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“How about a little help?” Was he actually fucking smiling at me? I couldn’t tell. He was so close. His eyes. His lips. Him. “I assume you think this is the only way out of the bargain you made. I’ll look past your ingratitude.”
I glared up at him, keenly aware of everywhere our bodies touched.
“And I will tell you how to break it,” he added.
I went utterly still.
“I thought that might get your attention.” He snorted softly. “Fae bargains are based on desire.”
“I don’t want you.” But my cheeks burned, my body burned, I burned.
“Clearly,” he said dryly. “But you did want something from me, and I gave it to you because there’s something I want in return.”
My stomach pitched as his words hit me. “What do you get out of it?”
I couldn’t imagine what he could want from me—what could motivate a man like him to make a deal with a woman he didn’t even know?
He clicked his tongue in disapproval. “It won’t be any fun if I tell you. You have a month and a day to break the bargain. Before then, if you can prove to me that you not only know what I stand to gain from this bargain but also that I will never get it from you, I will release you.”
I swallowed. It was too good to be true. I narrowed my eyes. “And Channing?”
I had learned my lesson about bargains.
“I’ll leave him alone. You have my word.” He paused, squinting down at me. “And contrary to what you believe, my word is unbreakable. Until then, you will come to me at night and you will stop trying to kill me.”
I knew that wasn’t an optional condition. I took a deep breath. “Fine.”
His tongue swept over his lower lip, his eyes straying once more to my mouth before he released me. I slumped against the wall, adrenaline still coursing through me. Gage bent and picked up his gun. He slid the magazine free, and I stared as he drew gold-plated bullets out of his pocket.
“You said you knew what these bullets did. I assume you’ve seen them in the hospital.” He reloaded one into the magazine before holding another up. “The slugs are iron, which is lethal to fae if it hits the right spot. These slugs splinter when fired for maximum effectiveness.” He looked over at me. “They’re meant to kill us. We coat them in gold so we can handle them.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked quietly.
“You have no idea who you’re playing with, princess. Now you do.” He finished loading, and then he strode toward the doors without looking back at me. “And now I know about you.”
“Know what?” My voice shook. He’d baited me, knowing I wanted to kill him.
He stopped, a hand on the knob. “I told you it was a test. Good night.”
I was still trembling as he strode from my bedroom, but I could have sworn I heard a smile in those final words.
Chapter Ten
I bolted awake but relaxed as my tiny bedroom greeted me. My clothes were still strewn on the dresser alongside stacks of books with no homes. Maybe it had all been a dream…
My fingers fumbled to find the chain around my neck, the pendant solid and real, and I moaned, “No.”
Not a dream at all. I had been at the Nether Court. I had made a bargain with a fae prince. And even though I felt the heart pounding in my chest, it was no longer my own. I was the property of Lachlan Gage. At least according to some magically binding contract.
Forcing myself from the bed’s warm cocoon, I gritted my teeth and yanked off yesterday’s dress to find something warmer to wear. That wasn’t a problem I was used to having in New Orleans, thanks to my landlord being too shitty to fix my AC. I glared at the working window unit blowing icy air across my skin, knowing it had to be Gage.
It took a fair amount of digging to find my robe in a pile of unfolded laundry that had probably been sitting in the basket since last fall. In the bathroom, I couldn’t avoid the proof of what I’d done. My eyes were dry and scratchy from lying awake trying to puzzle out the cryptic and confusing challenge he’d set. I didn’t remember falling asleep or how the necklace’s magic had worked.
The pendant taunted me from the reflection as I brushed my teeth, catching the light and winking at me like the arrogant fae asshole who had given it to me. I wanted to take it off, to drop it down the drain, but since Gage had warned me he would know, I did not. If I didn’t return to uphold my end of the bargain, Channing wouldn’t be safe.
And I owed my brother more than I’d ever been able to give him.
It wasn’t until Gran took me in that I found somewhere I belonged. But that hadn’t happened overnight. Even after she’d convinced me to put on my ring, I didn’t trust her. Despite the dresser she’d given me, it had taken months before I’d stopped keeping my few personal belongings in a trash bag, ready to move at a moment’s notice. When Channing had come along a year later, I’d decided I would be someone he could count on, too. Gran’s house was the first place I allowed myself to think about life, about my future. She’d encouraged me to apply for college, even driven me to a few local schools to go on tour. And when she had gotten sick, she’d held on just long enough to see me graduate. To make me promise to watch over Channing.