by Melissa Marr
“Perfect,” he repeated yet again. He smiled.
She blinked at the sheer perverseness of it, and then she shook her head. “No. Definitely not.”
Erik continued to smile, as if he knew things she didn’t.
Violet walked a little faster. It wasn’t as if she’d been dateless her whole life, but she carefully chose who, and when, and why she allowed anyone close. A simple sharp word made most men cower and run. It didn’t make them smile. Ever.
She glanced up at him, and he met her eyes without hesitation. There were a thousand words she could use to explain why he needed to go away, but the look on his face made all of them escape. It also made her walk a little faster, not running per se, just walking toward the comfort of her friends and the ability to be done with the feel of his hand on her skin.
eleven
LILYDARK
Seeing Erik walk into the VIP section with Violet, Will, and Roan was far from expected. Violet looked like she was two seconds from slugging Erik. The boys didn’t seem much calmer. To add icing to this particular mess, Creed grumbled, “What’s he doing here?”
Lily sighed. He was allowed to be in a mood with as much pain as he was in. She was grateful he wasn’t pouring liquor down his throat to numb it. “Hush,” she told him.
Then she met Erik’s eyes and asked, “Is there trouble at home? Or with Hector?”
“No. This is purely a social call,” he said, sitting down on the empty loveseat. He glanced at Violet and then at the space beside him.
Violet made a rude gesture and shoved Roan toward a chair. He managed to look graceful as he half-fell in the chair, but he looked stunned a moment later when Violet perched on his lap and scowled at Erik. Lily couldn’t help thinking she seemed more like a dainty bird of prey than anyone’s girlfriend.
Will sat on the loveseat next to Erik. “You shouldn’t upset Vi,” he pronounced. “Especially tonight.”
“What did you do to Violet?” Lily asked.
“I called her perfect,” Erik said calmly. “Graceful.” He glanced at her and prompted, “And what else?”
Violet glared.
“That’s right,” he said, as if she had replied instead of scowling at him. “Not intimidated by me. Maybe I was wrong about that one.”
“Fuck. You.” Violet smiled sweetly and then twisted so she wasn’t facing him.
Lily sighed again. “Erik? Stop trying to provoke Vi, and tell me why you’re here.”
“Visiting my closest friend. Getting to know her schoolmates.” Erik leaned back and looked around at everyone. It seemed like he watched Roan and Will, and Lily hoped that Violet putting the boys between her and Erik wasn’t going to lead to trouble.
“He’s sort of darling, isn’t he?” Alkamy’s pronouncement drew mixed reactions. Violet glared. Creed scowled. Roan looked at her like she’d begun speaking a dead language, but Alkamy continued, “He strolls in here, knowing what we are . . .”
Alkamy paused and looked at him expectantly.
Erik nodded. “You’re all just like Lily. Once you know the tells, you know.”
“So he’s got a reason for being here, and it’s not unrequited love.” Again Alkamy looked at Erik, as if she were granting him permission to speak.
Erik, however, looked at Lily. “You’re my best friend, but it wasn’t ever about romance.”
“I know,” she said, squeezing Creed’s hand reassuringly. “So why are you really here?”
Erik shook his head. “I know what’s going to happen. The coronation. I heard from Nick.” The way he looked at her was as chastising as his father had done in years past, and it made her want to laugh despite the seriousness of his words as he added, “You can’t honestly think that after all these years I’m going to let you walk into the public eye without being here to back you.”
Lily gaped at him. In her mind, she’d kept fae and human concerns so divided that she hadn’t even considered intertwining them. To deal with the fae, she had the other diamonds. If there were trouble with the Abernathy holdings, she’d go to Erik. The worlds were divided. It was tidy.
“You did think that,” Erik said. “Why would you . . . querida! You wound me.”
“You have your father’s business to consider and—”
“And I have other brothers who could stand to learn about the business instead of assuming it is only my job to know how things work.” Erik met her gaze. “My father and I discussed it. We stand by the Abernathy family. It would’ve been easier to protect you as my wife . . .”
“Not happening,” Creed interjected with a little gust of air that pushed Erik backward.
“Obviously,” Erik said mildly before continuing, “but I’m not turning my back on you any more than my father would turn his back on Nick. Gaviria and Abernathy. Our partnership continues, as does our friendship.”
Lily felt almost tearful at what Erik was saying. He was offering her the same support her father had always had from the Gaviria cartel, the support she’d expected to lose when she rejected Erik’s offer of marriage. She was grateful, but the kind of trouble before her as the heir of the Hidden Throne made his offer unrealistic.
“They . . . we aren’t like you. You know about”—she lowered her voice until it was barely above a whisper—“affinities. Don’t you?”
Erik gave her a familiar look of irritation. “I’m not stupid, Lily. I’m also aware that there is another concern you’ll need to address. The police and the law. I’ve spent more hours than I can count studying that, making connections, gathering material for applying pressure. I come with my father’s full arsenal at hand. We were prepared for this. Even though I wasn’t aware of who exactly you were to them, I have always known your secret.”
“Oh.”
“With the rash of attacks, perhaps I can be of use here. Plus . . .” Erik then glanced at Violet, who was no longer refusing to look his way. “I am newly single.”
For a moment, no one spoke. Provoking Violet so publicly was never wise. She was already in a temper after the attack earlier. Lily suspected that some of it was guilt. If Violet could’ve, she’d have been the one to handle it all on her own, but Creed had done so. He’d struck the final blow.
“You’re as subtle as a fart,” Violet pronounced. “And just as appealing.”
Erik stared at Violet. “All fire and darkness.”
Lily winced at what he was implying. Erik had told her years ago, one rare night when he’d been drinking, that his grandmother—a self-professed bruja—had prophesied his future wife. He’d confessed that he tried to date girls who matched her description, but he thought most of them as appealing as chewing glass might be.
Violet stood and snatched Roan’s hand. She held her other hand out to Will. Without saying a word to anyone, the three of them left for the dance floor.
Alkamy all but slithered to her feet and said, “I’ve heard that formal dances are quite the thing at underworld parties.”
“They are how we lie to ourselves about our civility.” Erik shrugged. “Dress in tailored clothes. Parade around the ballrooms. We can pretend not to have a darker side.”
“Excellent. Our sort does much the same. Let’s parade then.” Alkamy offered her hand to him imperiously.
He looked in the direction Violet had gone. “Refinement won’t work with her, will it?”
At that, Zephyr finally spoke up. “No, but fortunately for you, Alkamy is as restrained as a hammer. Vi knows it. That’s why she walked away.”
“I love her like a sister, and she needs a distraction tonight,” Alkamy said, tone growing sharp until Zephyr smiled at her.
Once they were gone, Zephyr looked at them and said, “My, umm, my father doesn’t know who that was earlier or why they tracked us down or how.” He met Lily’s gaze. “Neither does our grandmother.”
He said the word so easily, so comfortably. Lily almost envied his ease. These were her friends, but at times she still felt distant from them. They’d al
l been raised with the knowledge that the Queen of Blood and Rage knew them and would use them as she saw fit. They’d had loyalty to the Hidden Lands trained in them since childhood.
And even though she suspected all but Creed of keeping secrets of some sort, she knew that they were loyal to her now too. A boy died today—at Creed’s hand. Fae or fae-bloods were attacking humans at an ever-increasing rate. Her father was on his way to see her. The police had been at her door, and Hector was arrested. This didn’t feel like the peace she’d bartered for, and Lily wasn’t sure what to do about any of it.
twelve
WILL
“You need to let Vi dance with Roan,” Will told Alkamy when she cut in on his dance with Violet.
“But Erik seems good for her and—”
“He’s here because I called him. I need to talk to him in private. I would’ve done it elsewhere, but after today . . .” He didn’t need to specify that Lily’s anxiety about the attack at St. Columba’s made the idea of them all being apart untenable.
As he’d been speaking, Alkamy’s face shifted into the sort of mask they’d all perfected. “Work?”
Will nodded, knowing she would assume he meant that he was acting on the queen’s orders. It wasn’t a true lie, simply a misdirection. Rather than explain anything, he said, “When Vi shoves him away, let her and Roan go. Follow them. Steer them to the VIP room. Say whatever you need to keep her there.”
A part of him hated lying to Alkamy, but he was counting on her sense of duty. Her loyalty was to Zephyr. First. Foremost. Always. That meant that she would follow his lead, and right now, Zephyr was sworn to the Queen of Blood and Rage. That meant Alkamy was, by extension, also loyal to the Unseelie Queen.
Will wouldn’t go so far as to think that the princess was disloyal to the queen, but like everyone else, she had an agenda. He didn’t want to know what it was, and he didn’t care enough about Erik to feel regret for his actions. His priority had been finding a way to survive the price he had to pay for being born fae-blood—and protecting those he thought of as family. Erik wasn’t family.
He waited while Erik and Violet danced. She was in a temper, so he doubted it would take long for her to jerk away from Erik. If it lasted much past the next song, Roan would cut in. Will looked up, unerringly finding his partner who was dancing with a random stranger nearby.
By the time the next song—one of Alkamy’s—was only a few bars in, Violet’s temper snapped.
“Dancing with you doesn’t mean you can touch me!” Violet stepped away from Erik.
“How do propose we dance without touching?” Erik’s voice was loud enough to be overheard by several people nearby.
Will glared at them, as did Alkamy, and they started giving their small group more room. The girl who had been dancing with Roan stood there, obviously hoping she’d be asked to stay. Will couldn’t blame her; Roan was easy to find fascinating. He said something to her that made her smile before going. Once she was gone, though, he shot Will an accusing look. It was Will’s fault that Roan had to flirt with girls, and more than a few times, he’d pointed out to Will that doing so meant that, in essence, his love for Will meant he was left acting like an ass, flirting with no intention of following up. It was increasingly a point of contention for them, and Will knew that he’d have to choose to risk the damage coming out would do to his mother’s career or lose Roan.
Right now, though, the more pressing issue was Violet. She had her hands on her hips. It was one of her tricks to keep from reaching out and burning someone.
Violet snapped, “You were . . . thinking about touching me.”
“Thinking about it?” Erik echoed. “Really?”
“Don’t pretend you weren’t!” Her hand lowered from her hip, and Will knew there was likely a blade of some sort hidden on her. She was always armed more than any of the other diamonds—even though her affinity was the most dangerous weapon she could wield.
Roan was already there, wrapping an arm around Violet’s waist, stopping her from temper. It had seemed worse since her trip to the Hidden Lands, as if whatever extra fire she’d channeled there still lingered. Today’s events only added to that problem.
“Erik,” Will said. He stepped between them, his back to Violet. For all of her temper, Violet wouldn’t hurt him. He knew that with a certainty that he couldn’t say he felt about most people.
Roan stepped in and steered Violet away. Alkamy trailed them quietly. It wasn’t much different from the way she’d sulked in public over the years, so it was doubtful that Violet would question it.
Once they were far enough away, Will said, “I have questions.”
“I came when you called,” Erik said. “If Lily trusts you, I’m guessing you’re . . .”
He didn’t speak the word, but Will didn’t need to hear it for them to both know what it was. He nodded once and said, “We’re family of a sort.”
Erik grinned. “We are too. A very different sort though. My father’s family and hers . . .” He shrugged. “Is there a threat from that side of her family?”
“That’s a good question.” Will steered Erik closer to the wall, not the corner. Corners gave privacy, but they also made it easier to end up trapped.
“There were fires in the south,” Erik said quietly. “Not natural.”
“I didn’t see that in the news.”
“True,” Erik agreed. “For some reason, it was not covered.”
Will scanned the crowd as they spoke, realizing that Erik was doing the same. Honestly, except for being human, he wasn’t that different from the diamonds. He watched his surroundings the same way, and he worked around the law to do what he needed to do.
“Were they targeting Lily’s father?”
Erik stared at Will for a long moment before saying, “You ask a lot of questions.”
Will wasn’t in the mood for subtlety, not right now. “I’ve been ordered to do so. I need to know anything you can find out about the attacks.”
Still, Erik said nothing.
“You know the police were here today?” Will prompted.
Erik nodded.
After one more look around to be sure that no one was listening, Will added, “And that there was an ambush from a fae-blood on campus?”
“That, I did not know.” Erik looked toward the VIP area. “She seems fine.”
“Vi and Creed handled it before Lily arrived.”
Erik met Will’s gaze. “And?”
“They handled it.”
This time, there was no mistaking the approval in Erik’s expression or voice as he said, “She is remarkable.”
Will opened his mouth to press for the information he needed, but the sudden scent of fire made him pause. He stepped forward and looked around. No one else was reacting, but Will’s affinity was air. He could smell things before humans would, and that smell was one he was very used to.
“What?” Erik followed him.
“Get out of the building,” Will ordered. “Get people out however you can.”
“What’s going on?”
Will stopped and said, “You want to help? Sometimes that means following orders. Get out. Get them”—he pointed around the dance floor—“out.”
Erik looked like he wanted to argue, but instead, he walked away. Will wasn’t sure what he intended to do, but it didn’t matter. His first priority was the rest of the diamonds. He shoved through the dance floor with a rudeness that he didn’t typically exhibit, but emergencies weren’t a time to be polite.
As he went, he said, “There’s about to be trouble. Get out.”
A few people listened, but most didn’t. He wasn’t a celebrity darling like Creed, Violet, or Zephyr. He was a guy who was with them. He’d worked hard not to be memorable. He wore things that hid his physique and intentionally slouched. He even wore a pair of the ugliest glasses he could find. That had been his mother’s strategy for his whole life—downplay his fae beauty—and he stuck with it. Unfortunately, right now tha
t meant people weren’t paying attention when he really needed them to listen.
“Get out of the building,” he said to a group of girls as he pushed through them.
At the VIP barricade, Will stopped long enough to say, “I think something’s going on. Maybe it was a cigarette . . . or something . . . but there’s smoke on the dance floor.”
Will knew it wasn’t cigarette smoke, but whoever set this fire was working with someone who could steer air away from those sensitive alarms. That meant that there were fae-bloods about, and with the attack earlier today, he had no doubt that they were connected. Someone knew that the Black Diamonds were here, and more concerning, someone meant them harm.
Once he was in the room, he solidified the air around them, slowing the molecules so it was like a shield, and said, “Fire.”
thirteen
ZEPHYR
Zephyr took a quick look at the group. The only one missing was Erik, but he wasn’t one of theirs. His well-being wasn’t a top priority.
“Where’s Erik?” Violet asked.
“Handling the exit,” Will said. “I sent him to start evac.”
Violet and Lily both nodded, and Zephyr wondered if Alkamy had been right about Violet’s interest in Lily’s human friend. It wasn’t logical to him. Fae-blood belonged with other fae-blood or with fae, not with a human.
“Where do we go?” Lily glanced at Zephyr, and he was surprised that she was deferring to him. She was the future queen of the Hidden Lands. He was likely to follow his father’s path and defend the queen.
“You know the area,” Lily said when she caught him looking at her. She flashed a wry grin before she added, “And I don’t think this is a guns or swords situation.”
“We’ll see.” He looked around at them as he ordered, “Will and Roan, stick with Vi and Kam and get outside. Creed . . .” Zephyr shook his head. “You’ll be where you always are.”
