Page 17 of Twisted Gift

He opens the door and holds it for me. I step inside ahead of him and take in my surroundings. It’s what appears to be a waiting room; the walls are a calming lavender color and the floor is a dark hardwood. Chairs line one of the walls, and there’s a reception desk on the other side of the small room.

Nikolai nudges me forward and walks beside me to the desk where an attractive brown-haired woman sits, smiling brightly. By her pleasant reaction to us—or rather, Nikolai—she’s most likely light fae, or one of the dark fae that is open to the idea of coexistence.

“Hello there,” she says with a warm smile. “Good to see you again, Nikolai.”

He winks at her, and I fight the urge to jam my elbow into his ribs. “Always a pleasure, Destiny.”

She giggles before turning her attention back to me. “You must be Aurora. It’s so great to finally meet you. You’re quite the talk of the fae world right now. Tristan must be pouting somewhere. He loves when people talk about him.”

Oh boy, do I feel uncomfortable. I force a smile. “Thanks. Nice to meet you, Destiny.”

“I’ll get a couple rooms set up for you.”

My stomach drops before Nikolai says, “Just one for today, please.”

She doesn’t question him, just nods and says, “Of course.” She disappears into another room, leaving Nikolai and I alone.

“You just come on to everyone, don’t you?”

His lips twitch. “You jealous?”

I scowl. “Please.”

“You don’t need to beg, gorgeous. Once we’re done here, I’d be more than happy to—”

“All set,” Destiny says in a chipper voice, walking back into the room just in time to stop me from having to reject Nikolai a second time. I can’t deny his attractiveness because he’s so damn attractive. It just doesn’t do anything for me. I don’t think it ever could, either, even if I wanted it to. As playful and charismatic as Nikolai is, something tells me he wouldn’t follow through with his half-assed advances, anyway.

I nod to tell Nikolai to go ahead so I can follow him, and he obliges, winking once more at Destiny as we pass. At the end of a hall, Nikolai opens the door to another room and steps inside. After a moment of hesitation, I enter, closing the door. The room is a plain, white, perfect square with plush carpet and soft instrumental music. The only thing inside is a black leather recliner and two smaller chairs on either side of it. When my eyes fall to the curvy, dark-haired woman sitting in the recliner, I suck in a breath. My pulse is racing a million miles an hour. I don’t know if I can go through with this. But she’s smiling as if she’s happy to see me, as if we’re friends. Not like I’m here to feed off of her energy, not like I’m going to feel everything she’s feeling. She looks to be around forty, but the brightness in her eyes makes her appear younger.

“Hi,” I say after clearing my throat.

“Come sit, dear.” She pats the chair on her right as Nikolai sits on the one to her left.

Once I’m sure my feet aren’t cemented to the floor, I approach and lower myself onto the chair, turning to face her and Nikolai. “I’ve never done this before,” I admit to her.

“Well, don’t you worry. I’ve done this plenty of times.”

Nikolai chuckles.

“How long have . . . ? I mean—”

“How long have I been letting you fae feed on me?” she asks.

Cringing at the question I was trying to ask, I nod.

“About five years.”

I want to ask how she got into it, but it doesn’t seem appropriate. I’m also taken aback by the attitude of this woman. Shewantsto be here. Nikolai said they’re compensated, and that it can be pleasant for them, but I just can’t picture it. Having been on that side before I became fae, I don’t think I’ll ever understand the desire to be fed on. The invasion of privacy makes my skin crawl.

“I don’t know how this works,” I say, wiping my hands on my thighs.

“That’s what I’m here for,” Nikolai chimes in. “The feeding process is quite simple. Being fae, you need human energy to survive. It sustains us. Don’t ask me why, I’m not into science or magic or whatever the hell you want to call this. Anyway, we syphon energy, which stems from human emotions. Some fae have a preference of which they enjoy most, but at this point you might not be able to tell different emotions apart in terms of how the energy makes you feel. We’ll have to see. Now, for the good part.” He winks at the woman, reaches for her wrist and holds it where it sits on the armrest, wrapping his fingers around it. She closes her eyes, sighing as if she’s enjoying herself. After a couple moments, Nikolai pulls his hand away and shoots me a grin. “Easy as that.” He doesn’t look any different, not as if he just sucked energy out of a human being. From what I’ve seen and heard of Nikolai, he keeps himself well fed.

“Easy?” I echo. “I don’t know what you did.”

Nikolai offers me his hand. I blink at it a couple times before placing mine on top. He turns our hands over and guides mine against the woman’s arm. “Close your eyes,” he instructs in a gentle tone. “It’ll help you concentrate.”

“Do I have to touch her?”

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