He laughs and pulls me down to him so my chest is pressed against his. “Since you came in,” he says with a chuckle, and then claims my mouth with a quick but thorough kiss. Feeling a little dazed, I shake my head to clear the fog. I feel somewhat vindicated when my hair grazes his bare chest and his breath hitches just a little.
“I have to ask you a favor,” I say; stretching out next to him and putting my head down on his chest. I know I absolutely cannot look him in his eyes and lie to him. I absently run my fingers lightly over his stomach. His arm is wrapped around my waist, holding me closely to his side and his hand grips my hip; tightening for a moment before he clears his throat.
“Name it,” he says and I grin into his chest, surprised by his response.
“Eir and I have to run out and handle a few things, and I was hoping you could hang out with Lumi upstairs today so I can move Aodhan to the backyard.” My hand is still tracing circles over his stomach and I am afraid to lift my head to see his face. I hate lying; always have, and most likely always will.
He clears his throat again. "Yeah, I can go annoy the princess for a few hours," he says with a smirk in his voice, and I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
Relief floods through my system, leaving guilt in its wake, but I put a grin on my face and lift my head so I can look at him when I say with absolute sincerity, “Thank you.”
He smiles back at me and looks a little confused. “Anytime, love.” I lean up to press a kiss to his cheek and he turns his face at the last minute so I meet his lips instead. I smile against them and his mouth moves to my ear. “Can you spare a few minutes for me before you run off?” I shiver a little and move closer to him without conscious thought. His mouth is back on mine before I can think up a reply, and for a few stolen moments I forget all about Sean and everything else.
Five minutes later we’re both breathing heavy and my brain is foggy. He has one hand tangled in my hair while the other has slipped low on the bare skin of my back where my tank top has ridden up and is keeping me flush against him. My fingers move over the bare skin above the waistband of his boxer shorts and he groans low in his throat. His noise reverberates throughout my body and I wrench my mouth away from his; dragging my thoughts back to the issues waiting for me next door at my uncle’s house and away from the gorgeous man who is now kissing his way down the side of my neck to my shoulder. I shudder with pleasure and sigh; hating that I have to leave.
“I would like nothing more than to stay here with you,” I begin, and stifle a moan when his teeth graze the sensitive skin of my neck. “Eir is waiting for me, though…”
Flint sighs and pulls back to look at me and I almost go for his mouth again. He looks just as dazed as I feel. I shake my head again to clear the lust away and remind myself that I cannot stay in bed with this man all day. I bite my lip and roll to my back next to him on the bed. I rub my hands over my face and sit up. “I have to go.”
“Go ahead,” he says, and looks resigned to my leaving. “It’s okay, Fi. I’ll see you later.” I don’t trust myself to speak so I nod at him and bolt from the room. I run up the stairs to the second floor, and if the look on my cousin’s face is any indication, I am a sight to see. He grins and then looks at his feet when he sees me. I look down at myself, confused. My blue tank top is clean and pushed back down where it belongs, and the same with the jean cut-off shorts. I look back up at him, still puzzled, but decide to ignore his weird behavior for the sake of saving time.
“Hey, I need you to guard the back door today. Right outside, please. Flint is going to sit with the princess. If you need me for anything, I’ll be at your house,” I tell him. When I turn to go, he grabs my elbow. I look back at him. “What’s wrong?”
He grins. “You should take a moment and maybe...” he clears his throat, “go fix your hair before you leave the house. It looks a little wild right now.” He laughs and I punch his arm, blushing. I didn’t think about the state my hair might be in.
“Thank you,” I say as I head back down the stairs; pulling my hair into a messy bun as I go. It’ll be hell to brush out later, but that can’t be helped right now. I’m in my uncle’s house two minutes later, and the smirk on my brother’s face tells me that he can also tell what I’ve been doing. I try to ignore the blush that spreads over my face and take the cup of coffee my aunt pushes into my hands before I take a seat at their kitchen table with a murmured, “Thank you” in her direction. I keep my eyes on my coffee until I feel the heat leave my face. Even my uncle is smirking at me when I raise my eyes from my coffee cup and glare at him silently for a moment.
“I have an idea,” I tell them.
An hour later, my hair neat and my face stoic, I’m approaching Sean’s post on the border and hoping he won’t be able to tell how badly I want to punch him in the mouth. I take a deep breath when he hears me coming up behind him and turns with a scowl. His hand is bandaged, the ugly scar on his face is white against his ruddy complexion and he looks completely miserable. I call out to him and try to keep my voice level. “I thought we should talk.”
“Really, now,” he says with derision. “You want to talk now, after banning me from your house and refusing to see me for how long?” His voice gains volume as he continues. “Now, after you’ve thrown in your support with the Fae you’ve let infect this city — NOW you want to talk to me?” His face is puce and there is a vein throbbing by his temples.
“Sean, listen,” I say, lifting my hands palms-out in front of my body in a show of peace. “I don’t want to fight with you. That isn’t why I came here. You are my family and it hurts me that we’ve been at odds so much lately. I was hoping maybe we could have a picnic dinner tonight in the park by the Alice in Wonderland statue? Ruth already packed some things, and I thought we could talk. Clear the air.”
He seems to be debating the merits of my idea and his face slowly returns to its normal, slightly sunburnt shade of red. Finally, just when I think he’s going to yell and posture some more he says, “Fine. I think that would be good.”
I nod. “Okay. I’ll come by around six and we can walk over to the park together?” He nods without another word to me and turns back around. I do my best to seem unhurried as I leave the area and return to Seamus’ house.
When I walk in their back door, the sight that greets me is surreal — my little brother with a handgun in his grip. He looks up when I enter and says, “Thank God, I’ve been going out of my mind worrying since you left!”
He pulls me into a rough hug, almost smothering me in the process, and I pat his back. “I’m okay, Eir. I’m here.” He lets me go and goes back to gathering weapons.
Our plan is simple, really. I will be carrying my daggers there, like normal, but there will be a smaller gun in the picnic basket for me if I need it. Eir and Seamus will already be at the park waiting, so I’ll have them for back up. We’ll question Sean to make sure there aren’t any more traps or surprises hidden anywhere that could hurt someone, and then we will shoot him execution-style and bury him in the park. My stomach heaves at the thought of taking his life, but this time he’s left me no alternative. And if I’m being honest with myself, I admit that I want him to pay for making an attempt on Flint’s life. I’m not proud of it, but I’ll use it if I have to. I go over the plan again in my head. It all hinges on me getting Sean to the park without him becoming suspicious. I hope I can pull this off for all our sakes.
A few hours later the plans have been finalized, Seamus and Eirnin have left to get set up in the park and I am heading around the block to where Sean lives with his mother with a picnic basket swinging from my grip. The old apartment building is empty now, except for the two of them. I open the outside door into a dark hallway and shudder. I hate this place. I climb the stairs to the second floor where Sean lives in an apartment by himself; his mother’s apartment where he grew up is on the ground floor. He moved up here when he turned sixteen, after deciding that he needed more space and privacy. I ha
ve always thought it was more because he didn’t want to have anyone telling him when he needed to clean his room. I still can’t believe things have come to this. For a long time Sean was my only friend, even if he was family. He wasn’t especially warm or caring, but he was there to listen and go on adventures around the city with. There was a time when I trusted him with my life. Those days are long gone now.
I set the basket down at my feet to knock on the apartment door, but there is an absolute stillness around me that makes me think there’s no one inside. I knock again anyway and then call out, “Sean? It’s Fi, are you ready for dinner?”
I put my hand on the knob and the door swings inward with a squeak. I draw a dagger from a sheath at my waist and enter the apartment cautiously. Inside it is dark and carries the odor of trash left too long to rot indoors. I can tell right away that Sean is gone; his father’s sword that used to hang on the wall is missing, as are his rucksack and weapons. I do a cursory sweep of the entire unit and then exit, needing fresh air. I listen downstairs at my aunt’s door but she’s not normally awake or sober at this time of day either way, so even if she answers, I doubt she’ll be much use. Instead of wasting more time at the apartment, I head for the park to be sure Sean isn’t already there.
I clear the sidewalk in front of Sean’s building and take off at a run towards the park; basket swinging in my hand. If it didn’t have a gun hidden at the bottom, I would leave it behind. People and scenery fly by me and I feel the panic starting to set in when none of them is my cousin. When I reach the Alice statue I love to picnic by in the spring and summer, I look around for a moment and then call out to Eir and Seamus. Eir comes charging out of a shrub looking panicked. “He’s gone, isn’t he?” he says, and I realize I have failed everyone.
My uncle comes out from behind a tree with his hand hovering over his hip where I know he has a gun holstered. “He wasn’t there?” he asks.
I throw my hands in the air and yell in frustration; kicking the statue in the center of the area. “No!” I yell, angry at myself and terrified of what this could mean for my people. “He’s not there. He’s gone, and so are the things he cares most about.” I pause and try to calm my breathing, but then tilt my head back and scream at the sky. “DAMN IT!” My uncle puts a heavy hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me, and I drop my head into my hands; pressing my fingers into my eyes and fervently wishing I could rewind the last several hours and do things differently.
“Fianna — we need to go home, lass. Sean might have gone there before he lit out,” my uncle says in his deep, calm voice and my head snaps back up. I hadn’t even thought of Lumi and Flint at home with no idea of what is even going on out here.
“Oh God, you’re right. Let’s go!” I say as panic starts to course through me again. How far would Sean go to get another shot at the Winter princess? And how important was it to him that Flint was eliminated? I look at my uncle. “I’ll meet you at the house; I’m running.” He nods and I take off, and I’m not really surprised to see my brother keeping pace with me, looking furious.
“If he touches one hair on her head,” I hear him mutter, and push myself to run faster.
When we tear into the backyard, Aodhan comes to meet us, asking, “What’s going on? I heard you screaming.”
I grab onto my brother’s elbow when he tries to move past me into the house. “Wait, Eir!” I look over at Aodhan. “Has anyone been by here? Have you heard any commotion from inside the house?” My cousin shakes his head, looking completely lost, and when I let go of Eir he goes charging forward through the back door. I look back at Aodhan, and explain, “Sean got away. When your dad gets here, please ask him to get a team together to spread the word that Sean is now considered an exile, and if he is seen again inside the city limits, he is to be executed.”
Aodhan nods to me, looking determined, and takes a few steps into the yard to wait for his father. I turn, look up at my home and allow myself to examine the real reasoning behind the majority of my panic. I have to go confess to Flint that I lied to him this morning and then screwed up and let Sean get away, and now we could all very well be in danger because of it. Something tells me he isn’t going to be thrilled with me, and I feel a different kind of fear take hold of my heart.
Chapter 27—Flint
August 2102
"So I saw you gave Fi a new hairstyle this morning," Lumi says with a totally straight face while reading the cards I just dealt her.
I feel my face heat as I remember Fi in bed earlier today—driving me crazy with her hands and mouth without even realizing the effect she has on me, and have to clear my throat in order to speak. I fix a smirk on my face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Princess.”
"No? Huh. Because I saw her talking to Aodhan this morning and she had a serious case of bed head. And because Fi's hair always looks so nice, I can't imagine she would have done that to herself."
"Hmm….yes, she does have very nice hair," I say, not rising to the bait.
"Yes, that's a given, and it's also not my point, Hellboy," she says with a roll of her eyes.
I huff and say, "Well, what is your point, Lu?"
She does what I believe is her imitation of my smirk and says, "I think you know," sounding exasperated.
"Well I think we both know I’m not going to discuss this with you."
"What made you think I wanted details from you?" she scoffs. "Fi will fill me in about all of that later, I'm sure." I try and turn a choking fit into a regular cough as she looks at me and grins. I don’t need to know about the girl talk that will happen at a later date.
“Okay, Princess,” I say, in a desperate attempt to change the subject. “Enough stalling — are we playing a game here or not?”
“Yeah, yeah,” she says, waving her hand at me. “Spoil sport.”
I roll my eyes and snort at her insanity. We’ve been playing poker for the past hour or so, and even though she claims she’s never played this before she is kicking my ass at it. I wonder if the cards are plotting against me in some form or another as I stare at my pathetic pair of threes, and Lu speaks again.
“Boom!” she says when we get to the final bet; throwing her cards on the floor between us to show me her hand (which happens to be her third full house) and promptly sweeping the hair clips we are using as currency closer to her.
“Alright,” I say, pointing a figure at her. “You’ve done this before. I don’t believe you.”
“Just because you suck doesn’t mean I’m wording you, Twinks,” she replies, and I have to hold back a snort.
I shake my head at her. I’m not sure I believe she isn’t lying to me about this but I don’t accuse her of it, either. That’s a fight I don’t want to have. “I do not suck at this game.”
“Really?” She looks over at my measly stack of hair clips and furrows her brow. “So you’re supposed to have no money at the end?”
“Oh, shut up, Princess.” I snatch her cards back and shuffle the deck. She throws her head back and laughs as I huff in frustration. “I thought we settled on Hellboy?”
“Well, yes,” she says with a nod. “But not when you’re being a sore loser. Then we’re back to Twinkly Bottom. Which is my personal favorite.”
“Shut up,” I tell her again, but this time I can’t help but laugh. “Come on. One more time, all or nothing.”
Lumi is still giggling when loud footfalls on the stairs interrupt her reply. If I didn’t know better, I’d think we were in the middle of an earthquake.
“The hell is that?” Lu says. I shrug at her and shift to stand up, and I’ve just pulled her to her feet when the door is thrown open. Eirnin stands in the doorway and his face floods with relief as soon as his gaze locks on Lumi. He’s winded and his hair has fallen in front of his wide eyes. He looks a mess.
“Eir?” Lu asks concernedly. She opens her mouth to add to that statement but is abruptly cut off when Eir leaps forward and scoops her up in a hug; lifting her off the ground in
the process. She makes a sort of half-squeak, half-grunt sound and hooks her arms around his neck, even though it’s fairly obvious he’s not going to put her down.
I clear my throat. “Should I leave you two alone?”
Lulu flushes and shakes her head at me — not answering my question, just out of pure confusion. Eir settles her on the ground suddenly and looks her over; tilting her face up so he can look at her. “Are you okay?”
“Um, yeah,” Lu says. “Flint and I were playing cards—”
“Oh crap, Flint—” Eir turns, his hand still secure on Lu’s waist, and stares at me. I do a two finger wave and he lets out a breath. “Oh good, you’re here, too. Good. That’s good.”
“You’re shaking,” Lumi notes; taking Eir’s hand off her waist and looking down at it. “Eir, what happened?”
Fianna steps in the doorway then. She looks at me, but when I try to meet her eyes she immediately looks away towards her brother as he fusses over the princess. She refuses to look me in the eye and I feel a bit uneasy. “Is everything okay, love?”
She doesn’t answer me right away, and when Lu tells Eir he needs to sit down Fi finally clears her throat and looks in my general direction. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Although I nod, I’m utterly confused. She looks nervous as hell, and the way her brother is behaving doesn’t make me very comfortable. Still, I close Lu’s door and follow Fi down the stairs to her bedroom. She gestures for me to go inside first and closes her door gently behind us.
“What’s going on?” I ask; trying not to be obvious about how anxious she’s got me right now.
“I have to tell you something,” she says. She can’t seem to figure out where to put her hands; they keep moving from her hips to her mouth, and she’s wringing them when she finally seems to notice and promptly settles them at her sides in loose fists. “I made a mistake.”
I am still standing right in front of her, but she has yet to meet my eyes. Worry grips at my stomach and I want to beg her to spit it out. “Go ahead, love.”
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