by A. K. Koonce
Ryder’s wide shoulders become rigid. With a long hesitation, he turns his head to look back at me. His light eyes hold mine, weighing me down with just one look.
Right now, he’s wondering if he can trust me.
He shouldn’t.
I’m the mortal danger his father warned him about. I’m the big bad wolf, and he’s all but begging me to guide him through the dark, dark woods.
If he screws up, I won’t hesitate to kill him. This world is a game of life and I rather like my life.
Even if I am a homeless thief.
Looking up at him, it pains me to not appear vulnerable, to keep my natural features in place. My instincts tell me to appear as he wishes. It’d benefit me to be what he wants.
For some reason, I can’t. Maybe it’s because he saved my life. He pulled me back from the greedy claws of death. And now he’s ruined me.
But it seems I’ve ruined him as well because he answers my question with nothing but honesty in his eyes.
“The Eminence is said to be the most powerful Hopeless in the entire world. Someday, the Eminence will come and it’ll either rain wrath on this already demolished world, or it’ll restore it to the beauty it once was.”
A warm feeling spreads through me. Maybe the Eminence will restore it. I might one day breathe air that isn’t tinged with smoke. I might bask in the warmth of sunlight. I might actually live a happy life.
Or the Eminence will destroy the world.
Well, you win some you lose some.
My thoughts fade and I feel something. I can physically feel the attention burning into me. My lashes flutter, and I look up to Daxdyn to find his eyes tracing across my features.
Pure confidence is all he possesses. Zero embarrassment is held within him for being caught checking me out.
A shiver skims down my spine as I narrow my hard gaze on his absurdly handsome face.
His tongue darts out and licks his lower lip before the smile falls into place there.
Gods above, this is going to be a long trip.
***
The coast is still at least a week’s hike. It’s been over a day and our pace has slowed to a near nonexistent speed.
“Let’s camp here for a few hours. We’ll start back up once we’ve had some decent food and some sleep.” Ryder assesses the surroundings. A stream trickles along our path. It leads into town. I know it like the back of my hand. I also know we won’t be robbed here. We’re too far from the village for the lowlifes to find us.
Well, except for me, anyway.
“Daxdyn help me with the fish. Darrio can you get us a small fire going?” Both of the men nod to Ryder, mirroring one another like true twins.
Daxdyn and Ryder make their way down to the stream. I can almost hear the sound of their voices from several yards away.
Darrio turns from them and runs right into me, his chest brushes mine. My footing falters but I’m quick to right my steps. A scowl curls his full lips.
And yet, there’s an energy swirling between us. I think it might be from the spark he rained down on my poor nose, but it’s definitely … strange. It’s like his body is charging mine, spiking energy all through it. My core tightens simply from the feel of his body against me.
“Fucking human.”
What a delightful asshole this one is.
My jaw clenches at the word ‘human’. He says it harshly. Like I’m beneath him and his kind.
What does this man have to be so unhappy about? I’m homeless and even I enjoy my life more than Darrio. A beat passes and we’re still assessing one another.
A cruel, jagged line is slashed down his face. It isn’t small; the imperfection demands attention. Without much thought, the smooth skin of the scar adorning his temple greets my fingertips.
He’s so different from his twin it’s almost astounding.
“You're not the same, are you? Not here.” Not with every jagged imperfection that lines his scarred body. Not in the mind that’s always turning. Not deep down inside.
Darrio doesn’t flinch away from my touch. His eyes hold mine as I study the pink skin beneath my index finger. It runs the length of his dark hairline, from temple to jaw. What did Darrio do to deserve this? Oddly, it doesn’t take away from his haunting good looks. It only magnifies it if anything. It highlights his light eyes. My gaze shifts to his depthless gaze. The scar draws attention to his always calculating and hard, glaring irises.
The energy I felt earlier is growing wild within my chest. My erratic heartbeat pounds restlessly.
His brows pull together in confusion. Does he feel it too? Or does my attention make him uncomfortable?
Good. He deserves to feel awkward for what he called me.
A smirk touches my lips and before I can speak again his mouth is on mine.
It’s a reckless kiss. Flawed and rushed; our lips angled against each other.
To my surprise, I lean into him with my arms held uneasily away from his hard body. Strong hands grasp my hips. Darrio holds me the way I used to hold the stolen trinkets I hid away as a child. His palms skim up my bare sides, against my ribs before meeting the cotton of my vest.
It’s a kiss filled with fire and intent and all I want is for it to burn me up inside.
With a striking spark that tingles all through me, he parts my lips. Slowly he rolls his tongue across mine, sending that igniting feeling right through me. It’s a feeling that wakes me up inside. A feeling that makes me snap.
I push back from him with more force than necessary. My palm connects swiftly with the scar along his jaw. The scar that got me into this mess in the first place. A sting explodes against my fingertips and a satisfying red mark tints his cheek.
The hateful words we’ve shared won’t be forgotten with one kiss.
Even if it was a heart pounding, knee shaking, panty …
I shake my head adamantly. Not going to happen.
He looks to the ground. It’s a confused look that almost makes guilt touch my stomach.
“I’m sorry.” His throat bobs before he finally meets my eyes.
“You should be,” to spite him I add, “Rio.”
Thin lips pull across his features, his head shaking back and forth, rejecting the affectionate nickname just like I rejected him.
Light sparks, catching my attention. A blazing ember is held in Ryder’s hand, lighting up his good looks in a golden hue. The fire rests in his hands as Daxdyn studies the stream they stand in. Daxdyn’s shirt has been thrown to the ground and I couldn’t tear my gaze away from his body if I wanted to. Even if his own brother is looking right at me.
“Fucking human,” Darrio whispers once more before turning away from me.
His deep voice tingles across my skin.
A smile clings to my lips from his term of endearment. That’s what I’ll call his little name for me; endearing.
Another light appears, held tightly in Daxdyn’s hands. He lowers his palms beneath the waters. Reflective colors ripple across the sharp angles of his jaw. Seconds pass with him standing ever so still. The muscles of his shoulders tense, and when he rises, he holds a large squirming trout in his hands.
It happens so quickly it’s as if the fish was drawn to him.
He tosses the flopping fish to the grassy shore before resuming his stance and repeating the simple process.
I gape at them for so long I barely realize Darrio’s somehow structured a blazing fire out of thin air. The crackle of logs burning pulls at my attention and I turn toward the warmth.
The last thing I want right now is to sit buddy-buddy at the campfire with Mr. Stick Up His Ass. I exhale slowly before taking a seat on the grass. Darrio doesn’t even glance my way. He appears as if he’s entranced with the flickering flames.
He doesn’t seem to be the best at avoiding confrontation.
And neither am I.
The blazing hue makes his skin appear more bronze. The coloring washes away his scars but emphasizes the slight skew of his nos
e. It’s as if it’s been broken one too many times.
With movement so fast I barely see it, Darrio is at my side.
“Someone’s coming. Get up. I can’t let anything happen to you.” He says it like I’m both a priority to him as well as an inconvenience.
He hauls me from the ground, gripping the underside of my arm with force as he drags me from our cozy spot.
I don’t fight him. I don’t argue or demand he let me go. I follow him without question.
It might even seem like I trust him.
For a second at least.
I jerk away from him once the thick woods seclude us. My eyes flicker to the river but it’s empty. Daxdyn and Ryder are nowhere to be seen.
I’m still assessing our surroundings when he flings me against a tree. My teeth jar together. The bark bites into my spine and I glare up at him as he puts his finger to his lips. Lightly, his rigid body skims against mine as we both ignore one another to listen intently to …
Absolutely nothing.
“Is this your way of avoiding the awkward campfire silence?” I whisper in an accusing tone.
His head tilts slowly down as he glares at me like I’m the most ridiculous thing he’s ever had the misfortune of protecting.
With one swift turn, he pushes away from me. At first, I think he’s just sulking until he grips his hands around the large man’s neck. The man’s worn boots graze across the ground, frantic to be out of Darrio’s strong grip. He lifts him a little higher, bringing the strangers face up to his own so he can closely appraise him.
“Who are you?” Darrio asks and his eyes hold an eerie, glinting look within them.
A choking sound gargles through the stranger’s throat.
That seems to be Darrio’s problem, though; he never puts his fists down long enough to let words pass.
“Release him and maybe you’ll get a few answers.”
Darrio’s hard eyes land on me and he drops the man in an instant.
A warm feeling of triumph sinks into me. I’m actually stunned he listened to me at all.
A gasping sound leaves the man as he heaves air into his lungs. Defiance shines in his dark eyes as he stares up at Darrio with a new, fearless look in his gaze.
“Who are you?” Darrio asks again. I, too, study the man as if I’m not completely distracted by the tone of Darrio’s deep and demanding voice.
“I am the honored and loyal soldier of our lady, Queen Alexia of Juvar. I am one of many sent to retrieve you and your kind.”
His endless title has me rolling my eyes on the spot.
Darrio kneels until he’s right in the man’s face again. A rapid tic has the fae’s fingers arching toward his palm and a vicious light blazes through his fingertips.
A haunting look of aggression storms through Darrio’s gray eyes. It’s like hellfire is burning deep within him. His gaze isn’t beautiful for once.
It’s terrifying.
That look sinks realization into me. I now realize that I should not taunt this dangerous fae as much as I do.
A flickering image to my right startles me so much I gasp. Ryder stands staring down at Darrio and the solider, and Daxdyn holds Ryder’s shoulder as if he needs the other fae to keep him in place.
An eerie feeling tingles through me as I look at them. Their bodies flicker in and out of focus as if they’re not entirely there. As if they’re not a solid form at all.
Ryder’s fingers curl into a tight fist and then the two of them appear … whole again. Daxdyn releases his shoulder and they both continue to look upon the man with disgust curling their lips.
“Tell your lady, the queen, that Darrio Riles is returning home.” He brings his palm closer to the man’s face, highlighting the apparent fear that clings to his features. His other hand sparks with magic, and he holds them both on either side of the soldier’s jaw. “Tell her, I’ll be greeting her with open arms.”
Then Darrio slowly grips the man’s face in his palms. A sizzling sound accompanies the screams of the most honored and loyal soldier of our lady, Queen Alexia of Juvar.
Chapter Five
Shuddering
For the last several miles nothing but open fields are all we’ve seen. The long strips of grass are rough against my palm as I pull at them. They tickle my skin with every step I take, flicking lightly against my abdomen and arms.
A comfortable silence has fallen over our little group. Since last night, I can’t find it in me to pester the hell out of Darrio as I once did. He really can kill me without even trying if he wanted.
And I fucking stabbed him like he was nothing when we first met.
As we walk, my attention continues to dart over to his broad stature. Darrio Riles has the hard body of a warrior and the endless scars to match. He’d probably be handsome if he ever stops referring to me as the fucking human.
I shrug as I consider him.
My delightful attitude is seriously undervalued with this one.
There’s a town up ahead. The tiny houses are just shadowed forms against the starry night sky. The image of it alone makes me home sick.
The smell of smoke is harsher now, the closer to the coast we get. It’ll be overwhelming when we get to the sea.
“What was that thing you did? When you and Daxdyn flashed in just in time to see that guy lose his face.” I look to Ryder and he glances at me out of the corner of his pale blue eyes.
They decided to let Mr. No Face live. They said they wanted to make sure their message gets back to the queen.
A chill skims down my spine, but I straighten my shoulders and ignore it.
“It’s called shuddering.”
Fuck, that sounds perfectly named.
“It’s like … teleporting for fae,” he adds.
“Teleporting?” My brow arches and my feet stop walking all together. “You could have just flickered us right to the coast already without all this walking? I’ve had to look at Darrio’s brooding face for days now.”
Darrio scoffs at me but doesn’t encourage my teasing.
“I can’t shudder you.”
A smile almost pulls at my lips at the phrasing of that sentence alone. The adult in me bites back my smirk even though I have no doubt in my mind that Ryder could shudder me real good.
“Why?” I study him closely.
He looks to the stars as if he’s pleading with them to find reason within his little foolish human friend.
“You won’t like the answer.”
“Tell me,” I demand.
Quiet laughter skims over Daxdyn’s full lips and my eyes narrow on him.
“You’re too heavy,” Ryder finally says.
“Fuck you.” My arms cross at the same time as my lips curl. “You’re making excuses. You flickered Daxdyn, you can flicker me.” Considering Daxdyn probably outweighs me by more than fifty pounds, it shouldn’t be a problem.
“It’s shuddering. Flickering isn’t a thing.” He pushes his hand roughly through his blonde hair. “My fae power won’t allow me to transport you. As a human, your energy is too heavy. You’ve never seen magic; your mind and energy is flawed by the black and white understanding of reality. Your energy is weighed down by the cosmics of reality.”
Cosmics of reality.
This is the explanation I get for why we’ve been walking for days.
“Prove it.”
“Prove it?” he repeats. His brows lower as he stares hard at me.
“Prove you can’t shudder me.”
Darrio’s attention slowly drifts toward Ryder as he shifts on his feet. A long, drawn-out sigh leaves his lips; it’s as if Darrio feels his precious time is being wasted.
Then the space between Ryder and I disappears as he shudders right in front of me. A daring smile clings to his lips as his image flickers slightly until he stands whole again. The ridges of his chest brush against my breasts and I can’t think of a single snarky thing to say to him. All I can hear is my heart pounding a wild beat.
Wi
thout warning, he grabs my legs, lifting me up. His arm holds my back as he cradles my body against his. I let my palm trail up his chest, not meeting his eyes while I take my time praising the solid lines of his body to grip his shoulder.
His body is pure strength and power. I feel it held against me, but I feel it crackle around me as well. It’s as if it’s a tangible thing.
Fae magic.
Slowly his gaze drifts to my parted mouth and he rolls his tongue along his lower lip. I all but hum a pathetic moan of a response.
Then my breath catches as the world goes black. The nerves within my body snap against my flesh as if they’re uncertain where they belong. It feels like my veins are trying to separate from my body. Pain shoots through me, like needles beneath my skin.
Then it stops. My eyes open to find us lying on the ground right where we were. Darrio glares down at me while Daxdyn offers up his hand.
I’m lying on top of Ryder, my hand splayed across his chest. My ass is on the hard ground, my legs thrown over his lap as if he might still try to carry me away. He’s no longer holding me though. With amusement, he leans back on his arms, making himself comfortable here in the dusty field.
“Happy?” he asks with an annoying cock of his brow.
My stomach sinks as I realize he wasn’t lying. He can’t shudder me.
“I feel like a fat ass, thanks.”
He has the audacity to smirk that charming and exasperating little smile of his. I dust myself off and shove away from him. A groan slips from his lips even as he laughs at my poor attitude.
“I tried to tell you,” he hollers after me, a smirk lacing his words.
My boots storm across the dry field and, without looking back, I flip him a gesture with one hand. The arrogant sound of roaring laughter is their only reply.
Assholes.
Chapter Six
Saint’s Inn
The beautiful two-story home I grew up in possesses my attention the moment I step foot on the dusty streets in the middle of downtown. Divots line the path, making my steps uneven and jostled.
We’ve travelled together without further incident for two days now.