But when I opened my eyes, I was flat on my back in the forest again. Fuck. If I never saw this place again, it would still be too soon. I hated every tree, every murky shoot of light between the branches. The scent of blood hung in the air, metallic and thick. That was new. Maybe Sol decided to add a little flavor to our meetings? They were getting a little one note, after all.
I sat up and marveled at the use of my ab muscles without the residual pain and grunting.
I didn’t see her anywhere, or anyone else for that matter. At least she hadn’t brought the goons along with the pools of blood
in the pine needles.
As usual, the forest lay silent, the gray light barely shining between the thick branches. I got to my feet and brushed the pine needles off my jeans. Some clung to my T-shirt, but I left them since hopefully, I wouldn’t be here long.
Instead of my usual wandering pace, I marched along the path, hunting for the flashes of color that would herald Sol’s arrival. I enjoyed the exercise burn in my legs I wasn’t going to get at home for a while.
Even here, the bond forged by Fin’s vow gripped my gut. Would he sever the connection now? Could he? I wasn’t sure of anything regarding the vow and his bond. And I felt even less comfortable with its presence after what happened with Fin last night.
Why did he keep throwing me in the deep end, expecting me to swim like an Olympic athlete? As a bounty hunter, I had more knowledge than the regular mortal, but all this magic stuff might as well be geometry. Give me a quiz on werewolf shifting patterns, and I would nail it.
But not one on magic. Especially not Fae magic.
A thick fog rolled across the ground, obscuring my feet, the pine needles, the roots of the trees.
I finally reached the clearing, the usual one Sol met me in. The log sat in the middle of the ring of trees and today I took the seat, waiting for her. Let her stand this time.
I drummed my fingers against my legs and began to grow impatient. How long did she expect me to wait? It wasn’t as if I could pull myself out of this dream, anyway; I hadn’t been able to yet.
I plucked the bond between Fin and me, and felt it register with him on the other end. Could I bring him here? Let him see his sister? Would it fix what we’d shredded in a few brief hours with harried nerves and lies?
I closed my eyes and focused on Fin and the bond between us. It flashed bright in my mind’s eye and then I felt him. I opened my eyes and spotted him between the trees across the clearing. He appeared murky, like the dappled light in this place, a ghost between the tree trunks.
A flash of red passed between us. I looked up to find Sol standing over me. Her hair hung past her knees, the red dress she wore fitted to her body, a train pooling around her feet.
I stared past her at Fin, who’d crouched down in the brush. He made eye contact with me and placed his finger over his lips.
Instead of acknowledging him, I jerked my eyes back to Sol. “You rang?”
Her grin flitted and then disappeared.
“Something is different with you.” She circled me and then stopped again, right in front of me. “Yes, something is different.”
As was she. Her tone had taken an edge, and her dress had gone from demure fairy princess to siren between visits.
Fin’s sister or not, she tested my patience.
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at her. “Can I help you with something? You keep calling and yet nothing is ever achieved with these visits except my lack of sleep.”
Sol folded herself onto the log gracefully in front of me, a feat in that dress of hers. I studied her carefully. To be fair, we hadn’t known each other long, so the change in her might be a mood swing for all I knew. And yet, my gut, my intuition, told me this wasn’t. But what it didn’t tell me was if Sol sat in front of me, or something else entirely.
I caught Fin’s eyes over her shoulder. He’d closed off his emotions from me and wore a mask of indifference. It almost hurt to look at him.
I focused back on Sol. “I’m done with these games. Can you tell me what you want so I can get some rest? I don’t know if you noticed the bloodbath on the way into the grove, but some of that is definitely mine.”
Her features twisted into a mock look of concern and then cleared almost as quickly. “I want to know what you’ve done with my brother.”
I didn’t look at him.
“I’ve done nothing to him,” I said. “He’s actually the only one that didn’t need to be stitched back up.”
She leaned in, her crystal eyes gleaming, “No, I mean, have you fucked him yet?”
Realization dawned. “Ah, Esteban, it’s good to see you again.”