Page 39 of Wanted: A Roommate Who Isn't Evil

Dranian drew back. Luc had learned the fairy wasn’t one for speeches to begin with, but it bothered him more than usual now. Dranian looked like astartled reindeer.

Luc could have been humiliated by the wretched face-to-face experience with his father. There was no way the North Fairy hadn’t recognized who Reval Zelsor was to Luc with his scarlet fox hair and deadly eyes that mimicked his own.

Dranian seemed to realize he was staring. He finally dropped his attention to Luc’s arm as if wondering if the Shadow Fairies had succeeded in trapping him. His gaze fell upon the bracelet of branches with three fresh blossoms hugging tight to Luc’s wrist. The truth appeared heavy as he took that in. He looked like he might make a comment about it. But instead, he asked, “Are you colour blind?”

A slow smile found Luc’s face. “Mostly.”

Dranian folded his arms. His natural scowl returned. “Why did Dog-Shayne attack those fairies? He’s loyal to me, not you.”

Luc looked toward the kitchen where the sounds of Dog-Shayne’s panting could be heard. “He’s loyal to me, too,” he said. Then he pulled a shoulder into a shrug. “And I fed him an enchanted thistle.”

Dranian’s arms tightened around himself. “You fed him a thistle?!”

“Yes. He gagged a little trying to eat it, but he got it down. Truthfully, I just wanted to see if I could make him bite you whenever I snapped my fingers. I wasn’t planning to make him fight, but now that he has—”

“You’ve doomed my dog,” Dranian stated. “He’s been bound to the stability of three delicate blossoms, and now the Shadowswill track him with that wristlet and kill him in three days alongside you!”

Luc scratched the back of his head and looked at something on the wall that seemed particularly interesting.

“How shall I stop that Dark Prince from killing Dog-Shayne?” Dranian asked.

Luc cast him a weak smile. “My father cannot be stopped, unfortunately. If there was a way to do it, I would have figured it out by now,” he said.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Dranian objected. “No fairy is invulnerable. That’s the Brotherhood of Assassin training forbeginners. Queensbane, what is your father holding over you that forbids you from killing him and being free?” He unfolded his arms.

Luc stared at the North Fairy for a moment. Roommates or not, Dranian Evelry was still the enemy. Most hours, Luc still thought about killing him. Even though Luc had allowed the fool to see the complicated mess of his relationship with his father, Dranian could not be trusted with Luc’s deepest secret—and that was something Luc knew better than to forget. “I told you. It’s a long story,” he deflected.

Dranian growled a huff. “Well, I have my own fairy problems now. I have a scheming brother to hunt down, and I can’t leave until I know Dog-Shayne is safe. So, you’re going to tell me thelong storyso we can deal with this, and I can leave in peace.”

Luc’s lip curled into a snarl. “No,” he said, “I’m not.”

“Don’t be unreasonable, Luc,” Dranianthreatened. “I’ll save my dog, even if I have to interrogate the answers out of you. This is not a negotiation!”

Luc laughed, the swelling on his lips pulling with the motion. “Oh dear. You’re on your own then, North Fairy,” he said. “Though I would have loved to see a three-legged guard dog try to interrogate a fox.”

To prove his decision, Luc vanished.

Cold wind rushed against him when he appeared on the rooftop of the apartment castle. He folded his arms, his forefinger tapping against his bicep.

He stood there all night, thinking. Staring at the blossom-adorned wristlet. His death sentence. Looking out into the vast sky that stretched further than even his sharp fairy eyes could see. He wondered what was beyond those buildings and hills and gusts of wind. He wondered if he would live to see it all.

He wondered just how fast his fairy magic could take him to a distant land where no one would know his face.

15

Luc Zelsor and the Long Story

The truth was, it wasn’t a long story. Luc Zelsor was simply a pathological liar.

All it had taken was one very short conversation, and Reval Zelsor had Luc in his grips for the rest of his faeborn life.

“I found your mother after all these years.” Those were the words Reval uttered as he approached Luc from behind on an evening three short years ago. The silver moon shone brightly, and the forest crickets sang a sharp, ear-piercing tune. Luc had been sorting shellfish, but his hands froze upon the sapphire clams. He didn’t dare turn and look at his father, but his ears tilted, wide open, listening. “I’ve put her somewhere.”

“Where?” Luc’s mouth betrayed him. He should not haveasked or made it seem like he cared.

Reval was quiet for several moments. “It’s a secret, Luc. But not to worry; I lower food through a hole so she can eat. It’s quite dark, but your mother has always survived in darkness.”

Luc swallowed the hard lump in his throat. There were more questions he wanted to ask, but he fought his impulses and stayed quiet. He was admitting too much with each peep he made.

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