Page 45 of Fake Dating a Human 101

Luc eyed the weapon. “I think I’ll stay out of this one.” He bristled as his fingers dragged over the chain of his foxtail necklace. “But dawn is approaching—I shouldn’t have to remind you of that.”

Shayne pulled back and smeared away the last of Lily’s tears with his thumb. “It might not be goodbye forever,” he promised. “It might just be for a while.”

Even he knew how ridiculous that sounded. Lily looked like she wanted to hit him again.

Shayne glanced out the mouth of the cave where the moon looked heavy in the sky and the stars threatened to disappear into a haze. “Luc,” he begged. “Keep your word.”

Luc put his hands on his hips and dropped his head forward. “Oh dear. She’s going to dislike me even more after this,” he muttered. In the same heartbeat, he airslipped to their side.

It was magnificent how Lily knew exactly where Luc would end up when she tried to punch him. Luc barely ducked before his foxy face would have been crushed, but he grabbed her—a pale hand around her tattooed arm—and Shayne felt Lily slide from his grip in an instant. They vanished.

The cave was empty.

It was quiet.

Shayne’s hands slowly fell back to his sides.

He stared at the place Lily had been just a second ago. He adjusted the strap of his crossbow. He checked for his fairsaber. He rubbed his sore chest.

And he headed out.

It only occurred to Shayne once he was marching through the dark woods that Lily’s love confession had come without being under the influence of an enchantment. His smile was weak and flat when he realized.

He was jealous humans could lie without feeling needles on their tongue.

“See you in another lifetime, pretty Human,” he murmured into the wind.

13

Lily Baker and the Homecoming Dance

This was worse than any joke Shayne had ever played. Lily sat by the fire, staring at the licking flames as everyone else woke up. Dew had formed along her bare arms in the early hours. Her skin was freezing; she’d been fighting shivers all night until the sun peeked over the distant mountains and warmed the forest. By then, she wasn’t just devastated anymore.

She was angry. Angry at Shayne.

He’d promised her he was going home.

Shayne was a liar. How poetic, that he’d always accused Lily of being one.

The memory of the way he’d looked at her in the dark by the fire. Of his hand dragging along her cheek, finding its way into her hair as he’d pulled her into a kiss… Lily closed her eyes, angry all over again. She would never forgive him for doing that. For trying to trick her with heart flutters and honesty and telling her to do outrageous things like ‘go home and live a happy life.’

“The vote is in,” Luc announced as Dranian sat up, sneezed, and made Cress spring up with a startled gawk five feet away. “We’re all going home.”

Dranian blinked and looked around. He scanned the trees. Twisted to look back at the creek. “Wait…” He said it too quietly for anyone to notice.

“What in the name of the sky—why are Lily’s ankles tied up?!” Mor roared. He strutted over to Lily and yanked the makeshift gag from her mouth first. Then he ripped the nest of branches from around her ankles, only to realize Lily’s wrists were tied, too—with her own sweater. Mor’s jaw tightened. He whirled. “Luc, what did you do?”

Luc sat upon a high rock, tearing petals off a flower one by one. “What makes you think I did all that?” he asked. When Mor’s silence spoke volumes, Luc sighed. “I’m saving her life,” he said nonchalantly. “She’s just ungrateful.”

“You’re going to prison. You’ll rot in jail forever for attacking a cop,” Lily promised now that she could speak, pulling Luc’s gaze off his flower. He scratched the side of his neck.

“Is there free food in human prison?” he asked.

Lily kicked a wad of dirt at him. It smacked against Luc’s coat, and he snarled. Then he dragged himself off the rock, ignoring Mor shooting daggers at him with his eyes, and he crouched down before Lily.

“Dear Lily,” Luc folded his hands, “I don’t want to have to enslave you with your real name in front of all your puffed-up assassin guardians, but I will if I must. If I’m being honest, they don’t frighten me as much as they think they do—”

Mor grabbed Luc’s shoulder and ripped him back. “See what happens to your tongue if you try uttering her name,” he invited. “You’ve gone too far, Zelsor!”

---