Page 2 of Deadly Little Games (Four Ways to Fate #2)

2

The days were getting warmer, but luckily not warm enough for shorts, so I ended up in black jeans, black sneakers, and a dark purple crop top. I went out to the living room, glancing toward Braxton’s door. Not a single sound emanated from within.

I tiptoed toward the kitchen to make coffee, and with another glance at Braxton’s door, I started searching through the cupboards for something nice to feed him when he woke up. I was still feeling guilty for getting him kidnapped by vampires, even though I knew he didn’t hold it against me.

I wasn’t sure what I had hoped to find, but I didn’t appreciate every cupboard I opened mocking me with its emptiness. I closed the final cupboard with a sigh. Maybe a trip to the nearby café was in order.

I waited for Ringo to emerge from the bathroom, his fur damp and all fluffed up from his regular bath in the sink. He hopped over to the sofa where he started using his tiny paws to smooth down his fur.

“Mind telling Braxton not to go anywhere if he wakes up? I’ll be right back.”

Ringo blinked his big round eyes at me. “Is it safe?”

I patted the back pocket of my jeans where I had slid Sebastian’s calling card after a short internal debate. “If anything happens, I’ll summon Sebastian. By this point, I’m pretty sure he wants to keep me alive.” That was, while he wasn’t kissing me to summon my elusive magic.

Ringo still didn’t seem convinced.

“I’ll bring you a sweet potato turnover.”

He sat up a little straighter. “I’ll tell Braxton you’ll be back soon.”

Grinning, I went for the door, then hurried down the exterior stairs. It was hotter outside than I had expected, but then again, I had slept a lot of the morning away.

I reached the street and started walking, feeling on guard in an entirely new way. You always had to watch your back in the city, but the idea had gained a whole new meaning to me lately. I was sweating by the time I had traversed the few blocks to the coffee shop.

I smiled at a few familiar faces as I hurried up the sidewalk. The familiar people weren’t exactly friends, but Braxton and I were regulars. We saw the other patrons pretty often.

The bells on the door jingled happily as I let myself inside, enjoying the feel of the air conditioner. There was a line, of course, and the bakery display was mostly empty at the late hour. Once it was finally my turn, only a few things were left. Luckily one of those things was a lingonberry turnover. Braxton’s favorite.

I ordered the turnover and several other pastries, along with two lattes, from the half goblin teenager behind the counter. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was also reporting to Mistral. He seemed to know all the goings on within the city, even though I wasn’t sure if he actually ever left the Bogs.

Pastry bag in one hand, and two lattes in a little cardboard carrier in the other, I turned to leave, nearly running into the next customer in line.

Sebastian smiled down at me as I fumbled to not spill the coffees. For once, he wasn’t wearing a suit, just gray slacks and a white button up with the first few buttons left open to show the top of his chest. Maybe devils were also affected by the heat, though I doubted it. Rumor had it the hells were a realm of eternal, blistering summer.

I realized I was staring at him with my jaw hanging open and quickly averted my gaze, thinking of our kiss just the night before. “What do you want?”

He splayed his hands. “Did I not tell you I would see you today?”

I walked past him toward the door. “Not at this ungodly hour.”

He followed, opening the door for me, which I grudgingly accepted since my hands were full. “It’s 1 PM.”

I sighed as I walked back out into the heat. At least the coffees wouldn’t get cold. “Well as you’re aware, I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

He fell into step beside me as I walked. Insects buzzed above the din of daytime conversation and the cheerful chirping of birds.

Sebastian moved a little closer to my shoulder. “A goblin visited you early this morning.”

I stopped at a crosswalk, using my elbow to push the button. “Yep.”

“What did he want?”

I batted my eyelashes and gave him a fake sweet look as I waited for the light to turn. “None of your gods damned business.” Except that the goblin in question had made my skin glow, just like Sebastian. He had awakened more hidden magic I didn’t even know I had.

The light turned green. I hung my head and kept walking amongst a few others crossing the street. I really needed to speak with Mistral. Maybe after I visited Emerald Heights, I could escape to the Bogs for the evening. Of course, that meant leaving Braxton alone at the apartment. Elena had said the vampires wouldn’t be troubling us again, but I wasn’t sure if I could trust her with Braxton’s life.

When we eventually reached the stairs to my apartment, Sebastian started following me up.

I turned around on the step above him, putting us at almost eye level. “I don’t remember inviting you up.”

A hint of fire in his eyes made me sweat. “We need to discuss what you will say to the elf king. Elena was there last night. She may have had spies watching the roof. We cannot say if anyone saw you fully shift, but you need to be prepared should the topic arise.”

My gut squirmed. Without another word, I turned and kept walking. I reached my door and went inside, hesitating for just a moment before leaving it open for Sebastian to walk in after me. Braxton was sitting inside on the sofa. I didn’t see Ringo anywhere. He must have delivered his message, then retreated back to my room for a nap.

I lifted the coffees and bag of pastries, and Braxton smiled. He looked a bit rumpled in his sweats with his curly hair poking out all over the place, but he was otherwise unscathed. Werewolves were fast healers. And the smile made me feel better. He wasn’t upset with me.

I would hold onto that blessing, because I was sure there weren’t a lot more of them waiting in my future.

Ignoring Sebastian as he shut the door behind us, I went to sit on the sofa next to Braxton, offering him one of the coffees. I set the pastry bag on the low coffee table as Sebastian moved to lean against the nearest wall, crossing his arms.

With a smirk, Braxton moved to the floor, using the coffee table like an actual table as he took out the only lingonberry pastry and put it on a napkin.

With a smirk to match Braxton’s, Sebastian took the vacated seat, sitting a little too close to me for my liking. I sensed just a touch of his dark magic, once again making me think of the previous night, of the feel of that magic crawling up my skin while his hands gripped me against him.

Braxton watched the devil, the wary look in his eyes belying his casual demeanor. “Think you can do a better job of protecting Eva today?”

Unaffected, Sebastian leaned back and crossed an ankle over his knee. “She must venture to Emerald Heights on her own, but if she’ll listen to me, I can keep her out of trouble.”

Braxton snorted, then took a bite of his pastry. With his mouth half full, he muttered, “You should know by now, Eva doesn’t listen to anyone.”

Sebastian gave me a sidelong glance. “I’m well aware, but hopefully after last night, she will change her ways. The elves have a powerful foothold in the city, and they are allied with Elizabeta, the master of all local vampires.” He gave me a meaningful look. “Perhaps Ivan worked for himself, but should Elizabeta decide she wants in on the game, the elves will become our enemies.”

I sulked as I sipped my latte. “All the better for me to get the meeting over with.”

“Indeed,” Sebastian agreed. “Learn what information you may, and tell them as little as possible.”

I lifted my coffee cup in agreement, though he had no matching vessel to cheers me with. Not that I felt guilty about that. He could have bought his own damn coffee.

I noticed Ringo peeking out of my slightly ajar door. I leaned forward, pulling out a pastry filled with purple sweet potato from the bag. I dangled it in the air, and he rushed out of the room and hopped onto my knee, holding his little paws out for the pastry. I gave it to him and he started munching away, leaving crumbs all over my jeans.

Sebastian watched Ringo with thinly-veiled disgust. “Do you plan on keeping that thing forever?”

I pulled the pastry bag next to me on the sofa and searched until I found the cherry turnover I had chosen. “Well, I like him a lot better than I like you .”

Smirking, he snatched a blueberry danish from the bag, then leaned back against the sofa to eat it.

I watched him, realizing it was the first time I had actually seen him eat. Maybe he wasn’t so different from me and Braxton after all.

Sebastian noticed Ringo also watching him and a flash of fire shone in his eyes, making Ringo tremble.

Scratch that. He was still a devil. Even if we were sort of on the same side now, I couldn’t let my guard down around him. He was using me, and I would use him too.

Of course, when it came to playing games with devils, they always came out on top.