Chapter 10 Zera #2
Zera watched their exchange closely, trying to pick up any subtle cues from Maverick that might signal danger or an opportunity for gathering information. She knew she had a lot to learn about navigating these treacherous waters, but she was determined to keep her wits about her and stay focused.
As they spoke, Zera felt the weight of the numerous gazes upon them. The luxurious ballroom was filled with all of the elite criminals of the Fae Realm and their associates, all dressed in their finest and exuding power and influence. Yet all of them seemed to orbit the gray fox—Kraven.
Whispers of his power in the underground community met her ear, from money laundering to drug trafficking, which meant only one thing. Kraven was a pixie murderer. Zera realized then that she was a mouse in a lion’s den.
“And this must be your wife,” Sebastian said, his crimson gaze taking in her appearance.
“It’s Charlotte,” Zera said, giving him her hand. He placed a kiss upon the top of her hand. She refrained from visibly cringing when his fangs grazed her skin. “And how do you two know each other?”
“I see Dane hasn’t told you about me, eh?” Sebastian chuckled. “Figures, given the gossip that he ratted out our old boss, Gareth. Probably why there’s a bounty on your head.”
Maverick’s jaw twitched, but he made no response.
“Hit a nerve, did I?” Sebastian taunted, taking a step closer and making a growl rumble through Maverick’s chest. “Good thing I was already on my way out. Otherwise, I’d be one of the many fae here just counting the ticking seconds until midnight.”
“Bounty? Midnight?” Zera asked, fixing her expression with a look of confusion, hoping no one heard the way her heart stopped beating for a second.
“The time when neutrality ends. That’s when this place will plunge into chaos, and all bets are off.” The vampire laughed and fixed his gaze on Zera. “And stop pretending like you don’t know anything about the bounty on your head. Everyone knows you must be the pixie under Dane’s protection.”
Zera forced a small smile, trying to maintain her composure despite the growing unease in her gut. The weight of the room suddenly felt suffocating, as if the air had thickened.
“I’m afraid I don’t—” she began, but the vampire cut her off.
“Don’t insult me.” He flashed her a fanged smile before looking up at Maverick, who bested him by a few inches. “I was quite surprised when you settled down, and who knew it’d be with a blushing pixie bride? Sounds like a payday, if you ask me.”
Every muscle in Maverick’s body rippled at Sebastian’s words, and Zera thought for sure he would pounce on the vampire right then and there.
But instead, he took a deep breath and grasped Zera’s hand in his. “Come, Charlotte,” he said, leading them away. “Let’s get a drink.”
She shot Sebastian a final look as they zigzagged their way toward grand windows that lined the great hall where refreshments were being served.
Trays floated away from a drink station, but Maverick didn’t stop for any of the flutes it held.
Instead, they stopped at the source, and he grabbed the whole bottle of champagne from the bucket.
“Is that true about the neutrality thing? Do we really only have until midnight?” she asked, watching him as he popped the cork.
A waiter eyed him with a scowl but made no move to stop him.
“Here,” Maverick said, handing her a glass and pouring the golden liquid with practiced ease. “Never trust a glass someone else has poured here.”
“Oh.” It was all she could say with every nerve in her body in overdrive. She sipped the champagne, its bubbles tickling her nose. She noticed Maverick’s eyes linger on her lips for a moment before he caught himself and looked away.
“And yes,” he said with a grimace. “About the midnight thing.”
Zera gulped, rethinking this whole gala thing to begin with. Why was she even here?
Maverick downed the rest of his glass and set it down on the nearest table.
“Let’s split up,” he growled, something in his eyes darkening. “I need to settle this thing with Sebastian.”
“Wait, what?” Zera’s voice trembled with concern as she reached out and grabbed Maverick’s arm. “You can’t leave me here. I’m dead meat in this place!”
“It’s barely nine. You’ll be fine,” he said, barely looking down at her as he brushed her off and beelined through the crowd to wherever that vampire was.
She frowned. Something wasn’t right. He wouldn’t leave her like this, not when her life was at stake. Would he?
She mulled over her options as she set the champagne down next to Maverick’s. What would she do if he never came back? How would she get back to the penthouse?
It grew suddenly very hot in the bustling ballroom. Zera’s anxiety rose, and beads of sweat formed on her forehead. She felt flushed and buzzed all at once, but she’d had only a few sips of the champagne.
She leaned against the table, gripping it with one hand while discreetly fanning herself with the other.
“Here,” a deep, velvety voice said from behind her. A silk handkerchief appeared in front of her face, and she hesitantly took it. “You look like you could use this.”
“Thank you,” Zera murmured, dabbing at her forehead so her makeup wouldn’t smudge.
She turned to face the stranger who had come to her aid and found herself locking eyes with the tall and dangerously handsome gray fox.
His sculpted features were undeniably attractive, but there was something about him that also made her feel uneasy.
“Are you all right?” he asked, genuine concern lacing his voice. “This palace can be overwhelming for some.”
“Y-yes,” Zera stammered, trying to regain her composure. “I’m fine. Just feeling a bit… off.”
“Allow me to introduce myself,” he said, extending a hand, which she hesitantly accepted. “My name is Kraven.”
Skinned. Alive. The words repeated in her mind as she stared at his deceptively kind face, but his eyes gave way to something far more sinister.
“Charlotte Brown,” Zera replied, somehow remembering her cover identity. She couldn’t shake the nagging suspicion that there was more to this man than met the eye. She couldn’t even get a read on what kind of fae he was. It was like there was something blocking anything about him.
“Ah, Charlotte.” Kraven’s lips curled into a smile that made Zera shiver, though she couldn’t tell if it was from fear or something else entirely. “How intriguing.”
Her eyes jerked in the direction Maverick had disappeared, praying to any fae god who would listen that he’d come back soon. She didn’t like how this man was making her feel.
“You don’t usually come to these, do you?” he asked, taking a sip from his whiskey tumbler.
She shook her head. “What gave it away?”
“I have a knack for… knowing things. Things about people anyway.”
“I’m just here with my husband,” she said with a thin smile.
Kraven looked around. “And where is he?”
She swallowed hard, fighting the sudden urge to tell him about the fight Maverick had with Sebastian. But why?
A wave of heat washed over her once more, and she briefly closed her eyes.
“If I had a wife as beautiful as you…” His voice was too close to her. She opened her eyes to find him leaning into her space. “I would never let her out of my sight.”
A shiver ran down her spine. Attractive or not, this man reeked of power and control. It was unsettling and not in a good way. It made her skin crawl, but somehow she couldn’t get herself to move, like he had this invisible hold on her.
“Here, let me get you a drink,” he said, reaching for a long-stemmed martini glass on a platter floating by. The glass glistened with clear liquid, a single olive inside.
“I’m good, thanks,” she said, folding her arms across her chest, as if to physically keep the truth of her pixie heritage and pixie-dust magic locked within her.
What was it about him that made her want to both run like hell in the opposite direction from him and divulge all her secrets at the same time?
“It’s a shame,” he said, two martini glasses suddenly in hand, and before she could stop herself, she took one from him.
“What is?” she asked, taking a long sip of the drink. The clear liquid burned her throat, but she held back a cough.
“What Gareth has put you through,” he said, his eyes swirling with rose gold as he focused on her.
An inexplicable urge to open up to Kraven washed over her, and before she knew it, she had divulged everything—her true identity, her relationship with Maverick, their mission to stop Gareth and whoever he was working with or for, and even her pixie dust.
“Such a fascinating tale,” Kraven mused, his eyes gleaming with interest. “And here I thought this party was going to be dreadfully dull.”
Zera blinked, shocked by her own sudden lack of restraint.
Why had she revealed so much to this stranger?
She shut her mouth. Maverick had been gone for five minutes, and already she’d blown her cover.
At least she hadn’t mentioned her son. But something about this didn’t feel right.
Like she wasn’t herself. Then her jaw dropped.
“This is you!” she gasped. “You’re making me say these things.”
A sly grin played across his face, which was smooth despite his graying hair that was swept into an impeccably stylish pompadour.
“My dear,” Kraven said, his voice laced with amusement, “I merely encouraged you to speak your heart’s deepest desires. You did the rest.”
Zera’s heart stopped for a breath as realization dawned on her. Kraven was no ordinary fae. He was one of the rarest, in fact. He was an incubus, using his powers to manipulate her emotions and extract information. No wonder he was rising to the top of the crime underworld so quickly.
Panic surged through her veins as her mind raced with thoughts of protecting Cole and warning Maverick about Kraven’s true nature. She needed to get out of there. Where was Maverick anyway?