Noreen’s gut twisted at his words, but she knew he was right. “No, the Dark will do whatever they need to in order to feed. It doesn’t help that the humans are so willing to give themselves to us.”
She felt his gaze, and she knew the question that he wanted to ask—but didn’t.
Noreen looked into his deep green eyes. “Ask what you want to know.”
“It doesna matter.”
“It does, or you wouldn’t want to ask it.”
After a full minute, Cain sighed. “How many humans have you killed for their souls?”
Noreen walked a few more steps before she said, “Two.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
But she wasn’t finished. “I was supposed to remain in the house Moreann had for us, but she had been gone for a few weeks, and I felt I was old enough to do whatever I wanted. So, I left. I made my way to the city, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to go back to Ireland. Moreann had shown me all kinds of tricks that, combined with the magic I already had, allowed me to master teleportation easier than most Fae do.”
“Where did you go in Ireland?”
“Dublin, of course. My mother loved that city. I don’t know why exactly, but I remember the smile that would come over her face whenever my father took us.”
Cain’s hand brushed against hers, and he wrapped his fingers around it. “You felt closer to your mother there.”
“I did. I would’ve gone back to where our home was, but I couldn’t remember the location. Dublin, however, was a spot I’d never forget.” She laughed, thinking back to that night. “The city is … it’s mesmerizing. Everything I recalled from my childhood, I saw differently. I walked street after street after street. I saw many Fae, but I chose to remain on my own. When a few appeared to take an interest in me, I quickly made sure to leave the area.”
“What went wrong?”
She pressed her lips together briefly. “I don’t know why I stopped. There was something about the couple that caught my eye. Maybe it was the way the man held the woman’s hand or how he spoke to her, but it reminded me of my parents. The couple held me enthralled for several minutes. I wasn’t close enough to see their faces clearly, but their love—and lust—was obvious. I was too focused on them. If I hadn’t been, I would’ve noticed the men who came out of the shadows.”
“Drunks?” Cain asked, a hard edge to his voice.
She shook her head. “There was whiskey on their breath, but they weren’t drunk. They saw who they believed was a young girl alone at night, and they wanted me.”
“You doona need to tell me more.”
But she wasn’t going to stop now. “The first came up and put his arm around me. He smiled and tried to sweet-talk me, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew what he wanted. The other kept his distance so as not to scare me off. I could’ve teleported or even used magic to knock them away, but I believed because I had magic, I could handle the situation. It never entered my mind that they had been drawn to me because I was Fae. I hadn’t hidden my allure, and that’s the very thing that had brought them to me.
“I was too confident. But I couldn’t see that at the time. I rolled my eyes at the man and knocked his arm away. That didn’t please him at all. He grabbed me more forcefully. This time, I gave him a hard push and walked away. Next thing I knew, I was shoved into a dark, narrow alley with both men grabbing at me.”
Cain was no longer looking around the area, he stared straight ahead, a muscle in his jaw twitching.
Noreen brought them to a halt and faced Cain to finish her story. “They tore off my shirt. I’ll never forget the feeling of their hands on my skin as they fondled my breasts. They were trying to get my jeans off when I noticed that they acted differently. No longer were they hurting me, but their need had tripled. I stopped struggling and just stood there, watching them. There is a distinct rush that courses through a Fae’s veins when a human succumbs to us. A mortal might compare it to a drug because that’s exactly what it is. It’s heady and intoxicating. I knew what was happening, and I didn’t want to stop it.”
“They were trying to rape you. I wouldna have stopped it either.” Fury flashed in Cain’s green eyes.
Noreen’s insides turned to mush because of it. Then she thought about what had happened next in the story. “The man before me yanked his pants down and held out his cock for me. The one holding me allowed me to have my arm, and while jerking the arsehole off, I drained him of his soul. I watched with a smile on my face as he withered before my very eyes. Then I turned to the other.”
“And did the same to him, I hope.”
She shook her head. “He would’ve let me. I saw it in his eyes, even as the desire mixed with fear after seeing what had happened to his friend, but I returned to the house.”
Cain’s hands moved to grasp her head on either side of her face. He bent down to look her in the eye. “Anyone would’ve done the same in your shoes.”
“I doubt that,” she replied. “But thank you for saying so.”
He gave her a quick kiss before straightening. Slowly, his hands released her and returned to his sides. “You said you killed two.”
“Ah, yes.” She drew in a deep breath and turned her head away. “When Moreann returned, my eyes were red, so she knew something had happened. I told her everything. She wasn’t pleased that I had disobeyed her, but she was happy that I had made sure not to get raped. I realized then that she wanted me to be a Dark. It wasn’t long after that she asked me to go with her when she was set to leave. I agreed because I was so tired of being left behind. She took me to a place I’d never been. The city was so loud, so bright—even at night—that it blinded me. I had no idea why she was in Hong Kong, but I found out quickly enough. She had brought me there to kill again.”
Cain’s brows drew together. “I would’ve thought she would want to keep you a Light since she had Usaeil, who obviously wasna going anywhere.”
“Maybe since I had already killed once, I took the choice out of her hands.”
“From everything you’ve told me about Moreann, I’m betting she had a plan, and that scheme meant you had to kill.”
Thinking about it now, Noreen knew Cain was right. “The deed is done, so it doesn’t really matter now.”
“Does it no’? You speak of giving my brethren pieces of our incomplete puzzle, perhaps you have one yourself that you need answers to.”
It was her turn to frown. “I know everything. Well, aside from why she brought me to Hong Kong that night. I could’ve asked, but I didn’t. I was becoming a part of something, and I needed that.”
Cain gave a nod. “What happened that night?”
“I followed Moreann through a maze of streets and down increasingly narrow alleys until she stopped before a tiny shop. She merely pointed to it and told me I needed to kill who was inside. I asked her what they had done, and she said it didn’t matter. She was giving me an order, and she expected me to follow it.”
“And you did.”
“I walked inside, saw the elderly man sitting on a stool as he was drying herbs for some medicinal purpose. He was an herbalist. The moment I looked into his eyes, he knew why I was there. He didn’t cry or beg me not to do it. He simply finished what he was doing and put it in a bag that he then set on the shelves behind him that contained numerous jars. Then he faced me and gave a nod. As I walked toward him, I could see the knowledge he held about herbs and healing. I stopped before him and put my hand atop his. Then I bowed my head and departed.”