by Rye Brewer
“What happened here?” I whispered. “You did all this?”
He snorted. “Hardly. My clan backed me up, and I advised them to get out of here once we were sure there was no more danger.”
“Where’s the witch?” I expected her to come out at any moment, just around a corner or through a dark doorway. I stepped over a body on the floor and hurried onward, Jonah’s hand still on my arm.
“She fled when she saw how outmatched she was.” That was all he’d say, but it was enough.
Part of me wondered if he’d killed her—how else had he gotten the key to the shackles? How else had he been sure there was no more danger to be had there? But I didn’t want to know. I didn’t need to know anything. I just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.
Chapter 18
Anissa
Jonah’s penthouse was nothing like what I’d known my entire life. Marcus’s world was cold, impersonal, overly regal. Like he wanted the world—or at least the rest of the clan—to know how important he was. Jonah didn’t need that. His clan didn’t need that. Somehow, against all odds, I felt more at home there than I ever had at the mansion.
“Here.” The redheaded girl, Philippa, gave me and Sara pillows and blankets to make us more comfortable. We rested at opposite ends of a large, overstuffed couch. It was so comfortable, I didn’t think I’d ever move.
And this is how they live?
“Thank you.” I could tell she wasn’t exactly a fan of our being there, or of her brother risking himself for us.
Still, she did what she could.
Jonah was grateful, if the look on his face told me anything. I knew what gratitude felt like. I owed everything to him, his brother, his clan.
Speaking of brothers… I looked around, noticing only the one. Scott. I knew without being told how much he’d enjoyed the fight with the werewolves. I shouldn’t have liked him half as much as I did—it was impossible not to like someone who always looked like they were in a good mood, ready for an adventure. Not only that, but there was no mistaking the way he looked at Sara, like he wanted to jump in at any moment to make sure she was comfortable, safe, happy. And Sara’s eyes kept drifting to him, too. I liked thinking of her finding happiness somewhere, with somebody. She deserved it after all she’d been through.
But then I was getting ahead of myself. They’d brought us back to the penthouse with them to make sure we were all right, but it wasn’t like we could stay there forever. We weren’t like them. Bourkes. We’d been adversaries for longer than I could remember.
At the moment, of course, I couldn’t come up with any major differences. They seemed like us on the surface. They might even have been half-decent. They certainly didn’t need to rescue us, but they had.
Jonah crouched beside me. “How are you?”
“Still a little weak,” I admitted.
“You’ll feel better soon,” he said, brushing a strand of hair away from my forehead. His touch was caring and electric all at once. I felt it sizzle through me.
“I already feel much better,” I murmured, nearly breathless. When our eyes met, instead of a reflection of the breathless sensation he caused in me, I saw sadness. “What’s wrong?”
His gaze faltered, and he looked down. “Nothing.”
“Why are you afraid to tell me?” I asked.
“Because it isn’t any of your business.” Philippa glared at me from across the room.
“Philippa.” Jonah stood, facing her. “Don’t do this.”
Her eyes blazed with fury. “I’m sorry if I’m the only one who’s concerned—”
Jonah’s posture stiffened. “You think you’re the only one who cares that Gage is gone?”
Gage. The other brother? I looked around, surprised and confused.
“If you hadn’t put yourself at such huge risk, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“I doubt it.” Scott managed to pry his eyes from my sister just long enough to join Jonah in facing Philippa. “It’s been going on for a while, this… faction of his. He didn’t just get them together today. It doesn’t work like that. And from what you heard, you know it’s true.”
She sighed. “I know. But I think this pushed him over the edge.”
Scott scoffed. “You can’t always defend him like this, Philippa. He made a choice. If not this, something else. He was only looking for a reason.”
Jonah stayed ominously silent through this interaction. Sara looked confused, but things were started to become clear for me. Gage had gathered supporters. Was he thinking about taking over? Wouldn’t Marcus love to hear something like that?
Marcus. Where was he? What was he thinking? He must have gotten word about what took place at the cottage, being so close to the clan’s territory. He must have wondered if it had to do with me. Would he come looking for me? If he came looking for me, that would put Jonah’s in his crosshairs again, maybe his entire clan.
“We should go.” I sat up, pushing the blanket back. Sara’s eyes flew open wide, but she went along without asking questions.
“What?” Jonah stood in my way when I got up. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Somewhere that’s not here,” I said, looking around. Intense guilt washed over me. “I hate to think we were the cause of this, and it’s something you have to work out with your family. We shouldn’t be here for it. It’s private.”
His eyes cut left and right, to his sister and brother. I could tell there was a silent conversation happening and tried to glean what they were feeling. Then I remembered the way it felt when Malory did that to me. The intrusiveness. It was disgusting. I couldn’t do that to anybody else. Especially not to them, the ones how had saved me and Sara.
When our eyes met again, he was smiling softly. “Why don’t you stay here?”
I was speechless. He couldn’t offer us this. He would put his clan in danger for sure. When Marcus found out I’d joined forces with the Bourke clan, he’d put a price on my head. And Sara’s.
As if there wasn’t one already, the cynical voice in my head reminded me.
“Excuse me?” Sara asked Jonah, disbelief in her tone. She knew how huge what he’d just offered was. She touched my hand.
Did she want to sway me to agree?
Jonah nodded. “You heard me correctly. I mean it. Stay here, with us. We’ll give you refuge. You need it.”
I looked around, seeing acceptance—if not exactly joy—on Philippa’s face, and something that looked like hope on Scott’s. Sara had that hope, too. I knew she wanted to stay.
And so did I. I did want to stay. I wanted to be near Jonah.
Sure, the thought of safety was good. The thought of having a place to stay was good. Not having to say goodbye to Jonah was better than good. It was everything I had dared to hope for ever since I first saw him in the dungeon. Even before that.
I shook my head lightly, still worried. “Are you sure? You’re taking a risky step.”
Jonah’s jaw was set. “I know what’s best for my clan. For me.”
I let out breath I didn’t know I was holding. It felt so good to give in.
One more look at my sister, who nodded.
“All right,” I said. “We’ll stay.”
Later that evening, I perched on the balcony outside the living room, overlooking the city.
I’d borrowed a black outfit from one of the many closets that Jonah had told me to help myself to. A black top, a pair of shorts, and a filmy layer of fabric that made it look like a dress. I looked like I was ready to hit The Bank with the Bourke clan. Except I wasn’t. For the time being, I was stuck here, in hiding.
The view was breathtaking; beyond anything I could imagine. The entire city sat at my feet, sparkling and full of life. Throbbing with it.
“Beautiful, huh?” The hair on the back of my neck stood on end at the sound of Jonah’s voice.
I smiled.
“That’s a word for it.” I sighed, leaning over the railing to look down, the
n out over the skyscrapers and beyond to the Hudson River. “It’s changed a lot.”
“I was just thinking about that not long ago,” he chuckled. “All the changes since I was human. It’s funny how that seems like a dream sometimes.”
“It does. But I remember most of it.” I turned to him. “Though I never did know who I was. Not then, not ever until Malory told me.”
“Part fae.” Jonah nodded, turning away to take in the view. I admired his profile, the way his broad shoulders filled out the button-down shirt he wore. His jaw worked, clenching and unclenching.
“Does it bother you?” I finally got up the courage to ask.
He gave me a sideways glance. “Does it bother you?”
“Answering a question with a question.”
He chuckled. “Why would it bother me? The old ways, the old hang-ups and prejudices, they’re all pointless. From the older generation. They don’t do any good, because look what happened to you and your sister. It makes no sense, punishing people for something that doesn’t matter much anyway.”
Then he turned to me, taking the back of my head in his palm. I held my breath, wondering what he planned to do. I could only hope, breathless.
“Does it bother you?” he asked.
“Who I am? No. It’s just part of me.”
He took that in, then smiled softly. “Good. Because I like you the way you are.”
“Have I thanked you for saving me?”
His smile was genuine. “Not in the last twenty minutes, but it’s all right. You don’t have to. I didn’t have a choice. I needed to make sure you’re safe. And you will be.”
He tugged me just a little closer while leaning down, until our mouths met in the sweetest, most soul-searing kiss imaginable.
My hands rose, wrapping around his neck. I pulled him in more.
Everything was him.
He filled my senses until I was sure nothing else existed.
Chapter 19
Anissa
When the kiss ended, it felt as though years had passed. Maybe because everything felt different, looked different after it was over. When we stared into each other’s eyes, nothing else mattered. I wondered how I had spent so much of my existence without a kiss like that.
“Wow,” he whispered.
“I know.” I giggled softly. So he had felt it, too. His eyes were wide, full of wonder.
“Not much has impressed me in the last several decades,” he murmured. “This is something new.”
“I’m glad I was here for it, then.”
He laughed, throwing his head back. I could have listened to it for a hundred years, maybe more. As long as he kept holding me close, the way he was just then.
“Where have you been all this time?” he asked.
“You know where. You were there not long ago.”
“Oh, right,” he whispered with a smile. “I’m so glad you found me.”
“You’re sure about that? I might have killed you, you know.”
“But you didn’t. Because it wasn’t meant to be that way.”
“So you believe in fate? That’s unusual for those of our kind.”
“I believe things happen the way they’re supposed to happen. You don’t live as long as I have and see what I’ve seen without believing there has to be something else at work. It’s not random. You weren’t randomly sent my way. I felt it immediately.” His eyes changed, narrowing slightly. “Didn’t you?”
“Honestly? Yes, I did.” It felt strange to admit, but I couldn’t deny the way I felt. There was something between us from the start—otherwise, why hadn’t I killed him when I had the chance? I could have. I probably should have, when looked at logically. If I had, I wouldn’t have to wonder what would happen when Marcus decided to come for me. If he hadn’t already.
I didn’t want to tell him I was worried.
Jonah smiled.
My smile was forced. I wished it could match his smile. He thought things would be all right, thanks to his clan’s protection. He thought I was safe. I would never be safe, not from Marcus. Jonah didn’t know that, because he didn’t know the creature who headed my clan. Correction, the clan that used to be mine.
The darkening of my thoughts must have shown on my face, because Jonah’s expression changed again. He looked concerned. I turned away, facing out toward the skyline. I told myself to think about how beautiful it looked. To think of anything else. Anything to avoid letting my thoughts progress in their current direction.
“Where are you? Where’s your mind right now? Where are your thoughts?” His voice was soft, gentle. Caring. It didn’t much matter, since he couldn’t help me feel better. If anything, he made me feel worse.
“I’ve made a lot of trouble for you,” I said, still staring out at the lights.
“No, you haven’t.”
“Jonah, please. Don’t tell me things you think I want to hear just to avoid hurting me. I know what’s happening, and I know your clan will pay in one way or another for what you’ve taken on with me.”
“That’s my business, isn’t it? Just like it was my choice to step in and help you. I can’t leave you all alone out there. Not when Marcus is out there. Not when there are werewolves and any number of other creatures who could harm you. I can’t let it happen.”
I shook my head, laughing at myself. “I’d tell you I can take care of things on my own, but I think you know better than that by now.”
I couldn’t outkill everything. Plus, I had vulnerabilities. Sara was my Achilles’ heel. It seemed now, Jonah and his family would be too, because I cared about them.
He chuckled softly. “The opposition doesn’t exactly play fair, do they?”
“That’s a nice way of putting it.”
“When that’s the case, it’s only right for someone else to want to help. You deserve help, and you need it.”
“I just wish it weren’t you.” I didn’t want him to be at risk.
“You don’t mean that,” he said.
“Not the way it came out, no.” I finally turned, taking the chance of looking at his disappointed face.
And he was disappointed.
“I wish it weren’t you because of the hassle it means for you. That’s all. Otherwise, I’m glad it’s you by my side. I know it sounds all twisted up, but that’s how I feel.”
“Which is understandable.” He took my arms in his strong, capable hands. “It’s my decision to help you. I made my choice as head of my clan. I stand behind that.”
“Thank you.” It was the most I could say. Anything else would have felt hollow.
“Any time. And I mean that.”
“Hello? You two?” We both turned at the sound of Philippa’s voice. She sounded amused, if not still a bit put-out. “I hate to interrupt.”
“I feel like that’s not entirely the truth,” Jonah murmured with a dry laugh.
“Anyway,” she continued, rolling her eyes, “I think the question of how our new guests feeding is a pertinent one. Especially Sara. She’s still quite weak.”
I realized at that moment that I felt a little weak, too, and remembered Malory feeding from me.
“I’ll make arrangements.” He glanced at me. “I can have members of the clan deliver fresh blood for you both. No worries.”
“Thank you.” I watched as he went inside with his sister. I would have joined them, but I still had a little thinking to do.
He gave me a backward glance, probably wondering if I would join him.
I gave him a slight smile, then turned away, looking out at the city again. What would I have given just then to be one of them? One of the humans? Sure, it would have meant living a mortal life. It would have meant being dead by then, even. But I would have lived a life without the threat of Not many knew about it. I pulled it out, curious.
An email. My fingers shook a little when I considered opening it. I could only imagine who the sender was. I glanced inside the penthouse, making sure nobody was watching.
Then I opened it.
Oh, no.
There was no doubt about what I was looking at. The same red hair as his brothers and sister. The very same.
Gage.
And he was chained to a wall. Even in a low-quality photo such as the one sent to me, the blisters from the silver cuffs were obvious all over Gage’s wrists.
I looked inside again. None of them had any idea what I was looking at. And they couldn’t know. I couldn’t tell them their brother hadn’t really run away with his faction of the clan. It would ease Jonah’s mind on one hand, but it would only make life worse for him in other ways. He’d have to look for his brother. He’d put himself in danger.
I wanted to tell him. I felt like I should. He needed to know. They all needed to know. They had the right to look for their brother, even if he had left on his own. He probably had. He might even have done it with the intention of rising up against his brother’s leadership.
But he’d been intercepted. Someone must have known he would go, or at least anticipated a moment when at least one of Jonah’s siblings would be on their own and vulnerable.
Who sent the email? The address wasn’t familiar to me. Probably a fake account set up expressly for the purpose of emailing me the picture. I pressed the Reply button. Who is this? Where are you? I typed in. Then I pressed Send.
I watched the screen warily, as if it were as snake that would strike me. The email bounced back immediately. Invalid address.
What?
How could the address be invalid? They’d probably disabled it as soon as the picture went through. It’s what I would have done, just to be on the safe side.
Then, I saw the message that came along with the photo. I hadn’t noticed it before, too horrified by what I saw to think about anything else.
Go to the far north League building’s bell tower. Midnight. Tomorrow night. You owe me.
There was only one being I owed anything to. Just one. I should’ve known. He wouldn’t let me go, not that easily, and he knew I would try to help whoever he punished because of me. Even if taking Gage was Marcus’s payback for what Jonah had done, Jonah had only been helping me and Sara. It was the same, either way. I was at the heart of it all, and I was the one who had to get Gage out of trouble.