I nodded. “I know what I smell like, mate.”
He furrowed his brows in thought. “So, you think someone used your scent to magic this transport to run into you?”
“What other explanation could we have? I guess when they found out shocking me to near death didn’t finish me off, they tried something else.”
Xander walked over to me. “I suppose one mystery is solved.”
I backed away from the car and willed my body back to its shifted fae form. There was no need to have extra eyes on me in dragon hybrid form, and we had enough of a crowd looking at us inspecting the hover vehicle in the middle of the road. It was dark out and many of the shops were closed, but there were still pubs and restaurants open on both sides of the main street filled with customers. “What mystery was solved?”
He cocked a brow and side eyed me as if it were obvious. “That you’re the target. If it were Jalisa, she’d have the next attack, not you. So that’s good.”
I huffed. “Lucky me. But it does narrow down my list of suspects.”
Aaron ran a hand through his long hair, a worried look in his eyes. “Who do we know with the ability to bespell a car to kill a specific being?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out before they get another chance.”
Chapter Nine
Jalisa
Ipassed a pitcher of mead to another customer, barely acknowledging their presence and almost forgetting to take their payment. I was not focused today or, to be honest, lately. It’d been almost two weeks since my wedding and Ivan’s injury and two days since he almost got hit by a car. At this point, it would be silly to believe that my family or the dissenters weren’t behind this. As much as I disliked Ivan’s family, I doubted they’d rather him be dead than be with me. At least, I hoped not. How had I managed to make things worse for myself? If only I never joined that faction of dissenters. I had to let my anger control my decisions, and now I was paying for it. No, Ivan was paying for it. Even worse.
Pilar paused in front of me, eyes wide with concern. “Everything okay?”
I harrumphed. “No, everything is not okay. My husband has had someone try to kill him twice, and I don’t know what to do. This is all my fault.”
She dropped her shoulders and walked over to me. “For what it’s worth, Ivan seems to really care about you. Maybe you should tell him the truth. He needs to know about the full risk. It’s his life at stake.”
I tossed my head back, blowing out a breath. “I really don’t want to tell Ivan the truth.”
“You can’t fix everything on your own.”
“It’s not that. Well, mostly not that.” I didn’t want to admit this part out loud. It made me cringe, but it was a truth, and she was my closest friend here. Still, admitting it meant I cared more than I wanted to. “I don’t want him disappointed in me. After what some of those dissenters did to the arranged couples, including Aaron and his wife, I’m ashamed to be even remotely a part of that. I’m afraid that maybe he’ll hate me. That he’ll not only end the marriage but never want to speak to me again.” I chuckled to myself. “It was only a few weeks ago and I wouldn’t have cared what he thought of me, but things are different now. I was so wrong about him, Pi. Seems I’m wrong a lot.”
Pilar leaned against the bar, sympathy filling her eyes. “No, you aren’t. You’re headstrong. That’s good. There are many out there who want to control omegas. They look at you like you’re weak-minded, helpless beings whose only purpose is to mate with an alpha. I know there’s more to you. And if I were in your shoes, I’d be independent and stubborn too. You were doing what you thought you had to. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. And when it doesn’t, you just have to be willing enough to put your trust in the help of others.”
“What if he doesn’t want to help me after he learns the truth?”
“I highly doubt it, but that’s the chance you’ll have to take.”
I rolled my eyes. “Your pep talks are severely lacking.”
She shrugged with a wide grin. “Which is why I’m a bartender. Anyway, you never know what can happen if you tell him. It might help. Now, changing topics, are you going to the royal ball? It’s not every day those of us not in high society get invited. But, no, I forgot, you are a noble and one now married to a lieutenant. I’m kind of jealous.”
I moved to take a rag near the sink. Wetting it and then pouring cleaning solution on the rag, I began to wipe the counter. “Feel free to take my place. Those things aren’t for me.”
“Yes, but you’ve fallen under the attention of the court.”
She was right. We’d received a personal invitation from a court employee. Directly to our door. I knew that meant that the king and queen expected us to be there. It was less an invitation and more an order. I’d be a fool to ignore it. If we wanted to make this marriage believable, we needed to stay out of the attention of the court. However, the last thing I wanted to do was be at an affair with those judging us deciding that they knew who we were based on our omega and alpha status.
I glanced over to Pilar who was eyeing me with interest. She always seemed so wise for her years. I’d known she’d been through a lot in her life. An orphan from an attack by Nodoorians when she was a child. She treated me with icy contempt when we first met, but after I told her my story, she began to soften, and we grew close with our trauma. Eventually, we began to find shared interest and grew our friendship beyond pain and harm. And now, I looked to her as an older sister who gave me advice when I was in need. It was just up to me to listen to it.
I tossed the rag in a laundry basket underneath the sink. “I’m going. Perhaps I can get you an invitation, if you’re truly interested.”
Her eyes widened. “Do you think you could? I might like that. Maybe meet a noble and get swept away from all of this.”
“I would love that for you.”
