Page 47 of Wanted: A Roommate Who Isn't Evil

A female scream came from the hall, and Dranian’s skin tightened. It had sounded like Beth.

Luc sighed and swung the apartment door open, revealing Beth standing outside in the dark hall with a pale face. She stared down in horror at a fairy bound tightly by vines and rope, squirming on the ground in themiddle of the hall.

“Oh dear,” Luc said. “Hold still for me, will you dear Beth?” He reached over and grabbed her forehead with one hand while rolling and kicking the fairy through the door into 3E with his foot. Dranian’s eyes widened as he recognized the Shadow Fairy that had put the wristlet onto Dog-Shayne in Luc’s memory—the one fairy in existence who therefore had the power to remove it. Dranian grabbed the fool’s foot and dragged him the rest of the way in, out of Beth’s sight.

Luc dropped his hand from Beth’s forehead. The human female gasped and looked straight ahead, all her screaming forgotten. She blinked. Then she looked around. Looked down at her human pajamas. “What just happened? I literally can’t remember what I was just saying. Why did I come out here, again?” she asked.

Luc shrugged and brushed some invisible thing off his sleeves. “Beats me. Have a nice day.” He stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him. Then he nudged the Shadow Fairy with his foot.

From the floor, the Shadow Fairy gaped at the apartment, taking in the folded blankets on the couch, the TV, the curtains. Dranian.

“I brought a gift for Dog-Shayne. As much as I enjoyed watching him fight, I never should have bound his fate to mine. So, now he’ll be free, and we can keep the rest of it between us fairies,” he said.

The fox whistled and the sound of Dog-Shayne lifting from hisdog bed came from the kitchen. As soon as the dog appeared and padded over, Luc put his heel against the Shadow Fairy’s neck. “Remove the blossoms from this mutt,” he demanded.

The Shadow Fairy glared up at Luc. “You’ll be killed for this.”

“Oh dear. I’m already going to die; did you forget?” Luc flashed him a smile and shook his wrist in the air to rattle his branch wristlet. “Now, remove the blossom you placed on this mutt, or I’ll crush your windpipe.”

“You just tossed away your last two days alive by snatching me, Zelsor! The Army will come claim you immediately once they realize—” The Shadow Fairy’s face blanched as Luc drew his fairsaber. The saber moved provocatively close to the fairy’s neck as Luc brought it down to slice the vines and ropes. As soon as the Shadow was free of his binds, he scrambled back against the wall. “Airslip, and I’ll chase you to your death,” Luc warned. Then he nodded back to Dog-Shayne. “Free the mutt.”

The Shadow Fairy looked at the dog, a stroke of fear crossing his silver-brown eyes. He reached for Dog-Shayne’s wristlet, snapped the branches in half, and quickly yanked his hand back to himself. The whole wristlet fell to the floor, shrivelling into ashy bits of dried flowers and dust.

“You’re a lunatic, Zelsor,” the Shadow Fairy said. “You can’t possibly take on the whole Shadow Army by yourself.”

The claim hung in the air as a broad, twisted smile crossed Luc’s beautiful face. “Watch me, you fool.”

The Shadow Fairy snarled. Then, as Luc hadforbade him from doing, he vanished.

Luc sighed. He cursed. He scratched his head. “I did warn him,” he said, bracing to airslip, but Dranian stopped him with a growl.

“Don’tlet him get away! That fool tried to kill my dog!” he said, then asked, “What will you do to him?”

Luc thought about it. “I think I’ll make him too weak to airslip and drop him from the sky. How does that sound?” he decided. “Don’t worry, North Fairy. I’ll cover my tracks. I’m good at that.” Luc paused for a moment, and Dranian got a strange feeling about the look that came over the fox’s face. “Farewell, North Fairy. I know we’re not allies by any measure of the word, but I appreciated not being alone for a little while.”

There was a pause. A single heartbeat. Dranian didn’t have time to ask the question that hung in the air.

Luc disappeared—a slip of colour turning to dust—and Dranian was left there with a freshly freed Dog-Shayne.

The apartment seemed strangely empty and quiet all of a sudden. Dranian stared at the spot where Luc had been. Something felt off, like there was an obvious sign in the sky and he was missing it. He turned all the way around, trying to sniff out the oddity. As he did, he realized for the first time that Luc’s spare pair of shoes were missing from the matt by the door. All his crumbs had been cleaned from the living room, too.

Dranian went to Luc’s bedroom and peeked inside.

A strange feeling found him at the sight of Luc’s bed made.The fox’s satchel of belongings wasn’t anywhere in sight. He rushed into the bathroom next, and lo and behold, Luc’s toothbrush was gone.

Dranian came out with the realization that he was the victor after all.Him. Luc had packed up his things and run for his faeborn life. And if the nine tailed fox wasn’t coming back, Dranian could joyfully revel in the rewards of having his apartment all to himself again.

That was what he wanted.

He scratched his temple.

This had to be a trick.

Was the fool really not coming back? Was this a fox ruse to get Dranian’s hopes up? Had Dranian really conquered a legendary nine tailed fox all on his own?

He headed for the window and looked out. The sky was clear of airslippers, and a huff of disbelief escaped him. It was real. Luc was gone.

Finally, Dranian could go before his brothers and tell them all that had happened. He could announce that he had handled it himself and that, should danger ever come his way again, he would be just fine—damaged arm or not.

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