Before I can shift away, his hand is tilting my face to the side, his fingers brushing along my jaw. I wince at the stabbing pain that follows his touch. He drops his hand and pins me with a dark stare. “What happened?”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “Nothing. It’s fine.”
“You want to play this game, Aurora? Really?”
I scowl. “I’m not playing any game. I just know it’s not worth talking about. I can take care of myself.”
“Clearly,” he remarks, his brows tugged closer as if he’s disappointed that I’m not confiding in him.
I huff out a breath and grab his hand, lifting it to my face until his fingertips are pressed against the spot where the fae woman dug her nails into my skin. “Heal it so we can move on, will you?”
“Now you’re asking—?”
“Yes,” I cut in, still holding his hand against my face.
He shifts closer, which is unnecessary, sending my heart racing. “Tell me what happened, and I’ll be happy to help.”
My eyes snap to his. “Are you kidding me?”
He holds my gaze. “I need to know what goes on in my hotel, Aurora, so you can tell me, or I can find out on my own.”
I clench my jaw until my teeth ache. “A couple of fae ambushed me in the elevator on my way up here.” I swallow, casting my gaze down as embarrassment floods through me. “The woman started feeding on me.”
Tristan tilts my head back up as the familiar warmth of his healing magic shimmers across my cheek. His gentle touch is a stark contrast to the hard, violent expression darkening his features.
“Can you chill?” I don’t want to look at him anymore.
He pulls his hand away from my face. “You’d like me to allow my people to threaten you?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I just don’t want to make a bigger issue.”
He chuckles. “Since when?”
I scowl. “This is exactly why I wasn’t going to bring it up.”
The smile fades from his lips. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Okay.” I tug at a tiny loose thread on my dress for no reason other than to have something to do with my hands. “Thanks for the healing,” I mumble.
He nods.
“Is everything okay? I mean, apart from what I just told you.”
“Why do you ask?” He clasps his hands together and pins me with his intense gaze. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but the endless blue makes it hard to look away.
“When I came in, the tension in the air was enough to suffocate a person, human or otherwise.”
His lips twitch. “You’re worried?”
I blink, ignoring the dip my stomach does when I look at his mouth. “Well, yeah.”
“That’s interesting,” he muses.
I ignore his comment. “What’s going on?” I can’t help but wonder whether it’s related to those fae I saw fighting the other day.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
Images of Tristan’s nightmare scene flash through my mind. Yeah, I am worried.
I set my cup on the coffee table and cross my arms. “Skylar isn’t here to boss me around, so I’ve got nothing else to do but sit here until you talk.” I shoot him a fake smile.
He laughs like what I’ve said is humorous.
“What?” I snap.
“I find it amusing that you think you have control here.” He points at the door. “The moment you stepped into this office you lost it.”
My pulse races as anger bubbles in me. Every time I think we’re making progress, that he’s going to treat me like something more than a toy for his amusement, he goes and ruins it with a line like that. “Were you not validated as a child?”
He tilts his head to the side.
“I’m curious,” I say. “You couldn’t have been born an asshole, so I’m wondering when you picked it up.”
“Ah, Aurora, you’re as charming as ever.” He stands and walks back to his desk.
I follow, leaving my coffee behind. “Should I go ask Max why you have an entire tree up your ass?” I push.
His eyes snap to mine as he walks around the desk to stand opposite me. He towers over me, but I don’t back down. “Enough,” he growls. “I don’t want to talk about this. End of discussion.”
“There was never any discussion. You upended my life, and now you won’t tell me anything,” I shoot back, my voice rising with each word. I shouldn’t care, and I had no right to ask, but something inside of me—maybe my concern for Allison and my curiosity about the light and dark fae—made me ask anyway.
He blows out a breath, shaking his head. “Why do you want to know what’s going on?”
“Because something tells me I’m missing information. I know more about the fae world than I’d ever wish to, but not everything. Call me crazy, but I don’t make a habit of putting a book down halfway through the story.”
“What about the ones you don’t enjoy?”
I shrug. “Sometimes I need to remind myself to give them a chance.”
“You’re right. You don’t know the whole story,” he says.
“I know about the whole dark and light thing,” I say. Maybe now is when I’ll get some real answers.
He nods, but he doesn’t look surprised. “We’ve been at war with them for as long as history can remember. They’ve been killing ours for centuries.”
The idea of Allison being in danger surfaces. Even looking at Tristan, a pang of concern passes through me—something I was not expecting.
I swallow, but the lump in my throat remains. “Why?”
“You know what a war means. I think you can figure it out.”
I nod. “Wait. Were my ancestors light or dark?”
He tilts his head, looking at me through his lashes. “Do you have a preference?” I found out about the different sides a couple of days ago. Of course, I don’t have a preference, but I would still like to know.
My brows shift closer together. “Which were they?” I push.
“They were dark.”
“Were?” I ask in a low voice.
He frowns. “I don’t know if they’re still around.”
My stomach drops. I’m not sure why knowing that makes my chest ache. I never met them, but they’re still family. “Oh.”
“I’m still looking into it,” he says.
I nod. “What was that phone call about?” I ask, shifting the conversation.
“It’s been calm for the most part on both sides until recent weeks. We’re losing numbers. Lucky for us, they can’t kill too many at once out in the open. It would attract too much human attention.” He sighs, rubbing his jaw. “I’m trying to figure out a solution that results in the least number of tragedies when it comes to my people.”
“What’s your solution?”
“I’d rather not kill anyone, but I will if it comes to that. I refuse to allow my people to continue living in fear.”
“Have you considered talking about it instead of retaliating physically? Words are powerful weapons.”
“No,” he says. “The time for talking was before the light fae started killing.”
“So, you want to add to the bloodshed?”
A muscle ticks along his sharp jaw. “This isn’t your fight.”
“You’re right. Forgive me for losing my head and forgetting my place.” I’m not sure why I’m so upset, or why I offered my opinion. There’s nothing I can do to protect Allison that she can’t do herself, but with this new information I’ve learned, it makes me feel like a caged animal.