by Evelyn Avery
Chloe gave me a look that said I was the dumbest person she’d ever met. “Can I get back to my show now?”
Without waiting for me to answer, she scooted down so that her view of the “television” was completely unobstructed. She laughed at something that would probably be hilarious if the rest of us could see it.
“Talking to her isn’t going to work,” Tamlin murmured, his voice soft but able to carry across the space separating us. Everything about him was quietly forceful. “I’m afraid you may have to leave her here if she can’t be convinced. Your time is running out, and this place becomes more dangerous the closer that you get to the Erlking’s castle.”
The thought of what might be worse than this didn’t exactly sit well with me, but what could we do? The only way forward was through.
“Perhaps it would best to go on without her,” Puck suggested. He walked around the garbage version of our living room with a strange sort of expression on his face. “I don’t understand the relationship you have with this girl. She spies on your life for the person who controls you.”
“Greta doesn’t control me, she just tries to make sure that I stay on the right track. And I wouldn’t exactly call Chloe a spy. She could have lied this whole time about why Greta picked her to be my roommate, but she has always told me the truth.”
With a little spark of awareness, I realized that Chloe is the closest thing I have to a girlfriend. We didn’t make pillow forts or braid each other’s hair, but at least when she was mocking me, it was more like friendly teasing. That was more than I could say for any of the other girls at Thornhurst who did their best to pretend that I didn’t exist, as if my crazy would somehow rub off if they got too close.
Even though I wouldn’t have called her my friend until this very moment, I couldn’t leave Chloe behind. No matter how much she drove me crazy.
“We just have to show her something that will convince her what she’s seeing can’t be real. I think I know what might work.” My voice held more confidence than I actually felt. Because I had no idea if what I was thinking would actually work, or if I was just going to embarrass myself. “Come over here for a second.”
I gestured to Tamlin. For some reason, he seemed like the safer option if I didn’t want things to go too far. He may have tried to kill me when he was trapped as a stone guardian, but he’d been giving me major protector vibes ever since. It was a good thing that he didn’t manage to behead me before I broke the spell.
Making a sound like a pile of rocks cascading down a hill when he moved, Tamlin came closer until we were both standing directly in front of Chloe, who barely glanced up from the refrigerator box. When I got her out of this, she and I were going to have a very serious conversation about her screen time. If she paid this kind of attention to her stupid shows in real life, then that crap had to be rotting her brain.
Tamlin turned to me with an expression of mild confusion. “How may I serve you?”
Well, if that didn’t send shivers up a girl’s spine, then I didn’t know what would. “Hold still?”
Without hesitation or permission, I grasped his cheeks between my palms and brought his face closer to mine. I marveled at the texture of his skin, smooth like polished marble but pliable like flesh. A statue come to great and glorious life.
And then I kissed him.
At first, it was only a chaste touch of lips as a shock of surprise made him go still. Then his hands came up, and for one terrifying moment, I thought he was going to push me away. But then he grasped my waist and yanked me so hard, I practically fell against him.
Tamlin deepened the kiss, exploring me completely as if he wanted to memorize every bit of my mouth. It didn’t take long for me to cede control completely. His arms wrapped around me, and it was only that keeping me upright as my entire body collapsed against his. He was the most amazing mix of softness and hardness, unlike any other man I’d ever encountered. Even though all of this was supposed to be for show, it took all the willpower I had not to rip off his armor and see what lay underneath it. I wanted to figure out exactly how much of him was man and how much was stone.
“Is that your sword, or are you just happy to see me?” I murmured against his lips as we broke for air.
His hands squeezed my hips, pulling me harder against him. “Until an hour ago, I was entirely made of stone. Parts of me still are.”
I didn’t have time to ponder that too deeply before his mouth had reclaimed mine in a searing kiss. Then any thought aside from keeping his hands on me for as long as possible fled from my mind. I wanted to sink into him and never let go.
Soft lips gently touched the back of my neck, sending a shiver of heat down my spine. I knew it was Puck from that touch alone, even as out of the corner of my eye, I saw a lock of black hair with a shockingly purple streak brush against my cheek.
I was caught between ice and fire, sweetness and demand. And I loved every minute of it. For a few blessed moments, I wasn’t thinking about the ticking clock that was quickly running down or what would happen when we reached the castle and faced the Erlking’s wrath. Those were worries for another time, when I wasn’t sandwiched between two of the most gorgeous men I’d ever encountered.
Puck slid his hands down my thighs and lifted me up. Suddenly, my legs were wrapped around Tamlin’s waist, and Puck pressed himself against the cleft of my butt cheeks until I felt the long and hard length of him. Tamlin wasn’t the only one who pushed something as hard as a rock up against me. I couldn’t fight the urge to rock my hips between them, wishing that our clothing and Tamlin’s armor wasn’t in the way. Puck nibbled my ear, pressing just slightly with the hard edge of his teeth. I groaned, and Tamlin swallowed the sound, kissing me hard enough that it was difficult to breathe.
I wanted them both naked and wrapped around me. Ticking clock, be damned.
Then I heard a shocked gasp behind us, which was my reminder that we had an audience, that there was a greater point to this than sexual gratification.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Oh shit.” I gasped and broke the kiss with Tamlin. I might have completely forgotten Chloe was there for about a minute. Maybe. Okay, definitely. “Chloe, what are you seeing right now?”
I dropped to the ground when they abruptly let me go, painful shocks shooting up my knees as I landed on my feet
“Fucking trash everywhere,” she snapped, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes like a deep sleeper who’d been forced violently awake without warning. She looked around us with an expression of dawning horror. Then the smell of garbage hit her, and she gagged. “Where the fuck are we?”
Vaughn snapped awake with a violent headache, convinced that someone had just dumped cold water over him while he was sleeping. His roommates could be complete dicks like that, especially after a night of drinking. The first person who passed out for the night was going to wake up with a penis drawn in marker on their forehead, or their hand dipped in a bowl of warm water in the hopes they’d piss themselves.
It only took a moment for him to realize that the cold seeping into his bones was from the stone floor beneath him. His headache was likely a result of the awkward position he’d been lying in because the ropes binding him didn’t allow for much movement.
The ropes binding him?
He came completely awake with the agitation of someone who had just realized they weren’t where they were supposed to be, and nothing good was coming for them next. His hands and legs were bound in front of him like a pig being prepared for a luau. His wrists ached when he tested the tightness of the bindings, and when he looked down, the skin had been rubbed nearly raw.
What the fuck was happening?
Kidnapping was the first thing that came to mind, but wouldn’t he have remembered being dragged off the street? Hell, he couldn’t even remember how he got home from the bar last night.
Did he get home from the bar last night?
Fear naturally came next as he looked around him
. Cold walls met his gaze as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. He’d obviously been left in the corner of a large room, based on the drafts of wind freezing his skin. It was too difficult for him to turn his head enough to see what might be behind him. His shoulder ached underneath him, and his head was suspended at an awkward angle unless he let it bend unnaturally. Every part of his body felt like it had been beaten within an inch of his life.
“Sleeping beauty awakens. Such a pity. I thought perhaps the journey had gotten the best of your fragile human body. Did you sleep well?”
Vaughn couldn’t stop himself from freezing in place, the only natural response when spotted by a predator. That voice washed over him with more coldness than seeped into him from the icy floor. That voice promised pain and suffering beyond any human imagining. But he wasn’t a coward.
“Who the fuck is asking?”
Whoever was there only chuckled, the sound like icicles tracing down his spine. “Is that bravery or bravado. I suppose only time will tell.”
Vaughn’s hands clenched into fists. “Easy to say when I’m the one who is tied up.”
The bindings fell away as if how tightly they’d knotted were only a memory. He stayed frozen for another moment, unsure of what just happened. The man hadn’t come anywhere near him, and his voice had come from too far away to cross the distance so quickly. His ropes had simply unraveled on their own.
Ignoring the pain of it, Vaughn pushed slowly to his feet and looked around him. His instinct hadn’t been wrong about the size of the room. Vaulted ceilings rose impossibly high overhead, lit by streaks of light without any visible source in the windowless space. The floor beneath him was made of some dark stone so cold that it seeped through his shoes to numb his toes.
And then he looked up to see the man who must have brought him here—if the word man even covered it. This guy looked like he got turned around on his way to a renaissance faire. His hair was so nearly white that it had to be dyed or a wig. The man dressed like someone grabbed Robin Hood and sprinkled him with fairy dust, from the gold doublet that shimmered in the light to the pants that were tight enough to leave nothing to the imagination.
But the expression on his face was anything but whimsical. Regardless of the ridiculous outfit, this dude clearly took himself deadly seriously.
“You’re on your feet,” the man commented drily. “Shall we see how brave you are?”
The world swayed around him as Vaughn fought to stay upright. It felt like he hadn’t eaten in days on top of the worst hangover in the world. And this guy, what, wanted to fight him? “Where the hell am I?”
“The place that I keep my most treasured guests,” the man replied with a smirk. Clearly there was a joke in there he found simply hilarious.
Despite the strangeness of the surroundings, Vaughn innately understood that this man was someone to be feared. Power radiated off him in a way that was palpable, despite the ridiculous costume. Vaughn wanted to run in the opposite direction, but there was nowhere to go, and showing fear simply wasn’t his style.
He compelled his voice not to shake. “Who are you?”
The strange man regarded him steadily for a long moment, gaze piercing. “You may call me the Erlking.”
That forced a surprised laugh from him. “Do you have a brother named Lord Duke? That might be the dumbest name I’ve ever heard.”
If he hoped that the man would take offense, then he would be disappointed.
A small smile drifted across the man’s face. “I said only that is what you may call me, not that it is my name.”
Because it wasn’t enough to kidnap him, now the weird dude felt the need to talk in confusing riddles. “What is your name, then?”
“Names have power here, boy. To speak one is to hold a piece of the thing that claims it.” The man’s eyes darkened, like a storm rolling in from the sea. Then he took a step closer, cruel light shining in those eyes that seemed both colorless and vibrant across the spectrum at the same time. “Just as I know that your name is Vaughn Raimondo Latimer from Redondo Beach, California, that knowledge gives me power over you.”
Vaughn laughed despite the thrill of awareness that rolled over him. The idea was so absurd it wasn’t even worth engaging with it. What sort of power? But as the man continued to stare at him, Vaughn felt an unfamiliar sensation wash over him. It compelled him to fall to his knees and kiss the ground at the man’s feet. It took every ounce of willpower that he had to fight off the terrible desire to supplicate himself.
“You’re stronger than you look,” the Erlking commented, voice mild. “That will serve you well here. But you should know that I will always be stronger.”
But Vaughn couldn’t speak, because the next words out of his mouth would be pleading for a release from the terrible pressure growing in his mind. It was as if his entire body had been dipped in hot oil, flesh boiling away in the most agonizing way imaginable. Gritting his teeth against the sudden pain, he managed to stay upright. He couldn’t understand how he knew it, but to give in now and fall to his knees would mean so much worse than just temporary weakness. And he refused to give in, even as every cell in his body screamed in protest at the searing pain.
An expression that almost looked like grudging respect entered the man’s gaze. He negligently waved his hand, and Vaughn’s pain disappeared as suddenly as it had come. Only the memory of it remained, even as sweat soaked his clothes, and his body was left shaking.
As if by magic.
“As amusing as this has been, there isn’t any more time for it.” The Erlking turned abruptly, heels clicking sharply as he strode away. “Follow me.”
Vaughn had no choice but to follow him or be left alone in this strange place. He had no idea what the Erlking was, but something told him to play along until he figured what it was.
As the Erlking disappeared around a corner, Vaughn warily went after him. He felt very much like he was inside an abandoned castle in some remote part of the British Isles. Lit sconces hung on the walls, but there was virtually no other decoration. Gaps high above them revealed tantalizing bits of the horizon, but the color of it was all wrong. Vaughn had never seen such a red sky before.
The narrow hallway opened up into a large and drafty space with stone walls and vaulted ceilings. But that wasn’t what had caught Vaughn’s attention.
Glass orbs covered nearly every surface, from the low tables surrounding the room and on shelves built into the walls. His own face reflected back at him dozens of times in the glassy surfaces, making him feel significantly unnerved. But then he saw a totally different face reflected in one orb, one as recognizable as his own.
“Izzy—” Her name caught in his throat, and he whipped around to face the Erlking, or whatever stupid name the man wanted to call himself. “Where is she?”
But instead of answering the question, the Erlking tilted his head to the side and regarded Vaughn with an expression of mild interest. “You care for her, don’t you?”
Vaughn felt the spots of red appear on his cheeks, knowing that his face revealed way more than he wanted to let on. “None of your fucking business. Just tell me where she is.”
“You aren’t going to ask what allows you to see her?” The Erlking plucked the orb from its place on the wall and held it out between them. “Does your concern for her overwhelm all curiosity about the place you’ve found yourself in?”
“I know you’re crazy, so I don’t need any other details aside from that,” Vaughn spat, even as his heart rate increased to a desperate tattoo. He wouldn’t show this man any fear. “I don’t really care if you drugged our drinks at the bar then set up this crazy scene. All I need to know is what you’ve done to Izzy.”
“It isn’t what I will do, but what she has already done.” With a smirk, the Erlking gestured for him to come closer. “Come and see for yourself. The glass reflects only the truth.”
Vaughn was more than a little hesitant to close the distance between himself and the appa
rent crazy person holding a glass ball out to him. He didn’t have any answers about how he had come to be here, not even sure he wanted to ask them, but it was clear this Erlking was unpredictable and dangerous.
But the Erlking made no move to harm or attack as Vaughn took a careful step forward. He held the orb high in the air so that both of them could clearly view the scene reflected in its surface.
A shock of pained surprise stabbed through his heart. Izzy, or a girl who looked just like her, skipped down a stone path holding the hands of two men who looked like extras out of a Cirque du Soleil show. That wasn’t even the part that surprised him most, even though he’d never seen her so much as go on a date. It was the look on her face that really got to him.
As much as he liked being around her, it was impossible not to notice how awkward she could be around most people. It had taken him years to get inside of her shell and prove himself a trustworthy friend, much less making any progress toward something more.
But this Izzy wasn’t the shy and quiet girl that he had spent the last few years trying to get to know better. This one laughed and smiled, seeming to fully possess her own body with a confidence that real Izzy had never possessed. And the look of coquettish delight on her face was an expression that Vaughn could only dream of seeing on her face when she looked at him.
A pang of sadness moved through him, followed quickly by the heat of jealousy.
Vaughn looked away. “I don’t want to see any more of this, just tell me where she is.”
“On her way here, assuming she can arrive in time,” the Erlking murmured, a cruel smile twisting the corners of his lips. “Are you sure you don’t want to see more? It’s a nice way to wile away the time.”
It was only then that Vaughn realized the man was taunting him. He intended the scene to get exactly this reaction out of him. “I’ve seen enough.”
“But it gets so much better. Just watch.” The Erlking turned the orb in his hands, making the scene shift as if it were being skipped ahead in time. “Here. Tell me what you think of this.”