Page 20 of Heart of the Cursed
Ice froze in her bones at his words, but she refused to back down. “Everyone dies at some point. Even you.”
He sighed heavily. “If you’re not going to stop, at least let me help you.”
Selene burst out laughing. She laughed so hard, it brought tears to her eyes. Never in her life had she heard something so amusing. A Fae helping her? Yeah, that was never going to happen. He was more likely to stab her in the back than help her.
“Are you kidding me?” she asked when she finally stopped laughing. “Why the fuck would I let you help me? I don’t know you, and I certainly don’t trust you.”
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he insisted. “I’m not your enemy.”
“Ha, that’s a big ol’ lie. You and your kind have been hunting me and mine for years.”
He tilted his head to the side. “You and yours?”
Why the hell does he have to look so damn cute when he does that?
“Yes, me and mine. You know, us Humans.”
“I don’t know what you are,” he said, looking her up and down. “But I know for certain that you are not Human.”
Selene felt as if she’d just been punched in the gut. How the hell did he know she wasn’t Human? It wasn’t unheard of for Humans to have magic, so why didn’t he think she was one of them?
“Humans don’t wield the sort of magic that you blasted me with yesterday.” He held up a hand when she was about to interrupt. “Before you say it; yes, I know some Humans have magic, but they are nowhere near as powerful as you.”
Selene’s chest puffed up at hearing him call her powerful. She didn’t feel it. When spells didn’t work or they backfired on her, she felt like her magic was weak. That she was weak. So, to hear him… a powerful Fae… call her powerful, it made her chest fill with pride.
“Not to mention, your magic feels nothing like that of the Humans,” he continued.
If he could tell the difference in her magic, why couldn’t anyone else? Why was she still hunted like the Humans?
She lifted her chin. “Just because my magic is different from what you’ve come across previously, doesn’t mean I’m not Human. Trust me, my mother was definitely Human.”
She didn’t know about her father, but her mother had definitely been Human. So, she was at least half Human.
“You’re right, it could just be different from any Human I’ve come across previously,” he conceded. “But I don’t think that’s the case. You could be a halfling, but of what? I don’t know.”
That’s exactly what she was, a halfling, but she wasn’t going to admit it to him. She didn’t know him, and she didn’t trust him.
I don’t even know his name, for fuck’s sake.
Not to mention, he was a Fae. His kind had never given her a reason to trust them, but plenty of reasons whynotto. So why would she trust him? The short answer; no, she wouldn’t.
“Well, it’s been weird chatting with you,” she said. “But I have things to do and places to go. So, if you don’t mind, kindly fuck off.”
Selene bent down to retrieve her bag. She slung it over her shoulder before giving the stranger the two-finger wave and then heading off. She didn’t have a clue where she was going, but she wasn’t hanging aroundhimany longer.
She barely made it ten steps before she heard him following her.
“Seriously, get the hint and fuck off,” she said without turning around.
“Not until I know you will be safe.”
This time, she did look back over her shoulder. “Why do you care if I live or die?”
“I don’t.”
Selene spun around and glared at him as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Bullshit. If that was the case, you wouldn’t be following me now,” she told him. “So, try again.”
