Page 23 of What Fools These Immortals Be
I want to punch it off his face.
I’ve also just realised his hand is in the back pocket of Njáll’s trousers, the little shit. Groping him like that—Njáll is coming back to himself now, but they’d taken him deeper than I thought when I was at the bar.
The first fae scarpers. Doesn’t even run, just pops out of existence. At least I won’t have to worry about him for a while—teleportation takes it way out of them.
The second realises his friend is gone, and panic finally enters his expression. “I’m sorry,” he says and raises his hands when I look pointedly at where the right one is resting. “I-I mean it, okay? We were just looking for some fun.”
“Not with him you’re not. Now fuck off before I change my mind and toss you back through the veil myself.”
He nods and vanishes just like the first did. Good to see I’ve still got it, though my mostly banked anger flares up again when I look at Njáll.
He doesn’t say anything. He just stares at me likeI’mthe one who’s not supposed to be here, like all of that was fine andI’mthe enemy for sending away two fae who were clearly going to take advantage of him.
Njáll frowns and pushes off from the wall, but no. Fuck that.
“What thefuckdo you think you’re doing here?”
He has the audacity to look confused, then angry. “Me? What are you doing here?”
“Hunt business.” My tone is a little haughty, perhaps, but I cannot bring myself to care. “Were you going to enter a bargain with them?”
He has to say no. He can’t be that foolish. He’s been around long enough to know that entering into a bargain with the fae would be—
The tips of his ears go pink and my entire body floods with rage. Only the fact that I know we’re being watched—by everyone in this bar, I would imagine—has me keeping my voice steady.
“What. Were. You. Thinking?”
“I was not going to enter a bargain,” Njáll says, but he doesn’t seem certain. Anger takes over his expression, then something more defiant than my own. “And what does it matter if I did?”
“What does it matter?” I am looking after a fool of a vampire, that is for certain. How could the ex-crai have ever thought himsuitable for this role? If he does not understand how vulnerable he makes his clan, how can he ever protect them? “Are you really that ignorant of who you are?”
“I know exactly who I am.”
The hairs on the back of my neck prickle. We’re still being watched, and now that we are arguing, people are beginning to take even more notice. We cannot do this here. Watching over Njáll for the Huntsman includes, I suppose, keeping him in the same state as the one I found him in. His position and all.
“Come on,” I hiss and push enough magic into my voice that the inside of my throat tickles. If Njáll feels it, he doesn’t react, but at least this way, he’s sure to follow. “We’ll talk about this outside.”
The bartender glares at us as we make our way over to the door, but thankfully, no one attempts to accost us on the way. That would not end well for them. Once we’re outside, I keep walking, and Njáll makes a disgruntled sound but keeps pace.
I only slow once we reach a small square. There are three benches, all unoccupied, and I drop onto one, planting my elbows on my knees before I glare up at him. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
He might think he’s in charge, being that he’s standing and that despite my height, he is much larger than I am, but he should know better.
I should not have left tonight. I did not ever consider that he might sneak out of his own clan house, that he might—
“Does anyone at the clan house know that you left?”
Njáll glares off into the distance. “No.”
“You didn’t—” I growl and snatch my phone from my pocket. I’m clumsy with it, stabbing at the screen until I pull up Bel’s number. He’s the only contact I have there, what with Afsaneh being back in her own district with her vampires.
“Maurice? Is everything okay?”
“If anyone asks, the crai is with me.”
“Should they ask?” His tone is mild, almost amused, and I rub the bridge of my nose.
