Chapter 8

The whole place is lavish. Huge oil paintings hang on the walls. Seems like mostly castles and faeries flying through the air. One of them is of red mushrooms in cages, another is of a woman with butterfly's wings sitting atop a tulip. Marble statues line the hallways. Some are Fae men, most of them armed with swords or spears. At the end of the hall is a life sized sculpture of a lion man with long wings and his arm wrapped around a beautiful female sea creature. She has gills and fins, and scales, and she's stunning. Any man would love to be with her, human or not. In fact, both of them look supernaturally attractive.

And when the door to the drawing room opens, I see the lion guy from the statue standing there waiting. Except he's bigger than the statue.

Thankfully, he's wearing pants.

He's got to be almost seven feet tall, and built like a linebacker. He's obviously old, but still incredibly dangerous looking. Every move he makes seems deliberate in a terrifying way, like he's trying to move like a human and not quite pulling it off. His face is lined, though the wrinkles are thin, and his shoulder length mane is a beautiful silver.

That's not him.Not the guy I'm supposed to marry. I've seen pictures of the main players in the Nightshade clan, of course. But seeing the head of the family up close is like being at a jail where the bars have suddenly vanished. My heart hasn't stopped trying to pound its way out of my chest since we pulled up, but now it goes into overdrive.

I nearly stumble forward and extend my hand.

"My name is Alexander Nightshade," he says. "Welcome to my home. Please, take a seat."

He smiles a bit tightly, and takes my hand briefly to show me to the settee. Olivia takes a padded chair by the window, where she looks out over the grounds. Zedona sits on a chair across from Lysander, like the two are on the same level.

Another guy sits near the brandy decanter, reading a book. He looks Fae, with pointed ears and everything, except for the two small horns on his forehead.

He's handsome in a pinched sort of way. Like a guy your girlfriend tells you is super hot, but when you meet him… something's just not right. And then a few months later, it turns out he was cheating and he's a real asshole.

I've seen his type before. He smiles unconvincingly at me.

"Octavian," he says, slowly. His gaze takes in every inch of me in a vaguely possessive way, which bugs the hell out of me. He extends his hand but doesn't get up.

So to be polite, I'd have to walk tohim.

But I remember I'm not Lola Robinson anymore. So I frown and ignore him.

His teeth, when he grins, are sharp as a crocodile's.

Zedona and Alexander are more interesting anyways. To see them across from each other, I would've thought they'd be the same. Not in appearance, of course, but in their attitude. They're both leaders of crime families, after all.

Cut from the same cloth.

I can tell they're different, though. Both are brutal, both are strong. But Zedona has the marks of a street thug, even after all the years of living a rich life. You can never smooth those edges out of a man.

Alexander is something else entirely. He sits comfortably, relaxed but ready to strike at any moment. And there's an air of untouchability about him. I'm wildly tempted to throw something at him just to see what would happen.

His gaze snaps to me like he could hear my thoughts.

I find something on the carpet to stare at.

"My son, Fabien, should be with us shortly."

"You've told him, I assume?" Zedona asks, a sly smile on his face.

"I have…" Alexander's voice is grave when he speaks. "He was very happy to learn we'd arranged his marriage. I told him just last night."

Octavian, still leaning over his book, snorts derisively.

My heart pounds even harder. He'll be here soon. The guy I'm supposed to marry.

And in my dreams these last weeks, the dark figure who's been…touching me…has gradually morphed into Fabien Nightshade.

It's like it was always him, and I'm only now realizing it.

FABIEN

My car, a jet black Charger, growls as I hit the gas. Korah rides shotgun, and another of my men, Soren, rides in the back. We're running late, but I'm keeping things under the speed limit.

I hate to say it, but I'm just not in any hurry to see this woman.

"You look down, my lord," Korah says, pursing his lips.

"I just…I don't know. It doesn't seem like this is how destiny works. I thought something wouldhappen. Like I'd meet someone at a convenience store and we'd strike up a conversation. Or maybe I'd bump into her and knock her groceries on the pavement. And when I pick them up with my tentacles, she'd be impressed and we'd get to chatting."

Korah grins. "That sounds like a rom-com. I think destiny is just as inclined to send you someone who also has access to lots of cash and guns. Which would be great."

"Sure, sure. But what if she doesn't like tentacles? Or green?"

"What if green is her favorite color?" Korah counters.

Korah rubs gently at his neck. The bruises on his neck are less visible through the fur than they were earlier.That asshole.

My father was playing for keeps. We heal quickly, much faster than humans, and Kyran is strong. To grip his throat so tightly that it bruises would require a lot of force. Too much force, unless my father was serious about killing him.

If I hadn't intervened, Korah would probably be dead, as an example to me. For him to go so far as to kill a valuable soldier -- now of all times! -- this marriage must be important.

But still…a human?

"It's just hard for me to believe. And what if she's not the one? I'll probably have to marry her anyway. Then the love I'm destined for would come around and be pissed that I'm married. If I'dknown, I'd have at least waited on visiting the witch."

Arabella Black's words echo in my mind again.You'll hold me blameless?She must have said that because she knew she was going to kick a hornet's nest.

"Octavian is the one I'd worry about," Kyran says, darkly. "The way he acted like this was some joint decision…if your father thinks he can't control you, would he ever make Octavian his heir?"

"Who knows? Probably. If he did, I guess I'd kill Octavian."

Then his eyes widen and I swerve to avoid an oncoming car. I'd drifted too far into their lane. Korah's hands go to the dashboard to steady himself. Soren, for his part, sits stoically, not even registering that I'm drifting around the road as I talk. He's newer to my crew, and probably wants to prove himself.