“Foster is aware of our community now,” I said.
Captain Brown tried to stare into me. His magic probed at me briefly, but the moment I narrowed my eyes in warning he backed off.
“Very well. It makes this easier then.”
“What is going on?” Foster asked, looking between all three of us, frustrated.
“The fae are acting up at the farmer’s market. If we don’t subdue them before help arrives, then our community is going to be exposed. They’re like little whelps unable to hold themselves back. And they are pissed.”
Captain Brown turned and walked away. We followed, heading to all the action. I could hear them now, the muttering. Magic swirled through the air, and I had to hold in my temptation to draw it into myself.
“The fae are erratic,” Captain Brown said. “Too similar to junkies having a breakdown. The only difference is that they have magic, making them dangerous. We will need to bring them to jail to cover this up properly, but I don’t want them in there if we can’t get them under control.”
We went around a stall set up and abandoned. Down the row, on the other end were three men. The stalls around them had been food stalls, but not anymore. The three of them had destroyed them.
I understood Captain Brown’s apprehension right away. The three were currently making work of another stall, tossing everything after giving it a bite or a lick. Their glamours were barely holding. The smaller guy had a long lizard-like tail, scales going up his neck and over his face. Every time he sniffed at something, his true form flashed.
“Bullshit. This is bullshit,” the tall lanky one muttered. His form wasn’t as horrifying as the smaller guy’s. In fact, I didn’t see much difference, meaning he was decently powerful. If anything, all that was different was that he was taller and skinnier, almost skeletal.
“It has to be here, right? Right?” the third man said. He was stockier, his skin gray when his glamour wavered.
“What has to be here?” I asked, getting their attention. All three whirled to face us, expressions dark. The fact that we could sneak up on them proved how out of it and desperate they were.
“Who the fuck are you?” the tall one asked. They moved from out of the stall, practically stumbling over the rubble.
I took the lead, the other two easily deferring to my high position. Foster tried to move to stand with me, but Captain Brown stopped him. Foster couldn’t move further without making a scene and adding unneeded aggression to an already tense situation.
“My name is Joslyn Naevana. I demand you answer me. What do you think you are doing? Are you aware that you are about to expose our community to humans?”
“Do we look like we care?” The stocky man asked. He looked me over slowly before grinning slyly. “Maybe you have it.” He took in a deep breath. “You do smell good.” A forked tongue came out and licked his lips. “All that magic. Care to share her sweetness with us?”
“How did you become addicted to Faerie magic?” I asked.
“Addicted? Don’t make us sound as weak as those humans. We simply want what is owed to us. Nature magic isn’t as potent. But Faerie magic. That’s the good stuff.” The stocky man moved closer, his two friends flanking him.
Were they idiots? Did they not see how outnumbered they’d be?
“Share some of your magic with us, and we’ll talk. We will be more than willing to talk.” The small man snickered.
I curled my lip in disgust. “Or you can just go to jail.”
Two of them hissed at me. The tall guy threw magic at me instead. It was weak and flimsy. I was ready to take it as my own, when I realized too late that it wasn’t aimed at me. Foster grunted and fell to his knees, holding his stomach.
Captain Brown was at his side to help him, Judah blocking Foster from the fae.
Me? I saw red.
Pure rage flowed through me. The air whipped around with it. “How dare you hurt what is mine? Do you know who I am?”
The three fae stilled, realizing things were about to go very, very wrong for them. I stalked toward them, not hearing what the men at my back were yelling. I didn’t care.
All I saw was Foster’s pain as he was on his knees. No one—not even fae—was allowed to put my man on his knees. Only I could.
I snarled. “What makes you think you are worthy of touching my things?” I asked them. I gathered my reserve of magic and lifted my hands. To make it more potent, I added in the magic that gathered in the air
Gasps surrounded me as I claimed the magic. From experience, I knew it felt like all the air in their lungs was stolen. I didn’t care. They could suffocate. It’d be a mercy for the hell I was about to give them.
I raised my right hand higher, fingers stretched out. Then I made a fist. The magic crashed hard on top of the three fae. They cried out as their legs crumpled underneath the weight, forcing them to the ground. They forced Foster to his knees, so I returned the favor—threefold.
I stalked toward them, keeping the pressure on them. They strained to stand, causing them more pain.
“W-who are you?” the smaller man stuttered. I zeroed in on the fool, placing my finger on his sweaty forehead. As soon as contact was made, my magic zapped through him. His body convulsed before he collapsed.
Hovering over him, I whispered, “I am Queen.”
The other two began screaming, fighting to get away. It was pointless. I touched the small man, taking in his magic. He’d be empty for a very long time. Might as well be mortal until he found a way to regain his strength.
I did the same exact thing to the other two, ignoring their begging, knocking them out, and claiming their magic. I stopped, staring down at the three unconscious men and felt absolutely nothing. They became nobody the moment they hurt Foster. It’d be so easy to reach out and snuff out their lives. They were garbage and Faerie despised garbage.
“Joslyn?” Judah was at my side. “Are you okay?”
“Problem solved,” I said in lieu of an answer. “They won’t be able to use magic for a long time.”
“And their glamour? Will it hold?”
“It’ll hold.” I looked down at my hands. “I made sure it did. I left just enough magic to keep it and it will only be used for that.”
I took in a breath, preparing myself and turned to face Foster. He was standing, hand on his stomach still. There was some blood seeping through his t-shirt, creating a dark spot against the pale olive-green shirt.
“Is it bad?” I asked. As I regained back my thoughts and emotions, I couldn’t look at Foster. I glanced at the three fae laying on the ground, motionless, then down at my hands. Being a queen gave me a lot of power and I had just flexed that now. But for a human, what I did was pure cruelty.
There were other ways to subdue them, but the moment they had hurt Foster, I had jumped to the most severe option, wanting them to hurt for hurting what was mine.
“It isn’t,” Foster said in a neutral voice.
“Right. Okay. Captain, it is safe to detain them for however long you wish.”
“They will be taken care of.”
“Good. I will take my leave. I do not wish to be attached to this incident.” I tried to move away, but Foster grabbed my arm.
“Josie.”
“Later, Foster. I have some work to do if I wish to keep this from happening again.”
“Josie.” His voice was harder. “Look at me.”
Unable to stop against his command, I did so. Something in my expression pissed him off.
“Fuck.” He pulled me into his chest.
“Your wound.” I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let me.
“I’m fine. It isn’t as bad as you think, only a scratch.”
“Scratches do not bleed like that,” I said into his chest.
“A deep scratch. Won’t even need stitches. I’ll clean it and slap a huge bandage on it. I think I still have those pink power ranger ones you bought me a long time ago.”
I snorted as the stress i
nside of me receded. “I doubt it.”
“Want to bet on it.”
“I need to find a way to keep this from happening.”
“It can wait. Bring me back to the hotel, Josie. Play doctor. I promise, I can make a good patient.”
“And that is my cue to walk away,” Judah said.
“Help me with these guys,” Captain Brown said. “Backup arrived. This is going to be a bitch to explain.”
“Josie.” Foster pressed his forehead against mine, his nose almost against mine. “Let’s go back. Take a nap. Heal up. And this afternoon, we will regroup and try to find a solution to this clusterfuck.”
“Fine.” I pushed him away, or tried to at least. He didn’t budge until I stopped. His point proven—that he was strong—he pulled away.
“You aren’t scared of me?” I asked, my voice coming out smaller than I wanted.
“Never. You’re my Josie. There is nothing to be scared about.”
I wished I could believe him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
~Foster’s POV~
I’d seen a lot of shit in my life. I’d had pregnant women charge toward me with weapons, children starved and desperate for food, willing to do anything, including throwing grenades at me. There had been assassins and mercenaries, child soldiers, women we called black widows who would sleep with you and then try to kill you.
What I never thought I’d see was Josie defending my honor.
She had been breath-taking as her fae side came out. Her black hair grew in length, all the way down to her firm ass. The red flecks glowed in her dark brown eyes. Her skin became translucent, gold swirls appearing just underneath the surface.
And the way she handled those fae. She was ruthless, and it excited the dark side of me that wanted to lash out with cruelty to those who tried to hurt me or my loved ones. For a moment, I had thought a storm was going to appear out of nowhere as she handled them. The jagged wind whipped around, scraping at my skin.
Then my heart broke when it was all over, and she realized what she had done, as if it were something to be ashamed about. No way was I going to let her feel guilty over being protective. She had nothing to be guilty about, and frankly, what she did was fucking hot.
The boner I sported was proof of that as I drove her back to the hotel. She was curled against the door, gaze on the passing scenery. She was so deathly still that I had to hold my breath just to hear hers.
The stillness worried me. Even her weird wolf was silent, stretched out on the back seat, eyes on her. I never understood animals, but it was clear that he was concerned about her too.
I wracked my brain for a topic, anything to get her talking. I wanted to hear her voice. It’d be better if I could read her thoughts. Then this silence wouldn’t worry me. But I didn’t know what to talk about. Lately, all our conversation had been surrounding finding the bastard fae that came here. If we tried to bring up anything related to her family, she shut us down. If we tried to bring up memories, she got really quiet and sad.
“It shouldn’t be this hard,” I whispered.
“What shouldn’t?”
I grimaced. “Talking. Finding something to talk about. It shouldn’t be this hard.”
She hummed before quieting down and looking back out the window. Unable to take it, I reached over and grabbed her hand. She squeezed it and let me touch her. Something about touching her calmed me, made me feel like everything was as it should be.
“What was it like?” she asked. “After I left. What happened?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes.”
I almost got lost in that darkness, and only the fact that I was driving kept me safe. “That night, we were all home, getting dinner ready for you.”
“I had called that afternoon to let you guys know I was going to be late.”
“Right. So we planned a later dinner. We didn’t even know...” I swallowed, my chest tightening. “We didn’t even know anything was wrong. I always thought our connection was so strong, almost supernatural. That if something happened to you, we’d just know, you know?”
“Yeah. Like all those movies where if something bad happens, the loved one is given an ominous clue, like a broken glass, or picture frame, or anything to let them know all isn’t well.”
“Exactly,” I said. “But reality isn’t like that. We didn’t know anything happened until it was late at night and we tried to call you. Your sister answered. She was sobbing, speaking nonsense, unable to speak in full sentences. It all sounded like gibberish. A paramedic took the phone from her and filled us in. We rushed to the hospital. She was sedated for days, and once she woke up, we tried to talk to her, but she ended up having another breakdown.”
Josie took in a sharp breath and squeezed my hand hard.
“After that, your parents kept us away from her. During that time, we were trying to locate you. I’m pretty sure we tore all of Idaho apart searching for you. The police didn’t know shit; theories from abduction, human trafficking, to murder, were tossed around. No one knew anything. Eventually, your sister was moved to a psychiatric hospital to get help. We tried to get more information, but every time she was pushed to talk about it, she’d break down. Months passed like that. Then one day, she was fine. Like she had wiped the memories away. She was released a week later, but your parents didn’t want us seeing her. It was like everyone was moving on except us. I threw myself at the military, training and working. Going on as many deployments as I could. I was always the first person volunteering for the most dangerous assignments. Those higher in rank figured it out and knew to just assign me to them.”
“You were searching for me,” she whispered.
“Yes. I was.” I glanced at her. “To think you weren’t even in this world.”
Josie turned and tried to give me a smile, but it came off as shaky. “You would have found me. If I had been abducted or sold off into human trafficking, I have no doubt you would have found me.”
Her response made me feel like a million bucks, and I grinned as we pulled into the hotel garage.
“I would have found a way,” I said in a low voice, pulling her hand up so I could kiss the back of it. “If I had known about Faerie, I would have found a way in. A way to you.”
Josie breathed in deeply before releasing it slowly. “I know. I’m glad you didn’t though.” Her haunted eyes scared me. What did she really go through over there, for the last ten years?
No. For the last hundred years.
What did Faerie do to you, Josie?
Chapter Twenty-Four
The hotel was empty when we arrived. Berry growled his irritation before beelining for the patio. Then the grumphead growled at me until I opened the door and he could go out to lie out in the sun.
“Bad mood?” Foster asked, looking at him.
“Mad I made him stay in Judah’s car when I was in danger. It is fine. He will get over it. Just don’t approach him for a few hours. He might bite your hand off.”
“You aren’t kidding, are you?”
“I can’t joke like that. It is perceived as a lie.”
“Ah, right.” He grabbed my hand and yanked me toward my suite.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Taking care of my girl. A hot bath is good for the stress. You’re still stiff and I hate seeing you like that. You need to relax.”
“I can do that myself.”
“Josie”—he turned to me on the stairs, expression serious—“I am going to take care of you.”
I looked down at his shirt. “Only if you let me return the favor.”
He grinned wide. “Deal.”
Once we got to the massive bathroom, I made Foster sit on the bench while I dug through the cupboards. The first aid kit was underneath the sink.
“Take your shirt off,” I said, digging through the contents, grabbing everything I wanted.
“I like where this is going.”
I snickered. “Min
d right to the gutter. Why am I not surprised?”
“Only with you, Josie.”
I pretended to fish something out of the container to hide the goofy smile on my face. Foster had a way of making me feel like I was still the same Josie from ten years ago. Once I gathered everything, I turned and raised an eyebrow.
“I said your shirt, not your other clothes.”
“I’m still wearing my boxers.”
“I can see that.” My gaze dropped down to the bulge pressing against his boxer briefs. My mouth watered as I took in Foster’s amazing physique. His profession kept him in top shape, and he looked delicious without clothes. He was playing a dangerous game, putting all of himself on display. He should have been worried that I’d want to eat him up.
Foster was a powerful man. It showed in the strength of his jaw, the thickness of his neck, down his broad chest and thick arms. Power emanated from him, even as he sat there with a dark, knowing expression. His abs bulged and his thighs were thicker than I initially thought they were. He’d be fun to play with. Especially with the dusting of black hair across his chest and the trail that led from his belly button down below his underwear. Standing before me was a man I didn’t recognize anymore and yet did at the same time. His thirties was doing wonders to his body.
Forcing myself out of the precarious daydream, I knelt before him, trying to keep my attention on the line across his stomach. Foster was right, it was only a deep scratch if anything. It practically highlighted his abs, accentuating the valleys between each muscle.
I took my time, cleaning the wound.
“Leave it uncovered,” Foster said, grabbing my wrist when I went to apply a bandage to it.
“What if it gets infected?”
“Josie, my body may not be as durable as yours, but a scratch isn’t going to kill me. Besides, I still need to give you a bath.” He broke out into a smirk.
I snorted, collecting everything and putting it away. Foster got the water running and was going through the bubble options when I turned to face him. Without looking up, his eyes narrowed in concentration, he said, “Get naked for me, Josie.”
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