2 Hungry, Hungry Hoodoo

by Liz Schulte

  “She’s, well…” I watched my father’s feet shift uncomfortably. “No one. She’s nothing. A half-elf.”

  The king snapped his fingers. I wasn’t certain what I should do. I began to explain and a hand took my arm. I looked back through the tears expecting to see Jaron, but two of the king’s guards blocked my view.

  “Father,” I said. “If you would just talk to me—”

  Neither the king nor my father acknowledged my words. The guards lifted me from the ground and carried me outside by my arms, tossing me unceremoniously into the night. I crumpled to the ground, ruining my new dress.

  Strong arms lifted me up and crushed me in a hug. I sobbed on Jaron’s shoulder and he held me tighter, but still so carefully. “I’m sorry, my love,” he said, running a soothing hand over my back.

  I opened my eyes, and Jaron sat back in his chair, watching me. I stayed in stunned silence. I did remember that. I never tried to speak to my father again after that night and he never contacted me. Jaron told me I didn’t need a father. I had Aunt Lorelei, Sy, and him, but I was angry and I couldn’t let it go. The anger built and built until I couldn’t contain it anymore. That was when I started losing control and destroying anything in my wake.

  “Your lips taste different,” he said quietly.

  “You’ve always been with me.” I didn’t comprehend his words. My mind was still spinning and blood was rushing through my veins as early memories poured back into me. It was like he broke the dam.

  He looked down at his hands. “Why do you taste different, Selene?” The cold softness in his voice startled me back to reality. I tried to ignore the dizziness and talk to him.

  “So this whole thing is about revenge because my father wouldn’t accept me? Am I really that petty?”

  Jaron grabbed my hand and squeezed it until I was worried he might crack the bones. I tried to pull away, but he held on. “This incident opened your eyes to the world we lived in. Half-elves—and any fae who stooped to associate with us—lived in fear and exile. We were barely tolerated as servants. You endeavored to change that. You made the Abyss take notice of us. We are not inferior. Your rebellion wasn’t petty. It was revolutionary.” Those smoldering eyes drilled into mine. “Now tell me. Why do you taste different?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  He licked his lips and looked suspicious, but I had no idea why. Finally he dropped my hand.

  “How did you give me that memory? Why didn’t it hurt?”

  Jaron’s eye twitched and his fists were clenched, but his voice was calm. “All things in time.”

  “I need answers. Did you burn down my studio? Do you know where Michael is?”

  He frowned. “I was only at your studio after it burned because I knew you would eventually come. I don’t know who this Michael person is. Do you care to elaborate?”

  “Michael was a human friend of mine, and he was apparently taken. It wasn’t by the rebels?”

  A bitter laugh came from Jaron. “We would no sooner raise a finger against you than you would against your cousin.”

  I nodded.

  He studied me for a long moment. “I can bring you back, Selene, but is that what you want?”

  I bit my lip. I didn’t know what I wanted anymore. “How do you have my memories?”

  “You gave them to me. You were the changeling, and I was the key.”

  “You said I had a plan. What was it?”

  “To win the prince and take the throne.”

  “How?”

  “You have to kill him.”

  I nearly choked. “What’s your plan?” I said between coughs.

  “If you have become too attached to kill him, then I will do it for you. I’ll finish what you started. Pull our race from the gutters.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t let that happen.”

  He sneered. “Why am I not surprised? When I saw you with him at the coronation, looking at him so adoringly…” The knuckles on his fists turned white and he stood up so fast I jumped. “I have to go.”

  “Jaron…” He closed his eyes at the sound of his name, distracting me from whatever I was going to say. The fine lines at the corners begged to be traced, such a contrast to Cheney’s flawless skin. The clenched muscles in his arms began to relax.

  “Say my name again.” The low rumble of his voice sent chills down my spine.

  I bit my lip, and my heart fluttered. “Jaron.”

  He grimaced and opened his eyes, all emotion gone. “Tomorrow, same time and place.” He walked out without looking back.

  I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the couch.

  “So?” Sy asked, appearing in the doorway with Kat looking over his shoulder.

  “I’m more confused than ever.” I looked over at them. “Is it possible I was in love with both of them?”

  Sy thought about it for a moment. “Anything is possible, but I honestly never bought the idea you were in love with Cheney, no matter how much you paraded around with him. He stood for everything you were against your whole life. Jaron? Well, he was the perfect fit with the Selene I knew then.”

  Nothing was better for getting my mind off of everything than hanging out with my friends and pretending everything was normal. Katrina had somehow managed to get everyone to the castle again, and she swore she didn’t tell them a thing about what was going on. She said Devin hadn’t been sleeping. Her dreams had been strange and filled with blood, so all the girls had been on edge. We were in one of the more comfortable, less formal rooms in the castle, lounging around. I listened to them gab and tried not to think about why I hadn’t heard anything from Femi, Baker, Olivia, or Holden. The wait was murder.

  “Oh my gosh, Selene, you haven’t told us about the vampires,” Katrina said, clasping her hands in front of her. “Are they more Fright Night or Vampire Diaries? Not that it really matters. They’re all hot.”

  “Neither, really. They seem like normal people. That probably makes them more dangerous because you forget they are dangerous.” I stifled a yawn. I was exhausted. I spent the entire morning working on silently casting the transporting spell—a bit of elf magic that I couldn’t seem to master. Swordplay came back to me easily, but the spells made me want to pull out my hair, go figure.

  “Forget the vampires. You haven’t told us why we’re here.” Jessica gave me a pointed look.

  I was too tired to think of a lie. “Someone burned down my studio and kidnapped Michael—but there haven’t been any ransom demands yet. I know people who are looking into it.”

  “What?” Devin moved to sit on the ottoman in front of me. “Are you okay, sweetie? You have to be going out of your mind.”

  “You felt off to me the moment you walked in the room. I thought you were just tired,” Leslie said.

  “I am tired. And worried.” I rolled my neck. “But the people looking for him are really good at stuff like this. Now, I really don’t want to think about it tonight.”

  Devin and Leslie gave me sympathetic smiles, but Katrina pulled through for me and changed the subject. “In more important news, I got to hang out with Selene’s hot cousin—and I’ve been meaning to ask you . . . Is he looking for a human girlfriend?”

  I laughed. “I’ve never known Sy to turn down a pretty girl.”

  “Says the girl with no memory,” Jessica said with a smile.

  It occurred to me suddenly that she was wrong. I did remember. The memory sparked by Jaron’s kiss brought back my entire youth up to the point of the memory. I couldn’t say with certainty that Sy hadn’t changed, but picturing his cheerful, lopsided smile, I had doubts.

  “You remember, don’t you?” Leslie said.

  “How much? What was being an elf like? Tell us everything about your life,” Devin said in an excited ramble as she leaned forward with her elbows on her knees.

  “Why don’t we let Selene breathe, Dev?” Jess said. “I think she just wants to take her mind off things.”

  “Exactly,”
I said.

  “We can do that,” Leslie said.

  We spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and talking about our lives before everything went weird and people wanted to kill me and kidnap my friends. Before too long, it was time to go back to Sy’s, and I hadn’t even told Cheney I was going out again. I said goodbye to my friends, who decided to stay and hang out with Kat, before going to find Cheney. I heard his muffled voice down the hallway.

  “I really don’t think now is the right time for that. Shouldn’t we wait until everything is in order?” Cheney said.

  “No. The people need to see the two of you together. Right now they only know that you said you are married to Selene. If you have a public renewal of vows, it will remove any doubt.”

  I stopped and listened.

  “I don’t know that Selene is ready. We have put a lot on her shoulders, and she’s still trying to remember everything.”

  “Exactly.” There was a pause, and I didn’t follow Sebastian’s meaning. “Cheney, Selene made an excellent point when she said she might never remember. I have no idea why her memories are gone but they are and I know I don’t need to remind you—”

  “No,” Cheney’s voice was low and dark.

  “She can’t even perform elf magic. I don’t know that she will ever be the Selene she was, and you should be grateful for that. She is much improved.”

  I rapped on the door before Cheney could respond. I didn’t want to hear what he thought about that that. I was a chicken. I stuck my head in the room. “I’m going to hang out with Sy again tonight. The girls are going to stick around here.”

  Cheney froze mid-smile. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with him.”

  I laughed. “You can’t possibly be jealous of my cousin. He’s telling me about our childhoods. I think it’s helping me. Besides, you and Sebastian are so busy.”

  Cheney stood. “I guess you need me to take you.”

  “Actually, Sy’s picking me up.” I kissed his cheek. “Don’t wait up.” With that, I got the hell out of there before he could propose. I ignored the ache at being parted from him so quickly. It was better than being forced to make a new commitment to a man I wasn’t sure I should be committed to in the first place.

  Sy stood in the great hall, waiting for me with an amused expression. “I’ll never get used to you living here.”

  “You’d rather I live in a seedy bar?”

  “Hey, it’s not seedy. It’s…”

  “Vile?”

  “Lived in,” he said with a firm nod that made me laugh.

  How was it that Sy managed to grow up in the same world as me and not be turned bitter by it? He transported us back to Chicago. “Why is it that you don’t mind how half-elves are treated?”

  He paused, hand on the door to his pub. “I didn’t wait for anyone to give me what I wanted. I made my life what it is and have earned the respect of those who work with me. However, I work with the Abyss at large, not just the fae. You never could see that there was a much larger world out there than the small one that wouldn’t accept you.”

  I felt a bit stung by his words, though I knew that wasn’t his intention, and he gave me a curious look before holding the door open for me. Jaron was already waiting inside.

  Jaron gave Sy a small nod and followed me back to his living room.

  “You’re late,” he said.

  “I lost track of—”

  “If it happens again, I’ll end this arrangement. I won’t come second to him.”

  I closed my eyes and bit back a snarky retort. Jaron had the manners of an invading horde, but I needed him. He had my memories. “Then let’s not waste anymore time.”

  He raised an eyebrow and pulled a container of breath spray out of the air. He did two squirts then offered it to me with a wink. I reached out to take it, but he caught my hand and pulled me toward him. His hand splayed against the small of my back, yet he barely touched me. My heart sped in my chest and my lungs constricted. He leaned down, his mouth almost to mine.

  “Why hadn’t you met Sy before now?” I asked, stalling while a new rush of nerves washed over me. If kissing Jaron meant nothing to me, it would’ve been easier. I wouldn’t feel like I was hurting Cheney—but it did mean something and that scared the crap out of me.

  Jaron paused, his eyes meeting mine for just a moment, then he closed the rest of the distance between us. His lips gently brushed against mine, making my head lull back. I curled my fingers into his blue button down shirt, fighting the urge to push him away. I could feel a memory bearing down on me, but it wasn’t quite there. A need to know what it was overcame my reservations. I broke the kiss but kept ahold of his shirt and dragged him to the small counter that divided Sy’s miniscule kitchen from his living room. I nudged Jaron. “Up.”

  His hands encased my hips and he lifted me up, setting me on top of the counter. I kissed him this time, harder, winding my fingers into his soft waves and pulling his face closer. A mewling sound formed in the back of my throat and his tongue slipped in, stroking mine. With the motion, everything drifted away.

  I was lying in bed next to Cheney, listening to his even breath. What the hell was I doing here? I glanced at the clock. It was almost time. A rush of adrenaline coursed through my veins as I slipped from between the covers and silently moved out the door. I lightly ran down the stairs out front, ignoring the chill of the night air biting my skin. My thin, champagne colored silk nightgown did little to cover me, but I didn’t care. It had been months since the last time Jaron agreed to see me. I wove through the trees, deeper and deeper into the forest, until I found him waiting for me.

  “You’re late,” he growled.

  “But I’m worth the wait.”I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his hard chest, inhaling his scent.

  He brushed my hands away and cold air assaulted me once more. “I warned you, Selene, before you left.”

  “Yet, here you are.” I gave him my most dazzling smile. “Now stop complaining and keep me warm while we talk.”

  He frowned and shrugged his jacket off, handing it to me. It was a poor substitution, but I took it. “What do you want?”

  “I figured out how expedite this entire process.” I waited for him to react.

  He sighed. “I’m listening.”

  “I’ll become a changeling.” I bit my lip in excitement. “It’s brilliant, isn’t it? I’ll get away from Cheney and come back twice as powerful. It will work. We can do it.”

  Jaron crossed his arms and looked down at me. “What makes you think so?”

  “My mother was a human witch. If I do this, the fae will have no control over me. I’ll be free.”

  “Freedom is an illusion. It won’t change anything. You’ve spent all this time winning the prince over and now you almost have him where we need him. Why stop?” His eyes were dark and unreadable.

  “I’m not stopping. I’m strengthening the plan. Cheney is strong. I don’t know if I can do what we talked about. I need more power.”

  Jaron raised his eyebrows. “But you’ll kill him once you’re in a position of power.”

  “If it comes to that.”

  Jaron’s eyes iced over. “You have feelings for him, don’t you?”

  I studied the ground as I thought about how to explain my feelings to him. “If I don’t have to, I don’t want to hurt him. Maybe we can do this peacefully.”

  “Or maybe we should break off from the fae and form our own society, like I’ve been saying. Look what your cousin has managed to do.”

  “I’m a half-elf. I have every right to be here. The king is wrong. His policy is wrong. And I’m going to set it right if it’s the last thing I do.” I wove my magic around him as I spoke, rendering him unable to move. He hated it when I did that, which was exactly why I chose this particular method to make him listen. “It will work. This is what you trained me for.”

  Plucking his very thin string of control was probably a bad idea, but I didn’t care. Jar
on taught me how to control my feelings and to play the game the fae called life. I was tired of him being in control. I wanted him to feel helpless like us lesser mortals. Maybe then he would run wild and free with me. It was a risk, but the payoff would be limitless.

  “Don’t push me.” His voice was soft and thin.

  I tightened my hold. My control of him broke with nearly an audible snap. He lifted me off the ground, his fingers digging into my arms. “Do. Not. Push. Me. Selene.” His breath was ragged.

  “Live, Jaron. Let go. Why do you always hold back? What’s so great about being in control?”

  He dropped me to the ground and backed away, staring at the red blotches on my arms. “Leave, Selene. Don’t come back.”

  Jaron’s head was on my shoulder, and I was slumped against him when I came back. Not sure what to say, I ran my fingers through his hair instead of speaking.

  “I was goading you on purpose. I wanted you to lose control.”

  His chest rose with his breath, and a moment later he straightened. “I can’t lose control. You don’t understand.”

  There he was wrong. I did understand now. Better than anyone maybe. Thanks to my telekinetic abilities, when I got emotional and lost control, I destroyed everything around me. I wasn’t sure what happened when Jaron lost control, but no one who held on that tightly did so without reason. “Actually, I think I do.” I offered him my hand, letting touching me be his decision.

  He looked at my hand as if it were on fire.

  “So that whole thing about breaking off from the elves, is that still possible?” I asked.

  Jaron tore his eyes from my hand. “Are you serious?”

  I thought about what Sebastian and Cheney had discussed. I didn’t want there to be a war. If the half-elves left, Cheney could claim he exiled them and save face. We could leave. . . . No, I shook my head slightly. I couldn’t leave. I rubbed the spot on my chest where the bond ached and felt like crying, though it had nothing to do with the pain. “Maybe.”