Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
H is eyes widened, his expression sharpening to reveal a bit more of the truth beneath the lie of sweetness. The hand that had been about to cup my face froze, then lowered. “I beg your pardon?”
I would have laughed at the shock in his voice, at how it slid from a low croon to crisp and commanding, the Cassanian accent thickened. But there was nothing funny about the expression on his face.
I glanced quickly over his shoulder. The blond gave me wide eyes and shook his head slowly, as if in amazement. Then smirked, his chest beginning to shake silently.
Glad one of us thought this was entertaining.
I shook my head, taking another step back and a deep breath, then cleared my throat.
“I’m. . .appreciative of the offer, but no, thank you. Good night.”
His lip curled up over his teeth as I turned away from him and walked fast enough to make a point, but not fast enough to invite him to chase. We'd also been told the Fae considered running an invitation to play.
My breathing didn't return to normal until I was at the bus stop—no, they didn't call them buses here. Double and triple decker monstrosities powered by steam and magic. Working poor people took public ground transport no matter what dimension you lived in.
After the public coach dropped me off three blocks from my building, I walked fast and kept my eyes open.
Downtown the streets and buildings were old but in perfect repair. In Coal District, not so much. The wood was younger, for one thing, and there was less magic used to preserve the condition of the buildings. Less magic use period. We relied on a combination of steam, solar power, and coal to fuel the lights and plumbing and what passed as HVAC. I was glad it wasn't winter.
This wasn't the best part of the city, and it wasn't the worst. For a Fae enclave, it was decently safe for humans. Not a Lord in sight.
Only human predators.
“Hey, Han, how's it going?”
My teeth clenched. I kept walking.
Larry’s shoes thudded across stone as he ran to catch up. The human manager of the building—barracks, really—where I lived, he maintained a first floor studio and made it his business to know the comings and goings of all the female tenants.
He made my skin crawl. I walked a little faster.
“Hey, wait up, I'm talking to you.”
“Duh,” I muttered. “This is me ignoring you. Ngu v?i.”
I could get in trouble if he suspected I was deliberately ignoring him. As part of my visa, I was required to allow the building manager to maintain a log of my movements. If he told the Lord in charge of this District that I was being uncooperative, I could get kicked out before the showcase.
“Han!”
I was really really tired of the way he deliberately mispronounced my Vietnamese nickname.
“Didn't hear you,” I lied when he drew alongside me.
All I needed was a spot in the company and I could apply for better accommodations.
“Yeah, I think you did hear me,” he said, too close now.
I turned to face him, caution skyrocketing when I took in his wide smile, overly relaxed shoulders and blown out pupils.
He’d been smoking that stuff again, the new drug on the gray market. One dancer among the potentials had already been ousted for possession. We'd been warned that there would be no tolerance for drug use, especially Ixnie. Evidently it crept up on you.
“You’ll get in trouble if you get caught with that stuff,” I warned him in a low voice. “Don’t you answer to the Vice Lord?”
The Fae High Lord who ruled Coal District had made plain, only weeks ago, in the particular way High Fae liked to make a statement, that he wasn't pleased with the synthesis and distribution of this new drug in his domain.
The bodies were still rotting in the District square. No one had had the nerve to collect them. Since there was a subtle dome of magic protecting the bodies from intervention, at least the smell was contained.
“You should try it, Han. It’ll relax you.”
It started out that way. Relaxation, imperviousness to physical pain—I understood the temptation for a dancer to smoke it.
“It’s highly addictive,” I said in an even, unoffensive tone. “You aren’t worried about hallucinations and mental suggestion?”
“Nah. I’m mostly worried about wenches who think they can’t speak when I talk to them.”
All right.
I smiled to defuse the situation and pretended like he hadn't called me a wench, then turned away, withdrawing my keys.
“Cút m? mày ?i.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, that just that means goodnight.” If goodnight meant go eff yourself.
He grabbed my upper arm. “Wait.”
“What are you doing?”
The high register of my voice screamed victim—but he'd startled me. First threats, now actual touches.
“I just want to talk, Han. Look, I know you don't have any friends or family in the city?—”
“I have friends. And a boyfriend.” Battery powered and definitely non lethal. “Who should be here any minute, so get your hand off me.”
Was I glad I was human. The Fae couldn't lie. Lies danced happily off my tongue.
“A boyfriend?” He peered at me with playground sand eyes. “I've never seen you with a man. And I know you're smart enough not to fuck around with a Fae. Are you smart enough?”
If I kicked him, would that get me ejected from the program? Probably. I wasn't useful to anyone important, so they'd get rid of me to avoid the paperwork. Another little tidbit we'd been told during orientation. Don't draw attention—trouble being attention—and your best bet for staying in the city was to figure out how to make yourself useful to someone in power.
“But,” I'd asked. “Didn't you say not to draw the attention of any of the Lords?”
The Low Fae female lecturing us had stopped, pinned me with a look that said I was close to making a nuisance of myself, but answered, “There are only a few dozen Lords of either Court in the city. Avoid them. There are other Fae with influence and if you make yourself useful to one of them, or to a House, then your position in the city is assured. We always have room for. . .industrious mortals.”
“We recently met,” I told Larry finally.
The fear I'd felt as the Fae male stared at me was more visceral now. Larry knew where I lived. He had keys and I was alone in Casakraine. No one would protect me but me.
Larry's expression darkened with irritation. “You could be nicer. Smile a little more. I think maybe if I take you to my apartment, you'll learn how to loosen up a bit. I’m a nice guy when you get to know me. Not like those other lose?—”
“Hasannah? Sorry I'm late, darling.”
I turned, eyes widening at the soft, smooth, almost diffident voice. The Fae from downtown—the aristocratic man who'd tried to pretend he wasn't dangerous.
What was he doing here? Had he followed me?
I didn't believe in coincidences. Not in Casakraine.
Belatedly, I registered the bone he'd thrown me, and hoped I wasn't jumping out of a hot pan into a roaring fire.
But. . .as I met his gaze, my fear was instinctive and due to him being Fae, a warrior, and male. Not because I felt he was nice. Larry was nice enough to knock me out and chop me into pieces.
The Fae man’s eyes were gentle—at least when he looked at me . “Anah? Darling?”
He lowered his attention to where Larry held my arm and a visceral shudder ran through me. Larry released me like a hot coal.
I smiled shakily at the newcomer. “You’re not late. I just got home. It’s not a problem.”
I stressed the last sentence, because the death staring at Larry was obvious to me, even if the human man was too nice to understand that particular lack of expression. Witness to murder was the last kind of drama I needed right now.
The Fae held out a hand, fingers long and slender. I stepped forward, making my choice, and he slid an arm around me and tucked me against his side, clucking his tongue in a noise meant to be soothing.
I stiffened, then forced myself to relax, pressing a hand against my stomach. What could he possibly want with me? I was attractive in an average way, but not worth hunting down.
His hand rested in the curve of my waist, his touch light but proprietary.
“I'm called Andrei,” he told Larry. “Is there a problem?” His cool tone was a warning; there had better not be a problem. I looked between him and the human toad.
Larry's eyes narrowed. “You aren't on the approved visitors list.”
My estimation of Larry's intelligence plummeted, but it had been too high anyway.
Andrei smiled, teeth. . .sharp. “Surely, we can rectify that now. You strike me as a man who is conscientious of his duty.”
A subtle hint of danger, like sharks churning beneath the surface of a lake, lurked in his eyes. If sharks swam in lakes. In the middle of winter, under thin ice, waiting for obliging lunch.
Andrei drew me past Larry. “Come, Anah, I'll escort you.”
“Don't matter,” Larry said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I've got keys.”
The warrior turned slowly, taking me with him. I struggled to breathe through air suddenly charged with heat and instinctively wanted to flee.
Andrei's arm tightened around me, forestalling my involuntary retreat. “Do you now, mortal?”
Larry's thin, smug smile sickened me. One moment Andrei's arm was around my waist.
The next, a fist connected to Larry's face with a sound I hadn't heard before. Well, there was that time Hanalei’s husband fell while patching the roof, and broke his leg. Like the crunch of a giant spider under a boot. I would have cringed, but I was frozen. I didn't want to attract the attention of the predator at my side.
Larry stumbled back, clutching his nose, and howled. “You busted my nose!”
“I was hoping to deter you from threatening my Anah again. Good evening, sir.”
Breathe , I told myself, trembling. Breathe.
We entered the building, Andrei's footsteps silent as we walked down the hall, up a flight of stairs, and down another hall; thin walls, thinner carpet. Poor lighting. But there were no pests—other than Larry—and the plumbing all worked.
“Why are you—why are you here . . .Andrei?” My voice trembled.
He stopped us walking and turned to me, his arm still around my waist. I looked up at him.
“You don't need to fear me. I won't hurt you.” He appeared to want to say more, but sighed, gesturing. “Come, Hasannah. Which door is yours?”
“I don't want you to know where I live.”
The Fae warrior looked at me for a long moment then smiled, the warmth of understanding in his eyes startling.
“It's too late for that, little mortal. And evidently I need to ensure your dwelling is secure. You’ll have to remain here a day or two longer, and I apologize for that.”
He reached out a hand, the backs of his fingers caressing my cheek briefly as I stared up at him in growing dread.
“But—”
“No one can protect you from me. But I promise I won't hurt you, or touch you—much—without your permission. Now show me to your apartment. We must have a discussion.”
I didn't pretend not to understand it was a command I couldn't refuse.