by Allie Santos
“What have you been doing?” And just like that, Rosalind brought me out of the high of seeing them again. “Are you closer to freeing,” her voice went down, “magic?”
“You could look at it that way. I have to meet with an Unnatural who allegedly has information on how we could do that. Rian and I had to separate, so I came to see if I could stay with you until he catches up with me.”
“Make yourself at home,” Camilla exclaimed.
Rosalind clapped her hands together. “Yay!”
I grinned, but quickly turned sheepish from what I was about to ask. “Can I borrow money to pay my cab?”
“I’ll pay the cab on my way out,” Camilla said, and I noticed the heavy satchel hooked over her shoulder. “I’ll see y’all later.”
“Thanks!” I moved out of the doorway, and she stepped past me, throwing me one last smile before the door clicked shut behind her.
“Who lives here?” I looked around, mouth dropping at the pretty surroundings. The glow of soft yellow lighting cast across the creamy walls. I trailed my fingers on the surface of the table where bright red roses sat in a crystal vase. The contrast of the red was distinct against the paleness of the rest of the house.
“Eliza, Thea, and I all live here. Camilla asked us if we wanted to move in after…everything.”
“I had no idea you lived here, too.” I couldn’t hide the excitement in my voice. “Where are Selina and Jasmine?”
Her eyes dropped. “Jasmine moved to Dallas with her family. I think she has plans to go to the police academy. As for Selina, I don’t know. She said goodnight one day, and the next, she was gone.” A frustrated edge sharpened her tone, her worry weighing her down.
“Did they leave their numbers for you to contact them?”
“Yeah, so at least there’s that.”
I smiled at her disgruntled tone. It didn’t surprise me that they left as soon as they could.
“This is a nice place.” I looked around the high ceilings. The white on white decor continued through the rest of the house.
“I was just as surprised when I saw all this. I would have guessed Camilla had different taste.” Me too, the crisp elegance was startling. Not that Camilla wasn’t elegant or classy, but she had a sassy spirit and I expected there to be hell of a lot more color with some southern style furnishings. “I have a house in the deep country.”
“You don’t like it?”
“My parents left it to me when they died, but it’s completely isolated and the thought of being alone.” She shivered, and my eyebrow furrowed. “I’ve had time to get used to my orphan status.”
Feeling like an idiot, I shuffled from foot to foot. “At least you have us,” I said with a slight smile.
She blinked tears from her lashes. Rosalind chuckled and wiped her eyes. “Now you’re making me emotional. Let’s go sit.”
She guided me past the kitchen and a hallway. Turning a sharp left, a decent-size living room with white couches pushed up against the wall. Everything looked so small compared to the Fae castle. But if I had seen this before, I would have thought it was huge in comparison to the little trailer I’d grown up in.
Rosalind sat on the loveseat, her legs crossed as she stared at me. There was a look in her eyes. I tried to analyze it as I shrugged off my bag and flopped on the couch ungracefully. It looked almost fascinated. I tensed, wondering if I had something on my face. She must have read my body language.
“It’s just. You look so… ethereal. Almost unreal. I mean, I met you when you were full-on human and the differences are startling. Your features are enhanced and kind of perfect?” My nose wrinkled. “It’s weird thinking I’m going to change when you unbind magic.” The worried expression came back.
I wasn’t going to lie, the fact that she had referred to me as human in the past tense stung. I still counted myself among humanity. I forced away the negative feelings.
“Yeah, and I have all the neat little tricks up my sleeve. I wish Sabine would try me now.”
Her smile waned, and a spark of hate shot through her eyes. “I’d love to see you kick her ass.”
Laughter burst from me at her violent comment. It seemed so out of character—she was so sweet.
“Rae, are you okay? So much has happened to all of us, but even more to you. You’ve basically turned into another being, for goodness’ sakes. That must be incredibly difficult, and then the Roark situation.” Her sympathetic eyes made mine moisten.
“It’s been… tough,” I said and grabbed a couch pillow, hugging it to my chest.
“I bet.” Her eyebrows flicked together. Rosalind reached over and clasped my hand. I squeezed it back. “Ouch!”
I yanked my hand back at her yelp. She rubbed her hand and looked at me in surprise. “Sorry.” I grimaced, and she started giggling.
“You should see the look on your face.”
“I forgot about my strength.”
“It’s okay.” Rosalind patted my shoulder.
Elbows on my knees, I leaned over and smoothed back some of the hair that fell from my loose ponytail. I reached for the base and pulled off the elastic band and slid it onto my wrist. My hair fell over my shoulders in a cascade.
“Your hair is gorgeous. It’s like it got shinier,” Rosalind breathed. Feeling a tug, I watched her fiddling with the dark strands. “And smoother.”
“Like yours will be if I manage to unbind magic in your lifetime.” I could tell she was grappling with the fact that she and the other girls would be changing if I succeeded. We could blame that on our ancestors who’d slept with Fae.
“Oh, God,” I rasped and shot straight up, startling Rosalind. “It just occurred to me that we inherited this Fae gene from someone. From one of our parents.”
Rosalind’s eye widened. “They’ll be turning Fae, too.”
“We need to tell the girls.”
Rosalind threw her hands out as if she’d just come to a revelation. “Siblings, too.”
I sunk into the couch. I’d known that, but I hadn’t thought about the other girls’ families.
“Who else has siblings other than Jasmine?” My memory flashed to the young fourteen-year-old girl Sabine had tried to snatch.
“Eliza has an older brother and an older sister.” We didn’t bother mentioning Selina. Karen’s death still haunted us all. “Camilla was adopted.”
“We need to warn them.”
She nodded, serious. “Tell me what’s happened, what you’ve experienced. Tell me about Faerie.”
So, I did. I told her everything. I told her about training to take on the influx of power, about the castle, and the way Fae lived. She seemed more fascinated by the second as I divulged everything I’d learned. After a good half hour of talking, I’d brought her up to speed on everything. Silence stretched between us and I could see she was absorbing everything. My eyes watered with my yawn.
“You must be tired,” she exclaimed and popped off the couch. “I’ll show you your room. You need to rest because tonight we’re going out.” She headed for the staircase.
“Out? Where?”
“To this neat little bar we go to all the time. We just took final exams. Camilla and I completed all our courses. Only Eliza’s left to finish but this last stretch was awful and we need to de-stress.”
“Congratulations!” I pulled her into a hug, truly happy for her and tried to ignore the sliver of jealousy. I frowned. “Finals? How long has it been since I saw you at the diner?”
“Six-ish months.” She nodded once and flounced to the door down the hall.
I followed her as I absorbed the amount of time that had passed in comparison to Faerie. The simple, normal wooden door was a relief to see. Everything here was comfortable in its familiarity. It wasn’t like Faerie, where everything was emphasized and large.
She popped the door open and waved me in. “This is the extra bedroom. You can stay as long as you want or need.”
“Thank you.” I smiled, grateful. “Oh,
Rosalind. Can I borrow your phone?”
“For sure.” She reached into a loose sweater pocket, pulled it out, and handed it to me. The door clicked as she shut it. The room dipped into darkness, and I rested my forehead against the closed door. I pressed the button on the phone. It illuminated and blinded me. I hoped Annie answered this time.
“Rae.” A voice broke the quiet from my side.
I squeaked and threw myself to the side, hitting the bed and falling on my butt on the ground. I gasped and looked up, able to make out a familiar outline leaning against the wall.
15
“What the hell are you doing here?” I hissed.
“I need to speak to you.”
I scoffed at his words and got to my feet as my eyes adjusted to the dark. He was in the same state as when he’d been dragged into the castle. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the dungeons or whatever? More specifically away from here.”
My teeth ground together as he stepped forward, and I took a subconscious one back. I stopped my retreat and tilted my chin up and narrowed in on him. My heart thudded in my chest. He scoffed and took another step forward. I trembled like a stalked gazelle.
“I helped design the holding cells. Of course, I could get out, especially after resting enough to heal.”
“Stop doing that,” I said between clenched teeth.
His head tilted, a small smile playing at the edge of his lips. “What?”
He took another step forward, mirth in his tone. The action placed him in a shaft of moonlight, allowing me to see him clearly. It took me back to when I’d first met him.
He was a complete one-eighty from how he had acted at the castle. It was as if he knew he had me trapped. Or as if he sensed the desire running through my veins. I swallowed as my eyes ate him up without permission. It had been so long. And his scent. I inhaled deeply. It was riveting. Under that dirt, I smelled forest and something purely male. I exhaled, puffing out my cheeks. Back at the castle, I hadn’t allowed myself to take him in, but I was absorbing now.
With a hard swallow, I yanked my gaze away from him and brought them back to his face. His eyes softened me despite his smug demeanor. They devoured me as if he hadn’t seen me in centuries. The hunger in them tore me up, but it was the pain that undid me.
Before I did anything stupid, I squeezed my eyes shut and reminded myself of everything he’d put me through in excruciating detail. I called on the feelings and pain he had personally or inadvertently brought to me. My chest tightened.
Finally getting a hold of myself, I opened my eyes. Roark stared at me, no longer smiling or smug, as if a switch had been flipped. Regret was written on every line of his body.
“I am sorry.”
I swallowed and crossed my arms. “I need you to go.”
After a drawn-out silence, he was suddenly next to me. “I tried to leave you alone,” he rasped, and I felt his breath move my hair from how close he was. Roark’s hand reached for my face, but I jerked away. He fisted his hand and pulled away. “I spent every moment without you hunting her. I couldn’t stand the distance from you, but I knew I was the last Fae you’d want to see.”
“Then why did you come back.” The words were on the verge of being a yell. My teeth snapped when I closed my mouth at the burst of emotion. I refused to acknowledge the way my voice broke.
“I need to protect you,” he snapped in a harsh tone. His jaw worked and he tugged on his ear.
“Did you ever find her?” I asked, ignoring all the other things he said that sent shivers rushing through me.
“No, she slips away just as I get close enough to kill her. It wasn’t until recently that she let her guard down and I realized she was trying to get to you.”
I snorted, embracing the bitter. “Right. Because you melded and now there’s a connection between you two.”
I held onto that sting and swallowed again. He was essentially the Fae version of married to her and then some. It would have never been possible if it wasn’t for my blood and darkling magic mimicking the mate bond. Their lives were bound together now, and if one died, so did the other. The pain of his proximity was unbearable. My chest ached and plead for relief. I squeezed my fist tighter, relishing the sting of my nails.
“Please, leave.” I turned further away from him.
He exhaled in a rush, pained. “Fine, but I will be close.” He stalked to the window and paused. “Until I end her, I will savor every second I am able to be around you.”
My shoulders tightened at the threat. His gaze seared me, but I didn’t turn to meet it. There was some rustling, and then he was gone.
A rush of air came out of my mouth in a sob, and my shoulders slumped. Choking the tears back and steeling myself, I rubbed my eyes and searched the floor for the cell I’d dropped. Seeing the outline, I dipped to grab it. Flipping through the phone, I input Annie’s number and plopped on the bed. By the third ring, I had lost hope.
“Hello?” my sister’s distracted voice came through the speaker.
“Annie!”
“Who—is this Rae?” Annie squealed at my affirming hum. “I heard your voicemail. I’ve been waiting for your call.”
“Where are you? I’ll come see you.” Hopefully, Rosalind had a car I could borrow.
“I’m actually on my way to work. I have the late shift today. I was trying to get out of it after you called, but my boss is a dick.”
My heart sank. “Tomorrow?”
“Promise,” she said. The sound of a car door slamming shut sounded.
“Where do you live?”
“Ah, I gotta go. I’ll text you the address tomorrow. Is this number okay?”
“Yeah, it’s a friend’s phone.”
“Can’t wait to see you.”
“See you tomorrow.”
We clicked off, and I grinned into the darkness. It was interesting how I could be so down one moment and incredibly happy the next. I flopped onto the bed with an exhale. My hand hit something fuzzy near my pillow. I brought it to my face.
It was a perfect peach.
16
Roark’s words pestered me the entire ride to the bar. My thoughts were so stuck on his words that I couldn’t hear what Eliza and Camilla chatted about from the front. Earlier, after tossing and turning in bed, replaying his words over and over, I’d finally passed out for an hour. Leave it to him to mess me up more than I already was.
Camilla and Eliza had woken me from my fretful dream. It had been a minute before I registered that they were actually there and not some figment of my imagination.
Their friendship was hilarious, and their back and forth was as entertaining as it had been when we were all chained up in that musty barn. I filled them in on Faerie as we got club ready. They were adamant they wanted to see the castle. It also wasn’t until I talked to them that I realized it was pretty neat to live in an actual castle. I’d been so wrapped up in my pain that I hadn’t embraced the little things. I never brought up the ripple effect unbinding magic would bring and neither did Rosalind. I figured tonight was for fun, and that would put a damper on it.
Thea hadn’t come with us because she had to go straight to her job. It had also surprised me to find out she was interning as a social worker. With her passionate defense of others, it was a fitting profession. She would do fantastic.
“The upside is we’ll look extra hot when we turn Fae,” Eliza chirped. “I mean, look at Rae. She doesn’t even need foundation to smooth out her skin.”
I tuned into their conversation. “Thanks,” I said dryly.
“Stop being insensitive.” Camilla flicked Eliza, who then mocked Camilla’s words.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at their antics.
“I’m serious. When Rae frees magic or whatever, all shit is going to break loose. The only one in this car who won’t automatically start going through the transition is you, Camilla,” Eliza said in her dry, straightforward way.
“Just wait a few weeks, and I’ll be right the
re with you. Fearing the unknown,” Camilla said grimly.
“You have more trust in me than I do. Who’s to say I’ll even manage that in a year?” I snorted. “Hell, ten years.”
“Positive thinking,” Rosalind said, holding a finger up in the air. The car jostled as the car pulled into an uneven parking lot. Eliza slid into a spot a little crookedly, and the engine quieted.
“You’re croo—”
Eliza cut her off with a glare. “If you say I’m parked crooked, I will stab you.”
Camilla’s hands shot up in surrender. Thank God I hadn’t said anything. Rosalind held out her hand, and Eliza jiggled the keys as she set them in Rosalind’s palm.
“Thanks, DD,” Eliza said, grinning. My lips twitched. Of course, Rosalind was the designated driver.
I looked out the window, and the familiarity of the place struck me. This was the bar I’d been in when my sister had called me—the night I was kidnapped by Sabine.
“Thea messaged,” Camila said. “She said, ‘Tell Rae I said hi, and I miss her. I won’t be home tonight, so I hope she’ll be there tomorrow night.’ End text.”
“She’s probably going to spend the night at her boyfriend’s place,” Eliza sang.
Boyfriend? Thea had a boyfriend? I wondered if it was the same one she’d left behind.
I snapped out of my thoughts as the car doors slammed shut and hastened after the girls who’d left me in the car. I hurried out in my borrowed clothing, feeling odd. I’d gotten too used to the soft, breathable material of Fae-made clothing. I gripped the ends of the beautiful leather jacket Rosalind gave me to ward against the cold.
The jeans hugged me and tightened around my waist to emphasize my butt. The dark t-shirt hugged my breast, actually making them look like breasts. I was thankful Eliza was my size. I would have never fit into Rosalind’s bustier shirts or Camilla’s jeans with those hips of hers.
My wedged flats clicked against the pavement, seeming unnecessarily loud in the night. I now understood why the Fae wore specialized clothes. It was overall comfortable when more movement was allowed.
