“I’m Scarlett’s friend.” Cade smiled. He put his hands in his jean pockets. A nervous habit humans seemed to have. “Is she here?”
The girl eyed Cade from top to bottom and back to the top. His beauty always awed humans. Especially the girls. Insecurity radiated from her, which surprised Cade. She was pretty enough for a human. “Scarlett. Someone’s here for you.” The girl reached out her hand. “I’m Natalie.”
Cade ignored her. He felt Scarlett as she approached. The pain in her chest mixed with the alcohol in her veins. Jealousy also coursed through her. An emotional mess. But a beautiful one. He’d been so consumed by her pain earlier, he didn’t actually look at her. Her brunette waves hit the middle of her back. Freckles covered the top of her nose across her pale skin. When she saw Cade, her blue eyes doubled in size.
“Who’s he?” Natalie asked.
“Cade.” Scarlett replied. She kept looking at Cade and then back to Natalie. “What are you doing here?”
“I just wanted to check on you. See how you were feeling.”
“I’m fine.”
Natalie elbowed Scarlett in her side. “Invite him in.” She winked.
Scarlett bit her lip. “Would you like to join us?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
When Cade walked in with Scarlett, envy boomed from a guy on the couch. Natalie introduced everyone. Jealous guy was named Teddy. He had his arm around a girl whose hand rode dangerously high up his leg. Cade placed his hand on Scarlett’s lower back as he followed her through the living room. Anger radiated from Teddy. Cade winked at him and inhaled his fury. Humans were so easy.
Cade toyed with him even more by placing his own hand on Scarlett’s lap after they sat down. Scarlett gazed at Teddy and then brushed her fingers with Cade’s. She was drunk and flirty, and even without his fae gifts, Cade knew she wanted to make Teddy jealous. He whispered into her ear. “You’re beautiful.”
Flattery worked wonders on humans, but it wasn’t a lie. Scarlett was one of the prettiest humans he’d met. Her eyes held a fire, her face an innocence. An unusual combination and one that intrigued Cade. Her emotion tasted stronger than anything he’d had before.
Natalie brought Cade a beer. He thanked her and took a sip. Disgusting. Why would any creature willingly drink that awful beverage? Its fizziness burned his throat. Cade joined in on the drinking game they played, forcing him to sip his beer when the game dictated. Human alcohol was too weak to do much to Cade.
Scarlett’s cheeks grew more flushed with every gulp of beer she took. When Natalie got up to go to the kitchen and tripped over someone’s legs, Scarlett burst into laughter. The alcohol had dulled her pain, but the jealousy radiating from her every time she looked at Teddy tasted delicious.
And the fury from Teddy whenever Cade touched Scarlett was savory, too. Cade ran a finger up Scarlett’s leg. She giggled. Teddy fumed. Who knew spending time in the mortal realm could be so fun?
But Cade couldn’t forget why he’d come here.
When he went home tonight, Scarlett would be by his side.
Most of the time, Raith ignored Cade’s arrogance. But after speaking with the King, Raith wondered about the secrets Cade spoke of. When Raith woke Cade from his earlier dream, magic buzzed in the air. What had Cade found in the human world that brought him such power?
Raith followed Cade through a portal door and into the town of Silver Lake. The quaint town had a habit of luring the fae. When Raith was a teenager, he wandered around the town, watching the humans and their busy human lives. Doors in Faerie led to many different places around the human world. Japan, Sydney, New York. All had much more going on than Silver Lake. But there was something that hummed beneath its surface that drew the fae to come back time after time.
Once through the portal, Raith wandered around. He passed the high school and its empty parking lot. A place he’d been before. A place where he did something he thought he’d never do: save a human.
But that was long ago.
After some time had passed, Raith closed his eyes and searched for his brother. Once the connection was made, Raith inhaled deeply. If his brother was nearby and his mental shields were down, Raith would be able to sense him.
There he was.
Eyes closed, Raith exhaled and felt for the location of Cade. His body fizzled into energy and transported itself to his brother. He’d evanesced himself outside a boring human house. His brother was inside. Why was Cade here? From the front yard, Raith explored inside the house with his magic. Alcohol, lust, jealousy. An explosion of emotion. Nothing more than the average rundown bar, though. Something else must have drawn Cade here.
Raith walked around to the back yard and peeked through the kitchen window. He saw the back of Cade, dressed in human clothing, with his arm wrapped around a human girl. What had gotten into his brother? Raith reached his magic to the girl. The rush he felt explained everything. She carried pain and turmoil so strong an electric pulse jolted through Raith. And something else Raith couldn’t describe. This was the source of Cade’s new confidence.
But Cade didn’t know Raith had his own secret source of power.
Chapter Five
The beer had soaked into Scarlett’s stomach and taken control. The room spun around her slowly as she took another drink. She leaned into Cade and sank into his warmth. Even in her drunkenness, she realized that Cade was there and Natalie had acknowledged him. He wasn’t just a hallucination. He was real.
She wasn’t losing her mind. Well, she hoped not. At least Cade wasn’t just a vision. Then again, he wasn’t human either, and she wasn’t sure if that was worse. What about her had piqued his interest?
Scarlett caught Teddy’s gaze. Again. Ever since Cade showed up, he’d sent her dozens of glares. Scarlett giggled. She didn’t even know what Cade was, but his body so close to hers felt right. It was much better than staring at Teddy and the bimbo with him.
Natalie knocked a lamp off an end table with her elbow and burst into laughter. “I think,” she hiccupped, “I have had enough.” She propped herself up against the arm of the couch. “My dearest brother, help a sister out and take me to my room?” Natalie slurred.
Teddy sighed but left his date and held his sister upright as he helped her to her bedroom.
“Follow me,” Cade whispered into Scarlett’s ear. He lifted her with the arm that reached around her waist. Cade led Scarlett through the kitchen and to the back porch. The night wind sent a chill through Scarlett, but Cade pulled her closer. “Come with me, Scarlett.”
She peered up into his aqua eyes. She wasn’t sure if it was the beer or Cade’s proximity that calmed her. The fight with Ashleigh, Teddy’s new girl. Her mom’s death. None of it seemed to matter anymore. She closed her eyes and inhaled the freshness of the night. “Where will you take me?”
Cade tucked Scarlett’s hair behind her ear and nibbled on her lobe. “To a castle, where you won’t have to worry about all your human worries again.”
Scarlett placed her head on Cade’s chest. Her pain had flown so far away, she barely remembered it anymore. What was the big deal, anyway? She was a screw up. No one was left to miss her anymore, and Cade brought her a peace she hadn’t felt in such a long time.
Could she just leave her whole life?
“You’ll be miserable without me.” Cade pulled away from Scarlett. Emptiness stabbed her in the chest. The hole inside her returned and hurt more than ever.
“I’ll go.”