by J. N. Colon
When I focused back on my neighbor, his stare had settled on me, wariness swimming in it.
“What’s going on?” Aiden’s voice tumbled out dry and raspy as if he’d been screaming for hours.
Acid burned my throat. He probably had.
“Your pal Thorn is in quite the predicament.” Caleb slapped Aiden’s back, forcing him to jerk forward. “You should really reevaluate your choice in friends.”
“No one asked you to talk,” I snapped, choking back the magic in my veins. I didn’t need my death raker powers to hurt the prince or even kill him. I had plenty of witchy weapons in my arsenal. “Why are you even here?”
“I’ve been asking myself the same question.” His gaze lifted to his father’s, wintergreen colliding with icy blue. “Do I really need to do this?”
“If you want me to grant your request.” The king’s sharp answer left no room for discussion.
And just what did Tinkerbell want from his father that would make him endure breathing the same air as me?
Lachlan’s threatening grip disappeared from my throat. “I’m going to let you go, but do not try anything again, Thorn, because it will be your friend who gets hurt. Do you understand?”
The fae king had me between a rock and a hard place with no escape—not unless I sacrificed Aiden. My stomach heaved at the thought. “I understand,” I muttered as my body sagged in defeat.
King Lachlan stepped back, allowing me a reprieve from his overpowering presence, and he curved his fingers at Miles. “Another chair, please. I’m sure all this fighting is beginning to tire Thorn.”
“Why does everyone keep calling you Thorn?” Lines deepened across Aiden’s forehead beneath strands of damp hair. “Your name is Thea, isn’t it?” The last part of his sentence drifted off like he wasn’t sure anymore.
Caleb’s mocking laughter bounded all the way up to the crystal chandelier. “Oh, kid, she hasn’t been exactly honest with you.” He leaned only inches from Aiden’s face. “In fact, I feel confident betting most of what she told you was a complete fabrication.”
“No.” Aiden shook his head, but when he shifted in my direction, I couldn’t mask my panic fast enough. His lips hardened into a tight line, an unusual expression for him. “You lied about everything?”
A pang ricocheted through my heart. “Aiden, I’m sorry. I-I didn’t have a choice, but—”
Miles interrupted my stuttering apology by grabbing my arm and yanking me forward into the other chair he’d brought from the king’s desk. “Don’t move.”
My muscles jerked, and I was moments away from standing up and punching the sentry when iron hands dropped on my shoulders to keep me glued to the cushion.
“Now, where were we?” The king’s choking presence returned full force as his elemental air magic churned at my back. “Ah, yes. I’m giving you another chance to accept this job offer. Work with Caleb to discover who is trying to set up my people or…” He let the sentence hang, the threat dangling in the air like a bomb about to drop.
“Or what?” I ground out. But I already knew, and the thought of it sent a fiery punch to my insides.
King Lachlan released my shoulders and stepped around to my front, a faint gust of wind tossing my locks. “Or I will be forced to end your friend’s life.”
“You’re going to k-kill me!” Aiden screeched. “Who are you people? Some kind of magical mob?”
Caleb sighed and yanked Aiden’s gag back into place, cutting off his sudden frantic babbling.
“I will have the boy glamoured as if this whole nightmare never occurred, and he’ll be sent home to his normal life while you remain in the living quarters at Shade.” The king’s charming smile slipped into place. “Doesn’t that seem like a very fair, reasonable arrangement?”
My chest heaved as I tried to drown out the muffled protests from Aiden, the smarmy leers from Miles, the occasional bored sigh from Caleb, and the king’s unwavering stare.
Was Lachlan’s proposition a fair deal? Hell no. Did I have a choice? Again, no.
The king marched toward his desk while Miles took up guard behind me. “What is your answer, Thorn? Will you work with my son to uncover the creatures behind this nefarious plot?”
“After we find out who is responsible, how do I know you won’t use Aiden to force my hand in something else?” If I made it out of this whole deal in one piece anyway.
King Lachlan lifted his overly sweet concoction, swirling the green liquid against the sides of the glass. “I will make a blood oath to never go after your friend again.”
My eyebrows rose. Blood oaths between nightworlders were no joke. Unless some loophole was discovered, they were unbreakable.
“Fine. Give me the blood oath, and I’ll work for you.” The words tasted bitter on my tongue, but I couldn’t let Aiden pay the price for my carelessness.
From the corner of my eye, Caleb’s body tightened, and a storm brewed in his eyes. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one opposed to this whole partnership thing.
“Very well.” King Lachlan withdrew a small gold knife from his pocket and flicked it open as he closed the distance between us. “You’re making the right decision, Thorn. You aren’t just saving your friend; you’re saving countless other humans these creatures plan to target.”
“I’m a real hero,” I muttered. “Just get on with it.”
King Lachlan drew a line of blood across his hand and then held it out for me to take. “Once you have found the guilty party, I will release the threat over Aiden Fall and never seek out the human boy again. I swear on my blood and name, King Lachlan of the Unseelie Court of Fae. What is agreed upon in blood shall not be undone.”
I grabbed his hand in mine, the power of the oath buzzing between us. Lachlan could barely contain the devil behind his charismatic smile this time.
He released his grip, and my stained palm fell to my lap.
“I’ll accept your offer and partner with your son to find out who’s killing humans and dropping them in your territory.” My gaze traveled to Aiden, who trembled in the chair, choking on fear.
I saved his life tonight, but my own had just been doomed.
Chapter 8
The click of the lock sliding into place had me whipping around to find Caleb blocking the exit with a dangerous leer twisting those stupid lips of his. The dim city lights streaming in through the window cast ominous shadows over his face.
“I don’t know why you thought it necessary to follow me to my apartment.” I switched a lamp on in the corner, thinning the blanket of darkness in my cramped living room. “I’m quite capable of grabbing a few things all on my own.”
Caleb peeled himself off the door, closing the distance between us with a deliberate, predatory gait. “I didn’t want to risk you running away, Rose Thorn. Maybe you’re not as loyal to your little human friend as you pretend. Witches aren’t the most trustworthy creatures.”
I scoffed. “And fae are? Your kind prides itself on always telling the truth, but your truth is distorted and molded into whatever you want.” I rubbed my temples as a pounding headache settled behind my eye sockets. My entire body ached. All I wanted to do was go to sleep in my own bed and pretend this night from hell never happened.
“Just hurry up.” He slowly took in the mismatched furniture and the threadbare rug. “There are better things I could be doing than standing around in some hole in the wall while you take your sweet time.”
My middle finger lifted into the air as I marched toward my bedroom. What a jackass.
“You’re welcome, by the way,” the prince called from behind me, “for fixing the door.”
After I allowed Caleb and his lackeys to capture me, someone must have returned to magically reassemble my door. How nice of them. My few possessions didn’t get pillaged by the unsavory characters in my building.
“Well, you did break it in the first place.” I pushed my bedroom door open, magic still lingering in the air. The memory of pain slashing across my
back slammed into me.
Ugh. That douche bag Unseelie prince. I did the Irritum Facio spell for nothing. At least I’d given him a bloody nose in his father’s office. He was already healed, though. Too bad it didn’t leave a permanent mark.
I lifted my hand and uttered a spell under my breath to fix the hole in the hardwood and conceal the magical objects from Illyria.
Caleb appeared in the narrow doorway, his brows dipping at the items strewn across the floor. He nudged a secondhand book with the toe of his boot. “Why do you need to know how to unclog a pipe? You have magic.”
I rolled my eyes and wrenched my closet open, my scant wardrobe swaying on the rusted rack. “You wouldn’t understand.” The more magic I used, the easier it would be for the coven to track me. Plus, I wanted to make it in this world without relying on the very thing I hated.
Okay, so I didn’t hate all magic, and I was hella good at it. But it came with a price, one I wasn’t always willing to pay.
I swallowed, the acid rising in my throat, and yanked a duffle bag from the top shelf. The journey I was about to embark on would cost me dearly. My soul would suffer the most.
Maybe I could find the culprits without using my death raker powers. Torturing someone for information wasn’t out of the question. I’d be stellar at it too considering—
“Where’s the rest of your clothes?”
Caleb’s husky voice right next to my ear made me jump. Damn it. I’d been so lost in thought I didn’t notice that he’d snuck behind me and now peered into my closet with a scowl.
“This is it, jerk.” And the few things in my dresser. I snatched the tank tops dangling from hangers and the three sweaters I’d proudly found between a stack of horrendous flannels at the thrift store. “Not everyone is a prince.” Truth be told, I’d been pretty close to royalty in Illyria.
But this wasn’t Illyria.
“Again, you have magic.” He reached up, pulling another bag from the shelf, his body brushing mine.
A rush of fire crackled across my skin. My molars clenched so tight they threatened to crack. Why did I keep reacting every time the fae prince touched me? And I should not be thinking about that tangy scent permeating off him or wondering if he tasted just as delicious.
“Would you get out of my damn way?” I yanked the other bag from him and marched to the small dresser in the corner. One of the drawers was missing, but two were plenty to hold the rest of my clothes. My hands trembled as I hurriedly tossed items into the bag. Sharing this tiny space with Caleb had my nerves frayed.
“Just trying to help.” His deep chuckle held an edge of scorn.
I rolled my shoulders to loosen the tension that had settled in my muscles since my entire night went to shit after being fired. “You can help by leaving.” I spun around and halted in my tracks on the way to the bathroom.
A pair of racy thongs dangled from Caleb’s fingers. He slowly licked his lips. “You know, Rose Thorn, green is my favorite color.”
Heat blossomed in my cheeks. The prince was no stranger to the opposite sex, and he knew how to make a girl squirm. I could only imagine the wicked things he did in the confines of his bedroom. But this was just a game to him, a way to torment me. Caleb’s first impression made it perfectly clear how he felt about witches.
A seething hatred for my race swirled below the surface, and he had to release it somehow. Trying to kill me would have been easier to deal with, though.
I stomped forward, snatched the thong out of his grip, and chucked it on the floor. “And here I thought you were done with the sexual innuendos and bullshit when you found out I was seventeen.” Nightworlders didn’t follow the same rules as humans, and I could be considered an adult at whatever age necessary.
According to Ellexia, I became an adult at seven when my death powers appeared.
That stupid smirk reappeared on Caleb. “I’m twenty-one. Not that much older than you.” His gaze slowly dipped down my body. “I’m most definitely more experienced, though. I can help change that if you’d like.”
The tingles radiating in my lower half didn’t match the contempt in my scowl. Most fae oozed sexual energy, but why did the prince have to possess such an abundance?
To escape the heat of his stare, I shoved him aside and rushed toward the bathroom for a few toiletries. I dropped the bag on the floor with a thud. “I’d rather have a fling with a vampire.” Not true. I wouldn’t let one of those bloodsuckers near my neck. “And if you keep throwing yourself at me, we’re going to have a problem. Have you ever heard of sexual harassment in the workplace? Maybe I’ll tell the king how uncomfortable my partner makes me.”
A groan tumbled out of Caleb’s mouth, and he followed me to the bathroom, throwing his arm over the entrance to trap me inside. “Don’t you know how to take a joke, Rose Thorn?” His eyes twinkled brighter when he saw my annoyed expression in the scarred, dingy mirror.
“Keep calling me that, and I’m going to make a joke out of your manhood.” I stepped into the doorjamb to force his arm away.
Instead, Caleb pushed into the tiny space, his heady warmth quickly swimming over me. I licked my lips. Shit. Why did he have to smell so mouthwatering?
“I don’t want to do this any more than you do,” he admitted, all humor washing from his face. “I’d rather find the assholes myself or, better yet, go about my business and pretend none of it is happening.”
He was so tall I had to tilt my head back to keep eye contact. Those silver strands highlighting his dark hair glinted like polished metal, and my fingers twitched with the desire to touch them. “Then why are you doing this?”
“I have my reasons.” One of Caleb’s arms lifted and planted on the doorjamb above my head, bringing his body close enough to skim mine. “Maybe if we try to get along, we can both walk out of this in one piece.”
“One piece would be good,” I mumbled through the sudden haze clogging my brain. How could I think when all six-foot-two of the fae prince invaded my personal bubble?
Caleb caught the piercing in his plump bottom lip between his teeth as he relentlessly studied me. Could he feel the slight tremors rippling through my muscles? “So, what do you say, Rose Thorn? We call a truce?”
Someone cleared his throat. “Uh, Thea?”
Aiden stood in my bedroom, awkwardly shifting in his flannel pajama bottoms and Superman T-shirt.
I shoved Caleb’s arm out of the way and darted out from under his other one. “Aiden, are you okay?” My pulse spiked thinking that his stepfather had gone into a drunken rage again.
“I’m fine.” He scrutinized the prince before returning to me, a line developing between his eyebrows. “Are you okay?”
“She’s fine.” Caleb flashed that annoying, arrogant smirk again.
Ugh. Could he look any more like a cocky d-bag? “I’m fine.” The red glowing digital numbers on my clock read 3:30 am. “What are you doing here?”
“I was going to catch some sleep on the couch, but I heard voices…” He palmed the back of his neck, staring at his bare feet. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. I should have knocked.”
“How sweet of you, kid, but she’s in good hands.” Caleb winked, and I nearly smacked his flawless cheek as he strolled by. He picked up the duffle bag on my unmade bed, easily swinging it onto his shoulder like it weighed nothing. “Is this ready to go, babe?”
My eyes narrowed. Caleb was lucky a human was in the room, or he might find his balls on fire.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt.” A vibrant flush crawled over Aiden's pale cheeks, bringing out the freckles spotting the bridge of his nose. The fae must have given him a healing elixir because most of the cuts and bruises had faded. “Are you going somewhere?”
I glared at the prince, my jaw grinding. “Can you get out?”
He chuckled as he spun and headed into the hall. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”
I rubbed my temples and took several deep breaths to keep from marching after Caleb and strangli
ng him. How could I spend the next few weeks living in the same building and working with him?
Neither one of us would survive this in one piece, truce or not.
“What’s going on, Thea?” Aiden’s soft voice had me shaking the image of pummeling the prince out of my head.
I swallowed hard when I met his worry-lined face. “I, um…” Shit. I hadn’t thought of a lie yet. “I took this temporary job, and I’ll be gone for a few weeks.”
“With him?” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, his mouth fighting not to tilt into a frown. “What kind of job?”
I pivoted and hurried into the bathroom, haphazardly tossing the rest of my toiletries inside the duffle bag lying on the floor. “I’ll be working for his father—doing some research and stuff like that.” My lids squeezed tight for a moment. I’m a terrible person. “I’ll kind of be on call. It’s just easier if I live close by.”
Aiden eyed my empty closet. “Oh, well…”
My gut clenched like an invisible hand had smashed through my torso and twisted my insides into knots. Maybe I should have had the king completely glamour my existence from Aiden. But then he wouldn’t have a safe place to go while I was gone. “I want you to stay at my apartment. You know, take care of it for me and make sure no homeless squatters think it’s vacant.”
He turned back to me and shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, sure. If you want.”
I zipped up the bag and lugged it over my shoulder. “You would really be helping me out if you did.”
A ghost of a smile crossed his lips. He knew that was total bullshit.
Aiden followed me into the kitchen where Caleb leaned against the bar, flipping through a cookbook.
“Can you cook me one of these delicious meals, Rose Thorn?” He licked his lips. “For date night.”
I scoffed. “In your dreams, Tinkerbell.”
His smile dropped. “Are you ready?” He didn’t wait for an answer before he strode forward and plucked the duffle bag off my shoulder despite my protests. “See you around, kid.”