Asylum (Touched by the Fae 1)

He didn’t use that Zella word. I don’t think he needs to. I mean, he drew Madelaine to him with his beautiful smile and his lilting voice. Maybe that’s exactly what he’s doing to me now. He’s charming me, using his glamour and his fae magic to compel me to go to him.

Once again, Rys holds out his hand expectantly. From the look on his face, I can tell that he thinks he’s got me.

If that’s all he wants, then that’s the one thing I’m gonna make sure he doesn’t get.

All I have on my side is the element of surprise. Now that I’m paying attention to it, I can almost feel his charm pulling me further toward him as another second passes. I already stepped away from the wall of caskets behind me, my slippers shuffling as I edge toward him. If I don’t fight back now, I’m screwed.

I’ll only have one chance. It’ll be risky, but it’s the only choice I have.

He waits for me in the weak stream of light. I keep thinking about how the Light Fae are powerful during the day, with the Dark Fae coming out at night. Unless I’m imagining it, Rys is purposely avoiding the shadows on this side of the mausoleum.

Guess we’re gonna find out.

I move closer to him. When I’m standing on my side of the invisible line that’s separating us, Rys reaches one long finger out toward my cheek. He stops when he’s a few inches away. It’s like there’s a barrier that he can’t break through.

Know what? There probably is.

It has everything to do with these rules the fae live by. I know all about this one. I haven’t given him permission to touch me, and he’s not willing to get burned when he’s so confident that I’ll give in to him.

Giving him a meaningless smile, I sidle around him, draping my arm around his slender waist as if I’m getting in position to give him the dance he’s been hoping for. Rys shivers at my purposeful touch. My stomach revolts, my skin crawling as I make contact, but I don’t pull away from him until I’ve moved behind him.

Then, with all of the strength I have in me, I place my gloved hands on the small of his back and shove.

He wasn’t expecting me to attack him. I know that. If I didn’t let him think he won, didn’t give him a little taste of my soul with the seductive stroke across his side, Rys never would’ve been caught off-guard like that.

I hated every second of it, but it was worth it. He never expected it and I manage to push him into the dark depths of the shadows before he even has the chance to retaliate.

I wasn’t wrong when I realized he was avoiding the shadows on purpose. The second he crosses the line, Rys lets out an unholy scream of terror. The shadows streak his bronze skin, turning the deep, rich color an inky back. His eyes light up like they’re on fire.

The last time I saw him do that, he let loose a stream of fire that surrounded Madelaine.

I’ve gotta get the hell out of here before he does it again. I race toward the slim opening of the mausoleum and, sucking in my frightened breath, I pop out on the other side.

The heavy stone door is held open by a block of wood that’s been wedged underneath. I kick at it wildly, willing it to come loose. My slipper goes flying. I don’t give a shit. I almost break the big toe on my right foot as I slam it into the wood on the second kick.

It works, though. Three good, strong kicks and the wood pops free. The slab slams shut with a bang that causes my ears to ache. It echoes, or maybe that’s the dying whine of Rys’s furious scream when he realizes that I truly have refused him.

Again.

I don’t wait around to see if Rys was able to escape the tomb before the door sealed him inside. I don’t even stop to see if any of the visitors to the cemetery witnessed me bursting out of the mausoleum and closing the door behind me.

With one slipper and half a prayer, I book it the hell out of there.

Don’t stop running.

Don’t look back.

Rys could be behind me. I’m not about to look. I don’t want to be some horror movie cliché, getting caught by the bad guy because I was too stupid to take off when I had the chance.

The fae are a magical race. The Dark Fae can shade-walk. I saw that firsthand when Nine broke me out of the asylum. The Light Fae? If Rys’s abilities are any clue, I know they can control fire. Good chance he can find a way to escape the Richardsons’ mausoleum.

I’ll take any lead I can get.

I haven’t sprinted like this since my middle school days, and even then I half-assed running the mile. A cocktail of fear and adrenaline erases the last of his commands. I shake it off and keep running, tearing a path through the neatly tended graves. I know this cemetery. I know exactly where I am—where I have to go.

The gate isn’t too far from the Richardsons’ mausoleum. I’m so focused on heading right toward it, I didn’t even notice that I’m running right by the caretaker’s office until I hear his grizzled shout behind me.

“Hey, you! Watchu doin’? You can’t run in the cemetery!”