by Lisa Kumar
“Initially, they’ll be centered here, but they will soon start to spread out across North American and then over the world. As to how they’ll find the bondmatess and get them to their prospective mate, we have the first part accounted for and are working on the second part. We’ll discuss this all in short order, though.”
Hopefully, the second part wouldn’t include doing anything illegal like kidnapping, but nothing would surprise her. “Andrian and Eamon will be the graykindred leaders?”
“Yes, though each base will have its own captain who will answer to one of the two for now. Restructures in leadership will be considered as the graykindred grow their presence on Earth.”
“Am I expected to have any ... peacekeeping mission among these other graykindred?”
“Occasionally, if you’re nearby, but your scope will mostly be with Eamon and, to a lesser extent, with Andrian.”
Ugh, why did she have to be a glorified babysitter? But she knew why. Eamon was volatile and couldn’t be trusted full-time to be around humans and maybe even his own people. Still, how would she be able to control his more drastic tendencies, of which she probably didn’t even know half of them? A sound of helplessness escaped her throat.
“Though I wouldn’t tell this to Eamon — he needs to acknowledge this on his own — you have a calming influence on him that hasn’t been seen since his mother died.”
She did? If he was indeed calm around her, she hated to see how he was around others when she wasn’t nearby. Still, if it was true, how could she say no to Aistiane? But she needed to know if there was an out. “If I do this, can I walk away at anytime?”
The merry expression faded from Aistiane’s face. “Even now, I don’t think you could get out of it so easily. Eamon isn’t the type to let anyone leave unless that’s exactly what he wants.”
Caralyn smiled sourly. “No, I suppose he’s the one who does the walking away in most cases.”
“He’s not very good at relationships of any type.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“That’s why he needs you — why Andrian does, too. He’s better because he does have a strong bond with his graykindred but otherwise ... Well, he’s nearly as bad as Eamon.”
“I’m not a social skills trainer,” Caralyn said, the grouchy panic in her voice clear to even her own ears.
“I think you’ll be surprised.” Aistiane cocked her head to the side and paused. “I think we should go out to them before they come to blows or Eamon comes seeking us.”
“He can’t wait to get you out of the apartment, can he?”
Aistiane nodded. “But he’s also worried about you.”
Shock jolted through her. “He is?”
“Why can’t he be?”
“Because he hates humans?”
A slow smile spread over Aistiane’s face. “I don’t think he hates you.”
Yeah, only because he wants to sleep with me again. She couldn’t say that out loud, though. “I’m merely useful to him.”
“Come, let’s go.” Aistiane took her arm and pulled her toward the door.
“I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this. They intimidate the crap out of me.”
Aistiane laughed. “They have a lot of experience in eliciting that emotion. Not many can comfortably stand up to them.”
“That doesn’t instill a lot of confidence,” Caralyn muttered. She squared her shoulders and gathered as much of her flagging courage as she could muster. Time to face Eamon and Andrian.
Chapter 20
At Aistiane’s words, fury slammed into Eamon as he paced through the living room. “I need nothing and no one!”
Aistiane merely stared at him calmly, which only enraged him more. “You need a liaison here.”
“No. No, no.” He didn’t want Caralyn involved with the graykindred in any way. Bad enough he had to be, but she had no stake in the endeavor. Said human stood off to the side, looking conflicted. Andrian, damn him, was smirking and swaying back and forth in amusement.
Aistiane’s mouth firmed into a thin line. “It’s not up to you. Human culture has changed drastically, and you’ll need a guide to navigate any pitfalls.”
He glared at her and tried to ignore the other two people in the room. “I’ll figure it out.”
“It’s not just for your benefit. Andrian can also make use of her.”
He stilled his pacing. “Make use of her?” he asked softly, a warning in his voice.
“She can help him with any problematic encounters he has with humans.”
“I don’t want her anywhere near him.” If she had to “help” him, fine. She might even be useful, but he’d much rather prefer that any relationship — if he had any with her — was based on something not related to the graykindred. But with that yellow aura surrounding her, could she ever be free from the graykindred’s machinations? Fury sparked steely resolve in his chest. Yes, if he had anything to say about it, she’d never belong to anyone but him.
A smile crept over the lightly wrinkled face. “That’s going to be impossible since he’s staying here with both of you for the meanwhile.”
“What?” The word exploded from him.
“Until I get bank accounts set up and a place of residence secured, this is the best place for him.”
“Why not one of the holdouts?” A sneer curled his lips. “I’m sure they could be convinced to take him in with the proper incentive.” Money eased the most vigorous of protests.
“Maybe, but I don’t want to involve them more than need be right now.”
He stopped in front of her and crossed his arms. “But you don’t mind involving a human?”
“You’ve already involved her.”
He couldn’t argue that. “On my own terms, yes.”
“Terms change.” Without letting him insert a word, she motioned to Andrian. “Why don’t you grab your bags from the hallway? Time to settle into your new, temporary home.”
Eamon felt his blood pressure rise, sure he was about to experience his first ever heart attack or maybe even stroke, if he were really fortunate.
CARALYN SHUT THE DOOR behind Aistiane, dread pooling in her stomach. She’d have to turn around and face the two elves behind her. Aistiane, the darned woman or whatever she was, had left her alone to handle two homicidal beings, saying that Eamon could explain how to find the mates. Everything else would be revealed later.
Turning on her heel, she squared her shoulders. They couldn’t intimidate her — she wouldn’t let them.
First things first, feed the two elves. She almost drew up short at that. Nothing in that sentence sounded right.
Barely looking at the handsome males, she took a deep breath. “Andrian” — she stumbled over his name — “if you want to freshen up, there’s a restroom down that hall. I’m afraid when you want to bathe, you’ll have to use the full bath that’s attached to my bedroom. If I’m here and not at work, just let me know if you want to use it.”
Not for the first time, she cursed her luck in picking a newer apartment that didn’t have the full bath in the hallway. If they weren’t careful, this could become extremely awkward. What was she talking about? It already was.
Andrian glanced away from where he’d been trading death glares with Eamon. The wild look in his eyes died as he stared at her, and a slight smile curved his lips.
She shifted uneasily. He made her feel wary but in a different way than Eamon did. Though he was just as handsome, she didn’t feel that same sexual pull toward him. No, he unsettled her because he didn’t seem to be all there some of the time.
After a few more long moments passed, he nodded. “Thank you, generous lady. Where should I place my bags?”
Good question. She bit her lip, thinking. “You can leave them where they are for now. Since I only have one bedroom, you’ll have to sleep out here. Maybe I can clear a space in the half bath for your bags. That way, you’ll have a small space when you need a moment of privacy.”
“I do
n’t mind sharing your bed. Kick that cur out the door to the sofa.”
The fact that he was hitting on her almost slipped over her head because another realization was forefront in her mind. Crap, he knew, too? She was going to douse herself in bleach. Her sex life — what there was of it — shouldn’t be public knowledge among those with preternatural senses.
Before she could even think of answering him, Eamon snarled. “The only place you’ll be sleeping is out on the street if you open your mouth in such a way again.”
Andrian bared his teeth in a smile. “Why don’t we see what the lady wants? She may want to try out a new elf.”
Eamon just stared at him through narrowed eyes, not moving an inch. Suddenly, what Andrian was doing became clear. He was trying to goad Eamon into a fight. Urgency propelled her forward, but before she could reach them, Eamon launched himself at Andrian. They tumbled into the nearest wall, and Eamon slammed his fist into the other elf’s jaw.
At the crack of bone against bone, Caralyn winced. Andrian’s head jerked backward, where it thumped against the wall. Maybe it was a good thing she hadn’t been able to insert herself between them. She wouldn’t have wanted to catch some of that by accident.
Andrian slowly straightened out of his slight slump. So quickly that she barely saw it, his fist shot out and caught Eamon on his cheek, near the cut that had been left by Kaiden’s ring. A corresponding redress bloomed on Andrian’s, reminding Caralyn of what Aistiane had said about tying some of their life force together. Apparently, Eamon was considered one since he and Andrian now had matching wounds. So one couldn’t kill the other without damning them both to death.
Eamon righted himself from where he’d fallen against a bookcase, which he thankfully hadn’t broken — yet. Didn’t they know every blow that one delivered to the other would hurt them equally? Given the fury that burned between them, they probably didn’t care.
Hatred blazed in Eamon’s eyes as he hurtled toward Andrian. He tackled him and sent them both sailing over the sofa. They rolled onto the floor with a thud and hit the legs of the coffee table.
Indecision gripped Caralyn as she stood there. Should she be horrified, furious even, over them fighting or worried that they’d demolish her apartment? Maybe both? A figurine from the table crashed to the ground, shattering. Yep, definitely both.
Indignation tore to the forefront. “Stop this! Now.”
Her shout apparently didn’t puncture their bubble of violent stupidity. They continued to tussle and flail around like demented monsters until they knocked a ceramic vase off the table that had been her grandmother’s. It shattered against the hard wood floor, and with it, one of the memories she had of her grandmother disappeared.
Fury exploded. Stalking as close as she dared, she put two fingers in her mouth and blew. A loud, piercing whistle stilled the grappling pair. Their heads swiveled toward her in perfect synchronization.
She scowled, placing her hands on her hips. “You two idiots, look what you’ve done.” She jabbed a finger toward the shattered vase. “That was my grandmother’s vase you morons smashed. I don’t care if you want to beat the holy hell out of each other, but you won’t be fighting in” — she smacked a hand over her chest — “my home, understand?”
Eamon pushed himself away from Andrian. Both of them, though battered and hair askew, rose with annoying grace. Stupid elves.
Andrian brushed his blond hair out of his eyes and gave her a brilliant smile. “You’re mouthy. I think I like that.”
“A-ah, okay,” she said, inching farther away from him. Anger still raged inside her, and she wouldn’t be sweet-talked. But she was smart enough to be wary of this newest elf, at least until she saw how he reacted to different situations.
A snarl formed on Eamon’s mouth. “You’ll like nothing about her.”
“As if you could stop me.”
Confusion washed over her. This again? Was Eamon jealous? He certainly sounded like it. Still, it probably didn’t mean much. She was someone to bed, not to love. Love? He was the last person she’d want that from. To think of anything more would likely be a death sentence, if not to her body then to her heart.
“You nearly love humans as much as I do,” Eamon challenged.
The other elf shrugged. “I’ve changed.”
“Since when?”
Andrian rocked to and fro on his heels. “So you’re an expert on me, hmm? Maybe I changed hundreds of years ago. Or maybe I changed when I met my dear brother’s new wife. She is quite delectable, isn’t she?”
“Though you do have a thing for your brother’s wives, I know you never touched her. In fact, you protected her in spite of your hate for your brother.”
“So I did. What of it?”
Eamon scoffed. “Who’s going soft now?”
“You mean you wouldn’t protect her” — he pointed to Caralyn and crept closer to her — “if someone attacked her?”
She froze, her fight or flight instincts colliding and holding her immobile. God, was he really insane? Eamon would keep her safe, though. She was sure of it.
Eamon tensed until his whole body quivered. “Don’t even think about it.”
“What are you going to do? Hit me? Corrupt me?” His lips curled into a sneer. “Oh, you’ve already done all those things.”
“You touch her, and I’ll gut you.”
With an eye roll, Andrian held his hands up and sauntered back. “I don’t hurt women. I’d much rather love them.”
“I think we both know your first claim isn’t quite true.” Eamon gave him a nasty smile.
Andrian lifted a brow, looking unperturbed. “Well, you’d know, wouldn’t you?”
She couldn’t let them go on like this. The tension between them threatened to reignite at any moment. The next time, she doubted her apartment would come out so lucky. “Okay, okay, guys. I know there’s a lot of bad history between you. But you can’t overcome it by beating each other up.”
Eamon glared at Andrian. “We can try.”
“I’d love to.” Andrian clapped his hands in apparent glee.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, you’re both sporting the exact same wounds you inflicted on each other. Every blow you deliver to the other is experienced by you, too.”
Andrian fingered the cut on his lip. “It was worth it.”
“There’s nothing more joyous than burying my fist in your face,” Eamon agreed.
Caralyn’s gaze ping-ponged back and forth between the two elves and felt the incessant need to bury her face in her hands. So much for her peacekeeping skills, though handling those two probably wasn’t supposed to be easy. They showed no signs of stopping their insults. Ugh, she was done with it — and them. As long as they weren’t slugging it out, she’d leave them be for the moment.
She had breakfast to start and a dog to take out.
CARALYN STRAINED HER ears to hear any noise coming from the living room as she cracked the eggs for breakfast. So far, she’d heard nothing incriminating come from either elf. Maybe she better go see if someone was poisoned? Yeah, probably in a few minutes. Even now, she felt a headache forming between her eyes just at the thought of having to deal with the tension between those two again.
This morning had been ... interesting, to say the least. After Aistiane had left and the elves’ subsequent fight had ended, Caralyn had rushed Archie outside for a potty break. She came back more than half afraid of what she’d find. Luckily, they’d broken nothing, not even each other.
Wiping her hands on a towel, she sighed. Better go check on —
Andrian wandered in, cutting off her thought. He barely seemed to notice her and instead stared at all the appliances with a nearly fear-inducing interest. As he drifted around the space, Caralyn covertly watched him. He must’ve combed his hair because not a strand was out of place. His face bore the bruises of his fight with Eamon, but they didn’t look as bad as she would’ve suspected.
At that moment, the toast popped up in the
toaster. His head swiveled to take in the sight, and before she knew it, he was in front of the little black machine. A grin broke out on his face. He touched the slider and, with a chuckle, watched the bread bounce. “This is a magnificent invention.”
She bit back a smile. If he found that fascinating, what would he think of computers? “It’s very handy.”
Andrian floated around the kitchen, poking and prodding at whatever took his fancy. As she answered a couple of his questions about the wonders of her apartment, some of her unease faded. He didn’t seem so crazy or out of it now. Maybe Eamon or the situation had brought the worst of the madness out in him?
And speaking of Eamon — he sauntered in like a watchful storm cloud, his appearance also tidied and his bruising echoing the state of Andrian’s. Unlike the other elf, though, he was a bit more used to the kitchen, so he sat down at the table. That didn’t keep the sneer off his lips, though. He glared at Andrian as if he were an interloper.
Caralyn almost snorted at that. Funny, because both of them were intruders in her apartment.
Thankfully, except for the occasional slur, neither elf talked to each other. All in all, the whole experience was weird and a bit creepy. She had two psycho males loitering in her kitchen while she cooked.
Forcing a smile to her lips, she said, “Alright, breakfast is ready. Why don’t you take a seat, Andrian?”
The elf in question sat, seemingly ignoring Eamon. She placed a plate of eggs, hash browns, and toast in front of both males. Andrian dug right in. After a few stabs to his food, so did Eamon. Apparently, he didn’t want to be outdone in any way. Any concern she’d had about any lagging appetites faded. They attacked the food with gusto while still maintaining a somewhat dignified air. As they tried to out show the other, they traded prickly barbs like the practiced manipulators they surely were. An upsurge of amusement hit. What was this? A race?