Page 103 of When the Woods Go Silent

I check Ruby’s location again, then pull up the ride-share apps. I have options, but not many. Would she even talk to me if I tracked her down?

Fuck. I don’t know what to do.

I sink my head into my hands, willing myself to come up with a brilliant plan, but that’s about as effective as willing myself to make magic happen.

A knock on the front door echoes into the back office room, and I sigh deeply. I am so not in the mood to sell books right now. But then again, I put that sign up. Maybe it’s not a customer. I hurry around the corner, nearly bursting into relieved tears when I see a tall man with ginger hair standing outside the window, hands cupped to the glass to see inside.

“Kier,” I exclaim, rushing to unlock everything. I practically jump into his arms when the door is finally open. “Thank god. I need some serious guidance right now.”

He chuckles, patting my back a little awkwardly. Suddenly self-conscious, I back away and gesture him inside, locking up behind him.

“What happened?” he asks, as I lead him back to the office where we settle at the broad table.

I spill it all instantly - no more fucking secrets. “Ruby knows. Torrence told her before I had a chance to. She ran out and won’t answer any of my messages. It’s so bad, Kier. I fucked up so much.”

His eyes darken with sudden anger, and his hands clench into fists as I shrink back in my chair, remembering the crushed paper in my jeans pocket. Shit. He’s going to flip when herealizes his brother was here, too. But I can’t hold it back. That’s the sort of behavior that got me in this damn situation.

“Also, Ronan was here. He’s apparently stalking me now.” I toss the paper at him, and he snatches it up, his eyes scanning down the page.

“What does this mean?”

“I don’t know. That I might not have fae blood because someone took it straight from my veins? I don’t have any idea how that even works.” I hang my head back and stare up at the ceiling, following the hairline cracks to have something normal to focus on. Because that sentence is absolutely imploding my careful, ordered, spreadsheet world.

“What did you tell Ruby?” His voice is low and sharp, like a knife at the ready, and I shiver a little. Kier has never frightened me before, but how well do I really know him? Not to mention how I’ve probably rocked his world, too, in the least sexy way possible.

“I didn’t have a chance to tell her anything. We were going to get coffee, but she slipped out the back door. Then she came back, told me Torrence had confirmed magic was real and you’re a fae, and then she bolted again in our car. I should have just told her everything last night.” I scrub my hands over my eyes, regretting all my life choices at once.

The stretch of silence goes on a bit too long, and when I crack my eyes open, Kier is looking at my laptop screen. A sneer twists his lips in a way I’ve never seen, and it makes me realize how little I know about this man. Ruby’s right. I should never have trusted him over her, no matter what stories he’s told me about war and gobbelins. He’s played me this whole time.

“What do you want me to do?” I ask slowly, looking more for his agenda than actual advice.

“Forget about these stories, for starters.” He gestures to the screen of search results, shaking his head. “This is all worthless.”

“I need information, Kier. And no offense, but getting it from only one source is bad research.”

He slides his eyes to mine, something cunning in them before he hides it away. “Come with me, then. Home. To Aralia. I’ll show you every fucking thing you’ve ever wanted to know about magic.”

I roll my eyes at him. That’s the problem - I never wanted to know anything. “I’m not leaving.”

“Bring Ruby, then,” he suggests, guessing why I won’t leave, and I glare.

“That’s not the point. I’m not leaving my whole life here to follow some guy blindly. That’s how people get kidnapped, dumb dumb.”

His mouth flattens, and I can see he isn’t amused, but neither am I. I pluck the paper from his fingers and fold it back into my pocket.

“I don’t have long here, Rose. I have to return to the palace. Come with me,” he requests again, holding out his hand like I’m just going to waltz off into the magical fucking sunset with him.

I shake my head. “Go, if you have to. I’m not leaving. But at least give me your cell number.”

He huffs, standing and shoving his hands in his pockets, scowling down at me in a very un-Kier-like way. “I don’t have a cell phone. Human technology is useless in Haret.”

“But don’t you need one when you’re here? Doing security stuff?” I stand and edge past him, hoping to lead him back toward the front door. Something is different, and I don’t like it.

He grabs my arm.

“Say you’ll come with me, Rose.” His voice is harder than I’ve ever heard it, and when I try to shake him off, his grip tightens. I throw my weight through the door frame and into the hallway, half-dragging both of us toward the front room, but he still doesn’t let go. I get the unfortunate feeling that he’s also holdingback his strength, and that I have no shot of getting free if he means to take me somewhere.

What the hell good is having magic if I can’t call it up when I need it?

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