Best Friend Meets Fairy Boy #2
I cleared my throat with a glare, hoping Kate missed that last bit. “Yes, she’s determined to use me, and I’m going to play her game so I can nip a potential problem in the bud.”
“The Organization or…the other Fae who might want to kill you?”
I nodded. “Both.”
“Sheesh, V. Does everyone want to kill you?”
She had no idea…
Cash smirked, squeezing my hand. “On the contrary, human. Some of us want to kiss her—”
“Anyway! We’ll get what we need,” I interjected. It was Phillip in Kate’s house all over again. “I want to go in with some sort of leverage to negotiate.”
“And leverage we shall have,” Cash murmured. He grabbed hold of my waist and nodded for me to take hold of Kate. I did without hesitation before he snapped his fingers.
Kate was sitting next to me in what I could only describe as a bar for the supernatural. A seedy one. I didn’t need to be from this world to catch on that it wasn’t a place someone with good intentions went.
The air in the room was distinctly dangerous and there were several caught up in the Season the same way we had been. But my pale-haired companion didn’t seem bothered by any of it. Ironically, it was the most at home I’d seen him since meeting the Dark Fae.
Kate and I tried not to stare, but it was hard not to with all the moaning and wet sounds. Sex positivity only went so far, turned out, for my bestie. Her scowl was unbelievably cute and loud.
Cash had his arm around me, his neck bent to display the mark. My rune. If it weren’t Cash, I’d think it was an accident, but the smile he wore whenever he touched it was smug.
I’d noticed a purple one that matched the symbol on his forehead glowing on my neck after a short but much-needed trip to the bathroom—thank fuck they had those and normal human food or I’d riot. The sight of his rune only further cemented his claim.
Mates? Really? Me and him? Did I land myself in a fated mates’ trope or was I really just this unlucky? I thought for sure mates were something made up by pining women bent on an eternal love, not a fucking problem I’d have to deal with someday.
Nothing I’d read mentioned mates or the Season, but Sloan admitted that almost nothing was known about the Fae realm other than what they’d learned from the ones the Organization captured.
Even then, the information couldn’t be confirmed.
If I hadn’t experienced the Season for myself, I’d think it was a convenient excuse to fuck.
Unfortunately for me, it was another problem I encountered in a day full of them.
The rest of the patrons not occupied kept their distance despite their gazes staying fixed to our trio. My friend had been ogling the odd makes and shapes the same way I had. The horns and wings, fangs and oversized irises of the Fae creatures in this place made it hard not to.
We were acting like total humans.
I recognized a few from the books Sloan forced me to study. Classifications of Fae that often aligned with the degenerate sort in our realm, or so the Organization claimed.
The number of them riddled with the same runes as what Cash used to sport in abundance suggested that information wasn’t totally wrong.
Turned out, very few Fae avoided the mark of innocent death in this realm.
Another reason I’d gotten the distinct impression we were among monsters with how many runes riddled their flesh.
Talk about walking crimes.
A few of the horned Fae with different variations of red skin humans had labeled as demons were congregating near the door, every set of pure black eyes with white slit pupils were settled on the man next to me decked out in all black. None of them saw me as a threat, only him.
Small miracles.
The group of horned Fae weren’t speaking, and I had to wonder if they had a telepathic power that gave them the ability to leave things left unspoken.
Lyra had said I didn’t have good mind barriers, but it was thankfully not something I had to worry about with most. Along with the other necklace he’d given me, Cash put a stone on a delicate chain for me to wear.
He claimed it would protect my mind for long enough to get what we needed.
A temporary fix until we could correct my mind issue. He'd even given Kate one to wear.
Humans were too easy to read and that made her a liability.
It was why I couldn’t tell her anything we planned to do that I wasn’t okay with Lyra knowing.
The stone’s protection wouldn’t be strong enough against Mistress Chaos or who Cash had only referred to as the Nether royalty. I only fed her pieces of the truth.
Fortunately for us, our enemies weren’t likely to come here, at least not until after we’d gone. If and when we met them, Kate wouldn’t be there. That was the plan, at least.
I didn’t want to leave her anywhere I wasn’t, but Cash was right. She was a liability and most at risk. One of the favors he planned to call on would aid us in that area, though he hadn’t told me how.
I was grateful he was at least taking care of her despite their rough start. He grumbled, but Cash knew how important Kate was to me. The less danger we put her in out here, the better.
I wanted her with me at all times, but even I knew how risky it was to bring my weakness around our enemies. And Lyra was absolutely an enemy no matter what bargain we struck next time we met.