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10
ADDIE
I’d never set foot inside Beryl’s fancy restaurant before. Even if it hadn’t been run and operated by a bitchy fae queen, it still wouldn’t be for me. This was the kind of restaurant that offered incredibly small portions in the name offanciness.
I preferred French toast made over an open fire in the mountains. Even a granola bar at the mountain peak was better than a tiny nest of truffle-laced pasta.
Knowing what kind of place this was, I could tell that Fenrir wasn’t here because he wanted to try the food. This wouldn’t be enough for someone like him. This little visit was all about Beryl. We couldn’t let him get her on his side. The two would have more power than a mortal like myself could handle.
Though Beryl matched the red velvet décor with her wine-colored dress, the look of pure distaste on her face made her stand out almost immediately. Across the table, Fenrir grinned at her as the light of the candle between them made shadows dance along the planes of his cruel face.
Maddox sighed. I expected him to fall back in the face of Fenrir, but Maddox pushed ahead and let me follow. I stole glances at Beryl as we approached. When she gave me a pleading look, my stomach hit the floor.
Beryl…pleading? I never thought I’d see the day.
Fenrir was pestering Beryl instead of recruiting her. It sent a chill down my spine. Beryl was one of the strongest entities in all of Lakesedge, if not all of New York. The fact that Fenrir saw her as a plaything scared the shit out of me.
What were we doing here? What did we think we could accomplish? Hel had given me an impossible task, much like those who’d been plucked from their lives and thrust into fairytales. How the hell did I complete this task?
Fenrir sighted us. He smiled wide, truly excited to see us, and leaned back in his seat to wave us over. Of course, Maddox marched right up to Fenrir without so much as a second thought. Meanwhile, I wanted to bolt for the door.
This was bullshit. I was going to let Hel know as much.
Why the hell was I being pitted up against a monster like this? I didn’t have the power necessary to take on a world-ending threat. If four gods could barely capture him, then how did Hel expect me to chain him by myself? He was openly antagonizing the same fae queen who had nearly killed me a month ago.
I wanted out. I wanted a life of my own. The thought bolstered me. It turned my core to defiant steel so I could look Fenrir in the eye and not even flinch. His gaze narrowed. The charismatic, carefree mask slipped to reveal the predator that he really was.
Maybe I wasn’t qualified to deal with this, but I would sure as hell take care of it. And Fenrir knew. He clocked me as a threat, which would make him take this much more seriously. I should have tempered myself and controlled my outward expression. Then again, he would have felt the waves of cold wafting off me from my overflowing arcana.
Maddox put a hand to my lower back and slurped up the excess arcana. Fenrir took in the two of us, standing side by side. The corner of his mouth tightened with disgust. When he looked to Maddox, I noted a silent conversation. While I couldn’t translate the looks they shared, I knew there was something left unsaid.
I realized that they’d talked about me before. This silent conversation had something to do with me. Yet, Maddox never let go of my hand. I expected him to pull away and turn his head, but his grip on me remained steady. I fought the urge to bite my lip and smile like a flustered schoolgirl.
I also fought the urge to flip off Fenrir, who was clearly trying to sow discord.
At the table, Maddox pulled out a chair for me. He didn’t take his own but instead stood behind me with his hands on the back of my chair. To my right, Beryl’s shoulder relaxed ever so slightly. I didn’t like the look of that at all.
Why was I the one standing between two immortals? I called bullshit again.
Ghosts lurked in the far corners. They’d been following since the parking garage. The bastard wolf shifter escaped from Hel’s underworld kennel just to come up here and eat mountains and ghosts. He needed to stop treading on my territory.
“I’m so glad you could join me for this wonderful meal,” Fenrir said, his voice all at once chill and barbed, like the popular girl delivering an underhanded compliment.
He raised his wine glass in salute, realized it was empty, and waved it at a gaunt fae butler in the corner. The fae butler looked to his queen. I could tell that the butler wanted to devour Fenrir, but Beryl gave a slight shake of her head. The butler scowled and approached with a bottle of wine.
“Two more glasses, my man,” Fenrir said.
“I’m surprised you came here,” Maddox said as he gestured to the wide plate in front of Fenrir.
Though the plate was massive, the tiny little portion in the center was smaller than my little lady fist. It was mostly foam and edible flowers, too. This man hadn’t come here to eat.
My stomach flipped. We might have arrived just in time.
If only I could have had a silent conversation with Maddox the same way Fenrir could. Instead, I pulled my phone out under the table and furiously typed what I’d just discovered. Fenrir watched with open amusement, but I didn’t care if Fenrir knew what I was doing. I just didn’t want him to know what I was saying.
Beryl looked down into my lap, and I could have sworn her face drained of all color—which was saying a lot because there wasn’t much color on her pale fae face to begin with. To my left, Maddox’s phone vibrated. He raised an eyebrow in my direction before pulling his phone out.
He read the message without even opening it. His reaction wasn’t as visible. The man was good at playing his cards close to his chest. Which was good considering that we’d arrived just in time to keep Fenrir from devouring Beryl.
