Yew Queen Trilogy, стр. 34
Anger pushed me forward. “Your alpha made a deal with me, and unless I’m mistaken, your kind can’t lie. Seems like that would include breaking bargains.”
Lucus’s mouth twitched, and he covered his lips with a hand. “She makes a good point.”
Baccio started toward me, but Aurelio gripped his arm. “Brother. We will do this the old way. Calm yourself.”
I really hoped this old way didn’t involve me sticking around any longer. I needed to leave now, to shake Lucus from my head and focus on planning on how to deal with this whole nightmare without becoming a monster myself.
Chapter 23
With me behind him, Lucus walked into the courtyard’s small but impressive forest, and the trees bent toward him as he passed. I wanted to leave, but curiosity sank its claws into me, tearing all sense from my head. How was this going to work? Would I be able to see my energy—the aura Lucus had taken—flow into a tree? His brothers gave him space as he set a hand on the largest of the pines. A breeze tossed the trees, and the only sound was the shushing of the needles above our heads.
Closing his eyes, Lucus murmured in what I guessed was the fae language. It sounded similar to what I’d heard in his memory. Light bloomed under his palm and filtered through his fingers, where it seemed to soak into the tree. A faint shimmer danced along the pine’s trunk, and a sigh left me at the beauty of it. Damn, it was tough to loathe these immortals.
Baccio and Aurelio approached the large pine as Lucus stepped back. Baccio held out a hand to Aurelio, gesturing for him to go ahead. And do what, I didn’t know, but that seemed to be the meaning because Aurelio nodded in thanks, then turned his back to the pine, crossing his arms over his chest like ancient knights on their fancy tombs. What was he doing? I was about to ask when he just…disappeared.
Like for reals.
Well, not completely disappeared. The faint outline of his eyes and mouth shone from inside the tree. He was inside the pine tree. I blew out a breath. Wow.
Lucus faced a second pine and laid a hand on its scarred trunk. The light rose under his flesh, making it glow, then the tree took the energy in, the energy from me and my aura.
So freaky.
Baccio did the same as Aurelio had, his gaze haunting as he stared at me from inside the tree, his silhouette like a ghost.
“You should go,” Lucus said quietly, not turning to face me. “They are sated for now. For the first time in a long, long time. I thank you for that.”
I swallowed and flexed my hands. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you at dawn in three days.”
“Be well.” Lucus’s voice echoed in my heart, the bond rising to the surface of my confused tangle of feelings.
“You too,” I mumbled as I hurried toward the door.
Vines snapped from the stones of the courtyard and opened the door for me, raising the portcullis as I stepped through.
I didn’t feel as light as I’d thought I would leaving the castle. I was distracted as I started up my bike. An old Honda in the space behind me roared to life simultaneously, and I jumped, feeling uncentered.
As I drove into mid-morning traffic, I looked over my shoulder one more time, the sensation of eyes on me as irritating as my blinker that didn’t want to cut off when I turned.
I just needed a break. Some thinking and plotting time. I was getting paranoid.
After a shower at home, I headed to the bakery where I found Hekla, who waved at me, and a red-faced Ami at the register.
“I didn’t mean to add it up wrong, Hekla. I’m really sorry.” Ami snapped her gum and glanced up.
“It’s fine. You’re just stressed out.” Hekla hugged her, then ran to me and gave me the same treatment.
I squeezed her hard. “Thanks. It seems we’re all in need of Hekla hugs at the moment.”
Hekla pulled away and slapped my arm. “Tell us all the things!”
Ami wiggled her eyebrows. “Yeah. Spill. The lunch rush will be on us soon, and we need the dirty details.”
I suddenly needed a very large glass of very cold water. I escaped to the kitchen and filled one of our massive coffee cups at the tap.
Ami and Hekla leaned on the doorframe. They wore matching glares.
“You are not getting out of this,” Hekla said. “At least give us a happiness number.”
We used happiness numbers to gauge situations. I’d scored a ten when I’d won the TV baking show. The day my old dog had died was a negative eleven.
How could I score Lucus and this whole experience? It was impossible. “A negative five layered with a firm eight and a resounding ten.”
Hekla and Ami traded looks.
“Oh, now we are definitely going to need more deets, woman.” The oven beeped, and Hekla donned her giant mitts and removed a tray of chocolate croissants.
My mouth watered. “Oh, sweet heaven.”
Hekla shoved one at me and another at Ami. We munched in silence for a beat before Hekla started in on me again.
“All right. You are fed. We have made a sacrifice to you, love goddess.”
“His name is Lucus.” At that moment, a bit of Aunt Viv trivia spilled through my memory. If you learn a fae’s true name, you hold power over him. Would Lucus have given me his real name so easily? Probably not, if Aunt Viv was right, and she’d been right about a lot. So what was his actual name? If I could figure it out—
Hekla snapped her fingers in front of my nose. “Hello in there!”
Ami snorted and ate another croissant.
“Sorry. Yeah. Lucus is