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His eyes narrowed. “Señorita Balcázar, for you to be seen here is a disgrace.” Ortiz’s accusation was so loud that several faces turned toward them. His mustache quivered over a partial smile, relishing this moment. Then he turned his beady gaze to the other woman. “You too, señorita.”
“It was you. You sold him!” Talia hissed.
From the shadows, I smiled, watching her fists tighten as she turned her anger onto this worm of a man. But I stopped myself, refocusing on the task at hand.
“Come with me.” Ortiz grabbed for Talia.
As she yanked away, she barreled into my chest.
“Pardon,” she muttered, not looking at my face but jumping sideways to skirt around me. She waved her friend along.
“Your father will have no power to refuse me now,” whispered Ortiz as he stormed forward down the bustling market street.
As Talia whirled toward Ortiz, I stepped backward and sideways, moving with her. Her biggest threat was her smallest concern. Her ignorance would serve me well.
The large man reached out a knuckle and traced it down Talia’s cheek. She flinched away so violently that she once again knocked into me.
I steadied her. “Strike a bargain with me,” I whispered as her cheek was still below my mouth. When she finally glanced up at my face, recognition blanched her features. “And I will take care of him.”
“Are you…?”
“Fae, yes.” She needed to know this much, or any bargain we struck wouldn’t be fully binding.
She blinked and began to pull away, but I tightened my grip, halting her.
“I can save your family,” I muttered. My plan would only work if she came willingly.
“What?” Her brown eyes widened, and she tried to shake me off.
Suddenly, she was pulled away from me.
“Let go!” She screamed at Ortiz as she whirled once more to face him. A little windstorm, this one.
But then she stepped closer to me. The warmth and firmness of her body pressed against mine. Inexplicably, I wanted to push her behind me and fight this mortal man for her, even without the deal. It would be fun.
“My lady?” The other man’s voice quavered. “What are you doing?”
Over her shoulder, she whispered, “I’ll do it. Just save me from that man.”
5
Talia
The stranger made a quick hmm noise that resonated through my back and was simultaneously comforting and terrifying. That little noise conveyed deep satisfaction, an unmooring of something large that I didn’t understand.
What I did know, without a doubt, was that the man behind me was vastly more powerful than Ortiz, and not only because he was fae—I had no idea fae were real, and I certainly didn’t know what real fae were capable of. He had a strength about him that sent ripples of fear down my arms. However, once that strength was directed at my enemy, I couldn’t help but thank the stars above.
The fae’s strong hands moved me carefully aside, and Romero stepped toward Ortiz.
“And just what do you think you’re doing?” barked my landlord.
Casually, Romero ran a hand through his black hair, revealing his pointy ears. Recognition melted Ortiz’s scowl into one of dismay. He stepped back but wasn’t fast enough.
The fae’s arm shot out and grabbed Ortiz’s chin, yanking it upward. My landlord stumbled forward, his mouth squeezed open and eyes bulging.
“She’s coming with me,” Romero growled.
He released Ortiz with a small shove and turned to me, his eyes flashing with an otherworldly amber glow. Zara gasped, but I kept my eyes on the fae. His shoulders relaxed. He tilted his chin up enough to stare down his nose at Ortiz. Keeping his eyes on the trembling man, Romero plucked a single, white lily from the lapel of his suit and held it out to me.
