“She killed him.” I clench my eyes tightly closed as the image of her knife sinking into his stomach fills my mind. “She killed him because of me.”
A warm hand skims up my arm. Daxdyn brushes his palm back and forth against my flesh. A tingling feeling pushes into me. It’s an unnatural feeling that makes me want to sink into him and let him surround me.
“Is that your magic?”
My damp eyes open to him and he nods.
“I’m better at emotions than the others. Every fae is different. I hold the power of empathy. I can feel and manipulate emotions.”
“Isn’t that awful? Feeling everyone’s emotions?”
“When someone’s sad, it’s a crushing feeling. It jars through me with more energy than I’m ready for. Most of the time, I don’t truly have emotions of my own.” Pity sinks low into my stomach from his words. “But occasionally,” his finger trails down my arm, sending a shiver right through me, “occasionally their emotions sync up with mine. It’s a euphoric feeling. A sensuous feeling.”
A swirling energy begins to flutter at my core.
“And Darrio?”
His eyes close slowly as if it pains him to even think about it.
“Don’t even get me started on Darrio. Rage and magic aren’t a good mix. He’s a fire fae, mostly. He isn’t a bad guy.” A pointed look is all I give him. “He’s just … an unintentional asshole.”
Laughter shakes through me.
An unintentional asshole.
How fitting.
I smile at him and his warm palm skims up my shoulder until his hand is pushing the long blonde strands of hair back from my face. A different feeling begins to sink into my heart and I wonder if it’s my own feeling or if it’s something Daxdyn is gifting to me.
“Come to the Hopeless realm with us, Kara. It’s right by Juvar.” His whispered plea makes my knee’s knock together.
He’s wrong, though. The marking isn’t the same. Similar, but not the same. I’ve studied the markings on my arms for years. They aren’t the same as the mark of the Hopeless.
The mark of the Hopeless is several black, angled lines pointing like an arrow to the wrist.
Mine’s … different. I’m not fae. I’m just scarred.
The only power I hold is my ability to survive. And to piss Darrio Riles off without even trying.
Long ago, this little town, New Haven, was named after its ports along the coast. ‘Haven’ for harbor. But there’s more to it than that, I can feel it. It truly is a haven for me. There’s a safety this village brings me, the likes of which I never felt on the island of Juvar.
My stomach sinks low. I can never return to Juvar. Therefore, I’ll never find the Hopeless realm, even if I am fae like he says.
“Trade me places already,” I tell him, changing the subject swiftly.
For a moment, he only studies me before slowly nodding. His light eyes hold something in them. Something burning. It’s as if he’s dying to say more but he won’t.
The blankets shift as he lifts himself. He turns until he’s above me, his strong arms caging me in beneath his lithe body. I roll to my back, ready to scoot to the dreaded middle.
Ever so slowly he licks his lips as he lowers his hips between mine. The spark in his eyes captivates me, stealing my breath away as my heart quickens its pace.
I like the way he feels against me. I like the way he’s looking at me. And if I’m being honest, I like Daxdyn.
But, as Ryder said, I’m just their guide. If he was smart, he’d listen to Ryder. If he was smart, he’d run far, far away from me. Nothing good ever follows me, and nothing good could come from our friendship.
His hips settle more, a slow shifting of his body against mine. My eyes close as my lips part. Hard muscle presses against the curve of my breasts as I push myself up. His jaw skims my lips and, ever so quietly, I whisper against his neck, snapping his hopes in half with my words.
“That’s not going to happen, Daxdyn,” I force myself to say.
