The blood rushed in his ears. “What something?”
“Jealousy?”
Elijah had never seen the point in lying. Even if it complicated things. “Yeah, that’s about right.”
Echo’s lips parted in surprise as if she hadn’t expected him to answer honestly. “I …”
He waited, wishing like hell the little sister wasn’t sitting between them.
Finally, Echo shook her head as if shaking loose a thought. Elijah found that maddening. He wanted to understand her in a way that would probably be detrimental to his health.
“So … is that who you were in high school and college? The guy all the MILFs wanted to get their hands on?”
He snorted at the mere thought. “Not at all. Definitely not when I was a kid.”
“What were you like? What was your childhood like?”
“Why?”
“I guess I’m curious.”
“Well, it was a bit of woe-is-I tale. I was bullied.”
“You?” She raised an eyebrow. “With all your gifts?”
“My parents did a very good job of convincing me it was dangerous to use my gifts. I didn’t use them against the kids who bullied me.”
“Bullied you how?” She scowled like the thought made her angry.
“Humans sense there’s something off with me. Kids sensed it. They didn’t want me around. They called me names. Beat me up. There was this group of lads in particular who were relentless in primary school. Mum and Dad were always at the school to ask them to sort it out, but there’s really not much the school can do. Or at least that’s what they said. My payback was sneaky, and I did things that couldn’t lead back to me. Like tying their shoelaces together with my mind so when they stood up, they fell, but I was seated way across the classroom, so how could it be me?”
“Very devious.”
“I changed their answers on tests. I even made the ringleader of this group think he was being haunted at home.”
She laughed softly. “Good. I’m glad.”
Elijah grinned. “Yeah, it was fun. It made me feel like I had a bit of control, even though I hated going to school. It gave me a pit in my stomach every day walking into that building.”
“I’m sorry. I never would have guessed that about you.”
He shrugged. “It is what it is. I think in a way it made me more empathetic. Which is a good thing when you have power like mine.”
“Agreed. Is the bullying the reason you turned to music?”
Elijah grimaced. “I wish I could say it was something as worthy as that. But the truth is I had a crush on this girl when I was fifteen. Like, thought I was in love with her. However, she rejected me in front of this older boyshehad a crush on. He was in a band. They started dating. My reaction to that was to pick up a guitar and learn to play.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope. Wish I was.” He laughed, abashed. “But hey, it turns out I loved it. I love playing. I love writing music. I found some like-minded geeks at school, and we started a band. I still didn’t get very far with the girls until I learned to accept that I was different. My parents had always told me it made me special, but I was angry about it for a long time. When I finally embraced it, that’s when the ladies came flocking.” He winked.
Echo rolled her eyes.
“Nah, in all seriousness, it changed everything for me. It freed me.”
“Your parents weren’t worried about you becoming famous?”
“Of course they were. I started the Strix at uni. We got signed at twenty-one. Everything was a whirlwind after that, and my parents were constantly worried I’d get found out. Then I learned about the world of the supernatural. With my gifts, it was easy to accept the truth when I met my first vampire. Then I heard about werewolves and witches and warlocks. In fact, I thought it was great. Warlocks explained everything about me,or so I thought. Until now. Never would have guessed fairy.” He smirked, even though his insides were in turmoil at the thought of what his very existence meant for the world.
