Faerie Kissed

by Jaliza A. Burwell

  Another fae.

  There was an unfocused look to him. His clothes were disheveled, and I would have thought he was a homeless person if I didn’t recognize that he wore expensive items like the watch on his wrist, the wedding band on his finger, and his suit.

  “I feel it,” he mumbled, taking a staggering step forward. “I can taste it.” That last part was more of a hiss. He wasn’t looking at me, but behind me, toward where the weak spot was. His nose flared as he took in breaths. He breathed in over and over again, the pleasure on his face making it seem like we were back in Faerie, where air was pure and clean. Fresh. Not in some dark, dank alley used as a toilet.

  Is this where I say he is absolutely bonkers.

  “You need to stop watching weird things on the TV.”

  He is crazy.

  “I agree.”

  The man stepped forward again. Berry shifted so that he pressed against me, forcing me to step to the side. The man hadn’t noticed us. We were right in front of him, but he was too enraptured with the weak spot to care.

  We didn’t move, watching the man warily. There was only one way out of the alley, and it was past him. He shuffled closer. I wasn’t worried about him hurting me. I’d be able to take him. Hopefully. There was no telling what he would do in such a manic state.

  I held my breath as we came shoulder to shoulder at that point. He still hadn’t said anything. Desperation wafted off of him. I was ready to get out of there when he went for another step and instead stumbled. Berry was between us, so he tripped over him and then tried to catch himself, but that meant pushing me.

  The stranger whipped his head around so fast, I thought he was going to break his own neck. The slit eyes constricted briefly, the haziness disappearing, leaving behind only hunger as he focused on me.

  “You.”

  Berry growled as I moved away. I could make a run for it, but the fae looked like he was about to chase me down. He decided I’d become his prey.

  Too fucking bad. I would always be the predator.

  “Back away from me if you know what is good for you,” I warned.

  “You taste of magic. You have Faerie. Give her to me.”

  “I have nothing for you.”

  “Bullshit.” He tried to reach for me, but I stepped away while Berry snapped his jaw, scaring the stranger enough that he stumbled back and landed on his ass.

  I winced, not wanting to know what he currently sat in. Nothing good for sure. The fae didn’t seem to care at all though. He scrambled to his feet.

  “Give her to me.” He lunged at me. I didn’t move, confident in Berry.

  My familiar didn’t disappoint as he lurched forward and smashed into the man, taking him to the ground. Berry pinned the fae to the ground, his massive form heavy enough to keep him there.

  I strolled over and looked down at the man, showing no pity for him. “I might as well use this as an opportunity to get some answers.”

  I doubt he has any answers to give.

  “We’ll see.” In a dominating tone, with enough haughtiness in there to exert myself as the alpha, I threw questions at the man. It took a few attempts to get the fae to realize he wasn’t going anywhere until I had my answers. “What are you doing here?”

  “I can sense it,” he whispered. He tilted his head so he could see further into the alley. “Her magic. I haven’t tasted it in so long.” He licked his lips.

  “You can sense the weak spot.”

  “Yes.” He hissed, sounding too much like a snake.

  “And you want it?”

  “I found the tear in the park. I tasted her. So powerful. More. I need more.”

  “There is none to be had here.”

  “But you have it. You took it all, didn’t you? Give it to me.” He tried to reach for me, but Berry shifted his weight, forcing the guy still. “Give it to me.”

  “Mine is not to share. Let’s go, Berry. He’s an addict. There isn’t much else to do.”

  I can put him out of his misery. Feed off him.

  “No. He might give you rabies.”

  What is rabies? Are they delicious?”

  “No. Rabies makes you crazy. Eats at your mind until you’re forced to be put down like a crazed animal.”

  Berry snarled at me. I am not crazy, nor an animal.

  I didn’t bother responding, instead leaving. Berry joined shortly after. I didn’t ask what he’d done to the fae, and he didn’t offer the information.

  After that incident, while we made the walk to the next location, it became evident what all these weak spots were doing to the small fae community in the city. They were listless, wandering around. Some of the fae had dazed looks, and the way they stumbled around made it obvious they were trying to find more of Faerie. They had gotten a taste of her somehow and they wanted more.

  “I don’t know what to make of this,” I said.

  There is only one tear, one source of Faerie magic. There are too many fae acting like this.

  “True. Do you think there is another source? Maybe more tears than we know about?”

  I do not know. We must find out quickly though or the fae will expose themselves to the humans.

  I shuddered, not liking what that would mean for everyone.

  Judah was waiting at the next location already. It was in a small parking garage, half empty. He was crouched over, looking closely at whatever had his attention. The way his body stiffened, he felt me approaching.

  “Is this what you found?” He pointed to the ground where his flashlight was aimed. Once again, the silvery substance was there.

  “Yes. I wouldn’t touch it if I were you.” I handed over the sample I’d taken. He tucked it away in a pocket, not seeming concerned. “We have other issues.”

  “What?”

  “The fae. They are getting a taste of Faerie.”

  And it is making them bonkers.

  I sighed. I had a feeling Berry was going to be using that word often for a while. I did not need him picking up human slang. Then I’d never understand him.

  Judah’s eyes narrowed in contemplation. “Addiction?”

  “They act like it. We had a run-in with one. They’re so attuned to it now that the weak spots are attracting them.”

  “There’s more you aren’t saying.”

  Smart man. I nodded. “I am attracting them too. The fae we ran into had to touch me to know, but it is going to make things more difficult.”

  “Fuck.” Judah jumped to his feet and paced the area. “I’ll have my contact prioritize the substance. I’ll talk to some people to get a sense of how bad this is.”

  “How many fae are in the city?”

  “Full fae? Only a few hundred.”

  “That’s good.” Those numbers I could work with.

  “But those who have fae blood running through them.” Judah rubbed at his face and grunted. “I’d say about a third of the population. The fae have integrated themselves well into life here, and we are still long living. Many humans don’t even realize they are descendants of fae.”

  I blinked in shock, not expecting that answer. “So while we know this is affecting the fae, we don’t know what kind of effects it has on faelings.”

  “Not yet we don’t, but we can find out.”

  My thoughts worked overtime as I tried to grasp the full implications of what was going on. It all seemed so simple at first. Come over, hunt Laikynn down, and drag him back. But this. The tear, the weak spots, taking down the barrier, and now fae acting no better than a human drug addict? It was a mindfuck of a mess.

  “Do it. Find out what is going on. We need to find a way to curb this before the humans catch on.” My phone buzzed and I yanked it out. “Hold on.”

  Judah stepped away to give me privacy.

  “What?” I asked, answering it.

  “You didn’t text me in a while. What did I ask you to do?”

  I pulled the phone away and scowled at it briefly. The stupid thing was beginning to feel lik
e shackles, and I despised those.

  “Josie?”

  “To let you know when I arrived at a scene and when I left it.”

  “You’re at a new place.”

  “You obviously know this, so why should I bother letting you know?” I snapped.

  He paused before asking, “Are you mad?”

  “Yes! No.” I swore under my breath. “I don’t know. I’m irritated, and shit is going on that I’m trying to understand, none of it good.”

  “We only worry about you, Josie.”

  My shoulders slumped as I sighed, feeling like a complete bitch for taking my anger out on Foster. “I know. There is nothing to worry about. I’m at the next location. Berry is with me and more grouchy than normal.”

  I am not grouchy. I am vigilant.

  I ignored him as I continued. “And I also have a contact with me. He’s strong too.”

  “Okay. Please, just let me know. I... The idea of you disappearing on us without a word scares us.”

  The pain and guilt of his words dug deep into my heart, and I winced. “I will do better.”

  “Okay. That’s all that I ask. I hope everything is well?”

  I glanced around the garage and down at the substance. “This is my last location. Once I return, I’ll update you.”

  “Okay. Goodbye.”

  “Bye.

  “And Josie?”

  “Yes?”

  “I love you.” He hung up.

  I stared down at the black screen of the phone, shock running through me. He loved me. Did he really say that? Elation spread through me, adrenaline pumping. It was always the best feeling to be told by a loved one that they loved you. I hadn’t had that in so long.

  I forgot what I was supposed to do or say after hearing it. It only made me glad that he hung up, otherwise things would have gotten very awkward. Was I expected to say it back? Would I dare, knowing how it was all going to end.

  “Joslyn? Is everything okay?”

  “What?” I looked up.

  “Are you okay?”

  I opened my mouth to say yes and realized that my response refused to leave my mouth. A lie. I clanked my mouth shut, not sure what that really meant and not wanting to pick at it. “Let’s finish this so I can get back.”

  Judah looked me over slowly, frowning, and seeing through my non-lie. I pretended to be more interested in the scene than I needed to be just so I could avoid his scrutiny.

  Because apparently, no, I wasn’t okay, and it was shocking that I hadn’t realized that until I tried to answer him.

  What did that mean for me?

  Chapter Eighteen

  It became a whirlwind as the days passed. Two weeks. Two weeks of nonstop searching. Nonstop digging. Nonstop questions. Last week, Judah’s contact gave us an analysis and that really nailed in the importance of hunting down Laikynn.

  The silvery substance was basically congealed Faerie magic. Pure Faerie magic. Somehow, Laikynn found a way to tap into the magic and he was collecting it. He was creating storage. There was some kind of process he created to get through the weakened barrier and tap into Faerie’s magic. If that was the only issue we had, then it’d have been manageable.

  But the fae community was in complete disarray. They were growing irritated. It was almost impossible to visit the weak spots without running into fae demanding a taste of the magic. Berry refused to give me space, even when I was in the hotel room. The guys supported his habits because the idea of a fae getting the jump on me freaked them out. At least it did to Foster and Jason. They had said as much.

  Waylon had been quiet about it. He’d frown or nod, but for the most part, he was still keeping himself distant from me. I knew it had to be because of his Sofia. I had overheard a conversation or two between them on the phone, and they weren’t good. He was spending too much time with me, and she was noticing the change. She probably didn’t even realize I was the one keeping him away from her.

  I didn’t blame her. Even as my heart ached at knowing he was dating her, that she carried the label girlfriend, I only felt sad.

  I was coming out of the bathroom after a shower when I spotted Waylon. He stood in the corner, the phone to his ear, scowling hard. Tuning into his conversation was the biggest temptation of my life. I wanted to know what was being said. He fought to keep his voice low, though hers was a little higher as she yelled.

  “He’s at it again,” Jason said, frowning as he glanced in their direction.

  “It’s a weird situation,” I said.

  “Weird doesn’t even begin to cover it.” Jason handed me a cup. “Here, drink up, relax.”

  I sniffed the tea and smiled. Tea was big with me since going to Faerie. It hadn’t been important to me beforehand, but now it felt like a connection to the wildlife, to earth. A lot of fae had a strong love of tea.

  Waylon scowled as he shoved his phone into his pocket and stalked over.

  “If you have to go, you should,” I said.

  Waylon shook his head. “Not anymore. She doesn’t want me with her.”

  “What was the plan?” Jason asked.

  Waylon grimaced. “Her friend’s birthday.”

  Jason snickered.

  “What am I missing?” I asked. I rested my hand on Jason’s knee, and he wrapped his around mine, giving it a squeeze. It was impossible to not touch Jason or Foster. My body practically craved for their human warmth. Especially with Foster. There was a desperate need for contact with them, and if I went hours without it, my skin itched. I was too scared to look too closely into that feeling. I wanted the contact anyway. Thirsted for it. I wasn’t going to poke at what was going on between me and them. There were enough problems as it was.

  Foster sat across from us, his eyes landing on our hands. The frown he already held deepened before he blinked and smiled. His eyes didn’t match though. I pulled away from Jason and pretended to fix my dress, smoothing it over my knees.

  Jason didn’t seem to notice as he answered me. “They’ll start tame. Start at whichever house for the pregame. By the end of the night, they’ll be trashed, and any male in their vicinity isn’t safe.”

  Foster smirked, but there was a cruelty to it that I wasn’t used to seeing aimed at his friend. “And Jason has been a victim once or twice. Though, he’s always willing.”

  “Dude? What the fuck?” Jason’s expression darkened.

  It didn’t take long for me to read between the lines. I wasn’t an idiot. But I didn’t appreciate Foster’s remark or outing his friend like that. “Foster, that was a cruel thing to say to your best friend. I thought we had gotten past this a long time ago.”

  Foster flinched and looked away.

  I stood up and stretched. “I’m not going to play games, so don’t bother. I’m going to go do some research.” Berry got up and stretched too before moving to my side.

  “I’m sorry, Josie,” Foster mumbled.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Is it me you should be apologizing to?”

  I walked out after that. There was enough tension and drama going around that I refused to be a part of. I dealt with it enough in Faerie. It shouldn’t be too much to wish that I didn’t need to deal with it here.

  The bed in the extra room had been cleared off for the guys to share so that they didn’t keep sleeping on my couch or floor. But that only meant more of the walls were covered and the guys had borrowed an extra table from the hotel. That was pushed against a wall with stacks of papers all over it.

  I went over to the massive city map we put on the wall. It marked all known weak spots in the city. String was wrapped around each pin going to the next location. There were more ways to look at the data, but having the visual helped. We had also taken the time to trace in the ley lines.

  Foster worked on breaking that data down into other things. He kept saying if they did it right, they could predict the next place. It was a lot of things I didn’t really understand.

  I was naive in doing this job. I thought it’d
be easy to find Laikynn in this city. He was a pompous bastard, but somehow he was hiding himself. I bit at my fingernail, glaring at the map.

  “Enough.” Jason grabbed my hand and lowered it. He stared at the damage with a frown. “You haven’t done this since coming here. I thought your bad habit went away.”

  I pulled away and looked at my finger. I had bit it down to the skin and it was bleeding. It’d be fine in a moment.

  “How is everything?”

  Jason’s tone was dismissive as he said, “We talked it out. It’s fine now.”

  I hummed, going back to the map. There had to be a reason he was choosing the locations he did.

  “Okay, enough. We are going out.”

  “We are?”

  He pulled me out of the room and toward the stairs. “Yes. All of us are. It’s been days of hunting and working. We can all enjoy a break right now. I’m in a dancing mood, so wear something good so I can show off your legs on the dance floor.”

  I giggled and headed back to my room. By the time I finished getting ready, I was wearing a V-neck tank top with an intricate lace center front. I pulled on faux leather pants that actually had pockets and as a bonus, they zipped up too. I wouldn’t need to worry about holding on to a purse or losing anything.

  Practical, but I’d fit in with the others at the club. I kept my hair down, using a little magic to make the black strands wavy. After applying makeup, darkening my eyes, I walked down the stairs knowing I looked like a badass bitch ready to have a good time.

  The way the guys looked at me with hunger in their eyes only affirmed that I was successful. If Jason wanted a fun night of dancing, I was going to give it to him.

  Chapter Nineteen

  ~Waylon’s POV~

  Clubs had never been something that I enjoyed. I’d prefer going to a bar over a club, and yet neither were my scene. I didn’t like crowded places, people pressing into each other, not caring about personal space.

  So as soon as we arrived, I went straight for a table to claim and planned to remain there the entire time. I ordered a round of shots for everyone, watching Josie practically brimming with excitement. That made me realize that even before she had disappeared, clubs hadn’t been her scene either. Was this really the first time she was in one? Our small town didn’t exactly have clubs. Plenty of bars, but clubs were too much like a city thing, and we had never lived near one. The opportunity to try one out had been rare for her.