Page 13 of WitchCurse
“I’d like to not end up bound to the fae today,” Dylan said. “Had enough nonconsensual bonds of late.”
“Don’t thank him for anything, or accept anything from him,” I said. The sidhe didn’t care much for shifters, finding them far beneath even the lowest of fae. They bound shifters or humans to them as slaves or exotic pets rather than useful things. Few fae even extended the lives of their servants like I had. It was a waste for them, allowing humans to survive when mortals reproduced quickly. More a game than necessity. Did all those old rules still apply in the new world? I didn’t want to learn the hard way. Caution was always ideal when managing the sidhe.
Zephyr stood near the walkway; a handful of guards spread out around him. They did not blend, too stiff, eyes aware and focused on everyone and everything. The lord they guarded didn’t need protection. Zephyr might not have been the warrior of warriors, but his magic had done well for him over the centuries. Had this new world lessened his power?
The Stag, Wesley, stood close to Zephyr. Close enough to touch, though he didn’t. His gaze flicked our way, but he spoke quietly to the sidhe lord.
Dylan motioned for us to head to the car. I didn’t move. He would not be battling the fae lord on his own. Words or magic, it mattered not. A wolf, even one high ranked in the new world realm, could hardly be prepared for the monster that was Zephyr.
“Did you need something?” I inquired of Zephyr. “Or are you merely here to remind me of my place? I assure you, the death creeping through my bones reminds me every second of the peril of my existence.”
“And yet you persevere, while our world is gone, taken by your ilk.”
None of that had to do with me. Despite what they had tried to tell me. Endless prophecies and my own imprisonment had changed nothing. I had not been the fox who ended their world, and now the other, was beyond their reach. Entrenched in the magic of this plane, bound to the wolf, beloved of the earthen spirits, and father to the rebirth of Underhill. Remaining fae like Zephyr, clung to fantasies.
“What do you want, Zephyr,” I demanded.
“Tell him to accept my gifts,” Zephyr said after a long moment of silence. “I will forgive your disobedience if you convince the little fox to join my court.”
“No,” I said. If Sebastian accepted Zephyr’s gifts, it was a proclamation that he would be beholden to the fae. “You will not have the fox.”
Zephyr stepped forward as if to reach for me, but Nick put himself between us, a physical barrier to my weakened state. “I’ve had him many a times, mortal. Do you know what he is? What he will become?”
“He is my bondmate,” Nick said. “Nothing else matters.”
“Bound to a human. Useless as always. It will matter when he devours you and all those you care for.”
“That’s a short list,” Nick said without humor. “We declare immunity and safe travel through your realm as emissaries of the New World Realm and our lords Liam Ulrich and Sebastian Volkov. You must let us pass or be beholden to their wrath.”
I had gone too long between suffering the pompous piety of the courts to have forgotten that. We had a sort of diplomatic immunity. The wolf, Dylan, was one of the leaders, and Nick himself, claimed under the protection of the alpha.
You too,Nick whispered through my mind.You and me. Sebastian considers us his.
Until I eat everyone, I couldn’t keep to myself. He didn’t reply, glare focused on Zephyr.
Zephyr’s expression turned icy, but he took a step back and the guards cleared a path. Dylan shuffled us behind him, creating a barrier with his body and handing the car keys to Nick. It was a tense few moments, worrying they would attack. My gut hurt with the idea that Nick or Dylan might be hurt. The fae had little interest in either of them. They would only be a tool in which to cause me pain and get me caged or cast out again. Though it did seem a strange interest, as there was little I could offer the fae anymore that they hadn’t already ripped from me.
Nick stuffed me into the backseat after unlocking the car and handed the keys back to Dylan. His gaze still focused on Zephyr in the distance. He got in beside me, and tugged the seat belts into place.
They seek you because you endured centuries within Underhill while they had to flee ages ago. It proves how strong you are.Nick told me mind to mind.
I snorted at the idea that I was strong. A bubble of protection in a dying world had been all we had. How many had I devoured over the years to maintain it? Hundreds? Thousands? Another self-imposed cage, my life was nothing but ages of prison sentences.
“Fucking fae,” Dylan cursed again as he got into the driver’s seat. “Present company excluded,” he added as he glanced in the mirror back at us.
“Sentiments understood,” Nick said.
Dylan drove us away from them, constantly glancing back as he directed us back toward the area of the new realm. “I think now that we know some sizes we can shop online?” He joked as we left the city behind.
I breathed out a long sigh and let the last of my shields and glamour collapse, too tired to hold it any longer. Buried beneath the thick hood, my hands in the pockets, I hoped all the dark wash of my skin was covered, but kept my head down. I did not look human in this form, dark gray, not a color found in flesh in this world, at least not among the living. It was a sign of thedrow, according to old texts, though I had no idea if there were actually any in my lineage, or it was simply an effect of the curse and centuries of starvation.
Nick curled into my side as much as the seat belts would allow. His body heat adding a wall of warmth. The bags of clothing sat at our feet. All this for some mortal fabrics. The small bit of energy I’d been given, wasted for retrieval of modern clothing. The idea to save me from using glamour, had eaten away the little reserves remaining.
“I should, perhaps, remain in our small dwelling from this day hence?” I remarked.
Neither of them laughed, and I could feel a stir of anger from Nick. An emotion he rarely let rise, and I couldn’t help but frown and turn to look his way. His jaw was set tight, back rigid, gaze narrow, but he looked out the window at nothing.
Did he see me in a new light? Had something in Zephyr’s words changed his perception? Nick knew what I would eventually become. He had seen others like myself fall, change, and die, usually by my hand. He knew I would take him with me when I did. I’d never lied to him about our fate. There was no escape for that, and I did feel sorry for dragging him into my mess. The fox would have to end what I would become, if they didn’t snuff me out before the final transition. A kinder fate than another cage.