Page 51 of Kissed the Mark
“I’m anxious,” I said. I thought of poorYuki, alone in my apartment, about to be scooped up by Jian andgiven to Beatrice Newell and then probably new owners, never to seeme again.
She paused at this and diverted us into analley between the coffee shop and a brunch place. “I had a thought,and I wanted to run it by you,” she said.
There was a light breeze that made her hairblow around magnificently, as though she was the star of a shampoocommercial. “What is it?” I asked.
“I was thinking—if I choke down a muffin orsomething, or drink someone else’s blood…” Her gaze dropped to mineexpectantly.
“Why would you do that?” I askedstupidly.
“So I could stay for seven years, instead oftwo weeks. I thought fairies loved loopholes.”
“You want to be a prisoner of the Unseeliecourt? A hostage? For seven whole years?”
“That’s why I wanted to ask you first,” shesaid. “You’re welcome here and I’m not. It’s nice here. It’s fun. Idon’t age. I have seven years to share with you here…if youwant.”
“I’m not sure you understand what being ahostage means at court. It’s not all fun and games. You wouldn’t bea welcome guest.”
“I’m aware of that, and that’s not thepoint. Do you get what I’m asking?”
Yes, I thought.You’re asking meto be with you for the next seven years here, with you stuck as aprisoner.But I hadn’t even said yes, really, to dating her,and I sure wasn’t ready to commit to that length of time. We couldeasily be “broken up” by tomorrow—not to mention that I’d be nearlyforty by the time I got out of here, if I stayed with her the fullseven years.
The impact of what she asked hit me like aton of bricks, then. I could leave whenever and come backwhenever—and she’d trust me enough to be trapped here for sevenwhole freaking years. I watched her out of the corner of my eye andwondered if she’d really thought through all the implications. “Idon’t get what you’re insinuating,” I settled on. “And I can’t sayyes to that, so please don’t ask me.”
Her expression was hard to decipher. Did sheactually want to go to Austria? Supernaturals were well-connectedon an international level, but the odds of being found there werefairly low, in my opinion. Was she secretly head-over-heels in lovewith me?
My stomach sank as I jumped to theworst-case scenario: something else was going on. She was runningfrom something, not running toward a long-term relationship. “Isthere anything you’re not telling me?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, why do you want to stay here whenwe can be in Austria, and you can drink as much blood as your heartdesires and keep aiming for that immortality you were so eagerabout just very, very recently?”
“Maybe I’m re-prioritizing.”
I narrowed my eyes. Leandra was a hundredtwenty-four years old, as she liked to remind me. And suddenly shewas structuring her long life around my mortal one? “Leandra.”
“What?!”
“I’m an idiot.”
She took a step forward, backing me into theside wall of the Unseelie court’s best coffee shop, and reached formy hand. “What are you talking about, Olympia?”
“I keep trusting you, and you keep lying tome.”
As if accentuating my point, a troop ofguards from the castle paraded past the alley in a rush. Leandrabreathed in sharply. I had not seen guards run around in Faerie,ever, my whole life. Fae did not like to do things in a rush.
“What else are you hiding?” I demanded.
“Quick, can you find a bystander? I’m goingto drink someone’s blood today, and it can’t be yours.”
“You’ll be even less welcome here if youforce it,” I warned.
“Fine, a scone from the bakery,” shesaid.
“Leandra. They’re looking for you, aren’tthey?”
Her eyes darted between me and the openingto the alley. “Geez, Olympia, whose side are you on?”
“Why are they looking for you?” I hissed.“What did you do?” My mind raced with possibilities: she’d stolensomething from one of the fairies here, offended the queen, didsomething so hideous back in the human world that it affected ushere.
