He grinned at her. “You probably shouldn’t announce things like that out loud, people will think you’re crazy.”
Fae shrugged. “Who cares?”
“You’re not afraid of them carting you off? Putting you in an asylum somewhere?” Kiernan tilted the bottle of scotch over his glass again.
“Fear never gets anyone anywhere. I learned a long time ago to let it go. You may feel it, but if you let it change what you do you’re giving yourself up to it.”
“Good point.” Kiernan raised his glass again. “Well, I have a toast too. To your freedom.” Fae arched an eyebrow at him before she seemed to believe he was sincere and raised her own glass.
“For however long it lasts.” Fae added, and they both drank.
They started small talk about what they enjoyed and both quickly uncovered that they liked to read, which led to favorite authors and books. They both avoided talk of Nikola or Juliet, of their pasts, of Eltera or Gormahn, and instead listed books they wished everyone would read. Kiernan was halfway through a story about trying to buy a book with a gold coin once, when a group of guys walked up to their table laughing loudly. Most of the bottle was gone and Kiernan felt pretty good as the haze of the alcohol numbed the edges of his nerves from the last few days. Fae actually seemed to be enjoying herself, if the smile lighting up her face was any indication. It was her smile that distracted him from the group that stopped by their table, but when he realized they weren’t moving on he looked over at the guy standing next to him.
“Hey man, you guys looked like you were having fun so my friends and I decided to join you. You cool with that?” The guy was young and overly confident. A few of the others gave greetings and one of them leaned on the back of Fae’s chair. She hadn’t reacted to the group and was currently staring off into the crowd, ignoring them completely. Just as Kiernan was about to respond and explain that they didn’t want or need the company the guy leaned down to whisper, “So, is she yours? Cause she’s hot.”
“No, she’s not mine.” Kiernan answered out loud so Fae could hear while he stared at the guy. He caught Fae’s head as she turned around in his peripheral vision.
“Well, that’s good to know!” He laughed and leaned on their table locking eyes with Fae. “Hey baby girl, I’m Jared. How about you let me buy you a drink?”
“No, thanks.” Fae’s voice was flat and cold and her smile was gone. Jared made a wounded sound.
“Oh come on, beautiful, give me five minutes. You’ll love me once you get to know me, trust me.” He reached forward and put his hand on her arm and tugged once, and that was all Kiernan needed. He grabbed the front of Jared’s shirt and pushed him back. Jared’s eyes widened before he caught his balance and shoved Kiernan’s hands away from him.
“Hey! It’s not my fault you got friend-zoned, asshole. Give the girl a chance to get to know someone else!” His friends drunkenly cheered and dissolved into laughter.
“She said no. Move on.” Kiernan was trying to keep an eye on Fae, but Jared put his hands on Kiernan’s chest and shoved him back.
“Why don’t you move on, man? She’s clearly not interested in you, and maybe she’d like to come home with me.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Fae move as she slid from her chair. One of Jared’s friends dropped a hand on her shoulder, laughing loudly. He said something about her coming to hang out with them, but stopped suddenly when Fae grabbed the hand on her shoulder and twisted it violently. In a moment the guy was bent over with his arm twisted up behind his back, he went from laughing to crying out in pain in a matter of seconds. The ghostly outline of the bands had appeared on her wrists. Someone was focusing on her hard enough to tempt the curse. Damn. The guy she held started cussing at her and she brought her knee up sharply into his stomach and then let go of his arm so he dropped to the floor. He watched as her eyes found the bands at her wrists and her fists clenched.
“What the hell?! You little bi-” Another of the guys stepped forward and tried to grab Fae, and when his arm went around her she shifted and flipped the guy over her shoulder, and he landed hard on top of his friend.
She didn’t need his protection.
Kiernan grinned, grabbing the back of Jared’s shirt as he went for Fae. He was pretty sure Jared was the one who wanted Fae, and it wasn’t going to happen. When Jared turned he tried to throw a punch, but Kiernan dodged his flailing arm easily and responded with two hits to the guy’s midsection. Jared bent over, wrapping his arms around his stomach, so Kiernan just kneed him in the face which sent him to the floor cupping his hands over his bleeding nose. Kiernan turned around to see Fae duck under a wide swing from the last idiot, and then David, the bartender, was grabbing the guy from behind.
“Trying to hit a girl? What the hell is wrong with you?” The guy was slurring his words as he tried to explain that Fae had attacked them. David wasn’t listening and locked eyes with Kiernan. “You guys better go before someone calls the cops. As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t see anything but these guys trying to start a fight with a customer.”
Kiernan stepped over the men on the ground and clapped David on the shoulder. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” Fae was hiding her arms under the coat she had pulled off the back of the chair to keep the bands hidden. Shifting her in front of him, Kiernan moved toward the exit. When they hit the cool air outside he took a deep breath and looked over at Fae to find her smiling broadly. “What are you smiling for?”
“Are you kidding? That was the most fun I’ve had in years!” She grinned and bounced up and down, pulling the bottle of scotch from under the coat. “Plus, I brought this with us so we could finish it.” Kiernan laughed and she joined him, her voice echoing off the buildings around them.
“Everything okay?” He gestured to the bands and she nodded.
“I’m fine, it could have been worse. The curse could sense him, and he could have made a claim, but you didn’t really give him the chance. So, thanks.”
“You didn’t seem to need my help.” Kiernan muttered, and Fae smiled again. “We better get out of here, just in case someone called the police.” Fae nodded and he started jogging down the street. Fae kept up easily, and a block or two down he slowed and she stepped up next to him. He looked over and asked, “Do you want to head back to the apartment, or…?”
Fae shook her head. “No, I haven’t been outside in a city in a long time. Can we just walk around?”
Kiernan nodded and pointed down another street. “There’s a park that way, we could go walk around there. Just have to be careful drinking the alcohol, it’s sort of illegal to drink it outside.”
Fae laughed.
“Really? That’s ridiculous. Someone would actually arrest you for drinking?”
“Yes. Really.” Kiernan watched as Fae rolled her eyes, but hid the bottle under her coat. It only took about ten minutes to walk to the park and step onto the sidewalk that wound through the rolling dark green of the grass.
They walked around mostly in silence. Sometimes Fae would smile to herself as she stared up at the clouds and the stars as they occasionally broke through. While Fae was looking skyward, Kiernan couldn’t take his eyes off of her. The ghostly outline of the bands had faded completely, and the moonlight lit her skin up and made it shine. They found a hill in the park and sat down on it and started passing the scotch back and forth. The alcohol was keeping Kiernan warm in the cold air so he shrugged his jacket off.
“I want to ask you a question.” Fae’s voice surprised him as it broke the quiet that had settled between them.
“Sure.” Kiernan held the bottle against his knee, tilting the last few inches of amber colored liquid inside from side to side.
“Why didn’t you just tell that guy I was yours? It might have avoided all of that, even though the fight was fun.” She hadn’t turned to look at him and was still staring up into the sky like she wanted to memorize what the clouds looked like.
“Because I wanted to.” That answer made Fae turn to look at
him, the place between her eyebrows wrinkled as she tried to decipher what he meant. Kiernan sighed and explained, “When he asked me - I wanted to say you were mine.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“First, saying it aloud could have claimed you, in fact, it probably would have, and I told you already that I want you free. Second?” He paused and stared down at the practically empty bottle. “I don’t know which part of me wanted to say it. Me, or Gormahn.” Fae reached over and took the bottle from him, tilting it to take the last drink.
“Well, at least you’re honest.” She glanced at him and Kiernan gave her a half smile, but she beamed a smile back at him. What he’d done to deserve that, he didn’t know, but every time she smiled he felt warm inside. She stood up and extended her hand to help him up, and even though he didn’t need it, he took her hand and let her tug him to his feet.
“Ready to head back?” he asked. Fae was looking up at the sky again, but she nodded and her smile was still on her face. It didn’t take long to get back to the apartment and walk up the flights of stairs. When they got inside Kiernan immediately went and grabbed one of his pillows and some blankets and came back to the living room where Fae was standing by the battle axe on his wall looking at it. He paused, “Planning to attack me again?”
“Maybe, I haven’t decided yet.” She turned around, her smile still tugging at the edges of her lips. Kiernan set the pillow and the blankets on the arm of the couch.
“Well, I’d prefer if you didn’t kill me in my sleep. At least let me be awake for it.” He was only half-joking when he said it. She grinned and he pointed at the stuff on the couch. “Here’s some blankets and a pillow, I don’t have another bed, but I’ve fallen asleep on the couch before. It’s pretty comfortable, and I figured -”
“The couch is fine, thanks.” She cut him off. He nodded and took a few steps back towards the hall to his room.
“So, I’ll see you in the morning?”
Fae muttered, “Yeah,” and turned to spread out the blankets across the couch. Kiernan headed to his room and shut the door behind him, leaning against it. The clock showed it was a little after three, but he couldn’t sleep even with all the liquor.
Fae was in his apartment.
She was here, and she was safe, and more brave and beautiful than he had guessed. If she ever wanted to leave he wouldn’t stop her, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do everything he could to convince her to stay.
Chapter Eleven
Seattle, Washington
When dawn came Fae felt the warmth of Eltera’s power flow through her while she was snuggled comfortably in a thick blanket. Turning her face into the pillow she took a deep breath - it smelled wonderful. It was a clean smell, a mix of the way the earth smelled after it rained and some kind of spice. Burrowing her face into the smooth pillow case, she suddenly remembered where she was, and whose pillow she was cuddling. Sitting straight up she looked around to find Kiernan standing at the entrance to the kitchen, holding a pan in his hand.
“Morning!” Kiernan’s eyes moved over her and he chuckled to himself. “I never noticed how brightly you lit up. You’re a regular glowworm.” Fae looked down at her skin which glowed gold, the color of her goddess’ power. There was nothing to heal in her except for the haze of alcohol still lingering in her blood, which rapidly burned away. Closing her eyes she tried to hold on to Eltera’s presence, but it faded away with the light coming from her skin. When she opened her eyes again Kiernan was still standing at the opening to his kitchen.
“Morning…” Fae grumbled, scrunching her face up at him. She had slept in her clothes just in case Kiernan’s moral values had a shift while they were sleeping, but he hadn’t bothered her at all. She tossed the blanket off and let her feet hit the cool tile floor.
“I’m making breakfast. I wasn’t sure what you’d like so I have pancakes made, and bacon, and sausage, and I’m making an omelet, but if you’d rather have the eggs another way I still have half a dozen -”
Fae put her hand up to stop him. “Thanks anyway, but I’m not hungry,” she mumbled, rolling her shoulders to stretch. Kiernan’s face reflected his disappointment as he looked down at the pan in his hand, the delicious smell of breakfast wafting towards her. Fae felt a brief pang of guilt at refusing him, he looked like a kicked puppy.
“Oh, well, I can get you something else if you want?” He was hopeful for a second, until she dashed that too with a shake of her head. Fae stood up and Kiernan stepped back into the kitchen. Pulling the blanket off the couch she started folding it, and behind her she heard the pan land in the sink and water start running. Fae dropped the blanket over the pillow, turning to see Kiernan at the edge of the kitchen, his arms crossed over his broad chest. “When was the last time you ate anyway?”
Fae thought about it for a moment, and then she spoke quietly, “The night of the party.” Her stomach turned thinking about that night, and then her mind leapt to Juliet. Juliet screaming, Juliet beaten and unconscious, … Juliet dead. She definitely didn’t want to eat now. Kiernan looked angry for a moment, and his body tensed up for a second at her answer. She wondered how much of that night he’d seen, but he didn’t even begin to say anything about it.
“You have to eat. Just tell me what you’d like and I’ll go get it.” His words were stiff, and she could tell he was on edge.
She sighed, preparing to explain. “It’s okay, honestly. I don’t really like eating food that people cook for me unless I have to. Why are you up so early?” Kiernan didn’t keep arguing with her, but his disappointment and frustration was visible all over him. When his dark eyes flicked up to meet hers, she saw a flash of pain in them.
“Nightmare.” He was too serious, this whole discussion was too serious for early morning. Neither of them could have slept more than a couple of hours, but that was just one more advantage to belonging to a god.
Fae nodded at him and hooked her thumbs into the pockets of her jeans. She almost asked him about the nightmare, or if he was okay, but the questions caught in her throat. The ease of talking with him from the night before seemed to have left her when the scotch burned away from her blood.
“Can I use your shower?” she blurted out the question to fill the void in the conversation.
Kiernan pushed a hand through his hair and nodded. “Of course, I’ll stay out here and clean up the kitchen. Take as long as you want.” He gestured towards the hall and Fae took a few steps back, giving a quick awkward smile before she turned on her heel and escaped to his room. When she stepped inside she turned and shut the door, and after a moment she locked it. Her stomach was uneasy at the thought of locking the door, and him noticing it.
Why was she even concerned about hurting his feelings?
Locking the door was a practical decision; anyone would do it in her situation.
“I am so fucking stupid.” Fae huffed out a breath and flipped the lock back. Why she was trusting him, she didn’t know, but this was his chance. If he crossed the line she’d just – what? Try to kill him again and fail? Fae muttered to herself and looked around the room. His bed was a mess of rumpled sheets and a big comforter half on the floor.
He didn’t seem to sleep easy, that was for sure.
His clothes from the day before were on the floor around a dark wicker basket, which was probably his laundry hamper. The door to the bathroom was slightly ajar and she pushed it open and flipped the light switch. The bathroom was larger than she had imagined with a long counter, a huge claw foot bathtub, and a big glass shower. She fumbled around the bathroom for a bit to find a towel, a washcloth, and to verify that there was soap in the shower. Once she had it she slipped out of her clothes and folded them carefully, turning the water to hot. It poured out of a flat rain showerhead, straight down, and she stepped in and almost moaned aloud at how good it felt.
Fae tried to shower quickly, but it was soothing to relax under the water, and the soap he used had the spiced scent that she had caught
on his pillow. It was a nice break from the vanilla she had used for the last three years, the one Nikola had been obsessed with. Strange how just being allowed to smell different was freeing, and she had to admit his soap smelled amazing.
Standing under the water her mind drifted back to how he had been the night before. He had acted completely normal around her at the bar, almost relaxed. He treated her so normally it was almost weird. He was quick to smile and laugh, and she didn’t mind thinking of how he had looked in the dim light of the bar, and the cool light from the moon. She grinned remembering how he hadn’t moved to stop her or help her when she’d gotten into it with those guys at the bar – he had just let her fight her own battle.
The only time he’d stepped in was to stop the guy who was responding to the curse, which she was still grateful for.
Even then, had he wanted to, he could have just claimed her for himself and avoided the entire situation, but he hadn’t. He’d kept her free like he had promised. Now that she was thinking about it he had also rescued her from the guards in the snow, and she’d never really thanked him for that, especially since Butler would have been waiting for her. She hadn’t thanked him at all really, for the safe place to stay, lying to his friends, the clothes.
Then on top of everything she’d refused the breakfast he’d made her. If he wanted to have her he didn’t need to drug her food, he could have taken any of his numerous chances to make a claim, he could have fucked her when she was pinned to the floor.
Fae rested her head against the tile and cursed. Her father wouldn’t have been happy with how she was responding to Kiernan’s kindness. He had taught her that whenever she was a guest, she should be grateful for anything they provided. It had just been lifetimes since she was anyone’s guest, but Kiernan had made it clear that’s what she was, and she had been completely ungrateful.
Fae Page 15