Page 46 of Quicksilver

Kingfisher paid me no heed.

“Fisher!”

He winced, hunkering down into his seat. “Today has rules, human.” He started counting them off on his hand, a finger for each. “Do not shout. Do not throw any punches. Do not make me do any physical exercise. Do not—”

“Your lip's bleeding everywhere again,” I told him.

His tongue darted out between his lips, his blood staining the very tip of it, and I found myself being flashed by a pair of wickedly sharp canines. The sight of them sent a thrill of panic-tinged intrigue through me. Heat rose up from the pit of my stomach, my blood rushing to my cheeks.

Kingfisher's gaze snapped up, singling in on mine. “Careful, human. We Fae have an excellent sense of smell. You'd be amazed what we can scent floating on the air.”

“I—I wasn't doing anything. I didn't—” Oh, gods. I was going to die of embarrassment. The moment had been fleeting. I hadn't even meant to think it. I despised Kingfisher. I wasnotattracted to him. I was not thinking about his tongue or his teeth...

He set down the piece of bread and meat he was holding and sat back in his chairveryslowly. His expression was suddenly serious, his eyes alert, his voice low and smooth as velvet.“You're making it worse.”

Swallowing down the urge to scream, I sat down at the table and forced myself to hold his unbearably smug gaze.Change the subject. Change the subject. Change the subject.“Why haven't you gotten your lip taken care of, anyway? They can heal it. A small cut like that? It'd be gone with one tiny touch—”

Kingfisher's eyes narrowed, still boring into me. “I was going to get it seen to after this, but now I've decided against it.”

“Hah. Right.” I ripped a piece of cheese from the block he'd slapped on the plate for me and shoved it into my mouth.

“Yes. Just now, actually. I'm going to keep it as a souvenir.”

“A reminder of the time a weak human girl landed a hit on you and drew blood? You want your friends knowing about that?” Fuck, this cheese had the consistency of glue. I kept chewing, but my mouth was so dry that it was turning into a thick paste.

“I like being surprised,” Fisher said, spinning his fork over in his hand. “I'm also a fan of aggressive foreplay. It'll be a fun reminder.”

I breathed in sharply, inhaling cheese. Choking and spluttering, I tried desperately to get rid of it, but it wasn't going anywhere.

Kingfisher leaned forward, his tongue running over his teeth again. He smiled suggestively as he said,“Swallow.”

“What in the five hells is going on here? Are you trying to kill the poor girl?”

Layne came out of nowhere, a cloud of sweet perfume and saffron-colored silks. She set down the plates that she'd collected from the kitchens, then began rubbing her hand soothingly against my back. “What did you do to her?” She glowered hotly at Fisher.

“For the love of every god that has ever been or ever will be, could you please lower your voice?” he groaned.

“She’s choking to death, Fisher. Did you poison her? Breathe, Saeris. That's it. Slowly in. Slowly out.” She demonstrated breathing in through her nose. “And—and why does it smell like abrothelin here? If you're going to spend the night out whoring and drinking, the least you could do is wash the smell of sex off you before showing up for breakfast.”

Kingfisher looked like he was about to explode with laughter. The monstrous bastard was enjoying this. I braced for the cruel jibe—he was seconds from telling his sister that whatever she could smell was courtesy of me and not him. But when he spoke, he took me by surprise. “You're right. I'm sorry, Layne. That was inconsiderate. I'll take my breakfast and leave you both in peace. If Ren shows up, let him know I'm down in the bathhouse, washing away my sins. I’ll seeyouthis afternoon, Osha. Be ready to practice more of what we learned yesterday.”

Wait…

I watched him go.

He took the fall for me.

Why would he do that?

Would Layne know thatIwas the source of the scent of arousal in the air the moment he left? I didn't think so. I wasn't thinking about Fisher's tongue trailing up my neck anymore. I was thinking about him forcing me to hold that quicksilver in my palm again and how much it was going to hurt.

Annorath mor!

Annorath mor!

Annorath mor!

The memory of those voices in my head echoed like a war chant.