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“He told me he knows how you ended up in Fairy.”
That wasn’t something I was expecting. My heart stutters to a stop in my chest and then tumbles back into a frantic rhythm. “What?”
“I don’t know if he’s full of shit, but he said he can tell you how you ended up there.”
I flatten my hand over my heart, as if that can calm the rapid beating. “What does he want for it?” I sneer, knowing that the bastard won’t willingly give up information if he can leverage it instead.”
“I don’t know, Zara. But I thought you should know he has the answer. I’m hesitant to make any kind of deal with him–”
“–No, absolutely not. He’s an evil, manipulating creature. Never agree to any deal with him. Ever. Not with any Fae. They do not play fair. They are about trickery and winning a game we don’t even know we’re playing. Even the ones who aren’t darkened by their hunger for power.”
“Okay.” Rhys sets his water down and leans back in his chair. “I wasn’t really inclined to make a deal with him anyway, but I wanted you to know it’s an option.”
“Not an option. Never an option. I’d rather never know than to work with him.”
“Got it. So, when do you want to start work?”
I exhale with relief at his abrupt change in topics. I don’t want to think about Colton at all. Especially not him approaching Rhys. Regardless of if he knows the truth about my past, he is the worst kind of trickster. We could never trust him. “Tomorrow?”
Rhys laughs at my enthusiasm. “I’m not working tomorrow. I’ll check the schedule and we’ll get you started this week.”
“Are you going to be a harsh taskmaster?” I smile as I take another drink of water. I don’t know what it is about Rhys that makes me want to tease. I sense he’s not so soft with other people.
He hums, the sound reverberating through my bones and nestling under my skin. “You’ll just have to wait and see.” If he keeps making those growling sounds, I’m going to throw myself onto his lap or beg him to lay me out on the table. I’m not opposed to either scenario, but I just saw Ruby looking out the window, and I really don’t want her to run out right when we’re in the middle of something. She’s pretty good at that.
After a beat of silence, Rhys clears his throat, his playful demeanor disappearing. “Can I ask you something about your time in Fairy?”
The change in topic is a good thing. Maybe it will calm my lust a little. “Sure.”
“How did you learn to read? Did they educate you?”
“Things weren’t always bad there. Not great by any stretch, but there were some that were kind. It’s always easier to have servants who can read your demands. We were educated to a certain extent, learning to read and do basic mathematics. Anything more than that was strictly on your own time. When I could, I’d read books, but there weren’t many available to the drudges. I know some Fae history, simply because the stories are told as reminders of their power and how unimportant humans are. There’s so much I look forward to learning with an entire library of books in reach.”
“Lena will be thrilled to hear that.”
She’s already told at least three times tonight that I need to come get a library card. She told me she’ll fudge—which I took to mean overlook—the identification so I can sign up. Maybe Ruby will go with me tomorrow. If she’s not hurting too badly in the morning. I catch a glimpse of her through the windows, dancing on the bar again, and grimace. That’s looking unlikely.
“Have you tried using your magic yet?” It’s my turn to surprise him with the turn in topic.
The tension is back in Rhys’s posture. I don’t regret my question, but I regret his reaction.
“I don’t really practice magic.”
“It’s likely you didn’t have much magic before. But with the Axis starting to form, I’m sure you’ve noticed an increase in power.”
Rhys has the bottle of water back in his hands, working at the label until he’s peeled the whole thing off. He doesn’t strike me as someone who fidgets, but he starts folding the scrap of paper into smaller and smaller squares before opening it up and smoothing it back out.
“I told you about the night we burned down my father’s house.”
I nod, not wanting to speak and keep him from continuing.
“I don’t know how much Ruby has filled you in on our histories.”
This time he waits for me to answer, and I reply, “Not much.” Rhys nods as if he expected as much.
“All of us had at least one parent who was involved in the Axis that Anthony tried to form over twenty-five years ago. Growing up, we each uncovered little bits and pieces of the story. First figuring out that our parents thought they had magic, then that they’d attempted to gather more magic by forming this group.
“Lena became obsessed with reading any books she could find on island lore and the stories that said Fae came and saved our little island. Saved our world if you believe some of the stories. We’ve recently come to the conclusion that it wasn’t the magic that made our parents horrible people. They were wrong before they started messing around with Anthony and the Axis. I grew up thinking that magic had tainted them, had warped their minds and turned them into monsters.” Rhys huffs out a sad laugh.
