Page 146 of A Taste of Bliss

“He’d attacked a fae family, and the fae constabulary had already gotten to him. We tried to help heal him, but he was already gone, and a couple of the family members that were attacked also died.”

“Stars,” Reese mutters at the same time Amelia says, “Fuck.”

Evan glances at Amelia and back to the rest of us. “Look, I can admit we might have been a bit harsh last time.” He throws a glance to Shaun. “But we can’t trust you.”

I’m about to argue against that when Benny speaks up. “Bliss, you were working with the wraith to steal Pisces’ tears. You have to understand why we’d be hesitant to trust you.” He looks at Evan and Shaun, pointedly. “But, I’m willing to hear you out.”

Shaun starts to argue, but Benny shakes his head. “Pisces was working with the wraith too. And we’d let him explain if we couldget in to see him. So—” he looks back to me, “—start from the beginning.”

So I do.

I tell them everything.

It’s not the first time I’ve told Amelia and the others what happened, but I go through the story again for the guys. About how my bond was messed up. About how awful it’s been not being able to feed properly. About how the wraith promised Pisces wouldn’t get hurt.

I tell them again how I never saw a rune on Pisces’ eye. And I tell them what the wraith told me. That Made fae wouldn’t have a rune.

And then as I finish telling them everything, I turn to Benny. “I have to get him free. Not just because I want the chance to fight for us, but because he doesn’t deserve to be locked up. And I think it’s my fault he even got caught…” I trail off. I can’t help but feel like Jordan fixated on hating Voracious Maw so much simply because I liked them.

Benny nods. I can’t bring myself to look at Evan and Shaun just yet. Simon reaches over and clasps my hands. “It’s not your fault, Bliss. You didn’t get him arrested, and you didn’t force him to also make a deal with the wraith.”

Shaun huffs out a hollow laugh. “Pisces really fucked up. You both did. A fucking wraith?” He shakes his head and takes a deep breath. “I apologize for being too hard on you before. Honestly, part of all this is that I’m pissed at Pisces for not telling us what he’d done.”

“You aren’t alone in that,” Evan mutters. He stands up, perhaps having recharged his powers enough. He looks around the room, eyes skipping over Amelia this time. “Simon mentioned you had a plan?”

I nod. “Half of one, anyways. I was hoping you’d all help.”

Shaun comes and stands before me, extending his hand to shake. “Anything you need.”

Benny unlocks a door for me and leads me into the bedroom. Pisces’ scent hits me immediately and I breathe it in deeply. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to sleep here?”

I feel I’m invading his personal space. He was so angry with me before. I don’t think he’d want me here. I tell Benny this, but he just slings an arm around me. “Look, I know him really well and I know you’ll both find a way past this. Pisces has always been hurt that Made fae don’t have mates. And now here you are. He might be a little angry with you about the misunderstanding, but he’ll get over it. He’s been wishing he had someone like you for so long.” A longing look comes over Benny’s features and I wonder if Pisces isn’t the only one wishing Made fae had mates too.

I put an arm around Benny and hug him back. “If Pisces has a mate, then maybe you do too,” I say softly. Benny smiles at me and nods, but he doesn’t say anything more on the subject.

“I changed the sheets on his bed so they’d be fresh when he got back. You can rest here, and I’ll find rooms for the others.”

I smile at him. “Thanks.” He turns to leave. “Maybe make sure Amelia is far away from Evan’s room.”

He grins at me. “Already way ahead of you.” With that he’s gone.

I close the door behind him and turn around to take in the room in more detail. The walls are beige, covered in framed posters and a couple art pieces that upon closer inspection Irealize were painted by Benny, his loping signature legible in the bottom right corners.

The closet is pretty neat, lots of black—no surprise there, but there’s also a couple sweaters in varying colors of blue, brown, and beige. One dark green one that looks well worn.

I try not to touch anything—I don’t want to pry into his life too much. I want him to invite me in instead—but I fail.

I run my fingers along the strings of his acoustic guitar that’s snuggled neatly into its stand. As I turn to go sit on the bed I accidentally knock over a notebook. It falls open as it hits the floor, and a loose piece of paper falls out. Picking it up, I realize it looks more like a journal and the loose paper is actually a photo.

I snap the journal shut, not wanting to invade his privacy by reading what’s written inside, but the photo I can’t seem to look away from. It’s Pisces and a woman I’ve never seen before.

She has long black hair, lots of piercings, a round face. He has his arm around her, but she looks almost permanently angry, like she wishes she could be anywhere else. And Pisces…

There are bags under his eyes, and his deep blue eyes look tired and dull. He’s much thinner in this photo. And a lot younger. Even in his sweater that he’s wearing with the sleeves pulled almost over his fingers, I can see how skinny he is.

He looks miserable.

A knock at the door makes me drop the picture. I catch myself hoping it’s him at the door, even though I know it can’t be. Simon walks in instead.Pisces wouldn’t need to knock on his own door, I remind myself.