The said dream had huge panoramic windows in every room, giving us a view of the elite districts of Kadris. From the bedroom that I fell in love with at first sight, I could see the yard and the playground. The bathroom next to the bedroom was insanely sweet and cozy. There was even a nursery in which all of Lita’s toys and things were already neatly arranged. The playpen should’ve been in the bedroom, however, as I was used to her sleeping next to me, which meant I’d have to move it.
My things were also arranged on the shelves in a small dressing room. Someone had done an amazing job in just a few hours.
“Lenny, if you don’t mind, I’d like to leave early today. I have an important test tomorrow, and I haven’t really had time to prepare...” Dina surprised me when the three of us settled down in the living room to have some tea.
Rather, she and I were having tea, while Lita was already on her third glass of apple juice
“You’ll explode.” I kissed my daughter on the cheek but still poured her some more juice. Big occasions like moving to a wonderful home should be celebrated.
But what would I do without Dina? Perhaps Garanor and I could discuss the contract here? We didn’t really have to go anywhere. Dina was already missing enough classes because of me, I didn’t want her to have problems in college.
“Of course, go study. Lita and I’ll go inspect the playground.”
“Yeeees!” Lita happily agreed with me, splashing juice on the table. Several drops fell on my phone, which lit up, showing a new message.
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
After giving the whole situation some thought, I replied.
“How about we don’t go out tonight?”
A short answer arrived very quickly.
“?”
With a sigh, I explained.
“I don’t have a nanny for tonight, so I propose to discuss the contract in the mansion that you rented for me.”
“Okay.” He replied after a few seconds and I calmed down.
After the walk, Lita quickly fell asleep. Taking advantage of this, I took a long shower, continuing to fall in love with the spacious bathroom and everything else around me. Then I dried my hair, collected it in a messy ponytail, and put on my favorite clothes — sweats and a hoodie. I’d change before Garanor arrived.
While Lita was sleeping, I cooked dinner using the ingredients that were already in the fridge. From time to time, I looked out the window at the gradually deepening twilight and thought about how drastically our life had changed in just two days. Hopefully, for the better.
Once I was done cooking, I glanced at my watch. It was time to wake Lita up, otherwise, she’d stay awake all night. However, I didn’t have time to reach the nursery. The bell rang. Quietly swearing, I went to open the door for His Dark Majesty, who showed up a whole hour early.
“You’re early,” I stated the obvious.
What are you doing, Elenia?! This isn’t a delivery man or even your friend. Although I’d never say that to a friend. But to the future ruler of our country — no problem. Probably because I was nervous. In his presence, I was sometimes angry, scared, numb, and sometimes, like now, insolent, for unknown reasons. What I should be was calm and collected.
Pull yourself together, Elenia! It’s just a Dark One. And just the future (possibly!) ruler of Grassor. Just think...
“I forgot how incredibly hospitable you are...” He chuckled and glanced at me.
And then I remembered, because of his gaze, what I was wearing and how I looked. Awkwardly, I tried to fix myself up, noticing, for some reason that I was wearing socks with pink polka dots. Gods, I didn’t even want to think about my hair.
“Come in.” I stepped aside, letting Garanor and his entourage pass.
But they stayed in the hallway. And we were, again, left alone in the apartment he rented for me. To which I flew in his aerocar, into which I was escorted by his driver. Gods, how could I not be nervous and worried? I could start feeling like his mistress.
Then again, that was the role he was preparing me for. Only, he intended to put me not in his arms, but his brother’s.
“Maybe I could make some coffee for your bodyguards?” I asked, looking over his shoulder.
I didn’t know how long our conversation would take.
“So, you’re worried about them, but you can just leave me standing at the door, while you’re standing there gritting your teeth?” He grinned.
“I did no such thing!”
“But you’re doing it now.” He pointed out.
He was about to go into the living room, but I stopped him. I almost touched his chest, and quickly pulled my hand away.
“You gotta take your shoes off first.”
“Do you come from a family of housekeepers?” He squinted.
“What else have you learned about me?” I crossed my arms over my chest while he took off his expensive shoes.
“Right now, that you like to be bossy.”
“And before that?”
“That you’re from Creut. You’ve never met your father, and your mother worked as a housekeeper for some not too famous, but rather wealthy director. Before starting college, you lived with her, then you moved to another city. A very short story, but there are gaps in it.”
After the last words, I tensed up.
“What do you mean?”
He walked into the living room, looked around, and nodded in satisfaction.
“Nice place.” Turning around, he answered my question. “There’s no mention of how you learned to use magic, and where you met the father of your child. Where did you meet him?”
He looked straight at me. His eyes were gradually darkening, filled with golden reflections of light, while mine must have been widening with fear.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, Elenia, it does,” Garanor said sharply. “Everything I ask about matters. To me. To my family. I want to know everything about you before I let you in, albeit temporarily, into my brother’s life. Now, answer me.”
And then I’m the bossy one...
My heart stopped. For a few moments or an eternity, I couldn’t tell. A heavy silence hung in the room, and it made the noise in my head louder with every passing second.
I bit my lip but the pain didn’t sober me up. I couldn’t collect my thoughts or find a way out of this situation. I stepped back and I started speaking in an unusually low voice.
“Then, perhaps, I should start packing, and you and Sonorina Solt should look for a new wedding planner.”
I shuddered, bit my lip even harder, trying to hold back a scream that was ready to escape from my chest at any moment. Behind Garanor, darkness spread, poisonous splotches scattered from him. It was that terrible, unnatural force that had almost ruined me and Lita.
“Let me go!” I tried to break free, feeling his fingers on my shoulders.
But he only squeezed harder, almost hurting me. Making me feel what I hoped I’d never feel again.
“Sooner or later, I’ll find out everything about you, Sonorina Lei. It’ll be better for you if you tell me everything yourself. And don’t ever try to be insolent and give me ultimatums. I and I alone decide when you need to pack your things. Don’t forget, your life is in my hands. The future of your child is in my hands. You’ll do whatever you’re told and agree to all my terms. Now you’ll sign the contract and I’ll leave. Are we clear, Sonorina Lei?”
Everything inside me screamed in panic. Confusion and indignation quickly caught up. No, we aren’t clear! And I disagree! If I have to, I’ll bend over backward for Lita’s sake, but I won’t let anyone break me. I won’t repeat Leticia’s mistakes and I’ll never submit to a Dark One!
“I’m not your pet fairy, Sonor Horos! And I—”
I heard Lita cry and rushed to the nursery. I immediately knew that everything that happened before wasn’t so bad. The worst thing was about to begin — her attacks.
Lita screamed, banging her fists on the bed. Every t
ear and cry tore my heart up. Waves of darkness ran over her little fingers and hands as if harmful stains were spreading under her suddenly translucent skin.
I picked her up and heard Garanor’s quick steps behind me.
“Don’t turn anything on! The light will hurt her eyes.” I hugged Lita and closed my eyes for a moment, feeling how hot her skin was...
“Let’s take her to the hospital.” His voice remained calm, while mine trembled as tears rolled down my cheeks.
“No. I have a box of medicine here somewhere. Where... Where did they put it?” I looked around in panic, trying to spot it.
You idiot! That was the first thing you should’ve checked! I saw it somewhere... But where?!
“Elenia...”
Lita continued to cry.
“Why did I move here…?!”
“Elenia, give me the baby and find the meds.”
Without waiting for my response, Garanor took her, and I rushed to the shelves with her toys, inspected the wicker baskets in the corner, and only then I remembered that I saw the medicine in the bedroom. I flew out of the nursery, returning after a few seconds, and realized that something had changed. Lita was no longer screaming, just softly sobbing, and the darkness in her seemed to have dimmed, turning ash-gray.
“What have you done?” With trembling hands, I unsealed a syringe.
“I’m holding her power back. Let’s put her here.” With these words, he put Lita on the sofa, knocking off some toys. “Do you know how to give injections?”
“I do.” My hands, unfortunately, continued to shake.
I had already been through this. I couldn’t even count how many times I saw her like this... And then Dina appeared in my life. Gentle and friendly. But when Lita had seizures, she was firm, tough, unyielding, she made me leave and did everything herself. At first, I didn’t want to, and then... I started to run away every time it happened. I’d lock myself in the bathroom, hide, just so I wouldn’t hear Lita crying. Just so I wouldn’t see her pain. I hated myself for being such a coward, but I continued to run away.
“Better give it to me.” Garanor took the syringe, which I managed to fill — to me, that liquid was one of the most outstanding achievements of magic and medicine.
I didn’t argue, even though I felt completely worthless and useless. What kind of mother was I when I let a stranger take care of my child?! I got down on my knees and started stroking Lita’s head, my fingers tangled in her soft curls, whispering words of affection, not even really processing what I was saying. Meanwhile, Garanor quickly rolled up his sleeves, disinfected the needle, and skillfully, as if he had been doing this his whole life, gave Lita the injection.
“How quickly will the medicine start working?” He looked up at me.
“The attack isn’t strong, everything should go back to normal in a few minutes.”
“That wasn’t strong?!” Probably for the first time, I heard surprise in his voice. I also saw it in his eyes and on his face... Which looked a bit menacing. “If you’d just tell me the father’s name…” he said in a muffled voice.
“Please, not now,” I implored him quietly. “She needs peace and quiet now.”
Garanor fell silent, just like Lita, and only then did I remember to breathe. I continued to stroke my little girl’s head. Color started to return to her cheeks.
We sat in silence. Garanor on the sofa, me on the floor. We sat and watched as Lita, exhausted after the attack, fell asleep. I picked her up gently and put her in the crib. She’d definitely sleep until morning. Sometimes, after an attack, she could sleep for a whole day, but this one was really not that strong. Perhaps I should thank Garanor for this. He managed to quickly help with her darkness. I didn’t know he could do that... I hadn’t come across Dark Ones for a long time and always hoped that it’d stay that way.
Having returned to the living room, the first thing I did was look for my phone.
“Have you lost something again?”
My brain, I guess.
“My phone. After all, I need to sign the contract and...”
After what had just happened, I’d sign anything no matter the terms. Yes, I clearly got ahead of myself when I thought that I wouldn’t allow myself to be broken. I would! Lita’s future was literally in his hands.
“Do you see it anywhere?”
He came up to me and grabbed me by the shoulders. Not like before, rough and mean, but on the contrary, rather gently. His hands were warm.
Garanor brought me to the dining table, made me sit down at it, and asked: “Do you have some sedatives? Or some alcohol?”
“I think I saw a bottle of whiskey somewhere...” I tried to get up, but he gently pressed on my shoulders, forcing me to stay in the chair.
“I’ll find it.”
And he did. He found the bottle, filled up a glass, shoved it into my hands, and ordered me to drink every last drop. Then he began to lay out plates, glasses, and cutlery on the table.
“You know how to set a table?”
“Drink,” he replied, placing a napkin under my knife and fork. “That’s the only thing that you should do now.”
And I drank, sip after sip, slowly glancing at him. Once he was done, he plated up the roast that hadn’t yet cooled down. He rummaged through the fridge and, having found a jar of caviar — a delicacy that I had no idea when I last had, he generously spread it on slices of bread. Then he sat down at the table next to me (not across from me!), poured some wine, and put it in front of me. After all this, I half expected him to put a napkin on my lap and start feeding me.
A nervous laugh escaped my lips.
“Do you think that if you get me drunk, I’ll quickly accept all terms of the contract?”
“I think this’ll help you relax and calm down faster. Eat, Elenia, it smells delicious.”
“Thank you.” For some reason, I felt embarrassed and concentrated on my plate. We were sitting so close to each other that I couldn’t possibly relax. “I hope it tastes good as well.”
I loved to cook, although I didn’t always have time. Usually, I only did it on weekends.
Garanor closed his eyes for a moment, and after eating a bit, actually complimented me.
“You cook well, Elenia. I guess fairies simply aren’t capable of doing anything badly.”
And again, I caught those mocking notes in his voice that appeared whenever he talked about fairies.
“Oh, we are...” I grumbled, continuing to drill the roast with my eyes.
“I can’t believe that… Unless you’re trying to influence someone without permission,” he recalled the incident with his fiancée, but, fortunately, he didn’t dwell on this problematic moment. “So what don’t you like in the contract?”
“The fact that for its duration, I’ll actually become your property.”
Garanor rolled his eyes.
“Don’t be dramatic, Elenia. There’s no slavery in Grassor and you belong only to yourself.”
“And who, just recently, told me that my life was in their hands?”
Whiskey and wine on a half-empty stomach was a dangerous mixture. I wouldn’t say it helped me relax, but to grow bolder (or tipsy?) instead. I no longer looked away from Garanor’s eyes.
We continued to stare each other down, and I realized that I had every chance of winning... I just shouldn’t lower my gaze to his lips... Why would I even look at his lips? They weren’t appealing to me, nor his eyes, nor he in general.
He reached for his glass and I heard him speak.
“All right. I’m ready to make some compromises, but you, too, will have to agree to some things.”
“Great,” I declared joyfully, but under his strict squint I added with a sigh: “And I, too, will try to compromise, Sonor Horos.”
Strangely, his eyes became a few shades darker.
“That is, I won’t try, I’ll be ready to compromise,” I corrected myself.
“Glad to hear that, Sonorina Lei,” he said with hoarseness in hi
s voice.
I wondered what exactly we were talking about now.
I didn’t have any more wine. For the next half an hour, or maybe even an entire hour, we argued about each item of the contract. Instead of sobering up, I seemed to be getting even drunker, because an arguing and feisty fairy was an abnormal phenomenon.
“Sonorina Lei, if you talk with my brother like that, he’ll leave you on the way to Alicantar.”
“Sonor Horos, are you a woman?”
“I’m sorry, what?” He frowned in a funny way.
Everything seemed funny to me now, especially his attempts to teach me how to deal with people like Xanor.
“No, you’re not a woman,” I reassured him and patiently explained my point. “This means that you understand very little about the art of seduction.”
“What does this have to do with anything?” He frowned again, and for some reason, I wanted to smile when I looked at him.
He really was funny. After a glass of whiskey and a glass of wine. Without alcohol, he was a nightmare, and tomorrow I’d definitely realize that. But today, more precisely, right now, I wanted to smile. Lita was asleep and the worst was over. He was no longer interrogating me, and he didn’t threaten to hand me over to the police. Everything was fine. At least for now, which meant that I could breathe freely.
“I know my brother well.”
“And I’m well versed in feelings and emotions. He’s hooked, rest assured. So much so that even Lita didn’t scare him away. So let me decide how to get a man’s attention. It’s the result that’s important to you, isn’t it?”
“It’s important for me to get the result I need, yes.”
“And you will,” I assured him.
Did he doubt my talents? The talents of a fairy?!
“I promise, I’ll constantly be with Sonor Horos and won’t let him do stupid things to the delight of proper journalists.”
“Okay.” Garanor nodded gloomily, after which he signed the contract.
I also signed the revised contract and returned the device to him. Unfortunately, the clause about friends, like a couple of others, remained unchanged, but on the whole, I managed to bargain for more freedom and reduce the number of obligations.
A Deal with the Dark Fae: Enemies-to-Lovers Standalone (Cruel Intentions Book 1) Page 7