As I sipped on a sweet red cocktail, thinking of how I could get in the king and queen’s good graces through food, an unsettling feeling raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I frowned and turned away from a small group we were talking to and scanned the crowd. An icy chill of fear raced across me as I laid eyes on a very familiar face.
The asshole wizard who sent me here. I remembered the extremely pale, scarred skin and the long green hair. He was still dressed in all black, but this time, the sunglasses were off, and I could see his eyes. His fully black eyes, not even any white. His arm wasn’t missing through. It was possible he had a replacement of some sort. What the hell was he? Did they know he was human? Was he looking for me?
He smiled at me and raised his drink in a salute in my direction. I froze. Did he know it was me? I was in disguise. How would he know? Was he going to start another fight right here? Maybe this time, he’d send me back home. Of course, if he had the power to teleport people to other realms, there were worse places I could go, like to the underworld. I doubted I would find anyone like Xander or even Yosef there.
A sudden chill ran through me. Yosef put a hand on my shoulder, eyes full of concern. “What’s wrong with you? I can feel your fear burning through me.”
I dropped my mouth open. How did he know how I felt? Oh, right the claiming bond. I wanted to be mad about that all over again, but I had more pressing matters on my mind. “I see the guy who sent me here.”
Xander took a step closer to me, having overheard us. “Where?”
“The creepy guy with black eyes and pale skin.”
Yosef grumbled. “Do you think he knows who you are? You’re glamoured.”
I looked back at the man, but he had turned away, speaking to another guest. Maybe he hadn’t known it was me.
Xander leaned in, kissing me lightly on the cheek. “Maybe he was just admiring your beauty. You are the prettiest thing in this palace. Be right back.”
I grabbed his arm before he could walk away. “Where are you going?”
He grinned, his fangs longer than before. “To kill him, of course.”
I nodded. Of course. “Right in front of everyone?”
He shrugged. “I can take him outside.”
Yosef took a step forward, glaring at the wizard across the room. “He seems to know some important fae. If we harm him, it might be problematic. I’d like to know how such a man is here and what he wants with my human.”
I rolled my eyes. “Here we go with that human shit again. But you make good points. How does a human get in good with the unseelie?”
Xander let out a disappointed breath. “So, I can’t rip his throat out?”
Yosef rubbed his chin, thinking. “Not right now. I need to do some research into his connections. I want to find out if they know what he really is and why he’s here.”
I gnawed at my lower lip, deeply perturbed. I knew now that it had been purposeful that I was sent here. Maybe he meant to send me to a fae colleague, and I got misdirected. But then, what would they want with me? I was no one special. Now the jitters were back because it was very possible that I was surrounded by fae that were actually searching for me to do who knows what. Maybe we should let Xander kill him. At the very least, the banishment part would be one less obstacle to getting home.
Yosef touched a hand to his mark on my shoulder, and instantly, my core fluttered at the brush. Crap. I sucked in a breath and moved away from him. “You don’t get to do that to me,” I spat, cutting my eyes at him.
He raised a brow. “You were uneasy, and I wanted to take your mind off things. You don’t have to worry. I’d never let anything happen to you. You’re mine.”
I wanted to smack him. Every time he said I was his, my body flushed with heat. Damn, could he feel how that affected me? There was no point in being angry if he knew my body liked it. I pressed my lips tight together and walked away from him. I needed a moment out of the ballroom and beyond the sight of that wizard. I wanted to kick his ass, but I understood that I had to play it smart.
I needed to find the details on that wizard and force him to get me home.
CHAPTER17
LILA
Ilooked up at the ceiling in my darkened bedroom, confused at what I was seeing. Instead of the smooth whiteness, I saw an inky black space with wisps of almost thin, cotton-like clouds and white pinpoints of light. It was the night sky but inside.
I reached a hand up toward it, still too far away to actually touch anything above me, as I stared up from the comfort of my bed.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” came a voice from my right side.
I turned my head to see Yosef lying beside me in the glowing darkness. He brought his lips down to my bare shoulder, and I shivered, lowering my arm. I should have had questions about the sky ceiling, but I was now distracted by the feel of Yosef’s mouth on my skin.
I moved to my side to face him, and he kissed me gently on the lips. “Have you forgiven me yet?”
