CHAPTER 9

"I'm reading that."

"Grant me your name, and you can have it back." He raised a brow at her and held her book behind his shoulder.

She pressed a hand to his chest and stood on her knees, leaning closer to retrieve her book.

Rune's fangs lengthened. The slender column of her neck so close to his lips he could perceive her warmth.

Take what is offered.The Ra'Voshnik growled, growing aroused.

She is not offering you anything. Be silent.

He turned his head toward hers as she fought to pry her book free from his grasp. He fanned his breath over the shell of her ear. "Grant me your name, and I will let you read uninterrupted for the rest of the evening."

Rune stilled when she turned to meet his gaze, still holding the book. Her full dark lips a moment from his. He swallowed, worried if he made a wrong move, she would reject his advances.

Her lightning-streaked midnight eyes twinkled with mischief. "We renamed you fangs."

We? Rune laughed softly. "Fangs?"

She nodded, her gaze dipping to his mouth.

His eyes slid closed as she pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth.

Faye woke up with a start, jerking upright and glancing around her. She ran her hand over the front of her throat, to her collar bone. Her heart pounded as she took deep breaths to calm herself.

She climbed out of bed feeling like she didn't sleep.

Sparrow spelled their cottage, keeping it warm as the colder months approached. Faye peeked into the hall dressed in her white nightgown. Sparrow sat at the kitchen table with toast and eggs.

"Dream of fangs again?" Sparrow asked around a mouthful of food.

Faye joined her, making a plate of fruits and cheese. "Yeah, but it was a weird dream."

"Sexual depravity weird, or you two riding a unicorn weird." Sparrow pointed her fork to one side then the other.

Faye gave Sparrow an impressed look as she took her seat. "Look at you, using your big words like you know what they mean and shit."

Sparrow smirked. "I'm all about sexual depravity. So, spill." She tapped the table at Faye twice before going back to her breakfast.

"We were curled up on a couch thing in this big, fancy room." Faye glanced around their kitchen-dining room. "The room was the size of our cottage, and it had a fireplace I could walk into."

Sparrow nodded, chewing her toast. "Typical dark court. Get to the naked part."

"There is no naked part."

Sparrow exhaled dramatically. "Why are your dreams so boring?"

Faye fluttered her hand at Sparrow. "I'm in his lap."

"Less boring." Sparrow looked thoughtful for a moment. "Does he have the bad eyeliner on in your dreams?"

"I like his eyeliner." Faye paused. "Is that weird?"

Sparrow shrugged. "Usually, it's a precursor to being eaten. But I heard their bites are almost as good as their purrs."

Faye widened her eyes, finishing a bite of fruit. "He purred!"

"Riding his face is a naked time bitch. Even if you left your panties on."

"I wasn't doing that, hooker."

In the dream, she'd brushed her lips from the corner of his mouth to his jaw. He lifted his chin as she trailed kisses down his throat. She ran her hand up the back of his neck into his hair, trying to distract him enough to loosen his hold on her book.

"I bit him."Then he pulled me closer.

The rumble from his purr startled her, and she tensed, biting down hard and yanking his hair.

"Is that it?"

"When he purred, I felt the vibrations." Faye waved her hand at herself. "On my non-dreaming body."

Sparrow quirked her lip. Her expression turned uncharacteristically serious. "Are you sure Silver Leaf isn't poaching you in these dreams? He could be a Familiar."

The thought made Faye recoil. Poaching was a term used to describe a person who had a beacon cast on them without their knowledge. Beacons were Familiar magic that tethered a connection from the Familiar to an unsuspecting mind. The Familiar could shape their dreams, pull secrets, even leave marks on their body.

She would have dismissed Sparrow's wild notions if the vibrations of his purr hadn't woken her up.

There was no reason for her to be targeted for a beacon. As soon as a Familiar stepped into her mind, they would see she held no power.

No, this was a momentary attraction she felt in a place she and Sparrow should never have been. The excitement of it was still fresh in her mind, working out of her system. Nothing more.

"My brain is just working through all the nonsense you made me witness." Faye insisted Sparrow shrugged. "The Shadow Prince might be poaching you. You said he was sniffing for you."

Faye nearly choked. She thought of him standing there after they'd run from him. The way his lids lowered as he breathed in the night air. The small act made her feel desirable. Which was idiotic.

She shoved the memory away. But a tiny part of her wanted him to come find her that night. Which was the reason she was having these dreams.He's a passing fantasy.

Faye finished her plate and got up to set it in the sink. "He's not even a Familiar."

Sparrow shrugged, and thankfully changed the subject. "Got any plans?"

"Thinking about spending the day at the hot spring." Faye spent the majority of her time there during the colder months.

"I'll go with you for a bit. I'm meeting Vash for a late lunch. I'll come find you when I come back if you're still reading."

Faye smiled walking down the hall returning to her room. She changed into her bathing suit. A simple black bikini made of leather and string spelled to stay dry. She put her boots on then slid her thick fluffy robe on.

She returned to the kitchen to find Sparrow gone. Faye took a basket from the kitchen counter, packing it with dried meats, cheese, fruits, and some hard bread.

"Hooker." Faye called.

"Bitch." Sparrow's voice came from down the hall.

Faye tossed the latest romance book Sparrow brought back from Necromia for her in the basket as Sparrow came down the hall dressed in a slinky silver one piece.

"Carry me!" Sparrow shifted into a small white cat. Faye held still as Sparrow climbed up her robe and crawled into the furred hood at her back.

"If you learned to phase, we would already be there."

Sparrow purred, wiggling around in the hood.

Faye left their home, closing the door behind her. She made her way across the open field toward the forest, following the path she marked with painted rocks. The short hike along the mountain branched off, leading to a clearing.

The change in humidity hit Faye before reaching the spring.

Two lounge chairs were placed next to the spring. Faye and Sparrow arranged the larger rocks to border the spring, and Vash even built seating for them in the water.

Faye untied her robe, dropping it in a pile along with Sparrow on one of the lounge chairs.

Steam rose from the clear blue water. The plants and small trees surrounding the spring were green year round. Even on the coldest winter day, this little clearing stayed warm and comfortable.

Sparrow, still a cat, crouched at the edge of the spring dipping her paw into it. She backed up and took a running start before leaping into the water. She turned into a woman mid-air and cannonballed into the water. At the last moment, Faye grabbed her book, holding it to her chest as she turned her back to Sparrow's splash.

Standing, Sparrow pushed her hair out of her face. "This water is so nice."

"You're splashing the food and my book hooker."

Sparrow fluttered her hand at her as she made her way to the seating area in the spring. "I'll still eat it."

Faye tucked her book safely under her robe before she pulled off her boots. She tied her hair up in a bun and waded into the water. The heat seeped into her as she ran her fingers over the surface of the water.

Faye sat next to Sparrow, laying her head back on a smooth stone. Listening to the wind rustling the leaves far above them.

Sparrow elbowed her, and Faye gave her a sideways glance, not wanting to move.

"Have you seen him?" Sparrow gave a short whistle and stuck out her index and middle finger, "Yet?"

"No."

Sparrow eyed her suspiciously. "Do you close your eyes the whole time?"

Faye lifted her hand out of the water to make a rude gesture. "No."

"They're supposed to be trained in pleasing women when they serve in the dark courts. And your Shadow Prince belongs to a really dark court. I bet he got some really nice training."

Faye laughed, sitting up. She rolled her neck, popping a crick. "I'm surprised you haven't volunteered."

"I would. Vashien won't give me the details."

"Vash served in a dark court?" Faye thought he'd always owned his tavern, Lost and Found.

Sparrow waved her hand. "Long time ago, centuries before us."

Vash looked to be in his early thirties. It was easy to forget he lived for hundreds of years.

Faye stared at the steam rising from the water. "Do you ever get worried?"

Sparrow raised her eyebrows.

Faye turned toward her then. "That Vash will leave when you age?"

Sparrow crossed her legs, leaning forward. "First, we're only twenty-five. We might still be immortal. I just haven't aged to my most beautiful yet." Sparrow flicked her hair, turning her head to the side. "And second, I can't control Vash. If he leaves me, it's his loss, and my memories will haunt him for the rest of his undying life."

Faye couldn't imagine being in Sparrow's place. She pretended the rejections and dismissals didn't matter to her, but in truth, they stung, cutting deep.

She had no emotional investment with the men who dismissed her after a single glance—actually giving her heart away? Out of the question. She would be too vulnerable. The potential for pain was more than she could bear.

Love meant giving another person the tools to destroy you and hoping they don't. A gamble Faye wasn't willing to take. Especially with an immortal. She would age, and they would leave.

While Sparrow, through her memory, would haunt the men she left. Faye was an Anarian. There was no reason to stay with her. If Faye gave her heart away, she would be the one haunted.

Bits of water struck Faye's face.

"Bitch, I don't know what you're thinking about but stop it." Sparrow flicked more water at her.

Faye leaned her head back again, gazing up at the forest canopy.

"So fangs haven't bitten you. You haven't seen his dick. What the hell do you dream about?"

"It's stupid."

Sparrow snorted but stayed silent.

Faye's mind drifted back to her dreams of him. Sitting with him in front of the fire was nice. Faye smiled, even if he was an ass, and tickled her back. Flirting was fun, but if she had to pick, she would take the dreams where he held her until she fell asleep.

"He holds me. He pets my hair." In her dreams, he laid on his back, and she curled up to him, resting her head on his chest. He covered her hand with his, brushing his thumb over her index finger to the back of her hand and back again.

Faye turned to face Sparrow. "He doesn't look for a shard I don't have." Faye lifted her right hand out of the water, looking at her bare index finger as she turned her hand. She could almost feel his caress, the scent of him teasing her memories. Amber and sandalwood.

"He doesn't ask me what court I belong to."He sees me.

"You're just sick." Sparrow linked arms with her. "Fucking dreaming about affection. That's what it does for you?"

Faye flicked water at her, not wanting to admit how close to the truth her sister was.

Sparrow leaned her head back on the stone, looking up with Faye. "Well, tell your subconscious when you get to the naked part. I am expecting you to have a three-finger killer."

Faye turned her head. "A what?"

Sparrow lifted her hand over head, holding three fingers together, and tapped across the middle joint of her fingers. "If he's not this wide, you throw his ass back."

Faye glanced at her hand, holding three fingers together. "I feel like this would hurt."

Sparrow snorted and stood up, climbing out of the spring. "Not if he knows how to use it."

"Are you heading back?"

"Need to get ready for my hot date. Where's your book?"

Faye turned, leaning on the stone. "Under the robe."

Sparrow handed the book in front of Faye. "Make sure you come home before dark. It's not good to go home in the dark, you know."

"I'm going to tell Aunty Clara you're talking shit." Faye took her book and turned in time to see Sparrow as a cat, running on air through the forest. She yelled, knowing Sparrow would hear her.

"You'd be home already if you learned to phase."