2 Hungry, Hungry Hoodoo (9 page)

“Neither, really. They seem like normal people. That probably makes them more dangerous because you forget they are dangerous.” I stifled a yawn. I was exhausted. I spent the entire morning working on silently casting the transporting spell—a bit of elf magic that I couldn’t seem to master. Swordplay came back to me easily, but the spells made me want to pull out my hair, go figure.

“Forget the vampires. You haven’t told us why we’re here.” Jessica gave me a pointed look.

I was too tired to think of a lie. “Someone burned down my studio and kidnapped Michael—but there haven’t been any ransom demands yet. I know people who are looking into it.”

“What?” Devin moved to sit on the ottoman in front of me. “Are you okay, sweetie? You have to be going out of your mind.”

“You felt off to me the moment you walked in the room. I thought you were just tired,” Leslie said.

“I am tired. And worried.” I rolled my neck. “But the people looking for him are really good at stuff like this. Now, I really don’t want to think about it tonight.”

Devin and Leslie gave me sympathetic smiles, but Katrina pulled through for me and changed the subject. “In more important news, I got to hang out with Selene’s hot cousin—and I’ve been meaning to ask you . . . Is he looking for a human girlfriend?”

I laughed. “I’ve never known Sy to turn down a pretty girl.”

“Says the girl with no memory,” Jessica said with a smile.

It occurred to me suddenly that she was wrong. I
did
remember. The memory sparked by Jaron’s kiss brought back my entire youth up to the point of the memory. I couldn’t say with certainty that Sy hadn’t changed, but picturing his cheerful, lopsided smile, I had doubts.

“You remember, don’t you?” Leslie said.

“How much? What was being an elf like? Tell us everything about your life,” Devin said in an excited ramble as she leaned forward with her elbows on her knees.

“Why don’t we let Selene breathe, Dev?” Jess said. “I think she just wants to take her mind off things.”

“Exactly,” I said.

“We can do that,” Leslie said.

We spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and talking about our lives before everything went weird and people wanted to kill me and kidnap my friends. Before too long, it was time to go back to Sy’s, and I hadn’t even told Cheney I was going out again. I said goodbye to my friends, who decided to stay and hang out with Kat, before going to find Cheney. I heard his muffled voice down the hallway.

“I really don’t think now is the right time for that. Shouldn’t we wait until everything is in order?” Cheney said.

“No. The people need to see the two of you together. Right now they only know that you said you are married to Selene. If you have a public renewal of vows, it will remove any doubt.”

I stopped and listened.

“I don’t know that Selene is ready. We have put a lot on her shoulders, and she’s still trying to remember everything.”

“Exactly.” There was a pause, and I didn’t follow Sebastian’s meaning. “Cheney, Selene made an excellent point when she said she might never remember. I have no idea why her memories are gone but they are and I know I don’t need to remind you—”

“No,” Cheney’s voice was low and dark.

“She can’t even perform elf magic. I don’t know that she will ever be the Selene she was, and you should be grateful for that. She is much improved.”

I rapped on the door before Cheney could respond. I didn’t want to hear what he thought about that that. I was a chicken. I stuck my head in the room. “I’m going to hang out with Sy again tonight. The girls are going to stick around here.”

Cheney froze mid-smile. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with him.”

I laughed. “You can’t possibly be jealous of my cousin. He’s telling me about our childhoods. I think it’s helping me. Besides, you and Sebastian are so busy.”

Cheney stood. “I guess you need me to take you.”

“Actually, Sy’s picking me up.” I kissed his cheek. “Don’t wait up.” With that, I got the hell out of there before he could propose. I ignored the ache at being parted from him so quickly. It was better than being forced to make a new commitment to a man I wasn’t sure I should be committed to in the first place.

Sy stood in the great hall, waiting for me with an amused expression. “I’ll never get used to you living here.”

“You’d rather I live in a seedy bar?”

“Hey, it’s not seedy. It’s…”

“Vile?”

“Lived in,” he said with a firm nod that made me laugh.

How was it that Sy managed to grow up in the same world as me and not be turned bitter by it? He transported us back to Chicago. “Why is it that you don’t mind how half-elves are treated?”

He paused, hand on the door to his pub. “I didn’t wait for anyone to give me what I wanted. I made my life what it is and have earned the respect of those who work with me. However, I work with the Abyss at large, not just the fae. You never could see that there was a much larger world out there than the small one that wouldn’t accept you.”

I felt a bit stung by his words, though I knew that wasn’t his intention, and he gave me a curious look before holding the door open for me. Jaron was already waiting inside.

Jaron gave Sy a small nod and followed me back to his living room.

“You’re late,” he said.

“I lost track of—”

“If it happens again, I’ll end this arrangement. I won’t come second to him.”

I closed my eyes and bit back a snarky retort. Jaron had the manners of an invading horde, but I needed him. He had my memories. “Then let’s not waste anymore time.”

He raised an eyebrow and pulled a container of breath spray out of the air. He did two squirts then offered it to me with a wink. I reached out to take it, but he caught my hand and pulled me toward him. His hand splayed against the small of my back, yet he barely touched me. My heart sped in my chest and my lungs constricted. He leaned down, his mouth almost to mine.

“Why hadn’t you met Sy before now?” I asked, stalling while a new rush of nerves washed over me. If kissing Jaron meant nothing to me, it would’ve been easier. I wouldn’t feel like I was hurting Cheney—but it did mean something and that scared the crap out of me.

Jaron paused, his eyes meeting mine for just a moment, then he closed the rest of the distance between us. His lips gently brushed against mine, making my head lull back. I curled my fingers into his blue button down shirt, fighting the urge to push him away. I could feel a memory bearing down on me, but it wasn’t quite there. A need to know what it was overcame my reservations. I broke the kiss but kept ahold of his shirt and dragged him to the small counter that divided Sy’s miniscule kitchen from his living room. I nudged Jaron. “Up.”

His hands encased my hips and he lifted me up, setting me on top of the counter. I kissed him this time, harder, winding my fingers into his soft waves and pulling his face closer. A mewling sound formed in the back of my throat and his tongue slipped in, stroking mine. With the motion, everything drifted away.

I was lying in bed next to Cheney, listening to his even breath. What the hell was I doing here? I glanced at the clock. It was almost time. A rush of adrenaline coursed through my veins as I slipped from between the covers and silently moved out the door. I lightly ran down the stairs out front, ignoring the chill of the night air biting my skin. My thin, champagne colored silk nightgown did little to cover me, but I didn’t care. It had been months since the last time Jaron agreed to see me. I wove through the trees, deeper and deeper into the forest, until I found him waiting for me.

“You’re late,” he growled.

“But I’m worth the wait.”I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his hard chest, inhaling his scent.

He brushed my hands away and cold air assaulted me once more. “I warned you, Selene, before you left.”

“Yet, here you are.” I gave him my most dazzling smile. “Now stop complaining and keep me warm while we talk.”

He frowned and shrugged his jacket off, handing it to me. It was a poor substitution, but I took it. “What do you want?”

“I figured out how expedite this entire process.” I waited for him to react.

He sighed. “I’m listening.”

“I’ll become a changeling.” I bit my lip in excitement. “It’s brilliant, isn’t it? I’ll get away from Cheney and come back twice as powerful. It will work. We can do it.”

Jaron crossed his arms and looked down at me. “What makes you think so?”

“My mother was a human witch. If I do this, the fae will have no control over me. I’ll be free.”

“Freedom is an illusion. It won’t change anything. You’ve spent all this time winning the prince over and now you almost have him where we need him. Why stop?” His eyes were dark and unreadable.

“I’m not stopping. I’m strengthening the plan. Cheney is strong. I don’t know if I can do what we talked about. I need more power.”

Jaron raised his eyebrows. “But you’ll kill him once you’re in a position of power.”

“If it comes to that.”

Jaron’s eyes iced over. “You have feelings for him, don’t you?”

I studied the ground as I thought about how to explain my feelings to him. “If I don’t have to, I don’t want to hurt him. Maybe we can do this peacefully.”

“Or maybe we should break off from the fae and form our own society, like I’ve been saying. Look what your cousin has managed to do.”

“I’m a half-elf. I have every right to be here. The king is wrong. His policy is wrong. And I’m going to set it right if it’s the last thing I do.” I wove my magic around him as I spoke, rendering him unable to move. He hated it when I did that, which was exactly why I chose this particular method to make him listen. “It will work. This is what you trained me for.”

Plucking his very thin string of control was probably a bad idea, but I didn’t care. Jaron taught me how to control my feelings and to play the game the fae called life. I was tired of him being in control. I wanted him to feel helpless like us lesser mortals. Maybe then he would run wild and free with me. It was a risk, but the payoff would be limitless.

“Don’t push me.” His voice was soft and thin.

I tightened my hold. My control of him broke with nearly an audible snap. He lifted me off the ground, his fingers digging into my arms. “Do. Not. Push. Me. Selene.” His breath was ragged.

“Live, Jaron. Let go. Why do you always hold back? What’s so great about being in control?”

He dropped me to the ground and backed away, staring at the red blotches on my arms. “Leave, Selene. Don’t come back.”

Jaron’s head was on my shoulder, and I was slumped against him when I came back. Not sure what to say, I ran my fingers through his hair instead of speaking.

“I was goading you on purpose. I wanted you to lose control.”

His chest rose with his breath, and a moment later he straightened. “I can’t lose control. You don’t understand.”

There he was wrong. I did understand now. Better than anyone maybe. Thanks to my telekinetic abilities, when I got emotional and lost control, I destroyed everything around me. I wasn’t sure what happened when Jaron lost control, but no one who held on that tightly did so without reason. “Actually, I think I do.” I offered him my hand, letting touching me be his decision.

He looked at my hand as if it were on fire.

“So that whole thing about breaking off from the elves, is that still possible?” I asked.

Jaron tore his eyes from my hand. “Are you serious?”

I thought about what Sebastian and Cheney had discussed. I didn’t want there to be a war. If the half-elves left, Cheney could claim he exiled them and save face. We could leave. . . . No, I shook my head slightly. I couldn’t leave. I rubbed the spot on my chest where the bond ached and felt like crying, though it had nothing to do with the pain. “Maybe.”

Jaron touched my face, as if seeing me for the first time. “This isn’t what you want.”

If the half-elves exiled themselves, what would that mean for me? Would I never see Sy or Jaron again? If I kept playing both sides, how long would it be before I tripped up and this house of cards crumbled? Would Cheney change his mind if he knew everything? Would he still love me? “You don’t need me to do it.”

Jaron’s face snapped closed, and his hand dropped to his side.

I looked down. “I no longer care about being an elf.” My words were true. I didn’t care. I couldn’t tell if my elf half cared anymore or if she’d given up. There was only one thing that was clear to me. It was time to talk to Cheney.