Page 96 of Blood of the Fairest

Verena

"What gives?" I ask the handsome model in the mirror as I braid my damp hair.

Eris has been silent the entire time I rinsed off Wulf's B-word and cum and came back upstairs to change into another bland outfit.

Now his multicolored opalescent gaze meets mine through the glass.

"What gives?" he repeats idly, like I've drawn him from a faraway thought.

"Yeah, where's the sassy I told you so? My verbal comeuppance? You were right, after all—I got sick from not sticking to Rhinestone's demented diet, and I had to feed directly from Wulf just like you said. Go ahead, gloat. I deserve it."

Instead of gloating, Eris studies me for a long moment. His voice is soft.

"I thought you would die. I alone could do nothing to stop it."

"Aww. Sounds like someone was worried about his pal."

He pinches the bridge of his nose. "For the last fucking time, we are not pals."

"Friends, then. Amigos. Homies. We're Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, if Butch Cassidy was a sexy redhead and the Sundance Kid was a hot poet with majestic iridescent hair."

Instead of sighing about the reference he doesn't understand, Eris tilts his head.

"Moral ambiguities aside, you seem to desire the Huntsman nearly as much as he desires you. You even took comfort in his embrace just now. Wouldn't you miss him, if you found a way home? Perhaps you should just stay in this world, with m—with him."

I blink. "You're kidding."

"Not remotely."

"You're actually suggesting that I stay? No, I have to get back to my world."

"Why? You told Snow White that you're all alone there. If you have no one to return to, why not simply build a new life here?" he presses, one of his hands splaying on the glass between us. "Being the queen suits you so well. You've already begun to mend her cruel reputation and improve other things here. If you stay, the Huntsman will protect you and I can finally⁠—"

"Eris, I'm not staying," I cut in emphatically, my humor gone.

He withdraws his hand from the glass to fold his arms. "Give me one good reason you shouldn't."

"I'll give you three." I count on my fingers as I talk. "I can't stand being this bloodsucking thing any longer than I have to, I don't want to find out if this magical world will somehow force the evil queen's terrible fate to play out, and—oh, hello—there's that creepy-ass mirror that shows my soul is shattered into pieces, probably from being in the wrong world. Did you forget about that little detail? I sure didn't, because it haunts my fucking dreams. Who knows what will happen to the rest of my soul if I stay here much longer?"

The trapped Adonis looks ready to argue, up until my final point. He looks away, thinking.

"We don't know if it's because you're in the wrong world, but…that mirror is concerning."

"Tell me about it. Now, please tell me you talked to that asshole faerie about possible ways I can get back to my safe, cozy little apartment and my bedside drawer full of battery-operated boyfriends."

"What-operated whats?"

I wave off his question—although I would seriously give anything to take the edge off of the lingering arousal from nearly getting railed by the rugged Huntsman.

Practicing self-restraint sucks, especially when my libido can't grasp why it would be wrong to fuck that gorgeous Viking.

Eris sighs. "I did speak to Wrath."

"Yes! That's my Sundance Kid. What's the verdict?"

I can tell he's having an inner conflict of some kind before he mutters something under his breath and meets my gaze once more.

"He says he can send you home if you free him from Reinhilde's magic first. Not that I think you should trust him—in fact, you should trust no one except the Huntsman and me," he adds.