Chapter 14 #2
His fingers dug into my skin, his eyes wild and vicious, ready to tear through the room, my dress, and into my skin, dismantling me until I was nothing. Razing us to the ground until we destroyed each other, leaving nothing but destruction in our wake.
His gaze dropped to my mouth, and he leaned in, the heat of his breath grazing my lips.
“Hello?” A knock sounded on the door, and a woman’s accented voice sliced through the room like an ax, cutting through the thick haze between us, jolting us as if someone dumped ice water on us.
The door started to swing open. Warwick moved away from me like I disgusted him, his anger still heavy on my tongue, his sudden absence feeling like a tear in my skin.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to get my legs steady under me.
A squeal came from the door. I twisted my head to the familiar form standing in the doorway.
“Rosie!” A smile burst over my face, my body already moving toward my friend. Wearing exactly what she had when I met her the first time, my faux English rose, with her bright red hair and blue eyes, was even prettier than I recalled. “Oh, my gods!”
“Luv!” She wrapped me up in her arms, her huge bosoms feeling like fluffy pillows.
“It’s really you.” She pulled back, cupping my face, peering at me with utter joy.
“When Madam said she needed women’s clothes brought up to Warwick’s room .
. . I hoped.” She pulled me back in for a quick hug again.
“I can’t believe how happy I am to see you.
Ever since you left that evening, my stomach has been all in knots.
I had this awful feeling. But then I saw .
. .” Her eyes flicked over to Warwick’s, then back to me. “Did I interrupt something?”
“No!” We both shook our heads ardently.
She snorted, winking at me. “You guys keep saying that, and I have yet to believe you.”
“It’s so good to see you.” I took the clothes in Rosie’s hands. “Thank you so much.”
Her gaze finally took in my gown, her eyes widening. “Bloody hell.” Her exaggerated English accent thickened. “Is this real silk?” She touched one of the roses. “Are those authentic jewels?”
“Yes, and they are all yours.”
“What?”
“What?”
Both she and Warwick jerked toward me, his shock turning into irritation.
“Sell what you can, make costumes from the rest, do whatever you want. I don’t want to look at it again.” I squeezed her hand. “The gems are all real, so don’t let anyone con you.”
Warwick huffed, shaking his head as he grabbed the Pálinka bottle off the table and pounded it back.
“Are you sure? I can tell this thing cost a fortune. You might need the money.”
Warwick made a noise in his throat like he agreed with her.
“I’m sure. Pay off your debts, Rosie. Don’t be anyone’s property. Even Kitty’s.”
She eyed me suspiciously.
“No strings attached. It’s yours.”
Tears filled up Rosie’s eyes. She batted her thick eyelashes, her head shaking. “I don’t know what to say. Kindness without ties . . . It’s not something that happens here.”
I didn’t understand what it was really like to live in a world so cutthroat that no one did anything without it benefiting them.
Not waiting, I stripped out of the dress, setting the folded documents I stole on the nightstand. I pulled on the loose cami, which did nothing to cover my braless chest, and tugged on the tiny rayon shorts and a shawl. Everything was thin, cheap, and threadbare.
“Here.” I handed her the heavy gown, my bones feeling liberated from the weight.
“I will try to find you pants and a more suitable top.” She took the gown from me, not quite looking me in the eyes. “If I’d known it was really you, I would have tried harder to find better clothes.”
“This is fine.”
She nodded, stepping back. “Food is coming. Madam wants me to remind you both not to leave the bedroom. Some of our clientele would be especially keen to find the both of you.”
“Got it.” I nodded.
“It’s not as if you guys couldn’t find something to do.” She winked at me.
“Night, Rosie.” I opened the door for her.
“Night, luv.” She grinned mischievously, looking between Warwick and me.
“Brexley,” I said, feeling this need to trust her.
“I know.” She tilted her head.
“You know?”
“Luv, look at you . . . Even before I knew your name, I knew you were not one of us. But Anita confirmed it when she smuggled a Leopold paper from one of the soldiers she fucked—you were on the front cover. So stunning and regal. The princess of Leopold.”
Warwick chuckled darkly, taking another drink.
“I am not a princess!” I exclaimed, glaring at both.
“You are compared to us, luv. Glad you’re back, though.” She dipped away, the red harbinger trailing behind her like a stream of blood.
The instant I shut the door, the room collapsed on itself, filling with taut energy. Stuffed and tight against my skin. The energy between us before Rosie interrupted left me feeling like I had a spike in the gut. I couldn’t decipher my feelings.
“You gave away a fortune,” Warwick grunted. “You realize how stupid that was, right?”
Probably not. Besides my time in Halálház, where money didn’t come into play, I had never been without. Never had to worry or think about money. Even our meals in restaurants were taken care of. Markos’s assistant handled tabs. I never carried cash.
I was broke now, but I could never regret giving the dress to Rosie. She needed it far more than I did.
Swallowing, I turned around, brushing off his question, my attention on other things. I sat on the bed, the silence stifling the air.
“Both times you rescued me . . . you knew where to be.” I cleared my throat. “How to get me out.”
He didn’t respond, the chair across the room creaking with his weight as he sat down.
“You know how to make bombs?”
“I have connections.” He tipped back in the rickety chair, propping his boot on the bed.
I nodded, twisting my fingers into the duvet. “How do we stop this?”
He sighed, his head tipping back into the cushion, his eyes on the ceiling.
“I wish I knew. I’ll start asking around, but we need to be careful.
” His grave expression met mine. “We don’t know what this is.
And even in the fae world, something unnatural is typically treated with mistrust. Any enemy that finds out you are connected to me .
. . will use it against me and vice-versa. ”
“Fuck.” I pulled my legs up to my chest, laying my forehead on my knees. I hadn’t even thought of that. Warwick’s list of enemies was probably extensive, and mine was growing every moment.
So much had changed since the last time we were in this room together, but my head kept returning to the moments we sat in these very spots, talking.
I peered up at him. “Why did you give me to Killian?”
He turned his head out the window. “Don’t tell me you were suffering.”
“Screw you,” I said evenly. “You have no clue what really went on behind those walls. Don’t sit here acting like you did me a favor. You betrayed me, Warwick. Sold me.”
He downed a hefty gulp of alcohol.
“Was it your plan the whole time?”
I watched him shift slightly in his chair. I tried to reach out and sense any emotions, but as if my hand got slapped, I felt him knock me back. Blocking me.
“Ah.” I pursed my lips. “Pretend to save me from Halálház only so you could sell me to him yourself.” One leg slipped to the floor, the other curled in front of me. “Well done.”
He drank more.
“Why keep me for three days then? Why not trade me right away?”
“Kovacs,” he rumbled my name.
“No, I’m curious. Since you find me so physically repulsive, I know you didn’t keep me to get a bit of fun.”
His head snapped to me.
“It’s not like you couldn’t get that here any time you wanted anyway.”
“You have no clue about anything.”
“Then tell me. Since I am worth so little to you.”
“Shut up, Kovacs.” He pushed up from the chair.
“No.” I stood with him. “Why bother coming after me tonight? Or saving me from Killian? You made an enemy of Killian now, so what was the point? You hate this connection?” I motioned between us. “At any time, you could have ended it.”
He huffed.
“Remember, I’m an insignificant human.” I rounded the bed, everything in me calm and controlled. “I’m nothing to you, right?”
His chest vibrated with a growl.
“How much money did you get for me? I hope I was substantial—”
“Shut. Up.”
“A prize like me, General Markos’s ward, a Leopold elite. I’ll bet you got off on how gullible I was, how easy I was to trick—”
“Kovacs,” he growled, stepping toward me.
“A stupid, pathetic, feeble human.”
“You are anything but stupid, pathetic, and feeble,” he snarled. In a blink, he weeded his fingers through my hair, yanking my head painfully. “Or human.”
I sucked in, a noise clawing at my throat.
His eyes searched mine like he was trying to peel back every layer to see inside. He pushed off from me, facing the window. “I traded you because I didn’t have a choice.”
I blinked, motionless on his last words. “What?”
“Killian had something . . .” He glared back at me.
“Something I would trade you for again. I would trade anything for. Even my life. So, no, I won’t apologize for your hurt feelings.
Because I would do it again.” He snapped his fingers in my face.
“In a heartbeat. Grow the fuck up. This is not the happy, na?ve world you are accustomed to, princess. It’s cutthroat and cruel. ”
Anger bristled up my spine, but I stared at my bare feet; the red polish had matched my dress perfectly. Not the color of love, but of death.
“What did you mean I’m not human?” I struggled over the word, the twist in my gut clawing up my chest.
“Nothing. I didn’t mean it.” He ran his hand over the back of his neck. “You’re human.”
“How do you know?”
His head lifted at my inquiry, his brows furrowing.
“I mean, do you smell it on me or see it?”
His eyes tracked me, but he didn’t respond.
“What if . . .” I gulped over the knot in my throat. “What if I’m not?”
“Then what would you be?” His voice was low and tight.
My lashes fluttered. “I don’t know, but there is something different about me.” I folded my arms, needing a barrier, my fears making me vulnerable. “Anomaly. Abnormal. There were other words they called me—but the doctor found things out about me.”
“Found what?” His voice was so low, chills ran over my skin. “What did he find?”
Licking my lips nervously, I spoke. “They found my antibodies were beyond normal levels. More to the point, I should be dead from organ failure, but they are even healthier.”
“What antibodies?” Warwick prickled with anger.
“Something immune something—ending with an M.”
“Immunoglobulin M.” His glare drilled into me, his chest moving quicker.
“Yes.” I bolted straight, my heart tripping over itself. “How did you know that?”
“Fuck.” He swung around, his shoulders quaking with fury. He stalked to the window, smashing his fist into the wall. “FUCK!”
“What? What does that mean? And how do you know?” His violence didn’t scare me. If anything, it made me want to calm the beast. “Warwick?” I touched his arm.
He jerked away, his head repeatedly knocking against the window frame.
“Stop.” I grabbed him again, not letting him back away. “Talk to me.”
He tipped his head to me.
“I have the same thing.”