“Oh, it is. And you know how competitive we are. Pretty sure I’m in the lead.”
That earns me the smallest, tiniest ghost of a real smile. And hell, I’ll take it.
But then it drops, and her fingers still against my chest. “But the Queen, she knew you? Back at The Inferno, she spoke to all four of you like you’d met before. She must have known what happened to you?”
I don’t answer straight away, because I’m trying to decide how best to answer without freaking her out.
“The Queen wasn’t queen when that happened to me, Red. She knows me as an enforcer, that’s it.” I shrug, hoping that’s enough.
“But she’s one hundred years old?”
Ahshit. Have any of the guys told her their age yet? Fucking doubt it. Well, here we go…
“Yep, she is.”
Her brows furrow. “And she wasn’t… around?”
I whack on a blinding smile—all teeth and dimples—even try to get my markings to glow in hopes it’ll distract her.
It doesn’t.
“You’re…” She wets her lips. “You’rea hundredyears old?”
I tilt my head, grinning with one eye closed like I’m estimating. “Yeah… something like that.”
Red’s jaw drops. Fuck, she’s so cute.
I keep smiling while she stares at me, speechless.
“Okay, I… I guess I just thought you were a lot younger.” She shakes herself, blinking as she tries to get back on track. “But then, why didn’t you tell her what happened to you? About your mother? About what she did to you? She could have her locked away?”
“Baby, I understand what you’re saying, I really do. But the fae world doesn’t work like that. People with power don’t get punished. They don’t get locked away in cages or burnt alive.” Her frown deepens while I take advantage of her closeness, letting my fingers trail up her spine again. “But, my mother doesn’t have as much influence anymore. Because the queen is a Dualist. Do you know what that is?”
She pulls in her bottom lip as she nods, and all I want to tug it free with my teeth…
“Beings who believe the Light and Dark are equal,” she says softly. “I remember Alexis explaining it.”
Least they told her something fucking right.
“So the queen’s at least trying to do some good, create some kind of harmony in the shitty realm. But sixty years of ruling, and there are still factions. And I’m not just talking about the Green fuckers. There are others too, just not as… aggressive.” I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear and admire her soft blush. “If I’m honest, Red. I’d rather scrape the whole realm clean. All of them. Start again.”
Her gaze reignites like a flame at my words, and I find myself leaning closer.
I know we’ve been here too long, I know I need to go to Julien, I can feel it in my gut, through the bond, but I don’t want to go.
I don’t want to leave her.
“Julien needs you,” she whispers the hard words for me, but I’m still closing the distance, still staring at her lips. “You need to—”
“But I need you.”Fuck,I sound so desperate.
“I’m here, Sai.” She smiles, and I’m hit by her beauty again, all thoughts erased as I stare at her. “And I’ll be here when you get back.”
She begins to pull away, and I hate it. The loss of contact, of her.
“And… I think your phone’s been going off for a while.” She nods at it.
I sigh dramatically, glancing at the vibrating phone beside the stone-cold coffees.
