City of Fae (7 page)

“Reign.” Stepping down, I paused as he faced me once more. “Let me help you.”

“You can’t help me, Alina. You’re part of the problem.”

“How am I caught up in this?” He jogged back down the steps. No way was I letting him leave. I jogged after him and reached for his sleeve before he could open the door and escape. “If you’re innocent, what have you got to be afraid of?”

He flinched and then tugged his arm away. “I’m not innocent.”

The heat behind his scowl should have frightened me, as it was designed to, but I already knew he could manufacture a persona to suit his audience. His glower only went skin-deep. His fae eyes gave away the truth. Inside, he hurt. “You don’t believe that.”

His expression twisted into reluctant disbelief. “Don’t presume you know me.”

“Then show me what I’m missing.” A glimpse of fear sharpened his gaze just like it had when I’d confronted him on the sidewalk outside the
Metro
offices. What was he so afraid of? “Show me who you really are,
Sovereign, lead singer from Touched.
Because that’s not who you are, is it? The same as the fae who died at your party wasn’t killed by some unfortunate accident. You said there’s more happening here. I know it. Show me, Reign.”

“You want to see who I am?” He tossed the words at me, short and sharp, but I wasn’t backing down, not now. “Fine.” He held out a hand, palm up.

I looked at it. Soft, lithe fingers curled slightly, temptingly. “I can’t touch you.”

“It’s the only way.”

My hand itched again. I’d already been burned once. I shouldn’t touch him again. “I can’t.”

“There’s a place under London. I suppose you might call it a refuge. You want to know about me, my kind, and the queen?”

I teased my lower lip between my teeth. I couldn’t go back now. This might be my only chance to get answers. I mentally rifled through past articles, trying to recall everything I’d written about fae bespellment. One touch wasn’t enough, but how many before I started to fall for him? One more wouldn’t do it, would it? I rubbed my hand on my side, trying to cure the itch. Detective Andrews would not approve. Did I want to be Reign’s salivating slave? His draíocht snack bar? This was how they caught you. One touch, two, three. Then you feel for them, you’ll do anything to please them … and then … then you love them. Love was the killer. Once you loved them, you were lost. There is no cure for love.

“It’s just a touch.” He made it sound so innocent. “Call it penance for the truth.” He inched his hand closer and dipped his chin, lifting his tricolored gaze through dark lashes. “Tell me you don’t want to.”

“I don’t.” But I was about to. I dropped the pack on the steps behind me and extended my hand. He clasped his around mine and immediately the numbing heat surged up my arm. I whimpered a little and tried to pull back. Reign stepped up to me, hooked an arm around my waist, and pulled me into an embrace.

“I won’t hurt you … unless I have to.”

I didn’t have time to consider what his words could mean. An electric crackle sparked beneath the skin of my hand and darted through nerve endings. Pleasure and pain writhed through me. In a blink we’d jumped from my stairwell to Chancery Lane Underground Station. Tingling from head to toe, I blinked rapidly, refocusing. Reign turned me and bumped me back into a tiled wall. “Okay?” He leaned in, so close his cheek brushed mine. Delectable little sparks danced between us.

“I think so …” I whispered.

“Don’t let go, not yet. To get to Under, you must hold on. There are things in the dark down here you shouldn’t see …”

I didn’t want to let go but should have as soon as that realization hit me. His free hand rested on my lower back, while our hands were clasped between us. He smelled of sweet berries, of delicious things that cried out to be tasted, but masked a poison inside. His hair tickled my cheek, his lips brushed my ear. I wanted to turn my head and taste those lips, to ease my free hand down his back and pull him closer.
This is what it’s like when they take you
, my voice of reason chimed in.

“I think …” I swallowed, moistening my dry throat. “I think I need to let go now.”

He pushed off and tugged me along behind him. Up steps, through pedestrian tunnels, left and right, down more steps. The lights flickered. Debris littered the floor. The crowd thinned until we were the only two jogging through the tunnels. We descended crumbling stairs and passed through a door into darkness. I groped in the black with my free hand. Reign’s grip tightened. Slowly, and with each uncertain step, my eyesight adjusted to the dark. The tunnel around us appeared to be a mismatch of white tiles, crumbling earth, pipes and cables. An abandoned subway tunnel. The majority of the tracks had gone, but the few that remained I managed to stumble over. Reign veered us off through a service door and the tunnels changed again. A tangible veil of static electricity washed over me, and we emerged into a vast underground chamber, easily the size of a cathedral, lit by strings of colored lightbulbs.
What is this place?
Elaborate tapestries adorned the walls. They depicted scenes of liquid darkness, of trees tipped with diamonds, and paths that meandered, whittling away into an impossible distance. Those dreamlike images had to be the fae’s mythical homeland, Faerie.
Just tapestries, nothing malevolent
… but I could feel myself falling into them, even from across the room, and I had to root my feet to the spot to quell the encompassing urge to cross the room and touch them.
Touch me.
Just like the fae.
Touch me
, those tapestries seemed to whisper.

Reign let go of my hand, breaking the spell, and the all-over dance of numbness and pleasure peeled off me. I reached for the wall to steady myself, breathing hard and fast. Panic fluttered in my chest. What had I done? I’d held on too long. I could feel it, even now, the surge of something … not me. I lifted my gaze and peered at Reign through my bangs. He cocked his head, a slight frown on his face, and he looked like the next best thing to Christmas to my fae-addled mind. Damn, I was in deep … As the aftereffects of his touch waned, I stood straighter and squared my shoulders.
I’m okay, I’m in control.

A dozen fae lay sprawled about the domed chamber like beautiful limestone statues scattered among splashes of color. Some perched on the edge of a pool table, others sat on the floor, and a few lay draped over plush couches. Languid and beautiful, they barely registered our arrival, at least to begin with.

“Sovereign.” A female rose from a couch. A thin gown strap slipped from delicate shoulders. I blinked, struck by her cotton candy and sunshine beauty. Her skin so pale, but her lips and cheeks rose-petal pink, and her hair an elaborate mass of white curls, half pinned back, half spilling free. “We feared you’d forsaken us for the humans.”

Reign—darkness to her light—scooped an arm around her waist and reeled her into an embrace. “Never, Shay.” She melted against him, her body clearly familiar with his.

The others unfurled from their various positions and drifted closer to Reign. They ignored me, as though I was invisible, and yet I couldn’t shake the crawling sensation of being watched. A sensation like someone, somewhere, could see right through me. A shiver quivered my skin. I crossed my arms and shut myself down. Before I realized I’d moved, I found myself in front of a tapestry and slid my fingers down its tightly woven surface. I’d expected to feel the snap of tingles, but felt only the weathered fabric. They were old. I could smell the age in them. One showed a tranquil scene of a path snaking through the diamond-tipped trees, another depicted a crowd of fae at a celebratory feast, and a third represented a bloody battlefield. The tapestries were all beautiful. Intricate in their construction. I lingered by the last tapestry, and peered up at a scene of monsters. Hideous, half-human, half-beast creatures tore into each other. A wolf, a spider, a harpy; ugly half-fae mutations of each, dripping gore, talons glinting, and teeth black with blood.

“You brought
that
here?” A male voice, deeper than Reign’s, abrasive with age, drew my attention back to the group. The male fae, with skin a rich mocha color, peeled from the others and approached. His narrow, disgusted glare might have wounded had I cared. He limped, but in trying not to notice I stared a little too closely at his face. The wicked slash of a scar ran from his chin to right ear. He wore red and black, like a warning. Steel buckles strapped a leather overgarment from his waist to his neck, leaving little room to breathe. Stopping a few strides from me, he jerked his chin. “They don’t last.”

Reign stood inside his curious crowd, looking perfectly at ease among his own kind. “Say hi, Alina.”

“Uh, hey …” Having the glares of a dozen fae pinned on me dried my throat and fluttered my heart. I’d never seen so many in one place. They truly were exotic, and I felt entirely too human in their space. The scarred one, more than any of the others, poked at my instincts to run and hide.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he growled. “Your presence offends. How does it feel to be lesser among the superior?” As he spoke, the sneer on his lips tugged at his scar. It must have been a vicious wound; evidence of an attack meant to kill.

“Warren,” Reign said, “I have it under control.”

Warren snorted, “I’m sure you do. Like you had your party under control?” He turned and limped to the bar area.

“I tried,” Reign growled.

“You didn’t try hard enough. Caroline is dead. An accident, they say.” I didn’t imagine the suspicious waver in Warren’s tone, or how he snagged Reign’s gaze, forcing Sovereign to glance away. “I should inform the FA of your presence. They’d lock you up, revoke your roaming rights. There are far more deserving fae who’d appreciate the freedom you have and wouldn’t squander it away.”

Reign stilled. His eyes narrowed, cutting into Warren. “Try it.”

For a second I feared I was about to witness a brawl like the one on the tube train, but Warren laughed it off, instantly diffusing the tension, and said, “You know I don’t adhere to any rules but my own. Caroline should have been more careful. I warned them about
her
, about you.” He seemed more interested in the contents of his glass than giving Reign up to the FA. “Don’t think you can bring a human here. How did you get her inside?” He grunted. “Never mind, I don’t care. Just take her away.” He fluttered a dismissive gesture my way. His fingernails were sharp. “Sovereign, you’re a wanted fae. You can’t be here.”

Reign shook off Shay’s grip. “It’s nice to see you too, Warren. I’ve so missed your sparkling outlook on life.” He strode to the bar and held out a hand. Warren looked at Reign’s peace offering like he’d prefer to stab a dagger through his palm, and then gripped Reign’s arm in one of those masculine forearm greetings. He grinned back at Reign. “I certainly haven’t missed your ego, Sovereign.” They shook, smiles all round. So, friends then … ? Friends who baited each other. Obviously a male-bonding thing.

While ignored, I skipped my gaze over the fae once more and settled it discretely on Shay. She spoke quickly and quietly to a young male fae beside her, hands fluttering gestures. She looked like the type of pinup fantasy who’d adorn desktop screen savers. Typically fae, it could have been her on the posters in kids’ bedrooms, her hairstyle women imitated in magazines, her brilliant tricolored eyes the contact lens companies mimicked. I slid my gaze away, not particularly enjoying that she reminded me how out of place I was. My gaze snagged on Reign, who was watching her. Warren prattled on, something about “unrest,” and Reign nodded, but he only had eyes for Shay. He’d never looked at me like that; appreciatively, with a trace of hunger. Where had that thought come from? I shoved it aside, silently alarmed by my own jealousy.

Shay ambled to the nearest couch and scooped up a remote, tuning the TV to the music channels. It didn’t take long for her to find one of Reign’s performances. Light throbbed around the arena in time with the seductive beat. Reign’s voice, an impossible combination of powerful bass and liquescent melody, filled the room. He owned the stage, owned the thousands in the crowd who jumped and writhed along with him. The camera cut to the human members of the band, drummer, guitarist, all enthralled in the magic of their own making.

A few of the fae in the room began to dance, others picked up the song, adding their luscious voices to the chorus.

Shay danced, her slim body twisting like a leaf in the wind. Silken hair cascaded over slim shoulders. She moved like liquid, and just like Reign’s voice, there was magic in her movement. She locked her salacious gaze on Reign and beckoned with a curl of her fingers.

TV Reign’s voice ebbed and flowed:

Hot live wire, strike a match, start a fire,

I’ll be your light, your love, burning bright

He leaned against the bar, soaking up the attention, tricolored eyes sparkling like the multicolored display on-stage. He gave Shay a small shake of his head, turning her down, but his eyes said he wanted her. The two of them, they’d look perfect together. Beautiful in their intimacy. The way he’d held her, his hand resting on her waist, pulling her into him, and how she’d responded, molding against him, in harmony. I knew, for a fact, I’d never been touched quite like that.

Swallowing, I turned away and forced myself to admire the tapestries once more. Reign’s voice from the TV wove around me, dove inside, and smoothed the battling jealousy and admiration. Of course the normal people of this world fell over themselves for the fae, for him. He had magic in his voice, in his presence, and drew people to him like a magnet draws metal. I’d never really paid much attention before, but in this place, with them, and listening to how Reign wove a spell with his voice, how they moved, the differences between us were obvious. And unsettling.

“It’s magic, sweet thing.” Shay stood beside me. Her ethereal beauty cutting to the heart of my inferiority complex. “Your young mind is susceptible, just like all those adoring fans. If he told them to drop to their knees and worship him, they would. You too. He won’t ever care for you. He’ll seduce, because that’s how he uses your kind, but he can’t
care
.” She placed a cool finger under my chin and shut my mouth. “Poor pliable puppy.”