by J. N. Colon
He jerked me forward, our bodies colliding. “You mean like this?” A wicked grin curved his lush lips.
My cheeks flamed from the contact. Ugh. His lips were not lush.
I steadied myself by putting a good inch of space between us and then laced our fingers. “I’ll give you a magic boost when you start the glamour.”
The prince nodded, and a vibrant glow spilled into his irises as he tapped into his fae magic. My blood bubbled hot when his powers begin to slide over us. Whoa. Caleb wasn’t kidding when he boasted a minute ago. The fae had some juice.
So did I.
Electric violet strings encircled our intertwined hands as I released my magic. Caleb’s fingers tightened on mine when he felt it, and a grunt of surprise slipped out of his mouth.
Yeah, that’s me, buddy.
As our powers brushed together, a line of fire shot down my spine. Caleb hissed as if he’d felt it too, and I suddenly found myself pressed into his body again, staring into his blazing eyes.
My knees trembled. Holy witch fire. The guy was everywhere. His presence overwhelmed me, but not in the way his father’s had. King Lachlan’s power was oppressive and suffocating.
Caleb’s was like a warm lagoon beckoning me closer.
This was bad. I needed to pull back now. Our magic had barely touched, and some weird, tingling crap had descended over us. I could only imagine what would happen if our powers connected full force.
I yanked the violet strands of magic deep inside, severing the link. “Good enough?” My voice tumbled out in a shaky breath.
“Yep.” Caleb’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, and a fine sheen glistened over his skin. “I’m done. We should be all good and invisible now.”
“Good.” Then why the hell were we still stuck to each other like two magnets?
As if reading my mind, the prince stepped back and pulled his hand away. His teeth toyed with the hoop piercing his bottom lip as he avoided my gaze, a line developing between his brows.
Connecting my powers to Caleb’s just landed on my list of things I never wanted to do again. Ever.
Way too intimate.
I cleared my throat to break the awkward tension. “How do we sneak into the summit meeting?”
“We simply walk in.” Caleb finally turned in my direction, that familiar cocky grin sliding back into place. “Let’s crash this party.” He divided the wall of plants and stepped inside, waiting for me to follow.
My fingers curled into Caleb’s jacket as I blindly trailed him through the dark tunnel of foliage while my heart tapped out a frantic beat. Would his glamour really hold up against the head alpha, a vampire king, and a demon queen?
Chapter 10
I didn’t even want to imagine what the Nightworld leaders would do if they discovered us eavesdropping.
It probably involved lots of torment and pain.
Magic shimmered over me, and the air cooled as we stepped through the magic barrier concealing the summit room. Raised voices boomed against the stone walls from the four figures seated at the long marble table in the center. Eight empty chairs sprawled out in front, the area where the council—two members from each supernatural group—would sit.
Caleb pointed to a man facing us, a wiry gray beard obscuring half his face. “The big burly guy dressed like a lumberjack is Head Alpha Lex.”
“He’s a wolf shifter, right?” I absentmindedly scooted closer to the prince as we tiptoed further into the room. I didn’t like being exposed out in the open. What if the glamour melted away?
Caleb nodded. “But any shifter residing in Chicago is under his rule.”
“Are you all denying your involvement in this insidious plot to run me out of my territory?” King Lachlan asked, sitting on the other side of the table across from the head alpha.
The one woman at the table tilted her head back as she sighed, a sheet of icy-platinum hair sliding across her sharp, pale cheeks. “None of us did this. You’re just trying to cover your ass before we accuse you of breaking the rules and killing humans without properly disposing of the evidence.”
With her vibrant blue eyes and pale coloring, she looked like a Nordic goddess.
But she was no goddess. Cyria Vassali was the demon queen.
“You’re only grasping at straws to protect yourself.” The man next to Lachlan folded his hands on the table, interlocking his long, slender fingers. Flickering light from candelabras and torches along the wall glinted on the sharp fangs peeking from his lips. The deep russet curls surrounding his face reminded me of flowing chocolate.
I licked my lips, dying to take a bite.
“That’s Hugo, the vampire king.” Caleb’s whisper made me flinch.
I quickly checked my chin for drool. The vampire king definitely had some mojo even from several feet away. The old-world accents on his fine tailored suit made him all the more intriguing.
“Don’t you agree, Lex?” Hugo’s intense gaze bored into the head alpha.
Lex pulled a cigar out of his pocket and rolled it between his meaty fingers. “I’m sure Lachlan is up to something—he always is—but fae don’t normally kill humans for sport. That’s your deal, Hugo.”
“Thank you, Lex.” Lachlan inclined his head toward the shifter. “But since no one here today will admit to any wrongdoing, I’ll be forced to take drastic measures.”
Cyria crossed her arms over her chest, pushing up her voluptuous cleavage even more. As if the tight corset wasn’t enough. “And what, pray tell, is that, Lachlan?” Her smoky voice only added to her appeal.
I glanced at Caleb from the corner of my eye, finding him intently watching her. Ugh. Was he smitten with those sexy ice-princess looks?
Feeling my stare, he shifted toward me. “Are you getting a read off any of them?”
I gave a noncommittal shrug. “The demon queen kind of rubs me the wrong way.” It had nothing to do with Caleb’s perusal of her. Not at all.
His lips pursed. “What about Hugo?”
The vampire king was a smooth drink of hot chocolate laced with vodka—and possibly arsenic. “I’m not sure. He does seem a little shifty.” He was the first one to adamantly deny Lachlan’s theory.
“I will launch an investigation to collect evidence and bring it to the council.” The fae king absentmindedly studied his glass of blue fae wine while trying to fight a smile. He had full confidence because he knew Caleb and I wouldn’t fail.
We couldn’t.
Lachlan slowly took a sip, savoring the wine and letting the silence thicken for a few more moments. “The council will bring the guilty party to justice.”
The vampire king tossed his hands in the air, a massive crimson and gold ring catching the light. “Getting the council involved is preposterous. I don’t trust the demons to ever vote fairly.”
Lex scoffed. “Like the vampires are any better. They’re easily bought.”
Hugo narrowed his eyes on the shifter, red flashing through them. “Careful of those accusations, Lex.”
If disputes couldn’t be settled by each creature's heads, the council would be brought in for a final vote. Their edict could have an entire group punished or certain members banished. Execution wasn’t out of the question either.
Cyria’s head slowly turned toward us, her unsettling stare piercing right into me. Chills poured down my back, and my heart nearly stopped. The fuck? Could she see me?
I stepped into Caleb as if he could shield me. “Uh, can she see through the glamour?”
Caleb’s arm slipped around my waist, pulling me into his side. “No,” he murmured with a furrowed brow. “But maybe we should get out of here. I don’t trust that demon one bit.” He turned and led us out of the room.
Once we stepped back into the tropical paradise, I took a shuddering breath and fanned the back of my neck. Was this supposed to be a greenhouse or a hot, bubbling swamp?
Caleb dragged his fingers through his hair. “So, you think Cyria and Hugo are the two top suspects?
”
I chewed on my bottom lip, contemplating my choices. “I just can’t see shifters doing this. They generally stick to their own kind. Like fae, killing humans is not their usual MO either.”
“I agree.” The prince pulled out his phone and brought up a map of the city. “We should head to shifter territory first, just to make sure we can eliminate them.”
I hoped like hell I could figure out how to get through this without using my death raker powers. “Do you have somewhere in particular to start?”
Caleb’s gaze lifted to mine while that signature smirk melted over his lips. “I hope you like wild parties.”
The scarlet and blue neon sign for Jake’s Bar flashed above rows of menacing motorcycles lined in front of the windowless building like a fence warning outsiders away. Rowdy music and laughter spilled out of the door as Caleb and I neared the biker joint on the lower south side of Chicago.
Shifter territory.
“Have you ever been to a shifter bar, Rose Thorn?” Caleb’s smirk was especially irritating tonight. “It’s a rough crowd. You better make sure your thorns are out to protect those soft little rose petals.” He plucked a lock of my hair and rubbed it between his fingers. The black dye had faded entirely, leaving a deep violet shade that easily stood out.
I didn’t want to stand out.
I slapped his hand away. “Keep it up, Tinkerbell, and you’ll be the one that gets the pointy end of a thorn tonight.”
His chuckle warmed the space between us. “Promise?” He sidestepped my punch to his shoulder, wrenched the door open, then motioned me inside.
I brushed past the fae prince and stepped into a pocket of cigarette smoke. My nose crinkled as I waved the cloud away, revealing a large, dimly lit room covered in wood and metal. The crack of pool balls and glass clinking mixed with rock music playing from an old jukebox in the corner.
The boisterous laughter instantly halted as several pairs of eyes swiveled in our direction, a golden sheen burning in most of them.
I swallowed hard and inched back, fighting my instincts to turn tail and run. Most of the men were huge, muscled beasts with tats and thick beards. A few were thinner, but those wiry muscles could still do some damage.
So could their teeth and claws when they shifted.
The women looked like they could be Olympic athletes with toned bodies and sharp glares ready to slice me into little pieces.
Unlike Shade, Jake’s only catered to nightworlders. No humans allowed. And typically, no other creatures ventured into this part of shifter territory. They had a very tight-knit community no matter what animal they changed into.
“Well, at least we got everyone’s attention,” Caleb mumbled. His fingers curled around my wrist as he tugged me to the left. “Let’s get a drink at the bar.”
As we moved, the shifters began muttering to each other while tossing scathing glares and underhanded insults our way. I could understand all this hatred for fae—most of them were elitist pricks compared to the rest of us—but what did witches ever do to them? We didn’t even have a place in the city anymore.
I climbed up on a swivel stool, the worn leather crinkling beneath my jeans. Part of my reflection peeked through an empty spot on a mirrored shelf of bottles behind the bar. My sterling-gray irises appeared brighter than they had in a while. Magic was to blame. I’d been using plenty of it these last few days.
My gaze flicked to the Unseelie prince, thinking of last night when our powers brushed together. To call that experience weird would be an understatement.
I shook my head, shattering the uneasy memories. My boots hooked onto the foot railing to keep my stool from spinning.
An older woman on my left sneered and grabbed her beer. “Let’s move down, Missy. I don’t want to be associated with the likes of them.” The cigarette dangling from her crimson-painted lips bounced as she spoke.
“Got that right.” The younger woman’s auburn curls brushed the wolf paw tattoo on her collarbone. Tight jeans and a crop top showed off her toned abs. “A witch and a fae together? Maybe they’ll start fighting each other, and we’ll get a little entertainment tonight.” The sneer she sent me put the prince’s to shame.
Caleb waved to the bartender, who leaned in the corner, talking to a group of men. The guy snorted and returned to his conversation.
“Asshole,” Caleb ground out. “We’re paying customers. I don’t see a Shifters Only sign anywhere. We allow anyone into Shade, even witches.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re so charitable.”
“I’ll just have to jump behind there and get us a drink myself.” Caleb pressed his palms onto the chipped wooden bar to leap over, but I grabbed his arm, stopping him.
“Now is not the time to start a fight. Just let me try.” He could be such a hothead, so ready to throw down no matter the consequences. “Give me some money.”
Caleb scoffed. “You’re not my date. Pay for your own damn drinks.”
I’d rather date one of the shifters snapping their jaws in this direction than Caleb. “You’re a prince. You can afford it. Besides, think of it as a business expense.” I tore my jacket off and tossed it on the adjacent stool. No one would bother sitting there anyway.
The prince studied my tank top as he absentmindedly drew a bill out of his wallet, following the curves of my cleavage with an unreadable expression. “I doubt it’ll work.”
“See something you like, Tinkerbell?” I snatched the cash before he could answer and leaned over the bar with my chest out, waving the money to get the bartender’s attention.
One of the guys he was talking to jerked his head in my direction, and the bartender turned, quirking his brow. A slow smile melted over his lips as he sauntered over, the lights behind the bar emphasizing the golden strands threading his dark blond hair.
Caleb huffed. “I should have known the male beast wanted a pretty female to stroke his fur.”
Did he just call me pretty?
Ugh. Not the point.
The tall drink of muscle leaned against the counter, his flannel shirt rolled up to reveal tan forearms. “The name’s Jep. What can I get for you, darling?” A southern accent dripped from his tongue like honey.
“We’ll take two beers, Jep,” I said, flashing a sultry smile.
He winked one of his velvety brown eyes. “Anything for you, sweetheart.” Jep turned to grab two beers, removing the caps with a quick flick of his wrist.
Caleb glared in my direction. “Keep that sweetness up, and he’ll want to take you home.”
“Maybe I’ll let him.” I had no intention of doing that, but the prince deserved a little teasing.
Jep gently placed a beer bottle in front of me and then slammed one down for Caleb, sloshing the liquid and spilling foam over the bar. The fae muttered incoherently under his breath.
“Thanks.” I sipped the cold drink, sizing up the surrounding shifters. Knots twisted in my stomach. I shouldn’t use my death raker powers in the open to question any of them, so my best option was to get one of them alone.
The bartender’s friends waved him over again, shaking their empty bottles. “Duty calls, but hopefully I’ll get to listen to that pretty voice of yours later. Maybe you’ll even tell me your name.” Jep grabbed more beers and sauntered off toward the other end of the bar.
A frown pulled at Caleb’s lips. “He was laying it on a little thick.”
“He’s nice.” I shrugged, my fingers curling around the sweating bottle.
The prince took a sip of his beer, wincing. “Don’t tell me you actually fell for that southern gentleman bullshit.”
Jep released a boyish grin at something his friend said. For a shifter, he seemed sweet as cherry pie.
“I doubt he has any trouble getting women,” I said before glancing back at a glowering Caleb. “Jealous?”
“Of him? Please. I could get anyone I wanted.” He leaned forward, crowding my personal space with that spicy scent. “And I mean anyone, Rose Thorn.”
I ignored the rush of heat crawling into my cheeks and shut down any type of fantasy threatening to develop in my head. “Think again, Tinkerbell. I’d rather keep the frog if he turned into you after a kiss.”
“Keep telling yourself that, and maybe you’ll start believing it. But I never will.” His voice dipped, a low, husky cadence that sent fire through my insides. “I could have you on your back within minutes, begging me to do anything I wanted to that hot little body of yours.”
Every drop of moisture zapped from my mouth. I could hardly breathe, and when I did, it was all Caleb.
As his dark chuckle vibrated the minute space between us, my fingers tightened around the bottle. I wanted to smash it in his face.
“Not every female in this world wants to bone you, Caleb.” I leaned away, taking a gulp of air. Son of a wicked witch. I could still taste his scent. “Some of us have a brain.”
He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small bottle of thick, golden liquid, his lips tilting into that signature smirk. “You won’t have any brains left when I’m done with you.”
I sneered, but honestly, I wasn’t all that disgusted with the thought of him—
Nope! He’s a total jackass. And a fae.
“What are you putting in your beer?” I asked, trying to get off the topic of Caleb undoing me in every way possible.
The prince stowed the small bottle back into his jacket after pouring a few drops of the contents into his drink. “Honey.” He took a sip, smacking his lips. “Makes everything better.”
“That’s weird, even for a fae.” They liked sweets, but carrying around a bottle of honey in case of emergencies tossed Caleb into a whole new level.
He shrugged. “It’s a habit I picked up from my mom. She always carried a bottle of honey with her.” As soon as the words spilled into the atmosphere, tight lines formed around Caleb’s mouth. The slipup had yanked any humor from his expression.
I peeled off a strip of the beer label and watched him out the corner of my eye. Where was his mother? Lachlan may have been married before, but I’d never heard of there being an Unseelie queen. Maybe Caleb’s mother lived in Faerieland and that was why he seemed somber as we passed the door in the Conclave. I opened my mouth to ask, but the thick waves of tension rolling off the prince had my jaw snapping shut.