Warrior Fae Trapped (Warrior Fae 1)

So why couldn’t she get the words out? Why did she want to take the job just to shove it in Devon’s face?

“I want to go back to normal,” she told no one in particular. “I want to go back to when my life made sense.”

“You can get back there, you just have to accept a new normal,” Roger said. It wasn’t helpful. “Devon’s team has to work out the location of the new vampires, anyway. How about I give you a day to think about it?”

No.

It was there, right on the tip of her tongue. So easy to say, normally. Easy to say to anyone but the alpha staring at her, that was.

Then another thought occurred to her. “If all this really happened, then my roommate is a…” She couldn’t get the word out. Her voice rose in panic. “Where am I going to stay?”

“You’ll stay with Devon.”

“What?” the two cried at once.

“No,” she said, finding it easy to deny Roger this time. “No, that’ll never work. This kid has a temper problem that I don’t want any part of.”

“If you’d stop getting in my way and assaulting me with your magic, I’d—”

“I didn’t even know I had magic until today. I still don’t believe it. So clearly it is your—”

“Enough,” Roger said.

Charity’s mouth snapped shut, but not even the sudden chill freezing the air could disengage her glare from Devon. He stared back just as intently, the green and gold specks in his beautiful eyes dancing. Fire blazed between them, demanding action.

The silence lengthened.

“You have a lot of power locked up inside of you,” Roger said calmly. His eyes glinted with humor. “It lightly stings my skin when you let it out. It also calls to us—shifters, I mean. Our magic complements each other, yours and Devon’s and mine. Our style of fighting does, too. Or, at least, it once did.”

She pushed Roger’s words away. She’d had enough. “So…I have some studying to do…”

“I know this isn’t ideal for you,” Roger said, “but if your roommate has been turned, that house is no longer safe for you. Eventually she’ll return, if only because she’s hungry—”

“Hungry?” Charity squeaked.

“You’re human. You have blood. Hence, you are food,” Devon said.

“But I thought you said I was magical. Macy and Andy said— Oh my god, Andy! He’s in one of my classes. Jesus, I’m tired. I wonder why he didn’t say anything.”

“Stay on topic, please,” Devon muttered, his face pale.

“Vampires can feed off most anything,” Roger said, “but you are a human with magic. And let’s not forget that you were invited to that party. Or, at least, you were allowed to go. You could very well be in their sights. Even if Samantha doesn’t return, that doesn’t mean you’re out of danger.”

Charity’s heart sank. She’d known that, of course. They were interested in her, the vampires. That fear had been in the back of her mind the whole time; she just hadn’t wanted to bring it out and into the light.

She dropped her head into her hands, not sure where to go from here. “What kind of magic do I have? Andy and Macy seemed to think you’d know.”

“For simplicity, magical people call you a warrior fae,” Roger said.

“A warrior fae,” Charity repeated slowly. “Like a fairy?”

“A fairy is a type of fae. Warrior fae is another type,” Roger said.

“I see. Aren’t I supposed to have wings? And be short?”

“You are short,” Devon replied.

“Five-five is not—” Charity breathed through her nose for a moment, trying to ignore him. She dared not meet his eyes again. She didn’t trust herself not to flip his chair back and kick him somewhere soft.

“We’ll go over all that in time,” Roger said softly. “For now, you two need to get back to the Brink and get a good sleep. After that, Devon will create a plan that will, hopefully, include Charity.”

“You want us to go back now?” Devon jerked upright. “Not stay here until it’s time to act?”

“I think Charity has had enough excitement. Why don’t you grab some of her things from her old house, help her get comfortable?”

The vein in the Devon’s jaw pulsed. Oh no, he did not like this any more than she did. Which soothed her. At least he wouldn’t hit on her or demand constant homage to his glossy good looks.

“Charity,” Roger said, giving her a smile that seemed out of practice. “I hope to work with you soon. You are an extraordinary woman.”

The embarrassment was back. Charity tucked a lock behind her ear.

Devon stared at Roger like he’d never seen him before. In a moment, he shook himself out of his astonishment and turned to Charity. His frustrated scowl came back immediately. Charity couldn’t help but laugh.

They wouldn’t get along, that much was obvious. She wondered how long it would take for one of them to punch the other in the mouth, and who would break first.