Looking over his shoulder, he said, “I asked her to return with me.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, then cringed. In the small space of the hallway, my voice sounded loud and crass compared to his. “Where?”
Jael frowned and shook his head as if I was wasting his time with my stupid human questions. “To court, Miss Desario. Where else?”
“But… that would mean…” I wasn't as up-close-and-personal with fae culture as my best friend, but I was pretty sure that when a fae prince invited a human to court, it was basically the equivalent of a marriage proposal.
“She declined, of course.” Jael pushed open the door, gesturing for me to go in ahead of him, then closing and locking it behind us. He touched the wall just inside, and the room was bathed in a soft glow, no brighter than the light of a full moon, but plenty enough to see by. “She told me she had important work to finish here. And, of course, there was you to consider.”
His cat-eyes narrowed, trapping me in a gaze so vicious I worried I might have been wrong about his innocence. But then it was gone, replaced with cool detachment, and I recognized the brief flare of emotion for what it was: jealousy.
Sophie had chosen me over him. That's how he saw it.
“I didn't know," I said. It was another secret between us, another layer in the deep iceberg of my best friend’s life. “Sophie never told—”
Jael held up his hand. “That is not why you were sent here. Please, take a seat.”
At the center of the room, eight leather executive chairs surrounded a large conference table—again, a touch of normalcy completely incongruous to this otherworldly place.
I took a seat at the head of the table, swiveling in my chair to watch Jael’s movements. He was behind me, and I didn't like it.
“Jael, what—”
“Quiet.” In a flash, he turned to the wall and pressed his palms flat against it, whispering incantations in a language I couldn't understand. It sounded absolutely ancient. The wall glowed a strange shade of deep purple I had never seen in the natural world, then slid sideways to reveal a hidden closet. From the tallest shelf he retrieved a metal lockbox like the kind they used at banks.
“This belonged to her, locked here for safekeeping each night. Do you know what it is?" he asked, setting it on the table before me. His reverent tone suggested it was important.
My heartbeat kicked into high gear. If this were a movie, the box could’ve contained anything—money, fake passports, drugs, diamonds, paternity test results. But as far as I knew, there was only one thing Sophie would go to the trouble of locking up in a secret fae vault.
I shook my head, not wanting to admit it. Not wanting to even believe it. “I have no idea.”
Jael reached down inside his shirt and pulled out a shimmering chain so fine it was nearly invisible. A tiny but intricate golden key dangled from the end.
Unclasping the chain from his neck, he said, “Sophie instructed me to give you this in the event of her departure from this realm.”
I held out my hand, and he dropped the key into my palm. It was much heavier than it looked, warming instantly at my touch.
“The key unlocks the box, but you're the only one who can unlock what's inside.” Jael watched me for a moment, his pale skin luminescent in the dim room. He really was beautiful, and despite his coldness, my heart ached for his loss. He might not be willing—or even able—to show it, but I sensed the depth of his pain. It felt nearly as endless as mine.
He really loved her…
“This room will afford you complete privacy,” he said. “Once I close the door, nothing you say, do, think, or cast will echo beyond these walls.”
I nodded, grateful for this particular bit of fae magic.
After Jael left, I wasted no time unlocking the box and folding back the lid. That was the easy part.
Accepting responsibility for the contents nestled inside?
That was another story altogether.
Nineteen
Gray
I reached into the box and retrieved the objects inside—a slim silver dagger in a jewel-encrusted sheath and a hardcover book the size of an old encyclopedia, its faded black cover etched with a silver pentacle surrounded by flowering vines.
Hundreds of bright, tiny threads crisscrossed the book, locking it in a cage of light that glowed red and pulsed in time with my heartbeat.
