“Excuse me,” I said. With a humble bow of my head, I turned on my heels, and pressed my way through the crowd. I heard the tinkle of her laughter behind me. Onlookers gawked as I passed, picking up speed as I headed toward our bungalow. I contemplated going to my parents, but decided I’d tell them everything in the morning. Right now I needed to be alone to think this through.
Something was going on with my betrothed and a beautiful, cruel Faerie. I wouldn’t go so far as to say he was in love with her. It looked more like infatuation. He’d better not be in love with her. Infatuations were bad enough.
Could she be the reason he’d brought up our binding the way he did this morning?
Acid burned the back of my throat. How was I supposed to compete with that?
Wait, compete? I didn’t want to compete for a guy! It went against my basic morals. If a guy didn’t want me, then screw him. But this was different. I couldn’t just walk away from this like some silly crush in high school. My family’s lives depended on McKale and I together. If this binding didn’t work out, the Fae wouldn’t care about the reasons.
I walked into my bungalow and shut the door a little too hard. I kicked my flip-flops across the dark room. Then I pushed down my shorts and yanked off my blouse, throwing them to the floor and falling into the squishy bed in my tank top and panties. I curled up small, and my bra dug into my sides, but I was too ticked to move. I willed the bile back down to my stomach.
I wanted to go home.
I regretted leaving Cassidy in the trees with Rock, and I hoped she’d come to me soon. I felt stupid and out of place here. I needed my sister.
The memory of McKale kissing the Faerie’s hand kept resurfacing, making me ill and something else—something bitter. Jealousy. He’d seemed so… overwhelmed or something.
After seeing that, I felt apprehensive of what else I might find out about McKale. I was scared of his possible secrets and past. But getting to know him was the only chance I had in this battle. Khalistah had taken the first round, but I wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Unfortunately, I had a feeling Faeries wouldn’t fight fair.
I HADN’T FULLY CALMED yet when I heard voices and the door swooshed opened.
“Robyn!”
I exhaled with relief at the sound of Mom’s voice.
“It’s so dark,” Cassidy whispered. “Robyn? Are you in here?”
“I’m here,” I replied. I wiggled around until I was able to push myself up on the bed with my legs crossed. Cassidy stumbled through the dark and sat next to me while my mom found the oil lamp and turned it on. She wore flannel pajama pants and a pullover fleece. Her face was tight with worry as she came and sat next to me. Having both of them was a comfort, a balm for my agitation.
“Why didn’t you wake me? Cassidy says there were Fae about? I was so hard asleep I didn’t even sense them. Did they hurt you?”
“Not exactly. But… I think there’s something going on with one of them and McKale.”
My mom sucked in a shocked breath. “No.”
“Freaky Fae girl,” Cassidy brooded. “What did she say to you? I couldn’t hear but I could tell it was something bitchy.”
Mom glared at her and Cassidy amended. “I mean something not nice. I wanted to run after you, but Rock held me back—”
“Rock was there?” Mom asked.
“Yeah, he was hiding, though.” Cass looked at me. “I’m sorry I didn’t come right away. I really wanted to, but Rock made me wait until the Fae left.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay. It was smart of him not to let you draw attention to yourself.”
Even Mom agreed. “What else happened?”
The last thing I wanted to do was rile up my mom and sister. I wouldn’t tell them about how Khalistah called me “large,” but they did need to know the basics of what was going on, and what I was up against if I was going to attempt to build a healthy relationship with McKale.
“She asked if McKale really intended to bind with me and he said he had to do his duty for the clan.”
Cassidy’s eyebrows flew together. “He called you a duty? Ouch.”
“That’s what this is, Cass,” I reminded her. “It’s a duty for both of us.”
“Yeah, but look at you. He should be happy and honored that he gets to bind with a hottie like you. I’d just hoped… you know.”
We were all quiet. My parents’ marriage had been arranged, but they’d met first as teens and got to know each other through letters. What started as a duty became a joy they both shared.
“This is dangerous territory, girls,” Mom said. “Where the Fae are involved, one can never be too cautious. Tomorrow we will sit down with Brogan and McKale, and have a family discussion. McKale is only human, no matter how ancient his magical blood may be. The touch of a Fae manipulates the human mind. A single kiss from her could make McKale obsess. If a human fully gives themselves to a Fae, they are lost to anything but that Faerie. They become mindless slaves. We need to find out what we’re dealing with.”
I trembled inside remembering how McKale reacted to such a small touch from her.
“I don’t think he’s, like, done anything with her,” I said. “I don’t know. He seemed pretty normal until she showed up.”