Page 116 of Taken By the Fae

Huh. That actually makes sense. That, or spending time with Nikolai has clouded my judgment.

He meets my gaze. “I’m not asking you to trust me blindly. I understand that’s something I have to earn, and that’s fine.”

I catch my lower lip between my teeth as silence stretches between us. Finally, I say, “What happened with Jules went down far from what we’d planned. Tristan knew that me killing Jules would trigger the dormant fae magic in me, which is whyhewas supposed to be the one to kill Jules. It didn’t happen that way, and now we both have to live with shit—me being fae, and Tristan the guilt of not getting there in time to execute the plan or warning me what would happen if I delivered the killing blow.”

Nikolai frowns. “You had fae magic in you as a human?”

“Long story short, that’s what brought Tristan and I together.”

“Okay, then. I’m definitely curious about how you bagged one of the most powerful fae in history, but perhaps now isn’t the best time to delve into that.”

“Yeah.” I’m not in the headspace to recount meeting Tristan.

“Let me get this straight. You left Westbrook because you don’t want him to see you struggling?”

The room is silent, save for the sound of our heartbeats. “I left,” I say, “because I need to figure this out on my own. Tristan blames himself for what happened, and I’m scared that guilt is all he’ll feel if he sees me like this.”

His brows pull closer. “Something tells me he’d disagree with your decision.”

I almost laugh. “That’s his favorite thing to do.”

Nikolai’s lips quirk.

Letting loose a heavy sigh, I say, “I can do this without him.” I flick my gaze across his face. “I have you, remember?”

He beams. “That you do. Now, listen to me carefully.” He pins me with a deep stare. “You can’t survive on food alone, Aurora. By now, you have to know you need to feed.”

I stay silent.

“You can feel it, can’t you? Your body shutting down?”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I nod reluctantly. “I’m exhausted all the time. My head won’t stop spinning, and the idea of eating makes my stomach sick.” It’s a damn shame, too, because I love food.

“That sounds about right,” he muses, and I open my eyes to look at him. “What’s your big idea? How are you planning on making it through this transition?”

I don’t have a response because I don’t have a plan.

His eyes narrow a bit. “Unless you weren’t planning on making it through at all.”

I scowl as that familiar ache blossoms in my chest. “I wasn’t going to off myself, jackass.”

“Then what? Did you think you could magically survive without feeding? That maybe you were so damn special that you could continue to live as a human regardless of the fact you’re not?”

My pulse spikes, and I snap, “Fuck you. How is this supposed to help me?”

“Consider it a reality check. I can’t help you if you don’t want to be helped.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I let his words sink in. I don’t want to die. This new life isn’t something I would’ve chosen for myself, but it’s because of me I’m forced to live with it. In this case, I’m my own worst enemy. “I want help,” I say in a quiet voice.

He reaches over and pats my leg. “Glad to hear I’m not wasting my extremely valuable time, then.” There’s that easy arrogance back.

I nod. “Please teach me. Not today, though. It’s been disastrous enough, and I don’t have the strength for any more. But when I’m ready, you’ll teach me how to feed and how to deal with crowds of people and their emotions suffocating me? Because I don’t think I can handle that happening again.”

“Please. Once I’m done with you, you’ll be the poster child for the perfect fae.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re not creating ‘the perfect fae’ with me, Nikolai. You’re teaching me how to survive.”

He gasps mockingly. “What’s the point of surviving if you’re not living?”

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