The three of them continue talking. I recognize the Sargent at Arms patch on the one in the middle, whose face from the side appears to be painted. When the pissed-off blond one storms off, I decide to take the opportunity to say hello … and maybe ask some questions.
“Hex? Right?” I call out, standing less than a foot away from his back. He turns to face me, and this time his face paint is very different and, if I’m honest, scary as hell.
He looks me up and down. His lips slowly curve at the edges into a sinfully sexy smirk. Anyone around us might assume we’re here to meet one another, given his red and black face paint resembling a demon, and my she-devil outfit.
“Well, now. Miss Althea Drakos. How are you, darlin’?” he asks, his Louisiana accent thick and sexy. Hex reaches for my hand, bringing it to his lips and kisses it softly. His eyes meet mine, and a low growl can be heard from somewhere behind me, but I’m too transfixed on the flirty demon in front of me.
I wonder what he could do for me.
The way he says my name makes the hairs on my arm stand up.
“How did you know it was me?” I ask, knowing he can’t see my face and I didn’t introduce myself by name.
His smile widens, and Hex drops my hand but doesn’t answer my question. “You here with someone, sweetheart? If not, do you want to be?” Another strange guttural noise sounds nearby. I turn to look over my shoulder but find everyone behind me engaged in their own conversations.
Weird.
“They take their sound effects seriously in this part of the bar,” I joke. “I just saw you here and wanted to say hello and to ask you …” I pause, looking around to be sure no one is listening. The President, Soul, narrows his eyes, studying me closely. It’s a little unnerving.
“What’s got you flustered, sweetheart? How can I be ofservice?” The way Hex says service sounds more like a sexual offer than a friendly one. He looks over my shoulder at something, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think he was stirring shit with someone. But when I turn to look behind me again, there’re only couples having drinks and enjoying their conversations.
Soul slaps Hex in the chest with the back of his hand, drawing laughter from Hex as he’s warned to “Knock it off. He’ll fucking kill you, and I ain’t gonna bring you back.”
That makes Hex laugh even harder, but he quickly tosses his hand up in a show of surrender. “All right. All right. I’ll stop.” I watch their exchange, but before I can ask what’s going on, Hex turns his question back to me. “What did you want to ask me?”
“Uh. That night at the fair.” I don’t know why this is so difficult to ask, but I can’t seem to get the words out. “When you, um, when you …”
“When I read your fortune,” he finishes my sentence for me.
“Yeah, that.” I nod. “Was that … did that really happen? I mean the smoke and the voice … well, I guess what I mean is, was that a fog machine and some kind of parlor trick?”
There. I asked.
Hex tilts his head, studying my face for a moment. Shock fills his eyes, but he lets it pass. Leaning in close to my ear, he whispers, “It was very, very real.” He picks my hand up, placing it against his chest, stepping forward to close the gap between us.
Hex’s eyes narrow; clouds form within them, large and fierce. He holds my stare. I couldn’t look away even if I tried. My mind is telling me to step back, to put some distance between us, but my feet feel like they’ve cemented in place.
Hex places his lips beside my ear, speaking low enough only I can hear him, and says, “Death in human form is coming to meet you, and he’s been watching you all night.”
My pulse begins to pick up. My eyes fill with tears.
“Do not fear him—but embrace him. He will lead you to the truth. He holds the key to your past and the ring to your future. Do not deny the pull between you.”
My breathing comes in short pants.
“Remember, you can trust him to protect you, even against his own instincts. Death doesn’t know love, only pain. But you will give him both.”
Hex pulls back, releasing my hand. I take a deep breath and wait for my pulse to slow down before I try to speak. His eyes are clear, and his demeanor is …serious.
“I know this is strange to you, but you’ll understand soon enough. In the meantime,” Hex kisses my cheek softly. “Enjoy your evening. He’s waiting for you.” I’m still rooted in place when Hex follows a now quickly moving Soul with a small woman dragging behind him.
What the hell just happened?
I glance around, and everyone is still in the same place they were moments ago, but it feels like so much time has passed. I don’t understand.
“I need a drink.” I tell no one as I turn to go back to the bar with Liam and Chloe. “Chloe, be a doll and get me a double, would you?” Suspiciously, she eyes me but doesn’t question. She likely assumes I’m nervous. She does not know what happened the last time I was here, what I saw.
What I craved.
