“Damn, D, I didn’t know you had it in you.”
He blushes, but shrugs, trying to play it off. “Beginners luck.” I keep a closer eye on him after that, noting the ease with which he’s handling the axe, his solid footing, and have to wonder.
After we each get our practice shots in, the real game begins as we keep track of points, pushing ourselves until even my arms are screaming. I take a minute to sit at the table and take a drink, recording a quick video for Lucien’s sake. It was a spur of the moment decision, but after her claims this morning, it’s too poetic not to. I send it before going back to the game and we all agree that when our arms feel like jello, it’s time to call it.
We sit down and tally the points, Cambria knocking her chair over in her haste of jumping back to her feet. “Second place!” she shouts with enthusiasm, a heavy buzz going on.
I glare at those two stupid points; I was so fucking close. And I never once assumed Dorian would put both of our asses to shame and be some kind of lumberjack savant.
“Shit.”
She picks up her chair and grins at me, waggling her eyebrows. “Make sure you shower when we get home; I hear rumor this crowd can get pretty handsy.”
I snort, finishing off my water since I had to be the designated driver. “You want to head home or walk around for a bit?”
She thinks about it and the corner of her mouth twists into a wry smile. “Might as well enjoy my freedom while I still can. After this concealment hocus pocus wears off, I’m pretty much stuck on house arrest.”
Dorian leans forward, stealing a lock of her silken hair and rubbing it between his fingers, always obsessed with touching it. “What about glamouring yourself like you did the first day at Lucien’s office?”
She arches into his touch, her smile turning into a soft, genuine one. “It just works with what’s already there; it doesn’t turn me into a completely different person. I can change my hair and eye color as well as how old I appear, but it leaves an air of magic over me like a second skin. There are far too many fae that have the ability to see that; it’s not rare.”
He scrunches up his face and pauses. “Then why did you actually dye your hair blonde for our, um, escapades?” he stutters out, still embarrassed over the leaked sex tape.
She leans forward, kissing him sweetly before sitting back down. “Because I promised you guys I wouldn’t use my abilities to influence you. I’ve pretended for most of my life; I want what’s between the four of us to be genuine.”
Stealing her hand as we leave, I kiss the back of it. “You’re a good person, Cambria.”
She balks at the idea, gaping at me in horror. “You take that back! Or I’m going to have to go fuck some shit up before you get the wrong idea and start expecting things from me.”
I flick her arm as she chuckles, the three of us falling into step beside each other on the sidewalk. People are still openly gawking at us with interest, the sex tape released not quite a week ago. Between her sleeping with Dorian, kissing me, and how close she was to Luce, the rumors have been flying. It doesn’t matter that we got it pulled due to the bullshit witness protection excuse; once it’s let loose on the internet, it’s out there forever.
“So I’m going to ask something, but I don’t mean it in an asshole way. I’m just honestly curious.”
She gives me a skeptical look, but gestures for me to proceed. I take a deep breath, steeling my nerves and hoping I don’t undo an entire day of work making her feel better just to sate my curiosity.
“All of the comments the fae make, which are utter bullshit I’d like to note, always get to you. But this,” I gesture to the humans whispering their snide remarks without being subtle. “It’s like it doesn’t even faze you. What’s the difference?”
She looks around like she hadn’t even noticed they were there before shrugging. “They have no idea who I am, so they don’t hate me on a personal level. They’re just brought up thinking you’re only capable of loving one person, so anything else must be wrong. Yet some people go around sleeping with a different person every night of the week and it’s fine so long as they don’t actually like more than one of them? It’s dumb.”
Grabbing Dorian’s hand with her free one, she makes it abundantly clear she’s with both of us just to prove a point. “We’re all on the same page, and that’s all that matters. I’m not in a relationship withthem,so they don’t get to weigh in on what I do or don’t do. And if you noticed, the fae never gave me a hard time about who I slept with. They just hate me for breathing, despise when I draw attention to myself and remind them I exist. It makes it personal and hurts a hell of a lot more than just some random humans that are jealous of all the dick I’m getting.”
Dorian stops walking and since we’re both holding her hands, it sets off a chain reaction of arm jerks. “Why do you have to keep being more amazing than the day before? How am I supposed to compete with that?”
She preens, soaking up the praise as he looks at her like she’s the only thing in this life worth seeing. “I see what you did there, and I wholeheartedly approve,” she teases, leaning in to give him a quick kiss before we resume walking.
I slip my phone out of my pocket to check Lucien’s response, snickering the more I read.
You actually gave her an axe?
I thought she was joking.
Why would you give her a weapon? She can set water on fire and it’s worse when she’s bored.
How many people did she maim? Do I need to make another call to the lawyer?
Shit. You’re not answering. Did she get hurt? Are you at the hospital?
WHY AREN’T YOU ANSWERING YOUR PHONE!?
