CHAPTER TEN #2
With no other choice but to brace myself with a hand on his hip, I bent forward and arranged our discarded clothes in a pile, then pressed my hand to them and closed my eyes so I could focus on the energy of the water.
It obeyed in an instant, flowing up my arm in a winding stream until every ounce was free of the fabric.
I channeled it from his boxer briefs and his body as he looked on, a faint sense of awe in his deep green eyes as he watched the water stream up my other arm until it wound around my chest, joining the rest. I then channeled it down my body to the floor and the drain beyond, leaving us both dry as a bone.
His eyes met mine, the momentary surprise in them slowly giving way to mischief. “Not bad, love. Not bad at all.”
“You can sing my praises once we’re far away from this place,” I replied as I pulled my tank top over my head and maneuvered it over my hips as best I could.
It was too short for comfort by the time I fashioned a waistline to hide the straps, but it covered my ass—and, indirectly, my crime—so it would have to do.
Yael made quick work of slipping into his shirt and pants before he turned his soiled coat inside out and folded it neatly to conceal any bleed-through.
Then he stuffed my jeans inside, hiding them away.
“We can’t afford to leave anything behind that could be linked back to us, magically or otherwise. ”
“And the mess out there?” I asked, jerking my head toward the main room I’d redecorated with human bits. “How are we going to deal with that?”
“If you can command the water out of the blood on the couch, I’ll deal with the rest.”
Though I wanted to, I didn’t ask questions.
Instead, I slipped my jacket over my bra and zipped it up just enough to let it peek out before I opened the bathroom door and hobbled my way over to the couch.
Bracing my hand against it for balance, I bent over, placed my hand on the blood-soaked velvet, and called the water to me.
It wound around my hand, and I directed it into the blood beneath the soles of my boots.
As I did, Yael stood in the center of the room, closed his eyes, and began mumbling in a melodic language I didn’t understand.
The slightest rumble reverberated through my body before giant roots began piercing the concrete and spreading across the floor.
A thrum of magic emanated from them that was impossible to ignore, and I watched with rapt attention as they began to drink Damian’s remains from every pore and crevice.
Then they simply slithered back to whence they came like sated snakes, sealing the concrete behind them until the innocuous surface looked just as it had when we arrived.
Not an ounce of Damian was left behind except for some ruddy-red powder on the sofa that Yael walked over and rubbed into the burgundy fabric.
“I think it’s time to get out of here.” He looped his hand around my waist and ushered me toward the door.
“If anything happens up there, you keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking.” I opened the mouth he wanted me to keep shut to argue, but he silenced me with a vicious sideward glance.
“That thing is a weapon all its own, cocked and ready to fire without anything to back it up. This isn’t The Riff Raff, and we’re not trying to start a war in enemy territory—we’re trying to get out of here unscathed. ”
I bit back my knee-jerk reaction and nodded. “Fine.”
Yael opened the door and peeked out into the empty hallway.
With the coast clear, he led the way to the stairwell at a hurried pace that slowed as we climbed the steps.
“I know your leg is bad, but I need you to try to walk as normally as possible. I don’t have the energy to call anything that can help you just yet. ”
“I’m trying,” I bit out through gritted teeth, the pain so piercing with every riser I climbed that sweat rolled down my back.
As we crested the top, he leaned in closer and whispered, “try harder.”
Growling internally, I stepped up into the main room that showed no signs of the chaos I’d escaped earlier.
Instead of sticking to the perimeter of the room, Yael walked us right through the sea of tables and gamblers at a casual pace, glancing around at the games in play as though they held interest. He dripped arrogance from every pore, nose high and shoulders back, while I worked hard to stifle the pain and panic rising inside.
We were halfway to the exit. I just had to hold out a little bit longer.
Every step I took felt like punishment, and I couldn’t wait to be free of it and that place and the one who’d dragged me into it in the first place. I held on tight to the reminder that it was the price I had to pay for my shot at returning home. It would all be worth it in the end.
I returned my attention to my surroundings as we neared the guarded exit. Only ten yards left to go.
“Keep it together,” Yael warned under his breath as I started to quicken my labored pace. “We’re almost—”
“Yael Kristoris!” a booming voice shouted over the din. Yael’s grip on me tightened for a moment before he released me altogether and turned to see who approached. “I thought that was you.”
I spun around slowly to find a well-dressed male slicing his way through the crowd like a shark through water. Everything about him screamed predator at a decibel level that couldn’t be ignored. His sharp grey eyes cut to me, and he smiled in a way that set off every alarm in my body.
“Argo,” Yael said in greeting. “It’s been a while.”
“That it has.” He reached his arm toward Yael. “I hear you’re the fae king’s second now.”
Yael shook his offered hand. “I am.”
Argo’s eyes sparkled with opportunity. “That’s quite an upgrade for you. Perhaps you can convince him to come and be entertained in my establishment.”
“He’s abroad at the moment, but I will extend your generous offer when he returns,” Yael replied with a diplomatic elegance I lacked entirely. “I’m sure he’ll be keen to accept.”
“Excellent.” Argo released Yael from their passive battle for dominance, then turned his unwanted attention to me. “And who is this lovely creature?” he asked, taking a step closer. “I can’t say I’ve seen her in here before.”
“I never ask for names,” Yael answered for me with a smile that made my skin crawl. Though I knew it was an act, it was hard for even me to see through it.
“She looks injured.”
Yael shrugged with ambivalent grace. “I may have gotten a little carried away downstairs.” He leaned into Argo in conspiratorial fashion. “Some of them are more fragile than they look.”
Argo’s laughter rent the air. “You should choose something hardier next time,” he said as he reached forward to run his fingers through my hair, “though I can see the appeal of this one. She is quite exquisite.”
“But not worth it,” Yael replied, tucking me in closer to his side and gripping me tighter, “as the case seems to be.”
Argo gave a light tug before releasing the captured strand. “Pity. She has such potential.”
I stifled the desire to punch the two of them and fought to keep my expression neutral—and my tongue still.
“I’ll be sure to pass along your offer to the king,” Yael said, turning me in his arms as he prepared to leave. “Enjoy your evening, Argo.”
“I haven’t seen your sister around here for a while,” he replied, stopping our departure in an instant. The way Yael went rigid at his words gave me pause. “Any idea when she’ll be back?”
If there’d been a hint of mocking to Argo’s question, I hadn’t heard it, but I couldn't help but feel it wasn’t a coincidence, especially given Yael’s reaction; it felt like a parting blow.
But when I looked over my shoulder to the one who’d delivered it, I saw nothing but genuine curiosity in his expression.
“I haven’t spoken to her for a while,” Yael replied, “but when I do, I’ll be sure to let her know her presence is missed.”
“Please do… I do so enjoy her company.”
With nothing left to say, Yael led the way to the exit and past the men at the door.
His hold on me didn’t release until we were down the block and around the corner; only then did his composure unravel.
His fist slammed into the stucco exterior of a nearby building, sending a cloud of dust and plaster through the air.
“Oh, you’re mad?” I demanded, still fuming from all that had just transpired. “Did you just hobble through that den of misogyny on a possibly broken leg? Were you just demeaned to your very core while forced to stand there silently and take it?”
“You know why I did that—”
“Because you’re an asshole?”
His expression hardened. “Because I didn’t want him to want you like he wanted my sister.
” The tension in his voice nearly covered the pain lurking just beneath.
Anger belied his true emotion in that moment: fear.
“Argo is a collector of beautiful things. Things he likes to break over time. I’m quite certain Jemma was one of them.
” My stomach roiled at the implications of his words.
“He preys on the weak and exploits them until there is nothing left. And though I’m sure it will pain you to accept this truth, in this world, little mermaid, that’s exactly what you are: beautiful and weak.
I said what I said to dissuade his attention because you are no good to me if he sinks his claws into you.
I’m terribly sorry your delicate feelings were hurt in the process. ”
I opened my mouth to reply, but no words would come.
Yael had unwittingly opened up a wound from his past with his explanation, and I had no intention of pouring salt in it.
The hate I felt for him was real, but it didn’t blind me to the reality that he’d saved my ass from a fate I’d feared from the moment I set foot in the Devil’s Playground—a fate that, up until that moment, only my ties to Ravi had prevented.
And though it pained me to do it, there was only one thing to say to that.
“Thank you…” My voice was soft and small, and I hated the sound of it, so I cleared my throat, clenched my fists, and stared him down as I said it again. “Thank you, Yael. For what you did.”
For a moment, he just stared back, undoubtedly shocked at what he’d just heard. But then unadulterated delight bled into those forest green eyes, and I immediately regretted my life choices. “Ouch,” he said, taking a step closer. “I’ll bet that hurt almost as much as your leg does.”
“More, actually,” I replied. “Speaking of my leg, any chance you can conjure up some little weed or flower that can take the edge off this thing? I’m not sure I’ll make it home without passing out, and I am not up for one of your slingshotting-tree adventures at the moment.”
That mischievous smile widened. “Here,” he said, turning to the willow tree behind him. He snapped off a chunk of bark and handed it to me. “Chew on this. It’ll help.”
“That’s it? That’s your magical solution?”
“My magical solution is to get you to a healer, but I’d like to not listen to you whine the whole way there, so yes, this is my immediate solution.”
“Is it going to make me puke everywhere?”
“I certainly hope not.”
The throbbing in my calf increased as I shifted my weight, and I knew I had no other option. I tossed the hunk of dried wood into my mouth and chewed as carefully as possible. “Now what?”
He turned his back to me, held his arms out to the side, and crouched down. “Get on.”
“You’re going to carry me through the Playground on your back? You can’t be serious.”
“It’s that or scoop you up in my arms and clutch you to my—”
“Okay, okay. On your back it is,” I said, cutting him off. “Just stop talking.”
I stood behind him and adjusted my makeshift skirt as best I could before climbing up on his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he hooked his under my knees—careful not to jostle my leg—then started off toward home.
“This stuff tastes like shit, you know.”
“I do know,” he said with a put-upon sigh. “Now shut up and keep chewing. You’ll want to be numb by the time I get you to someone who can fix your leg.”
“Why?” I asked, gripping him tighter. “Why do I want to be numb, Yael?”
His initial hesitation was far from encouraging. “Let’s just say his work is effective but inelegant. And he’s far from gentle.”
My muttered curses were muffled by Yael’s laughter as he picked up the pace toward my uncertain fate, and I realized quickly that I wouldn't be thanking him a second time that evening.