Atone: A Fairytale (Fairytale Trilogy) (9 page)

Alex gaped at her. “Like actual growling?”

“I’m not joking about the beast thing.”

“And you’re here without me and Lilia why? You don’t have a lot of love for Nicholas.”

“Well, at first I thought I was probably the furthest down on his hit list. I mean, we’ve never gotten along, but I felt like it was just our normal levels of animosity, whereas he really has it out for Lilia. I don’t want her anywhere near him.”

“And you’re still worried about me.” It wasn’t a question.

“I don’t think you still have a crush on Nicholas. I mean, come on, Luke is your true love, certified by magic and everything.”

Alex smiled as she absently rubbed the mark around her wrist—the faint tattoo of the friendship bracelet she’d made Luke when they were kids and had been wearing when she entered the Fae Realm to save him from the sleeping enchantment. It had burned into her skin when she’d kissed Luke and saved them from Briar Rose, the evil fae behind the sleeping curse.

Becca fought back a small twinge of jealousy at the dreamy expression in her friend’s gray eyes. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in true love; Alex and Luke were an obvious example. But she was aware of her family’s record. True love wasn’t something her family did.

“I know you don’t need protecting. I mean, you’re the most powerful of the three of us, you should actually be the one trying to figure this out.”

“I appreciate that you want to protect me. I’m not upset over it.” Alex sat down on the daybed next to Becca and leaned over to brush a stray hair out of her friend’s face. “And you’re plenty powerful. Besides, Nicholas always needed someone to stand up to him. You’ve always been willing to do that.”

“More than willing,” Becca answered with a touch of chagrin.

“Yeah, but that’s part of your charm,” Alex assured her. “You feel different.”

Becca shrugged. She didn’t have to ask what Alex meant. She’d gone from being in a constant state of semi-awareness of her fae power to being constantly aware of it. It was no longer a soft, warm glow inside her but a simmering well of sparking power, even when she wasn’t trying to pull any power out. She wasn’t surprised that Alex, with her sensitivity, could feel the different pitch.

“The other day when I first…met…Nicholas, we had, um, an altercation, and it’s been a bit more…well,
more
…than usual.”

Alex searched her face with serious eyes. “You’re in control of it?”

“Mostly.”

“Hmm. Well, sometimes letting it run wild isn’t a bad thing,” Alex smiled that small, secret smile again.

“I’d prefer to be always in control,” Becca muttered.

“Oh, I know.” Alex’s smile got bigger. “Well, tell Nicholas ‘hi’ for me.” She gave Becca a quick hug and jumped up off the bed.

Becca’s eyes widened in surprise. “That’s it? You’re leaving?”

“Yup. You’re right, I don’t think he’d want help from either Lilia or me. If you get him to tell you how the curse happened, we can have a group meeting.”

Becca was flabbergasted. She hadn’t wanted to tell Alex because she’d thought her friend would try to talk her out of being here, and now it seemed like she was encouraging it. “But aren’t you afraid he’ll—”

“Hurt you? No, I don’t think so. He’s self-centered, but he’s not a generally bad guy.” Alex grinned even more at Becca’s derisive snort. “And you can handle him, even in his present state, right? Your magic is sparking like a live wire. Plus, I’m just a call away; I can be here in a second or two if you want me.”

“I...” Becca wasn’t sure how to respond. It felt like she’d somehow missed half of the conversation. “Yeah, I’ll text you and you can flicker in if there’s a problem.”

“See, that’s settled then.” Alex beamed at her. Becca nodded slowly, still in confusion.

“Okay, bye! I’ve got dinner plans with Luke. Call me tomorrow with updates. Love you!” And after another quick hug, Alex flickered out of the room.

Becca sat on the daybed, staring at the spot where Alex had just disappeared. “I have no idea what just happened,” she confessed out loud.

~

Becca didn't see or hear anything from Nicholas for the rest of the night. The next morning she decided it was time to beard the lion in his den. Or the beast in his lair. Or Nicholas in his ridiculous, hidden apartment.

She stared at the wall of cupboards in the kitchen. Even knowing it was there, it was still hard to make out the edges of the door. She found the hidden latch and pulled the wall out, the door swinging open silently. She crept down the stairs as quietly as possible.

Nicholas was in the front room, staring morosely at a shelf crammed with books.

“So what’s the plan, then?” she asked. He whirled around in surprise, coiling into a crouching position, the fur on his back standing up. Becca smiled sweetly at him, secretly pleased she could sneak up on him like he could sneak up on her. He didn’t have the benefit of the magic response that she was starting to suspect was like a homing beacon, letting her know when he was close. Nicholas looked positively shocked that she’d gotten the jump on him. She sat in an overstuffed recliner, leaning back and crossing her ankles. “Just hang out in this house for the rest of your life?”  

Nicholas straightened from his crouched position. His large form seemed to take up half the room as he turned back and forth, pacing the length of the room. Every line of his body shouted his agitation. His tail twitched in small, frustrated-looking movements. “Does there have to be a plan?” he finally growled.

Becca grinned in spite of herself. She knew it was annoying him to no end that she was down here invading his private space. It showed how far they’d come in the last few days that he was actually remaining in the room and responding to her. “Are you going to tell me how it happened?”

“I’m not a project for you to manage.”

“Trust me, if I was actually being allowed to manage this project it would be going a lot more smoothly.”

“Still sure you know more than everyone about everything.”  

Becca blinked at the anger laced through his gravelly voice. “Wow. Are you serious? Is that why you’ve always been just this side of rude to me, because you think I act like I know better than you?”

Nicholas had stopped pacing and gone completely still. Even in the dim light she could see his tense, angry posture.

“Have you ever considered the possibility,” she continued, “that it’s just that I’ve never been taken in by your smarmy, manipulative shit?”

A low rumble echoed through the room as Nicholas tried to suppress a growl.  

“Oh come on, let it out,” Becca said. “It’s good for you. Like therapy. What do you really want to say?”

“From the first day I met you, you’ve had no respect for authority,” he bit out.

“Untrue. From the second or third day though, I had very little respect for you. That much is true.”

“So you admit that you were a disrespectful little brat?”

“Ouch. A brat? That’s harsh,” Becca said sarcastically. “Was I the first female to not automatically fall at your feet? That must have hurt your ego. Little fourteen-year-old me not fully appreciating how much of God’s gift you were.”

“I never said I was God’s gift. You should’ve respected me because I was your advisor. But you were always convinced you were better than me.”

“First of all, I never treated you disrespectfully, even though, you’re right, I didn’t see much in you to respect. You were a manipulator, Nicholas, pure and simple. Can you still not admit that? Can you honestly look back at how you treated Alex for years and tell me you weren’t manipulating a shy, sweet girl who had a crush on you? You did the same with every freaking secretary the museum ever had. So who’s worse? The advisor who deliberately messes with the emotions of a high school intern to make his life easier, or the high school intern who recognizes what an ass the advisor is and refuses to fall all over herself for him? Cause that’s all I ever did to you Nicholas, refused to play your little games. I was never once outright disrespectful to you. Oh wait, I take it back. I was, you know that one time, when you tried to exploit Luke’s sleeping curse for your personal gain.”

“Well, thank you for that speech. I suppose it’s too much to hope that now that you’ve delivered it, you’ll leave?”

Becca snorted in laughter. “This whole trying to get me to leave stuff is really starting to hurt my fragile ego. Haven’t we already established that I don’t like to do what you want?”

There was a flash of white in the gloom and Becca almost fell out of her chair when she realized that Nicholas had smiled. Yes, he’d quickly suppressed it, but for half a second there, he’d actually smiled.

There was a long moment of silence. Becca contemplated the ceiling, wondering if Nicholas would break the silence.

“So,
was
I the first then?” she asked.

Another moment of silence. “The first what?” he finally responded.

“The first girl to not fall at your feet? Is that why I bothered you so much? Cause let’s be honest, we both know I bothered you.”

“You’re still bothering me.”

“That’s not an answer. Oh my gosh, I was the first? Really? In what, like,” Becca did the math in her head. “In twenty-one years of existence, no one had ever not kowtowed to you before?”  

There was a slight movement—a lifting of his large shoulder.  

“Wow. How does that even happen? The rest of us mere mortals have people telling us no all the time.”

“Becca,” he sighed. “My guess is no one
ever
tells you no. Or if they do, you just refuse to hear it.”

“People tell me no, but yeah, I don’t always decide to listen.” Now it was Becca’s turn to grin. “But there’s a difference between tenacity and literally never having ever
not
gotten my way. I have three siblings; the odds are against me always getting my way.”

There was a long pause. “I don’t have any siblings. So, yeah, I guess when I was young, I got my way quite a bit.”

“Really? Were you the apple of your parents’ eyes? You should lay down on that couch over there, and then we could totally pretend this is like a real counseling session.”

Another rumble; this time it was more a laugh than a growl. “Because you’re somehow qualified to dispense psychological advice?”

Becca nodded sagely. “Three siblings, remember? And a handful of stepparents, and ex-stepparents. I have special clairvoyance into the human soul.”

Nicholas, who had taken a step or two out of the dark corner and closer to where Becca sat, froze. She looked up in surprise, wondering what she had said that had caused that reaction.  

“Then there’s no use trying to look into mine. I’m not human.”

Becca’s mouth gaped open as he whirled to leave the room.

“Stop.” Her voice was sharp, a command. It surprised her that he actually did as she said and halted mid-stride, although he didn’t turn back around to look at her. “You’re gonna have to stop leaving every time I say something that offends you. Look, I get that you don’t want me here, but I’m here and the longer you fight it, the longer it’s going to take to—“

“To what? To break this curse? For you to give up and finally leave me in peace? I’ll sit here and talk to you until I’m blue in the face if it means you’ll come to that decision sooner.”

Becca rolled her eyes. “I’ve already told you that’s not happening. If it makes you feel better to keep rehashing the same subject, by all means, feel free. Maybe I’ll go read a book, or take a nap. And then when you’ve decided to act like an adult and logically discuss the situation with me, you can let me know.”

Nicholas finally turned around. He sat still, his large shoulders hunched over, but his chest rose in uneven movements, giving away his irritation. “Have you considered that you aren’t as cute and peppy as everyone seems to think you are? That you’re really just meddling and snarky?”

Becca uncrossed her ankles and stood up slowly from her chair. “I know that’s how you see me. Snarky and disrespectful, I get it.” She took a few steps toward him. She wasn’t sure entirely why, but it felt like this conversation was important. That holding her ground and not backing down in the face of his obvious irritation was somehow vital.

As she slowly closed the gap between them, she heard the low rumble in his chest. He was growling at her. The closer she got, the louder the rumble became. But he didn’t move, just glared at her. She kept walking until she was only a few inches away from him. Even sitting down and hunched over, he was taller than she. She could feel the heat rising off his body, feel his warm breath on her face. The low growl hadn’t stopped, it vibrated through her.

“Nicholas,” she kept her voice neutral. “You don’t have to like me. I’m just asking you to work with me.”

The growl intensified for a moment before fading. He still glared at her from under his lowered brows, but unlike the last time she was this close to him, she couldn’t feel him tensing as if he was going to spring on her.

“Our personalities clash. That’s always been true. I can’t say you’ve ever been my favorite person, and I haven’t been yours. But why fight me on this? We have a common goal.”