Page 16 of Fae Unleashed
“Neither of us is one to talk,” I said low. “You turned your back on your people to save your own skin. We have no reason to trust you, yet here you are at our side again. Should you find yourself in the middle of a dangerous fight, I know what you will do, and it will not be to my princess’s benefit.”
He would do whatever it took to make sure he survived. Tal had always been like that. To be fair, the man had been mortal once upon a time. He knew what the threat of death felt like. He knew what it meant to have an expiration date hanging over his head. I didn’t blame him for trying to protect his immortality now that he had it.
That didn’t mean I would let him lecture me.
Leaning close into Tal’s face, I growled, “Back. Off.”
His expression flattened. A glimmer of angry light flickered in his eyes.
I had a moment to consider what this argument might do to our alliance. That was all. The moment flashed like lightning before my eyes. Then, a force slammed our heads together. The resounding crack had every mortal on the island looking in our direction.
A red-eyed Cerri stared us down with her hands on her hips. Feri asked if she thought that move was wise, and she snapped at the little beast to quiet it.
“I don’t need infighting, too.” She locked eyes with each of us, one at a time.
Tal straightened, fixed the lapel of his jacket, and lifted his chin as if he’d done nothing wrong. I growled at the fancy bastard, but Cerri shot me a warning look that silenced my beast.
Funny how the creature rolled over for her.
“You,” Cerri said, pointing at me. “Come.”
A wave of pleasure rocketed through my body at the command. My breath hitched. I swayed on my feet as I considered the implications of what’d just happened.CumandComewere not the same word, damn it. There was no reason for my body to react like that.
“I’ll accompany you, princess,” Tal said before hooking his arm with Cerri’s.
Cerri shot me a pleading look, but I knew that this was for the best and let Tal escort Cerri back to the boat while I hung back. Space stretched between us. I had a moment alone with my beast.
“I know you work for Faust and company,” I told the creature inside me, “but can you stop trying to get us killed? If we break this deal, we won’t be able to protect her. Neither of us wants that. If you…if you…”
I couldn’t say the damn word. It sat in my throat like a thorn. If I spoke it out loud, the deal might break right then and there.
That’s how I knew I was toeing a dangerous line.
7
CERRI
It was funny who we attached to in times of stress. I found myself gravitating towards the ever-chipper antichrist, Vi. The demi-angel with a penchant for immolating fires had the brightest outlook on everything in life, and I craved that for myself.
We sat on her back porch, each of us sipping a disgustingly sweet energy drink laden with the syrups she’d stolen from work. I nibbled the edges of a neon-colored donut studded with cereal marshmallows and stared at the ground.
Vi kicked her feet, letting them fall back and thud against the lattice covering the space under the porch. We sat there in the comfortable silence while she flicked a flame between her fingers.
“I don’t understand why he can’t stand to be around me anymore,” I blurted out.
Vi, with her straw between her lips, slid wide eyes in my direction. She stayed quiet and waited for me to go on. She even stopped kicking her feet.
“I mean, I thought we would be closer than ever after everything we went through together. I got to meet his beast. Vi, it’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life. He never uses it. The man keeps the creature locked down like it’s a nuclear threat that could wipe out half of the city.” The words kept pouring out of me.
Funny how I’d met my mother’s best friend only to find an old wench of a fae, but that wasn’t what I needed to talk about. I shouldn’t have been surprised by that one. Looking back, it made sense. The fae were all pretentious bastards.
Rhoan, though...he was a whole other situation. Even now, I craved his company. He wasn’t far. I’d left him inside with Morgan, who didn’t seem all that happy about the situation. I was sure that, in time, we would find the two teaching each other new ways to kill a man. The inside of the house was tense right now, though.
Feri scuttled out of my hoodie pocket and stood up straight to speak. “Are you not aware of Rhoan Glenwood’s fae deal?”
Vi and I shared a look. In unison, we turned back to the little ferret. Before he could say more, though, a bird swept down out of nowhere and plucked him off the porch. I shot to my feet and cried out.
The back door flew open, and Rhoan stuck his head out. “That’s what you get for opening your mouth!”
