He looked down at where my hand touched him and, after a moment, he continued. “It wasn’t until we were in the middle of the battle that he revealed that he’d been behind it all. And he reveled in my shock, my despair. He got off knowing how deeply that cut because I looked upon him as a brother—not of my blood, but of my heart.”
Sickened, I had no idea what to say.
“And he made damn sure I knew what had been done to the one he took. To all of them. I saw the proof his words carried on the bodies of his victims,” he said. “I saw what he was capable of. I felt what he’s capable of. Some kill because they have to. Some because they enjoy it. He’s the latter.”
I believed that beyond a doubt.
“Do you understand why Aric is so dangerous? He is capable of anything.” The King lifted his gaze from where my hand still rested on his arm. “Not just because he’s loyal to the Queen, but because he is truly evil. A real monster who enjoys inflicting pain and terror. He’s not like others you’ve faced. He’s not…he’s not even like me when I was under the Queen’s spell.”
“I do understand. He’s done terrible things to you. To me. He’s dangerous, and he’s evil,” I told him, swallowing the thick lump of emotion that had taken root in my throat. “But I’ve always known that about him. I know that I—”
“That you will most likely die seeking vengeance?” he cut me off. “A slow, most definitely agonizing death? Is revenge truly worth that?”
I pulled my hand back. “I think you of all people know the answer to that.”
A muscle flexed along his jaw. “Brighton, please—”
“There’s nothing you can say. Nothing you can do—” My words ended on a sharp inhale as he moved too fast for me to track. He was suddenly over me, his arms caging me in against the headboard. I inhaled, drowning in his citrusy scent. My heart thumped against my ribs as his warm breath coasted over my lips.
“I won’t do it,” he growled.
“Do what?” I whispered, shivering as he lifted a hand, placing his palm against my cheek.
“I won’t do it,” he repeated, sliding his thumb over my lower lip. I gasped. His head tilted as his hand slipped down my throat and over the bare skin of my shoulder.
My eyes drifted shut as heat filled my blood. Part of me hated how my body responded to him, how my heart swelled and raced whenever he was near. All of me wanted him, though, and I loathed that most of all.
“I too am capable of just about anything,” he said, voice thick and low. “And I will not let you get yourself killed.”
My eyes flew open, but the King was already gone.
* * * *
“Bri?” Ivy waved a hand in my face.
I blinked, focusing on her. “What?”
Her pretty visage broke into a smile. “You haven’t been listening at all, have you?”
Glancing around one of the meeting rooms tucked away on the first floor of Hotel Good Fae, I saw that Ren was still poking around the box of doughnuts. The impromptu late Monday morning meeting hadn’t kicked off yet.
“Sorry.” I looked over to where she and Faye, one of the Summer Court who’d helped Ivy escape captivity a few years back, sat across from me. “What were you all saying?”
“Nothing of importance,” Ivy replied, grinning. Her mass of red curls was down today, framing her face. There was a sort of elfin quality about her, but there was nothing delicate about her strength. “You just looked like you wanted to punch someone over there.”
“My resting bitch face is strong today.” I picked at the hem of my pale pink skirt. I was dressed as if I worked in an office, while Ivy wore the more standard Order attire of cargo pants, a cotton T-shirt, and the kind of boots you could kick ass with. Miles, the head of the Order, had me on the bench. Well, I’d always been benched, regulated to research, which wasn’t bad. I mean, I loved learning things and tracking down info, either from scouring the internet or flipping through pages of books that smelled old. At least, I’d loved it up until recently.
Until I had to hide the fact that I was hunting, even from Ivy and Ren. All they knew was that I had been working with the King to find the younglings. They didn’t know I was patrolling, just like they were.
And when the shit hit the fan, no one called me…unless they needed to know a location or needed someone to pick them up.
Now, I was feeling, well, not all that useful.
“No one’s RBF is as good as Faye’s.” Ivy leaned back, hooking one leg over the other.
The dark-haired fae slid Ivy a long look, and…yeah, that was a really strong RBF. “Pot, meet kettle.”
Ivy grinned. “Tink’s leaving today, right?”
“This evening. I’m going to miss him,” I admitted. “Don’t tell him that, though. He probably won’t go if you do.”
“I’m glad he’s going. It’s about time he gets out there and sees something that doesn’t involve the Amazon website.”
I laughed.
“The community in Florida is excited to meet Tink,” Faye commented. “None of them have ever seen a brownie. It’s a big deal to them.”
“They can keep him,” Ren chimed in from sifting through the doughnuts.
“Whatever.” Ivy rolled her eyes. “You’d be sad if he didn’t come back.”
Ren didn’t respond to that, and I thought about how quiet my house was going to be tomorrow. No Tink. No Dixon.
“So, what’s going on?” Ren returned, half a powdered doughnut consumed. How his shirt didn’t end up looking as if he’d shoved his face in a pile of cocaine was beyond me. “Why the meeting?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Faye twisted the long strands of her hair. “Kalen texted this morning saying we needed to meet.”
No sooner had she finished that sentence than the door opened. Tanner, who was like the head honcho of the day-to-day goings on at Hotel Good Fae entered first. I saw the way he presented himself to humans for only a few seconds before the glamour faded away. The only thing that didn’t change was his hair. It was salt and pepper, proving that he was aging like a normal person would. There seemed to be more white each time I saw him. He hadn’t fed in a very long time.
He wasn’t alone. Kalen followed him, dressed very similarly to Ivy and Ren in dark cargo pants and a plain shirt. Fair-haired, he looked to be around Faye’s age—in his mid-twenties, maybe a little older. Both he and Faye were fighters, warriors, and I was pretty confident that neither fed. Besides being highly allergic to iron, they could be taken out in just about any way a human could, even though they were faster and far stronger than we were.
Tanner smiled as his gaze moved over us, stopping on me. His grin faded a little. I sighed. He was still irritated with me. I started to look away, but then a third individual entered the room, and the air seemed to be sucked right out.
It was the King.
I wasn’t surprised to see him here. He was always at these meetings, impromptu or otherwise, but no matter how many times I saw him, it was still a shock to the system.
Especially when he wore what he did now. There was just something about a loose, white dress shirt rolled up to the elbows that got me hot and all kinds of bothered. I had no idea why.