“That’s an option. The other is to make it known you are mine. Claimed and all. I am a powerful fae, and a human coming after what is mine would be frowned upon. The royal court would support me. After all, you both are humans, and despite his business relationships with some fae here, none of that would trump our connection.” I raised a hand before she could respond, already knowing she would not like the idea of giving in to my claiming of her. “I am not saying I need to announce it now. After all, no one knows you’re a human. But if things get dicey, that is an option. Alpha faes will claim other faes. You’d just have to not be so resistant.”
She rolled her eyes again. She knew our options were limited. She also had to know that I would never let any harm come to her. Neither would Xander. It would just be ideal if she wanted to stay.
She chomped angrily on her food, scowling. “One day, I’m going to find a way home without you. I won’t even say goodbye.”
I knew she would. She was talking from fear, but a part of me understood her emotion. She was used to being on her own and depending on no one. I wanted her. I just wished she believed me and wanted me just as much.
CHAPTER18
LILA
Afew days later, I accompanied Zelda to a market. While the fae were advanced in many ways, they still kept some things simple, like shopping. The markets were more like farmer’s markets and fairs back in my world. People sold food they grew or cooked and clothes and jewelry they made. There were some street performers, wine makers, florists and so forth. It felt alive and normal.
Despite the wizard lurking around, I hadn’t encountered him since the party, and, as far as I could tell, he couldn’t see through my glamour. No one looked at me leerily. I had been, seemingly, accepted. It didn’t hurt that folks knew I was attached to Xander and Yosef. Even going out without them, people knew.
Today was one of those very rare occasions I’d gotten access to the outside world without them. We did have a bodyguard with us. It’s the only way I’d been allowed out when Yosef and Xander couldn’t be by my side. They were currently away on a mission, the second one since my arrival. I knew they were still busy searching for the Nodoor stronghold and stomping out any rumors of attacks. Not to mention looking for their friend, Luca. I didn’t like being a distraction to their mission. Both were too important to waste time babysitting me. The only reason they’d had any time to bother with me was because it seemed the Nodoors had gone quiet.
What looked like an empanada but smelled like a pie was held out in front of my face. I looked over to Zelda with a grateful smile before taking the treat. My favorite pastry so far in this realm. Zelda offered our guard, Samson, a pastry as well. He was almost seven feet tall with long, purple hair and gray skin. He was definitely imposing but actually a sweetheart. He gave Zelda a quick shake of the head. I wasn’t surprised, he wouldn’t be distracted by food while on duty. How professional of him.
We moved on to the next food stall, where she bought what appeared to be fresh pasta, the aroma of delicious savory and sweet food floating in the air. “It’s not so bad here,” Zelda stated as she stuffed her purchase in her shopping tote.
I gulped down my food, side-eyeing her. I felt like there was a lecture coming on, and I needed to stop her. “This is a cool city. Still, it’s not my home.”
She nodded knowingly as we continued to stroll down our current row of stalls, Samson trailing behind us. “But you’re connected to Yosef now. Has he told you about that bond across realms? What it would be like if you returned home, and he stayed here?”
I shrugged. I tended to play on the side of hope for the best but prepare for the worst. “If I were an omega, us being apart could make me like a drug fiend, itching for my next hit. It could feel like he died, and then I could die. Or maybe because we’re both made of magic, and because I’m a beta, we could exist just fine.”
“Yes. Any number of those things could happen. Death, however, is the only one that I know could happen. There was a fae who lost favor with the court years ago. It was under different rule. He had a human omega. The court returned her to the human realm and forced him to remain here. Within a year, she died from their separation, and he went mad with grief, ultimately killing himself. I know you aren’t an omega, but we never know what could happen. Yosef hasn’t been his best self since Luca has gone missing. To have two broken ties might be too much for him. It was a great risk for him to claim you.”
I grimaced and looked away from her fearful eyes. It wasn’t that hard of a leap to guess she had concerns that the same could happen to Yosef and me. “I will find a way to break the bond, so nothing happens to him.”
I looked around, wishing we could talk about anything other than this depressing topic. “If worse comes to worse, I’ll come back if I start to feel sick or something.”
Zelda scoffed, shaking her head. “Do you think it will be so easy to return to the fae realm? Especially an unseelie one? We have you in glamour for a reason.” She dropped her shoulders and gave me a sympathetic pat on the arm. “Right or wrong, what’s done is done, dear. I know you have a home you want to get back to, but it’s time you reframe your thinking instead of living in denial of what has happened. Figure a way to work with it. Not against it. Maybe there will be a way you can live in harmony.”
I blew out a breath, fighting the creeping feeling of defeat. “You want me to stop ignoring Yosef, don’t you?”
She gave me a weak smile. “It’ll be better in the long run if you work together. You take for granted how much he cares for you. He’s a bit rough but soft when it comes to you.” She leaned into me as if to tell me a secret. “Don’t tell him I said that.”
I chuckled and opened my mouth to say something but paused as I heard shouts and gasps of alarm from behind us. The three of us turned around, and several stalls ahead of us was a cloud of deep red smoke. It looked almost like it came from a fire, but there wasn’t one as far as I could tell.
“Nodoors!” shouted several voices.
Chaos ensued.
Samson wasted no time in ushering us in the other direction to hopeful safety. I had hopes he could teleport us out of there, but that was only something certain faes could do. Still, he was pretty effective. We bobbed and weaved as people ran in all directions.
The fog or smoke grew around us, making it hard to see. I could now only see shapes of people and the sounds of what could have been swords clanging and other weapons, along with screams and fighting cries. I held on tight to Zelda’s hand, Samson grabbing onto my wrist so tightly it hurt. I knew he didn’t want to lose us. There was no telling how Xander would react, so I didn’t want to make it hard for him. Still, I didn’t like running away when I could hear people in need.
We reached the parking area, and Samson pushed his elbow through the driver’s side window of the first car, not ours. I pushed Zelda to the back seat and got her inside. “Did you call for backup?” I asked Samson as I got in the seat beside her.
He didn’t respond, whispering words of magic. I leaned into Zelda, who was busy looking through the windows. The red fog wasn’t as thick this far out, but it was still making everything blurry. “What’s he whispering?” I asked.
“He’s starting the car. Our magic is different from the assigned driver, so he has to break it.”
That would slow us down. Still, our car was parked on the other side of the market toward the chaos, so it was too risky to go back that way.
Zelda gasped, leaning away from the window. “They’re coming!”
