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I carved into the sausages and dipped them in the fake maple syrup. “After I left the smoldering ruins of my home, I got by with simple glamours. I would turn leaves into money to get food. Clothing confused me for the longest time. I had no idea how to dress myself at first. I spent so many years wondering why I was shivering, which seems dumb in retrospect. Things are different here.
“The world is harsher. There’s far less magic to go around. It’s all hogged in other realms. I’d never had to worry about heat before.”
I could feel Arven’s discerning gaze trying to pick me apart, but I held firm and refused to look up at him. My plate was nearly clean. Years of meals being few and far between had taught me to eat too fast. At least, I could nurse my spiked limeade.
“I became a target here. There were fae who wanted to feed on me, humans who wanted to take advantage of me, and supernaturals who saw me as a spell ingredient. I learned to defend myself quickly, out of necessity. I can tell you that the High Priestess in the Salem-Boston witch coven is a piece of shit.
“Once I learned that I could use those defensive skills to make money that would allow me to have the kind of lifestyle I wanted, I hopped on the chance.”
“What kind of lifestyle was that?” Arven set down his silverware. His plate was also clean.
I finally lifted my head. “Any kind that kept me away from you.”
My words gutted him. I could tell as his jaw dropped and his red eyes went wide.
Swallowing, I turned away again. I couldn’t bear the truth of the emotions on his face. They were too raw, too concerned. They didn’t align with the monster that I knew him to be.
I shouldn’t have gone along with him. This had been a bad idea from the start. I needed to leave town before he could entrench himself into my life. I’d seen it happen with others, how they tried to escape, only for the weak hearts of men to yank them back in.
Love was a stupid notion, and I wasn’t going to fall for it. I had my own wits, my own blades, and my own poisons to rely on. That way, I would keep everyone far enough away that they would never be able to hurt me.
Arven cleared his throat. “I understand why you treat me as a monster. I just wish…”
He trailed off.
“There’s no room for wishes in this life.” I planted my hands flat against the table and stood.
When I turned away, Arven reached out for me. If he touched me, I would scream. I stepped in-between, just enough so that I was out of reach. A passing human would do a double take, but they wouldn’t see it as anything other than maybe one too many energy drinks. Arven’s hand grasped empty air.
He stared at the space where I’d been. His brow furrowed, but there was also a look of astonishment that he seemed to be fighting back. He really hadn’t expected the person I’d become. Everything I did surprised him. It would have been comical were he not the reason for all I was now.
Outside, I debated which city I would explore next. I would miss the money from this job, but I had to abandon it. There was too much at risk here, and no amount of money would be worth it. I had to move on already.
Behind me, I heard the screech of a fight breaking out just as Arven shoved through the door. I growled in annoyance. Why hadn’t I moved faster? Why wasn’t I gone already? Any other time, I would have launched myself into the atmosphere just to get away from the smallest annoyance.
Yet, Arven had a kind of gravitational field I couldn’t shake. He stood close to my shoulder and asked:
“Show me your life. I want to know everything.”
My breath hitched, and my stomach performed the kind of gymnastic backflips that would have gotten a 10/10 from even the stingiest judge. I stared up at him with my mouth agape and my pulse fluttering in my throat. This wasn’t the monster I wanted him to be.
I picked my jaw up off the floor and put it back into place. “No.”
Without wasting another moment, I stepped in-between and flung myself as far away as I could think. I found myself on the shores of the Atlantic. The great expanse of steel blue water lapped at the sandy ground like a greedy beast trying to encroach on the dry land it could never reach.
It made me think of the elves, always warring over realms that they thought would make them more powerful. Why were we no better than humans? Why couldn’t we simply exist and enjoy all the magic available at our fingertips? Looking down at my palms, I wondered why they had to be stained with blood. Even I couldn’t escape the violence. I’d become just another weapon in the ugly machine.
Though I didn’t want to leave this life behind. I loved the freedom and the power. I savored the weightless feeling as I leapt to attack. The knowledge that almost no one could hurt me made my heart pace with untampered adrenaline.
I was no better than the rest of my kin, and it should have sickened me. Instead, a scream shoved its way out of my throat. I bent double and let it tear through me, let it fill the air and drown out the roar of the ocean waves.
Arven wanted to know who I’d become. He wanted into my life. He would find out that I was just like him. I had a reputation as a silent killer, feeding souls to the Reapers of this realm. If it would have kept him away, I would have let him see everything I’d ever done. I’d show him the kind of waste I left in my wake.
Instead, I feared it would only make him desire me more. Arven was the Golden Beast for a reason. He kept his kingdom safe with the promise of extreme violence. I’d heard that he could level battlefields by himself. He would stand before an entire army and let them rush him as if he were a god that could not fall.
People said that when he was finished, he would put the heads of his enemies on stakes and leave them to rot. It was a kind of cruel magic because elven bodies did not rot. They usually crumbled to dust just like the fae. Arven somehow kept them intact. He kept them as trophies. As warnings.
We were a good fit for each other, honestly. Two monsters, hated by all.
