Hearing Reidar’s heavy footfalls moving closer to the door, Acadia panicked, scurrying back the way she’d come. When she stopped at the end of the hall, she prayed no one saw her. As it was, she was too flustered to dematerialize, otherwise she would’ve been back in her room, where she belonged.
When Reidar’s voice carried down the hall, Acadia blocked it out, already feeling like an interloper for having heard their heated conversation. Her heart ached for the pair of them, but the truth was, she’d been expecting this to come. The day Reidar had brought Winnie to the mansion declaring she was hisamsouelot, Acadia had known the truth. That was one of the burdens of feeding off of emotion. There were certain nuances she picked up on, and since her blood was in Reidar’s veins, she had a connection to the male.
But it wasn’t her place to intervene.
As it was, the angels allowed far more liberties than the Fae should’ve been granted based on the laws that governed their existence. The Fae were a fallen race, doomed to servitude because of the sins of her elders. Throughout her time with Obsidian and his brothers, Acadia had come to see herself as a member of the family, when in truth, she was as disposable as theheurosp.
So when it came to interfering with the relationships of those she served, Acadia kept her thoughts to herself. It was inevitable that Reidar would come to the realization that the human wasn’t the one he was destined to be with, but Acadia couldn’t be the one to relay that information.
Not to mention, she had had other things on her mind. Namely a frustrating vampire.
With a sigh, Acadia leaned back against the wall, breathing a bit easier when Reidar’s voice drifted in the opposite direction.
Her thoughts shifted back to Kaj.
Despite what he believed, she was not the female he was destined to be with. She couldn’t be. The Fae weren’t permitted to mate for eternity. It violated their very station in life for the simple fact that they provided nourishment to the angels who resided on Earth. Should she bond with a male, she could no longer perform her duties, and when that happened…
Acadia shook off the thought. She couldn’t go there.
Not now. Not ever.
Chapter Four
Orianna exhaled heavily, elbows resting on thecluttered counter as she watched two young men waltzing through the convenience store, eyes greedily ogling the shelves. Despite their eyeballing of the candy, she knew they had no intention of purchasing any of the sugar crap. Had it been early morning, perhaps. The fact that it was going on midnight and these two should’ve been at home asleep because they had school in the a.m. told Orianna they had something more exciting in mind.
She’d been at this long enough to know those underage kids were hoping to snatch up some redneck soda, a.k.a. brewski, or perhaps a pack of cancer sticks, neither of which she had any intention of selling them.
Their ghosting routine had her peering up at the round mirror mounted in the back corner of the store. The reflective glass showed one of the boys opening a refrigerator case, reaching inside and… Bingo. Looked like Coors Light was the name of the game.
Turning her attention back to Gwen rocking the cover ofShape, Orianna pretended to skim, then dutifully flipped the page as the boys started her way. A squeak on the tile announced their approach, not to mention their hesitation.
The least they could do waspretendthey were old enough. Sheesh.
“What else for you boys?” she asked, standing tall and closing the magazine.
“This is it.” The six-pack made an appearance on the counter, and the boy who’d carried it forward suddenly had a nose itch, his eyes hitting the floor, head tucked down as though she couldn’t see the sweat dripping down his fuzzy sideburns.
“Cool.” She moved toward the register, raised a hand as though she was going to ring it up, and noticed their simultaneous sighs of relief.
Oh, yeah. Definitely underage.
Pausing before her finger pressed the register, she cocked her head to the side and smiled. “Got some ID?”
“Sure ’nuff,” the other one said, snatching his wallet from his back pocket and flipping it open like he was presenting a badge. Probably didn’t get a lot of dates, that one.
Orianna nodded her chin, motioning for him to bring it closer.
“Darwin Danvers.” She scanned the birthdate, the one proclaiming him to be not twenty-one but twenty-three. “Nice photo.”
When she peered back up, he shot her a wide grin. “Thanks.”
“Didn’t get that down at the DMV, huh?”
Double D’s grin slipped. “What?”
“It’s a fake. And a shitty one, at that,” she said, peering over at the other guy. “You wanna try?”
She earned a couple of grumbles before they headed to the door empty-handed. Clearly unimpressed, Double D’s friend punched him in the shoulder before they strolled out into the night.
