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But I didn’t.
And I hated myself for it.
With a frustrated sigh, I ripped myself from his grasp and turned to storm away. Except, my bedroom was a loft over the hearth. The open walls didn’t really give me the chance to storm away properly. I went up a ladder and sat above Arven like a disgruntled cat on a high perch.
I half expected him to laugh at me, but he stayed silent down on the first level. From my perch, I watched him claim a floor cushion and sink into it with his back to me. I didn’t like having him here in my personal domain, but I also didn’t hate it. He simply blended into the point where I could almost forget about him.
Annoyed, I crawled over to the plush mattress and pile of blankets on the floor. I curled up around the stuffed cat my father had given me and let sleep claim me for the time. It took a while because I jolted fully awake every time Arven made a small noise. After a while, I grew accustomed to his breathing, his movements, and his overall presence—to the point where it comforted me.
Fuck you, I thought. I wasn’t sure if I aimed it at myself or him.
7
ARVEN
In the morning, Delphine asked me why I was still around. I didn’t have an answer that I thought she’d respect, so I kept my tongue caged behind my teeth. She glared at me like a pacing tiger kept in a menagerie even though this was her own home. The smell of espresso on the air seemed to calm her as she made her morning coffee.
I noted that for later. If upset, Delphine could be placated with coffee.
She dressed in form fitting black denim and a leather jacket that seemed to have more pockets than it could reasonably hold. The thing was enchanted, much to my amusement. I’d never thought of enchanting a mortal object like that, but it worked and looked very nice on the upset elven princess.
That’s what she was. Delphine might be masquerading as an assassin and bounty hunter, but I knew that she was a princess at heart. Her domain proved it. The small home was plush and luxurious. She had all the finest amenities from an espresso machine to a waterfall shower right at her fingertips.
If I could get her out of this life, then I believed she would be at peace. From the way she spoke, she loathed everything that’d led her to this point. I watched her walk in front of me, her braids swaying over her back, and wondered what it would take to tear her away from this incredulous safety net she’d pulled over herself.
Before I could ask, she reached back and put a hand to my chest to stop me. Her attention never left the warehouse in front of us. I opened my mouth to ask what we were doing here if we’d gotten caught last time, but she shushed me before I could utter a single syllable.
I pursed my lips in annoyance and glared down at her. Though I was irritated, the beast deep inside me glowed with delight.
No one treated me like this, not even my own brother. To everyone in the Golden Court, I was a demon to be avoided at all costs. No one looked me in the eye. No one approached me to tell me how their day went. If anyone asked me anything, it was always in the smallest voice while they trembled.
I’d adopted this monstrous persona so that other courts would leave my kingdom alone; I never wanted the people within my own court to see me that way too. Out here, though, Delphine treated me like a monster but in a very different way. This woman wasn’t afraid to fight me. Honestly, it was only a matter of time before she tried to kill me.
Delphine wasn’t afraid of me, and I was grateful for that even if it did cause a bit of contention between the two of us. At least, I could be my gruffest self with her, and she would only see it as an annoyance.
“It’s clear,” she whispered. “Let’s go.”
She had me hoist her up to a cracked window high on the warehouse wall.
“What would you have done if I weren’t here?” I asked with her heel firmly planted in my palm.
She weighed more than I expected, if I were to be completely honest. It reminded me just how much of this woman was pure muscle. She was a fighter, a survivor.
Delphine glanced down at me. A demure grin slipped over her lips. It made my heart thump wildly behind my sternum. Before I knew it, she vaulted out of my hand and scaled the brick wall as swiftly as a…as a squirrel—forgive me but I’d never seen a cat perform miracles like that.
She disappeared through the open window and left me standing outside on my own. I wrapped a glamour around myself to hide from prying eyes, but a practiced elven lord would be able to see through it. She needed to let me in before I climbed this wall through sheer force and broke my way through the window.
Right as I was considering jamming my sharpened claws into the brick façade, the warehouse gate slid open, and Delphine’s face appeared in the dark. She beckoned me forward. I spared one last glance back to make sure that no one was watching. I didn’t feel any probing eyes, but that meant little when magic was involved.
Inside, my eyes adjusted to the darkness. The shapes of wooden crates stacked high came into view. In here, the air smelled of wood and magic—a myriad of scents ranging from angelic to downright sulfuric.
“He’s trading in enchanted goods,” I whispered to Delphine.
Delphine
My head snapped up.I’d almost forgotten that Arven could sniff out magic. None of the crates had even been opened yet, and Arven already knew what was inside them. I fought back a smile as an idea came to me.
“We can’t open them,” I said. If we did, someone would notice, and our investigation would be found out.
