“Greaaat,” Lou drawled. “Just what I need, another sociopath along for the ride—and all you’re sending is a fucking cat to make sure they don’t kill me.”
“Actually, I’ll meet you there. Fur and fire don’t really mix, if you know what I mean.”
“Can I travel with you?” Cadoc asked, glancing at the fireplace with caution.
Corvo shook his head. “No can do. I can’t teleport living things. Just me, myself, and I.”
“What happens if you do?” Meera crossed her arms, looking at him curiously.
“I’m not sure, exactly. Tried it once. We never saw Kevin again. Well, that’s not entirely true. We did find half his face in a litter box in the east wing about a week later. Scared the shit out of me. Literally.” With that, Corvo teleported out.
Meera’s eyes snapped to mine. “What?”
I waved her off. “He was the royal accountant. Trust me, it wasn’t a loss.”
“Fuck my life,” Lou muttered.
Meera snorted as Cadoc grabbed the leprechaun by the arm and started dragging him toward the fireplace.
“You ever pyroported before?” Drayden asked.
“No, but there’s a first time for everything,” Cadoc replied. “Sounds better than the litter box.”
“Don’t kill him.” I called as they stepped into the flames. “Drayden, do you?—”
A dark laugh cut me off. I wasn’t even sure which man it belonged to, and that made it all the more concerning.
Chapter 4
Meera
“I’d say it was nice knowing him, but it really wasn’t,” Darroch said with a shrug.
I’d known Lou since I was a teenager. He carried an air of confidence everywhere he went, but the moment Drayden arrived, all that bravado began to crack. “What exactly is their history?” I asked Vareck after they’d pyroported from the room. “I’ve never seen Lou look genuinely worried before. Not even when Cadoc stabbed him.”
Vareck had a slight smile as though he was pleased by that fact. “Drayden was certain Lou stole Amoret’s amulet, and Lou was telling the truth. We never had concrete proof. The interrogation was intense. If Kaia and I hadn’t stepped in the last time they were alone together, the leprechaun would be dead. Without a confession or any hard evidence, I chose to exile him. To say Drayden was displeased would be an understatement.”
Fearghal scoffed. “Seems like letting that one live was a mistake,your highness.” He curved his thumb toward the spot where Drayden had been. “Why couldn’t you be with the other guy instead? He seemed like a nice bloke.”
I smacked his arm with the back of my hand, leaving a slight sting on my skin. “Youwouldpick the guy with serial killer vibes.”
“I don’t execute or imprison my people without cause, Fearghal. Perhaps when you grow up, you’ll understand that.”
I snorted, my other brothers laughing at Fearghal’s expense. Vareck came to my side, wrapping his large hand around my waist and pulling me closer to him.
“Are you sure it was a good idea to send Lou with him?” I asked, angling my neck back to look up at him. “Given their history?”
“Drayden won’t harm him. Probably. Scare him? That’s another story. He holds a grudge, but he is loyal.”
“Not that I want the piece of shit to walk away from this, but I’m curious; what about that amulet makes him so hellbent on torturing Lou for it?” Atlas asked.
It was a question that had come to mind for me as well. I stared off into the distance and frowned, somehow worried for the leprechaun even though he could use a good punch in the face. There was something about the way he came to me when Sadie was missing. A tone in his voice. Concern? Guilt? I couldn’t place it, but it wasn’t like Lou to put on a show of caring.
“The amulet was my sister’s,” he began, and I snapped my attention back to him, catching the way the creases at the corner of his eyes twitched. “And Drayden’s heart belongs to my sister, even in death. It was the last piece of her he had.”
My lips parted on a gasp. “They were mates?”
“Not fully bonded, no, but fated all the same. When Maeve died, he did too, in a sense. Drayden blames himself. He’s never loved another since.”
