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The grin falls off Anthony’s face. “You’d better watch your tone. I was kind enough to help out with Miriam and Davis’s bond. Things could go very badly for the two of you if you don’t know the next steps to take. My good will only extends so far.”
“We all know you’re panting at the idea of us opening up the veil to Fairy. Don’t pretend like you’re doing us any favors.” Lena steps to my side, her words sharp as she glares at the prick on the other side of the room.
“Make no mistake, Luna—”
“—Don’t you dare.” Fury that he would presume to utter my name for Lena burns in my chest. The shadows in the corners of the room grow like a fire doused in gasoline, and my words drift away.
The smirk is back on Anthony’s face as he holds up his hands. “My mistake. Things appear to be proceeding just fine without my help. I’ll leave you to your...assignation.”
He’s out the door before either of us can respond, taking any levity out of the room with him. Not that there was ever much in this place to begin with. Lena and I stand rooted in place for at least a minute before she steps away from me. Unease prickles the back of my neck when her eyes stay focused on the door, very clearly not looking at me.
“Can we leave? I really don’t want to be here any longer.”
“Let’s get out of this fucking place.” I grasp her hand, not missing the way she flinches when I touch her.
What part of this night did I think was going to go well? We move silently through the hallway and almost reach the front door. We’re moments away from escaping into the freedom of anywhere else but this damn house, when my mother calls out.
“Oh, Archer. Are you really sneaking out like a common thief?”
I try to muffle my exasperated sigh. I’m not completely successful as I turn to speak with my mother. The disgusted noise that scratches in her throat and the disdain in her eyes is more visceral than usual. It takes me a moment to realize she’s staring at the tattoos Lena exposed earlier in the library. I long to pull my shirt back together and remove them from her gaze. Not because I’m ashamed, not one fucking bit. But because she has no right to see the secrets I’ve inked onto my body. She’s not worthy of knowing anything about them or me.
“Honestly, Archer, you may as well have stuck a rod through your nose and proclaimed yourself a madman.” She waves her hand in the direction of my throat. “It’s disgusting. How can you even look at yourself in the mirror?”
Lena’s fingers tighten around mine. Just when I’m about to tell my mother to go fuck herself, Lena steps forward.
“His body is a work of art, and I’m not just talking about the tattoos. Just because you’re a shriveled-up prune with a heart as black as death, doesn’t mean that other people have stopped enjoying living. The fact that he has enough emotion left in him to be a kind and giving person after his upbringing, is practically a miracle.”
My forehead creases as a smile plays on my lips. Apparently, I’m not the only one who feels protective. I love seeing the fire that burns in her veins.
“I think the reason you hate his tattoos so much is that you see them as your failure to mold him into your image. You tried so hard to squash all the joy, love, peace, and kindness out of him, but Archer’s way stronger than you’ll ever be. These tattoos, they’re a fuck you. Visual proof that you couldn’t beat him down.” Lena’s eyes are bright with anger, but outwardly she’s calm and in control.
“You’re just as foul as your sniveling father, trying to brush shoulders with his betters.”
“Enough.” I bark out the word with such ferocity that my mother jumps back in surprise. The shadows in the hall have grown thicker, and I blink my eyes to clear my vision. It’s as if they’re sentient as they stretch across the room toward me. “We’re leaving.”
I don’t give my mother time to say anything else, turning on my heel and ushering Lena out the front door. My mother would never give chase. That’s beneath someone of her standing. We wait for the God damned valet to bring around my ATV, and I send another staff member inside to get Lena’s coat. We’d left it behind in our haste to get out of that nightmare of my childhood home.
Lena’s shivering by the time she’s shrugging on her coat, but I can’t get myself to move. I should have given her my jacket or at least wrapped an arm around her shoulder, but I’m frozen in place, trapped in the replay of the last twenty minutes.
Anthony seemed pleased to see us together. I know he wants us to continue to form bonds and create an Axis. What I don’t understand is why he thinks we’d be at his beck and call, even if we did. Despite the fact that Davis and Miri have formed their bond and there haven’t been any side effects, yet the rest of us aren’t interested in going down that same path.
By the time the attendant brings our ride around, I’m so far lost in my thoughts that there’s no bringing me back from the darkness. Neither one of us speaks the entire ride home. There’s tension in the air that wasn’t there on the way out to the party.
I pull up around the back of Sidhe’s Cup and turn off the vehicle. It’s a cool night, overcast with the hint of rain in the air. The light on the back of Lena’s apartment building buzzes slightly, but in the quiet it sounds loud. Lena shifts to open her door, but I want to keep her with me, just for a few more moments.
“Do you remember when you slapped Jimmy Thanos on the playground in fifth grade?”
Lena groans and smacks a hand to her forehead. “I was watching a lot of Buffy reruns and it made me feel all feisty. Besides, that little shit kept stealing my hat.”
“He had a crush on you.”
“What?” Lena scoffs. “No. No way. He was, and still is, a total asshole.”
“Half of the guys in our class were all but in love with you.” She never noticed, her head always in a book. She did her best to stay out of everyone’s way, but there’s something about Lena that draws people in, even when she isn’t trying.
“That’s…” Lena trails off with a shake of her head.
“That’s the truth.”
Lena opens her mouth to say something, but I see the shift in her. My attempts to take her mind off the party were only successful for a moment. Whatever she’s about to say, I can’t let her get it out. She’s spooked. Tonight scared her, and I don’t want her to end this because of Anthony’s snide remarks.
I hop out of the ATV, cutting off whatever she’s about to say. When I open her door, she hesitates a second before she gets out. The walk up her stairs is as quiet as the ride back here. Before she can say anything, I press a kiss to the top of her head and start back down the steps.
“Get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
I’m unlocking my front door when my phone pings with a message. Once inside, I drop my keys on the entry table and pull out my phone. A sick feeling coils in my stomach. It’s from Lena.
Lena: I think we should cool things off.
