by Deanna Chase
The brunette fae laughed, a throaty bedroom version. “Don’t be so modest, Talisen. How else would I know about that birthmark on your upper thigh or the scar on your hip?”
Anger-tinged jealousy burst forward and pooled in my chest. I’d never seen the alleged birthmark, but I knew about the scar. Back when we were teens he’d slipped on a mossy log and gotten a jagged rock lodged in his hip. There was no way he’d walked away from that without a reminder.
“What do you want?” My voice was as chilly as the cold air.
Her piercing eyes bored into me. “You.”
Talisen shifted so his body was completely in front of mine. “You have two seconds to get out of here before I put this bolt in your leg.”
I peeked over his shoulder at the supermodel fae and had a flash of them together in bed. The contents in my stomach churned.
“You know I can’t do that,” she said, standing her ground. “Especially not since you ended Macinson. You know Asher’s entire team is out looking for you both, right?”
How did she know about Macinson? Had Tal told her? And how many people was the entire team? I pulled the small tranq gun from the back of my jeans and held it behind my back. No matter what happened, I wasn’t going down without a fight.
“They might be looking, but they’ll never find us.” Tal took a step forward.
“So naïve.” The woman shook her head. “Do you really think I’d come out here all by myself?” She waved a hand and three other fae materialized from the trees. One woman and two men.
Tal didn’t even look at them. He just raised the crossbow to aim it at her chest. “Do you really think I’d be so stupid as to take Willow to a safe house when I didn’t have backup?”
I turned my back to Talisen and eyed the new arrivals. I didn’t recognize any of them. “Tal?”
“Just stick close to me, Wil. This won’t take much longer.”
I hated not being in the know. Tal seemed so confident. As if he’d planned for this encounter. But I didn’t see how we were going to get out of this. As far as I knew, we were outnumbered four to two… well, three including Link. Sure, Tal had a crossbow and I had the tranq gun, but the unfamiliar fae could have spells or other weapons they hadn’t yet brandished.
“This is getting really old, Talisen,” his supposed lover said in a bored tone. “Just hand her over and we’ll let you go. No one really liked Macinson anyway.”
Talisen scoffed. “Give it up, Meredith. One would’ve thought you’d have realized by now that no one is who they seem to be.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her voice rose as suspicion set in.
“This.” I felt him move and a second later a bolt flew and landed in the knee of the fae to our left. He let out a cry as a burst of magic exploded from him in a cloud of blackness.
“Duck.” Talisen grabbed me around the waist and pulled me face-first into the snow. More magic flew over our heads as the other fae turned on each other. Link stood guard, not letting any of them advance on us.
“Move,” Tal said as he pulled me up to my knees. “To the trees.”
I scrambled in front of him, reaching the nearest tree just as a stream of magic flew by me. I plastered myself to the trunk and took in the magical battle. The shorter, dark-haired female was throwing electric bolts at the one Tal had called Meredith while the two males were caught in an invisible struggle, each fighting the other off in some weird energy battle. They were all manipulators of elements, while Tal was a healer and I was a life fae. Our magic required a connection, theirs didn’t. They could call up their powers at will, which made them much more dangerous.
Meredith threw a stream of electricity that hit the brunette right in the chest. She went completely stiff and fell over, her unseeing eyes staring up into the bright sun. Meredith let out a whoop of triumph as she turned to Talisen. But he was up and running toward the brunette, his back to her.
Link lunged, but before he could latch his jaws onto Meredith, I gripped the tranq gun and aimed. The dart hit my target dead center. Right in her heart. She let out a loud gasp as she pulled the dart from her chest, but it was too late. Her eyes were already rolling back in her head.
I didn’t waste any time. I turned to the fae Tal had hit with the crossbow bolt and pulled the trigger on the tranq gun once more. But he just waved a hand, sending the dart off into the woods.
“Shit.” I ducked back behind the tree, avoiding the fireball of magic he’d tossed in my direction before he unleashed another assault on our remaining ally.
Fire and water met in the middle of the circle, each streaming from the dueling fae. I wasn’t in a position to shoot again—my dart would be incinerated. So I sprinted to Talisen and the brunette. He had his hands on her chest and was so focused, so intent, that sweat dripped from his face. He was working hard to save her.
“Anything I can do?” I asked.
He shook his head, but then his eyes met mine and he said, “Help Matt.”
I glanced back at the water-wielding fae to find he was being pushed back. The fire fae was much stronger.
Dammit! I needed Link. Where had he gone? I prayed he hadn’t been caught in the crossfire. Knowing I couldn’t stand there and do nothing, I fluttered my wings and rose into the canopy of the trees. I couldn’t risk being seen or the fire fae could burn me straight to the ground. As I positioned myself over the dueling fae, it occurred to me Talisen hadn’t treated me like a porcelain doll the way most everyone else had. He’d told me to help Matt. And I’d be damned if I wouldn’t do just that.
The realization gave me the burst of confidence I needed and just as the fire fae was about to completely take over the water fae, I dropped from the trees and tackled him from behind. I landed on top of him, flattening him on his stomach. Fire bolted from his hands, melting the snow into a large puddle of water beneath us.
Physically I was no match for him. He must’ve had at least seventy-five pounds on my thin frame, but I did what I swore I’d never do again to another fae. I latched onto his neck and sucked in his life force. His energy was foreign, tainted with evil, and tasted of ash. It made me gag and my head swim. I had to let go before his evilness consumed me, but if I did, I’d be his next victim. My vision turned blurry as tears streamed down my cheeks and my insides turned over on themselves.
“Tal!” I cried, praying he was nearby. But just before I passed out, I heard the familiar growl of Link and felt his soft coat brush my skin as he attacked.
I let go and scrambled backward as Link dove directly for the fae’s neck. Relentless and unforgiving, Link closed his jaws and blood splattered and seeped into the snow. He held on and shook until the fae beneath him stilled. I huddled into myself, horrified by what I’d just watched. I’d known Link was dangerous. Deadly. But I’d only ever seen him attack a vampire. Not another fae. My body started to tremble with delayed adrenaline. When had our war against Asher turned into a fae war?
“Are you all right?” a soft male voice asked from a few feet away.
I jerked back, startled.
“It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” The water fae kneeled down, holding his hand out to me the way he would a skittish animal.
Link stalked to my side and sat in front of me, possessively claiming me as his. Normally I’d reprimand such an action, but since I had no idea who I could trust, I said nothing and glanced to where Talisen was helping the brunette to her feet.
“Thank you,” Matt, that’s what Tal had called him, said. “He would’ve burned me alive if you hadn’t helped.”
I glanced at the dead fae and shuddered.
“It had to be done.” Matt held a hand out to me again, but I didn’t take it.
I didn’t know this guy. I didn’t know any of them. And I sure as hell didn’t trust anyone at the moment. With the exception of Tal. Even with all the crazy going on, I could never believe he wasn’t on my side. Besides Phoebe and my mother, he was the only person on the green earth t
hat I trusted at that moment.
Matt’s eyes darkened. “You can trust me.”
I shook my head. “Sorry. At this point, I don’t think I can.” I met Talisen’s eyes and stood.
He scanned the length of my body as if assessing my physical well-being and then ran, catching me in his embrace. He let out a long slow breath and kissed the side of my head. “Thank the gods you’re okay.”
“Thank Link,” I said, breathless at the display of his emotion.
“I’m so sorry, Willow. I should’ve known she’d show up.”
“Sorry, man. She and her partner showed up this morning, hell bent on leading this hunt,” Matt said. “I didn’t even know she was working for Asher until today.”
I felt Tal nod his understanding. And when I pulled away, I met his gaze. “Did you know?”
He nodded. “I found out a few days ago. Asher’s recruiting fae in his war on vampires.”
That made sense. Asher was a vigilante for humans, believing vampires had too much power in our world. Fae would be his natural allies since we weren’t usually very fond of vampires ourselves.
I glanced at Meredith, who was unconscious in the snow. How had he learned she was working with Asher? Suspicion clouded my mind as I imagined the two of them in bed together. It was the perfect opportunity for him to gather intel. Other agents worked that way. Why not him?
“Hey,” Tal said, searching my expression. “Everything’s okay now. Matt and Samantha are Void. Just like you and me. You’re surrounded by people we can trust.”
I glanced at the brunette and Matt. They both appeared shaken. Then I glanced at Meredith. “What are you going to do about her?”
Samantha climbed to her unsteady feet, but appeared to be well enough after Tal’s ministrations. Then she walked over to Meredith and kicked her hard in the ribs. “She’s coming with us. For interrogation.” She glanced at Tal. “Were you really lovers?”
Tal grimaced and looked away.
Matt whistled and I blanched. Meredith and Talisen. An air fae and a healer. The perfect complement. I wanted to strangle her. Strangle Tal after everything he’d said last night and this morning. Here I was pining for him and he was sleeping with another fae. I wanted to stab him with a tranq dart.
“We need to get moving,” Talisen said, pulling me to his side. I stepped away, keeping my distance. He cast me a wary glance but didn’t question me. He knew what was wrong, but we wouldn’t discuss it in front of the others. We stood there as Matt picked up Meredith and slung her over his shoulder.
“What about him?” I jerked my head toward the fire fae.
“We’ll send a cleanup crew,” Matt said.
Samantha and Matt took off in the direction they’d come from, while Tal, Link, and I followed. After a few minutes, Talisen leaned close to me and said, “You did good back there.”
“So did you. Nice aim,” I said, softening despite my hurt feelings over Meredith.
“Lucky shot.” He gave me a small smile.
“Lucky shot, my ass. You hit her exactly where you intended to. I know you better than that, Talisen Kavanagh. If you’d wanted her dead, that bolt would’ve hit her directly in her heart.”
He shrugged. “Perhaps.”
Right. He was the best shooter in all of Northern California. And we both knew it. “Just tell me one thing?”
“What’s that?”
“Are you handing her over to the Void?”
He shook his head. “No.”
I stopped and stared him dead in the eye. “You’re giving her to Allcot, aren’t you?”
He didn’t even blink. “Yes.”
Chapter 12
My mouth dropped open in shock. I’d been expecting him to say yes, to confirm he’d been working for Allcot, but hearing the confession made it all too real. That meant he was a double agent, feeding information to both the Void and Allcot this entire time.
I closed my mouth, choosing not to confront him in front of the other two fae. I had no idea if they knew or not. And honestly, I didn’t want to find out just then. Too much had happened in the past twenty-four hours.
I had a multitude of questions. Starting with if he was working for Allcot, why hadn’t Allcot just ordered him to New Orleans? Why had I been forced to come after him? And what exactly was going on? Why had the fae agreed to work with Asher? Last I’d heard, he’d been employing vampires and humans. Fae didn’t usually get into these kinds of wars, myself excepted. But I didn’t have a choice. Asher had been trying to kill me for months.
Without saying a word, I followed Matt and Sam, praying we weren’t too far from civilization.
Tal fell into step beside me. In a low voice he said, “I know I owe you an explanation.”
I cast him an incredulous look. “You think?”
“As soon as we get some privacy, I’ll explain everything.”
I snorted. “Seems like we had plenty of privacy last night.”
He grimaced. “Point taken.”
I stared straight ahead and didn’t answer him. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hurt. I wasn’t even mad anymore. Just disappointed and confused. Tal hated Allcot and everything he stood for. Yet here he was working for him. And I didn’t even want to think about what he’d been doing with Meredith.
It didn’t take Tal long to notice my fatigue. My legs were heavy and I was slower than everyone else. It was from draining the vamp and the emotional turmoil. I hated that my one super skill made me weak. I vowed right then and there to learn some other way of defending myself. Eyeing Tal’s crossbow, I decided to sign up for lessons as soon as we got back to New Orleans. It was better at taking down vampires than pretty much any other weapon besides a sun-agate spell. Since I wasn’t gifted in that type of magic, crossbow it was.
Tal inched closer to me and placed his hand on my neck.
I stiffened.
“Wil,” he said. “Relax.”
That wasn’t going to happen. I was too wound up, too frustrated. But then his cool healing energy skittered over my skin, giving me a jolt. My steps were lighter and it was infinitely easier to keep up with the group. His hand lingered on my neck for a few moments, and I got the feeling he was reluctant to let go.
I glanced at him and then averted my gaze, biting my lip. “Thanks. I needed that.”
He nodded and then stuffed his hands in his pockets. And for just a moment, I swear I saw sadness flash through his gaze. There had been a time in our relationship when I wouldn’t have hesitated to ask him to help me. But now… everything was different. And even though Tal was right next to me, I started to feel as if I was farther from him than I’d ever been.
It took us over an hour to make our way to a dirt road. There were two Isuzu Troopers parked in a clearing, both a nondescript black.
Matt dumped Meredith into one of the vehicles and then tossed Tal a set of keys. “We’ll follow you,” he said as he climbed into the other Trooper.
“No need.” Tal hit the key fob. “We’re getting on a plane to New Orleans. I’ll be in touch once I’m briefed on the situation.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise. One thing I knew for sure about Allcot was that he most definitely wouldn’t stand for Tal briefing anyone who wasn’t part of Allcot’s team. Wait. Did they work for Allcot, too? Not possible.
I opened the back door and gestured for Link to climb in. He jumped up with ease; all signs of his wound were nonexistent. “Feeling okay, boy?”
He leaned his head out the window and licked my hand.
“Good.”
Tal came up behind me and opened the door for me. It was a sweet gesture, but gestures were meaningless when he’d been keeping important information from me. Just like everyone else in my life. David, my mom, Allcot. I’d thought Tal was different. A little piece of my heart hardened as I stared at him.
“Get in, Wil,” Tal said softly. “I’ll explain on the way to the airport.”
He knew I was pissed. Of course he did. I nodde
d and climbed into the passenger’s seat, relieved we were on our way home. “I need to stop at Mom’s to get my suitcase.”
He shook his head as he turned the ignition. “Too risky. Asher’s people will be staking it out now that they know you’re in town. We’ll get someone to pick it up later if there’s anything important.”
I shook my head. I’d only brought a change of clothes. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t live without.
“Good.”
The ride over the dirt road was bumpy as hell. But at least we were low enough in elevation that the snow had cleared. By the time we finally turned onto a paved highway, my jaw ached from keeping my teeth from clattering together. It didn’t take long for me to turn to Talisen expectantly. “Well?”
He glanced at me and let out a slow breath. “What do you want to know first?”
Had he really slept with that fae bitch? That was the first question to pop into my head? How sad was I? I swallowed it and instead asked, “How long have you been working for Allcot?”
“Since before I left New Orleans. You knew that.” He added the last part quietly as if to remind me.
“Yeah. But I thought that was to only supply him with your new drug. Not to spy for him. Jeez, Tal. Do you have any idea how dangerous this all is?”
He let out a humorless laugh. “That’s some question after the past twenty-four hours, don’t you think?”
I just stared at him, waiting.
“Son of a… of course I know how dangerous it is.” His eyes flashed with anger as he glanced over at me. “You think I want to work for him? Or the Void for that matter? Hasn’t it ever occurred to you I didn’t have a choice? That maybe I was forced into it by both of them? That if I’d had any real choice, I’d still be in New Orleans by your side?”
A lump formed in the back of my throat. After a few swallows, I could only say the obvious. “The Void forced you to come back here. It’s their fault all this happened between us.”
He stared straight ahead, his neck strained from tension. Then he slowly shook his head. “No. As far as they were concerned, I could’ve stayed there and just worked on my drug.”