A bit distant? He was as far away as Antarctica. But what was this about eschewing touch and people and closeness? “So he just keeps to himself? No girlfriend or anything?”

Her brows rose. “Fancy him, do you?”

“No! Of course not.”

She scowled. “What, not good enough for you? You’re just a fae.”

Just a fae. Fates, these shifters were elitist. But I didn’t need to piss her off. What I needed was more info. Anything she could give me.

“That’s not what I meant,” I said, backpedaling my way to a Tour de France victory. Or at least, I tried to. “Just that he wouldn’t ever consider the likes of me.”

She nodded approvingly, as if she liked the idea of me knowing my place.

I resisted rolling my eyes and went for more questions instead. “He really is something in the ring, though, isn’t he?”

“He is indeed. Only entertainment he permits himself. Though he has to fight four at once for it to be even. And I hear they’re thinking of upping the number to five.”

Didn’t sound like entertainment to me. More like beating his demons into submission. Which, if his brother was dead, made a lot of sense.

Garreth. Dead.

I’d never spoken to him as a kid, but I’d known they were close. And he’d been gone seven years now. Along with his dad. No wonder Lachlan had turned into a bastard.

Had turned into one? Hell, he’d always been one, and he was worse now. But his life had been undeniably shitty.

“Now, don’t think you’re getting any more information from me, lass.”

“Course not.” I tried to give her a winning smile. “Any chance I could trouble you for a candy bar, though?”

8

Eve

 

The next morning, my door was locked. After my recon mission, I’d made it back to my room without running into anyone and had fallen into a fitful sleep until an ungodly early hour. But now the damned door was locked.

The cook must have ratted me out. Apparently, exploring the tower wasn’t one of my prisoner’s privileges.

I pounded on the door. “Let me the hell out of here!”

Maybe I shouldn’t have been calling attention to myself if I was trying to lie low, but it seemed that my disguise was working, and I was pissed.

No one answered the door, so I went to the window and pushed it open.

The early morning sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon—it wasn’t yet six a.m. But the day was bright and clear, and I could see a half-dozen people milling around in the courtyard below. As annoyed as I was, I kept my mouth shut instead of shouting for someone to come let me out. It was one thing to catch the attention of a single passerby in the hall—I could dose them with a potion to make them forget—but there wasn’t much I could do against so many people.

I could fit out the window, though.

Had Lachlan not remembered I was fae? Was he testing me?

I shivered.

Maybe he didn’t fully believe my disguise.

That was nothing a little wing action couldn’t fix. Anyway, I didn’t want to cower in my room like I was guilty.

I wasn’t.

Not of that crime, at least.

I called upon my wings and climbed onto the windowsill, then launched myself into the air. I couldn’t see the sparkle of my wings since they were behind me, but they were bright. I’d catch enough eyes to prove I was fae.

As I flew down into the courtyard, I could hear people talking. I landed gracefully and called my wings back into my body.

Thank you, Liora.

I spun around, turning to face the main tower.

An angry guard came toward me, his face set in stern lines. He had the stride of a rhinoceros and the shoulders to match. I pulled a tiny vial of stunning powder from the leather bracelet at my wrist and subtly uncorked it.

He stopped right in front of me. “You’re not permitted to try to escape.”

I raised a brow. “Escape? Is that what you think I was doing?”

He gripped my arm.

“Not today, Satan.” I stomped on his foot, then blew a blast of powder into his face.

His eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed liked a downed tree.

I stepped over him, muttering, “If I were trying to escape, you never would have caught me.”

The eyes of the onlookers burned into me as I strode back toward the tower. They were suspicious, and I could feel it like a brand.

Maybe I needed to stop knocking the guards out. This was twice, now, that I’d assaulted them, and that surely wasn’t earning me any favors. I just needed to get ahold of my temper.

The main room of the tower was empty except for Lachlan, who strode toward me, his expression thunderous. “You aren’t supposed to be out of your room.”

“I don’t appreciate the lock.” I pointed to the golden collar around my neck. “Especially when I’m forced to wear this.”

“I don’t appreciate you sneaking around and quizzing my pack about me.”

“That’s hardly what I was doing.” I crossed my arms. “Have you arranged a meeting with Damian?”

“I have, in fact. We will depart now.”

“Now? It’s midnight in Magic Side.”

“Damian is a night owl. And conveniently, he’ll be at a place I know.”

“All right.” Inconveniently, my stomach chose that moment to growl. I’d just eaten.

His brow lowered. “Are you hungry?”

I shrugged. “It’s breakfast time, isn’t it?”

“Let’s get you fed.” He sounded annoyed about it.

“I can wait. Let’s talk to Damian.” He was our one lead. I didn’t want to keep him waiting.

“He’ll be fine. Come on.” He turned and strode toward the kitchens.

I followed, staring up at him. He looked determined to get me breakfast. It was almost…protective.

Weird.

It didn’t take long for the cook to put together a bacon sandwich, and we were on our way. Fortunately, I’d already packed a bag of potions in the ether—a nifty little trick that allowed me to carry magic anywhere with me—and I’d dressed for the occasion. “How are we getting there?” I asked, following Lachlan back to the main room.

“Transport charm.”

“You have one?”

“Of course I do.”

Right. Transport charms might be rare, but he was the Alpha of a wealthy pack.

I swallowed the last bit of sandwich. “Lead the way, then.”

He dug into his pocket and pulled out the charm. “Ready?”

I nodded.

He hesitated briefly, then stuck his hand out, his face in hard lines. Generally, when one traveled by transport charm, it was ideal to link hands in order to ensure that the ether took both people to the same destination. But Lachlan did not look like he wanted to touch me.

And oh, did it burn.

Dog.

The old insult flared to life in my mind, and I swallowed hard. It was the one moment of weakness I allowed myself before reaching out and gripping his hand.

The frisson of electric tension that traveled up my arm was so unexpected that I almost dropped his hand. It was like touching a live wire—but good. Somehow, the fact that I hated him made it all the more intense.