Page 8 of Vipers and Vendettas

I regard him as I weigh my options. There aren’t really any right now. He knows I’m going to say yes to the room. I can’t have people asking questions I can’t answer. And is this really any more dangerous than how I’ve spent the past few years with the fae? Sure, there are a few things he could do to me that haven’t already been done, but at least I’d be getting something out of it. It’s not ideal, but I can be pragmatic if it means I never have to see Tamadrielle and his sadistic minions ever again.

‘Why are you doing this?’ I ask.

‘I told you. This is business, and we can be very useful to each other. It’s purely selfish, so don’t get any ideas that I’m some benevolent benefactor, Vicki-bear.’

‘I’m not letting you drink from me,’ I say, just to see how he reacts so I know what to expect. ‘Nothing else either.’

‘Relax, Victoria, you’re not my type.’

I nod and glance down at my burns, not able to help myself from wondering if that’s why I’m not his type, even though I’m glad he’s not interested.

‘No, it’s not the scars,’ he says quietly, correctly guessing my thoughts.

My cheeks heat. I don’t like being so easy to read.

‘Fuck,’ he mutters wearily, going back into the box and drawing out another gold disk, this one the size of a coin. ‘When did I get so soft?’

He points at me with one finger. ‘One freebie, and that’s it,’ he says.

He chucks the coin into my hand, closes his eyes, and says more fae words.

My body tingles, and I cringe. When I open my eyes and look down, there are no scars on my legs. My grateful eyes fly to his, questioning.

‘It’s not a forever conjure, and the scars are still there,’ he says, looking a little embarrassed. ‘And it won’t cover up anything that isn’t fully healed, so stick to long pants and turtlenecks for a few weeks. So long as the spell remains intact, no one will see the marks nor feel them, and it’ll last your whole life, okay?’

I nod, my lip quivering, trying to hold back tears of gratitude. My whole life? He might as well have given me a forever conjure. No one will see what they did to me.

He waves me away. ‘Go upstairs. Shower. Go to bed. The guest room is at the end of the hall. We’ll talk about what you’ll be doing for Jack Enterprises tomorrow.’

I nod, not trusting my voice. I start going to the stairs, each step like a weight lifting off my shoulders. I think I’ve landed on my feet for the first time. They can’t find me. They’ll never be able to hurt me again.

By the time I get to the top, I have a smile on my face that hurts a little because I haven’t been this happy since before the fae lord ‘took me in’.

I’m going to be okay. I’m going to make sure of it. No matter what.

* * *

I wake up with the memory of that first day of freedom fresh in my head. I haven’t thought about that time in years.

I sit up slowly, my head pounding. I’m tired. I feel like I didn’t sleep at all last night. I get up and turn on the shower. I stare at the wall while I wait for the water to heat up.

I’m pregnant.

My mom and dad aren’t dead, but they aren’t really my mom and dad.

I signed a contract to be the clan’s on-call girl.

I put my head in my hands. Before the party, all I wanted was to stay here however I could manage it.

Now, I’d give everything to leave.

I never thought this would be a problem. When I read the contract Maddox gave me, I skimmed the contraception part because I never dreamed I’d need it.

I look down at my stomach. It shows nothing. How can I love something so much when I haven’t even seen it, when, for all intents and purposes, it’s just a collection of dividing cells right now that aren’t even visible to the naked eye?

But I do.

My heart beats faster as I think about the predicament I’ve got myself into.