Page 17 of Never Run from an Immortal

“I’ll consider your request, Lia. Both of them,” Aidan said flatly, holding the door open with one hand and sliding the other into a pocket. He needed a joint. Most Providents used their abilities for simple coercion, for making others bend to their will. Being able to hear everyone’s bullshit on full volume had Aidan turning to weed and visk to tune out the noise, but they were never very effective for long.

Lia cleared her throat and smoothed her dress as she made her way over, glancing up at him in the doorway through long lashes as she passed. “Thank you, my lord,” she murmured, her gaze fixed on his mouth.

Aidan hadn’t ever really bought into the notion of Hel the Vampires and some of the other Orders believed in. Most revered it and celebrated the idea of safe passage there in death every year. But he felt certain that when Lia died, she would end up there and fucking rule it like it was her birthright.

Baelin appeared at the same moment Shaw did, and with that, Lia knew she was dismissed. Barely a nod of acknowledgement passed between her and Aidan’s Ascendant as he entered the study.

“What was that about?” Baelin asked as he shut the door behind them. He was dressed in his tactical uniform as always,all black, short sleeves revealing scarred arms long healed over from wounds inflicted by his brothers. He wore his dark hair fastened in a knot, the sides of his head shaved, a style he favoured since he had so many scars that hindered the hair growth. Eyes the same honey shade as visk swept over Aidan’s face, no doubt assessing how many joints he’d smoked and glasses of visk he’d downed given the early hour.

Aidan sank into the sofa, fingers aching for either a smoke or another glass of visk despite Baelin’s silent evaluation. He let his head fall back and stared at the ornate ceiling, vines and plants in fading plaster trawling across it. “Just some council bullshit,” he finally said. “What did you find out?”

Humans were said to be smart, but Baelin was smarter, and Aidan had known it wouldn’t take long for his Ascendant to figure out what was in those vials the human had swiped from the facility the night before. Demesia was a mess. The Orders and the humans just as bad as each other. Some days he wished he could just wipe the whole fucking board clean. Start over. But he had a plan, and he was sticking to it.

Baelin’s PAD landed in Aidan’s lap, and he read the test results with a frown. “You’re sure about this?”

His Ascendant nodded. Whatever alarms had been triggered when he and Rae escaped the facility meant only guards remained; none of them had been able to tell him anything he didn’t already know, but as he took in Baelin’s data, a sick sense of dread coiling in his gut, the picture was all too clear.

“You didn’t need her to escape,” Baelin said, the weight of his gaze heavy on Aidan’s face, even though he hadn’t looked up. “Why let her help you at all?”

Aidan swiped through the files, his anger spiking at the last one. “I was bored.”

A quiet chuckle rumbled from Baelin. “Chained up and bored. There is something seriously wrong with you.”

Aidan couldn’t argue with that. “She said she could get my magic back. I didn’t have my Provident abilities at the time, but…” He chewed his lip. “Even if it was a lie, the fact she knew that much…” It was an issue. Rae was a loose thread, one he should have dealt with already.

Baelin levelled him with a look Aidan had seen far too many times before. “You need her because you’re out of options.”

“I’m out of fucking options.” And he couldn’t carry out the rest of his plan without his magic, because though his Provident abilities remained unrivalled, they were greatly diminished without his missing abilities. So, like it or not, he needed that fucking human. Aidan tapped on the PAD, pulled up the picture of Rae outside Silver Star Customs, and tossed it back to his Ascendant. “Time for a visit.”

Chapter nine

The Drunken Ram was full to bursting.

Rae squeezed her way past the Fae crammed into the space, jostling more than a few drinks. Horns and Hooves, mostly, and a few Shifters too. Wings tended to be a little difficult to navigate in busy spaces, so by default, there were usually fewer of those, but she spotted a few on her way through the throng. The crowd was dressed largely in shades of green, and Rae muttered a curse under her breath as she realised it was a festival celebration for one of their gods.

She caught sight of Ezekias in one of the smaller booths at the back of the bar, hunched over an ale and tapping away at his PAD. Rae tucked a loose pink wave behind her ear, discreetly tugged her top down an inch, and plastered a bright smile on her face. She’d picked an outfit similar to what one of the girls had been wearing in his porn flick because she needed him distracted, if he wasn’t already after the night before.

The crappy dark blue fabric creaked as she sunk into the booth to sit opposite him, reaching for his ale and taking a hearty mouthful. “Nonice to see you? No compliments for my outfit?” No glass of visk like she’ddefinitelyrequested he have ready and waiting.

Ezekias shook his head. “I—I don’t even know your name.”

“Zeke. We both know you know my name. How old I am. Where I work.” Rae winked, sliding his glass back over to him.

The Fae swallowed. He looked as if he hadn’t slept at all. Smart move, given that Aidan would probably be tracking him. For a brief moment, she wondered what had made the bloodsucker spare him at all, but she was certain she was about to find out. Music pumped through the bar, and Rae took count of the handful of humans amongst the crowd out of habit.

She turned her attention back to the Fae before her. “Shall we start again?” She traced a finger around the rim of his glass and looked up at him through her lashes. “Good to see you, Zeke. Thanks for joining me.”

He glanced towards the bar—or the door. Probably both. “Rae. You look…” He swallowed, his gaze dipping to her cleavage. “Good.”

Rae narrowed her eyes. “We’ll need to work on that.” She slid around to his side of the booth, her arm brushing his. “Now. Order us another round and tell me about these tests, and I’ll make sure you’re hidden from Vale when you leave here.”

“Y-you can do that?”

Rae flagged a waiter with one hand, downed Zeke’s ale with the other, and pointed at the empty glass, holding up two fingers over the crowd. “Sweetie, I can do anything you want.” She let the comment settle over him, let those little cogs of his spur into motion as a female Horn brought a round of drinks to her friends in the next booth over, a mixture of Hooves and Shifters, a few of them whooping in delight.

The waiter returned with their drinks, a sweet-looking Shifter, shirt sleeves rolled up and his fluffy brown hair falling to one side of his face. A bear maybe. Rae ordered two glasses of visk because the ales were for Zeke, and then she glanced at the Fae beside her, waiting for him to pay. He tapped his PAD against the waiter’s without complaint, taking a deep swig of his beverage.

“Start from the beginning.” Rae pulled Zeke’s name badge from under her bra strap and tucked it into his front pocket with a pat, knowing without needing to look up that he tracked her every move. The cord of a necklace peeked out of his shirt, the pendant sitting just over his heart. Something important then. “What tests are being carried out?”

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