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“Ziriel will come. Probably with his son.” I glanced at Chris. “You sure you want me to stay naked?”
“I changed my mind. You should definitely get dressed. I don’t want any more fights today.” He disappeared into the bathroom, and I heard the water splashing as he washed off any blood that stuck after his shift.
I quickly grabbed my bag, pulled on a pair of leggings and a loose sweater. My hair was a mess, so I tugged it into a messy bun and put a spike through it—a hair accessory tha
t was also a weapon. The more things in my life that served a dual purpose, the better.
“You held your own against these guys.” I’d seen Chris fight before, but not against the fey. I never expected he’d move that fast and effectively.
“I’ve been paying attention.” Chris was sitting on the bed to put on his boots. He left the top half of the laces undone, tying a loose knot around the ankle before calling it done. “They like to puff in and out, but the scent of the sweet smoke gives them away. I don’t see them actually smoking anything, but that scent is everywhere. Especially when they come and go.”
“That’s right.” It’d been annoying the first time I came here, but I didn’t have the nose that a werewolf did. I sat beside him to pull on my boots. They were soft, supple leather with no heel and enough arch support that I could run or fight in them. The red stitching standing out against the black leather gave them beauty that I loved. “Does the smoke bother you?”
“Oh, yeah. I feel like part of me is missing without my sense of smell, but I’m getting better at filtering out the sweet smoke and focusing on the other layers in the air. Takes more focus, but saved our ass this time.” He squeezed my leg. “Really big tell, don’t you think?”
I shook my head. “You always manage to surprise me.”
“Good.” He kissed me.
It was soft and ended too quickly, leaving me reaching for him as he rose from the bed.
“How do you want to handle this?”
“What? Us?” I asked as I finished tying the laces on my boots, sad that he hadn’t deepened the kiss.
He pulled his blond hair away from his face, tying it with a band. His cocky grin was back. “I meant how do you want to handle the dead guys and a possibly upset Ziriel, but I’m really glad to know you have your priorities straight. Let’s talk about us instead. That’s way better.”
“Damn you.” My cheeks heated and I couldn’t believe myself. This was stupid. I was stupid. Chris was such a massive distraction, and I had to learn to focus better than this. “We can’t stay here. This court clearly has an issue with me, and—” I pressed my lips tight.
“They definitely hate you here, but you can’t tell me why.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I can’t tell you anything. The deal I made with Ziriel was very clear. But I don’t think they’re going to give up. So, we’ll leave.” But where were we going? “What’s your plan exactly?” Did he even have one?
I stood from the bed. He hooked a finger in my belt loop and tugged me toward him.
“Rayvien told me that Ziriel will cut my lunar tie, for a price of course. She also said that you and I would figure it out together. I like that. The together part.”
I couldn’t believe that Chris had convinced me to go along with finding a way to get his lunar tie cut—especially one that involved Ziriel—but I was too weak to make him forget again. If there was a way to be together, then I had to try.
This was very tricky. If we didn’t do it right—?
“What do you think he’ll need to make the bargain with me?”
I pressed my forehead against his chest. “I think he wants the original bargain you made with the pixie. It’s worth more than when you first made it. And even more after today.” I looked up at him. “I was going to go track it down myself—I hate that it’s out there—but I haven’t had time to—”
“Cosette. It’s fine.” He gripped my hips, giving them a little shake to stop my rambling apology. “You don’t have to explain. I made that bargain and I stand by it, and if it’ll help now, then great.”
“No.” He didn’t understand. He couldn’t possibly understand.
I stepped away from him to pace. I needed to think, to make him understand. “You didn’t place any restrictions on it. The things that stupid pixie could do to you or make you do? Some of the fey are way more twisted than your old pack. And if that pixie sold it to someone—someone really bad—then who knows…” And it just got worse from there.
I faced him, but he didn’t look worried enough. He was listening, but I couldn’t tell if I was getting through to him.
“But if you give that bargain to Ziriel in exchange for him breaking your lunar tie? This could get ugly fast. He might seem a little easygoing, but he’s the King of Gales for a reason. The things he could ask you to do are…” Damn it. “I’m not allowed to tell you the secrets of this court, but please believe me when I say that it’s bad. I don’t want Ziriel to ever hold your bargain.”
“Okay. Then we need some other chips.” He moved toward me again, hands out like he was trying to not to scare me away. “Maybe I can use one that’s not mine. You were a spy. You must have a ton.”
I wanted to laugh or cry or scream in frustration, but he didn’t know what I’d done to try and find him. “Not as many as I used to, but I have some.”
