Page 15

Chapter fifteen

Jade

P lease, please let me be able to sneak into my room without anybody seeing me. My friends are all perceptive assholes. One glimpse of me, and they will know.

I make it all the way to the bottom of the stairs before my luck runs out. Ned and Red step out of the living room. Ned has Lottie on his hip.

“Thanks for looking after Lottie,” he says.

“Anytime,” beams Red.

Great! Maybe they won’t notice me. I skip the bottom step because it squeaks, but the damn second one decides to squeak too.

Ned’s gaze snaps to me. I freeze.

“Weren’t you wearing those clothes yesterday?” he asks.

I should say something cool. Something effortlessly nonchalant. But my brain cells have deserted me and my cheeks are betraying me by burning hotly.

It’s not as if my clothes are slutty or even nightclub wear. But they are definitely Saturday night going-on-a-date and not the usual type of thing to be wearing early on a Sunday morning.

Red’s eyes light up. “Did you have a nice time?”

All I can do is nod. There is no point in denying anything.

“Good for you, kid!” exclaims Ned, and he sounds genuinely pleased for me .

It’s far more than I deserve. I sabotaged his relationship with Morgan. I very nearly ruined it forever. And Ned would not only have lost the man he loves, he would have lost the kids too.

I don’t deserve his forgiveness. I really don’t.

“Was it Flyn?” asks Red.

I nod again. And then hurriedly blurt, “Please don’t tell Lello! I’ll never hear the end of it!”

They both chuckle.

“Your secret is safe with us,” Red assures me.

“But this is Lello we are talking about,” adds Ned. “He will find out.”

I groan and cover my face with my hands. They are right. There is no escape.

“Is Pink home?” I ask. If gossip is going to get out, I want to spill everything with my best friend first.

“No, he went off somewhere with Monty for the day. Antique Fair or something,” says Ned.

“Okay, thanks,” I say before running away up the stairs and to my room.

Being sad about Pink spending time with his husband is ridiculous.

It’s the natural order of things. People do not hang out with their besties all the time once they are married.

Nevermind the strain my going on the run put on our friendship.

Spending a long time apart is a challenge for any kind of relationship.

But there is not a single thing I can do about that.

I shove all thought of it from my mind and concentrate instead on getting changed as quickly as I can. As soon as the tee shirt is over my head and last night’s clothes are safely in my laundry basket, I let out a sigh of relief.

Then I stand silently in the middle of my empty room. Now what?

Now what do I do with myself?

I don’t have a husband. Or kids. Or a job.

Hell, I don’t even have any hobbies. It’s pathetic.

As well as ungrateful. I should be singing from the rooftops that I’m free.

I’m no longer a sex slave. No longer a product of a breeding program.

No longer hiding from the Paranormal Council.

I should be ecstatic. It should be enough.

With a heavy sigh, I flop onto my bed.

Finding your feet and forging a new life takes time. Everyone says that. I was set back by going crazy and nearly allowing the fey into the world. That’s why I’m behind my friends. Even though they’d all reassure me that I’m not behind at all.

I sigh again. I could tidy my room. Or I could check the rota and see if anyone needs a hand with their chores. I know I’m up to date with my share, but it would give me something to do.

My gaze flicks to the laptop on my desk.

I could do a few more job applications, I suppose.

Even though the constant rejection is getting a bit tiring.

Though, what else do I expect? It’s not as if I’m brimming with skills and qualifications.

It is a damn miracle I ever got the call center job, and they aren’t going to take me back or even give me a reference after I disappeared without a word.

Well, now I’ve thoroughly depressed myself. Why can’t I focus on happy thoughts? Like Flyn and the amazing night I just had. Sleeping in his arms was more wonderful than I ever could have imagined.

And that ridiculous, over the top breakfast? That’s a memory to cherish forever. I’m quite sure that Flyn is just that lovely. Exuberant and full of life. He would have gone overboard for any guest, I’m not special. But my oh my, is it nice to close my eyes and pretend that I am.

Fantasizing that Flyn likes me so very much that he wants to make me an amazing breakfast, makes me feel all warm and tingly. So why not? Pretending someone loves me might be the closest I ever get to the real thing. I can enjoy it while I can.

I take a deep breath and relax against my pillows. I’m feeling sleepy now, but that’s okay. Drifting off to pleasant thoughts about Flyn sounds like a great plan. And naps are always nice .

My thoughts drift. They turn to that goodbye kiss that explosively turned into so much more. Just thinking about it is making my cheeks burn, but there is no one here to see, so it’s fine.

I really don’t know what came over me. That passion. That need. That hunger. It was exhilarating. I’ve never felt anything like it. I didn’t even know it was possible. Is that what a healthy sexual appetite is supposed to be like? Is that what I have been missing out on all my life?

My eyes close. Images swirl and scatter. Thoughts of Flyn float away. Colors coalesce. I drift through mist and suddenly I’m somewhere new.

It’s a clearing in the woods. A beautiful summer day. But the grass is too green. The trees too gnarled and ancient. The sky is too vivid.

Brightly colored birds and butterflies flitter and sing. Wildflowers dance in the gentle breeze. In the shade of the trees, toadstools gleam a bright red.

It’s beautiful. And it feels like home. A feeling I have never experienced before, and now that I have, I know I will ache for it forever.

My lungs fill with fresh, sweet tasting air. I want to sing. To dance. To glory in this wondrous place.

But before I can move, a pair of glowing eyes catch my attention. They are loping through the trees and heading straight towards me.

Goosebumps erupt over my flesh.

A large tawny-colored wolf trots out of the shadows and right up to me. I blink and the wolf changes. It shifts shape, and now there is a young man before me. He has long chestnut brown hair, brown eyes and curling horns. He is naked, but that seems as natural as the woods.

“Welcome home, nisny,” he says with an unnerving grin.

“Am I in the fey world?” I blurt.

His grin widens. “More or less. ”

“Send me back!” I demand, but it comes out sounding more like a terrified shriek.

“No one summoned you, little nisny. You found your own way,” the stranger answers calmly. His eyes are slitted like a cat’s and for some reason that is scaring the crap out of me.

“Your soul knows what it needs,” he says smugly.

His tone is enough to shake me out of my fear and make me bristle instead.

“I don’t need this. I don’t need you!” I snap.

The stranger merely flashes his white teeth at me. His ears are pointed and there are small plaits and twists woven into his hair.

“You need Flyn,” he says.

My heart thumps. My blood turns to ice. Hearing Flyn’s name on this creature’s lips is all kinds of wrong.

“What?” I stutter. He can’t have just said what I thought I heard.

“Would be such a shame if something happened to him,” the fey all but purrs.

I swallow thickly. “You have no power in my world.”

He tilts his head to the side. For all the world like a dog. Or a wolf.

“Do you wish to bet on that?”

My heart flutters frantically, and my lungs seize up.

“Open the portals, Jade, and your Flyn will have a long and happy life.”

I gasp and shudder and all of a sudden I’m lying on my bed, and Gray is peering down at me. I yelp and scramble up to a sitting position. I’m dripping with sweat.

“That was just a dream, wasn’t it?” I plead to Gray as my mind scrambles to adjust to my new bearings. It feels like part of me is still in that clearing in the woods. As if not all of me is back in my bedroom.

Gray’s brows furrow, but he doesn’t answer. Instead, he steps closer and reaches for my amulet that’s tucked into my tee shirt. The amulet Gray made me. The one I never take off. The one that is supposed to keep the fey out of my head.

I fish it out for him, and he holds it in the palm of his hand. A warm, jagged and fizzy sensation spreads from the necklace and to my chest. Magic. It’s demon magic. Gray is doing something to the amulet.

Fuck. Was it broken? Have the fey found a way around it?

Gray bites his bottom lip. He releases the amulet and takes a step backwards. The strange buzzing feeling fades.

“Is it fixed now?” I ask.

Gray stares at me with his too-dark eyes. “You went there.”

I swallow. “I… I didn’t mean to.”

The demon stares at me for several agonizing heart beats. Then he nods and walks away, disappearing into a shadow in the corner of my room. I shudder as every hair on my body rises.

I really wish Gray would get the hang of using doors. It would be far less unsettling.

My lungs heave in a shaky breath. I wipe my arm over my sweaty brow.

Fuck. I can’t believe that any of that just happened. I dream wandered into the fey realm? Or to the fey dream realm, at least.

And the fey threatened Flyn.

My stomach flips over. Despite my sweaty state, and it being summer, I suddenly feel cold.

They can’t hurt Flyn. I know they can’t. Gray would be more worried if he thought they could.

So it’s fine. Everything is fine.

But perhaps I should do the right thing and not take any risks. Play it safe, just in case.

Maybe I should stay away from Flyn. For his own good.