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She huffed in frustration, tugging her hair from its wooden confines and whirled around. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“I sure am,” I said, grinning.

She smirked and lightly shook her head. “You forgot underwear.”

“No, mine is where it should be, if you recall.”

“Very funny. I’ll just have to make do, I suppose.” Brittney picked up her chosen pile of clothing, got dressed, and then flopped down on my bed.

The expected discomfort over her making herself at home never arrived. It was like she’d always been here, perfectly comfortable. Was this how it was supposed to happen?

The edge of the mattress dipped when I sat down, and she rolled over to face me. “You’re going to have to be extremely careful when I bring you back,” I said.

The carefree expression left her face. “I know. I was thinking, I’m going to have to strategically unlock some of the windows whenever I get the chance. It’ll make it quicker for me to get the crow inside if things go sideways.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and smoothed a hand across the comforter.

“I’ll know instantly if they hurt you.” I tilted her chin up with my index finger. “And I’ll come.”

We both knew that didn’t mean soon enough.

She cleared her throat. “I made it this far. Have you thought about just giving it back to them? They found dust on that bone; so, you have some, somewhere. Right?”

A prickle of irritation ran up my spine. Leave it to me to find a woman this intelligent. “Giving it back would be admitting I have it.”

“But you do; I can tell you do. Otherwise, you would have just told me you didn’t.” She sat up and crossed her legs, leaning back on her elbows.

I leaned forward, myself, resting my elbows on my knees. “I’m human-born. I shouldn’t exist. I need every advantage I can get and possessing a Fae diamond is one of them.”

“I understand that, as much as I can, but objectively, can you blame them for being mad? I mean, you stole it.”

I snapped at her, “They shouldn’t have left it where they did—knowing full well someone would take it.” I turned my head and looked her in the eye. “I will do whatever it takes to ensure my longevity and now I will do the same for you.”

Rising from the bed, I stared down at her. “If you’re looking for someone that does the good, right thing⁠—”

Brittney huffed her indignation and interrupted, “I never told you what I’m looking for.”

I smirked at her. “You found me.”

CHAPTER 23

Brittney

Turns out, men are annoying whether they’re man or vampire. Still, I was on Kiam’s side. I didn’t want anything happening to him and if that meant he had stolen goods, so be it.

There was no way I was going to ask but as he hurtled us through the tunnels, I thought about all the stuff he had here, and back home. I was willing to bet a fuck ton of his collection was “appropriated.”

While that was obviously poor ethics, could I honestly say I hadn’t fantasized about accidentally dropping a cool antique or vintage find in my pocket while out and about on the weekends? Nope.

Kiam just had the balls and lack of boundaries to do it. Staying alive was a noble cause.

And he was already a vampire so how much worse could it get in terms of morals and whatnot? At least he wasn’t a demon.

I was well aware I was making excuses and justifying criminal behavior; doing things I never would have done back home. My existence had changed so drastically that there was nothing left to do but adjust with the times. Or the Realms, if I wanted to be specific.

Kiam set me down on the bed and smoothed my hair while I wrapped the comforter around my shoulders. The cold in the tunnels seemed to penetrate my bones.

He cupped my cheek. “Please be careful,” he said.

“I will. And if they’re not back, I’m gonna go through their shit.” I shoved the blanket down and sat up halfway. “Hey, if I wanted to get in touch with someone here, how would I do that?”