Page 51 of A Song of Air
He had to know that.
But she knew he wouldn’t concede. She knew him well enough by now to know that he followed no laws but his own. He looked out for no one except his own.
And if she told him any of that, she would be deemed a traitor.
“I did hesitate,” she confessed. Because he already knew the truth, there was no reason to lie.
“You did. Remember what the Seelie did to your parents. Their war killed them.”
Anger surged through her body. He wasn’t wrong. The warhadkilled her parents, and yet she wasn’t sure if she could entirely blame the Seelie or the humans or circumstances. She wanted to. Mana, she wanted someone to pay, and so she made them with arrows and violence until her thoughts warred and she couldn’t quiet them.
She tilted her chin up. “I remember,” she said through gritted teeth. “More than most, I remember.”
“Good. Then remember whose side you’re really on.” He moved around his tent, straightening his belongings in a slow, calculated manner while she stood there. “Get out.”
She did as he bade, moving slowly. Her mind swirled, those terrible thoughts that tended to invade becoming almost overwhelming. Her magic inside stirred, demanding she release her frustrations in any way she could.
She kept them in check.
The uncertainty of everything was making her head spin.
The fact of the matter was, she didn’t know what she wanted. Or maybe she did, and she was cowardly for not taking it or voicing it. If she did so, it was out of respect for Arlo. Because she owed him, and he knew it. He held her in a chokehold and kept her there for years until she felt like she couldn’t leave or breathe without his permission. The worst part of it all was that she knew exactly what kind of manipulations he used to keep her shackled to him, and still she allowed it to happen.
She released a frustrated sigh and a second later, stopped in her tracks. There’d been no noise to indicate anyone had come close to her, but the scent hit her like an arrow through the flesh. It was sudden and commanding, and it made her skid to a halt right in front of the Fae man who smelled like spice and sweetness. He’d suddenly appeared before her, dropping from the top of a tree like a cat.
He was only a beat away, quietly observing her. It should have unnerved her, but all it did was piss her off. She tilted her head up and glared in his general direction.
“What do you want?”
He smirked in response, and for a second, a flashing image tore through her mind. Of his form splayed on the ground, her own body atop his as they writhed together in a ruthless, sensual joining. The vision was so staggering, she almost tripped backwards.
He stood before her, tall and lithe, covered head to toe in black. The only adornment on him to be seen were golden rings he hid beneath his crossed arms. The long braid was arranged purposefully over his shoulder, and his lips were twisted into a smile.
It was merely a flash. A mere few seconds of his own desires that lasted what felt like an eternity within her own head.
He took a silent step forward, and his presence suffocated her. It clouded her senses, made her mind dizzy. Her hand rose to her throat, as if that could block her body from taking in his scent. His proximity alone made something crawl beneath her skin. Little bursts of shock that demanded touch to be eased.
And she knew he knew it when he replied with a sensual,“You.”
He pressed closer and she forced herself to step away to avoid being clogged by his scent.
“You shouldn’t say things like that,” she growled. She was met with silence. That infuriated her and caused a gust of wind to pulse between them. It pushed him back, but his steps didn’t stumble. She braved a few feet closer towards him, tilting her chin up in a brave movement she felt down to her bones. “I don’t know what it is you want from me,” she hissed, “but I am in a relationship.”
“Fornow,” he purred. The words felt like a taunt.
She tried not to rock back on her heels. “Foralways.”
He chuckled and the sound pierced past her barriers and curled around her like smoke. “How long does the human have to live?”
Her magic lashed out, the air whipping around the both of them. “That sounds like a threat.”
He remained silent for so long that her anger started to abate. She finally gave a resigned sigh, shaking her head back and forth.
“Look,” she whispered, cooling her magic. “Just... don’t expect anything from me, okay? We don’t even know each other.”
“We will,” he whispered the words like a promise. “That I can assure you.”
“Hey, Bryce!” The scent of daffodils and earth enveloped her like a comforting drizzle of rain. It by no means pushed past the more cloying scent of the Fae man before her. If anything, his own smell got stronger. It heated her nerves and made a flush crawl up her face.
