“Another fae won’t hear us?”
I glanced toward the door and back again. A crooked mouth greeted me. “Our private quarters are warded; otherwise, we’d all have to listen to each other’s nocturnal activities.”
Adrianna was right then. A dampener cloaked the whole place. I strived not to think about whether he’d ever used that to his advantage.
“So?” He let that hang.
What could I say? Could I trust him? I knew next to nothing about his past. In the end, I settled for a half-truth. “I found out something about my kin when we were hunting.”
His cheek scars tightened a bit, the only shock he showed. “Go on.”
My mouth drained of all moisture. “It was kind of … earth-shattering. And then, Morgan’s spiders landed on the outskirts of the village we were visiting. The whole thing just shook me up a bit.”
Gods. That was an understatement.
Wilder moved to the edge of his seat to stare at me unblinkingly. “You found out this information from them?”
“No, we never actually met them face-to-face.”
Something flared in his eyes. Doubt, maybe. “Yet it shook you up?”
I dismissed that with a soft chuckle, weak even to my ears. “Yeah. I know it’s stupid.”
His gaze glued me to the back of my chair. “You’re not one for empty words.”
My pulse quickened.
Something horribly like recognition dawned on his face. “Serena, are you trying to tell me that your kin are tied up with the spiders … with Morgan?” He whispered her name. Not in reverence, but fear.
My mouth popped open.
Wilder didn’t even need me to answer; his voice cracked like a whip. “This earth-shattering realization wouldn’t be that your kin are on the run from her, would it?”
My insides hollowed out into an icy, barren space. “No. Most of my kin are dead.”
His face showed little sympathy. Instead, those piercing green eyes shifted to my throat. To the necklace.
They stayed there for five full heartbeats.
Sound crashed into my ears; it took a moment to realize it was my pulse. Then, just like that, he collapsed back into his chair. As if to create more distance between us.
He didn’t seem to want to look at me as he said, “Perhaps you should keep the rest to yourself. Something tells me you’re not ready to share the rest, anyway. But, I want you to know that if you were in any kind of trouble, I would help you.”
“What about not being allowed to be friends?” A careful question.
Wilder stood in one quick movement, snatching the glass with the amber liquid and downing it in one gulp. Then, he turned his back on me and stared into the fire that burned low, murmuring, “We don’t have to be friends for me to help you.”
“I’ve got my pack. I’ll be fine.” To not sound like a spoiled brat, I added, “Thank you … for offering.”
“Yes—I noticed Frazer’s appointed himself as your new protector.”
He was so quiet.
I shouldn’t have said it, but something was pushing me, driving me. “Jealous?” I asked lightly. As if I could fool him.
He set the glass down on the mantelpiece in a slow movement and placed both hands there, gripping the wood it was made from. He was white-knuckling it, his shoulders knotted and rigid. I waited for the denial. For the put down.
“Maybe I am,” he breathed. “His scent’s all over you. Did you know that?”
He remained with his wings to me, wood cracking beneath his fingers. I didn’t know what made me confess; maybe it was my utter shock that he’d admitted that much. “It’s not like that.”
Wilder released the groaning mantle, squared his shoulders, and turned to me with a dead expression. “I’d like to believe that.”
My heart was in my mouth.
“But your scents are too entangled for it to be anything else.”
“We’re kin,” I blurted out.
His gaze slipped from mine with a stunted chuckle. “That’s not possible.”
I remained quiet, not moving, not backing down.
I waited … He turned to me again, scanning up and down, searching for signs of a lie. A growing unease clouded his face.
I almost denied it then. Laughed it off.
Then, his expression flipped; eyes gone wild, he rambled, “How? Are you … You look alike … are you siblings? Is Frazer a demi-fae?”
Before he could keep on losing his shit, I corrected him. “You’ve got the wrong idea. We weren’t born kin.”
That only made things worse; his face drained to a grisly white. “Then … No, please, please, by the all the fucking gods, you didn’t. Tell me that you didn’t make that bond with him!”
I shifted ever so slightly to the back of my chair. “We did, but—”
“Are you insane?” he hissed, his face crumpling in incredulity—in rage. “D’you have any idea what you’ve done? Who suggested it?” he demanded. He didn’t wait for an answer before spitting out, “It was him, wasn’t it? I’ll rip his heart out!”
My blood roared. I reared up in an instant. “You won’t touch him.”
Seeing me glowering seemed to temper something in him. The lines of anger vanished from his face, and his mouth jerked upward in an involuntary spasm. His arm looked like it was reaching for me, but at the last second, he swept it upward and clenched the back of his neck. He looked so lost, the murderous rage drained away. That didn’t stop me from saying, “Don’t threaten my brother again.”
And just like that Wilder slipped back into smooth, neutral tones. “He’s put you in danger.”
Yet despite my words to Liora, I didn’t regret it. “I know other fae might not like it, but it’s done now. Let the world think we’re just lovers. That’s not forbidden,” I said, sourness coloring my voice.
Wilder didn’t seem to notice. He collapsed back into the armchair. His elbows bracing against his knees, he began rubbing his forehead.
An awkward silence stretched. I sat back down again and scanned the room. Anything to stop myself watching him. It was then my attention snagged on something. Of the many books scattered around the divan and chairs, there was one in particular that pulled my focus. It was small, with a black leather cover and a gold-embossed title: The Darkest Song.
I tilted slightly toward it, unthinking; on pure instinct.
“I don’t think you understand,” Wilder said suddenly, lifting his gaze to mine.
I jerked back up.
Wilder went on in a raw, scratchy voice. “You are right, of course. Fae take human lovers. But your scents will stay merged for the rest of your lives. No matter the distance or time apart. So what happens when you become soldiers? What if you’re in different encampments, sleeping in shared barracks? Other fae may wonder why a strange male’s scent never fades from your body, even though you’re never in the company of said fae?” He didn’t wait for my response before continuing. “It’s just a matter of time before someone asks questions you can’t answer. Then there’s Morgan … Gods, Serena—if word ever reached her that a fae had made that vow to a human, she’d drag you both to the Solar capital—Alexandrina—and interrogate you. And trust me, it won’t be with words and bribes. It’ll be with people and things that can snap bones, pluck out eyes, and much, much worse. She’d likely kill one of you just to break the bond.”
I felt weak. Almost fever-like. I scrambled for something—anything—to make me feel less shit-scared. “But we’re in the Riverlands …”
Wilder’s brows nudged together. Pity and contempt marked his face. “You think that makes you safe? Don’t be deceived into thinking that the Riverlands is some kind of haven from Morgan’s rule. Diana’s spine bends every time that—” He clamped his lips together. Obviously biting back a curse. Finally, he spat out, “My point is, I can count on one hand the number of times she’s openly gone against Morgan. And for those rare moments, the witch has spies and agents in every gods-damned corner of this court to push her agenda.”
“You mean like Dimitri?” I shot at him.
Wilder choked out a dark laugh. “Guessed, did you?”