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“I should have come for you sooner,” I admitted.
Delphine’s face twisted in outrage, but she didn’t speak. Instead, she dropped to her meager mattress and clutched the plush cat close. If she hated me so much and blamed me for everything wrong in her life, then why did she hold that thing so tightly?
Perhaps there was a path forward that ended amicably between us. I’d never hoped for love. That was my brother’s ideal. That man wanted me to come here and fall head over heels from some soft woman who could absolve me of my sins and lead me to peaceful rest for once.
That woman did not exist. My betrothed was a wild creature with unearthly light in her eyes. She was a banshee, harkening me towards my end. Perhaps it would be nice to accept it, but not before I gave her what she deserved.
I clapped my hands together. “Come. I’m tired of yourhome. Let’s go partake in some more mortal delicacies. I have heard of a place where you can get waffles and watch the employees fight.”
Delphine burst out laughing. The sound wasn’t like bells or tinkling water. It was raucous and filed with untampered joy. I was caught in the sound for several heartbeats. I couldn’t take my eyes off the way her lips split into a wide, toothy grin. She wiped tears from her eyes and stood. As she passed me, she slapped a hand on my shoulder.
“This is going to be good. Come on, I’ll lead the way.” Her hand fell away as she stepped through the door.
4
DELPHINE
It was obvious Arven hadn’t spent much time outside the elven realms. His perception of the mortal realm was laughable, at best. He sat at the booth table with his spine ramrod straight, his eyes roving over the people in the dingy breakfast franchise restaurant. I could tell he was waiting for a scheduled fight, but that wasn’t how it worked here.
People didn’t fight for our entertainment. This just happened to be the kind of place where animosity grew out of control. I knew that if I peeked back into the kitchen, there would be a pookah or some other anger and fear feeding fae flipping pancakes.
I glanced over the menu while Arven asked me a thousand questions.
What’s a croque mister? Why would they bastardize their own words like that? What is a cinnamon roll? How do they make it a pancake? Why shouldn’t I trust the yogurt?
Most of his questions made me smile and laugh despite myself. I wanted to hate him, but his eager innocence was at war with his monstrous reputation, and I found it absolutely hilarious. In the end, he settled on the cinnamon roll pancakes and a Grand Jam breakfast platter.
I ordered a Grand Jam and asked for blackberry preserves for my toast. They never put the blackberry preserves packets on the table. It was always strawberry, but I knew they had the good ones in the back.
The waitress eyed Arven up and down and even gave him a smirk n’ wink wombo combo. The man was absolutely oblivious. He barely even looked at her. Instead, his attention remained on me. It would have conjured butterflies in my stomach were it not for the fact that this man had betrayed my entire family.
I had to keep reminding myself of that or else I would stare at the imperfect beauty of his nose or fall into the flickering lights of his red eyes. Arven was beautiful and seemed to present everything on his sleeve, even though I knew better.
There was a monster beneath this glamour. If I forgot, then I would find myself in deep trouble.
I kept my eye on every exit in case I needed to jump and run.
“You’re extremely jumpy,” Arven noted.
I huffed. “And you aren’t? I’ve heard what kind of life you’ve been living. You’re the Golden Beast. Everyone is out to get you at all times. You can’t afford to let your guard down, either.”
He steepled his fingers and gave a nod. “You’re right, but I don’t see why you should be so guarded. Who is going to come in here and hurt you? Especially while I’m here?”
This time, I couldn’t help but snort. “You. But you’re not my only enemy. I might have crossed paths with an Unseelie Queen in my time. I’ve killed a handful of nobles and left their lovers seething. My name is only ever uttered with grief and rage.”
“Poetic,” Arven said. “But I struggle to believe it. You don’t have to put on this front.”
Elbow on the table as I stirred my drink with the straw, I cocked my head. “Where do you keep your audacity? Is it stored in that ass of yours? Because I doubt you’d keep it in your brain. It’s too small.”
His upper lip curled. I caught a glimpse of sharp canines behind his sneer right before the waitress interrupted with our plates. She set down Arven’s first, because of course. She made sure to lean forward just enough that her breasts fought against the buttons of her polo shirt. Still, Arven paid her no mind.
He continued to glare daggers at me while I smiled. I lifted the knife from the edge of my plate and pressed it to my tongue, playfully licking the bacon grease from it before I stabbed it into the stack of sausage patties.
Arven licked his lips. Conflicting emotions filled his eyes. Their churning swirl made it hard for me to fully comprehend what he was feeling, but I was pretty sure he had a confusing boner—which hadn’t been my mission, but I felt accomplished all the same.
The conversation died as we turned to our plates in an effort to ignore each other. It was painfully obvious that Arven had no idea who I was or how I’d lived since leaving the elven realms. So, while we were here, I figured I would inform him.
I also made sure to order another cherry limeade with a little something extra in it this time. This kind of place didn’t have liquor on the menu, but someone always had some in the back, and they didn’t mind sharing if you weren’t going to cause problems. The fae in the back would know who I was, and I had a feeling they would cough up some vodka if it meant staying off my radar.
