SEVEN #4
It seemed like he sucked up all the air.
My chest felt tight.
"Why do you think they would hate you?" he asked, reaching down to snag my chin, forcing me to face him. "You saved me."
"After my family enslaved you."
"You are not your family."
"You don't know how things are there now. It's been so long."
"My kind has a code, Amy."
"A code?" I prompted when he didn't elaborate.
"For fae who can literally make the world burn, we are a peaceful tribe.
We don't get involved in the wars between other fae.
We don't allow ourselves to be used as weapons to hurt innocents.
We try - as much as we possibly can - to do no harm.
No one will want to make you pay for the deeds of your family.
You are innocent in all that. And you freed me, honey.
You allowed for me to go back to them. They will treat you with respect.
I wouldn't allow anything less. You have my word on that. "
I don't know what made the words bubble up and fall out, maybe the privacy, the physical proximity, whatever it was, there was no stopping them from blurting out. "I thought you were dead."
"What?" His brows drew down, head shaking slightly. "Why would you think that?"
"Jet said someone was slaughtered for the note. I thought... I thought they killed you." Just as there was no stopping the words, there seemed to be no stopping the sting of tears in my eyes either.
"Hey, none of that," he demanded, thumb moving up to catch one rogue escapee before his hand slid around to the back of my neck, applying pressure, pulling my whole body flush with his.
There was the barest of pauses before my arms went around him.
Then another short one before his arms went around me, nearly crushing me.
But, oddly, I liked being nearly crushed.
It felt good.
Safe.
"That family is dead because of me," Drake said, lips moving against my hair as he did so.
"No, they're not. They're dead because of me. All of this is because of me."
"No," he insisted, giving my body a hard squeeze. "That's not true. All of this is because of Cass. Because he is a heartless, power-thirsty bastard. Don't take his sins on your back, Amy."
"How did you get here?" I asked, not moving away. He didn't either. We just stood there as though it was completely normal to have a conversation while embracing in the bathroom. Both of us, it seemed, were too starved for affection to care how it may have looked. Besides, no one was around to see.
"Smoky knew the way back to the veil. She was, essentially, a feral child, raised in the woods.
She knows all the secrets. She even knew where my family land was when no one else has a clue.
And so we started back, only to be intercepted by Sal who Smoky has a, ah, history of sorts with.
He spent some time in the human realm when he was younger, so he knew a bit more than Smoky or I did about getting around, how to get here.
We had to take a ferry," he said, testing out the word.
"And hang around the city for a day and a half. "
"You trust them?"
There was a short pause, the kind that didn't exactly instill confidence. "Enough," he decided. "Enough that I think we will all be safe on our way back."
"Are they getting something in turn?"
"Smoky is. Though she has yet to tell me what that is."
Risky.
That was a risky move.
You never had any idea what a fae may ask of you. Maybe just a solid meal, maybe to help overthrow one of the Courts.
But those were worries for another day. There were plenty to hold us over for this one.
"What about Sal?"
"Think he just wanted an excuse to spend some time with Smoky. She's a bit, ah..."
"Prickly?" I supplied.
"Yeah, that works. She is always looking for a way to push him away. So, this way, he gets to spend time with her without her being able to make him leave, or run off herself."
"That's... kind of sweet," I decided, maybe not letting him know exactly how sweet I thought it was, that it made my heart go a bit gooey for her. Even if hers was hardened, mine could feel for the situation, for the pang of unrequited love.
"Yeah, it is. She might not see it, might be too damaged to understand the concept of love, but it's nice to see. Haven't exactly witnessed much of that kinda thing in a long time. Good to know it still exists."
"If you don't stop pawing at me, so help you, I will slice your hand off," Smoky's voice yelled through the bathroom door, making both of us snort/laugh at her timing.
"In my defense," Drake said, pulling away slightly, "I said it was nice, not that she was nice."
"An important distinction," I agreed, smiling even if losing his arms from around me made a swirl of disappointment come over me.
"Is there anything in here you think you will need to grab?" he asked, looking around the small space.
"I don't think any of this will be able to cross the veil. I do have some extra blankets stored in the linen closet though; those might come in handy. Has the snow melted at all?"
"No," he told me, shrugging. "I think it will be a good, long while before we see any relief from it."
"It's a good thing I didn't get rid of my winter things then," I agreed, moving back as far as I could so he had room to move out of the way of the door, opening it, moving halfway out.
"It's not my fault there is no space to move around without brushing into you, Smoke," Sal's voice claimed, calm, unaffected, not at all pierced by her barbs.
I found the blankets I mentioned, grabbed the bags I had left The Green with as well before moving into the living space.
"There are nuts above the fridge," I added.
"And seeds," I told them, digging around in my small chest to find my two long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks, underthings, and a few pieces of clothing for the warmer months as well, not knowing if or when I would be able to get new supplies when living on Drake's ancestral land.
I didn't have a lot of room left in the bag, but I stashed two books in anyway, figuring that with Smoky and Sal packing the food in other bags, I could spare the space for such an indulgence.
"Should I pack my human money?"
I'd used a big chunk of it getting the apartment, and the things I needed to put in it to make it feel like home. But I had been working. I had managed to replace a little bit of it. And, if I was leaving, the rent money I had set aside could be included in the lump sum as well.
Drake exchanged looks with his new friends.
It was Sal who spoke. "It could be more valuable than most realize.
In the lean months when food is hard to come by, a little human money could be invaluable for anyone willing to go out of the veil.
I'm thinking dads with hungry kids would be willing to make the trek. And exchange other goods for it."
"Okay," I nodded, finding the few separate stashes of cash since I had yet to figure out how the whole banking situation worked, and pushing them to the bottom of my bag. "I think that is every..." My sentence was cut off by the sharp rapping at my door.
Everyone stiffened.
And my heart lodged up in my throat before I forced it back down.
"It's probably my super."
"Super?" Drake parroted.
"He like... runs things."
"Why would he be here?"
My air huffed out of my nose; I shook my head. "He, ah, he..."
"He knows she's a woman living here alone. And that she's pretty," Smoky supplied in a tone that said it was idiotic of them not to have realized it themselves.
Drake's spine straightened, moving across my apartment in two long strides, reaching for the knob, and nearly ripping the door off its hinges as he yanked it open.
"Can I help you?" he asked, voice a booming sound, something that made Ivon shrink back a bit as his eyes raked over the somewhat intimidating presence in the doorway.
"Is Amy here?" he asked, coughing a bit, trying to regain some of his lost bravado.
Even as I moved across the floor, Drake half-turned, giving me room to step into view. But as soon as I was a foot away, his arm dropped down on my shoulders, making me sink down an inch or two under the weight as he curled me into his side.
Protectively.
Possessively.
Man-Language.
That was what this was called. This unspoken conversation in which everything is communicated silently, and testosterone flowed freely.
Drake was claiming me.
As his.
To this man who clearly had less than honorable intentions toward me.
I knew it was fake, for show, just a message being relayed, but try to tell that to my belly that went warm and gooey at it.
And while it likely just looked like I was playing along, a part of me knew it wasn't all for show when my hand snaked up the firm line of his belly to settle there. Familiarly. Lovingly.
"Can I help you?" I asked, smiling at the man who so often leered at me.
"I just wanted to make sure you were in. I heard noise up here. You aren't usually in on Sunday afternoons."
That was a bit more than mildly creepy that he knew my schedule so intimately.
"We needed to grab some supplies for a weekend away," Drake supplied. "I appreciate you checking on my girl," Drake said, not sounding the least bit appreciative. "But I've got it from here."
Ivon's gaze went to me, a mix of annoyed and determined. "You sure you're alright, Amy?" he asked, raising a brow at Drake. "He doesn't seem your type."
"Well, I can assure you that some middle-aged, slimy super definitely isn't her type."
"Oh, fun," Smoky's voice chimed in, making everyone turn to see her standing there, wicked gleam in her eyes to match the smirk on her face. "Are we about to whip them out and compare sizes?" she asked, making my cheeks warm at the implication. "My wager is on Drake's being bigger."
"Amy," Ivon said, face twisted up in a mix of anger and embarrassment, "I'd thought you'd have made better friends. It's dangerous to get mixed up in the wrong crowd."