“This is your fault.” She pointed.
I shook my head. “I didn’t bring the wine out. Ivy did.”
Ivy curled in a ball on the couch, murmuring incoherent words as I went to the kitchen to put the wine away. I wouldn’t take care of a crying Ivy, but I’d at least make sure she didn’t get any worse.
There was a window above the sink, and the moon was just rising in the sky. It was wintertime and even Fae Islands had shorter days like Earth.
As I observed the moon creeping higher into the sky, a flash of something caught my attention further into the orchard. My thoughts instantly began to turn. What if there had been two guards in the forest earlier and I’d missed one? Finn had me distracted, and I wasn’t foolish enough to believe it wasn’t possible for me to slip up, given everything I’d been going through.
Peeking into the living room, Neva was wiping bodily fluids from Ivy’s chin, and I gagged silently before stepping away. I’d return before they even knew I was gone.
The back door opened without a sound and I stepped outside. The air was cool and crisp, and I took a deep inhale. Nothing triggered my senses except the scent of trees and fruit, but I headed where I’d seen the flash anyway.
It could have just been a glare from the moon through the glass, or it could have been the glint of silver from someone’s blade. Either way, I needed to be certain. Not only for me, but for the people inside the house.
Ivy and Neva wouldn’t be collateral damage to my past.
As I crept through the yard, I fleetingly wondered where Finn had run off to, along with Maddox. Ivy seemed head over heels with the fae, but it was interesting to me he hadn’t been present more, considering I was around. He either had no idea who I was or didn’t care much for the safety of his girlfriend.
Or, maybe he wasn’t who Ivy and Finn thought he was. Everyone was suspicious to me, but there was also a possibility his farm really did take up most of his time and I was making a big deal out of nothing. I had at least tried to keep my thoughts away from believing he couldn’t be trusted, but it didn’t work very well.
A branch snapped up ahead, and I paused in the shadows of an outbuilding. I pushed my power out along the lush ground, hoping it would go unnoticed while doing what I needed it to do. Trundles of magic slithered from my fingertips, weaving between the blades of grass and around the trees.
Before they could get where I’d heard the sound, the repetitive thuds told me someone was running, and I wasn’t about to let them get away. I cut off my magic and followed. I’d spent a lot of time in the home gym back at my apartment and running was as easy as breathing for me. So, with little effort, I caught up to the fae ahead just in time to watch his wings spread.
Oh, hell no, asshole.
I let my feathered beauties burst from my shoulders as I launched myself forward. He took flight, but so did I. This wouldn’t be the first time I’d taken someone down in the air.
My wings were longer and stronger than his leather ones, so I gained on him easily. He was wearing all black, so I had no idea if he worked for the king or was just someone out lurking where they didn’t belong. Either way, I was about to find out.
I lifted my palm and thrust magic into his back. His right wing buckled but recovered faster than I liked. Focusing back on getting closer, I increased my speed and decided this would need to be done hands-on.
He made the mistake of glancing back and slowed after seeing how close I was. My arms wrapped around his midsection as I brought my wings around his front and under his throat.
“Get us to the ground safely and I won’t slice your head off,” I demanded.
“Screw you,” he spit right before a wave of electricity rolled through my body.
Son of a bitch. He had wanted me to catch him.
My hands released on instinct, and he shot higher into the sky. With sparks still rolling off my arms, I chased after him. Fury rose within me that I hadn’t seen the move coming, and I was done playing games. This was why I liked to kill people who were up to no good. It required so much more effort to bring them in kicking and screaming.
Power built within me. I knew exactly what my next move would be, and the thought of the cries to come made me giddy.
When I was once again close, I didn’t reach out. Instead, I sent a ball of magic into his back for a second time. This one wasn’t meant to hurt, but to remove all sense of control over his own body. It brought me great joy to make grown men like him so weak and pathetic. I’d honed this particular skill for moments just like this.
He swiveled back to me as his wings slowed and arms fell limp at his sides. “What did you do?” he snarled, and I grinned.
“Oh, not much. Have a nice fall.” I waved my fingers as his wings finally folded in and his dark eyes widened in fear of what was to come.
I might not ever know who he was or why he was spying on us, but at least he wouldn’t be a problem anymore.
I flew down to make sure the job was done. I’d seen lesser men survive a drop like that, but not often.
When I got to the ground, the bastard was nowhere in sight. Damn it. Was he stronger than I’d given him credit for? There was no way. Not after the power I’d blasted him with.
I walked a few paces, trying to find where he landed, because it wasn’t possible that his wings began working that soon after my paralyzing magic.
Except there was no dent in the ground, not even a disruption in the grass. There was literally nothing out of place.
“Are you looking for something?” Finn’s voice sounded from behind me, and I swore to the Gods if he was holding on to that fae when I turned around, I would kill them both.
Chapter 11
Sure as shit, the fae I’d just hoped to kill was safely draped over Finn’s arms like a baby. My lips lifted into a snarl. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
He took a step back as I moved closer. “Keeping an innocent fae from dying.”
This fae. I didn’t know what to do with him. Too much of me still wanted him, especially as I watched the muscles beneath his black shirt strain with the weight of the fae. But other, likely smarter parts of me, were screaming he was bad news. He would never accept me for who I was. Or, who I thought I was.
“That fae was spying on us. You think I just randomly chase unknown supernaturals and kill them for the fun of it? I’m not a monster.” Magic flickered from my fingers as my ire increased.
“You could have fooled me.” He turned on a heel and headed back to the house, but I wasn’t done with him.
I ran and didn’t stop when we connected. I barreled into Finn and brought all three of us to the ground. The immobile fae landed underneath, and Finn rolled us off him.
“What are you doing?” he grumbled, blocking my punches.
“Kicking your ass for getting in my way.” I feigned a left hook to his jaw and instead landed several punches to his ribs, each with added shock from my magic.
He groaned but didn’t slow down. His legs wrapped around me, locking me against him, though my arms were still free.
I pulled up and dropped my elbow onto his throat while his hands were doing their best to restrain me without actually hitting me. This was why it didn’t pay to be a nice person. His integrity was likely telling him it was wrong to hit a woman, but I wouldn’t stop beating the shit out of him until I was good and ready, and he had every right to fight back. I’d have enjoyed it at this point in our non-relationship.
“You’re being ridiculous, Lucinda.”
My hands captured his and brought them above his head. “No, I’m not. I’m being cautious. It’s kept me alive and at the top of my game for years now. Being as though I’m not the one with poison running through my veins, I’d say my method works better than yours.”
He took advantage of my trapped legs and rolled us over again, and I couldn’t stop the pleasure that filtered in when he took charge. Damn my stupid hormones.
“I’d rather die a t
housand deaths than kill an innocent person.”
He had my hands trapped, and I stopped fighting him. Unless I wanted to really hurt him with magic, I wouldn’t win against his brute force.
His fingers loosened around my wrists. “Are you done now?”
“Not even close.” I bucked my hips under Finn’s, said a quick hello to the only part of him I liked, and then pushed him off me. Instead of continuing to attack him, I leapt for the unknown fae. Grabbing on to his collar, I jerked him up and pulled a small blade from the hidden pocket of my leather pants.
“Make one move and I’ll cut his throat open,” I said to Finn as he glowered at me.
“What are you doing?”
I traced the tip of the blade up the fae’s cheek and enjoyed how his eyes darted between me and Finn, the only movement he was capable of until my magic wore off. “Well, like I said before, I’m not a monster and you probably did me a favor. Now that he’s still alive, I can torture information from him. Like why he was here and who sent him.”
The knife nicked the fae’s ear, and blood dripped onto his shoulder, just missing my hand. I turned for the house and let the fae drag behind me, fully expecting Finn to follow.
A heavy sigh sounded from behind me, and Finn’s footsteps finally began. “Not in the house, and I will be with you every time you want to speak with the fae. You’re not to be alone with him. Not even for one second.”
I tossed a glance back. “One of these days, I’m going to…” I let the sentence trail off. Finn clearly wasn’t ready for more. He might have thought so in the South Island forest, but I needed him to accept the darker parts of me before he got the fun bits. “Never mind. Just lead the way.”
Finn strode ahead while I still dragged the fae behind me. His legs bounced on the ground as I took extra care to walk over every rock I saw. I followed Finn around the back side of the house and watched our surroundings as we moved. Where there was one cockroach, there were usually more.
But nothing stood out in the quiet of the night, and the moon was fully risen in the sky as we entered what appeared to be a small shed from the outside, but actually led to a set of stairs that took us underground.
Finn held the door open for me, and I raised a brow at him. “I didn’t take you for the underground bunker type.”
“Just because I’m not a murderer like you, doesn’t mean I’m an idiot who thinks the world smells like roses.”
I shrugged. I guessed that could be true. Instead of dragging the fae over the stairs, I tossed him down the steps. Finn hissed, but I grinned. “If he bleeds, it’s not my fault. You should have carpeted the stairs.”
He pushed past me, and I let him tend to the worthless spy while I took a peek around. The room was open, and I could see from one end to the next right where I stood. The walls were made from cinder with wood posts placed every ten-or-so feet for support to the ceiling. There was a couch with blankets on it and several chairs, one of which Finn had deposited the fae onto before moving to grab a rope.
“You like to tie people up, huh?” My brows waggled at him, but he ignored me, ruining my fun.
Gods, I was a glutton for punishment with this sexy fae. My mind wandered to the previous mention that the poison inside Finn was the only thing he thought attracted me to him. Given all that had happened, I was beginning to believe it might be true.
Over the course of the last few years, I’d refused to settle for less than I deserved. Not after how I’d been controlled by the king for so long. But now, I seemed to be throwing out my normal rules without a care. Finn didn’t understand me, and he likely never would. Why was I still trying to get a rise out of him? It was just as much torture for me as it was for him.
I also needed to get back to my roots and remember all of the things that had kept me safe since I’d been on my own, torture being a key component. Oh, how much fun I’d had thinking of ways to torment the king without ever even touching him.
Finn grunted, pulling me from my thoughts, and I resumed taking in the bunker. Besides the couch and chairs, there was a small fridge and cabinet. I took the few steps across the concrete floor to open both only to find canned food and water. Why wasn’t I surprised?
When Finn was done, I slid next to him, walking my fingers up his arm and giving his ear a slight tug. “Thanks for tying him up.”
“I didn’t do it for you, I did it for him.” He met my heated gaze, the charcoal in his once again prominent. I licked my lips and enjoyed watching his eyes dart down to catch sight of my tongue before I patted him on the chest.
“You don’t know him, right?” I asked Finn, realizing there was a good chance of that possibility.
Finn concentrated on our prisoner. “Never seen him before.”
“Good. Now, it’s my turn with him.” I shoved Finn out of the way and placed my hand over the fae’s chest, pulling my magic back out of him, so he could speak. “What’s your name?” The fae sneered instead of answering. “How about I call you Dave? Dave sounds like a real douchey name I can deal with.”
“You’re both going to die.” Dave spat the words in my face, and I turned my head toward Finn.
“Should I say ‘I told you so’ now or wait until he insults us some more?”
Finn stepped forward, nudged me out of the way, and grabbed the fae by his shirt. “What were you doing on my property?”
Dave merely smiled, refusing to answer. I latched my hand onto his leg and blasted him with something similar as to what he’d hit me with in the sky.
Finn released his grasp and cringed. Oops, I’d forgotten he was holding on to the intruder.
I didn’t remove my hand until Dave cried out. “Answer Finn’s question or there will be more of that and worse.”
The fae growled at me, and I inhaled the scent of burnt skin before winking at him. “I bet that one’s going to leave a mark.”
“I won’t let her hurt you if you answer the question,” Finn said, and I snorted. Like he could really stop me.
Dave laughed as well. “She’s right. You might as well kill me. I’ll die before I betray my people like you have.” The last bit was said with a scorned gaze toward Finn.
What had the sexy fae been up to that he wasn’t telling me about?
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’d never betray our kind,” Finn responded.
Dave leaned forward, straining against the ropes I assumed were magically bound. Finn couldn’t be that naïve. “The proof is not only inside you, but right next to you. You brought her back and have doomed us all.”
Dave’s eyes closed, and he muttered under his breath as I sensed power building within him. I backed up and prepared for him to break free, excited to resume beating the shit out of someone. Finn didn’t move, though. Poor fae still thought that good would always prevail. I hated to have to prove him wrong, but I would.
“What are you doing?” Finn demanded when Dave’s body began trembling within the ropes. Sparks of magic popped from his skin, and blood dripped from his nose.
Well, this wasn’t good.
“I’d back up if I were you, Finn,” I called out, but he didn’t listen.
I knew exactly what was happening, because I’d seen it once before. Dave had some big balls, I had to give him that. It took a lot of control to hold power in while it built until a point it literally burst from the body in an explosion. Considering this was about to get messy, and I had no desire to ruin my outfit, I moved back onto the stairs. Unfortunately, I only made it five steps before the fae exploded and bits of his body flew all around the room.
Finn was cussing like a sailor, and I just grinned as I glanced down. Blood spatter was on my boots, but thankfully they went up high enough that none of the filth landed on my clothes.
“I think now is the time. I told you so. Twice,” I said, but Finn didn’t reply as he charged toward the stairs, covered in blood and guts.
Well, there went my sex drive.
He was going
to need at least three scalding showers before I would consider messing with him again.
I pressed myself against the wall as he passed by, completely ignoring me while mumbling to himself about psycho fae. I wondered if he was talking about Dave or me.
When I got back to the house, Finn was nowhere in sight and Ivy was passed out on the couch with Neva sitting at her feet.
“Finn just stormed through the house smelling like death. Do I even want to know what happened?” she asked.
I grinned. “A fae exploded on him. It was actually rather impressive.”
Her face turned a little green. “That’s horrid. How did that happen?” I told her the story, and her head shook. “We need to figure out what we’re going to do. You can’t just keep killing people. Sooner or later, the king is going to find out you’re here.”
My eyes met hers. “Oh, it’s going to be sooner, and I already have a plan. Several of them, in fact.”
“Care to tell me any details as to whatever it is you have already plotted?”
“In the morning. All you need to know for now is the king will suffer without me ever even touching him. Only when he’s had his people turned against him and his sanity stripped away will he know who brought him to his knees.”
Chapter 12
After Neva brought us temporary beds from her pocket realm, I’d slept like the dead for a few hours. A perk to being fae, we needed minimal sleep to be at our best. Well, unless that fae was Ivy and severely hungover.
“What the hell happened last night?” She groaned and held her head.
“You got drunk, unleashed a bunch of poison, almost got us all killed, gave us a strip show, then threw up everywhere. It was pretty epic.” I smirked as she turned toward me, eyes wide.
“No, I didn’t.”
I shrugged. “Are you sure about that?”
Neva shoved my shoulder. “She’s joking. Well, about most of it. You did throw up.”
Dark Fae Cursed (Broken Court Book 1) Page 9
