Twisted Fate

by Jessi Elliott

  I offer another smile. Keep smiling, I chant over and over in my head.

  “Good morning, Miss Marshall.”

  The smile drops right off my face.

  I square my shoulders before turning toward the smooth, commanding sound of Tristan’s voice. Seeing him so clean and put together only reminds me of how broken he looked in that nightmare.

  “You’re prompt. I appreciate that.”

  I nod. My jaw is clenched so tight I couldn’t speak if I wanted to. This is a terrible mistake. I can’t do this.

  “Why don’t you follow me, and I’ll show you to my office?” he suggests in a level tone. He’s strictly business right now, and I’m all for it.

  We walk side by side down a long hallway with clear glass doors lining each side.

  “Are you not going to speak?”

  “You haven’t asked me a question.”

  He arches a brow at me. “You don’t strike me as an ‘only speaks when spoken to’ type of woman.” He knows my personality already, and it makes my stomach flip. Tristan seems like the kind of man that demands attention and whose attention is craved. My body becomes almost hyperaware when he’s watching me, as if it doesn’t know whether it likes it or not. Maybe it’s a fae thing.

  I almost laugh. “You’re perceptive. I’m sure that’s useful in your position.”

  He nods. “Indeed.”

  I jerk my thumb back toward the guy sitting behind the desk in the entrance. “Your receptionist is lovely, by the way,” I say with a touch of a smile.

  He shrugs. “He’s not a morning person.” We have that in common.

  “What are we doing today?” I shift the conversation as we continue down the hall to a set of glass double doors.

  “We won’t be doing anything. I’m handing you off to my chief of staff for the day.”

  “My first day, and you’re already rewarding me,” I say sweetly.

  He smirks. “Good to know you’re smart-mouthed during all hours of the day.” He pushes the door open, holding it for me until I enter his office, and follows me inside.

  The far wall is made of windows, letting in the natural light and giving the room an incredible view of downtown. Near the windows, there’s a massive oak desk, covered with papers and a computer. Off to one side, a couple of couches and arm chairs surround a coffee table that matches the desk and the bookshelves lining the opposite wall. A flat screen is mounted above the seating area, and under it is a huge fireplace.

  Tristan walks over to the desk and sits before pressing a button on his phone. “Miss Chen, our business student has arrived. Would you be so kind as to come collect her from my office?”

  There’s a brief pause. “You’re seriously making me do this?”

  Tristan says nothing, just sits there with a ghost of a smile on his lips.

  “Fine,” the female voice snaps. “I’ll be right there.”

  I stand by the door, tapping my thighs until it flies open and the fae woman I met when I was kidnapped waltzes through, looking like she’s on her way to the Met Gala.

  Tristan stands, fastening the button on his dark suit jacket. “Skylar, you remember Aurora. She’s a fourth year business student here to learn from my company. I would like you to mentor her.”

  Skylar sighs before glancing at me. “You can’t stay away, can you, little human?”

  I swallow. “I don’t have a choice. I need this to graduate.”

  She looks me over, her eyes narrowed with judgment. “Lucky me.”

  “Play nice, ladies.” Tristan chuckles from behind his desk.

  We both shoot him dark looks.

  “Follow me,” she growls and walks back out the door.

  I walk quickly, worried she might leave me behind in hopes of getting rid of me. I catch up to her halfway down the hall. “Look, I know this isn’t ideal for you. I get that you don’t like me, and that’s fine. All I ask is that you don’t make this hell for me. To be honest, I’m relieved I don’t have to work with Tristan.”

  Skylar stops dead and whirls to face me, forcing me back a couple of steps. “You think I’m going to make this easy for you?” She barks out a laugh. “Think again, Aurora. You might think you got off easy when Tristan stuck you with me, but you’re wrong. Piss me off once, and you will regret it. Is that clear?”

  I nod. “Do you hate all humans?” I ask in a low voice.

  She actually smiles. “Yes.”

  “Okay.” I’m not surprised, but her response makes the dread in my chest weigh heavier.

  “Now let’s go.” She pushes open one of the doors Tristan and I passed on our way in, and I follow her inside, letting the door close behind us. “I have meetings back to back until this afternoon. You can either stay here and do photocopying, or you can sit in on the meetings. I don’t care.”

  I try to hide my shock that she’s giving me the option. “I’ll sit in on the meetings.” I pull out a notebook and pen from my bag.

  “Fine.” She gives me a once over. “Let’s go.”

  I spend the entire morning and most of the afternoon in meetings, scribbling notes as fast as I can with one fifteen minute break for lunch. Skylar leads a lot of the meetings, standing at the head of the long table. I keep my head down, my hair curtaining most of my face while I try to keep up from my spot at the far end of the table. I estimate at least half of the attendees are fae, several looking less than pleased to see me sitting with them.

  I’m still writing a few things about social media marketing as the room empties.

  “I’m surprised your hand still works.”

  My pen stops moving, and I look over at Skylar. “You gave valuable information,” I say. “I want to remember it.”

  She blinks at me, then opens the folder in her hand and drops some papers in front of me. “Don’t waste your time writing everything. Listen to what everyone is saying. Next time, I want you to offer an idea, comment, or opinion. Got it?”

  “I . . . okay.” I flick a glance at the paper. She’s given me her meeting notes.

  “See you next week, human,” Skylar says.

  “Yeah. Thanks for—”

  “Don’t,” she cuts in on her way out the door.

  “Right,” I mumble to the empty room.

  Leaning back in the chair, I sigh, tossing my notebook and pen onto the table. My eyes close, and I rest my head against the chair back for a couple of minutes.

  When I open my eyes, I find Tristan leaning in the doorway with a faint grin, and my cheeks flare with heat.

  “Long day?” he asks, pushing off the wall to walk into the room.

  “Yes. Not that I expected anything less.”

  He perches on the edge of the table a few feet away from me. “Did you learn anything?”

  “Yes,” I repeat.

  He nods. “My job is done.”

  I laugh. “Your job? You didn’t do anything.”

  “Are you disappointed you didn’t get to spend the day with me, Aurora?”

  I roll my eyes. “Oh man, was I that obvious?” I shoot back.

  He chuckles, tilting his head to the side.

  “You’re being creepy,” I say. “Speaking of, why was Max at my place?”

  His back stiffens. “I wasn’t aware that he had been. When was this?”

  “While I was home for the weekend.”

  His mouth is set in a tight line. “I’ll deal with it.”

  “Good. I don’t want him coming around. Ever.” I put as much force behind my words as possible. “And speaking of that, what the hell was that dream invasion thing you pulled the other night?”

  His lips pull up. “It gets a bit boring around here on the weekend.”

  My jaw locks. For once, I consider my response before I open my mouth. “Don’t do it again,” I say, forcing my gaze to hold his.

  “Did it bother you?”

  It didn’t bother me as much as it should’ve, but I’m not about to tell him that. “It’s unnecessary. You want to t
alk to me, pick up the phone.”

  “Are you asking me to call you?” The twinkle of amusement in his eyes makes my eyes narrow. “Aurora, you’re so forward.”

  “Seriously?” I want to throw my pen at him. “Stay out of my dreams.” I decide not to tell him about what I experienced after he left my dream. I can’t see him reacting well to the idea of me seeing him like that. Vulnerable.

  He inclines his face in acknowledgment and stands. “How was your trip home? You must be concerned about your brother.”

  I try to keep the shock off my face. The last thing I expected was for him to ask about Adam. “Yeah,” I say. “He’s the strongest person I know, but no one should have to fight a battle like that.” Or like the one from your dream. I quickly push the thought away.

  “If he’s anything like his sister, I have a feeling he’s good at putting up a strong front.”

  I swallow the lump in my throat. “He is.”

  Tristan steps closer. “And the rest of your time away from the city? Was it enlightening?”

  Shooting him a look, I say, “I couldn’t come out and ask my parents if they knew of any relatives that had freaky powers and never aged.”

  He licks his lips. “That would’ve been amusing to watch.”

  I struggle to hold back an eye roll. “The day we met, you said I wasn’t fae. So why do you care?”

  “Consider it a mild interest.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “I’ve not come across a human like you with such ties to my kind.”

  “I’m not some thing for you to ogle or study. I refuse to allow this to affect my life anymore, so unless you’re going to give me some answers, don’t bring it up again.”

  “I’m not sure what answers you’d like me to give you.”

  I massage my temples with my fingers, squeezing my eyes shut for a brief moment. “Anything that would help me make sense of this.”

  “Whatever fae ran in the Marshall line were alive before my time, Aurora. The extent of my knowledge ends with knowing that fae magic touches you and where it comes from.”

  I sigh. “That’s it? You’re the leader of the fae. You should know more.”

  His eyes glimmer with amusement. “My apologies. I didn’t expect I’d have an outspoken human to answer to when it came to the history of my kind in relation to her family.”

  So much for answers.

  “I can see you’re disappointed. For what it’s worth, I’ll look into it and see what information I can find that might put you at ease. Quite frankly, it might help my people feel more comfortable with your knowledge of them if they can hear about your connection from one of your fae relatives.”

  My gaze lifts to meet his. “Really?” The optimism in my voice makes me cringe. I shouldn’t be asking him for anything, but there’s no one else I can ask.

  He nods curtly. “You should get going. Not all my employees are human, and not all of them will be as tolerant as Skylar was today.”

  I collect my things and stand, heading toward the door. I pause in front of Tristan. “Why do you all hate humans so much? Your kind are the ones who chose to live with us. I don’t care that you’re fae, Tristan. That doesn’t make you more or less of an ass—which you are—I’m saying that I don’t think it’s fair that you all look upon us as some lesser race because we aren’t like you. Evidently, your kind aren’t fans of diversity.” I remember what Allison told me—about the fae being jealous of the humans—I guess I thought there was more to it.

  His gaze is unwavering as he says, “I don’t hate humans. I wouldn’t own a business that interacts so closely with them on a daily basis if I hated them.”

  “I’m not talking about you, specifically. Not everything is about you. Shocking, I know.”

  His lips twitch, but his eyes look tired. “You’re brave.”

  “I’m sharing my opinion. If you think that’s brave—if you think I should be intimidated by you—you think too highly of yourself.” I lift my bag onto my shoulder and step around him. “Goodnight, Mr. Westbrook. I’ll see you next Monday.”

  A few weeks pass, and the semester picks up, ensuring I have plenty to keep my mind busy. I’ve gone home each weekend since I found out Adam’s cancer came back. They moved him into a hospital room shortly after I left, which made me want to turn around and go back, but Mom and Dad insisted he was doing fine. During my last visit, I sat with him during treatment. It was hard on me, so I can’t imagine how Adam felt. He’s been so strong through all of this. He seems to be responding well, according to Dr. Collins. I’m not sure whether it was the strange way we met that threw me off with her, but when I was in the room with Adam, I kept feeling her eyes on me. It made the skin at the back of my neck tingle. I tried to ignore it the best I could; I knew she was there to help Adam, but the unease stuck around after she left.

  Back on campus at the end of another week, I’m sitting in the uncomfortable plastic seat, rereading the chapter for today’s class.

  Grant sets up the lecture for the professor and takes the seat next to me again, tossing me an easy smile. “Hey, how was your week?” He pulls out his textbook and clicks his pen against the desk.

  I smile. If he only knew. “Busy,” I say. “Never a dull moment.”

  “How’s your research paper going?”

  I purse my lips. “Not bad. Want to read it over for me?” I’d managed to get a rough draft of it done on the train ride from Mapleville.

  “Sure, if you’ll read mine.”

  Laughing, I say, “Sure thing. Hand it over.”

  We swap papers and read through them, marking suggested edits on each other’s work. I hand his back before the lecture starts and peek at the notes he made on mine.

  “You’re officially my editor,” he teases.

  My lips curl upward. “Only if you’ll be mine.”

  He sticks his hand out, and I shake it. “Deal.”

  We spend the rest of the lecture taking notes and delving into a class discussion that I tune out of, yawning every so often as I fight to stay awake.

  I take the long way back to my dorm and go to the Mexican grill off campus to grab dinner. I haven’t had a chance to hit this place up since the semester started, and with the stress of midterms looming, I decide to treat myself to some tacos and chips with guac tonight.

  After successfully stuffing my face with food, I head out, tucking my phone in my back pocket so I can zip up my sweater.

  A short distance away, I hear muffled shouting. Figuring it’s normal Friday evening pre-partying, I keep walking until I pick up some of what is being said.

  “You’re a disgrace to all fae,” a delicate female voice says.

  I freeze at the end of a brick storefront. There’s a walkway separating the two buildings that leads to more parking for the local businesses, and from the sounds of it, a couple of fae are having an argument. I doubt they’ll take kindly to me interrupting them.

  A deep, male laugh reverberates against the exterior walls, echoing down the alley. “You’re one to talk, considering you left us.” His voice is unfamiliar, but he sounds pissed.

  The female growls viciously, and the building shudders. The male grunts. “You know, I’m surprised they sent you. You were never much of a fighter.”

  “Yet they knew I’d kick your pathetic ass without a problem.”

  He grunts again. She must’ve hit him. I want to look, but I can’t bring myself to peek around the corner for fear I’ll get caught. They’re too wrapped up in whatever is happening between them to notice my heart pounding in my chest, but I get the feeling they’ll react the second they see me.

  A firm hand grabs my wrist and pulls me hard, away from the building. My mouth opens to scream, but it’s quickly covered. Panic surges through me before my eyes connect with Skylar’s. She lets me go once it’s clear I’m not going to make a sound.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she hisses.

  “I was walking home.” I look past her. “W
hy are they fighting?” I leave out the part where I know about the light and dark fae. I can’t help but think that’s what’s going on—that the fight I overheard was caused by the fae war.

  Her eyes narrow. “That’s what you’re concerned about?” She scowls. “Typical human. You realize if they’d seen you, you’d probably be dead right now or being fed on.” She cocks her head. “Unless that’s what you wanted.”

  My brows inch closer. “Of course not,” I snap. “What are you doing here?”

  “I was a few blocks over when I heard them and then your annoying little heartbeat.”

  “And you came to make sure I didn’t get hurt?” I almost smile.

  She rolls her eyes. “Yes, Aurora. I live to ensure your safety from my kind. Why else would I be here?” The sarcastic tone of her voice makes it impossible not to grin this time.

  Whatever I was going to say is cut off by the sight of the male fae flying through the air. He lands with a thud on the sidewalk and jumps up, brushing off his black denim jacket. His eyes swing to where Skylar and I stand, and I bite my lip. This isn’t good.

  “What the fuck, Sky? Thanks for the backup.” His eyes slide to me. “Hi.”

  I offer an awkward wave.

  Skyler scowls. “I was coming. I got a little caught up.” She nods at me.

  “Well, don’t next time. She got away, along with our answers.” Answers? What is he talking about? My eyes flick back and forth between the guy and Skylar, waiting for one of them to explain the situation.

  She shrugs. “We’ll deal with it.”

  He rolls his eyes and then shifts away without another word, leaving Skylar and I alone on the sidewalk.

  I arch a brow at her. “Care to explain what that was about?”

  She gives me a look.

  “Right. Didn’t think so.”

  When I get back to our room, Allison is sprawled on her bed, already in sweatpants and a hoodie. I tell her about the fae attack I overheard, and she frowns.

  “They’re happening closer together,” she murmurs, concern weighing heavy in her voice. “The light fae continue to orchestrate attacks on our side.”