Page 82 of Bargain with Fate
Harriet Jefferson was a local witch and close friend of Vale’s who owned The Mad Harriet, anAlice in Wonderland-inspired tea shop located a block away.
“No offense to Harriet, but witches don’t tend to know much about fae.”
“Harriet isn’t a typical witch.”
I thumbed to the next page of the book. “Even so. Besides, you have her working on the enchanted money. That alone will keep her busy.” I stopped short as my gaze landed on the word “treaty.” “I found something!”
Vale came to stand at my shoulder. “About the Coranians?”
“No, but it explains why they’re after the stones.” The page discussed how the original treaty that granted the fae the right to the mortal realm had been chiseled onto a stone tablet. During the Old War, the gods and the Fates learned of a prophecy that said the fae would reclaim their lands when the pieces of the tablet were joined together once more. The fae had apparently enchanted the tablet, so the gods tried to destroy it. The magic couldn’t be undone, however, so the pieces of the tablet were distributed and hidden around the world.
No wonder the Coranians were so determined to claim the fake stone from Vale’s team. Stella’s stone from the monolith treaty was one of the pieces they needed to reclaim the land. When forged back together, the world would be theirs.
“The Coranians must’ve encountered other pieces during their travels and decided to assign themselves a new mission,” I said. “Or they’re working with Thornborn.”
“We need to take back Stella’s stone.” Vale frowned. “I tried to send them away. What if they leave before we can find it?”
“They won’t,” I said. “They still don’t know your stone is fake, and they need every piece of the tablet to fulfill the prophecy.” And then the fae would return in full force. We may have won the fight tonight, but I had an uneasy feeling an even bigger battle was on the horizon.
Chapter
Thirteen
That night I dreamed I was floating on my back in the sea, arms and legs stretched like a starfish. My eyes were closed, and the waves rocked me gently. A hand slid across my bare stomach and came to rest. I opened my eyes to see Vale floating beside me, on his side, as though we were in bed instead of water.
He eyed me with a lazy grin. “You’re not an island, August. No matter how far offshore you swim, I can reach you.”
“You’re not the son of Poseidon. You can’t bend the sea to your will.”
His hand dipped lower. “I could bend you to my will, if you’d let me.”
We gazed at each other, chests rising and falling with unspoken desire. Well, his was spoken. Mine was fluttering just beneath the surface, a butterfly trapped in amber. Even in a dream, I couldn’t bring myself to acknowledge my feelings.
His fingers met no resistance as they slipped beneath the waistband of my swimsuit. His lazy grin turned feral.
“You want this as much as I do. Admit it,” he said.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I want for nothing.”
“And yet I still want to give you everything.”
A giant wave took us by surprise, crashing over us. Vale disappeared from view. Without the warmth of his hand, I felt cold and alone. My head bobbed above the surface, like a distant, undiscovered island. I spun in the water, searching in all directions, but saw only a flat horizon where the water became indistinguishable from the sky.
I felt a sharp tug on my hair. “Ouch!”
My head snapped to the side to locate the offender, but I was no longer in the sea. Jinx sat between the top of my head and the headboard, one claw tangled in my hair.
I carefully disengaged from her sharp nails. “What the hell, Jinx? Were you trying to make biscuits on my head?”
The cat meowed.
Beams of sunlight streamed through the bedroom. “What time is it?” I reached for my phone and glanced at the screen. It was later than I would’ve liked. Then again, I didn’t make it home until three in the morning. Vale had offered me a guest bedroom for the night, but I didn’t want to be away from Evermore overnight. I also didn’t trust myself to stay, for reasons my dream adequately demonstrated.
I shouldn’t have gone to the mainland, although if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have discovered the arrival of the Coranians. Everywhere I turned was a crisis: ancient fae, troublesome oni, a shadow killer, and now a crushing desire for someone I couldn’t have.
The simpler I tried to make my life, the more complicated it seemed to become.
As I showered and dressed, I made a plan for the day. I had to start tackling these problems one at a time or they’d only get worse. The shadow was my best bet. It was on the island, and I had a general idea of its location. I just needed to conduct a methodical search of the building, which required a plausiblereason for entering and searching these homes that wouldn’t alarm the occupants.
