“That’s not fair.”
“You’re right, it’s not.” I pushed up out of the chair. “Because if it were Caleb, or Malik, or any other independent fae who had wound up on the news, you wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
He didn’t stand when I did, which irritated me. It was hard to kick someone out who was still sitting.
Instead, he very calmly, but a little too quietly, said, “You’re right. I wouldn’t be having this conversation. I wouldn’t be having it because I would have sent agents to pick him up and take him to Faerie. No questions asked. No options offered. But I try very hard to help you safeguard your freedom.”
I faltered, my body already half turned so that I could storm to the door and tell him to leave. But he was right. I collapsed back into my seat, feeling like an ass. Falin usually pushed the limits of the queen’s rules for me when he could. I knew that for a fact. He was here offering me help and protection instead of doing what would ensure the best interests of the queen like he was supposed to, and I was acting like a jerk.
“It’s been a really long day,” I said by way of apology.
He nodded, dismissing my outburst. Forgiven and forgotten without even a word. Yeah, I felt like even more of an ass.
“Are you planning to answer that phone?”
I glanced down, as if I could have seen the phone in my back pocket through my own hips. It had more or less been singing my generic ringtone the entire time Falin had been in the room.
When it was clear I wasn’t going to answer him or the phone, Falin said, “Why not turn it off then?”
“I might miss something important. If Briar calls, I need to answer it or she might show up at the house again. Or Tamara could call with an emergency. I don’t know. It’s a cell phone. It feels wrong to have it off.”
The look he gave me clearly said, But it’s okay to not answer it?
“Maybe you should get a private personal line. One that doesn’t come up in a simple Internet search of your name.”
“You mean one of those pay-in-advance unlisted phones? What do they call those in movies, burner phones? Yeah, that would be good. Next time I plan to become unexpectedly infamous, I’ll do that.”
The phone started a new chorus of the song again. It really was getting annoying.
“So why did the MCIB investigator decide to throw you to the news wolves and make you the obvious target for whoever is animating corpses?”
I shook my head. “I was supposed to be her lead, and I didn’t pan out, apparently. So she found another way.”
“This sounds like a healthy working relationship.”
“Right? Maybe she’s crazy.” I leaned back in the chair and let my head rest on the back until I was staring at the ceiling. “She’s just going to love you joining the investigation. Not sure how I’ll explain that.”
“She’s clearly already reached her own conclusions. I can play the concerned boyfriend.”
I looked over at him and frowned. He shrugged, but there was the smallest teasing smile at the edge of his lips. That was way too dangerous of a topic to touch, so I let it drop.
We sat without speaking for a few minutes, the only sound the incessant singing of my phone. Finally, Falin stood and headed toward the door.
“Dinner should be laid out by now, are you coming down?”
The muffin I’d eaten earlier was still a leaden weight rolling around my twisting stomach. I knew I needed to eat. I’d been in enough shit-hitting-the-fan situations to know you grabbed food when it was available because you might be running for your life later and not have time. But I didn’t feel up to it yet.
“You go ahead.”
He paused, the door half open, and turned back to me. His expression was serious again, any hint of teasing or amusement gone. “You won’t leave the castle without me tomorrow, right?”
I nodded, fishing the still-singing phone from my pocket and searching the settings. I’d read something once about a do-not-disturb feature that would only ring if particular numbers called . . .
“Alex,” Falin said, still standing in the open door. “I’m serious. This hidden folded space is probably safe enough, but if you leave, I should be with you. If the situation gets too bad, I’ll have no choice but to take you to Faerie. I know you want to avoid that.”
I did. I held up my hands in mock surrender, but I was very serious when I said, “I won’t leave without you.” Then I thought about something else. “Do you not want me to go to the house alone either? I mean, the wards will warn us if anyone tries to break in.” And would stop most people meaning us ill will, but I wasn’t foolish enough to think wards were impossible to get around. They’d definitely be a deterrent, though.
“Hang out in an empty house alone on the same night your name gets splashed all over the news? Probably not the best plan.”
Maybe true, but a totally sucky turn of events. I needed to go back to the house and spend some time on my computer now that my eyes had improved enough to focus on the screen.
“It’s only been, what, an hour? The news didn’t flash my address, so it would take a little while to figure out where I live. And that’s even assuming the necromancer saw the broadcast.”
Falin just frowned at me, the skepticism clear on his face. I frowned back. Yes, the broadcast made me a target if the witch wanted revenge for losing his walking dead, but I doubted he’d come after me tonight.
The thoughts must have been clear on my face, because after a moment Falin sighed and offered me a compromise. “I have some work to do that would benefit from electricity and a reliable Internet signal as well. Let’s go eat. After dinner we can both go to the house.”
Which was probably the best I could hope for.
? ? ?
Dinner was awkward, to say the least. Holly and Caleb joined us soon after we reached the dining room. Once the topic of the news report had been discussed to death, it then became this awkward elephant in the room that continued to shadow the mood of dinner but that no one was actively talking about. I choked down as much of my food as I could, but my stomach felt knotted too tight to eat a full meal.
Falin and I left before Rianna and Desmond even made it to the table.