Page 4 of Twisted Devotion

Without bothering to knock, I open the door to Tristan’s office and step inside, closing it behind me. My eyes sweep the room in a matter of seconds, landing on the two of them sitting on one of the couches in the corner of the room.

Nikolai is facing me and meets my gaze the moment mine lands on him, his emerald eyes mirroring the color of mine. He shoots me a wolfish grin, the dark stubble shadowing the sharp angles of his jaw, and my stomach twists even more.

I walk over to them and drop onto the couch next to Tristan so I’m sitting across from Nik. “Hi.” My voice is hoarse.

Tristan smiles at me, and the fondness in his deep blue eyes settles my stomach a bit. “How are you?”

“That depends,” I say, glancing between them. “What am I doing here?”

Nikolai arches a brow at me. “What’s with this?” He gestures around me—at my aura.

“What?”

“It’s . . . murky.”

I roll my eyes. “You and Skylar really are perfect for each other.”

Confusion flickers across his face, but he smirks anyway.

Tristan clears his throat, catching my attention. “Now that you mention her, Skylar is part of the reason we asked you to meet with us.”

I glance over at him in question as I lean back against the armrest.

“As you know, Skylar has been out on assignment. Monitoring the opening of the fae treatment facility just outside of Rockdale,” Tristan clarifies.

The facility in question was the deal Skylar and Nikolai brokered to initially get information on The Experiment, which ultimately led to our takedown of it. Now, the only standing facility left from The Experiment’s reign is a secluded building where fae can go, pay enough money to put someone through college, and risk their life to become human.

Granted, the fae life isn’t one I chose for myself, but with the possibilities eternal life has to offer, I don’t think I would give it up easily. Though I can understand why some might want the procedure. This life has its challenges. Between having to feed on human energy to survive and being privy to everyone’s emotions, it has the potential to get overwhelming fast.

I’d forgotten that Skylar had been overseeing the facility since it opened. I guess I should have been more surprised to see her downstairs, but I really hadn’t noticed her absence. I haven’t seen most of my friends since the battle ended. A pang of sadness upsets the food in my stomach.I really miss Seth.

“She’s back,” I comment, and Tristan nods.

“For now. As one of the leaders, she’ll be heading out on a tour of North American to visit highly populated areas of fae. To meet with the communities and keep morale high and tensions low. While she’s gone, we need you to continue overseeing the treatment facility.”

Nikolai rakes his fingers through his black hair. “It’s a little more than that.”

Pulse racing, panic trickles in and heats my skin.So much for leaving Rockdale tomorrow.If they’re asking me to work for them, how can I sit here and tell them I’m going away? I struggle to focus on what the guys are saying.

Tristan sighs at Nikolai. “I was getting to that. We need you to provide protection for those who work there.”

Oh no.

“One fae in particular,” Tristan adds.

Please, god, no.

“You want me to dowhat?” My eyes jump back and forth between the current and previous fae leader, disbelief heavy in my tone. My mouth drops open. “There’s no—”

“Just hear us out,” Tristan cuts in. “You will be very well compensated.”

“For essentiallybabysittingan egotistical lunatic?” I scoff. “I should hope so.” My gaze cuts to Nikolai. “No offense.”

He raises his hands as though I didn’t just insult his family. “None taken. I completely agree.”

“So why are you doing this to me?” Suddenly, I wish I wasn’t so good at my job that they decided to call on me.

“Because,” he says, “we trust you. We know how skilled you are when it comes to—”

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