“We have become complacent, wasting time on passive strategies. ’Tis what brought the death of our princess, our martyr. She took to the offense far too late. We shall not make that mistake twice.” Slowly, Grison pushed up from his chair, rolled back his shoulders, and curled his lips in a snarl. “Any pureblood who wishes to tread the fine line of threatening our race shall meet a swift end.Any.”
“You wish to discuss my brother’s execution, is that it?” Thaddeus’s muscles hardened beneath the implication he caught flash across Grison’s eyes. The High Fae lacked the strict control of his emotions that Thaddeus had honed, his magic flickering like tiny shards of glass over his skin. “Has Cael brought a babe into the world?”
“His actions with his current mortal woman pose such a threat.”
Thaddeus cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “And you wish for me to…?”
“I believed you smarter than this.”
“I’m sure you didn’t save my life solely for me to hunt and kill my brother. ’Twould have saved you the grievance of being associated with this sniveling bed-pet scum”—Thaddeus cast a frigid glance toward the two men from the corridor and chuckled to himself when they turned white as snow before he languidly returned his icy gaze to Grison—“but then again, I’m not one to prod into another’s mind.”
Ahh, the satisfaction of seeing Grison’s body stiffening and a bolt of fright in his gaze was enough to bring a deadly grin to Thaddeus’s mouth.
“Aye, I’ll gladly hunt my brother, and should I deem his actions punishable by death, you shall receive his pretty head upon our next meeting.”
Thaddeus pivoted on his heel and began to retreat, his steps unhurried, absorbing the dozens of different levels of energy and emotions throbbing in the air. Fear took the forwardmost spot. Fear of him. Fear of his power. Fear of his ruthlessness. These peoplefearedhim, and for good reason. ’Twas Daeanna who cultivated his powers, showed him his true potential, nurtured and molded him into this creature who made the shadows his home while standing in the midst of a sunlit court. He had become a weapon, her weapon, her greatest-kept secret.
And only recently had his full potential been seen, felt, discovered by many of the Seelie realms. ’Twas an unfortunate slip of his foot and a lucky twin shot by a bloody Talaenian that landed him in his current state.
Halfway to the dilapidated stairs, Thaddeus paused. The weight of anticipation lifted his grin, stirring the satisfaction in his mind. For a long moment, he stared at the door ahead, listening to the utter silence at his back. Such deafening silence that the crackle of the ill-formed candles echoed in the hall. Breaths bated, gazes locked on him, he lazily twisted back to his audience.
Back to Grison.
The creature had enough sense to lean back, if only a fraction, but enough for Thaddeus to catch the sign of submission.
“Do not take me for a fool, Grison. I know your plan is far more convoluted than having me off my only surviving blood relative. A fool, may I remind you, believes himself smarter than those around him. A fool believes himself all-powerful and is overconfident.” His grin lowered into a malicious line. He tipped his head and bored his gaze into the standing Fae. “A fool, Grison, always falls.”
The air in the room quivered. The ripples teased his chestand arms, caressed his face, the Fae around him cowed by his quietly spoken threat. The corner of his mouth curled up in a smile once more as he took his leave.
Fools always fell.
’Twould be only a matter of time before Grison’s foolish ploys brought him to his knees.
3
“Last table’s out!” the remaining busser announced as he bounded into the wait station, pouring an armful of dishes into the dish pit.
Rori McMallin rinsed off the nozzles to the soda machine and began twisting them onto each spicket, her thoughts momentarily interrupted—a small blessing. Thoughts often got away from her of late, and she couldn’t escape the keen eyes of her closest friends. Brandon Ramirez, one of said friends, rounded her and did a final wipe of the countertop with a playful nudge to her arm.
“What’s left?” he asked, taking the last nozzle from her palm and fitting it in place. She snickered and shook her head, drying her damp hands on her apron.
“That was the last. Just need to tidy up and we should be set.”
Behind the light-hearted grin and casual lean, his eyes assessed her with razor-sharp precision. She was all too familiar with Brandon’s distractions away from her past as he tried to gauge her current state, both physical and mental.She’d become a pro at masking the true extent of discomfort she felt from her healing ribs and bruised psyche. She didn’t care to relive the terror every time they asked if she was doing okay. She appreciated the concern, not the constant reminder ofthe ordealshe’d finally managed to escape.
“Hour after closing. Ridiculous,” Brandon said, twisting to lean against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. “Hope they tipped well.”
“Hope so, too, since that table started and ended Cassy’s night.”
Rori gathered up the wet rags from the sink and tossed them into the laundry basket, receiving a pungent whiff of food waste, soggy linen, and chemicals that burned her nostrils. She washed her hands and gathered hers and Cassy’s belongings from the office. Her closest gal pal whipped around the corner into the wait station as Rori and Brandon approached, her eyes bright and wisps of mussed blond hair sprayed around her flushed face.
“Didn’t do you dirty, I gather?” Brandon asked.
Cassy waved her hand dismissively with a snort. “Not my best night, let’s just leave it at that. At least I’ve someone to look forward to, and he’ll make it all better.” She took her purse from Rori’s outstretched hand. “Thanks, girl. Ready? Carl gave us the green light to book. God knows I need a shower and a few drinks at Steve’s.”
Hooking her arm around Rori’s, Cassy gave a tug as she led them from the wait station. Rori schooled a grimace as dull pain radiated through her side and managed to keep her steps steady. However, when she glanced back at Brandon with a forced grin as he paused to clap their manager on the shoulder, his eyes flashed knowingly.
Damn it.
