by LJ Swallow
"Right," I say and wish I'd kept my mouth shut. So, whose daughters are Elyssia and Kailey? Paul? Reuben? Someone else?
"Humans have such silly ideas about relationships," continues Portia. "A girl doesn't need to choose, does she Verity?"
Xander sighs loudly. "One, I'm hungry, and two, let's get the meeting over with. We're not here to socialise, but to assure you we're doing what we can to deal with the situation in hand."
"’Situation in hand’." Portia gives him a tight smile and twists her wine glass in her fingers. "You mean the demons’ attempt on my life?"
"Yes. We can help, but you need to look inside your own society for those responsible too."
"Oh, my," says the woman opposite Heath. "You're very forthright."
"This is Tarnia," says Portia. "She's Logan's wife." Portia indicates the fae beside Tarnia, opposite Heath. "My chief advisor and extremely good at her job. We're quite female centric, unlike your little group."
"If you’re good at your job, how come you failed to spot the threat facing Portia?" Xander asks Tarnia.
Wow. I tense as the woman's eyes harden at his dismissive voice and place a hand on Xander's knee. He looks down in surprise, jolted away from his rising conflict. "Could you pour me some wine, Xander?" I ask.
"Allow me." Logan says in a smooth voice. He takes the bottle and pours a generous measure of red wine, which I take and sip.
"What do you think of the wine?" asks Portia.
"I prefer white," I say and cringe at her disparaging look. An evening where I'm falsely polite and meet social expectations? Like that will ever happen.
A young girl appears, dressed in a white shirt and black skirt, and wheels in a trolley holding plates laden with food. She places one each on the table in front of us. My nervousness ensures I'm not hungry; thank god, this is salad. Please let there not be a million food courses. I wiggle my fingers above the cutlery besides the plate. Crap, which one? Joss catches my eye and picks up one of his. With a grateful smile, I copy him.
Portia practices small talk over dinner, Xander's rudeness retreats to silence, and I'm self-aware under the scrutiny of others around that table. She introduces the other couple and young guy as a family from another court. The younger guy, Daeron, is being groomed for a union with Elyssia. A missing Elyssia, judging by the empty chair beside him.
Somehow, I can't imagine Elyssia agreeing to any union she's not interested in. Good luck, Portia. And especially good luck to Daeron.
Xander outlines our activities over the last few days, and the results from our night at the club searching for Hunter's associates. Joss explains to the fae how he and Heath scouted likely places they'd hide out, but found nobody.
He doesn't mention the violent message left at the house, and I sense discomfort from the others about this omission.
Their lacking answers to her problems increases Portia's unimpressed attitude as the evening and wine flow.
"So you are no closer to identifying the leader of the group who attacked me, in my own home?" she asks.
"Are you?" replies Xander.
"What he means is, have you looked into your own community," puts in Ewan. "We can only do so much with little information."
"Of course we are looking for traitorous behaviour," says Tarnia, "but we can't watch everyone all of the time, can we?"
"Neither can we," retorts Heath.
"I thought you were monitoring the higher level demons?" asks Logan. "That is part of your role in this world, yes?"
"Your race work amongst humans too; you could investigate," replies Ewan
"I agree, but we're not involved in this battle between you and the demons," puts in Portia. "We live our own lives. Yes, we help when you need, but that's in return for your protection from others."
Xander scoffs. "Do you have scars?"
"Pardon?"
"From the attack."
Portia places her hand over her chest, fingers spread across the place the chains whipped her. "No, I do not."
"I bet your daughters do. Mental scars from what happened. You can’t stay out of this shit anymore," says Xander.
"Xander!" interrupts Heath. "I apologise, Portia."
"They are fae. They are strong," she says through clenched teeth. "Between us all, we'll clear up who's responsible within our society. You deal with the demons, and things will return to normal."
"Are you delusional?" asks Xander. "The world's changing. Why do you think Verity arrived?"
"To distract you," says Logan. I pause, fork to my mouth, and stare at him. "To ensure you lose focus. Look at the girl, and the way you surround and protect her."
"That's not true. She's more powerful than all of us," says Ewan.
"Ewan...," warns Heath.
I continue to eat, and food sticks in my throat. We decided not to share how powerful I am, in case any guests are involved in plots against Portia.
"How is she more powerful?” Logan asks.
"She amplifies our powers. That’s all," says Heath. "Ewan means we're more powerful with her around. That's why the demons tried to intercept us finding her."
Logan rakes a gaze over me, and I give a weak smile. "I was going to say, she doesn't look like she'd have much power without you."
Cheeky, bloody.... I force a smile.
"Look, can we stop the bullshit and come to some arrangement?" asks Xander. "You agree to tell us anything—and I mean anything—that happens. Suspicious behaviour, people disappearing. Y'know, things like your daughter screwing around with demons who attempt to kill you."
"Enough!" The glass in Portia's hand shatters. "She was tricked! The problem with Elyssia won't happen again," says Portia. The serving girl reappears and busies herself clearing away the glass. "She will be sent somewhere safe."
"Sent where?" asks Joss.
"Well, it wouldn't be safe if I told you, would it?" she snaps.
"I will protect her." The younger guy speaks for the first time and looks at the vacant seat.
"Where is Elyssia then?" asks Joss. "I hope she's okay."
Portia sips her wine. "She's in her room, being awkward. I expect she'll be down when she's hungry."
Her cool tones match the ice cream covering the next course we're served. Four courses in and I'm torn between making myself sick or leaving the meal. Which would offend the queen most? I nibble on the cake. Delicious, but I won't be able to move after tonight’s meal ends.
"Let's finish up, and we can adjourn to the conservatory!" Portia's flick back into hostess mode relaxes me, but not Xander. I fight the urge to rub his arm and ask him to calm, but don't want the rejection. Instead, I attempt light-hearted conversation with an equally tense Heath.
Please don't let there be any trouble.
5
VEE
I hoped the fancy dinner in the uncomfortable atmosphere would be the evening's end, but no such luck. Portia ushers her guests into a vast room towards the rear of the house, promising coffees and an end to the evening. My fake memories contain a family home with a small conservatory; a room surrounded by glass looking out onto a neat square of lawn in the garden. Portia's glass room runs the length of the house, taking up the majority of the garden area. The ceiling's decorated in shining white lights to match the jewels in her hair, every cushion and throw on the seats matching the gold-themed decor.
Despite standing beside her fae husband, she's closer to Xander and Heath with her hand resting on each guys’ arm.
Heath’s distant, but Xander allows her close, why? How far would Xander go to keep the peace because he's failing tonight? Right now, he's distracted, elsewhere. Planning tomorrow?
I approach them, following a bathroom visit, and Portia interrupts before I can speak. "Ah, Verity. Be a darling and tell Diane to make the coffees. I feel our evening could be coming to an end soon. I'm exhausted." She fans her face. "Perhaps I drank a little too much. The stress from the other day took such a toll on me."
I fight rolling
my eyes at her acting skills. I bet she's involved in the local amateur dramatics scene; I could imagine her involved in all kinds of community activities, thrusting herself into the centre of attention. What do other school mums think of her?
Diane isn't in the kitchen, and I take a moment to compose myself. This evening is exhausting. I'm on guard to every word and action, tense around the conflict pawing at the corners, at the undercurrents and distrust. As a relative outsider, it's easy to see whoever has instigated the recent events knows what they're doing. By striking at the heart of the peaceful union between the most powerful supernatural race and the Horsemen, they can kill the alliance. With that broken link, life becomes harder for the guys.
Out of habit, I stack dirty plates by the sink and gather glasses into a neat row. I draw the line at loading the dishwasher, but in the past if I'm invited to someone's home to dine, I help clear up.
But in the past, the people I've socialised with in this way haven't had hired help, or access to magic. I scrape food from a plate into the kitchen bin. Where do the other fae live in Portia's kingdom? At the court in London she mentioned, or are they everywhere in the area? Why have I never noticed them before?
"Dearest girl, why are you behaving like a servant?" Logan walks into the room and takes an open bottle of red wine from the kitchen counter.
"I’m helping."
"I think you're far above that station in life, Verity." He chuckles and holds the bottle above a clean glass on the counter. "Wine?"
"No, thanks."
Logan places the bottle back down. "I always find you Horsemen difficult to read. Are you a Horseman? Horselady?" He smiles at his joke. "I mean, do you have the same origins as the men do?"
"I don't know."
"I've never met the Four, but wanted to for months. I’m happy Portia invited me today. You're a curious group but they've proved themselves in the past. I think Portia would trust you better, Vee, if we knew what you really are."
Discomfort prickles my scalp. Was this dinner party one to examine me? Portia told me this was to welcome me into the fold, but my doubts just became suspicions.
"I'd like to know the same thing," I say with a light smile and gesture towards the doorway. "Excuse me."
Logan's scrutiny triggers further discomfort. My fear of fae won't drop following my violent introduction to the race, and the strange intensity around them continues to make me nervous. They emanate a serenity that captivates, but their ability to suddenly morph into something darker frightens me. I've enough problems dealing with one person like that, and I live with him.
As I pass, Logan touches my cheek, and I recoil. Fae aren't great at respecting personal space either. "There's a lot suppressed inside you, Verity. Do the Horsemen know you're more powerful than they are?"
"Yes. They told you."
"So we should be the most careful of you, I imagine." His thin mouth smiles, but his eyes don't match. "Where did you come from, Verity?"
"The same place as the others." I need out of this room now.
"Really? Where is that?"
I grit my teeth. "I'm sure you've spoken to the guys about this. We don't know. My memory doesn't stretch back that far."
Logan sips his wine, regarding me over the rim. His scrutiny tonight moves from awkward to uneasy. "But where were you for the last ten years? You weren't with the Four. Who created you?"
His intense line of questioning sits heavily on my shoulders; he's prying into the questions I avoid asking myself.
"Are you asking out of curiosity or do you have an agenda?" I retort. "Because I don't have an answer to your interrogation."
"You're evidently a huge distraction to the four men. Have you ever considered whether that's deliberate?" he asks with a sly smile.
"No. I'm more than that, I have my own—" I stop.
Logan straightens. "Your own what? Power? What is your power, Verity? I heard that you're a vessel containing magic to amplify the Four. I don't believe that. Nobody would go to such trouble to hide you if that were all you could do."
"I guess not, excuse me." I push on with my attempt to leave the kitchen, a journey that's become equivalent to crossing the Sahara.
"Be careful. I can see him in your mind."
I halt. "See who?"
"Someone from the darkness you hold."
"What darkness? As Portia witnessed, I'm light. Truth."
He laughs. "Perhaps. But all the Horsemen contain darkness. How could any of you kill if you’re purely good?"
No. I don't want to hear this. He's lying.
"I believe that keeping the darkness contained is the problem you will all face," he continues.
"Perhaps. I really need to talk to Xander about something." I force another smile. Logan must know Xander will step in if he continues to bother me. Every one of the guys will step in if they see I’m distressed.
Logan pushes on regardless, eyes glinting. "I also detect hate and vengeance inside you, Vee. Did you kill someone?"
I swallow. "I defended myself."
"So, yes?"
"A demon," I hiss. "I think you know my life is a ‘kill or be killed’ situation."
"And did you enjoy killing?" Logan whispers. "Did the act empower you?" He runs his tongue along his bottom lip. "Did taking a life turn you on?"
"What the hell?" I hiss.
"And then perhaps you needed to release that tension somehow?"
"Whoa!" I step back. "That's inappropriate!"
"There's no need to feel coy about the power of sex. Sex is a tool for the fae to empower our magic, and central to everyone and everything in our lives. Why not your 'kind' too, whatever you are? The sexual need between the five of you lights the room." He arches a brow. "I don't think it's just a case of the five of you wanting to fuck, I think it's a case of you need to."
Omigod.
"And what makes you such an expert on us?" I turn to where Ewan's walked into the kitchen behind me. "Vee may be one of us, but she's freaked out enough trying to cope with shit, without you hitting on her."
"I am doing no such thing!" Logan retorts and sips his wine. "I'm merely enquiring about her origins."
"And discussing sex? That’s inappropriate with someone you met a couple of hours ago, and so is that word." Ewan takes my hand. "Are you okay?"
I respond with the pained look he must recognise—Verity attempting not to tell the truth. “Um.”
“That’s no, isn’t it?” growls Ewan.
The darkness. What the hell is this darkness? Logan triggered anxiety because he's right. I did feel a strength and triumph after I killed the incubus. The desire to kill pushed out everything, and nothing would've stopped me.
I glance at Ewan. I was on a high afterwards, and the desire for sex matched the need I had to kill the demon hours earlier. I craved the release and physically ached for Ewan to share the energy with me. But when I look at him now, the part not satiated builds again.
Something lingers and will not go anywhere until I unite with one of them on a purely physical level.
Images of the pair of us together flicker in my mind as I stare at the lips that bruised mine, the mouth that pulled me away from this darkness and into to the stars.
Logan leans forward and whispers. "I can see into your mind and know exactly what you're thinking, Vee. I knew I was right."
I immediately force the images away. Logan looks between Ewan and me. "Something's tense between you. Not only because you didn't fuck, but more. Something happened today, I've sensed it from you all. What?"
I stare back at him, and his eyes fix on mine, arousing the sensation he’s inside my mind, pushing around inside for the Truth.
His question cleverly conjures the images of the corpses, of our panic and confusion.
Logan's mouth parts and he steps back. "What happened?"
"Verity. Stop looking at him. Leave the room," growls Ewan. "Think about something else."
I don't hesitate and rush back to Por
tia and the boys. Heath frowns at me as he notices my flustered state. "Are you okay?"
"I'm getting tired too," I say with a weak smile to Portia. "Long day."
Logan appears behind me, Ewan beside him. "When exactly were you going to tell us a demon killed and left a body on your property?"
Thank god, he didn’t see it was a fae.
Xander snaps his head around from his conversation with Portia. "What did you say to him, Ewan?"
"Nothing. He's a freaking mind reader. You kept that quiet, didn't you Portia?"
Her face hardens. "How else are we supposed to know what secrets you hide from us?"
"We're not hiding secrets," replies Joss.
"What did you see?" she demands of Logan.
"Another death. Confusion. Verity walked away before I found anymore."
"You brought someone here to spy on our minds?" asks Heath. "Has your trust in us descended so far when we do everything to help you?"
In the corner of my eye, Joss steps closer to Xander, and I share Joss's awareness that Xander's anger builds with each word spoken. Joss needs to calm him or we need to leave.
"How dare you," growls Xander. "How dare you fucking trick us like this?"
"We did the right thing because you came here tonight with a deliberate choice not to disclose everything you know."
"Because we don't know enough to say anything yet," says Heath, flashing his brother a look. "As soon as we have a concrete lead, we'll share everything we discover."
"I don't trust them," says Logan. "I especially don't trust her." He jabs a finger at me and I blink. "She's frightened of fae because something darker lives inside her. I can sense it. She needs removing from the situation. From everybody’s lives."
Every pair of eyes in the room turn to me, and I freeze, fear washing over me. What will Logan do? What have I caused here?
The silence breaks as Xander steps forward and grabs Logan by the shirt. I flinch as Xander pulls him until they're nose to nose. "Insult or hurt Vee and you insult us all. Refuse to accept her, and you can forget asking for our help anymore."
