The guard exemption had been reinstated, so two days later, I found myself at the guardhouse, suiting up for duty.
My mind kept drifting to Auntiji’s story before filing it away, and then to my family, to the silent house and Joti’s sad eyes. She’d barely eaten since the Hunt. None of us had. We drifted apart, finding comfort in solitude. Being together reminded us of what was missing.
And Killion…Where was he?
I’d suspected for a long time that he was unable to manifest in sunlight, and my suspicions had been confirmed at the worst possible time. But was he all right? Had the sun hurt him?
God, I was a mess.
“How are you holding up?”
I stared at Vala. Was she seriously being nice to me right now?
She sighed. “Look, I have a younger brother. I can imagine how you must be feeling.”
She had no idea. “I’m fine. Nina lived. She was chosen. She’ll be fine.”
Vala’s eyes narrowed. “Uh-huh, but you’ll miss her.”
“Look, can we not do this?”
“Do what?”
The look on her face told me she knew exactly what I was talking about, but I was happy to spell it out. “This fake bonding shit.”
She snorted. “Trust me, Dani, we are not bonding. Ever.”
“Good.”
“Right.”
She walked off, leaving me alone in the changing room with a heartache and a head filled with doubt. Auntiji’s warnings surged up once again, and the conviction that I needed to get into the Keep, that I needed to see Nina for myself, swelled inside me. I grabbed my gear and headed toward Magnus’s office.
“Danika?” Magnus looked surprised to see me. “Your shift starts in ten minutes.” And then he grinned. “You’re on time.”
I bobbed my head. “Making a concerted effort, Commander.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Cue awkward silence.
He cleared his throat. “Is there something I can do for you?”
The tips of his ears were pink. Shit, he really liked me, and I was about to use that to my advantage. Again.
“I was wondering if you knew of a way to get into the Keep to see the chosen ones.”
He blinked sharply and then tucked his chin in. “Ah, yes. Your sister was chosen.”
“I want to see her. Make sure she’s okay.”
His smile was filled with understanding. “That’s not possible.”
Fuck.
He sighed. “Look, I know it’s hard, but you need to move on. You need to accept you won’t see her again.”
That was just it, I couldn’t accept it.
“When my brother was chosen, not even battling a horde of bleak was enough to get me beyond the gates to the inner city.” He shuffled some papers on his desk, his eyes downcast. “It gets easier.”
I grit my teeth. He had no idea what they did. No idea how the Hunt massacred our children, and because of the binding the antlered one had placed on me, I couldn’t tell him, I couldn’t speak of it or explain why I didn’t trust the wankers.
They’d called our youth cargo. Not the words of altruistic beings. Not the words of creatures who would nurture a child. The more I thought on it, the more convinced I was that my sister was in grave danger.
“You do believe the shining ones will take care of the chosen, don’t you?” Magnus asked.
My mouth was suddenly too dry. The correct answer was yes. “No.”
Shit!
His gaze flew up to meet mine, but there was no horror in it, only a strange revelation.
The words tumbled out of my mouth. “My gut tells me something is terribly wrong, and that my sister is in danger.”
This was the part when he slapped me down or reported me or whatever, but he did none of these things. He kept his gaze fixed on me and nodded slowly, almost cautiously.
“Some of us have the gift of intuition,” he said.
My pulse thudded at the base of my throat as the sensation that we were having a double-edged conversation crept over me.
I licked my lips. “Some of us see and hear things.”
He sucked in a sharp breath. “There is no way into the Keep. Not unless they invite you in. There is no way out unless they let you leave, and there is nowhere to run once you escape.”
Escape…It was a warning.
He shrugged and looked away. “Not that you’d want to run. They do us a service by taking our children and elevating them.”
He was backtracking, but why? What the fuck was happening here? A sound of exasperation fell from my lips.
He exhaled through his nose and fixed his gaze on the wall behind me. “You should get to the gate. Your troop will be waiting.”
What the fuck? I was so confused, I could have sworn we were on the same page, that he understood… I must be going crazy.
“Of course. I’ll…Thanks?”
He gave me a neutral smile. “Be safe out there.”
I left for duty with a heavy heart and an even deeper conviction that if I didn’t get to Nina soon, something awful would happen to her.
The question was. How?
14
Shift was uneventful, but the activity took me away from my thoughts for a while, away from the churning in my gut. By the time we got back to the guardhouse, it was emptying for the evening. Val was quick to change and head out, but Timothy hung around to chat for a bit.
He boiled water, and we had tea in the kitchens. It was weird seeing him in regular clothes. He was usually already suited up when I got to work. Without the braces and the leather vest, his body was lithe, and the muscles in his arms were corded. We lived in the same district, mere streets apart, but we only saw each other at work. He’d been the year above me at school, the gangly teen who’d been labeled too nice to date.
“At least it’s over for another year,” he said.
It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about, then it clicked. He was talking about the Hunt.
“Can we change the subject, please?”
He pressed his lips together. “I’m sorry. I just…there’s a rumor that you were out there. That they found you in the street at dawn…”
Oh, fuck. “Yeah.”
His eyes widened. “Dani…did you go with your sister?”
I opened my mouth to reply, but fire filled my throat, and the words were incinerated. I gasped, hand on my chest.
“What is it?” Timothy cupped my shoulder. “Danika?”
“I’m fine.” I shrugged him off, tamping down on my frustration. This wasn’t his fault. This was the antlered guy’s work. “Just…Don’t ask me about the Hunt, okay?”
He frowned. “I’m sorry.”
I wanted to explain the situation, but what was the point?
“Things will go back to normal now,” he said. “You’ll see.”
I drowned my scream of frustration with a gulp of tea.
He glanced at the clock and yelped. “Shit, I’m on supper duty. I best get going.” He moved in as if to give me a hug, then thought better of it. “See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” I’d signed up for extra shifts. “I’m in three times a week for the rest of the month.”
“So’s Val.”
“Yeah, I saw.” I rolled my eyes, and we both laughed.
He left, and I washed up the mugs, dawdling because going home meant empty eyes and sad smiles. Going home meant no Nina.
“There’s a bar, outer edge district…”
I looked up at the door to find Magnus leaning against the frame.
“Sorry?”
“A bar. They do food.”
Wait, was he asking me out?
He must have seen the look on my face because he held his hands up. “Not a date. Just two guards having some food after a hard day’s work.”
His gaze was knowing. He’d been through this, after all. Lost someone to them.
“Food sounds good.”
“We can take m
y bike.”
Bike sounded even better.
Magnus’s bike was massive, huge wheels, deep seats, and a powerful engine that vibrated through me, reminding me that it had been way too long since I’d had any kind of sexual contact. My front was pressed to his back, arms wrapped around his waist as the world whizzed by. It was like flying with Killion, but with an engine between my thighs.
We hit the strip that led to the outer edge of the district and slowed. The roads here were unkempt and riddled with potholes.
“Hold on,” Magnus called out.
I tightened my grip, and then we began to swerve to avoid the worst of the damage.
We finally came to a stop in a small parking lot by a single-story building that looked like it had seen better days.
I peeled myself away from Magnus and climbed stiffly off the bike. He took the helmet I handed to him and then grinned at me.
“What?”
“You have helmet hair.”
Shit. I shook it out.
“Better.” He pocketed his keys and then jerked his head toward the building. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to the locals.”
The bar was a dive. No way else to describe it. But there was a homey air about it too, something to do with the people who were sitting around the tables. There was a sense of camaraderie, a family vibe, and the way the bartender greeted Magnus confirmed my assessment.
“What kept you away so long?” the bartender asked.
“It’s been two days, Gruff,” Magnus replied with a smile.
Gruff’s gaze settled on me. “Ah, I see…”
Magnus cleared his throat. “Danika is one of my guards.”
Gruff’s brows shot up. “Pretty thing like you?”
I shrugged. “Pretty things can be the deadliest.”
He snort-laughed. “I like her, Magnus. Can we keep her?”
Magnus put some notes on the counter. “Stop flirting, old man, and get us some grub.”
“The usual?” Gruff asked. He looked at me. “Sure she can handle it?”
Now I was intrigued. “What’s the usual?”
“Biggest plate of spicy chicken wings known to man,” Gruff said. “With a bowl of hot sauce. Not many can take the heat.”
He was speaking to a woman who’d grown up on spicy Indian food. “I think I can handle it.”
“Burn your taste buds off, they will,” he warned with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Better add a jug of ale to the order then.” I winked. “One for each of us.”
Gruff guffawed loudly. “Oh Magnus, what have you gone and done, my lad?” He slapped the bar. “Go on, I’ll have Patty bring everything over to you.”
Magnus steered me to a booth at the back of the bar. I got in, and he slid in beside me, not opposite me like I’d expected.
Our thighs touched, and heat shot through me.
Okay, so maybe the hot Magnus vibe was beginning to work on me, after all. I’d never looked at him as a man before; I mean, I knew he was a man, but I’d never drooled over him like the other guards. But he thought I did. He thought I had a crush on him.
“How long have you known Gruff?”
“Ten years or so,” Magnus said. “He was a friend of my father’s.”
It hit me that I knew very little about Magnus. His family, his life…aside from the fact that his brother had been chosen by the Hunt. I leaned away from him slightly, twisting my body so my knees grazed his thigh and I could lean my back against the wall.
“How come you’re not married?”
“I haven’t met anyone I want to marry.” He dropped his gaze to the table. “Or maybe I have, but she’s not ready.” He lifted his gaze to meet mine, and the intensity on his face stalled my breath.
Was he talking about me? Nah, he couldn’t be. Then why was he looking at me as if he wanted to lick me?
“Here ya go.” A plump woman placed a massive plate of chicken wings on the table in front of us and then plonked down a jug of ale and two glasses. “Just shout when ya want the other jug.” She smiled at me. “Nice to see Magnus with a lady friend.”
Magnus groaned. “Seriously, Patty?”
She ruffled his hair. “Aw, no need to be shy with your Aunt Patty.”
Magnus looked like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him. Twin spots of color appeared high on his cheeks. It was adorable. The commander who killed bleak for a living, who barked orders and speared people with death glares looked adorable. My stomach fluttered, and I dropped my attention to the wings on the plate.
Nope. I was not going to develop a real-life crush on my commander. Hell, no.
Patty left us to it, and Magnus picked up a wing. “Okay, Khatri, let’s see what you’ve got.”
Oh, boy, he had no clue.
Half an hour, a plate of wings, and a jug and a half of ale later, Magnus sat back and gave me an impressed look.
“Not bad, Khatri. Not bad at all.”
My head felt light and fuzzy, a pleasant, carefree feeling. “This?” I indicated the empty plate. “This was mild. You should taste my mother’s Jalfrezi. Now that’s a spicy dish.”
He blinked and laughed. “Hustler.”
“I wasn’t aware there were odds to this meal?”
He sobered. “No. No strings attached.”
Why had I never noticed the gold flecks in his hazel eyes or the sheen to his chestnut hair? His lips were perfectly formed, slightly wide but in a good way with a sexy dip at the cupid’s bow that begged to be licked.
“Danika, you shouldn’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?” I cocked my head coquettishly.
“Like you want to fuck my brains out.”
Heat climbed up my neck and stung my cheeks. It pooled between my thighs and settled in a throb.
“Maybe I want to.” The alcohol, the food, the distance from the pain was making me reckless. “Maybe that’s exactly what I want to do.”
It was making me selfish and needy, making me not give a fuck or want to, as in this case. Why couldn’t I have a little fun and feel something else aside from sorrow and loss?
I traced a pattern on the back of his hand. “What if I want to fuck you?”
His eyes narrowed, twin brands in his face. “You’re playing with fire, Danika.” His tone dropped to a sexy rumble. “Are you testing my control?”
Vala was right, he did want me. I could hear it in his voice, feel it beating off him in hot waves.
My heart beat faster. “I like hot things.”
He groaned and closed his eyes. “I think it’s time I took you home.”
“Your home?”
He chuckled self-deprecatingly. “I wish.”
He made to slip out of the booth, but I slid my hand onto his thigh, reveling in the bunch of muscle and his sharp intake of breath as I dragged my hand up toward his crotch. Part of me was horrified by my actions, and the other reveled in the power I had over this formidable man.
He turned his head to look at me, and I lifted my chin, offering him my mouth. “Don’t you want dessert?”
With a growl that was part exasperation, part primal hunger, he slid back into the booth until I was crammed against the wall. He squeezed my nape, fisted my hair, and then claimed my mouth in a kiss that knocked the alcoholic haze from my mind and set every atom in my body on fire. I kissed him back, tongue and teeth and hands in his hair, heart pounding, sex throbbing. I wanted to straddle him and ride him. I wanted him to take my body and make it sing.
I wanted to forget.
He softened the kiss and pulled away, then wiped his thumb across my cheek. I blinked, and the blurry world cleared. Fuck, I was crying like a bitch.
“Oh, Danika…” His eyes were dark with pity and something else I couldn’t quite define. “This won’t help.”
I wanted to argue with him. To find the heat again and use it as a distraction, but the moment was gone.
He kissed my forehead and then slid out of the booth. “Come on. L
et’s get you home.”
15
The next week went by in a haze of work and sleep and avoiding the family. I didn’t want to listen to the faux normality that Ma seemed to spot all the fucking time.
She either acted as if Nina had never existed or talked about her as if she’d fucking ascended to paradise.
Baba barely spoke, and Joti spent her spare time in her room. Alone. And me? I couldn’t stop wondering if there was something I was missing. A way to get closure, to find out for sure if what Auntiji had told me was true or not.
Maybe Ma was right, maybe Nina was safe, happy even.
But hard as I tried, I couldn’t make myself believe it.
Shift was uneventful. No bleak accosted us on the road to Summer. Before we knew it, it was time to head back. We trudged along as the snow began to fall lightly. Vala was sullen, but Timothy was chipper as usual.
“You should come,” he said
“Huh?” Shit, I hadn’t been paying attention to his actual words.
Vala snorted. “She tuned you out.”
Timothy shrugged good-naturedly. “My mam does that all the time. I’m used to it.”
Now I felt bad. “Sorry, Timothy, what were you saying?”
“Cards. We play on Saturday afternoons. If you’re free, you should come.” He blushed.
Vala made a gagging sound. “Why don’t you just ask her out, she can say no, and then you can get over your crush.”
Timothy’s face went red.
Seriously? Timothy? Time to change the subject. “What time is it?”
Timothy grinned and dipped into his pocket for his pocket watch. It was an old thing, an antique that his father had passed down to him, and Timothy didn’t go anywhere without it.
He flipped it open. “Almost noon.”
We’d made good time.
“Hey!”
I looked up and saw Karl from the other half of our troop trudging toward us with the other two guards in his trio. Karl was on loan from Sector A for the next few months and had only been with us a few weeks, and yet, he felt like part of the team.
We hit the intersection that led back to Middale a moment before them, and then all six of us were trudging along the main road.
Taste My Wrath (The Iron Fae Book 1) Page 9
