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32
Tarnley
“Where the hell are we?” Rainey demands as we all turn in a slow circle and study the dusty living room of wherever Ridley decided to materialize back in Billings. The air is thick, musty, making it clear that we’re the first ones here in at least a month—possibly longer.
“Lucy’s old digs,” he announces as he walks to the wall and flips on the light. The chandelier illuminates the place, making it easy to see the looks of anger on each and every one of my companions’ faces.
“Are youfuckingkidding me, fairy boy?”
He turns to Rainey. “I don’t much care for your tone, especially given the fact that I just carted all of your asses clear across the world.”
“And straight into the house of our enemy!”
“Former enemy,” he corrects. “If you remember correctly, Bronywyn and Delaney ended that particular problem before the former went bat shit crazy with power.” He turns to Bronywyn. “No offense, love.”
Rage bubbles forward, and I start toward the fae, stopping only when the woman he meant no offense to puts a hand up in protest of me kicking his fucking teeth in.
“Why did you bring us here?”
“Because as you know, Lucy is dead. Dead; gone; reduced to ash.” He plops down on a couch, forcing dust out of the cushions in a small cloud. “Which makes this a prime hideout. After all, if you’re this surprised we’re here, do you really think the council will think to check? That’s if they even know about this place.”
“You managed to find it.”
“Because I knew where it was.”
“And how exactly did you know where it was?”
Something dark flashes over Ridley’s face at Elijah’s question, and based on the reactions of everyone else in the room, I’m not the only one who saw it.
“How?” Fearghas demands.
“Before she was the psychotic bitch we now know as the daughter of the original witch, Lucy and I rather enjoyed each other’s company.”
You could have heard a drop of blood hit the floor even without supernatural hearing. No one makes a single sound as each one of us simply stares at Ridley in complete and utter shock. Hell, telling us Lucy was secretly a fae and somehow related to him would have been less of a shock.
“You weresleepingwith her?” Willa growls, rushing forward. “As in intimately aware that she was a fucking psycho?”
“I said before we knew. To me, she was just a witch. A powerful one who had a taste for fae.” The words are harsh, un-emotional. Maybe because of my current exhaustion or the fact that I spent centuries in love with someone I was never sure would love me back, I see right fucking through it.
“You cared for her.”
He turns to me. “We screwed around.”
“You cared for Lucy,” I repeat.
Ridley chews on his bottom lip, keeping his face turned away from us until finally, he faces me. “Yes. I did. Does that offer some kind of valuable insight into who I am? Does it help in any way?”
“It does, actually,” I tell him. “Because despite your feelings for her, you still helped us destroy her. And that tells me everything I need to know about the person you are.” Even given Bronywyn’s recent dark days, I would have joined her before I took her life.
No matter what she would have done, I can’t imagine a scenario where I would have helped anyone kill her.
But Ridley did. Because it was the right thing to do, and he’s clearly a stronger fucking person than I am.
“You loved her, and you still helped us?” Delaney questions.
He glares at her. “I told you when we first met that I don’t tolerate people harming innocents. By the time I realized who Lucy truly was, I was in deep enough that I knew I could get her to let me in, giving me the chance to help where I could. Killing her myself—” He trails off and shakes his head. “It was never going to be something I could do.”
“Ass kicking averted,” Rainey announces. “Sorry that we had to off your girlfriend.”
