Stryker kicked off his boots, and I pulled my shoes off as well. He dropped his heavy coat and shirt to the floor and slipped into the tiny bed, the chain that tethered us tugging on my ankle.
Even lying in the bed alone he hardly fit. His feet hung over the end and he was practically falling off the edge. I had to admit the both of us never would have fit unless I lay right on top of him.
Unwanted, a vision of myself sprawled across Stryker’s chest rose to my mind. Our bodies pressed together and mouths only inches apart.
The image was so vivid that it stole my breath with its intensity. It took a long moment to bat it and the sensations it caused away, which concerned me.
Seduction was shaping up to be a bad idea. I was too inexperienced to pull off something like this. I had no clue if it was even working on Stryker, but all this play-acting only seemed to be confusing me more. Perhaps I needed to come up with a different plan?
Exhaustion pulled at me, and I decided to make that a problem for my future self. What I needed now was a good night’s rest to get my mind back on track.
I’d worn a lighter dress today, one I could sleep in, so I lay down on the bedroll, grudgingly admitting to myself that it was surprisingly soft. The pillow was indeed abysmal though.
With a deep sigh I released all the tension I’d been feeling and snuggled under the scratchy blanket. I rolled on my side and stared up at Stryker’s profile as the moonlight filtered through the window and illuminated his face. He was already asleep, his breath slow and even.
He was a frightening man. He had shadow powers and kept people bound in a dark dungeon. But he also gave that family a horse today, and coin and clothing. He gave his brother aid when asked for but refused to take the credit for it.
He was a complicated fae, but I wasn’t sure he was the evil monster Queen Liliana had told me to kill. To carve his heart without ever letting him speak? It sounded cruel, but maybe that’s just because I had let him speak and now I was under some spell. A spell that made him insanely attractive and morally grey.
It was a long time before I slept.
* * *
“My lord!” A gruff voice woke me.
I screamed when I noticed a guard looming over the bedroll.
“What is it?” Stryker’s voice called from the bed beside me and everything came rushing back to me. I was at an inn. Sleeping on the floor next to Stryker.
The guard stepped back as Stryker sat up. I quickly scooted off my bedroll to get out of the way and then Stryker got to his feet.
“One of the security guards we posted at the ruby mine is dead. We sent someone to relieve him and found his throat had been slit.”
The room was plunged into a supernatural darkness.
“Who did it?” Stryker growled.
The guard was now obscured by shadows, not even any moonlight illuminating him. “W-we don’t know yet.”
“Put on your shoes,” Stryker said to me as he undid my hand and ankle cuffs. I did as I was told, too tired to argue.
After unshackling us, Stryker hooked his elbow into mine and yanked me toward the door. Within a few minutes we had gotten onto a horse, me hanging onto Stryker’s waist, and then we took off up the mountain with a dozen of his guards.
As we rode, wisps of shadow rolled along the trail beside us. Stryker’s magic was terrifying and impressive all at once.
I clung to his waist as the horse we rode on galloped up the mountain on a well-worn path that had been covered with bricks. It was wide enough for a cart.
Within a half-hour we had reached the top and the sun was beginning to rise. I wanted to take a moment to admire the sight, but Stryker dismounted quickly and then, grabbing my waist, he yanked me forward and off the horse as well. The shadows amassed around us as we walked, undulating menacingly.
A guard rushed to meet us, sweating and red-faced. “I’ve woken the inventory clerk and he says half the rubies are gone.”
The shadows that had been trailing us converged into the shape of a four-legged beast that grew until it was almost twice Stryker’s size. It clawed at the ground and snapped its teeth in anger and then tipped its head back and howled at the sky as Stryker balled his fists.
I began to back away, but Stryker glanced over at me and I froze.
Stryker’s dark magic was even more powerful than I imagined, and for a moment I almost didn’t recognize him. But upon seeing my face his own softened and a look of what might be regret or shame flashed across his features. As quickly as the beast had materialized, it dissolved into wispy shadows and was gone.
Stryker turned back to his guard, his body still taut as a bow. “How long do we suspect they have been gone?” His voice could cut glass.
