Page 16

“Back up, you ugly bastards!” The stranger paid me no mind, his attention fully on the creatures rising to their feet and heading back toward me.

His coat flared out behind him like wings, an avenging angel as he spun runes faster than I’d ever seen before.

Nocta’s minions tried to flee, but his magic caught them one by one, tearing them limb from limb – undoing the magic that had bound the monstrosities together.

Black smoke spilled out from their bodies, flying straight up into the sky.

In the end, there wasn’t much left but piles of animal pieces. A few snakes slithered away, a single bird took flight, and that was that.

I was on my knees, Bandit on all fours in front of me.

“You okay?” he whispered.

I nodded shakily. “You?”

He bobbed his head, chittered, and skulked off toward the forest as a shadow enveloped me.

I tipped my head back, squinting into the now-visible sun to stare into the handsome face of my savior.

“I owe you my thanks ...”

“Liam. Liam O’Connor. And I guess that’s one way of looking at it. Although, it would’ve put a slight damper on my day to sit by and watch a woman get torn from limb to limb by those fuckers. So, it was sort of a selfish gesture on my part.”

Liam had an easy smile, eyes the color of melted chocolate, and sun-kissed brown curls that only added to the whole angel impression. As untrusting as I was as a rule, I could already feel the fight-or-flight tension slowly leaving my body as the adrenaline drained away.

The bravery of the beergarita was gone.

“Regardless, I appreciate you stepping in. A lot of people would’ve run the other way. I’m Harlow Daygon.”

His gaze flicked to my bracer before returning to my face. “House Phoenix, hmm? I heard they were reinstating it.”

“That’s what they tell me.”

“Well, Harlow Daygon, can I help you up?”

My legs felt like jelly, and everything hurt, so I shook my head. “Actually, I think I’m gonna sit here for a minute and assess the damage before I try to stand, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind one bit. In fact, I can sit right down beside you and –”

“What’s going on here?” I turned toward the hard, clipped voice and found myself staring up into the face of a furious Typhon Moreno.

“Where are Nocta’s men?” he demanded, the tension pulsing from him almost palpable.

Liam turned, a hint of dimple flashing. “Well, aren’t you a big fella?”

Typhon’s dead-eyed glare would’ve intimidated most, but to Liam’s credit, he held his ground and stared right back until I felt compelled to fill the tense silence.

“They’re ... gone. I was attacked, and Liam helped me. H-how did you know Nocta’s men were here?”

“I saw the dark fog roll in out of nowhere. Nocta’s trademark,” Typhon grunted, eyes never leaving Liam. “I can take it from here.”

“Why don’t we let the lady decide who’s going to take it from where, hmm?” Liam’s tone seemed light, but I could feel the threat underneath it. He wasn’t backing down from Typhon.

The two of them stared each other down.

Fear still skittered along my spine. I’d been this close to being snatched by Nocta’s men. I just wanted to go back to the school, as crazy as that sounded even to me.

“Hey! Hi, there,” I said as they both finally looked my way. “Still on the ground and not sure if I have use of my limbs yet, so if you two are done measuring your ducks ...” damn that language gag!

Liam shook his head and smiled down at me with a wink. “No need for that on my end, I’ve no insecurities about my duck size. I’m happy to be on my way so long as you’ve got a friend here and feel safe.”

I wouldn’t go that far, but I could already tell Typhon was pissed and the charming stranger was only making it worse.

“I’ll be fine. I don’t think he’s going to try and kill me ... today, at least. But thanks again for stepping in. If I see you around, drinks are on me.”

“You’ll see me around.” He lifted a hand and waved as he backed away. “And I’ll hold you to that offer.”

It wasn’t until Liam headed into the pub, disappearing from sight, that Typhon turned his attention back to me.

“What the hell happened?”

“I’m fine, thanks for asking. Really appreciate your concern –”

“Tell me exactly what happened, Harlow. Now.”

I covered my face with my hands and then ran them over the back of my neck. “I don’t know. One minute I was sitting here eating my fish and chips, and the next the fog rolled in and Nocta’s men were on me.”

He scowled again, staring off into the distance. “I don’t get why the protection wards didn’t alert us to a breach ...”

What did I know about what it took to breach Tarquinius’s shielding spells? I shrugged and the motion made me wince.

Typhon frowned and reached out a hand. “Can you stand?”

I nodded. “Yeah, pretty sure.” I let him help me up, ignoring the pulse of energy that arced from his hand to mine.

Before I could pull away, he drew me slowly along after him, up the street and back toward the school.

I looked over my shoulder to see Bandit skulking along behind us, using the buildings for cover.

As if he blended in at all. And what did he think he was hiding from? Nocta’s men were gone.

“Sit.” Typhon had us at the end of the street where the fountain gurgled. The mermaid in it reached for the sky, a horn to her lips, the water pouring out of the horn and sliding down her arms and face, back into the fountain. It was beautiful and sad, as if she were crying endless tears.

I sat on the edge of the fountain as Typhon tore the sleeve of his shirt off and dipped it into the water, then wiped the blood from my face. “Any major pains?”

I stared up at him. “Would it matter if there were?”

His eyes flashed. “My job is to protect you and the other students.”

“If that’s what’s bothering you, don’t worry, it was my choice to leave the school.”

“Are. You. Hurt?”

I glared at him and let out a sigh. “Some tenderness in my ribs but, as you know from personal experience, I’ve had worse, so don’t get your panties in a knot over that. And don’t try to heal me, either. I’ve had enough of you messing with me.”

Something flickered in his face but was gone in an instant. “I’m not a healer. I was just going to take some of the pain away ...”

It did hurt like a son of a beech.

“Fine.”

He put a cloth in my hand and lifted it to my bleeding nose. “Hold that.” He sat next to me and put his hands to either side of my torso. Fingers flicking along my ribs, his head bowed, I realized as his magic sank into me that he was checking me for breaks.

“Keep breathing, Harlow. I can’t find cracks if you don’t breathe.”

Except, I couldn’t breathe. His hands were warm, and his dark hair right under my nose smelled .

.. amazing. I couldn’t pinpoint it, and I was clearly still addled from the brawl, which is why I will forever say that it was an accident that I took the cloth from my face and bent my head to smell his hair.

His head came up at the same time mine lowered, our noses brushing against each other as he leaned back, and for the space of a heartbeat we were so very, very close.

I could feel his breath on my lips, see his eyes dip to my mouth.

Knew that he could feel my breath too. It would take nothing to close the distance, to press my lips against his and –

Jesus, what the hell was I thinking?

He shot to his feet and glared at me.

“Sorry, just a little disoriented,” I blurted. “No breaks, right? All good?”

He grunted in response.

“Right. Should we go tell someone about those creatures?” I coughed.

He nodded and took a step back. “Yes, Tarquinius will want a full report.”

Right, that was the smart thing to do. Give a full report.

Of course, I could have told him right there that I didn’t think that Nocta’s men were trying to kill me.

That I thought they were trying to kidnap me, even if they had been rough as hell with me.

What had they said? Boys, we’ve got her, let’s go.

But that would mean explaining who my father was.

There would be countless people at Neverthorn who wanted their revenge on him and would surely consider taking it out on me instead.

Especially since, the very same day I returned to Neverthorn, Nocta’s men mysteriously found a way to breach the wards and get in.

If I didn’t know the truth, even I’d have suspected me of being in league with the bad guys.

I could still hear his warning to my mother, all those many years before.

“You cannot let her go to that school. They will destroy her if they find out she is mine.”

I hated to agree with a psychotic villain but there was no doubt about it.

If Tarquinius or anyone at Neverthorn found out Nocta was my father, I would either wind up in prison or dead.