Page 2 of Trials of Dusk and Dreams
“It’s been a long night, Styx,” I sigh, fatigue seeping into my bones. “And while I’m happy to meet you finally, it hasn’t been without a cost. There’s so much to tell you. Goodfellow could be here any minute to carry out Fox’s sentencing. He doesn’t know Fox tricked him, so it’s better we’re not here when he turns up.”
He drops my hair, but before he lets go of my neck, his thumb grazes over the bite mark Fox left and narrows his eyes thoughtfully. I hold my breath, hoping he can’t sense my fear. In the wild, the scent of fear is everything. It’s a signal to attack, to dominate, to feed. Before he steps away, he lifts my upper lip to reveal my teeth. I’m so startled that I jerk back from him and scowl.
“Why did you do that?”
“You have tiny fangs.” He flicks my hair away from my ears. “Ears like the Folk. And if I’m not mistaken, your scent and eyes tell me you have a little wolf in you. But you’re mortal. I sense it—” He taps my sternum. “Here.”
“That’s another long story.” I shove him away. “Like I said before, we need to leave. Then I can explain everything. Goodfellow?—”
“Goodfellow.” A growl rips from his throat, aggression hardening his body again. “Who the fuck is that?”
“You don’t remember him either?”
My mind races. Something isn’t adding up. Fox mentioned Styx was trapped in stone for longer than the others remembered, but how can he not remember Robin Goodfellow?
“If I did, I wouldn’t have asked,” he grinds out, frustration evident in every line of his body.
Styx’s distrust comes from a place of fear, I think. I see it glimmering in the depths of his blue eyes. He knows something is amiss, too, yet he’s powerless to understand what.
We assumed he would have his memories because the seal binding his powers had been scratched and dented. But maybe the seals aren’t what made them forget. Maybe that’s another in Titania’s long string of curses.
“When we found you in here,” I venture slowly, “your Sluagh form was on display. Do you still have access to your full abilities?”
His skull illuminates beneath his skin. Air caresses my face as his wraith inspects me with an invisible touch, and his eyes turn wholly black. When I don’t react, he bares a mouth full of spiky, monstrous fangs and snaps in my face.
“Are you trying to scare me?” I raise my brows, surprised by my own boldness.
“Maybe.”
Despite myself, I smile. That’s kind of cute.
“I am not cute,” he snarls, his features contorting with indignation.
I roll my eyes. “Fox keeps saying I shout my thoughts. When will I learn?”
His skull flickers again as his wraith returns to his body, and he looks away. I almost believe I offended him.
“I mean, if it helps, I was kind of scared for a moment there,” I offer. “Truly.”
I collect the broken seal from beneath the table where it sits with the others. The smooth stone disc is cracked across the faerie runes.
When I face him again, his otherness is completely gone, replaced by the visage of brooding, chaotic beauty carved from living stone.
Still gloriously naked.
Chapter 2
Willow
My gaze involuntarily drops to Styx’s groin. An unbidden image flashes in my mind—my hand wrapping around his stone penis to steady myself. Heat floods my cheeks.Please, Well, don’t let me broadcast these thoughts.The last thing I need is for him to know about my accidental statue-groping.
He looks at me, one eyebrow raised.
Shit.
Averting my eyes, I mumble, “Could you put on pants? You’re distracting.”
“Am I making you nervous, tiny fangs?”
