AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Talk to me,” she pleaded. “I want to help fix things.”
We were old friends. I could trust her and the others. My reluctance to work with them would only hurt me in the long run. I pinched the bridge of my nose. Being the center of attention was new to me. I’d spent so much of my life being an extra in the stories of others that I didn’t want to pull attention to myself.
Historically speaking, pulling attention to myself used to be dangerous. Even now, it was a bit risky, but that was only when Beryl was involved. I could let my friends help me.
Together, Addie and I bent over the counter and prepared a plan to fix the fraying timeline. Our magic worked well together. We’d always been able to help each other. When we put our heads together, magic happened. Perhaps that’s what it was like being the weakest of our group. She and I were fragile, and our magic didn’t really offer a whole lot to our lives—Addie had denied hers and mine had been locked away.
“What are the two of you up to?” Rhoan asked when he approached us. He scratched the back of his head as he scanned the stacks of napkins with scribbled notes. “This looks like some sort of witchery…Is that good? Are you making a potion to make my balls fall off? Even if I’m not using them, I’d like them attached to my body.”
Addie sputtered, laughter spilling out of her. She seemed happier than ever. The once demure and quiet woman had grown into a confidence all her own. Perhaps that’s what yelling at gods did for one’s self esteem. She’d told us the number of times that she’d put the Norse goddess Hel in her place.
I yearned for that kind of confidence. I could fake it, but inside I was still shaking in fear. Every corner held an enemy I couldn’t see. Every step led me closer to danger.
“We’re brainstorming ways to fix what’s happening to me,” I explained, filling Rhoan in on Addie’s power set so that he would stop worrying about his balls.
I mean…what was he even thinking? Why would I go after his balls like that?
Then I saw the woman lingering behind him. Delphine stood a little too close to Rhoan for my comfort. I pulled a vine from the plant hanging in the front window, had it crawl low behind the front counter, and reach around behind Delphine to grab her by the middle and yank her away from Rhoan.
Delphine made no noise when she stumbled back, but a dark glare sparked in her eyes. I flashed her a quick smile. When her attention flicked between Rhoan and myself, her lips parted with recognition. She shook her head, rounded Rhoan, and grabbed my arm so she could drag me outside.
I tried to dig in my heels, but the woman was abnormally strong. I couldn’t get away from her until she released me with a shove outside. The ice in my chai rattled as I looked at her aghast.
She planted her hands on her hips and shook her head. “No.”
Both confused and taken aback, I fumbled for the right response. The drink in my hand turned slick in the last heat of the summer. I tightened my grip on it and nearly crumpled the plastic cup in the process.
“You cannot have him like that,” Delphine said.
I scowled. “You think I don’t know that? He told me all about his vow. I’m not going to ask him to break it.”
“That’s…” Delphine paused, studying me like she was searching for some sort of information on my face. Finally, she held up both hands, palms out. “You know what? Fine. I don’t want to get in the middle of this. It’s bad enough that Rho has convinced me to help your stupid ass.”
She calls him by pet names?
Fury scorched the garden inside me. My arcana turned into a searing desert sun laying waste to everything in its path. The cup in my hand crinkled again as I clenched my fists.
Why was I so jealous? It made no sense. I couldn’t have Rhoan. Delphine couldn’t have him either. No one could. That was the whole point of his vow. He’d promised himself to eternal servitude—to my forthcoming crown, but I was willing to ignore that point for now.
I shook my head and backed up. “I have a cookout to go to.”
Shoving my way past Delphine, I went inside to grab Rhoan so we could head out. All the while, Delphine watched me with a knowing look. What she knew, I had no idea.
Addie and I agreed to meet up at the cookout after the café was closed up for the day. There, with Ness and Vi at our sides, we would try to put the threads of fate back together in a way that worked for everyone.
I just had to survive until then. That should have been easy considering the fact that we’d brought Beryl’s assassin to our side.
Rhoan
I didn’t likewhat Delphine had to say. Our chances were looking bleaker by the moment. She’d overheard quite a bit while visiting Beryl to take the contract on Cerri. Beryl had no intention of preparing for a fight, which meant that she didn’t think it would ever come to a full-on battle.
I wondered just what the Unseelie Queen had up her sleeve. The fact that she didn’t think she would have to fight meant that there was something else going on behind the scenes that made her think she had this won already.
We had allies on our side now. Taliesin had sent a message to tell me he was somewhere safe, though he hadn’t bothered to tell me whether or not Faust had been dealt with. Delphine had reluctantly agreed to work for us for the time being—that was until my money ran out.
Okay, so our allies weren’t the best. Maybe Beryl had a point. Taliesin had proven himself to be unreliable in the past. Delphine would only stay so long as I could pay her. This made me hope that Cerri’s friends were dedicated. Even if they weren’t as capable as Tal or Del, there was still a chance that their loyalty to Cerri could prove useful.
While Cerri spoke highly of her friends’ capabilities, I doubted the objective truth of her statements. How could that be true if Cerri bore so many scars? Where were her friends when Cerri was being hurt? Why hadn’t they helped? The only excuse I could think of was that they’d been too weak.
