Seth glared at the door. “Give us a minute.”
They were both ready thirty minutes later and that was rushing. They had to take turns in the ensuite, but neither of them would complain about a water closet attached to their quarters, rather than shared with an entire floor.
Seth wore his nicer suit, the one with an emerald coat that complemented his skin tones, and with purple accents so that he looked like he was wearing nightshade. He set one of the blooms in the welted pocket and shoved small bags of lava stones—the specialized bags would keep them from burning through his clothes—into various pockets.
Sera wanted to be amused. She smiled, but she couldn’t imagine why they would be summoned unless it had to do with… last night. She smoothed her layers of mint-green organdy over plum satin. Her corset felt drawn a touch too tight, though the laces were worn and molded to the current setting.
They followed Meera into a large sitting room with armchairs, a couch, and a loveseat. The walls were trimmed in a lighter, almost purple wood with carved faery symbols and lettering. It was warmer here than the rest of the house, a fireplace matching those in the guest rooms had been fueled and lit for them. She did not fail to notice the lava stone placed in the far corner.
Kieran rose from the couch facing away from them when they entered. He turned, bowing with his head to acknowledge their entry. Inevitably, his eyes found hers, locking like a gear perfectly set into place.
A tangible force holding her hostage. And time did not exist. She stared forever and yet for only an instant. His gaze lingered even as he turned his head away. Holding her ensnared untiltheir connection broke, finally tearing the veil that enshrouded only them, the other occupants in the room long forgotten.
Her body was too hot. Her skin tingling with memories. Her lips hungry with a single minded craving.
The previous night flashed through her thoughts. A jumbled mess of mouths and anger.
But she had to ignore all of it because reality did not care how good he made her body feel.
The uncertainty of where she stood with him was as terrifying as how her stomach had flipped with a giddy rush of nerves when she saw him. How even as her body betrayed her, her mind reminded her the dangers of falling.
Maybe she should have stayed in her bedroom.
Kieran tempered the spark of emotion that hit him the moment he saw Sera. The instant tangle of dread and desire a caustic mix in his chest.
He still had not slept. After fleeing her presence, he set out to find solutions. Working was better than idle thoughts. Now that he had more information, he knew exactly what to do next. The thought occurred to him that he could simply handle all of this alone, but Sera was doing exactly that when he'd found her.
His stomach turned, though he had not eaten.
A quick check to see if Death still marked her before he pulled his eyes away. The shadow behind her had returned, once again shapeless and distant. Which meant Cole knew his lackeys had failed. Still, the fact that Kieran could see Death on her at all was promising. He forced his attention to the guest that he’d sent for with an urgent request to meet Kieran here at his earliestconvenience. Thankfully, the man had very little to occupy his time and arrived minutes ago.
“This is Varian Hawthorne,” Kieran began, gesturing toward a Winter Fae who looked very much like Cole Hawthorne. Varian’s dark hair was kept shorter, his skin less ashen, and his eyes were luminous teal, rather than the red, almost pink shade of Cole’s, but their build and face were similar.
Sera stepped in front of Seth, who scowled with obvious disdain at Varian.
“Kieran mentioned you knew my brother,” Varian said, voice modulated and articulate. His gaze followed Sera’s protective gesture, noted Seth’s venom, and he frowned. “I’m sorry for whatever hurt he has caused. I’ve lost touch with him, since he was banished, but there are rumors. I suppose they are accurate, then?”
“I assure you, he is here to help,” Kieran interjected. The atmosphere drew a little too tense for his liking.
“How?” Sera asked, and Kieran had to force his attention back on Varian. His traitorous gaze continued to seek out dark hair and painted lips.
Guilt corroded his blood, tempered any lingering fantasy he might entertain about Sera. She was his charge, his responsibility, and he would not slip again.
“Kieran mentioned you’re looking for the Waylain Charm? Or, rather, that Cole is? It was packed away when I left our family’s estate.”
Growing up in the upper echelon of the Winter Court meant that Kieran had spent a great deal of his childhood with the Hawthorne boys. Perhaps they had not been friends even then, but when their parents had been consumed with their adult matters, the three of them had often turned to each other for entertainment. Varian was the shier, more reasoned of the pair. Always overpowered by the loud, more boisterous Cole. Inreality, their games had never amounted to more than simple exploring or dares. The friction of their personalities hadn’t allowed for much camaraderie.
“It belonged to our family,” Varian started, “when Cole was banished, I inherited everything—”
“Well, you can take him back. He should be the Winter Court’s problem,” Seth snapped. He had drifted closer to the corner with the lava stone and still wore his derision unmasked.
Kieran felt the sting of his accusation, as he had often wondered if it was best banishing Cole instead of simply seeking out some other form of justice. But it wasn’t a singular crime that had prompted Cole’s removal. It was a shocking list of accusations and testimony from a train of victims. Banishment was not a common punishment in today’s world, a bit archaic. Yet, Kieran had no alternatives. There was no evidence to collect, only word against word, and so the Watchmen was not a plausible solution.
“That’s not possible,” Kieran interjected. “But I will make sure to end the threat he poses over others. Sera mentioned…” his eyes landed on her as he spoke her name, and for a moment, their gazes held, the same powerful hold as when she entered threatening to freeze him in place.
He paused much longer than intended, though it couldn’t have been more than a couple seconds before he continued, “…that Cole sought the Charm and believed that I stole it. Which, is ludicrous considering the legendary artifacts are essentially worthless. Their powers are often trivial, if there is any use at all to be found. But there is a reason Cole wants the Charm and I suspected Varian would know where to find it.”
Varian shook his head, wincing. “The Waylain Charm is a bit different, more than just a trinket, if its power is abused. And it does not hold many happy memories for us, Cole especially. I was shocked when you mentioned he was searching for it.”
