Page 105 of Taken By the Fae

“Thanks,” she says after finishing her beer.

Having completed our impromptu fae lesson with success, Allison waves Deacon back over, ordering us a couple more beers. I even snack on a few peanuts from the dish in front of us.

The crowd near the stage on the other side of the room goes wild, and I wince at the sudden influx of noise. Allison frowns at me as if she’s asking if I’m okay. I force a nod and a smile.

“They fucking fawn over him,” Deacon comments, grinning at the crowd who’s still going nuts all around the room. “Cocky bastard is pretty damn talented, though, and considering he owns this place now that Jules is gone, he can do whatever the hell he wants.”

My eyes pop wide; surprise shines in Allison’s as well. “Jules owned this place?” I ask in a shallow voice.

Deacon nods before turning when someone across the bar calls his name.

“Are you okay?” Allison asks.

I manage a nod, then take a sip of my beer as the guy starts singing. Immediately, I understand why the audience is going nuts. His voice is pure silk, which is probably why most of the crowd surrounding the bar—men and women alike—look as though they want to wrap themselves in the sound of his voice. Hell, I wouldn’t blame them. This guy can sing. I keep my back to the stage, wanting to face Allison while she’s talking to me about her new job, but I fight the urge to turn my head.

The moment he goes into the chorus, the crowd cheers. Some women even scream. I swing around the bar stool to look at what has these women all riled up, and the moment my eyes land on the singer, the breath gets caught in my lungs.

Suddenly, I’m back in that parking lot of the Chinese restaurant where the gang of unseelie fae ambushed me.

Front and center on the stage in front of what appear to be adoring fans, Nikolai Sterling, the unseelie who took on Tristan that day, meets my gaze and grins.

ChapterThirty

Ican’t look away. We continue to stare at each other as if we’re the only ones in the room. Finally, he blinks, turning his attention back to the row of people below him. He goes into the chorus again and extends his hand to the audience. Several women latch on immediately, hollering louder, as his voice envelops the room in the song's tune. The lust they feel is suffocating; I’m seeing everything through a hazy, pink film. It makes me scowl until I watch it dim slightly. My eyes narrow on where Nikolai’s hand is brushing over several of theirs, and then my gaze flicks at his closed eyes.

Son of a bitch.

He’s feeding on them.

I whirl around to find Allison isn’t paying attention to the stage, but having a conversation with the bartender. “What the hell is he doing?” I demand. It’s more of a rhetorical question. I’m looking for an explanationwhyhe’s feeding on the crowd. Aren’t there rules against this sort of thing? I should find out; it doesn’t seem moral. Though something about Nikolai tells me not much about him is.

Deacon’s gaze shifts to mine, and he shrugs, stepping away to fill some drinks before he returns to where we’re sitting. “He does it all the time.” He puts his hand up to stop me before I can say anything. “Nikolai has never hurt anyone here. Those women he's feeding on likely won’t even feel a difference, and if they do, they’ll chalk it up to the drinks they’ve had.”

A muscle ticks along my jaw as I look at Allison.

“Deacon’s right,” she assures me. “He’s not hurting them.”

I bite the inside of my cheek before blowing out a breath. “Okay, then. Wait, if they’re drunk, does that affect the fae feeding on them?”

Allison shakes her head. “Alcohol affects the bloodstream, and since fae don’t drink blood, that isn’t a concern.”

“Gotcha.” I lean back enough to look across the room to where the bathrooms are, and frown at the line. “I’ll be right back,” I tell Allison.

“I’ll save your seat.”

The pounding of the bass quiets as I’m in the bathroom. When I’m done, I pace the hallway for a few minutes, my mind spinning. I can’t stop thinking about the day Nikolai and Tristan fought, the way they bickered like brothers. Nikolai said he wasn’t our enemy, and Allison doesn’t seem concerned about him, so maybe I need to give him a chance. Some time to prove what he said to us that day. And if I’m stuck in the unseelie court, it’s probably a good idea to have some allies. Unless Nikolai was friends with Jules, in which case, I’m screwed there.

I head back toward the bar as exhaustion clings to my muscles. A rush of dizziness hits me halfway down the hall. I press a hand to my forehead, forcing deep breaths until it passes, and blink until my vision rights itself before I keep walking. A dark figure steps out of a room and blocks my path.

“I was wondering when I’d run into you.” Nikolai’s voice is smooth, warm. Friendly, yet arrogant.

I look him over, noting the slight curl of his pale pink lips, the dark stubble along his sharp jaw, the glimmer in his emerald-green eyes. His black hair is damp with sweat from the stage lights, and messily swept across his forehead. Paired with a plain white V-neck shirt, dark blue jeans, and combat boots, he fits the rock star persona to a T.

“You shouldn’t feed off unsuspecting humans.”

His deep laugh echoes off the surrounding walls in the hallway. “Don’t get upset with me feeding just because you don’t want to, Aurora.”

My eyes narrow as my heartbeat kicks up.How does he know I haven’t fed?I try to reach out and feel his emotions, but I hit a cold, dark, solid wall. I recoil, shivering. It’s the first time I’ve actively tried to seek another fae’s emotions, and Nikolai is clearly blocking his. I scoff before I can stop myself.

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