“I don’t think that’s what he’s saying,” Emmett defends. “I think he, we, us, just want to know why this girl is so important to you.”
My hands clench at my side. I can’t tell them. I need to protect them. Their hopes. We were all thrown together years ago when we found each other after the Djinn had tricked us. We had each gone to her on our own, searching for answers, searching for help. Being the powerful dark fae she is, she used our words against us. Giving us what we wished for, but in turn taking from us the very thing that made us… us. And now we’re under her thumb until we can get back what she stole.
The shrill ring of the doorbell tears through all our stares. There’s typically only one person who comes here this early in the morning. I’d been expecting her today, just not so soon.
“Are you going to get that?” Knox asks.
“Do we have a choice?” I don’t want to. I want to ignore it and ignore her. Pretend I never heard her name whispered on the winds. Knowing that I can’t, I set my coffee cup on the counter and make my way to the front door.
“Hello,” I try not to bark out my greeting as I open the door, but I hate her. I hate everything about her. Her look, her sound, and most importantly, the power she has over us.
“Callum, dearest,” she chimes in a fake singsong voice. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Samara is standing on the front porch with her long, stick straight, black hair hanging down to her waist, wearing a deep purple dress that touches the ground.
Grinding my teeth together, I force out a smile. “Samara. Please come in on this beautiful morning. The guys are in the kitchen. Follow me.”
“Formalities, darling. Call me Sam, or Sammie. We’ve known each other long enough.” She cackles behind me as we move through the hall to the kitchen. I refuse to call her anything but Samara. To use a nickname or a shortened name would imply we are close and friendly and we are anything but.
“What can I, we, do for you today?” I ask as soon as I get in the kitchen, my eyes meeting each of the guys.
“It appears there was a fae using their magic in my club last night.”
Fuck.
I close my eyes slowly, trying to figure a way out of this, then grab my cup and turn to face her. “The witch. I know. Her information has been recorded and I’ll banish her from the club.”
Samara laughs as her fingers lightly swipe along the edge of the counter, her sound grating on my very last nerve. “No. Not the witch. The other one. The one Knox was with. What was her name?”
My eyes meet Knox’s and I subtly shake my head from side to side.
“Hey Samar- Sammie.” He chuckles softly. He’s always been more fearful of her, but he’s also the one of us that has a gentle soul and likes to avoid conflict.
“Knoxxy.” She steps in front of him and runs her fingers from his temple, along his jaw, to his chin. “Beautiful. Your eyes twinkle like the sun on the ocean.”
A gentle dig to remind him who she is and what she’s capable of.
She steps back from Knox and claps her hands like she’s breaking a spell he’s cast and looks at everyone. “It’s so wonderful to see the four of you together. Such good friends. Your own little makeshift family. To think it’s all because of me.”
Rage simmers within me and it’s all I can do to stop it from boiling over. Because of her? Her! She took everything from us. Everything. She left us as mere shells of the fae we used to be.
Jax steps towards me and runs his hand up my back and squeezes my shoulder. Hard. Causing me to release the muscles in my arm. “We couldn’t be more grateful to you, Samara. You gave us something we didn’t even know we needed.”
“So wonderful. It’s amazing, really. The four of you. The way you’ve all bonded. Anyway, back to what I was saying. The girl Knox was with.”
“I don’t remember her name,” Knox lies.
“Knoxxy. I don’t believe you, darling.” She runs her finger down his chest.
“Sammie, you know I wouldn’t lie to you.” His eyes meet mine and I can tell he’s uncomfortable. “It was something that started with an E. Like Emily, Emory.”
“Everlee?” she asks with all hints of amusement drained from her voice.
Knox’s eyes widen as he stares at me, shrugging his shoulders. “Yes. That sounds familiar.”
“Yes. Perfect. Well, I need you to find her.”
“Why?” I spit out, garnering glances from the guys.
“Why?” Her head snaps back in shock. “Do you forget who you speak to Callum? What I have the power to do? To give? To take away?”
