Shadow (Touched by the Fae 2)

Nine stiffens. His hands fall to his side. With a shake of his head, his hair settles in place again, hiding his ears. Suddenly on guard, he nods. “More or less.”

“And you worked with Rys to put me in there—and that’s after he killed my sister? Are you kidding me?”

“We had a bargain. Though we’re”—Nine pauses, as if searching for the right word, and, in my mind, I hear Rys whisper rival—“from opposite factions, we both had one thing in common. Both of us had our reasons for protecting the Shadow. We each agreed to place you somewhere you’d be safe until you came of age. As soon as you started to come into your power, our contract was met and we were both free to return to you.”

I’m not so interested in that. I know what happened after Rys appeared in my dreams, and how I thought I heard Nine call for me before I actually saw him a few days later.

No. I’m still trying to figure out why these two powerful creatures put aside their differences to take care of me.

“Okay. Now, you went to all that trouble because you and my mom had a bargain, too, right? You were supposed to watch over me.”

Nine slips his hand into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out the same pebble I’ve seen him carrying before. He lets it fall in his palm, almost as if he has to assure himself that he still has it, then closes his fingers over it. When he opens his hand again, the pebble is gone.

And he nods. “Yes.”

“So what was his reason? Rys. Why would he want to keep me safe?”

Nine’s gorgeous face closes off. He doesn’t give off a single hint of what he’s thinking as he says, “If you really want to know why a Blessed One does anything, you’re asking the wrong fae. I know what Rys says his reasons are. He believes them to be true. Is there more to it? Of course. But you’d have to go to him for answers.”

Is this a test?

It feels like a test.

Either way, I shake my head. “Yeah. I’d rather not.”

“That’s smart, Riley,” Nine says, and I hate that his approval helps make this terrible situation not so bad. “Rys, for all his years, has always been impulsive. He should’ve waited and, now, here we are. He’s playing for your heart while I’m hoping to save your life.”

Well, of course Nine doesn’t have to play for my heart. I handed that to him ages ago and, whether it’s because of the touch or not, I realize he never gave it back.

Wrapping my arms arou

nd my knees, I peer over at him. I just… I just let myself look at him.

Nine is like a magnet. Even from my spot across the room, I can still feel the strength of his pull.

When I’m spending time with Carolina and our conversations inevitably turn to the fae again, it’s so easy to be mad at him, to hate him, to wish he would stay away and maybe all of my trouble—and Carolina’s heavy expectations—would go away, too. But then I see him again. All of that anger, confusion, and certainty is a long forgotten memory. It doesn’t seem real.

At this moment, Nine is the most real thing to me.

“I hope you do,” I say at last. When Nine cocks his head to the side, curious, in that almost alien way that he has, I add, “Save my life, I mean.”

“I will do anything I can to keep you safe. You have my word, Riley.”

A contract.

Nine just entered into a contract with me.

Does he know what he’s done?

His eyes flash, a brilliant silver that brightens up the gloom in the dark living room. He takes a deep breath, his nostrils flaring, his cheekbones jutting from his sculpted face as he punctuates his vow with a look that dares me to refuse him.

Oh yeah. He knows. He absolutely knows. That was no slip of his tongue. Like any fae with his magic, Nine made me a promise without even trying to get something out of me in return.

If it was anyone else, I’d consider it a rookie mistake. With Nine, though? I don’t even want to begin to wonder what that’s about.

I honestly don’t know how I’m supposed to feel, either. I should be terrified of him and his strength. Hell, I should hate him for the way he was the puppet master pulling my strings my entire life. I should totally command him to stay away.

But I can’t.