CHAPTER 57

Faye had been soaking long enough for the water to have cooled by now. A smile spread over her lips, maybe magic was good for something. A soft chime sounded. The silver tray holding the water and bread vanished. The small black stone forgotten on the floor.

Faye's stomach angrily gnawed at her. Would Rune join her for breakfast? Did he even eat? Faye's eyes fell back to the obsidian talisman. Sparrow definitely ate and was probably pulling her hair out looking for the black stone.

Vash couldn't phase out of Hell but could phase food from his tavern in. She would kill for some chicken fingers right now. Something normal instead of the fancy meals they'd been having. Faye flipped the lever to drain the bath and got out, retrieving Rune's talisman.

She shut the door and dried off, glancing over towards the dark wooden box he left open. Vials, bottles, and various pouches of herbs were neatly arranged in their individual compartments. His soaps and cleansing oils were arranged with the same organized care in neat low lipped containers along the edge of the mirror.

She wrapped the towel around herself, resisting the urge to shift his things a few inches. Faye walked through Rune's room, returning to hers. Her steps faltered at the sight of her mangled bed. Deep gouges tore through the blankets and mattress. Stuffing and torn material spilled out onto the floor. Did he do that?

Faye walked past it and dressed quickly, heading back to the south wing. She slowed her pace walking past Rune's study hoping to find him behind his desk. She wondered what matters he was seeing when she realized the space was empty.

She found her sister in the den, squinting as she picked over yesterday's platter of dried meat, cheese, and crackers.

"Hit Rune's bar cart too hard?" Faye asked.

Sparrow sat with a huff. "Your evil twin started screaming and she hit me with her black tentacle."

Faye tensed. "She did what?"

Sparrow waved her off. "Tendril," she corrected. "She drained us."

Faye's gaze swept over her sister. "Did she hurt you? Do you need a healer?"

"It feels like a bad hangover," Sparrow said, scrubbing her hand over her nose. "Did Runey take care of you?"

Faye surveyed the room. Her sister noted her reaction and said, "Vash isn't here, he's sparring with Damian in the courtyard."

"Sadi didn't drain him?"

"No, I think she drained us all. I woke up to a cute love note from Morbid saying not to disturb you and his shadowy highness. He gave us tea bags for this shit to recover." Sparrow pushed a tall glass of dark liquid further away from her. "Vash choked it down. I can't."

Sparrow slapped the table and winced at the sound. "I forgot. Runey came in here looking for your magic vagina."

A parchment folded into thirds appeared in Sparrow's hand. Faye took it and arched her brow at her sister when she glimpsed the wax seal was already cracked.

"What," Sparrow exclaimed. "I stopped. Your dealings with him are private." Her sister rolled her eyes. "You never kept secrets from me until him."

"They aren't secrets. They're private," Faye said, opening the letter. She read it and read it again. It was a sentence written in a smooth masculine script.

Sparrow held her hand out, grasping her fingers at the letter. Faye handed it over and set the obsidian talisman on the table. She touched it and said, "Eggs and toast please." Faye turned toward Sparrow expecting her sister to have an order at the ready, but she remained silent, tilting her head at Rune's letter.

"Why is he so boring?" She finally said, before reading the letter in a deeper voice, poorly imitating Rune's accent. "Rune Sacarlay, the Shadow Prince, of the Court of the Black Rose requests permission to court Faye Alexander of an undetermined court."

Sparrow sighed letting the letter fall to the table. "Tell me he wasn't that boring in bed." Her sister brightened. "Did you make him purr and ride his face?"

Faye flushed at the memory of Rune holding her down while he purred against her. Sparrow gasped at her reaction and clasped her hands together. "You did! I didn't think you had it in you. Tell me everything." She leaned forward thrumming with excitement.

Faye looked down at her hands. She couldn't describe the rush of feelings that washed through her when she thought of Voshki and Rune. It all seemed so simple when it was just them while she soaked. Apprehension laced with guilt choked her. Was she allowed to want them both?

"There's two of him," Faye spoke in a hushed whisper, studying her hands.

"What?" Her sister bit out and poked her knee when she took too long to answer.

Faye glanced up, and her sister squinted her lip, widening her eyes at her. Faye took a steading breath. "There's another part of him, his bloodlust."

Sparrow's eyebrows lifted and she nodded appreciatively as she leaned back in her chair. "Are we talking about how he gets a little wild when he's got the bad eyeliner?"

A pleasant chime sounded, and Faye glanced at the breakfast she was no longer hungry for. Faye looked away and answered quietly, "He brought me into his mind. There's two of them, I saw them both."

Sparrow wrinkled her nose as she crossed her legs under her and asked, "How does that work. Do they take turns?" Faye flushed deeply. She supposed they had. Her sister snorted and shook her head. "You have two trained males. Darkness, I hate you. Everyone, everyone has a bad fuck before you find someone who knows what they're doing. But not this bitch. Not Faye."

"Stop yelling so loud," Faye hissed.

Sparrow's shoulders slumped. "He must have shown you a really good time if you're too shy to talk about it, so why do you look like I trampled your garden?"

Faye closed her eyes and pressed her hands together. She brought the tips of her index fingers to her lips and glared at her sister. "There are women in him," Faye said, opening her hands as she enunciated each word.

"And?"

Darkness, why did she want to talk to Sparrow about this. Of course, this would be her answer. "What do you mean, and? Am I supposed to pretend it's fine and date both of them?"

Sparrow stared at her wide-eyed. "You want him to be your boyfriend."

Faye shoved her sister's leg. "What do I do?"

Sparrow sighed dramatically. "As far as anyone can tell, he's the Shadow Prince. It doesn't matter if there are two of him. It's private," her sister said at the end with a toothy grin.

"But I know there are two of him."

Her sister blew a blonde curl out of her face. "You are so worried about the wrong shit. You like him, right? I know you like him."

Faye nodded.

"Then ask him to bring you into his mind and fuck them both," her sister said as she pulled Faye's plate in front of her. "We're staying, right? Runey added Vash to his wards so he can come and go and not get blasted."