It took everything Breda had to pull her eyes from him. She returned her gaze to the female. “How did the two of you get in?”
“That doesn’t matter,” the woman said.
Breda snorted. “I beg to differ.”
“There isn’t a place we can’t get into,” the male answered.
The woman snapped her head to him, shooting him a glare. Breda watched the exchange with interest. She glanced at the male again, not allowing herself time to linger over his handsome face. Just a few seconds ago, Breda had thought her heart would burst from her chest, she was so scared. Now, she was asking questions. What the hell was going on?
The woman blew out a breath and looked to Breda once more. “As we said, we have questions.”
“So?” Breda said, realizing then that she was with two very powerful Fae. “I’m not answering anything.”
The man took a step toward her. “You’re hiding. My guess is from the Others.”
Breda’s stomach dropped to her feet. They were blocking the door, preventing her from leaving. Her blood ran like ice through her veins. She slipped from the bed, getting to her feet and prepared to fight. If they weren’t soldiers from the Others, then they were, in fact…Reapers.
Fek. Fekfekfekfekfekfekfekfekfek.
“Easy,” the male said as he lifted his hands, palms out in front of him. “We’re not here to hurt you.”
The woman moved to the sofa and sat, crossing one leg over the other. She drummed her long, red nails against the leather. “He’s right. In fact, we could be the ones who save you.”
Breda shot both a dubious look. “You actually expect me to trust you two? Do I look like a fool?”
“You look like a woman at the end of her rope with a long drop below you,” the female stated in a dry tone.
The man lowered his arms after frowning at the woman. He caught Breda’s gaze. “You’re right. You have no reason to trust us, and we have no reason to trust you.”
“You’re the ones who came into a locked room,” Breda pointed out. “A room, I might add, that no one is supposed to be able to teleport into.”
The woman quirked a brow. “I’m only going to say this once. We’re not with the Others.”
Breda barely bit back a reply. She wanted to believe them, if only because she might not be alone in this. And she really didn’t want to be alone. But if she went down that road, she was setting herself up to be betrayed. Besides, wanting to ask her questions didn’t mean they were going to help. Likely, it was the opposite.
If only she could believe they were Reapers, then she might take a chance with them. Yet, a doubt lingered in her mind. Hearing the Reapers were real didn’t mean they were. And she knew for a fact that the Others and their soldiers were very, very real. Which meant, the two in her room had to be from them.
Breda didn’t have formal battle training, but she knew enough to stay alive. Her best chance was getting to the door and then the nearest Fae doorway as fast as she could. It would be a long shot. The female looked bored, but Breda wasn’t fooled. The woman had her entire attention focused on Breda. And the man, well…Breda didn’t want to think about him.
She quickly went through the few scenarios of getting to the door. None of them were good, and most ended with her capture. That simply wouldn’t do. She would rather die than be brought back to the Others alive. She knew what happened to the Fae the soldiers went after, and she wasn’t going to be one of them.
Just as Breda started to dash for the door, a scream rent the air from within the pub. A second later, there were more. It was so loud, it penetrated the soundproof walls.
“Shite,” the woman said as she jumped to her feet. “We’ve got to go.”
“Not yet,” the man said.
The female rolled her eyes and disappeared. Breda glanced at the exit. There was a chance she could get around him and make it to the door, but would she be able to open it? And what would be in the hall when she did? She knew those terrified screams. It meant the soldiers had found her.
The woman returned and looked to the man. “It’s them. A group is checking every female in the pub. There’s another kicking in doors. We’ve got seconds until they reach this room.”
The man’s head swung to her. Breda backed into the corner at his penetrating look. She couldn’t fight these two and the soldiers. Then again, if she attacked the couple, perhaps they would kill her. It would be a mercy if the soldiers couldn’t get a hold of her.
The man started toward her.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” the woman said through clenched teeth.
Breda lifted her hands and released magic. The man deflected the balls of power with ease. Before she could get off another orb, he was upon her, moving so close he had her pressed into the corner. She had to tilt her head back to look at his face.
“Not a word,” he ordered in a deadly tone. “Not a single syllable.”
“This is madness,” the woman said as she joined them.
To Breda’s utter shock, the two stood in front of her as they faced the door. Each of them wrapped their fingers around one of her wrists. She thought it was to prevent her from getting away. When two soldiers kicked open the door and stormed inside, Breda expected a battle. Instead, nothing happened.
The woman turned her head to Breda and put her finger to her lips. Breda’s breathing was ragged, her nerves stretched to the limit. She began shaking the longer the soldiers were in the room. The man’s hand tightened on her a millisecond before the two soldiers exchanged a glance. They raised their hands. When they did, the man turned to Breda as the woman vanished. Breda parted her lips, but he put his hand over her mouth as a scream bubbled up.
With her next breath, she found herself in a field. The man released her. Breda stumbled back several steps, glancing around her to see nothing but some trees and the vast night sky. Her chest heaved, the screams of those within the pub still ringing in her ears.
“W-what just happened?” she asked, hating that her voice shook along with the rest of her.
The man’s lips flattened as he shook his head. “They were about to use magic to see if anyone was veiled.”
With those words, Breda realized that her first conclusion had been right. She was with two Reapers. If she feared the soldiers, she was absolutely terrified of the Reapers. She looked to her left, then her right, searching for some way to get away.
“There’s nowhere you can go,” the woman said as she walked up behind Breda.
Breda whirled around so fast, she tripped and twisted her ankle, sending her crashing to her bum.
The woman sighed dramatically. “We just saved your arse. If that doesn’t prove we’re not with the Others, I’m not sure what will.”
“She knows who we are,” the man said.
The woman threw up her hands and rolled her eyes. “Brilliant. Exactly what we were trying to prevent. You know what this means, don’t you?”
“What did you expect after what just happened?” he asked her.
She pulled a face. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe we should’ve left her there.”
“We hadn’t asked her anything yet.”
“And look at us now,” the woman snapped.