by Allie Santos
The scent of alcohol stung my nostrils, and I crinkled my nose. Other groups walked around, heading into different establishments, and some even lined up to get into a club that thumped with music.
I zeroed in on large red letters spelling out motel and started in that direction. A group going in the opposite direction gave Rian a double glance.
“Is she okay?” one of the men asked, looking at Annie. Damn, they probably thought we were kidnappers. Especially since Rian always looked on edge and a bit dangerous. I forced a smile onto my face, hoping it wasn’t too tight.
“My sister had a little too much to drink.” I rolled my eyes.
The stranger nodded with an understanding glint in his eyes as the group passed us. Rian smiled and adjusted Annie’s weight as her arm flopped to the side. Moments after, we arrived at the front of the motel office.
“I think you should wait here.” I motioned at his bundle.
“Very well.”
Before I opened the door, I remembered the whole money thing. Scurrying back to Rian, I asked, “Do you still have that money you stole at the diner?” His eyebrows met, and I read the question in his eyes. “Nothing is ever free in my world.”
He easily balanced Annie in one arm without waking her and reached into his pocket and handed me a large wad. My eyebrows went up. I didn’t remember it being that big. “I didn’t know what we would need.”
“No, this is great,” I said, guilt spearing me as I separated one of the crisp hundred-dollar bills and pocketed the others. A ding sounded when I pushed open the clear door. I strode into a bland room with triangle-patterned carpet. The smell of coffee intermingling with cigarettes burned my nose.
I approached the bored-looking girl with her face in her palm as she browsed her phone. Jealousy speared me—I wished I had mine. “I’d like a room.”
Her bored gaze flicked to me, and she sighed as she straightened. “Cash or card?”
“Cash.”
She did some fiddling behind the desk. “Ninety-seven dollars.”
I handed her the hundred. “Keep the change.”
She gave me a sardonic glance as she handed me a card key. “Gee, thanks. Room seventeen.”
Ignoring the sarcasm, I walked out, and the ding of the door echoed behind me.
“Let’s go,” I muttered, knowing Rian was listening for me with his advanced hearing. I was proven right when he appeared at my side. My eyes roved over the numbered doors. Thank God, it was a lower level. Sliding the card through the slot, it flashed from red to green.
I clicked the door opened, and I wanted to vomit at the smell that wafted out. It was a mix of stale Doritos, BO, and other grossness I didn’t want to consider naming. I forced down a gag and squeezed my lips together before moving to the side so Rian could step through. The only indication he smelled what I did was the slight wrinkled between his eyes. I wasn’t too keen on having him set Annie on the questionable bed, but it wasn’t like he could stand around holding her.
“Just set her there.” The bed squeaked as her weight settled.
“It’ll come easier for you, eventually,” he said conversationally.
“What?”
“The smell. There are just some things that will be more… potent than others. Believe it or not, but this isn’t the worst smell I’ve ever encountered.”
“Well, I have that to look forward to,” I said dryly. I rolled my head around, loosening the tight muscles there. “When do we leave?”
“As soon as we can.” He paused, and his gaze flicked away. “I—”
He was quiet for a long time. I narrowed my eyes at him. “What?”
“It’s your decision, of course, but I would be remiss if I didn’t warn you.” He paused again as I tried to dig for patience. “Not only will you be in danger here because of your magical signature, but you will also have enemies in Faerie. Specifically, those Fae that live outside the boundary of the castle. Some are peaceful, but there are many that are not. Like the Fae that followed Roark and Sabine. The power you hold—the essence, it makes you enemy number one. If they know you have a sister… they will do their best to come after her.”
A hard thumping started in my chest. She’d be a target? I hadn’t even thought of that. I opened my mouth and closed it, shaking my head.
“Did you tell anyone that you had a sister?” Rian asked.
“I— Just Roark.”
He nodded shortly, smiling sympathetically when my voice cracked on his name. “I believe you’re making the right decision in sending her away.”
I looked down at her chest, watching it rise and fall. I hadn’t realized a small part of me had been weighing the idea of taking her to Faerie, even as I’d prepared myself for leaving her. Rian’s words were a slap in the face. Pain burned through my chest. I’d already spent too much time separate from her.
My exhale shuddered through me. I wanted her to live her life as a human for as long as she could, but this just added more incentive to make sure she wasn’t connected to me. The thought of Unnaturals going after her to get to me stopped me from considering the idea of her coming with me. My stomach dropped when I imagined Sabine catching wind of her. No… Just no. Never. If I’d do anything in this life, it was protecting my sweet sister from that psycho. She’d never touch Annie.
“You’re right.” I blinked away tears, trying to get rid of the tightness. “I know you’re right.” I nodded again. “She’ll need a car.”
Rian’s face showed his regret. “I’ll procure it.” I handed Rian the large wad of money. Annie stretched with a groan. Her eyes fluttered open. “I’ll give you two a moment.”
I turned to Annie as she rubbed sleep from her eyes. “Hey, drool-y.”
She shot up like a dart, looking horrified. “I drooled!” Her voice lowered. “Did Rian see?”
I smirked. I knew it. “Kidding, but do I hear a crush coming on?”
She glared and pursed her lips. “No.”
I could taste the denial.
I laughed, but the reminder of what I was about to tell her sobered me up. The mattress dipped as the weight of my body settled on the bed next to her.
“Okay, I have bad news.” I busied my hands by snatching one of the hairbands from her wrist.
Dread seeped into her eyes even as she said, “Thief.”
My smiled quickly disappeared. “I have to go.”
“Take me with you,” she said so fast her words melded with each other.
“I-I can’t,” I rasped. “You saw what was chasing us. They were werewolves. Like from the books you used to read—just not so romantic. And they’re not the only ones. If they find out about you, they’ll use you to get to me.”
“But what about those men? The werewolves, they know about me. They’ll try to find me.”
That was a good point, and I didn’t know how to dispute it, except for… “They probably think you’re going to Faerie with me. But to be honest, I’m more worried about one specific Fae finding out about you. Here, you could reinvent yourself and disappear into the masses.” Her face fell at my words, and I found myself pleading. “Please, Annie. I need you to do this. I can’t be worrying about you on top of all the other crap I have to deal with. I want you to live a normal human life.”
For as long as possible. But I didn’t want to freak her out by telling her she’d be Fae one day, too.
Tears welled, but I didn’t let them fall. I’d become such a crybaby. As someone who used to only cry when I was extremely angry, it was an adjustment.
“Fine,” Annie said, looking anything but that. A huge weight lifted off my shoulder.
“Rian went to buy a car for you, but I want you to go to my old apartment.” I thoughtlessly patted my jeans, forgetting I tossed my phone. “Crap, I… lost my phone. Let me borrow yours.” I hated what I was about to do, but I had no choice. I needed to make sure Annie would be okay.
Annie reached into her back pocket and handed me the sleek rectangle. Reli
ef bled through me when I looked down at the lock screen. There was something about having a phone in my hand that was comforting. The tears welled again when I saw the picture of Hash. I swiped up, took a deep breath, and entered the number. My heart thumped wildly as the ringing filled my ear.
“Hello?” a raspy voice answered. I checked the time. Shit, I hadn’t realized it was one in the morning.
“Uh, Jeff?”
“Rae!” he gasped and inhaled sharply. With my advanced hearing, I heard sheets shuffle. “I thought you were dead.”
“I don’t have a lot of time. I have a favor to ask.”
“Where are you? I’ll come get you, Rae. I love you. It’s been so hard—” he cut off, and I heard him swallow. A small bit of me softened, but then I remembered what he did. It was probably guilt that made it difficult for him.
“Jeff,” I said sharply. I rubbed my eyes with my palm and lowered my voice. “Please, listen. I have a favor to ask.”
The other end went quiet. “Anything.”
I exhaled, relieved. Despite what Jeff had done, I knew he was a good guy. That’s why I trusted him with my sister.
“I’m sending my sister to the apartment. Can you help her get settled into her own place and keep an eye on her?”
“But where will you be—”
“Please, Jeffery.” He sighed, and I took it as a yes. “You know where I have my money stashed. In that hidey-hole in the closet—give it all to her.”
“Okay,” he said quietly.
“Thank you.” My shoulders relaxed as some of the tension faded. He would help her. “I have to go.”
“Wait—”
I cut the call off and saved his number in her phone under Sis’s Helpful Cheating Ex. I swiped to the navigation app and put in the apartment address in Texas.
Rian took that moment to burst in. “I sense a portal.”
My time had run out.
“I saved his number and the address.” I handed her the cell. “I have around nine thousand saved up. Take it and settle wherever you want. Hell, get a degree while you’re at it. Rian, do you have any money left?”
He waved the significantly smaller wad.
“Even if I had my cell, they don’t work in Faerie, but I’ll try to send word,” I said. She looked away from me and nodded. “I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Please believe that.”
Rian’s steps neared as I stood. “I found a young man who was happy to exchange his vehicle for—” He paused. “I believe he said three thousand dollars?”
Annie hurried to wipe her face as he approached her and reached out. She grabbed a key and the money from him. “Thank you.”
I rolled my eyes at her blush and turned to Rian, who was staring at me expectantly. “Let me guess, you were about to say we should get going before it disappears again.” His guilty expression was answer enough.
My chest ached as I looked down at my little sister. We moved simultaneously and wrapped our arms around each other. Stepping back, I rubbed my face.
“Do me a favor. Tell Jeff to pack my crap up and store it if he hasn’t already thrown it away. If he asks where I am, tell him there’s a situation I’m trying to figure out, but nothing else.” Unable to help it, I stepped forward and squeezed her tight again.
“Ow.”
“Crap.” I released her, and Annie laughed through the tears. “I’ll see you soon, promise.”
She nodded and I stepped to the door as Rian turned to her. “Make sure you leave as soon as possible. The magical residue you have from Rae will fade in a few hours. But you should begin your journey now, so you are not sensed.”
“Got it,” she mumbled, blushing.
We were nearing the forest when Rian finally spoke. “Are you okay?”
No, I was not. I wished I could go with her. I wished this wasn’t my new life.
I nodded in answer. If I opened my mouth, I’d only burst into an ugly cry.
4
Another nifty Fae perk? Walking through the portal didn’t feel like ice was shooting through my soul.
Shaking off the skittering sensation that crawled up my neck, I took in the darkening skies. Thunder rolled overhead, and the sky opened up. Rain fell in a sheet, so thick it was difficult to see. I blinked away the gathering droplets from my lashes, but it was pointless because they kept coming. Rian’s wide eyes met mine. It took me a second to realize why that look was being directed at me.
The weather was a mimicry of my emotions.
More dark clouds gathered overhead, and the little light offered by the sky was blocked out. I wanted to rant and shake my fists at the sky, but I had no one to blame for this but myself. If I had better control, then this wouldn’t be happening. But here I was, Queen, and I had Faerie’s weather reflecting my emotions. The flurry around me grew with my frustration. I clenched my hands and dug my nails into my palm.
God, this was miserable. I glared at my surroundings, at the multicolored leaves adorning the treetops that shook under the rain and wind. All of this was another reminder of how everything had changed. At how I had changed. I itched to flee back through the portal, back to my sister.
I squeezed my eyes shut, internally chastising myself. I was lucky to be alive. The Queen had sacrificed herself for me. Even if she had been slowly dying because Sabine had poisoned her.
But as grateful as I was, bitterness gradually took root, spreading outward. All of my insecurities and fears compounded on my shoulders. Roark for the way he chose another when he should have fought for me. Inadequacy over being Queen when I had no idea how to control my power or rule anyone. I sighed, feeling sorry for myself.
“We’ll figure it out,” Rian said, voice gentle. I could hear him perfectly over the furious howls of the wind.
I peeked at him from the corner of my eyes and smiled slightly. I was fully soaked at this point. I pulled my hair up, squeezed the water out of it, and pulled it into a ponytail.
“You’re a good guy.” It occurred to me I knew nothing about Rian, nothing deep at least. “Is there a girlfriend, mate, significant other waiting for you at the castle?”
His eyebrows furrowed. At a loss, he opened his mouth and shut it again. Finally, Rian cleared his throat and said gruffly, “I have no time for such things.”
My eyebrows flew up. “So, you’re saying you don’t have your eye on anyone?” I winked and elbowed him.
He began walking faster than me, shaking his head. It sent droplets all over the place. “That is what I am saying. I have a duty, and I will not be swayed from it.” His tone was quiet and a bit begrudging.
I laughed at his stern expression. “Maybe when this is all done I can set you up?”
He shook his head at me and looked around before turning back to me. “I know you are suffering.”
“How would you know that?” I bit out sharper than intended.
He gave me a pointed look and then waved a hand around. Oh, right, the ridiculously storming weather. The smile that stretched over my mouth felt tight, and I nodded, giving him the round.
“Let’s get you to the castle.”
I mulled over whether my sister had already reached Jeff. I wished there were some sort of magic mirror. Now that would be useful. Not this weird-ass weather mood ring.
The rain pelted me, and I had to shield my eyes to protect them against the sting. Rian was right, but it was no secret. I was suffering. Being back here, it all reminded me of Roark, bringing the ache to the forefront. I swallowed hard as thunder boomed.
I missed him… his lavender eyes. One a different shade from the other. I missed his vulnerable side. The way he looked out for me with care I didn’t think he would be capable of. I hadn’t known him long, but it was as if he’d been branded into my memory.
I could blame it on the whole being fated mates thing, but since magic was bound, it wasn’t possible. I had to suck up the reality of it. I was drawn to him.
I was even drawn to him while he’d plotted to sacr
ifice me because of one line of some elusive prophecy. After he decided to fight to keep me alive, I thought it would all get better. But I hadn’t known what he’d promised Sabine so she’d agree to let me live. Then he had to go get mated to someone else—to her of all people. My hand curled. She’d used darkling magic to force a bond between her and Roark—and she succeeded by using my blood. Because he was mine—
Stop.
The sky rumbled, and I took a deep breath, exhaling in a steady stream. I wearily looked up at the whirling sky, hoping I didn’t cause a hurricane.
The last thing I should be focusing on was a man who officially belonged to another. They were the Fae version of married with zero chance of divorce. My heart twisted in my chest. He’d willingly tied himself to her, and his mistake had almost led to my death.
Lightning struck across the sky, making me jump. The bright flash made the surroundings creepy. Rian’s shoulders tensed, and I could tell he wanted to snap at me, but he just shook his head and continued running. I needed to get a hold of myself. I was on autopilot—unable to close my eyes, and curl on the ground like I wanted. Instead, I concentrated on breathing to steady my emotions.
Rian came to an abrupt halt. I stumbled into his outstretched arm before I face-planted into the dirt. “Listen,” he said.
I tilted my head and closed my eyes to concentrate. Over the pouring rain, I could barely make out the chaos of everyday life flooding my ears. People talking, closing doors, and even footsteps.
“We’re here?” I couldn’t hide the nervous tremble in my voice.
He gave me a full-blown smile that made me more nervous. “Yes, they’re preparing to meet the new Queen.” My anxiety keyed up. I opened my mouth and swallowed to try again, but nothing came out. Rian’s expression turned pensive. “You need to show a brave face. They’ll look for weaknesses, and you can’t afford to show any.”
My mouth opened and closed repeatedly. What the hell did that mean? Fear shot through me. They were going to be just like Sabine and Roark. This was too soon. The wounds were too fresh.
