Page 27

Chapter 26

Vareck

A favor now for a favor later.

The price I’d paid echoed in my head as I traveled across the barren winter to find her. Images of her suffering had burned into my mind. Every time I closed my eyes, the fear of what could have happened to her haunted me.

Making a deal with a blood witch and throwing myself into an unknown portal, all for the chance to find her and bring her home. Back to me, where she belonged.

And here she was.

In a brothel.

Jealousy coiled through me. I could see the way men were looking at her, licking their lips and practically salivating, though I doubt she even noticed.

The moment I entered Warwick, I felt her presence again. Now that I’d entered the tavern, it buzzed stronger. With her in front of me, my soul felt content that she was near again, but restless for a reason unknown.

Corvo had already filled me in on the current situation, and while I scanned the premises, I noticed several bouncers and bodyguards. We didn’t have the upper hand. Nowhere close to it. This was a problem.

Meera glanced at me, a cute smirk on her face, but I couldn’t match it. She had no idea what was about to happen. She was so focused on my arrival, she didn’t realize a crucial detail.

“Well, well, well, who do we have here?” the leprechaun asked, giving me a full appraisal head to toe. She bit her bottom lip and raised an eyebrow. “This is your boyfriend, princess? Well done.”

“Irene, I presume,” I greeted, inclining my chin. Standing behind Meera with a hand on her shoulder, I squeezed it lightly. It was partial reassurance to her, and partial for myself, feeling the warmth of her beneath my palm, knowing she was real, and unharmed.

“My boyfriend,” Meera said, her tone filled with snark. She had her arms crossed when she added, “King Vareck.”

I exhaled, waiting for the inevitable. Irene’s brows rose, and she looked at her bodyguard next to her. He chortled, lifting the brim of his hat to take a look. After a moment’s pause, they both laughed. Meera’s face filled with confusion, and she shifted in her seat.

“Sure. And I’m the Faerie Queen,” Irene said, snickering. She tossed back a glass of liquor, audibly sighing after she’d swallowed.

“I don’t understand,” Meera said, looking between Irene and me.

“You think that’s the king?” she asked, shaking her head. “Child, please. He bears no royal seal, no crown”—she made an effort to look behind me, then searched the room dramatically before holding her hands out, palm up—”and walks into a tavern and brothel with no royal guard? I don’t know who he is, but King Vareck wouldn’t come to the likes of Warwick, and he certainly wouldn’t be here alone.”

“But he is the king,” she argued, sitting up straight, and putting her hands on the table. “And we’re leaving.”

The bouncers in the room had taken note of our interactions, having heard the exchange. In my periphery, I assessed their positions. Their stance. The way the tension in their shoulders intensified. The danger had increased substantially.

“Meera,” I said softly, and when she looked at me, I shook my head ever so slightly. Her hazel eyes searched my chest, my arms, my hands, looking for some sign, only to find I had standard riding leathers and gloves. They were high quality, but all that could mean any number of things in Faerie. A noble. A thief. But not a king. When she understood, her features dropped.

Corvo reached over the edge of the table, stretching his paw and aiming for a piece of sausage. “Don’t mind me,” he purred. “I just came for the food.”

“Have a seat next to your princess, ‘your majesty’,” Irene said mockingly. “Ale or liquor?”

“Neither,” I replied flatly, ignoring her offer and choosing to stand while we stared at each other. “You have a penchant for spiking drinks, so I’m told.”

“On occasion. When it suits me.” She narrowed her eyes, quickly glancing at Meera and wondering why her tricks hadn’t worked. Meera was none the wiser, but Corvo knew the dangers from the moment she’d arrived.

“Of course I knew the danger. You owe me.” His eyes flashed at me while he gnawed on a piece of meat he’d taken from the tray.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Owed” him for protecting Meera from being drugged? “Consider us even.”

“For what, pray tell?”

“She was drugged on your watch once already.”

His whiskers twitched, and he licked his paw while his tail flicked. “Agree to disagree.”

“Well, it doesn’t suit me,” I said to Irene, resuming our conversation.

“And what does, handsome?”

“Leaving.”

“You’re free to go.”

“With Meera.”

“Ah, see, that’s going to be a problem.”

“Excuse me? I fail to see how that’s a problem.” Meera waved her hand toward me. “He’s here. I’ll hitch a ride back to Brumlow with him. No need for your services, so no need to pay your exorbitant price.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong, princess. You accepted my food and drink, seated so graciously at my table. And you think you can just get up and walk away? That’s not how things are done in Faerie.”

“We’ll pay you for the meal,” I said, watching a bouncer carefully as he moved to block doors. The chatter in the room had shifted to a softer hum as everyone listened in on the tense situation we'd found ourselves in.

“I don’t think you want to do that,” Meera said to me softly, pulling her hands back from the table and setting them in her lap.

“Oh, he wants to,” Irene replied, not taking her eyes off me. She took a new cigarette from a silver case and tapped it twice on the lid. Bringing it to her lips, the man next to her lit it without being asked. After she blew out a cloud of smoke, she continued. “He just doesn’t know the price yet. ”

Corvo sat in the middle of the table, curling his black tail around him tightly. He patted a pear-shaped bottle, scooting it across the table, nearing the edge. It was such an annoying habit of his. “Things are all so tense here. Can’t we all just get along? You could take turns scratching my chin. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“Not the time, Corvo,” Meera grumbled, scrubbing her hands down her face. It wouldn’t be long before he would get temperamental. He was a cat, through and through, and he disliked it when people ignored him.

“Your princess here was just about to make a deal with me,” the madam said.

“I was not!” Meera stood up quickly, gesturing to the second balcony. “You were going to force me into prostitution, you twat. That’s not a deal. That’s trafficking.”

My fists clenched, the sound of my leather gloves creaking at the pressure. The tension in my jaw pounded in my ears as I gritted my teeth to keep from losing control. The simple thought enraged me. Knowing that was exactly what would have happened had I not shown up was about to send me spiraling.

“It’s business,” Irene said flatly.

“Screw your business,” Meera spat, her eyes glowing a brilliant green I’d seen before. Before I could stop her, that sweet and sultry voice issued a command. “You’re going to let us leave now .”

Irene glared at her, her cheeks reddening with anger. “Bad move, princess.” She rapped her knuckles on the table twice.

Fuck.

Meera realized her mistake too late. Irene couldn’t be persuaded. She was either immune, rare as it was, or paid a pretty penny to a witch for a talisman that would do the trick—and even Meera wasn’t strong enough to break through.

Bouncers closed in on us, and I sighed. Corvo bounced across the table surface, knocking the tray of food as it clattered, and the contents went flying in different directions. The pear-shaped bottle tipped over the side, crashing onto the floor as he darted under the table.

A silver glitter exploded into the air, fanning across the room like a dust storm. Meera barely had time to register what had happened before the shimmering flecks settled over every inch of her exposed skin, peppering her face like freckles before she sneezed and cursed.

“Oops!” Corvo meowed, and honestly, he didn’t sound the least bit sorry.

The patrons scrambled to get away, hiding behind the bar or banging on locked doors.

A man twice Meera’s size went after her, and she held her hand out, yelling for him to stop, and this time, her compulsion worked. I grinned. “Stay close,” I said to her quickly.

When a bouncer took a swing at me, I moved out of the way, his momentum causing him to lose balance when he missed. Grabbing him by his arm, I reared back, smashing my knuckles into his face in quick successions. Blood sprayed from his broken nose as he stumbled backwards, crashing into a table. A pitcher of ale tipped over, spilling across the wooden surface before pouring onto the floor.

Two more came for me, and with one swift kick, chairs went flying as a bouncer flew across the room. His cohort tried to sway to the side, and I grabbed him, yanking him close enough to wrap my hand around his neck.

“Wait, wait, wa?—”

I squeezed. “Enough of this. ”

His muscles flexed beneath my fingers as I lifted him, slamming him against one of the inn’s brick pillars. His feet dangled, claws scraping uselessly at my grip. I watched as his eyes rolled back, his face darkening to a sickening shade of purple.

A bouncer grabbed Meera’s arm, jerking her toward him.She yelped, caught by surprise when her compulsion on him failed. It was the man who’d been sitting next to Irene. His grip caused her to whimper. With more fight in her than I expected, her hand curled into a fist and swung. The crack of it echoed through the brothel. Pride swelled in my chest, but was quickly squashed when the brute slowly turned his face back to her. His free hand wrapped around her neck.

“You’re going to regret that, girlie.”

“Not the face,” Irene commented. Meera reared back as much as she could to spit on him.

“Fuck you.”

“I plan to.”

Something inside me snapped.

“Aw, shit,” Corvo said.

I dropped the man I’d been choking, and he slumped to the floor with a thud. A low, guttural snarl ripped from my chest before I could stop it. The noise startled everyone in the room, but everything around me felt like a blur. Grabbing the man’s wrist, I twisted it sharply. His fingers opened as the bone fractured beneath my strength. Fae were strong. Dark fae even more so. But a fury? He never stood a chance.

I wrenched his hand away from Meera, slamming it down on the table near us. I stared into his eyes and growled, “Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Her.”

The bouncer’s shock wore off quickly, and he reached to his side, going for his dagger, but I got to mine first. In a swift motion, I slammed the blade into his hand, effectively nailing him to the table where Meera had just been sitting. He shrieked as the metal sliced him open and burned the skin around the wound making whatever supernatural healing he possessed worse than a human’s. His body stiffened as the gravity of his mistake came crashing down. “No one touches my fucking woman, and make no mistake—she’s mine .”

Several feminine screams echoed in the room. Meera’s hands clapped over her mouth. “Oh shit,” she gasped, the words coming out muffled.

The man I’d stabbed crouched over the table, trying to breathe through the pain and holding his arm steady with his good hand. Anytime he moved, the burn spread, and tendrils of smoke curled around the blade. Irene’s gaze fixed on the hilt of the dagger, holding her hand up in a motion to instruct the rest of her bouncers to halt in their oncoming advancement.

The royal seal was branded into the handle. I pulled a matching dagger from my side, twirling it in my hand.

“What did you say your name was again?”

“I didn’t.”

“That’s a fancy trick your blade is doing,” she commented, pointing at it as she spoke. “Burning his skin that way. Steal that off a royal guard, did you?”

“Does it matter? I’m either capable enough to defeat them, or I am one. Either way, I may not be able to kill all of your men, but I damn sure can make it across this table to slit your throat before they can save you.”

She pursed her lips and swallowed, seething at the threat. “And your girl here would die in the process too.”

Meera turned her head, touching my arm gently and mumbling through the side of her mouth. “I would like to not die.”

“I’m guessing all three of us would die,” I said, motioning my hand in a circle to Irene, Meera, and myself. Then I shrugged. “Can’t do much business around here as a dead woman, can you?”

She smirked, taking a deep drag of her cigarette, though I could tell I had her concerned. The way her gaze shifted ever so slightly. The twitch at the corner of her mouth. She was weighing the risk. Self-preservation ran deep in all of us, but a leprechaun would use anyone to shield them if it meant staying alive. They only looked out for number one, and I’d never known them to truly care for another person.

“You wanted payment, didn’t you?”

She nodded, watching the weapon very carefully as I expertly twirled it.

The entire room had gone silent. You could hear a pin drop, but all I focused on was the sound of Meera’s ragged breathing as the silver pixie dust settled into her pores. The feel of her palms holding onto my arm encouraged my mind to wander, to think of how she would taste, yet I remained in control. We were both on borrowed time with the drug working its way into our systems, but she was more so than me.

“Then let’s negotiate,” I said calmly, swallowing through the discomfort. “Meera, how long did Irene want you to work here?”

“Um, a week, she said. . . before she, uh . . . said it would be longer.” Meera swayed, holding my bicep for stability. She rubbed her nose, muttering about being allergic to the silver shit.

“A week,” I repeated, keeping my eyes firmly on the leprechaun. “How much would she have made you in a week?”

“Two hundred golds, easy,” she answered, keeping her tone even and waiting for me to respond. Did she think I would be surprised? Insulted by the cost? Meera was priceless, and Irene was a fool.

I reached beneath my cloak, pulling a pouch and tossing it onto the table. It landed with a thud, the coins inside clanking. The sound of money made her eyes shift, her pupils dilating in excitement as she quickly glanced at it and then back at me. “There. That’s five hundred. You’ve been paid more than double what you would have made. If you accept the payment, you agree to call this off. No one dies. I let you live. Meera and I leave this place alive, and none of your associates can follow us. The debt is settled. Forever.”

She reached for it, pulling out a gold and biting it. A smile curled up her lips. When it came to a leprechaun, money would always win. She nodded, and a contract formed between us, magic sealing us to the terms with a small pop.

“Good.” After sheathing the dagger I held, I reached forward, yanking the other one from the bouncer's hand, the squelching sound more audible than most patrons were comfortable with as a few of them gagged. He grunted, staggering back, or tried to anyway.

I wrapped my fingers around his wrist once more. “Before we go,” I forced his hand back to the table and slammed the knife through his wrist, tearing through muscle and tendon and bone. He screamed and the smell of piss followed. I wrenched the knife to the side, mutilating his hand. Without bone to keep it from falling, the appendage dangled by the remaining muscle and skin. I released him and wiped the blood on my trousers. He fell to the floor, cradling his wound close to the chest.

I pointed the dagger at Irene, who watched me with narrowed eyes. “Try to find a loophole and I’ll have this piece of shit establishment ripped apart for kindling and you’ll be tossed into the fire first.”

With that, I reupholstered the blade, and I wrapped my arm around Meera’s waist, pulling her into my side as we turned to leave. Everyone watched us in silence; fear, disbelief, and uncertainty still permeating the air. Only our footsteps could be heard as we took leave, Irene’s people forced tofollow the terms their boss had agreed to. The man at the door pulled it open, his nostrils flaring at me in anger.

“Fucking leprechaun,” Meera said, flipping Irene off before we walked through the exit. “I hope you find hair in your soup . . . and I hope it’s a pube.”

We didn’t bother to stick around for a reply. The door shut behind us, and we stood in what felt like another world. The sounds of the tavern were a stark contrast to the brothel. No one in the pub heard past the sound barrier. People were drinking merrily, chatting to each other, completely unaware of what had just happened.

Meera’s hold on me tightened, and her walk was unsteady. She turned to me, her eyes dreamy as she bit the corner of her bottom lip.

“We need to leave here quickly,” I whispered to her, cradling her cheek carefully with my gloved hand. The silver sheen covering her face and neck was already affecting her, and it was starting to affect me too.

“Something is happening to me,” she muttered, pressing her hand to her chest. “I think I’m having a reaction to that dust. I feel hot. Is it hot in here?” She started to fan herself .

“Yes, it’s just hot,” I lied, pulling her toward the bar. I flagged down the man I’d spoken with when I arrived. “Galpin, was it?”

“Who’s askin’?” He came over with a smile but quickly took a look at Meera and his skin paled, guilt causing him to lower his gaze. “No . . . she’s such a nice girl. I should’na sent her ‘n there.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” I replied through gritted teeth. Lashing out wouldn’t help us now. “But we both need your help now.”

“Name it,” he said, straightening his shoulders.

“We need a place to stay. An inn. A barn. A room. Anything. Somewhere that isn’t here ,” I said, gesturing to the brothel door.

He nodded, yelling at someone in the back to come out and cover the front. He grabbed his cloak from a hook on the wall, wrapping it around himself. “My brother. He owns the inn. I’ll take ya’ there myself.” He quickly assessed Meera’s clothing, and he looked around to see if there was another one hanging. He began to remove his own. “Ya’ need this ta’ stay warm.”

She swallowed thickly, shaking her head. “Too hot,” she said, licking her lips, and I swear the sweep of her tongue was in slow motion. A low rumble vibrated in my throat.

“I understand.” Galpin’s eyebrows knit together, and he refastened the cloak. He turned to me and quietly added, “It’s on ya’ too, mate. The dust.”

I nodded, my jaw clenched. “I’m aware.”

He waved us to the door, pulling it open. “This way.”

The wind howled, swirling flakes of snow in spirals. The moment the crisp night air reached me, my senses were assaulted by something new. I inhaled sharply, my muscles locking into place as a new heated desire coursed through me. The scent of her filled my lungs—heady, intoxicating—utterly ruining me.

Arousal coiled between us, pulling tight and trying to take control.

Thick and powerful and all-consuming.

But it wasn’t mine.

It was hers.