An eyebrow quirks, and he hums, “Well, your sister—a staunchly loyal subject of my court, has been working on her own little project inspiredby you. Soul preservation—with the use of vessel artifacts. Seemingly useless, really. That is, unless her soul stones can be used with your little Lazarus project.”
My eyes widen in horror, and a chill shoots down my spine. Soul stones? Impossible. But then, why else would Darro get involved?Oh gods.
“Oh, good! You’re not a complete imbecile.”
I scowl at him, but the venom that would usually be behind it is gone. “What do you want, Kier?”
His composure slips, and a thunderous expression contorts his handsome face, “I want to make sure you damn well know what you’re doing so that you don’t give members ofmycourt an advantageous position. Because make no mistake, Tarynn Nox, they will use your little project to make themselves that much more powerful. You aren’t just saving your precious little innocents—you’re re-weaponizingmodern necromancy.”
Tears sting my eyes, and bile burns my throat. How the fuck could I have overlooked something like this? I know these bastards. I know how they think. My jaw wobbles, and I bite my cheek to stop it.
Kier makes a sound of disgust and looks past me as he speaks, “Speak with your partner if you must. I’ve already reaffirmed my interest to him, despite your little permit stunt.”
A corner of his mouth turns up as he chuckles, “Ridiculous of you to think that would deter me, by the way.”
I force myself to speak, “Just because you bring up a valid point doesn’t mean I trust you.”
He tilts his head, and his long black hair swishes out from where it was tucked behind his pointed elven ear. “I don’t care if you trust me. I only care that the people I kill—” he leans in and I flinch as he whispers, “stay dead.”
My head spins as I suck in a breath. I one-hundred percent believe Saskia would do something like this—not just for the Unseelie court, but to shatter me. My sister and I have always been complete opposites, but when I denounced the court, something changed between us. She took it personally.
I don’t bother responding to Kier, even though I can still feel him standing in front of me, blocking my exit.
“I’ll be in touch, but for now, you might want to call off your little pet before he destroys the club. Pixies can hold a hell of a grudge.” He rubs at a spot on his side absentmindedly as he raises his free hand in the air and snaps.
Suddenly, the overpowering noise from the 3P comes crashing back, and I jump in place. Seth is yelling my name, at least, I think it’s Seth. It's his voice—but distorted and amplified. My head swings around to look for him.
I can feel the air shift as Kier vanishes, but my eyes catch on a menacing darkness at the center of the club. Shadows are snapping out, and partygoers are screaming and running out of the way. Bouncers swarm the shadows but keep running through the other side, charging into nothing.
“Seth!” My voice comes out weak, and I wince.
“SETH!”
Two burning blue orbs turn in my direction, shadows snapping to a halt. Before I can so much as blink, I’m surrounded by darkness.
“Are you okay?”Seth’s voice is quiet now, but still not right. There’s a grittiness to it, and an almost feminine echo that makes my skin crawl. Despite the disconcerting difference, for the first time since bumping into Darro, I feel like I can breathe again. A small sob rips from my throat, but I nod.
“Take me home, please. I want to go home.”
Dark arms reach out of the shadows and lift me into a bridal carry. I can’t see a thing, but I can feel us moving.
“I’ve got you, Ryn.” There's no distinguishable body in the shadows carrying me, and his voice feels like it's coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
I sniff, resting my head where a shoulder might be, and rattle off my address.
Normally, the pressing darkness might make me panic, but right now it just feels like being stuck in a hug where no one can reach me.
“Stay with me, please," my plea sounds much more vulnerable than I'd intended, and I tense reflexively as I wait for his response.
I can feel a kiss on my forehead as a tear leaks from my eye and slips down my cheek.
“Whatever you need, Ryn. I've got you.”
My limbs slowly relax as I melt into him, allowing myself to lean into the tentative trust I've been building with Seth.
What do I need?An ache settles in my chest and threatens to rip me apart.What am I going to do?
8
