by Karen Lynch
He stood and came over to me. I didn’t know whether to punch him or throw myself at him. He made the decision by wrapping his arms around me and holding me against his warm chest. To my mortification, tears burned my eyes. I blinked, refusing to let them fall.
“I’m sorry, mi’calaech,” he murmured against my hair. “It had to be this way. If we’d told you the truth, it might have triggered you into seeking me out. I couldn’t take that chance.”
“It’s safe now? I’m not going to turn into some mindless, obsessed stalker?”
His chest rumbled with laughter. “You might, but it won’t be a side effect of the conversion.”
“In your dreams.” I pushed at him, and I didn’t miss his playful grin when he released me. It had been so long since I’d seen him smile, and my stomach quivered in response. I was suddenly very aware that we were alone but also that I had no idea where things stood between us now. Did he see me as a friend or something more?
I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to that question yet, so I moved back into safer territory. “What happened to the new faeries who became attached? Did they recover?”
“Yes. It was difficult for them at first, but they are both happy in their new lives now. It is believed that their age played a factor in their recovery. The younger you are when converted, the easier it is to adapt to being Fae.”
I let out a breath. The last month didn’t seem so bad when I thought of what could have happened. An involuntary shiver went through me, and I rubbed my arms for warmth.
“Are you cold?” Lukas’s gaze dipped to take in my short dress, and I shivered again but for a whole other reason.
“A little. I left my coat at the club.”
He went to retrieve his jacket from the bar stool and draped it over my shoulders. “I’ll have someone get your coat for you.”
“Thanks.” The jacket smelled of him, and I resisted the urge to inhale deeply. That wouldn’t look stalkerish at all.
He smiled ruefully. “I’m sorry your night out was ruined. If it’s any consolation, you’ll look beautiful in all the paparazzi photos.”
I groaned. “Thanks for reminding me. For a minute there, I’d totally forgotten that disaster. How did they find out?”
“I don’t know.” His expression hardened. “The Agency assured me they had it under control, but I should have known this would happen and protected you from it. A story like this is too big to keep under wraps for long.”
“It’s not your fault. You can’t control every situation, and I knew it would come out eventually.” I let out a sigh of resignation. This was my life now, and I had no choice but to deal with it. “How long do you think it will take them to get bored and move on to another story?”
He shook his head, and his expression told me I wasn’t going to like the answer to that question.
“I won’t lie. It’s going to be bad for a while. A conversion is big news on its own. Add to that your age and it happening so soon after the Jackson Chase story…”
My stomach churned, and I held up a hand. “You don’t need to say any more.”
He crossed his arms. “It won’t be safe for you until this calms down. You should stay here where the reporters can’t get to you.”
“I’m not leaving my parents to deal with this alone. If the reporters can’t get to me, they’ll go after my family.”
Lukas frowned. “Your father is more than capable of taking care of them. And if the media knows you aren’t there, it will draw them away.”
“Dad is barely recovered from a goren addiction,” I reminded him. “Now he’s taking care of my mom, who just got out of the hospital. They are nowhere near ready to deal with this.”
I couldn’t tell him the rest – that my father was also coping with his recovered memories and the truth about Caleb. Or that we were afraid of what would happen when Mom got her memories back, too. The timing for this could not have been worse.
As if to punctuate my words, my phone rang, and I saw it was Dad calling. I should have called him as soon as I got here. Those paps would already have uploaded their photos and videos, and the story was probably everywhere by now.
“Jesse! Oh, thank God,” Dad said when I answered. “Bruce called and said he saw you on TV. Where are you? Are you okay?”
My gut twisted at the strain in his voice. “I’m okay, Dad. I’m at Lukas’s, and I’ll be home in a few minutes.”
“Maybe you should stay there,” he said in a calmer tone. “Our street is already filling up with news vans.”
I glanced at Lukas, who raised his eyebrows as if to say, “I told you so.” I scowled at him and said, “Lukas will create a portal to our floor.”
“That’s good. We’ll see you in a few minutes then.”
I hung up and picked up my purse. “Will you take me home?”
For a few seconds, I thought he would say no, but he raised his hands to form the portal. As the image of the same courtyard appeared, I couldn’t help but wonder when I would be able to do this. I hadn’t yet embraced the idea of being Fae, but the thought of being able to travel anywhere in seconds was very appealing.
Lukas took my hand, and we stepped through the portal. I managed to see a little more of the courtyard that appeared to be made entirely of stone. Not stone blocks but carved from stone, including the thick pillars and railing. This was nothing like the gray foggy place I’d been in when I went through Conlan’s portal, and I wondered if each faerie had a special location they went to when they traveled this way.
The next thing I saw was my apartment door. It amazed me how precisely he targeted this location, and I wanted to ask how it worked. Did he have to be familiar with a place in order to create a portal to it? Or was it another faerie ability that allowed them to sense where they wanted to go?
The door swung open before I could reach for it, and Mom rushed out to pull me into what would have been a crushing hug if she were back to her full health. It was a stark reminder that she had months of recovery left, and it wouldn’t take much to upset her. I swore silently at whomever had leaked my story and caused her so much distress.
“Thank you for getting her out of there.” Dad held out a hand to Lukas.
Lukas accepted his hand. “I’m sorry it came to this.”
Mom released me and faced Lukas. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
We entered the apartment, and I was relieved to see the TV was off. We had been shielding Mom from all entertainment news, which she’d never been that interested in anyway. Seeing me being ambushed by the paparazzi would have stressed her, and Lord only knew what would have happened if she’d seen me with Prince Rhys.
I tossed my purse on the table and kicked off my heels. Letting out an audible sigh of relief, I turned to find Lukas watching me.
The corners of his mouth turned up. “You are handling this well.”
“Did you expect me to be overcome by all the excitement?” I lifted a shoulder. “I’ve never been the swooning type.”
“That you’re not.” He laughed, and warmth rippled through me. I hadn’t realized until this moment how much I’d missed that sound.
“Lukas, would you like something to drink?” Mom asked, reminding me that he and I weren’t the only people in the room.
His gaze shifted to her. “Thank you, but I can’t stay.”
I busied myself with removing his jacket to hide my disappointment. “Thanks for bringing me home and for explaining things to me.”
Lukas smiled as he took the jacket from me. “I need to talk to the Agency and take care of some things. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Okay,” I replied, embarrassed by how happy I was to hear him say that.
He opened the door and turned back to me. “Don’t go out tomorrow. If any of you need something, call, and one of us will get it for you.”
“We plan to stick close to home for a few days,” Dad said for all of us.
“I’ll do everything I can to
help.” Lukas looked at me. “Get some rest, Jesse. I’ll see you soon.”
Chapter 6
My breath came out in steamy puffs that I could barely see in the gloomy cave. The air was cold, but for some reason I wasn’t shivering even though all I was wearing was my T-shirt and sleep pants. Strange.
I tried to peer through the darkness and wished I had a flashlight. Out of nowhere, a glowing crystal appeared, floating in the air before me. I reached for it, and as soon as my fingers closed around it, it grew bright enough to illuminate the cave.
I turned in a full circle. The cave was small with an uneven floor and two branches veering off in opposite directions. I had no idea which way led out, but something tugged toward the one on my left. Deciding to follow my gut, I headed down that tunnel.
After a few minutes of walking, the floor sloped downward, and I knew this was not the way out. But I couldn’t make myself turn around. Something down here was calling to me, and I couldn’t go back until I found it.
I slowed at a section of the tunnel that was so low I had to duck to pass through. On the other side, I straightened and came up short when the crystal’s light revealed a dead end. I checked to be sure, but all I found was a solid wall of rock.
“That’s just great.” I laid my free hand against the wall. “I discovered rock.”
It took me a few seconds to realize the rock, which should be cold, was warm under my hand. Leaning closer, I pressed my cheek against the wall and felt a hum of energy beneath the surface. It was muted by the rock, but I could sense immense power that comforted and terrified me at the same time.
A distant sound had me turning back the way I’d come. I took two steps, and suddenly I was in a different cave, or maybe at the mouth of this cave system. The air was frigid, and wind tossed my hair wildly as I walked to the wide ledge where the view stole my breath away.
I was in the mountains, high above the snow line, and all I could see was blue sky and mountain tops rising above the clouds. Something circled in the distance near one craggy peak, and I squinted at what looked like giant birds.
I was contemplating how the hell I got here and how to get down when the sky turned a sickly green. The air became charged with electricity, and I backed away from the ledge as foreboding washed over me.
A crack resonated through the mountains, and I jumped when a bolt of lightning struck the mountain above me. The cave shook, and I struggled to keep my footing while chunks of rock fell from the ceiling. I braced myself against a wall as the mountain started to topple around me.
I bolted upright in bed and stared wildly at my bedroom walls. My heart thudded against my ribs like I’d run five miles, but I had no idea what I’d dreamed to cause it. I fell back onto the mattress with a groan and closed my eyes, even though I already knew I wasn’t getting back to sleep.
I became aware of voices coming from the living room and easily identified my father and Maurice. They were talking about Maurice’s plans to visit his family in Louisiana next week, and it was a minute before I realized I heard them clearly through my closed bedroom door. My Fae hearing must be kicking in.
Tossing off the covers, I got up, dressed, and pulled my hair into a ponytail. One of the things that never failed to amaze me was how soft and manageable my hair had become. It used to take a stiff brush and a prayer to wrangle my hair after waking up, but apparently, faeries did not get bedhead.
I wrinkled my nose at the smell of burnt dirt that hit me as I walked down the hallway. Entering the living room, I cast a longing glance at the two mugs on the coffee table. I hated even the smell of coffee now, but I still remembered how it used to taste to me. I sighed and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of ghillie juice.
I took a seat on the couch. “Where’s Mom?”
“Still asleep,” Dad said.
“You’re up early,” I said to Maurice. He was a night owl and preferred to sleep late unless he was on a job that required different hours.
He picked up his mug and took a drink. “It’s the only way to beat the reporters to the Plaza. Like bloody gnats they are.”
“Why are there reporters at the Plaza?” It had been three days since the story about my conversion broke, and I’d spent that time holed up in the apartment with my family. We had been avoiding the TV and the internet, so I had no idea what was going on out there.
“Trying to dig up dirt on you.” Maurice’s lips thinned. “Once they found out you were a bounty hunter, they started hanging around, harassing everyone. Didn’t take long to get some of the guys riled up. Yesterday, Ambrose punched out a guy who shoved a camera in his face.”
“Oh, no. Did he get in trouble?” Guilt sliced through me. I knew from personal experience how much bounty hunters disliked outsiders. I could imagine how angry they were to have a bunch of nosy reporters prying into their business.
“Only a fine. The Agency announced that the Plaza is off-limits to reporters and the general public until further notice. That doesn’t stop them from hanging around outside, though.”
A car horn blared. I went to the window and looked down at the dozen or so news vans parked along our street and the throng of reporters blocking a taxi trying to pull up. The back door of the taxi opened, and an elderly woman with flaming red hair got out.
Mrs. Russo turned toward the building and was immediately confronted by the reporters. Someone stuck a microphone in her face, and I put a hand to my mouth when she lost her balance and nearly fell. What was wrong with them, going after an old woman like that?
Steadying herself with more speed than one would expect from a woman her age, Mrs. Russo swung her large handbag at the reporters. A laugh burst from me when several mics went flying and her bag connected with at least two reporters’ faces. She yelled something I couldn’t hear, straightened her shoulders, and marched past them toward the building.
No one followed her. Lukas had put a ward on the building to allow only residents and their invited guests to enter. He and his men could enter too, of course.
“What’s so funny?” Dad asked.
“Mrs. Russo clocked some reporters with that big bag she’s always carrying.” I snickered. “That’ll teach them to mess with her.”
Dad and Maurice laughed. Mrs. Russo used to work on Broadway when she was young, and she was not shy about speaking her mind. She also liked to carry a stun gun. Those reporters were lucky she hadn’t used that on them.
“I’d better get going. I’ll have to face them sooner or later.” Maurice drained his coffee and stood. “Maybe I should ask Mrs. Russo to walk me to my van.”
I grinned. “She’d probably take pleasure in doing it.”
The kitchen phone rang as the door closed behind him. Dad and I shared a look before he went to answer it. Two days ago, we had changed all our numbers to unlisted ones because of the nonstop calls from reporters and crackpots. You never knew how many sickos there were until you found yourself the center of media attention. Somehow, the reporters kept getting the new land line number. We’d agreed that only Dad would answer the phone until this blew over.
I listened to him decline an offer for an exclusive interview and waited for him to return to the living room. His face gave nothing away, but I caught the flash of worry in his eyes when he looked at me.
“How much did this one offer?” I asked in an attempt at levity.
“Nine-fifty,” he said as he sat.
I huffed dramatically. “Did you tell them I refuse to go lower than a cool million.”
Dad shook his head at me and picked up the remote. “I think we should see what they are saying before your mom wakes up.”
It wasn’t hard to find a channel talking about me or showing footage from that night at Navi. I winced at my deer-in-the-headlights expression as I’d stared at the sea of cameras and lights. Then Tennin was there, ushering me away, and the stone-faced royal guards were blocking anyone from coming after us.
If that wasn’t bad enough, we found a panel
on one entertainment show speculating about what the Seelie queen thought of her son’s torrid affair with a bounty hunter. Apparently, Prince Rhys had converted me because he couldn’t bear to give me up.
“What I’d like to know is how she survived the conversion at all,” said one of the female hosts. “She was almost nineteen when it happened.”
The others nodded and murmured solemnly, and a male host said, “That leads you to wonder if faeries have been misleading people all along about the age limit for conversions.”
“Why did the Agency keep it a secret?” the first one asked. “What is so special about Jesse James?”
Another male host tittered. “I guess being the Seelie crown prince’s lover comes with more than a few perks.”
“Turn it off,” I said, my stomach roiling.
Dad clicked the button on the remote just as we heard their bedroom door open. When Mom entered the living room, Dad was sipping his coffee and I was playing with my phone.
Before any of us could speak, we were startled by a knock at the door. Dad stood, but I motioned for him to sit as I went to answer it. It had to be someone we knew because no one else could get into the building.
My heart did a little flutter when I opened the door to Lukas. I’d seen him only once since the night he’d brought me home, but he called daily to check in. Things were a lot better between us since he’d explained his absence, and I couldn’t imagine having to go through this craziness without him.
I wished I knew if his attentiveness was out of friendship or something more. Before my conversion, he’d admitted he cared about me but that there could be no future for us because I was human at the time. I had understood and accepted that. I was Fae now, and my mortality was no longer a barrier, but Lukas had given me no sign he wanted more than friendship even though we were free to be together.
He smiled and held up the bag he was carrying. “I brought more food and juice.”
“Thanks.” I stepped back to let him enter. “Finch and Aisla have been drinking all my ghillie juice.”
A whistle came from the treehouse, and I spied Finch’s grinning face in his window. He was getting used to Lukas and the others dropping by every other day.