Page 41 of Lana Pecherczyk

Nikan’s eyes flashed, and he snarled, “I know exactly what I’m missing. And I have plenty of food here.” He gestured at the dead hound.

“Ew.” Manfri scrunched his nose. “Won’t that give you indigestion?”

Cielo asked Nikan, “You’ve been down to the city before?”

“Like I said, this predicament is my fault. I disobeyed my mother and left her alone. Vulnerable. Thieves attacked while she slept. She killed them, but her wounds forced her into hibernation. She bound me for my negligence.”

“How long ago was that?”

Nikan’s lips flattened, but he didn’t answer.

“And what will she do when she knows you saved us by killing her hound?” Manfri pointed to the dead beast.

Again, Nikan refused to answer, but pain flashed in his eyes.

Cielo shook his head. “This is wrong, and you know it.”

“She’s my mother.”

“She enslaved you. You’re not her son but a thing she’s collected.” Cielo turned in circles, his arms wide at the mountain of treasure. “This is her life, not yours. I see the need to fly in your eyes. I saw the excitement when you fought the hound. Crows are not meant to have their wings clipped. Especially not by their mother.”

Silence stretched between them.

“What makes her so terrifying?” Manfri asked softly. “What kind of monster?—”

“None of your fucking business, crow!”

“Whoa.” Manfri showed his palms, not wanting to push Nikan. But behind the defiance, hurt, and pain, flashes of something else appeared. Confusion. Longing. Yearning. Guilt. Manfri tried again, this time more subtly. “I’m just saying you have options.”

“We’ll leave.” Cielo spread his wings.

Go? Manfri hesitated until Cielo glared at him, and he gave in. He spread his wings, ready to fly.

“Wait.”

They faced Nikan. A cold breeze caught his long, dark hair, lifting it from his shoulders. He looked like a vengeful warrior king at that moment. Powerful and indomitable. Manfri would never forget it for as long as he lived.

Another sweeping tingle of premonition trailed down his spine, and he shivered. He looked around, thinking they were about to be set upon by something wicked, the Collector, or worse. But then he realized the electric feeling wasn’t from danger … it was from being around Nikan. It was the same sort of feeling Manfri had whenever he was with Cielo.

He knew in that moment, with absolute certainty, that they would be friends and in each other’s lives for a long time. Their three paths would twine together for years.

They had to take Nikan with them. They had to.

“Tell me, Nikan,” Manfri said, his eyes crinkling with mischief. “Have you ever seen the inside of a nightclub in Cornucopia where the females dance in cages and then invite you up for a little afternoon delight?”

Nikan’s brows lifted, intrigued. “No.”

“Crimson,” Manfri rolled his eyes heavenward. “You are in for a treat. Fae of all kinds go there to hang loose and party.There’s dancing, music, gambling, and elixirs of all kinds.” He added the last one with another waggle of his eyebrows. Surely Nikan got his point by now. Shit, maybe he had no idea what a secret waggle meant. “Cielo and I are headed there now. Why don’t you come for the night, and we’ll have you back by dawn. Your mother won’t even know you’re gone.”

“She’ll know,” he replied, scowling.

“And then there’s the Rosebud Courtesans,” Manfri continued as if he didn’t hear Nikan’s words. “They’re trained in the art of sensual pleasures—if you know what I mean.” Another, very obvious eyebrow waggle. “I’ve been trying to get Cielo to visit them. You know, just to test how good their training actually is, but he’s being a prude.” He dodged Cielo’s dagger-like glare and hopped toward a gleaming ruby. “But if we have a red coin or a jewel like this, we can score the most beautiful and sought-after courtesans reserved for the High Fae royalty. I’ll bet we can even procure King Mithras’s personal favorite.”

He held the ruby to the setting sun. The gem’s fire caught him, scattering crimson light across his face.

“We don’t want to scare him off.” Cielo frowned at Manfri. “Maybe we should take him somewhere a little tamer to begin with.”

See? Going soft.