Chapter 10 #2
“Melisandre charmed one of her humans to look like a friend of my mate’s.
When I realized the deception, I killed him, but my mate is soft-hearted.
It pains her to see the remains even though she knows he never really was her friend.
If it pains her, it pains me. I want him gone. I want you to take him.”
“Oh?” Nine’s tongue darted out, licking the corner of his mouth. “Why do you think I would do that? For the pebble?”
Nice try, Nine, thought Ash.
“No. This is a different bargain. I give you the human, you give it to the shadows. That’s the deal I’m offering you.”
A hint of disappointment flashed across Nine’s face, there and gone again. It didn’t linger only because Ash was crafty. It wasn’t a life debt, but the bargain was still a good one—and they both knew it.
A touch was full of pleasure and power; it came from the piece of a mortal soul that the fae can siphon with the brush of their fingers.
When it came to the Dark Fae, though, their magic was rooted in the shadows.
Especially for one like Nine, who could gather shadows to him, weaving them to make the shadowy cloak he wore or creating portals of his own that he could shade-walk through, it was the source of his powers.
The shadows were often hungry. If he fed the human’s remains to the shadows, it would be out of Callie’s sight, out of Melisandre’s reach, and a boost to Nine’s strength.
A perfect bargain without Ash having to resort to burning Nine’s life debt.
Nine stayed quiet for a few moments. He was as still as the grave, his dark curls still billowing softly, the tail of his cloak floating behind him.
Though the Dark Fae was firmly on this side of the veil, his shadow magic kept him covered in Faerie magic.
The iron in the apartment was probably draining it faster than Nine would ever allow Ash to guess, but he was still strong enough to put on a display for the Light Fae.
Finally, as Ash waited on bated breath, Nine nodded. “Deal.”
Bending one knee, he laid his palm against the dead human’s cheek.
The air grew heavy, a chilly wind whistling down the hall, and when Ash couldn’t keep himself from spinning to make sure that Nine hadn’t summoned wind spirits to Callie’s home, he missed whatever it was that Nine did to the dead human.
Only a few seconds had passed when he spun back to find that Nine was standing again. The kitchen floor was completely empty. There wasn’t a single drop of spilled blood to mark where the human had fallen. It was almost as if he had never died there at all.
The shadows took it all. One look at Nine—whose pale skin was glowing like the moon, his silver eyes swirling with a madness Ash had seen there once or twice before—and Ash knew that this bargain had been heavily weighted in Nine’s favor.
Good. The pebble was still tucked securely in his pocket where it belonged.
At least, that’s what Ash thought—until Nine’s expression turned as dark as his shadows.
“Our deal is done. The shadows have feasted. But Aislinn… you dared to use my name while weak from iron. Only knowing I owe you a geas kept me from taking advantage of that. Do you understand?”
“Ninetroir—”
The rush of Unseelie magic pouring off of Nine had Ash stumbling. Pride kept him standing, but it wasn’t easy.
He nodded. Warning understood.
Nine pointed one long, slender, white finger at Ash. “The next time you dare summon me, be prepared to trade back that damned pebble—or don’t summon me at all.”
With that, Nine blinked out, leaving darkness and a chill in his wake.
Yes. Definitely understood.
He warned her. He warned her that choosing him was dangerous, that the queen would stop at nothing to get to their baby.
She just never expected that included killing her friend and using crystal magic from Faerie to transfigure one of her touched mortals to take his place for months.
When did the switch take place? Was the man who came back in early September, begging her for forgiveness and hoping she’d let him return to the apartment the real Mitch? Or was he already gone?
How could she tell his parents when she didn’t really understand it all herself? And how could she confess that, whatever happened, she was the reason why their son was dead?
She couldn’t. She wasn’t strong enough. Just like she wasn’t strong enough to face Ash yet.
She lost track of how long she hid in the bathroom. At one point, she swore she heard voices, but since no one came to the door, she fell back on her old standby: she pretended that she didn’t.
Too bad she couldn’t pretend forever.
It wasn’t fair, leaving Ash out there with the fake Mitch. It was hard for her to face the truth, but hiding from it didn’t make it go away. She was made of stronger stuff than that and, after a while, she pushed up from the toilet seat where she’d been perched before reaching for the doorknob.
Pushing open the door, she found Ash standing opposite of her, as if he’d been waiting for her to come to him again.
He’d been standing at attention, the perfect soldier, but he went even stiffer when he saw the door open.
“Callie.”
Her voice broke as she whispered his name in return.
It was strangely cold in the hall, she noticed. Dark, too, as if more of the lights had blown.
And, maybe she was being a bit dramatic, but it seemed as still as the grave...
She hesitated. She didn’t want to move too far from the bathroom just yet in case she got close enough to the kitchen and she saw the body again.
That didn’t stop her gaze from drifting in that direction, though.
Even when Ash quickly assured her that it was gone, that he’d taken care of it for her, she stayed in the doorway, leaning against the jamb.
Her legs were shaky, her hands protecting the swell of her belly. She choked back a sob as she met Ash’s gaze again.
In the next breath, he’d closed the gap between them. He pulled her into his loving embrace, careful not to squeeze even as she felt his warmth envelope her.
Collapsing against him, Ash took her weight, supporting her as he whispered heated promises in her ear.
It’s going to be okay.
I won’t let anyone hurt you.
I’m with you.
I’ll protect you.
You’re mine—
The fae can’t lie, she told herself as she clung to her mate. And though it seemed as if her world had turned upside-down again for the third time in less than a year, at least she still had Ash.
—and I love you.