I paused. “I was home alone. School had been canceled by then, but I was seventeen. A Valkyrie came in through the front door—threw it off its hinges. A handful of Containment soldiers had been chasing her. She was probably looking for a place to hide. She said something—I didn’t understand the language—and then gave me this ferocious smile. Her teeth were filed to points, and she wore that golden armor.”
They’d all worn golden armor, the Paras who’d fought us. It was shockingly bright, polished to a high gleam, and absolutely effective. The military had spent a lot of money trying to figure out how to penetrate it. They eventually learned that iron cut through that particular Beyond alloy like butter. That had been another lesson that human myths—in this case, about the power of cold iron against supernatural creatures—often had a grounding in the Beyond.
The fear rose, cold and biting. I swallowed it back, made myself finish telling him.
“I had a gun. My dad had given it to me, taught me the basics of handling it.” I paused. “I killed her. She didn’t give me a choice. By that time, we were on the front lawn. Containment caught up, found me, and took her. A soldier named Guest, Sandra Guest, helped me clean up. Called my dad. I killed two more after that. Goblins or dwarves. I’m not sure which.”
“I’m sorry.”
I nodded. “Me, too. I know I did it because I had to. And I know I may have to do it again. But I don’t want to. I don’t want death to be normal. I don’t want death to be usual.”
Liam crossed his arms. “My first Para was a Seelie. It was right after the Veil opened. The power was gone by then, but the house hadn’t been destroyed yet. We were all in the house—the extended Arsenault family—just waiting for something to happen.”
“That was the house on Esplanade?”
Liam nodded, crossed his arms. “Yeah. One of my cousins said, ‘There’s a girl on the lawn.’ I went to look, and sure enough, there she was. She was beautiful—so beautiful. Long limbs. Pale dress. I saw the streak of crimson across her face, but I thought she was human, that she was hurt. That was before they put out the Guides.”
PCC had eventually created Guides to help us identify Paras, especially those who looked so human.
“I went outside and asked if she needed help. She gave the signal, and they attacked the house. There were a dozen of them, maybe sixteen. I shot her, killed her. The Seelie were enraged. They torched the house before Containment arrived. We got everyone out, but that was the beginning of the end of the Arsenault kingdom in New Orleans.” His tone was rueful. Sad.
“War is the worst.”
I hadn’t been joking, but the sentiment made him smile. “Yeah, it is. It really is.”
“So what do we do now?”
“You keep working with Nix. I need to get back to work. I didn’t go out tonight, and we know how last night turned out. I’ll need to go out tomorrow, so I may not be around.”
Liam meant wraith hunting. I made a quick—and potentially deadly—decision. “I want to go with you.”
His brows lifted. “Why?”
“Because they attacked me and my best friend’s sister. Because I believe you—that they’re changing. That something’s happening. And if there are more wraiths, if something is making more of them, that means I’m at risk, too. I can’t stand around waiting for that to happen.”
Liam looked pleased that I’d offered, but not convinced. “You could get hurt.”
“So could you. I could also help.”
“You can’t use magic. Not with monitors around.”
“No, but I know how to shoot,” I said grimly. “And I have what they want.”
“Which is?”
“Magic. The wraiths in the Quarter sensed it. It managed to take their attention away from the girl they were chasing.”
“In fairness, you were also waving around a really big stick.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “Effectively, I might add.”
He chuckled, shook his head. “So basically you’re proposing to use yourself as bait?”
I didn’t really like the way that sounded—“you’re proposing to be the fierce, redheaded warrior that you are” would have been better—but it was an accurate summary of what I’d said. “In a manner of speaking, I guess I am.”
He took a step forward. “I said you were recklessly brave, didn’t I?”
He was close enough that I had to look up to see his face. And God, what a face. I could have said Liam Quinn wasn’t the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. But that would have been a lie. And I could have said I didn’t want to step forward and sink into his arms. That would have been a lie, too.
“Yes.”
He stared down at me, brow furrowed. His eyes had darkened again, emotions warring against the background of deepest blue.
And while he looked at me, while we looked at each other, time slowed, and the moment seemed to stretch in front of us, full of promise.
Liam dropped his head, lashes falling as he moved toward me, stepped into me, his hands suddenly on my cheeks, thumbs stroking my face, the line of my jaw.