Frelsi scowls. “Why won’t you let me have anything nice? You wouldn’t let me have the gummies that one guy tried to give you last week, either.” Her eyes go giant and water. “Do you…hate me?”
“Frel…remember…those gummies weren’t…candy either.”
Drama incarnate, Frelsi throws herself into the shag carpet amid the bags. “Isnothingcandy anymore?”
“Mine…” Castor murmurs, smile thin when I face him.
I gulp. “Yes?”
“Did a man attempt to give you drugs last week?”
A? As insingular? No. Not at all. Over the course of my two-week flee, several men tried to outright give me drugs, and several more were discreet in their attempts to get something into my food or drinks.
I only survived unscathed thanks to Frel’s magic. She might be small and young, but her glamour has been just strong enough to cover me when I’ve needed to disappear. Fast.Unfortunately, it only lasts a few minutes at a time, and if my mother tracked me down to a general location, I have no doubt her commitment would have outlasted Frelsi’s powers.
But, well, I guess that doesn’t much matter anymore.
My mother can’t track me to Faerie, and even if she could, I saw today that Castor’s powers don’t appear to have the same limitations as Frelsi’s, if they have any limitations at all.
Castor chuckles. “Your silence says enough, my darling feather.” He extends his hand for me, and I hesitate before crossing the plush carpet of my enclosure to reach him.
After I clasp his fingers, he reels me in, and I shudder as his arm loops around my waist, pressing our hips together. His lips graze my cheek. “Stir up some disgust for the monsters who have dared press their poisons upon you. I need a trail if I’m to hunt them down.”
“You can do that?” I whisper.
“I can do many things.”
Many, many powerful things. When my shoulders relax, I find myself melting against his chest, and I know I really, really, desperately need that therapy. But it’sfineee. Maybe. Hopefully.
I mean, honestly, haven’t I lived this long without it? And isn’t the main issue that’s bothering me actually anon-issue considering my lifeisbetter in a literal cage than it was before?
Talk about being ungrateful. The universe hands me a blessing, and I’m whining about the fact it comes with bars as though Castor seems at all interested in keeping me cooped up in them when he takes me to Russia and outlet malls on a whim.
I say, “Those addicts aren’t worth your effort. So many people have done worse than poorly flirt with me or try to get me high.”
“Think about them, then, and I’ll take care that they suffer fates deserving of their conduct.”
Justice. What a charming thought.
He’ll take care of those who have hurt me, because he’s determined to take care of me.
He’ll make me breakfast. And buy me lunch. And make sure I have everything I need before I even think about needing anything. He’ll fill my gilded cage with toys and keep me safe from having to deal with the literal monsters that roam his castle. He’ll protect me from the human monsters I’ve been subjected to my entire life. He’ll do anything I ask.
He’lltake care of me.
All for the low, low cost of a little love.
Letting my eyes close, I murmur, “I don’t want to think about them.” Castor’s heartbeat races against my ear, but this time he doesn’t pull my head away from it. “I know I’m not supposed to thank the fae, but…for everything you’ve done…I don’t know what words I can say to express my gratitude.” My chest twists, and I’m not acting when tears threaten to choke me. “You make me feel…like a person. For the first time in my life, Ifeellike aperson.”
He releases my hand so he can wrap me in both his arms, keeping me secure and warm in the cocoon of his thick dark robes. “Hush.” His low voice rumbles against me as I try to pull myself together. “I can hardly bear to hear your heart break like this, my love. The blood, sweat, and tears of those who have hurt you may not mend these aches, but if you wish it, they will suffer.” His fingers comb through my hair. “They will know a worse fear and dread than the ones they have given you. They will learn, and they will never repeat themselves.”
I sniff. “Why are you so intent on hurting people?”
“I am not intent on hurting people.” Confusion taints each of his words. “I am intent on justice, and, for my soulmate, I am intent on paying back what is due tenfold.” His breath rushes into my hair as he deflates slightly. “Do you ask such a question because of what happened with Willow? If she didn’theal as swiftly as she does, I wouldn’t have attempted the joke. She didn’t do anything terribly wrong.” He mumbles, “She only hurt my feelings…” He melts further. “Truly, it’s quite cruel. She passes out Ollie’s credit cards like candy to everyone but me.”
“Candy?” Frelsi says, popping her head out of a bag filled with my new bras.
“Not real candy,” Castor clarifies.
