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Chapter17
When I blinked back into existence, I was somewhere dark, dank, windowless, and covered in computer screens.
My version of hell. But there was one happy surprise waiting for me there.
Kier, my general of the north, was waiting for us. Why he had his human mate, Mia, with him I couldn’t fathom, but I was happy to have such powerful backup.
“General,” I said with a nod, not betraying exactly how grateful I was.
He nodded back to me while Mia wormed her way between the two of us. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
She’d never respected me as king. I’d let it go as long as Kier was content with her misbehavior, but after spending time with Raina, I started to understand that disrespect was common among humans.
I didn’t have to explain myself to her, but didn’t want her bad mood to get in the way of this rescue. “I came for a human female. What is there to understand?”
“I thought we were making progress! I thought you were going to hold off on taking any more humans.”
“Of course I wasn’t going to hold back. But if I told you that, you’d keep bothering me.”
Mia was a fiery little thing, with red hair and a strength that had only been honed further with Kier on the training grounds. She was a pint-sized warrior and not to be underestimated. “Besides,” I added, “I didn’t completely disregard your advice. I went to a place of study to find someone intelligent, and I didn’t even ask if she was a virgin immediately.”
I really thought that would calm her down but somehow she just radiated more fury. “You asked her if she was a virgin?!”
Kier set a hand on the back of her neck, more as a sign of affection than a warning. “We can discuss the king’s moral failings in the future. For now, we have to make sure this human is safe.”
That calmed her down, and she relaxed into Kier’s front. “I thought we were rushing over here to help Jaiden. You’re telling me that we’re here because the mighty Unseelie king is afraid for a human?”
Dikie came into the room, carrying a box. “Please don’t anger the unstable fae in my workroom. There’s a lot of expensive toys, and I happen to know that he’s...destructive when annoyed.”
She grumbled and leaned further into Kier.
“We want to find a girl. Tell me what you can about her.”
“Her name is Raina Gunter, and she teaches something called quantum physics at Kennyon University.”
Dikie wrote the new information on a sheet of paper. “Give me something of hers, and I’ll see what I can do.”
“You’re not going to see what you can do. You’re going to get me to her, no questions. What you request is no small thing, and I demand results.”
Dikie leaned back in his chair and stared up at me with the same petulant look I was used to from the human women. “You talk a big game for someone at a disadvantage.”
Without saying a word, Xian and Kier flanked me. I might take a gentle hand with the females, but this half-breed wasn’t allowed to disrespect me so flagrantly.
I grabbed him by the throat and squeezed. Not enough to hurt. At least, not from pressure. “Tell me how we get to Raina. You have thirty seconds to prove your usefulness before your future goes up in flames.” I called the fire to me, letting it flow through my fingertips in a slow, controlled manner. “If you do this for me, you’ll have a more powerful ally than you could imagine.”
By now the smell of sizzling flesh was filling the room. Dikie thrashed in my grip, his head making a nodding-like motion.
Taking that as his submission, I opened my palm, dropping him to the floor.
“Maybe if you were nicer, you’d get a better response,” grumbled Mia.
I glared at her over my shoulder. “Ask your mate what lengths he would go through if it was you in danger.”
She averted her gaze, and Kier gave a silent nod of approval.
Xian looked pensively between Kier and me, but I ignored it. I knew what he was thinking. I was thinking the same.
Even though Raina had never entered our realm and I hadn’t claimed her, there was some sort of bond forming. I couldn’t deny it any longer.
