Five

by Christie Rich

  I woke to Cassie shouting at something unseen in the corner of the room.

  “You filthy little tyrant! Give me back my things!” She paused with her hands on her hips.

  I raised myself onto my elbows to see her better. I grinned.

  She tilted her head belligerently. “Yes. I can see you. I don’t care if you like them.” She started pacing the room. Her eyes were aflame. “I can’t give you something else! Go steal from someone who thinks you’re a ghost!”

  She paused as though waiting for a reply. “Take your pick. I don’t care. Just give me back my bracelet…and my broach.”

  “Cassie,” I said. “Who are you talking to?”

  She whirled around. “And you! How dare you stay out all night! I should have reported you.”

  “What are you talking about? I was in bed before twelve.”

  “I stayed up until two waiting for you. It’s really none of my business if you decided to sleep with him. You could have at least called me. I was worried sick.”

  I wasn’t going to justify something that hadn’t happened, besides, if she had been that worried, she could have called me. “I know what time I got here. I looked at my watch before I walked through the door.”

  She spun on her heels, facing the wall. “This is none of your business. Go away, you little rat. The next time I see you, you’d better have my things in your ugly fists.”

  She walked over to the couch and plopped down. “I had no idea they could be this difficult.”

  “Haven’t you ever talked to one of them before now?”

  She smirked. “Sure I have, but Nixlan was nice.”

  I laughed. “And this creature isn’t?”

  She let out a huge gust of air. “He says he’s a troll. He claims if I can give him something better than what he took, he will return my things to me.”

  I yawned. “You have plenty of jewelry. Just give him something that doesn’t mean that much to you.”

  She frowned. “I’ve shown him everything else I own. He said he doesn’t like human baubles.”

  I giggled. “He actually called them baubles?” He kind of sounded cute. I wished I could see him.

  She glared at me. “What am I going to do, Rayla? Ainessa was hovering outside our window last night.”

  My body stiffened. “What did you do?”

  “Ignored her.” She grabbed a pillow and put it in her lap. “She couldn’t come in here without being invited.”

  I snorted. “Is she a vampire?”

  She shook her head at me. “You believe the most absurd things.”

  “So believing in fairies isn’t absurd?”

  She gave me a look. “Anyway, she banged on the window, and yelled at me to open it.” Cassie grunted her irritation. “As if I’d be stupid enough to do something like that. She told me that she wasn’t angry with me anymore, but she needed to talk to me.”

  “About what?”

  She caught my gaze before she said, “You.”

  “Huh?”

  “I know.” She threw her arms wide. “Why is the whole world obsessed with Rayla Tate all of the sudden?”

  I harrumphed. “I realize I’m pretty ordinary, but no one wants to hear someone else tell them that, least of all their best friend.”

  She looked at me guiltily before pacing the room. “I’m sorry for being awful. I’ve had the fae to myself for so long that I guess I feel possessive about the whole thing.” She spun around and frowned at me. “I know it’s ridiculous, so don’t even think about lecturing me.”

  I shook my head. “I get it. It’s okay.”

  She opened her mouth as if to speak, shut it then looked away from me. “Did you sleep with him?”

  I got up and stood in front of her. “You should know me better than that.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I just thought you might feel differently now that you have someone great in your life.”

  “So Zach’s great all of the sudden? What happened to your feelings?”

  She climbed up to her bunk, pulling the covers over her. She stretched her fingers to the ceiling as she indulged in an extended yawn. “Ainessa said it was imperative I keep you away from him.” She smiled faintly. “I figure he has to be a good guy based on that alone.”

  How did Ainessa know Zach? “Did she tell you why?”

  “She said something weird. She thinks you are something called the Nexus, and it was her responsibility to see you delivered to the courts. So they could decide what to do with you.”

  “What’s a Nexus?”

  Her tone was soft as though she was almost asleep. “I have no idea.”

  “Could life get any weirder?”

  She sat up, a grim expression on her face. “That is one of those questions you should never ask.”

  I contemplated her statement. Before I knew it, Cassie was snoring.