He led the way down the steps, and I could feel Yosef’s gloom practically darkening the path over us.
Once I got to the large kitchen area, I sat down at the circular wooden table across from the island and cooking area. A variety of food was already placed on the table, and Xander began to pile his plate as I decided which looked best. When I reached forward for an empty plate, he brought the filled one in front of me.
“Here you go, darling. Eat up. I’m sure you’re starving,” he said as I took the plate.
I beamed at him. Damn, the guy could be scary and sexy and charming. Yup, this was how women got sucked into the fae realm, never to return. I never had anyone in my life make me a plate of food. Not a parent figure, friend or boyfriend.
Yosef sat down wordlessly, a solemn look on his face. As usual, the food was delicious, and I tried my best to pace myself. I could have eaten everything, but I didn’t want to give Yosef the satisfaction that my hunger strike had only harmed one party, me.
Xander carried much of the conversation, but I did hear bits and pieces about some enemy fae community they were inching closer to war with and more about the missing fae named Luca.
“Why are you having issues with this other kingdom?” I asked before biting into what looked like a croissant but was filled with cream. I nearly moaned. I was in love with Zelda’s cooking. I was going to have to ask her for some recipes before I returned home.
Xander grinned at me and reached over, wiping an index finger over the corner of my mouth. He eyed me as he stuck the finger, a slight dollop of cream on it, in his mouth. I crossed my legs as I watched him, my stomach squeezing.
Yosef coughed, bringing my attention to him. “Not that it’s any of your business, but the Nodoors have been trying to expand its reach beyond where it belongs. We control the portals on this side of the realm, and they don’t like it. We have been battling off and on for years. Committing sabotage and issuing threats.”
“So, you’re in a cold war stance. Not a large-scale fight but smaller battles of sorts. You could be on the cusp of full-out war any moment.”
“Exactly. If we sit back and do nothing, there may come a time when they reach our land. We are one of the largest kingdoms in the realm, so it won’t be an easy feat. They also have dealings with darker forces that they have allowed to enter our realm. Those forces cause destruction and taint our surroundings.”
Xander nodded, slouching back in his seat. “Right, and we’ve been trying to figure out their next move. They’ve been relatively quiet, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t up to something. We’ve got some people on the inside, but they’ve gone dark, and we need to find a way to get them home.”
I raised my brows, an idea popping into my head. “So, you need to go on a rescue mission to get your soldiers back. Maybe I could help.”
Yosef snorted as he cut into his sausage. I lifted my upper lip in a silent snarl. This jerk. “You let yourself get teleported away after some random mage attacked you. You weren’t able to use your location magic to find that wizard or our friend. What help could you offer us?”
I bit my lip and looked over to Zelda, who had turned to us from the kitchen sink with wide eyes. I counted to five to calm my nerves. Yes, I wasn’t an expert at location spells, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t, but at least I tried. Why was he being such an ass to me? He’d gotten what he wanted. I was out of the room. I glanced over to Xander, who looked back and forth between us, eyes glittering in excitement.
Counting was not helping. I could still feel the heat of my anger taking over. I side-eyed Yosef with twisted lips. “I can’t find your friend because he’s been at a cloaked location too long.” Which made me all the more grateful I was able to help find Billie when she was kidnapped as soon as we did. The outcome would have been much darker if we hadn’t. However, that wasn’t the issue right now. “Is this what you wanted me down here for? To insult me, asshole?”
Yosef stopped cutting his food and put his utensils down. His face remained scarily neutral. “It’s a fair question.”
“It’s a disrespectful question. You don’t know anything about my abilities, and you don’t know if you’d be able to fight getting sucked in by some black hole in the sky. I chose to be a baker, but I was a soldier once. I’m sure Xander shared that with you, and I have maintained my training. Now, I’m sitting here, offering my services to help you find the people you lost, and you insult me.” I pushed back from the table and stood up. “I’m going back up to the room.”
Yosef lifted a hand in the air. “Sit.”
I gave him the middle finger and stormed out of the room and down the hallway to the stairs. The guy had the speed of light because I soon felt a hand around my wrist, spinning me around after only climbing two steps. It was demanding but not forceful like I expected.
His eyes were blazing with anger and had me a little unsettled. “When I tell you to sit, you sit,” he growled.
Fuck out of here. I refused to show fear. “And the day I become a dog, I will.”
He gave me a quizzical look, searching my eyes. “Why do you insist on being so difficult?”
“Why do you insist on being so rude?”
He didn’t respond, instead looking down the hall back to the kitchen. “Do you think you have him wrapped around your finger?”
What the hell was he talking about? Xander? Was he jealous because I got along with his soldier? “I don’t know what you think this is, but I’m a prisoner. Xander and Zelda have been relatively kind to me. We’ve talked. You and I haven’t.”
He looked back at me, his eyes still hard. “That’s not all you and Xander do.”
I struggled to move out of his grasp, but he wouldn’t let go. Yeah, he was jealous. If he thought being a dick would work, I was going to have to hurt his feelings. “Is that why you’re keeping me? Because you want me to do what I did with Xander to you? Sorry, you aren’t my type.”
That was a lie. He was totally my type. If this had been my world and things were normal, I’d have swiped right on his picture.
I expected him to be angry and send another insult. Instead, he relaxed his angry face and replaced it with a smirk. And fuck if it didn’t look sexy. Those golden eyes, half lowered and running over my body, sent chills through me. “I don’t believe you.”
