So when flames had just raged across his perfect features, it took me by surprise. I’d hidden that under an act of annoyance, because I didn’t want him to know how he made me feel. All the long nights talking, having each other’s back, being here together, it was morphing our relationship.
He stirred things inside of me that I didn’t want to examine. Like the way he’d stepped in front, shielding me from the guards around us. He was protective, almost instinctively, and I honestly didn’t know what to think of it.
No one had ever protected me, and over the years I’d learned to rely on me, myself, and I. Jacob messed with the status quo, and sometimes that made me hate him a little.
“What was that fire about?” I asked, forcing myself to remain calm.
His eyes were restless, a window to the wild inside. The green was a field of grass, except those times when it darkened to a moss. That color meant shit was about to get real.
Yeah, I had spent far too long trying to work out what was going on inside of Jacob Compass.
“Bartered?” he finally bit out. No matter how gruff he was, the musical nature of his tone was unique and distinct. “You were bartered by men?”
It took a second for me to realize what part of my previous sentence bothered him. The part that bothered me too. As my chest grew tight, I drew on my false bravado and devil-may-care attitude.
“Yep, more than once. You recall where Mischa found me, right?” He gave a stiff nod. “Well, that wasn’t the first time I’d been caged.” I shrugged, when really what I wanted to do was bleach my brain and dissolve those memories. If only there was such an option.
Truth be told, having my blood stolen by that sorcerer wasn’t even the worst experience I’d had. No one knew the whole truth of my past.
If Jacob had known, he might have put more stock into my warning about the president.
I had seen evil. Up close and personal.
This president, he was definitely lighting up all of my radars. We were going to see his true colors very soon.
Before Jacob could answer, the door we were waiting near opened and out stepped Donnie Marcal, the vice president we’d been trailing for the past few days. He looked to be a few years younger than the president: a fit fifty-year-old with dyed brown hair, thin rimmed glasses, and light brown skin. He gave me no vibes at all, being sort of a nothing in personality, better at following orders than giving them.
No doubt President Caine chose him for that very reason.
When the VP strode along the hall chatting away to his assistant, the human guards jumped into action. Some of them spanned out in front, some shadowed from behind, and Jacob and I just cruised along at the back of the group, bored but there, as per orders.
“Group B, you’re relieved for the rest of the night,” Marcus said, the leader and head asshole of this group.
I still hadn’t forgotten—or forgiven—his attitude the first day we met, turning his nose down at me just because I was a woman. Misogynistic dickwad. It wasn’t like I asked to be here; I was hand-selected by his damn boss, and outside of starting a war, I had no choice but to comply. A fact that none of them remembered or gave a shit about. Typical.
Since we were group B, we followed half the men out.
Jacob eyed the group remaining behind. “Want to bet that this is the point they head to John Caine,” he mused, shrewdly assessing the situation. He shook his head as he turned back to me. “It’s the same pattern every day, and his fear is growing more obvious.”
I didn’t disagree with any of that. “Something is going on,” I murmured, not wanting to be overheard. “He’s biding his time, and I’m worried about the trap we’re walking into.”
There was so much more to say, but I slammed my mouth shut at the sight of Colin McGraw, the second in command. He was glaring at us and I knew their strict “no fraternizing” rule while on duty was what had his undies in a twist. Usually they let it slide, but tonight he must have decided enough was enough.
“You two think you’re better than the rest of us,” he snarled, and since he’d stopped walking, so did all the other mindless soldiers. “You flout our rules, show your boredom with our ways, and then expect to sleep in our beds and eat our food.”
Jacob laughed; it sounded lighthearted, but I heard the undercurrents of fire. “Think we’re better than you?” he said, and some of the visible humor faded, leaving behind the terrifying mask a fey wore so effortless. Inhumanely. “There’s no thinking about it. We know we’re superior for more reasons than I could list.”
I called him arrogant. A lot. And that was no lie. But there wasn’t arrogance in his tone now—he was just speaking the truth as he knew it. Supernaturals lived longer, had magic, mated for life, protected their packs, and had a dozen other characteristics that made them superior to humans. It was basic truth.
“You better think long and hard about who you’re talking to,” Colin said, shaping up to Jacob, even though he barely reached his chin.
“What are you planning to do?” Jacob pushed. The fey ran a lazy hand through his hair, his go-to when he wanted to appear relaxed but was actually planning on throwing a lot of hurt this soldier’s way. His eyes had even darkened—a huge warning that he was starting to get annoyed. “I can’t wait to hear how you’lldisciplineme.”
These humans should be more careful; they had no idea of the supernatural predator in their midst, and sadly I wasn’t talking about myself. I might be a jeweled princess, but I was only just discovering my powers—or more truthfully I had very little interest in my powers. Jacob, well, he was a Compass, one of the strongest feys in the world.
The brothers even had a quad bond that boosted the four of them to unnatural heights of energy. Jacob could kill every single human in the White House with barely a blip of energy. Drown them. Suffocate them. Crush them under an avalanche. His options were limitless, and yet he chose to try and deal with them. That said everything about the true difference between good and evil.
“You stupid fucking anima—” Colin’s words choked off and he started to blink rapidly.
