CHAPTER 33

Faye took his jacket and he listened to the rustle of fabric as she pulled it on. She sniffled, the sound of a knife to his heart.

"I can take you to your room to change if you wish." He offered.

She sniffled again. "No, this is fine. You can turn around." Rune tentatively glanced over his shoulder. His jacket swallowed her but concealed everything the lace and ribbons displayed. "Can we take a break? I need to kill my sister." She said, wiping her eyes.

"Apologies. I did not intend to upset you."

"You didn't upset me," Faye said, taking a shaking breath before holding her arm out toward the south wing. "Sparrow is upsetting me. She said she wouldn't do this. She promised." She wiped his sleeve over her eyes, before muttering, "I need to go."

She turned and stormed out of his study. Rune followed her, unsure of what to say to soothe her pain.

Faye turned into the great room and hurried up the stairs past Sadi and her mate. Sadi gave him a pointed look but said nothing. Damian lacked Sadi's good sense. "Your dove is upset with you?" He pushed his chair back to face Rune. "The jacket looks better on her." He glanced back at Faye as she disappeared down the hall.

Tensions set Rune's jaw. "Do not antagonize her," he warned.

"Lovers spat then?" Damian stood, strolling to Sadi before running his hand through her hair. "We'll leave you to it," he said before they vanished.

Faye found her sister with Vashien in the den. Sparrow lied to her, betrayed her trust, and lounged in a chair reading a book like it was nothing. Trussing her up in lace and throwing her to the Shadow Prince was nothing.

Her hands shook as tears fell from her eyes. She marched to Vashien, snatching his drink and hurling it at her sister. It struck the wall across the room and shattered.

"Hey, not cool! You can't throw hard objects." Sparrow peered over the armrest at the glass and liquid surrounding her chair.

"I told you not to dress me up like a fucking whore! You promised." Faye screamed, digging her nails under the choker.

"No, don't do that," Sparrow said, holding her hand out the same moment Faye ripped the choker off her neck. Her sister's arm dropped, as she muttered, "Because now you're naked under Runey's jacket."

"What did you do?" Vashien's voice sounded from behind her. Something settled over Faye's shoulders. She pulled it around her thinking it was a blanket before she realized it was Vashien's robe. It dragged on the ground around her as Faye hugged it over her body.

"She magicked me into lingerie in front of him." Faye snapped, not taking her eyes off her sister.

Sparrow rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "You were completely covered. I dug through all my chokers looking for one that wasn't see through."

"You did what?" Vashien said.

Sparrow snorted, returning to her book. "It wouldn't have even fired unless you wanted to be naked with him."

She thought this was her fault. Anger blistered in Faye. She stiffened with tension stalking toward her sister and stopped to yell, "You shouldn't have put that thing on me!"

Her sister slammed her book closed. "I'm helping you!"

Faye straightened her back as her hand curled into a fist. "You're not helping me. You're doing what Sparrow wants to do and not giving a fuck about anyone else."

"I am helping you. You could have gone to your meeting naked, and he wouldn't notice you. You're too busy crying over yourself and overthinking everything. You're so pathetic that when you finally have the guy in all the realms fate specifically designed for you. You can't land him. Because you're boring."

Faye took a step back, covering her mouth. Sparrow's words hit her harder than any strike and left a much deeper scar. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Sparrow hopped down from her chair and sucked a breath as she stepped on glass. Faye turned and ran as her sister yelled her name behind her.

She ran aimlessly needing to get away from Sparrow. She found herself in her room, out of breath. Her sister limped into view at the end of the hall. "Faye."

Faye slammed the door, locking it as a broken sob escaped her. She turned in a circle at a loss of what to do. She wanted to curl into a ball and disappear. No one wanted her. Rune denied their fate. Sadi refused to acknowledge they were related despite their identical appearances. And the person she loved most saw her as a boring inconvenience.

She dropped Vashien's robe and crawled into bed. She tucked herself under the blankets, letting herself cry.

A knock sounded at her door. Too calm to be her sister. Faye ignored it, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of Rune's suit jacket. She pulled it higher, laying the side of her face against the lining. The knock sounded again, and Faye glanced at the door before saying, "I'm fine, Vash."

"May I come in?" That deep accented voice didn't belong to Vashien.

Faye glared at the door. If he was here for his jacket he could fuck off. Long moments passed as silence followed, filling the room. When Faye thought he'd left, Rune materialized on the other side of the door.

"If you're here for your jacket I'll return it later."

"I did not come for that," he said as he brought a chair to the edge of her bed.

Faye wiped her eyes on the blanket, before saying, "I'm not in the mood for you to poke around my head."

"I did not come for that either."

Faye didn't look up at him. She was tired and upset and pushed past her tolerance for bullshit. "Why are you here? You don't even like me."

"Who told you I do not like you?"

She peered up at him. It was strange seeing him in a dress shirt rather than his usual suit. She fingered the lapel of his jacket still wrapped around her under the blankets. "You don't want to be fated to me," she all but whispered. Surprised by how much the words hurt her when she spoke them aloud.

Rune exhaled and laid his hand next to hers, palm up. Faye only stared for long moments, before tentatively reaching for him. She couldn't discern if what he offered was out of affection or pity. She might care later when her hurt faded, but in this moment, she would take either.

Faye touched the edge of his palm. At her contact he slid his hand beneath hers, his fingers circling hers. "This is not fate between us," he said gently as he wiped her tears with his other hand. "What you feel is artificial."

Faye tried to pull her hand away and he didn't let go. Tears blurred Faye's vision. She whispered, "it's not artificial. I feel you. A small part of you wants me."

"What you feel is the Ra'Voshnik. The Ra'Voshnik that lives within me." He brushed her tears away and stroked her hair. "I am not breaking the bond between us to be cruel. See this from my perspective. I am immortal, I have lived for more than thirty centuries. I do not wish for this one to be my last."

Her anger melted to sorrow as a hollow pain seeped through her. How could she ask him to choose her and die? Faye pulled his hand closer and rested her forehead against it. She would always be lacking. Close enough to see the life she longed for but missing the integral piece needed to obtain it.

He swept the moisture from her eyes. "Once you have your shard you will have the life of your choosing. This ordeal will be a fleeting memory. I doubt I'll cross your mind in a few years."

She sighed against his hand as he stroked her hair. He felt so much like her dreams, but he wouldn't shut up about courts. "You're ruining the mood, big guy."

"Why do you reject the dark courts so venomously?"

Faye had the urge to bite his wrist for annoying her. She dismissed the strange impulse and said instead, "You were doing so good. Stop offending me."

He chuckled, running his fingers through her hair. "Offended? I am the one who should be offended in our exchange." Faye tilted her head up to squint at him. "You, my Lady, poached me, bit me, and dug your claws into my throat."

She did do all that. Faye sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed. She leaned on him, resting her head on his shoulder. His jacket smelled like him, but it didn't compare to breathing in his scent of amber and sandalwood when he was close to her. She glanced up at him, still holding his hand. "You forgot one, I hit you with a candle holder."

He turned toward her, bringing his lips a moment from hers. "That occurred after I kidnapped you. Turnabout is fair play."

Faye swallowed, waiting for him to turn away, but he lingered. Waiting for her to make a decision while he brushed his thumb over the back of her hand.

Her sister's taunt sounded in her mind.You can't land him. Because you're boring.

Determination set in her. She wasn't boring and she was going to land him. Fate wouldn't tie them together just to kill him. He wasn't a Familiar. Fate had taken enough from her, cutting away things she wanted. He was her fate and she meant to claim him.

Faye leaned up and brushed her lips against his. A moment between them, soft and chaste. She closed her eyes, wanting the part of him that chose her to surface. Desperately needing to feel it to soothe the pain that ran too deep in her soul, carving chasms of hurt.

He moved with her, and Faye's heart leapt. He chose her. Wanted her.