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Cash’s mouth fell, and something about the Dark Fae’s expression hit me in the chest. It reminded me of Nigel when he tried unsuccessfully to convince me that he was sorry for what he did. But I tried to remind myselfthat Phillip urged me not to trust Cassius, so I repeated it in my head until his expression no longer panged in my chest.

“It might not mean much now, but Iamtruly sorry about what happened to your parents, V,” Cassius added, and my throat tightened with emotion.

Don’t be swayed, V. He’s playing you.

I took a solemn breath and nodded at the Dark Fae. “I don’t blame you, I blamethem, so we’ll just leave it at that.”

For the first time, the pale-haired Fae smiled so gently I nearly face-planted for the second time that day. “You really are too kind and I don’t deserve it, but thank you for hearing out my apology, V.”

Phillip’s eyes caught mine, and I could hear his voice in my head saying “Don’t trust anyone. Especially not Cash.” But my gut was telling me something was off. I didn’t detect a single lie in what he said, not in the entire time we’d spoken.

What if Phillip had it wrong? What if Cash wasn’t the person my partner claimed he was?

Chapter 23

The Trouble with Cash

“You Hunters justadorewalking from here to there, and literally everywhere. It’s maddening,” Cassius finally proclaimed petulantly. “Well, we civilized magical folk prefer faster means of transportation.”

Digging a hand into his pocket, Cash pulled out a tiny stone. To anyone, it looked like a river rock you’d find anywhere in the area. It wasn’t a fancy-looking gem like they typically used in movies, and I eyed it with curiosity.

Phillip leaned against a tree, arms crossed. “It’s maybe five miles to town at most, and you want to waste a precious transportation stone on it?”

I flicked my eyes over to Cash, whose mouth was pursed unattractively. “You forget, Hunter, I make these as easily as you do those little barbaric inventions of yours. I could summon a vehicle, but you made it perfectly clear I wasn’t permitted to, so this is the next best thing.”

Taking a car left us vulnerable to attack. We couldn’t move quietly or react effectively in one. Man-made things were also extremely susceptible to magical assaults, and it could lead to more harm than good using one. So, when given the choice, Hunters preferred to walk, flit, or a pairing of both. But unfortunately for Cash, he couldn’t flit like the two of us, so we were stuck with walkingfor the moment.

“I don’t trust wherever that stone will take us,” Phillip added decidedly, light eyes flicking over to mine. “So it’s the cuff or we walk.”

Cassius dropped his head back, sighing loudly in frustration. “Get on with it then, Hunter. My feet hurt, I’m hungry, and it feels too open out here.” Throwing out his arms like a child having a tantrum, the Dark Fae sent nothing but glaring rage at my partner.

Pulling the familiar silver string out of his pocket, Phillip strode forward and wrapped the Truth Bracelet around Cassius’s arms. Then, smirking, he asked, “Where does the stone go?”

Fae were hurt by iron, that little myth was true. Like I said, the supernatural world seemed pretty damn helpless when it came to metal in some form or another. Vampires, silver. Werewolves and their kin, gold. Fae-born, iron. The list went on and on.

So, Cassius was beyond lucky Phillip didn’t use iron instead of the silver he chose for the Truth Bracelet. This chat would go a little differently if he had. Probably like a squealing pig running from slaughter, and the very thought of it gave me the most devilish smile yet.

Huffing dramatically, Cash looked square into Phillip’s eyes. “The stone will take us to the town five miles away. Happy now, Hunter?”

Unwrapping the silver string from the Dark Fae’s arm, a roguish smile tainted my sexy partner’s mouth. “Quite happy, yes.”

Rubbing his arms, Cash grumbled under his breath. “That shit stings every bloody time.” After glaring at Phillip one more time, the Dark Fae beckoned me over with a hand. “Come, come. You’ll need to be touching me for this to work, and I don’t want any complaints about touching thisdisgustingDark Fae, capiche?”

This saucy asshole is going to get himself smacked at some point. Mark my words.

Slowly, I made my way over. Phillip had already landed a hand on Cassius’s shoulder, clearly hurting the Fae with his grip because I caught the purple-eyed dude flinch, then heard him girlishly whine“Owie.”It took every bit of my Hunter training to keep a straight face through the entire ordeal, and I internally applauded myself for not cracking a single smile.

After another huff, the Dark Fae outstretched his hand with his palm up politely to me. I was tempted to look at Phillip, but that would send the wrong message, so I grabbed Cassius’s hand like I wasn’t hesitant at all. What I hadn’t expected was that the Dark Fae would be surprisingly hot to the touch, and I visibly reacted the second his hand enclosed around mine.

With one side of his mouth tilted, Cash peered over at me and brazenly said, “I can get even hotter than this when I use more than just my magic, V. If you’re ever curious, just let me know and I’ll show you.”

A loud smack rang out only a half second later—called it!—and Cash’s head was thrown forward with brutal force. My perfect vision easily caught the slow-motion punishment my violent companion paid to the Dark Fae, and it nearly made me cackle. But again, I held it together long enough to play a sympathetic friend to the loose-tongued asshole who didn’t deserve it.

“Phillip,” I admonished gently, “please don’t brutalize our mission companion. Who knows what talents will come loose and fall out of his ears if you hit him with all your strength.”

“I beg your pardon!” Cash erupted angrily, and Phillip was already losing it to a fit of laughter. “Well, I suppose I deserve that.”

“You do,” I agreed with a glare. “I’d be careful how you treat me because, while Phillip will never be on your side, I can be swayed.”