“You’ve no control over the human. Otherwise, you’d not fear him the way you do.”
She tried to resist the moment his fingers curled against her jaw, turning her to face him. To face the understanding that he was putting pieces of a puzzle together faster than she could take them apart. His eyes glowed like iced-over blues. She couldn’t explain it, but she swore she sensed a darkness from him, something threatening and lethal that skimmed beneath her skin.
He brought her face closer, his eyes narrowing.
“What,storín, has he done to evoke this degree of fear?”
“What you’re asking of me will give you more than my nightmare. It’ll expose every weakness I have.”
“Iron.” Rori opened her mouth to respond, but held her tongue as she let that single word settle in her mind. He nodded once, a small motion. “Iron can kill a Fae, especially if it pierces the heart. It poisons our blood. If not removed, controlled, or purged, it can lead to an immensely painful death. Those not of pure blood can withstand the effects longer than pureblooded Fae, but it’s poison to all.”
“The arrows,” she whispered.
The very corner of his mouth curled. “I see Cael values you more than his own brother, having shared my pitiful past yet withholding yours.”
“Because he has no right telling you about my past, the bits and pieces he knows. He’s privy to what he does know because he was here to help me out of a bad situation. Him and Brandon and Cassy. Theysavedme. Haven’t you realized I’m ruined? Can’t yousmellit off me? The damage done to this little human?” she said, her words sharp. She chuckled coldly. “No one can help me, Thaddeus.”
“So soon you forget what I am.”
The razor edge to his hushed voice struck her deep. The threat within those words was not for her, but for the threattoher. The same tone he’d taken when he dragged her out of the bar before she kissed Brandon. It both shook her and soothed her.
“The only one who believes you’re ruined is you, Rori. Not I. I smell naught but undisguised fear for a mortal, and the metallic energy you’re wasting erecting barriers between you and the wrong person.”
He leaned closer. His scent cut through the briny ocean breeze, slipping into her lungs and suffusing through her blood. The sensation of his breath against her lips brightened the intertwining threads that attached her to an unseen point within Thaddeus, binding them tighter.
“Why do you care? We don’t like each other, remember? I’m the vermin you want to rid your brother of, right? I don’t have the energy for this game. I don’t have time to fawn over a kiss. You’re too superficial, thinking you’re better than anyone and anything that isn’t Fae. You lack the ability to comprehend there are depths to those around you that you will never reach. I willneverfall for you, Thaddeus.” Rori lifted her chin from his fingers and climbed to her feet. He left her heart racing, her lips burning, and her entire body simmering. She stumbled trying to dust the sand from her shorts. “Regardless, I did want to thank you for protecting and healing me last night, whatever your motivation may have been. I’m grateful for the chance to wake up this morning, alive and well, though I’m sure I was caught up amid some Fae grudge.”
“They came for you, Rori. Not I.”
“What?” A chill stole through her as she paused mid-turn. Her breath caught in her throat. “Why?”
“Your association to me.”
The chill cooled further, webbing through her veins. Despite the warm morning, a shiver shook her and cast a different type of gooseflesh straight down to her ankles.
“You can tell them there’s no association. That should be enough.”
She made it a few feet before he asked, “How did you sleep yestereve?”
She gritted her teeth, shoulders stiffening. He’d never let her leave without trying to get in a jab, not that she was innocent of jabs and low blows over the last few minutes. But his even-toned question piqued realization. Had he been responsible for her soundless sleep, one of her best nights?
“Terrible.”
“Sweet Goddess, the scent of a lie is nearly as foul as fear.”
She refused to take his bait, despite the humor in his voice. He could smell all the lies he wanted. She’d never ask if he was responsible. It would be one more tally on her tab owed to a Fae.
By the time she reached where she’d left her sneakers, the tension had drained from her shoulders. The fight lost. The ache became all-consuming, the pit in her soul yawning as the distance grew. She picked up her sneakers with all the intention of beelining back to Cael’s condo, but something locked her knees and nudged her to turn around. No magic. No power.
Instinct.
For a moment, she wasn’t sure what she expected to see. What would call to her in such a demanding way.
Her lips parted in wonder. Her brows furrowed.
Thaddeus hadn’t vanished from his seat in the sand as she had expected. Instead, he had removed his boots, rolled his pants midway up his calves, and mimicked her earlier motion of covering his bare feet with sand to allow it to sift through his toes. It struck her true in her chest, witnessing the mighty Thaddeus performing such ahumanaction.
“If you need dating advice, all you need to do is ask.”
