“Anything,” she said softly. “I get it, Logan. I really do. You’ll have to do what you need to for Sam.”
What exactly did she get? As far as he could tell, she’d been raised in some safe dimension with a bunch of friends. Had she seen war? Death? There was a naïveté, almost an innocence to her that he hadn’t seen in way too long. In almost anybody. “Do what I need? You think I’ll torture you?”
Her nose wrinkled. “Not really. You did just carry me across an entire island while I slept.”
The female had a point. But how was she not seeing the big picture here? “Do you even understand that somebody is allowing you to be harmed? That you have an enemy close to you?” he asked, shaking his head.
She blinked. Her lip twisted. “You’re trying to manipulate me. That’s it.”
Man, she was clueless. And he was losing patience. “You’re not a killer, and yet your leaders allowed you to challenge another immortal here on Earth?” The idea was ridiculous. He could protect her, but he needed to get Sam to safety first. It’d also be damn nice to figure out how Sam suddenly seemed to know so much about the Fae and the Seven and the universe as a whole.
“Allow is a silly word. I manage my own fate.” She shrugged, lifting a pale shoulder out of the warm water. There was still enough light to notice her see-through bra in the water. Her scent whispered across the small pool.
“If you were mine, you’d learn the restrictions of that word very quickly.” Why the hell had he said that? Logan shifted his weight, trying to ease the pressure on his balls. The female was just too much. Sweet, stubborn, and sexy. An irresistible combination.
“Hah.” Her lashes flickered, and she gave him a look that was all challenge.
One the demon inside him lunged to meet. Or maybe it was the vampire. Either way, the male inside him didn’t like that look. Or rather, liked that look way too much. It was like a siren’s call on a level neither one of them could be prepared for right now. He dug deep to keep from reaching for her. “You came to warn me or kidnap me. The kidnapping plan is over. So warn me.”
She breathed out slowly as if counting the seconds. Finally, she spoke. “We will not allow the Seven to form completely. Find another path for your destiny, Logan Kyllwood.”
Geez. The woman didn’t even realize that her warning came with a threat. He shook his head. “Or what?” How was it possible he’d had to ask that question?
“Or the next attack force will aim to kill.” She actually sounded sorry about that. Maybe worried. Was she concerned for him… or for her attack force? She’d gone back to looking at the sea and not at him, so he couldn’t read her expression. The water reached her neck but was clear enough to show that her undergarments didn’t hide a thing. “I really should be going now, Logan. It probably isn’t proper for me to be here with an unattached male.” Melancholy. The sound kissed right over his skin.
“Why not?” he asked.
“I’m promised to another.” Her bottom lip quivered, then flattened into a line.
Promised? What the hell? “Who’s this dictator leading your people?” Sounded like an asshole teenager.
“Well, we have a president who was president before the rift.” She sighed. “There was enough genetic material left to create ten of us—five males and five females. We’re the hope of the future.”
Oh, this sounded nuts. Crazier than nuts. “What else?” he prompted. Might as well get all of it.
“We now have a king, Niall.” She rubbed water off her chin. “The queen died at the event, that’s what we called it, so he’s always been thought of as one of our leaders. He’s recently written a bunch of new laws. Since our numbers are low, we need to rebuild with the ten of us. Our geneticists, a few of them a couple centuries old, came up with the best chances of success by building a chart.”
A chart? Seriously? So the dickhead had a breeding plan? Rumors were true. Fairies were fucking crazy. Then an idea struck him, and his body instinctively settled into predatory mode. “Who are you promised to, Mercy?” His voice had gone demon hoarse.
Her head jerked up in response to his tone. She cleared her throat. “I don’t see that as being any of your business.”
Boy, did she have that wrong. He wasn’t going to take a second to examine his reaction to her words, either. Contemplation would have to wait. “Who?” Somehow, he already knew. He really did.
She blew out air. “Fine. Niall and I have the strongest lineage. It makes sense to combine them.”
“How fucking romantic,” Logan snarled. While he had no intention of settling down ever, he didn’t like anybody being forced to do so by a king. It was just wrong. Fate played a part. Had to. Not idiots with charts. He calmed himself. “I don’t understand. Why would your…fiancé…allow you to go off into danger and almost certain failure?”
“Stop saying that word. There’s noallow. I decided to head into danger, and I may just do it again.” Her head snapped up, and waves cascaded across the small pool. “Who said that I have failed? I’m actually quite accomplished, Logan. In fact, my IQ issomuch higher than yours, I should probably dumb down my vocabulary here.” Her eyes flashed hot and yellow in the dim light. “And I’ve seen your files—all of them. Iknowyour IQ.”
He barked out a laugh, the humor catching him out of nowhere. If she’d had access to even half of what he’d done in the name of war, she’d be terrified of him.
Thunder rolled harsh and angry in the distance. Just great. He turned his head to see dark clouds blowing in way too fast. The storm was going to be impressive. They needed shelter. But first, he wanted answers, and his muscles could use a few more minutes of the water’s healing warmth.
The woman should be terrified, but instead, she was barely irritated. “Why aren’t you frightened. Of me?” he asked.
She bit her lip. “I know you’re dangerous and exceptionally well trained. But you have a protective streak a mile wide—especially for petite females like your mother.”
Well, shit. Maybe she had a point. And those bastards really did have a file or two on him. “My mother’s biggest hobby is robbing banks, and she could take both of us out while painting the nails on her left hand.” Obviously, the Fae didn’t have a file on his mom or her mate, Coven Enforcer Daire Dunne. There was one witch the Fae should show respect.
