Page 16 of Shattered Illusion

At least someone around here is a gentleman. Gentlesmurf? Gentlefae? Gah. Whatever.

Dying sunlight pours through the bank of floor-to-ceiling windows on the back wall, lighting up the entire apartment in pinks and purples. Instead of the drab wooden walls, these ones are an inviting light gray color, accented with pops of white. A plush charcoal gray couch sits directly in the middle of what I’m guessing is the living room, and a large screen TV is hung on the wall I share with my neighbor. Drapes of the same shade as the couch are bunched up in the corner of the room, ready to block out the light from the windows. Off to the left is a decent-sized kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a couple of bar stools tucked under the island. Past the kitchen looks like a small hallway that I can only assume leads to the bathroom and the bedroom.

A warm hand on the small of my back nudges me inside, and after passing over the threshold, the door shuts behind us. If it wasn’t for the mint and eucalyptus scent, I would think I was alone. But that scent seems to be all Thaddeus, and it permeates the space, making me think he’s been in here recently.

Stacked next to the couch are my two duffel bags, my old backpack, and my purse. Someone—cough, Axel—must have dropped them off on his way to meet us while I took the short route.

“The kitchen has been fully stocked for your arrival, and there are brand new sheets on the bed. If there’s anything you need, just let me know, and I’ll make sure to get it for you.” I wave his words away, not taking my eyes off the space that is now mine.

“Axel mentioned a stipend, so if I need anything, I can definitely get it myself. I would hate for you to spend money when you shouldn’t have to.” Lies. He didn’t say anything about a stipend, but I don’t want this man spending his hard-earned money on me.

“It’s not that I have to.” Thaddeus shakes his head with a wry grin on his face. “I want to. Most new supernaturals come with next to nothing.” His crystal blue eyes flit to my meager belongings and back to me. “If I were in your unique position, I'd turn down help too. But it's a helping hand I want to give you so when you're in my place one day, you can remember this one moment and do the same.”

Well, shit. When he puts it like that, how can I turn it down? Especially because I want to be in his position one day. Not as a teacher. Oh no. Teaching the future generations is not for me. The degree I busted my ass for in the human sector is in business management, not dealing with other people's snot-nosed kids.

The position I want to be in now is helping any new humans who come over to the supernatural side of the sectors. How I decided that less than twenty-four hours into being a supe myself, I have no clue. But something about it just feels right.

“Okay,” I finally agree a moment later.

Thaddeus’ lopsided smile lights up his face at my agreement. But just because I agree, it doesn't mean I'll actually ask. Especially since there’s a bank account with my name on it now. Axel didn't mention if they knew about it, so it’s probably best to keep that to myself.

“Alright, Bailey. The only thing left to do before I leave you for the night is set your glamour in place. Do you have any jewelry that you’d normally wear? It’ll be our best bet to attach the glamour to it so you can easily remove it without me needing to redo it each time.”

Oh, I like the idea of that. That way when I'm in my room, I can easily slip it off and just be me, but if anyone shows up announced, it's easy to put back in place. If only I had a piece of said jewelry.

I shake my head with a grimace. “I don't. Everything I owned was just cheap costume jewelry, and I left it behind since I didn't have much use for it.”

“That’s okay. Come, let’s take a seat.” I follow obediently behind Thaddeus, then plop down the fluffy couch, sinking into the cloud-like pillows.

He takes a spot next to me, looking me over with a keen eye. I have no idea what he sees when he looks at me, but hopefully, it’s not a clueless little girl. Even though that’s how I’ve felt most of the day.

“I have the perfect thing.” He lifts his hand, and magically, it disappears in thin air.

“What the fuck, Thaddy!” I squeak in shock. “Where the hell did your hand go?” I wave mine around in the spot his hand once was, not feeling the missing appendage. This must be one of his Fae tricks, kind of like the one Jasper pulled on me with his stone statue crap.

“It’s a pocket dimension I’m utilizing. Depending on your abilities, you may be able to do the same. I store important things in it that I want to access at any time.” Thaddeus’ eyes close, and his tongue pokes into his cheek as he roots around in his little secret place. “Ah ha. Found it.” His eyes reopen as soon as his hand reappears. Only instead of the empty hand that disappeared, there’s now a beautiful leather necklace dangling from his fingers with a silver snowflake pendant.

“Thaddeus, it’s beautiful,” I murmur in awe. “But I can’t accept that. It’s yours.”

What’s with these sweet men today? Okay, sweet is a stretch when it comes to Jasper and his stunt earlier. But between Axel and Thaddeus, it’s almost an overload of tooth-rotting sweetness. Not that I’m really complaining.

“And now it’s yours. Before I left the Fae realm, my sister gave it to me and told me it would be important one day. Shenever told me why, only that I’d know when it was needed. And I think this is what she meant.” His eyes get a faraway look as he talks about his sister. It makes me wonder just how long it’s been since he’s seen her.

“How would she know you would need it?”

“Ah.” Thaddeus’ lips curl in a grin. “My sister had a rare ability among the winter Fae. She has Seer abilities. She can see the past and the future. And while the future she sees isn’t set in stone, it at least gives her an idea of what may be coming. It all depends on the circumstances surrounding what she’s seen.”

“That’s amazing. Is that something I might be able to do too?” That would be freaking awesome. Heck, I could have used that when I was younger to sneak out of Mom and Dad’s house.

“Maybe.” He shrugs a broad shoulder. “It all depends on what your runes are.”

“Okay.” That possibility alone excites me. Along with all the others I may be capable of. Maybe this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

Famous last words, right?

Let’s hope not.

My jaw cracks in a yawn as the events of the day catch up to me. The nap in Axel’s car on the way here didn’t do enough to combat all I’ve been through today, so sleep is definitely in order. Soon.

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