“Creed, Erik proposed,” she said. “You were there that night.”
“But you didn’t say yes.” Creed’s fingers tangled in her hair with a familiarity he hadn’t earned. “You wouldn’t have danced so close to me if you were planning to be engaged to Erik.”
Lily wanted to say he was wrong, but he obviously had seen through her attempt at a lie. It was harder with someone who was accustomed to the fae habit of verbal tricks. With most people, she could twist her words to seem like palatable truths. With the Sleepers, that habit wasn’t a viable option.
She shrugged his arm off her shoulders. “I’m not a conquest.”
“You’re not,” he agreed.
“Friends,” Lily repeated weakly, speeding up to reach the passage.
“Tell me about the Abernathy Commandments.”
At his question, Lily’s steps faltered. “The what?”
“You mentioned one last night. Number fifteen maybe?”
“Always have a way out, more than one if possible,” Lily said quietly. “There are commandments, rules for life that my father made.”
“Tell me, please?” The words were more of an order, but she heard the lift in his voice that made the sentence a question too.
As they walked, she listed the primary ones:
#1: Choices matter.
#2: Be yourself.
#3: Never get caught.
#4: Weigh the consequences before beginning a course of action.
#5: Be bold.
#6: Never confess your vulnerabilities if you can avoid it.
After she was done with the first few commandments, she paused in her recitation. There were more, but those were the most critical ones. They sounded even more so as her voice had broken the silence of the dim passageway.
“And you live by these? All of them?”
Lily nodded, and then she realized he probably couldn’t see her in the low light of the tunnel. “As much as I am able,” she said.
Creed’s hand fell on her shoulder again, stopping her this time. “I could vow to live by these with you. As a sign of my . . . affection.”
The pain in her heart was only equaled by the exhilaration in her body.
“I can’t do this,” she said after several tense moments. “We agreed to be friends, Creed. You admitted that Zephyr wouldn’t approve of your interest in me. I don’t want to cause you two trouble, especially as you seem to have enough trouble already. Be my friend, Creed.”
“Don’t say you aren’t feeling the same things I am.”
Lily exhaled roughly. “I never said that. It doesn’t change anything though. All this talk of being fae, of a mission, it all sounds . . .”
“Crazy.” Creed’s arm snaked around her waist, holding her to him. “I think you’re breaking your own commandments, Lily. Be bold. Be assertive.” His words brushed against her skin, not because of his affinity but because he was standing that close. “You’re my deadly girl, and I’m yours whether you want me or not.”
Her one affinity that she’d not shared with him flared to life at his words, and she leaned back into his embrace and let him see that part of her too. Flickers of fire danced on her hands; sparks of blue and white flames slid across her flesh like prima ballerinas dancing across a stage. “I don’t want to be drawn into the war.”
Creed reached out like he’d touch the flames on her hands. “None of us do. We can’t avoid it though, and if I’m going to die, I’m not interested in wasting time that should be spent living. Being with you, talking to you, touching you, that’s living. If it comes with some risks . . .” He shrugged. “Feeling like I do around you is worth any risk.”
“I don’t want . . .” She tried to finish the lie and found herself unable to do so. She did want him to want her, did want to be his, even though it was a very bad idea.
Creed murmured against her ear, “I’m yours to command no matter whether you love me back or not.”
“People can’t love someone that fast,” she objected, even though it took a lot of effort to say it.
“Really?” Creed whispered, and she couldn’t tell whether it was his affinity or if he was now so close that his breath stroked her skin. “Maybe people can’t, but that’s not what we are. I may not like the lot we have in life because of our heritage, but I like this part of being fae. I like knowing that my heart has found its home. I wasn’t sure it would happen before I died.”
She couldn’t speak, couldn’t keep trying to lie. His words were playing havoc with her emotions. Lily knew she could trust him, felt it in her marrow, but that didn’t mean she liked it—or that she could return his feelings.
“We should go,” she said finally. “The others will think the wrong thing if we take too long.”
“Not the wrong thing, Lily. The inevitable thing.”
She chose to ignore him again, stepping out of his embrace and walking into the dark. This time, though, she kept the fire in her hand. He knew now, and she liked having the light to help guide her.
When they reached the other side of the passageway and stepped out into the garden, the others were all waiting there. Two cars idled. As Lily and Creed came into view, doors opened in both cars. Violet sat in one with two boys Lily presumed to be Will and Roan, and Zephyr and Alkamy were in the other.
“Lilywhite.” Violet beckoned as she stepped out of the car. She glanced at Creed and ordered, “You can ride with Kamy and Zephyr.”
“Oh joy,” Creed muttered. Still in a low voice, he added, “Better me than you, though, right? He needs to get it through his head that he has no claim on you.”
Lily didn’t acknowledge what Creed said, although she agreed with him. She walked out to the car where Violet was and slid in. Violet opened the front passenger door and climbed in there, leaving Lily in the back with Roan and Will.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m Lily.”
The boy immediately beside her peered at her from behind black-rimmed glasses that she was sure he didn’t need, unless he was only barely fae. The sheer ugliness of his glasses did, however, help at drawing her attention away from his exquisite, delicate features. He had a soft mouth and the thickest eyelashes Lily had ever seen. He was dressed like he’d stepped out of an Ivy League university brochure, and his hair was cropped in a faux military style. His physique was anything but delicate; he looked like he exercised nonstop.
The other boy was the antithesis of the pretty conservative boy next to her. Floppy dark-brown hair fell into his face, partially hiding seal-dark eyes. His skin was also as dark as a seal’s. He was obviously the other water affinity fae-blood.
“Roan, right?” Lily looked to the boy seated closer to her. “That makes you Will.”
They nodded.
“I have water,” she told them, selecting her words carefully since she didn’t know the driver. “Not strong enough to swim though.”
“I thought you were earth,” Will said.
“I’m a mixed bag of tricks.”