“Yeah, I know the Legendary Artifacts, too,” Seth said, eyes narrowed and arms crossed. As a Summer Fae he would have heard the stories as a child, the useless artifacts that survived the loss of the Wilds so long ago. The hostility in his tone was unexpected, though. “So what’s this one do? A knife that only cuts during the full moon? A ring that turns your arm invisible?”
“Not quite,” Varian replied with a smile. “The Waylain Charm robs the wearer of emotion. An empty shell, so to speak. I believe the creator, some faery who lived thousands of years ago, crafted the charm to ease the pain of losing her wife and child. Growing up, our parents desired obedient, well-mannered children. I conformed to their expectations easily enough, but Cole was always more energetic. When he faltered from their expectations, they used the Charm to bring him back in line. It was used on me only a couple of times and I can tell you, a small child being robbed of their emotions is uniquely unpleasant. It didn’t hurt, exactly, nor were you entirely aware of what you had lost when you wore it. When you took it off, however, was like waking from a dream where you had no control over your actions. I remembered everything, and how powerless and empty I had felt. Cole feared it. Just never enough to avoid it, I’m afraid.”
“Is this supposed to make us feel sorry for him?” Seth snapped, posture aggressive though he did not move too far from his heated corner. “Cause we don’t.”
Varian’s eyes went wide. “No, no! I didn’t mean it to excuse him. I merely mean to demonstrate why I see no reason for him to seek it out now. He hated the Charm.”
“Maybe he plans to use it on others, instead of himself,” Sera ventured, and the room grew quiet with implications. It was best not to ponder the uses a man like Cole could find for a Charm that turns the wearer into an emotionless shell.
“Living in Demon Row, I can imagine such a power would conceal desires and impulses from the demons and grimm,” Kieran added. He spoke to the room, but his eyes were directed at Sera, the battle to avoid her lost all too quickly. She stepped closer and no longer guarded her expression, but let emotion brighten her features. She was a spark of flame that threatened to burn him to ashes.
“I suppose, but to want to wear something that caused him such trauma as a kid, it has to be more than just protection. Unless…” Sera’s dark eyes widened in discovery, her body animated and drawing ever closer as she spoke directly to him, “Wraith is a grimm. If I was going to conceal my motives from anyone, it would be him. And, if Wraith ever found out why Cole was searching for that charm, the consequences would be deadly. Cole would do anything not to be discovered.”
“Why hide from Wraith?” Kieran asked, distantly aware that there were other people in the room, though if either of them made a sound it would have startled him. “What is he trying to conceal now, that he didn’t fear before?”
“Power, position. He shares his tier with all the other dealers and he’s not even fully in Wraith’s inner circle.” Sera was getting too close. Kieran took a calculated step around an end table, creating a barrier. Excitement rippled through her fidgeting limbs and jittery steps as she paced. “Cole was always grumbling about having to do what Wraith said, always griping ‘if I were in charge’ and on and on.”
“That is our in with Wraith,” Kieran said, absorbing Sera’s excitement. Her energy was infectious. A smile threatened to takeover his mouth, but when he noted the curve of her painted lips and felt the memory against his own, reality was restored.
Kieran turned away. Guilt flared stronger than ever as he wrestled with the pleasure of kissing her and the wrongness of the circumstances.
Perhaps, all I need are the right circumstances.
Kieran paused. He would not entertain these impulses. He feared that this particular battle for control might destroy him. He needed to rid himself of Cole’s threat, rid himself ofher. If he didn’t, then he would fail when it mattered most.
Sera wanted to scream. Kieran had almost,almost, allowed genuine emotion to slip through his mask and engage with her, only to shut down immediately. The previous night didn’t count, as far as she was concerned, neither of them were in a sound frame of mind and the circumstances were far from fair. Even if he was once again unreadable, Sera guessed he intended to shoulder all the blame for last night. He wouldn’t listen to her at the time, but maybe she could find a quiet second to be alone before he continued to blame himself when he wasn’t at fault.
Yes, her reasons for kissing him had been… tainted, but that didn’t mean the kiss was wrong. She refused to believe that it was wrong. Wise? No. Ill-timed? Certainly. But she had not given anything she hadn’t wanted him to take—nothing she wouldn’t gladly give again despite her adamance for distance not even a full hour ago. His guilt shouldn’t matter to her either way, but it was desperately important to her that he understand it was unnecessary.
So here she stood. Unwisely continuing down a treacherous path and ignoring her own better judgment to try and get close enough to him to explain. She was a fool for even remaining in his house, let alone worrying about hisfeelings.
Why was she fixating on this? Was it because he was the first person who, time and again, proved that he was decent? Becausehe was honorable and kind in a way that everyone around him seemed to overlook entirely?
The sort of company Sera usually kept often pretended to be one or the other, but truth was revealed in their passion. They couldn’t hide their nature enough to keep the possession out of their kisses or the bruises from their grip. Infatuation, naïve love, and fantasy had always blinded her to what their ‘affection’ meant. Previous relationships that had moved through passion attheirpace, heedless of her preference. She would feel good and wanted for only as long as it suited them. She concocted excuses or made allowances or told herself ‘it’s just passion, it won’t always be like this’ and she was always wrong.
But with Kieran… she sensed none of the warnings. No hidden cruelty surfaced when he kissed her. There was a clear undercurrent of fierce desire, almost unhinged longing, but he was gentle where it mattered. Andhewas the one to break the kiss.
He didn’t have to stop.
At the time, she would have denied him nothing, not a single part of her. She had sensed the effort it took to stop, to push her away. He’d wanted her just as badly, she was sure of it and, to her, that was a bigger crime than whatever twisted version of last night he believed. And now she was curious how far could she push him until deficiencies were revealed? How far could they go before a darker, crueler nature surfaced? Or… what if he was exactly who she perceived him to be, instead of anticipated?
A strong voice inside her begged to find out.
She nearly forgot what they were talking about. She had lived a lifetime in Kieran’s stolen glances.
“I’m still against contacting Wraith.” Sera said, as she attempted to continue the conversation despite the distraction. “But… if we’re right about Cole then it would likely beappreciated…” She lost her trail of thought as her eyes followed Kieran actively seeking the furthest corner from her. Coward.
“If we handed over the Charm it would go a long way to securing Wraith’s favor and possibly his trust,” Kieran added, bouncing ideas with her even from across the room. Sera crossed her arms, her hip jutting with annoyance. Did he plan to flee the room entirely to avoid her?
“Cole can’t find out I have the Charm,” Varian said, “I’m not sure if he knows my current address, since I rarely stay in our family estate, but it would not be hard to find out.”
“Can you bring the Charm here?” Kieran asked, refusing to meet Sera’s gaze. She almost scoffed audibly but resisted.
“Shouldn’t take long to find it. It’s buried in a box somewhere from when I moved. I suppose, I should have kept better track, but didn’t consider any significance to the Charm, only unhappy memories. I will check with my staff. A good bit from the estate is still stored and untouched. It shouldn’t take more than a few days.”
“Meanwhile, I will use Cole’s intention as a way of securing a meeting with Wraith. Though, I suppose it will require tactful wording if I don’t want to increase the danger to everyone,” Kieran said.
Meera knocked and peered inside, drawing every eye in the room. She shrank under the direct attention.
