know it was a slippery slope. The sudden erection pushing against his jeans was a perfect example of that.
Though it was dark in the alley, Cam dropped his hand, not-so-subtly covering the bulge with his hand. He needed some space if only to get his head on straight.
Throwing out his senses, assuring himself that no other soul was near enough to be a threat to Avery, he started to back away. “Whoever you saw, I think they’re gone. But let me check. Stay here.”
Cam didn’t even stick around for an answer.
He didn’t leave her alone for long. Less than two minutes later, after he took a deep breath and proved to himself that he had nothing to worry about, he hurried back to where he left her.
Avery was sprinkling something from a small purple bottle onto her finger before dabbing it on her skin. He watched her hit behind her ears, then the hollow of her throat. As he jogged toward her, she was adding more of the stuff to her finger.
Cam jerked his chin at her, grateful for the distraction. “What do you got there?”
“This?” She showed him the bottle stoppered with her pointer finger. “Something I got from Shea’s shop. It’s a scent-reducer. After everything that happened with Heather, I didn’t want to give the shifters a reason to track me. It must’ve worn off so I’m putting on some more.” Palming the bottle with her other hand, she started to rub it on the inside of her right wrist.
Interesting. “Most mortals only wear such a potion when they’re trying to hide their scent from prospective mates.”
Avery tilted her head his way. “Mortals?”
“Yeah. Humans.”
“Better than ants, I guess,” she mumbled, shifting the potion bottle to her other hand. “But you’re right. I’ve heard that, too. Some humans don’t like the idea of a fated mate bond taking away their choice. If a shifter decides with one sniff that you’re their mate, you’re kinda stuck. Vamps are supposed to know, too, and phantoms. Potions like this even the playing field. At least, that’s what Heather always said. Which, you know, is kinda ridiculous ‘cause she refused to wear any perfume at all, not even something like this. Go figure.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?” Avery sprinkled some more of the potion on her pointer finger.
“What do you think about mate bonds?” Cam pushed. Suddenly, on the heels of that kiss, he couldn’t help but ask. “You’re hiding out from shifters. Is it because you’re afraid one of them might be your mate?”
If Avery heard how tight his voice was, she didn’t act like it. “Nah. If I am, that’s cool. Unlike my sister, I get that fated means fated. If I’m meant for a Para, then I am, and if not, that’s fine, too. But I’m just worried about the dick that took my sister. Back home, I’m careful not to let anyone know she’s missing. In Grayson, though? I, uh, haven’t been too quiet. I wouldn’t be surprised if he figures out we’re looking for him to get to Heather.”
“And what if he is her mate?”
“Like I said, that’s cool. But I’m not gonna stop until I find out what happened to her.”
It hadn’t been a shifter spying on them, just a mortal whose trace told Cam he got off on spying on others, but what if it had been? The potion only covered up her innate scent. It didn’t protect her.
No. That was his job.
Still, he let out a soft whistle. “You’re brave.”
“My mom used to tell me that I was like a dog with an old shoe. Once I sink my teeth into something, no one can take it away. I’m stubborn like that.”
“My—” Cam paused. He almost said auditor. “—my friend says I’m stubborn, too.”
Avery shot him a grin. “Maybe that’s why we get along so well.”
Yeah. Maybe.
Sticking out the pointer finger covered in potion, Avery used her thumb and her middle finger to jerk her sleeve away from her wrist. She started to rub the potion, stopping after only a few swipes. “Oof. That burns a bit.”
Even from where he was standing a few feet away from her, he could sense her discomfort. “Something wrong?”
“I, uh… I didn’t think so. I’ve worn this potion a couple of times and it never reacted like that before. Weird.”
“You want me to look?” he offered.
Any excuse to get closer to her. Cam would take any excuse.
“Um. Sure.” After wiping her finger on her jeans, she rolled her sleeve up to the crook of her elbow.
The action drew Cam’s attention to her skin—her skin, and the raw, red patch of skin that, from Avery’s reaction, probably hadn’t been there before. It looked like a mix between a burn and a rash and yet, as chills coursed down his spine, he knew it was far more than that.
“Look at that. I’m breaking out.”
Cam was looking. Shit, he was staring.
Dina. He didn’t have to call for with words. The connection between an Othersider and his auditor went beyond that. Dina, I need you.
10
Try harder
Almost immediately, Dina came trotting around the corner. For anyone not paying attention, it was like she’d just turned the corner and found them. Only Cam knew that she would’ve opened a portal not too far from where he stood with Avery.
“Camiel.”
At the meow she would�
�ve heard, Avery turned toward Dina. Her expression lit up. “Oh my God. Isn’t that your cat? She’s black-and-white, too, isn’t she? What the… Where did she come from?”
A slash in space that belonged to auditors only, he thought. “She’s usually not too far from me.”
“Really?”
“Why not?”
“Because, um, she’s a cat and it’s dangerous for them to be out on the street by themselves?”
Look at that. It was the chocolate frosted donut all over again—and, for some reason, Cam found himself fighting the urge to smile.
Instead, he just said, “Dina’s more than she seems.”
Avery thought it over for a second. “Okay. Maybe I buy that. But is it because of what you are? Being an Othersider? Like, instead of being a witch’s familiar, she’s your sidekick or something?”
She wasn’t that far off. “You could say that,” he agreed. “Don’t worry about Dina. She knows her way around Grayson and I’ll make sure she gets home. But your arm? Can I see it again?”
“Oh? The rash? Sure.”
Avery held out her arm. When Cam gingerly took hold of her bare skin, Dina hissed. Yeah, yeah. No touching. Too bad that that ship had long since sailed.
Under the pretense of getting a better look at it, Cam turned her arm just enough so that the mark was angled toward the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dina rear up on her back paws so that she could see it.
“Oh, Camiel.” Avery might only hear a plaintive meow, but Cam couldn’t miss the disappointment in Dina’s tone. “You didn’t.”
He wished he could say that he didn’t. Unfortunately, he didn’t even know what it was that he did.
“Are you done?” she asked. “Whatever you’re doing with the mortal, are you done now?”
He gave a small nod.
“Good. I need to talk to you.”
Well, he did summon Dina, didn’t he?
Cam let go of Avery’s arm. “Looks pretty bad,” he told her. “I don’t think there’s really that much more we can do tonight. Trace ends here, but I can definitely tell you that it was your sister. Maybe… maybe I’ll pick up another trail soon. It might be best if you go home and take care of that.”
A good act would be for him to offer to bring her back to his office and bandage her up. Right now, though? He’d probably end up losing more points than he’d earned.
Avery ran her right hand over the mark. “Ooh, yeah. It’s getting a little bumpy. Doesn’t really tickle, either. Maybe I should.”
“Come on. Let me walk you to your car.”
He didn’t even give her the chance to argue. Walking away, hesitating only long enough to make sure that Avery had fallen in step with him, Cam strode forward. Dina padded in front of them as the trio stepped out of the alley and onto the street.
Avery’s car was about a block away. The energy imprinted on the metal and the wheels was like a beacon for him.
They’d barely gone more than a few steps when Dina froze. Her whiskers twitching, her tail sticking straight in the air, she stood with one paw lifted in the air. Then, the next second, she turned and bolted.
Avery made a step to go after her.
“It’s okay.” Her car was right there. He had to get her inside of it. “Don’t worry about her.”
“But your cat—”
“Dina.”
“Dina, right. She just ran back down the alley.”
“Probably smells fish by one of the restaurants,” Cam lied. “She’ll be right back. Now where did we— ah. There’s your car.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for her?”
Cam wondered if Dina would be touched to know how much concern Avery showed for her. Heaven knew that he was. “As soon as I see you off safely, I’m gonna go back at get her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she comes trotting back with half a fish head or something.” He shrugged. “Cats, huh?”
“She does this a lot?” Avery asked as Cam held open her door for her. She slipped into the front seat.
“Told you, Avery. Dina’s special.”
She still didn’t look like she believed him, and how could she? It wasn’t as if she knew that Dina was an ancient being who could hop through portals and disappear from any threat. She was fine.
And he was hoping that she’d have an answer for him.
He closed the door behind Avery for her. “I’ll be in touch. If you hear anything from your sister—”
“I know where to find you. Thanks, Cam. And tell Dina good night for me.”
“Will do.” He tapped the top of her car before backing away and going around the tail end. He waited on the curb, waving her off as she pulled away from her spot.
Only when she was out of sight did he stalk back toward the alley where Dina had disappeared. Like he thought, she was waiting for him—and, like he told Avery, she had something held gently between her fangs.
It, uh, wasn’t a fish head.
It was a feather.
His feather.
Spitting it at his feet, she said, “What do you think you’re doing?”
Honestly, he had no fucking clue.
“Where did you find that?” he asked.
“About three meters away from where we are now. And don’t avoid my question, Camiel. I saw the mark on her skin. Do you know what that is?”
Ditto on that one, too.
“No. That’s why I summoned you. It… it read as Othersider,” he admitted, “and I know it wasn’t there before. But I don’t know what it is or how it got there. Do you?”
Dina rested on her haunches, tail lashing angrily before she curled it around her front paws. The tip still jerked back and forth, though, and when she snapped, “I can guess,” she wasn’t even trying to conceal her annoyance.
He gestured at her. “I’m all ears.”
“No, you’re all penis.” With a huff, Dina’s yellow-green eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. “Males. I swear. You’re all the same.”
Cam scowled. “What does my dick have to do with any of this?”
“You’re thinking with it, aren’t you? Honestly.” She rose back to her four legs, nudging the feather with her front paw. “You didn’t even see this on the ground. I had to run back for it. And you know what? This isn’t even the only feather I found. There’s two more. Are you trying to trigger the curse?”
“No—”
“What’s the rule, Camiel?”
He felt like a child being scolded. Again. “Don’t get involved with a mortal female.”
“You’ve touched her. Whatever that mark was, it’s on her skin because you touched her. I can only imagine what else happened in this alley to make you lose not one, but three feathers.”
She knew. No way she didn’t. But if she was going to pretend… “It’s not like that, Di.”
“Hmm.” She flicked her tail again. “It’s not just about getting involved with a female and you know that. What’s the rule? You might be one of the Fallen, but don’t ever fall in love.”
Cam felt his stomach drop down to his boots. “I’m not—”
“Do you want to lose even more points for lying, Camiel?”
“Look. I’m trying not to. Okay?”
And then Avery did something adorable or selfless or brave. Damn it, she worried about Dina even more than he did!
The cat slapped her paw on the discarded feather. “Try harder.”
The next morning, after he had spent hours poring over the handful of ancient scrolls that Dina retrieved for him from her library, Cam discovered two things: that the mark on Avery was more serious than he first thought, and that, because of it, he could never see the gorgeous mortal again.
Dina put him on the right track. Before she scoured her library for any information on the mark, she disappeared for about an hour, returning with a name for what it could be.
An amar mark.
He didn’t ask where she got her information from. He was just grateful that she had it, and it wasn�
�t like he didn’t know that she only dealt with other auditors and, rarely, a few select Othersiders. One of them must have known about the mark and shared it with Dina.
Too bad that didn’t explain what it meant.
Every mention of the mark he found made it clear that it was bad news, though. It could only pass from one of the Fallen to a female mortal, and only when the Othersider had gotten too, too close. The first stage was the red rash that erupted on her skin. The next? A more permanent mark that would make the Fallen’s intent obvious.
And, yeah, he still didn’t know what that meant, either.
He had to wonder: was it the kiss that did it? Or the touch as he gripped her wrist, pulling her back into him because he hadn’t been willing to let her go just yet? And how could he keep it from becoming irreversible?
Cam had no idea. And when he asked Dina, all she could tell him was that the amar mark was like a brand. Without meaning to, Cam had marked Avery. Even worse, by doing so he had triggered the curse of the Othersiders enough that he was already shedding feathers.
If he went any further with Avery, he could eventually lose his wings. And that was just the start. Forget missing out on his halo. He might lose everything.
All because of the curse.
He hadn’t needed Dina’s constant refrain about the curse to understand that he had already been taking too many risks. Now? With the mark? He had to admit that he should’ve listened to her in the beginning. If he’d done what Dina had said and sent Avery away, he wouldn’t be in this situation. He only hoped that by putting distance between the two of them now, he could reverse it, because if he didn’t…
Well, it wasn’t like he hadn’t been aware of the curse ever since he Fell this time around.
There was only one way around the curse of the Othersiders, but it was so incredibly unlikely that it was just about hopeless. Like most Paras, technically his kind had a fated mate out there. A soulmate, a mortal half that would complete him. But finding her was like choosing a beach at random and locating a particular grain of sand before it was washed away by the tide. Maybe even harder than that.
True Angel: a Fallen Angel romance (Curse of the Othersiders Book 1) Page 9