Warrick looked into the fern green eyes of Darcy Allen. She stared calmly back at him, even though he could see the tension in the way she stood. She was frightened, but she was holding it in check.
Her auburn curls fell around her. Her bearing was that of someone with an old soul, someone who was rarely ruffled. She dragged in a breath and adjusted her purse on her shoulder. Her wide eyes glanced down at his tat, making his skin warm at the thought of her interest.
Her gaze returned to his face as he took in her beauty. With her oval face, her eyes were what kept his focus, but there was no denying the appeal of her smooth skin, high cheekbones, and plump lips. There was a spattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose that he found appealing in ways he couldn’t describe.
“So, these Dark Fae are dangerous. Got it,” Darcy said nervously.
Warrick realized that once more he’d done something wrong. It’s another reason he preferred to be by himself. Even when he didn’t talk, he made others uncomfortable.
“Aye. I was going to have a look in your flat, but perhaps that isna a good idea.”
“Why?” she asked with eyes wide with surprise. “Do you think they won’t venture there?”
Warrick glanced up at her windows. “They most certainly will. I just assumed you would rather I get Thorn.”
She rolled her eyes and unlocked her door. “You’re already here. Why make me wait for someone else?”
Warrick had no choice but to follow her inside. He glanced around to make sure there were no Dark near, even though he knew Thorn was watching the building as well.
Following Darcy, Warrick tried—and failed—not to notice how her hips swayed as they walked up the stairs. Her legs went on forever, and the leggings that clung to her slender limbs brought his attention to them again and again.
The woman had no idea of her allure, of how she tempted him. And he was exceedingly thankful.
“I expected anger,” she shot over her shoulder.
Warrick jerked his gaze from her shapely behind to her face. “What?”
A frown formed between her brows as she reached the landing to her door. “For my helping Ulrik. I thought if a Dragon King did come, I would be met with resentment and fury.”
“What you did is done. There’s no reason to be upset.”
She made a sound at the back of her throat as she unlocked the door. “I doubt the rest of the Kings feel that way.”
Warrick stopped her with a hand on her arm before she could enter. He motioned for her to stay put as he pushed open her door and stepped inside.
It didn’t take him long to look in her studio since the only other room was the bathroom. When he knew everything was clear, he walked back to the door. That’s when he saw the carvings in the doorway. His gaze slid to Darcy.
“I’m a Druid,” she said with a shrug. “You think I’m going to move into a place and not protect it?”
“These willna keep the Dark out.”
Her lips flattened for a moment. “No, I’m going to need something much stronger.”
Warrick moved aside and let her enter. He glanced at the Celtic carvings. It was rare for Druids to use spells in carvings. However, since she was from the Isle of Skye, it made sense. Those Druids clung to the old ways more so than in any other place in the world.
He shut the door behind him and took in the flat. Before he had been looking for Dark Fae. Now, he could look his fill at Darcy’s home.
She liked things simple and eclectic, though she had a taste for a few floral items like an old round yellow pillow with a small floral print atop the frayed cream sofa. There was also a fringed scarf in a soft pink floral hanging on the corner of the armoire.
Aside from the florals, Warrick found himself liking the gray walls and white trim. There were just three pictures hanging on the walls, but it was the two long sections of dried orange slices hanging from the ceiling near the kitchen window by the sink that caught his eye.
“I like the smell,” Darcy said as she walked up beside him. “And I like the way the sunlight hits them.”
Never in all his years had Warrick ever thought to cut an orange into slices, dry them, and then hang them from the ceiling. Just another way the mortals intrigued him.
“They do smell nice.”
Darcy smiled and took off her purse and coat. “I suppose it’s a girl thing.”
It was a mortal thing, but he didn’t bother pointing that out.
She walked to the small stretch of kitchen countertops. Then she took a deep breath and asked, “Tell me all about the Dark. I need to know how to defend myself.”
“You saw firsthand tonight what they are. As for defending yourself, if they get near you, it’s over.”
“They used some magic on me, didn’t they?” she asked angrily.
Warrick leaned back against the door and shook his head. “It’s no’ magic, exactly. It’s a part of a Fae—Light and Dark alike. Humans are attracted to them. That pull you felt? It’ll happen again.”
“Surely there are those of us who aren’t affected,” she said, worry tingeing her voice.