She grabs the duffel bag from Rickon and slings it over her shoulder, pulling her vibrant hair out from beneath the strap. Variegated blues at the crown of her head, blending into purple, pink, orange, and ending with golden tips. The woman was born to stand out, yet spent her entire life forced into the shadows, now more than ever.
“I think I’d rather just head home,” she admits, sounding run down despite just returning.
I can’t blame her, not with everything that happened yesterday, but I share a nervous look with Atlas, his normally bright green eyes clouded in concern. “I’ll drive, and we can drop him off on the way.” He shoulders the backpacks as we head out the door. “We can pick him up later.”
We climb into the car, and I settle into the back with her. “That’s alright, I’ll have Luce swing by on his way home.” We pull up outside of my shop, the closed sign still a heavy weight on my heart. I turn to Cambria with a smile though, not wanting to add any more gloom to the day. “You two behave now. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” With a wink, I try to coax a reaction out of her, but all I get is a sad smile.
“There isn’t a lot you wouldn’t do with the proper motivation,” she teases, but it sounds forced.
I lean back inside the car to give her a brief kiss goodbye. “And what a fine motivator you are,” I agree and she softens imperceptibly. “It’ll all work out, gorgeous, trust me. Try not to stress too much.”
She arches an eyebrow at me, her silver eyes swirling with a myriad of emotions. “A kingdom is out for my head, Dorian, and I don’t even get the benefit of the would-be assassin actually pulling it off. Kind of puts a damper on the day. I’m used to people hating me, but not outright trying to kill me.”
Atlas pipes up from the driver’s seat, trying to keep things from escalating. “Which just means you inspire people, angel. Maybe with the wrong emotions, but you certainly know how to get a reaction. You just need to work the kinks out a bit.”
She sighs, leaning back in her seat. “You’re right; obviously the problem is I’m just too kinky for the stuck up assholes.”
I huff out a humored breath, closing the door and watching them pull away. Even when they disappear from view I remain rooted to the spot, filled with a sense of foreboding. Cambria is something out of a dream, a story book. Evil queens, magic fairy rings, now a shadow court? I may not know a lot, but there is one thing I do know for certain.
Things always get a hell of a lot worse before they get better.
Chapter 3
Atlas
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“Hey, want to go dosomething stupid and reckless?”
It’s a last ditch effort, trying to get her out of her funk, but at this point I’ll try anything. The fact of the matter is Cambria’s not human. She feeds off of adoration, needs to reconnect with her world. But she can’t do either of those things from bed. Even Lucien got his head out of his ass to notice how subdued she’s been these last two days, and at this rate, we’re going to have to cross over early.
We still haven’t found another fairy ring, and no matter the compliments we try throwing her way, nothing sticks. However she feeds, there’s more to it than just kind words.
“Maybe,” she answers noncommittally, not moving to get up, burrowing her face into her pillow.
Her color is dull, but not quite as bad as our first scare. I yank the blanket off, deciding if there’s one thing I’m good for, it’s shaking things up. I have plenty of practice over the years snapping Lucien out of it when he’s being an asshole or so caught up in work he forgets the rest of the world exists. With Cambria, Dorian insisted we try a gentler approach after all of the hell she went through growing up, thinking she just needed to be coddled and loved; safe. I should have stuck to my gut instincts instead of second guessing myself, especially since she seems to be getting worse instead of better.
