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“You smell,” Eli said.
“Walking through the desert all day will do that.” I used part of my shirt to wipe the gritty, sand-soaked sweat from my face as I stood.
With a snap of his fingers, a water bottle appeared in Eli’s hands, and he tossed it to me. I wanted to bash in his face with it—but water, perfectly ice-cold water. I drank it down in three gulps.
“You could say thank you.”
Eli’s reprimand felt like sandpaper against sunburned skin. It was enough to have my wolf howling for me to rip the archon’s face off, but then I’d go back to being stuck in the Sahara with no water, no food, and no way home.
I crumbled the bottle and tossed it to the sand. “Another one.” And I wasn’t saying please.
He rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers again. The bottle popped and expanded as it rose from the sand then filled with water and flew toward me.
“Nice trick.” I caught the bottle before it could smack into my chest. I drank it down and tapped the side of the bottle for Eli to refill it.
“You’re immortal. Dehydration wouldn’t kill you.” But he snapped his fingers anyway.
Once the bottle was full, I carefully set the bottle in the sand and then yanked the hoodie from my head. The archon was full of shit. “I can die from all sorts of things. Including dehydration.” I grabbed the bottle and dumped it over myself, cooling my body instantly. The water dripping down my skin felt like heaven.
“Nah. You’d be painfully uncomfortable and might go a little crazy, but you’d survive. You weren’t easy to kill before, and now that’s even harder. Thanks to me.” He pointed at himself like I should be thanking him, but I wasn’t going to thank him. He could read my mind, so he should stop expecting it.
Using his magic to power our spell last night was probably one of the stupider things my friends and I had done. We’d opened ourselves to all kinds of shenanigans, courtesy of Eli, and I wasn’t sure I’d live to see this through.
The empty water bottle crumpled in my hands and I threw it down along with my hoodie.
Eli gave me the same look my father had given me so many times. One that said I was pathetic and worthless.
“You’re being dramatic. That’s the look on my face. Not the pathetic and worthless crap.”
I didn’t like that he could read my mind.
“But I can. So, get over it. A day in the desert is nothing more than a little discomfort.”
I could take discomfort, but only when it had a purpose. “You bamfed me here and then left. I’m trying to be cool, but if you don’t tell me what’s going on, we’re going to have a problem.”
“A problem?”
He was baiting me. I knew it and wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction, but my wolf had always been a dangerous hothead. “No.” I was telling him as much as I was telling my wolf. “You’re more powerful than me. Starting a fight with you would end painfully—possibly deadly—for me.” I broke eye contact to give my wolf a second to believe what I’d said. “You needed my help, so I’m here. But I’m done with your bullshit. I want food and a bed, and as far as I can see, I’m not anywhere closer to that than I was hours ago. There’s literally nothing here. So why am I?”
“Well, at least you’re not stupid.”
“Not stupid? That’s a real compliment coming from you.” My voice turned gruff and thick, the effects of my old injury were worse when my wolf was close to the surface.
“Don’t worry so much. You’ll get food soon and your wolf will stay as hampered as ever under your tight rein, lest you show any hint of being alpha. And since you’ve been so outwardly patient—”
I growled. The guy could read my mind, and I knew it. That didn’t mean I was going to like it or get used to it. And he sure as shit didn’t have to bring it up when he—
“Calm down. I’m happy to report that you are nearly to the Court of Gales.”
His words were a million tiny daggers, stabbing fear through my soul and twisting as I realized how completely screwed I was. He’d said Court of Gales like it was a good thing, but I knew that if I continued east, the only thing I’d find was my own death.
The fey hated me and my friends. For a very solid reason. We were caught on video and it went viral. We’d been fighting a demon. Some of us shifted. Cosette pulled a flaming sword out of nowhere. And in one three-minute clip, the existence of the supernatural world was outed to humans.
Except the fey didn’t want to be outed, so they retreated to their underhills—the magical realm where their courts resided—and closed themselves off to the mortal world. From what Cosette said, they were more than a little pissed off about the whole thing. And they blamed us.
Court of Gales? Eli was an asshole and he was going to get me killed. I opened my mouth to tell him to take me back to Texas, but he spoke first.
“Do you or do you not want to save Cosette’s life?”
