Page 17 of A Blade of Blood and Shadow (The Ravaged Kingdom #1)

Chapter

Eleven

A gainst my better judgment, I followed Kaden the four blocks back to Crimson Row, trailing a few paces behind him. As he passed under a sign for one of the vampire clubs, the neon light flashed off his night-black hair, making him look even less of this world than he usually did.

For the first time, I really noticed Kaden beyond his good looks and that off-putting magic that seemed to both threaten and seduce as it hummed against my skin. Rather than the vibrant, ostentatious clothes most fae in the Quarter wore, Kaden dressed in all black.

The night he saved me from the demons, he’d been dressed in black fighting leathers that made him look like some sort of avenging angel.

Tonight he wore a plain black shirt rolled up at the sleeves, slim-fitting pants, and boots.

The shirt was finely made but had no buttons or adornments — just a slit beneath the throat that revealed a few inches of broad, tanned chest and the swirling hint of a tattoo .

With every step, he exuded the confidence of a warrior and the arrogance of royalty. Vampires and mortals gave him a wide berth as he strode up the sidewalk, pausing only long enough to let me catch up.

I’d expected him to take me to some secret spot known only to the fae, but instead he turned toward The Red Velvet Diner — a divey hole-in-the-wall frequented by mortals after a long night of drinking and cavorting.

Flashing red lights beamed down from the slowly rotating sign out front, gleaming off the shiny metal facade of the diner.

Kaden magicked away his wings and thrust open the door for me, and I eyed him warily as I stepped into the diner.

The smell of fry grease and syrup wafted over me on a gust of warm air, and the combination was strangely appealing after everything that had happened the last few days.

The sign by the door said “Please Wait To Be Seated,” but Kaden spun it around so that it read “Please Seat Yourself” and sauntered over to a huge corner booth.

He flopped down on the seat as though he owned the place, spreading his long arms across the back of the bench. Even though his huge black wings had disappeared, I found myself picturing what they would look like thrust out behind him against the red vinyl booth.

Cautiously, I sank down on the bench across from him.

I didn’t like that the seat put my back to the door, but I suspected the most dangerous creature I’d encounter tonight was sitting right in front of me.

My hands itched instinctively toward my weapons, but I forced myself to lay my palms flat on the table.

Kaden cracked open one of the oversized menus, perusing the offerings as though he were trying to decode some ancient text. “Hm. Breakfast or lunch?”

“It’s ten o’clock at night.”

“Breakfast then. I’m feeling pancakes.” He lifted his gaze from the gigantic menu and arched one dark brow. “You?”

“I thought you brought me here to tell me how to find Silas’s house.”

“No, I brought you here to eat. You look as though you could use a hot meal. I thought we could discuss your friend’s predicament over dinner like civilized creatures.”

I scowled. Clearly Kaden wasn’t going to tell me anything until I ordered some food, so I plucked up the menu and stared at the sun-faded photos of hamburgers, omelets, and waffles doused in puddles of syrup.

A pale blond waitress sauntered over to take our order. She was a mortal who looked to be somewhere in her mid-forties, and her face was slathered with too much makeup. My eyes drifted to her neck, which was peppered with angry purple puncture marks.

My stomach twisted.

“What’ll it be?” she asked in a falsely peppy voice.

“French fries and an order of bacon,” I said decisively. “And a chocolate shake.”

“Sweet, salty, and savory.” Kaden cracked an approving grin. “I am a disciple at your feet.”

I rolled my eyes, but he’d already turned his smoldering gaze on the haggard-looking waitress. “Coffee, pancakes, the deluxe avalanche with a side of gravy, eggs over easy, a double order of bacon, four sausage links, and a chocolate shake, please.”

My brows rose almost to my hairline, but the waitress didn’t so much as blink. She merely shuffled behind the counter to put our order in, then returned to our table with a carafe of coffee.

Once she’d filled Kaden’s cup and drifted off, I leaned across the table and hissed, “Why are we here?”

“I thought we’d been over that already.”

I let out an annoyed huff. “I mean, why are we here ?” I gestured around the fifties-style diner with its squeaky red booths, sticky menus, and the half dozen or so sad blood tourists slumped over their plates.

“Why not here?” Kaden asked, leaning back in his seat. “Ample seating, comfy booths” — he bounced on the seat for emphasis — “and a variety of delectable offerings sure to rot your insides.”

I wrinkled my nose. “It’s just not very . . . fae .”

Kaden’s eyes flashed. “Exactly. Only mortals on the verge of death. No nosy supernaturals with their annoyingly good hearing.”

“Oh.” Suddenly, I understood. “Are you afraid of what the fae would do if they learned you were conspiring with someone like me?”

“We’re conspiring , are we?” Kaden grinned wickedly. “That certainly makes things more interesting.”

I rolled my eyes, but that delighted spark faded from his eyes, replaced by a darkness that made me shiver. “It’s not the fae I’m worried about.”

For a moment, I just stared, but then Kaden’s expression cleared. “Anyway, how can we be conspiring if I don’t even know your name?”

I hesitated. Everything inside me screamed that I shouldn’t trust him, but Kaden had saved my life twice. He already knew where I’d been staying and a disconcerting amount of what I’d been up to the last few days. What harm could a name do?

“It’s Lyra,” I said quietly.

Something like surprise flickered in Kaden’s expression, but he tucked it away so quickly that I couldn’t be sure of what I’d seen.

“Well, Lyra, you should know that I always make it a point not to get my co-conspirators killed.” He paused. “Tell me about your friend. The one who was taken.”

Right. As if I had more than one.

“She’s a witch,” I said, fiddling with the wrapper from my straw and tearing off one end. “We . . . knew each other as kids, but I hadn’t spoken to her in years. I never wanted Silas to know about her, but after I left him . . .” My throat stuck. “I had nowhere else to go.”

Kaden closed his eyes for a moment, and I looked away. I didn’t want to see the pity in his gaze when he opened them again.

“What did you do to piss off Silas?” he asked. “I’m guessing it had something to do with whatever you were up to the night those demons cornered you in the alley.”

I bit my lip, trying to decide how much to tell him.

Information was power — especially to the fae — and I didn’t want him to know anything more about me than I’d already revealed.

But he knew I was no longer under Silas’s protection, so there didn’t seem to be any point in trying to hide what I’d done.

“I left,” I said hoarsely. “Or, at least, I tried to.”

“Why?” Kaden sounded genuinely curious — as if I was some riddle he couldn’t work out.

“That’s none of your business. ”

“On the contrary, us working together makes it my business.”

An incredulous laugh slipped out of me. “We aren’t working together.”

“Not according to you. We’re conspiring, remember?”

“Conspiring to do what?”

He shrugged. “Free your friend. Get rid of Silas. Flush his hunters out of the Quarter.”

“So this is just about getting rid of Silas.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Then what is it about?” I snapped.

Kaden’s eyes grew stormy. “That’s my business.”

I slumped back against the booth with a huff and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not working with a faerie.”

“Why not?” he asked. He sounded genuinely offended. “I saved your life — not once, but twice. What reason do you have not to trust me?”

“Being fae is reason enough.”

“That’s a little closed-minded, don’t you think?”

“Maybe.”

Kaden sighed. “Doesn’t it get tiring, assuming everyone in the Quarter is out to get you?”

“It’s kept me alive so far.” I shot him a dark smile. “Plus, they usually are.”

“My, what a lovely outlook. It must get lonely being you.”

I stiffened. I knew he’d meant it as a teasing comment, but it felt like a dagger between the ribs. I looked away, not wanting him to see that he’d struck a nerve, but thankfully the waitress appeared with our food.

Plates the size of hubcaps filled the table, piled with eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, and biscuits drenched in gravy. She set a plate of fries and another platter of bacon in front of me, along with a giant chocolate shake topped with whipped cream and a cherry.

My stomach gave a loud growl. The last thing I’d eaten was the cereal at Imogen’s, and that felt like a lifetime ago. I grabbed a fistful of French fries and began to wolf down my food, not caring that I looked like a ravenous monster.

We ate in companionable silence, Kaden offering me one of his biscuits slathered in gravy, one gigantic pancake, and a greasy sausage link. Soon I’d devoured all of my own food plus a good portion of his.

“You eat a lot for such a small person,” he observed.

I reached over with my fork to spear his last sausage link. “You talk a lot for someone who says so little.”

Kaden threw back his head with a bark of laughter. The sound was startling after spending so much time alone in Imogen’s apartment. It made the corners of his eyes crinkle in a way that was almost human, and my stomach did a nervous little flop.

“Gods,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

“I still don’t understand what you get out of it,” I said.

“Is it not enough that I wish to free an innocent witch out of the goodness of my heart?”

“No.”

He flashed a lopsided grin, though it was tainted with a darkness that made my insides tighten.