Page 45 of Wanted: A Roommate Who Isn't Evil

“Queensbane, who exactly areyou?” he asked in an amused voice.

She glanced down at his bare feet. “I’m a weapon. Don’t get too close; I bite,” she whispered with ample threat, and his smile widened.

“How delightful,” he said. Then he glanced up and around at her bars, seeming to question their sturdiness. “Can I interest you in a kiss, pretty fairy?” he offered, taking hold of two bars and shaking them a little. They didn’t budge an inch.

Mycra laughed. “You must wish to enchant me and turn me against my masters. You’ll be killed on the spot if you try.”

“Iamone of your masters,” the fairy promised with a twinkle in his eye, and Mycra’s face changed as she thought about that. She knew all the masters of this house but one. That meant he had to be…

“I’m Shayne.” He reached a hand through the bars for a handshake, and Mycra blanched. “I think we may get along well here,” he added.

Lord Shayne Lyro, former heir to the House of Lyro. Returned after five long years.

He would be dead by sunrise.

And he’d asked her for a kiss. Was he insane?

“Don’t you know who I am?” she asked,taking a small step back from the bars. “Don’t you realize we’ve already met?”

Shayne didn’t bat an eye when he said, “I imagine you’re the dreamslipper who’s been haunting my nights, calling me home.”

Mycra’s smile was long gone. She could never smile about the nightmares. She rarely came face-to-face with the victims of them. And this was no ordinary victim. This was a fairy who was in close vicinity of another fairy she once knew.

“Is your fairy guard here?” Mycra asked before she could remember to hold her secrets close.

Shayne’s face changed. “My fairy guard? No. I left that grumpy latte addict at home,” he said without missing a beat. He studied Mycra as her shoulders dropped. “But I’m dying to know why you’re interested inmyDranian,” he added, appearing a smidgen wary.

Mycra swallowed and collected herself. “Never mind,” she whispered. She stood a little taller and took the hand Shayne still extended through the bars, waiting.

“You shouldn’t associate with me unless you want trouble, Lord Lyro,” she warned him, and his smile grew. She cocked her head, looking him up and down, calculating his strength, his stability, how he might perform in a fight. How easy it might be to kill him and escape if she had to—just for curiosity’s sake. “But I agree. I think we may get along quite well.”

19

Dranian Evelry and the Present Issue of Never Sleep

Coffee was not enough. Dranian spent the whole evening restlessly trying to distract himself so he wouldn’t fall asleep. He spent most of the time in his bedroom pacing. Finally, he went to the kitchen and nibbled on cookies, he did stretches, he played fetch with Dog-Shayne until Dog-Shayne fell back to sleep. He finally caved and called Cress in the twilight hours.

“What in the faeborn-cursed human realm are you calling me for at this hour?! I thought once Shayne left I’d finally get some sleep!” Cress’s loud complaints came through the phone before any kind of greeting.

“I can’t come into work today,” Dranian stated.

“Why ever not?” Cress asked through a yawn.

“I’ve avoided slumber all night. I’m ill.” Dranian waited for the verdict.

After a few seconds, Cress released a growly moan. But then he said, “Fine. Get better.”

Dranian laid back on the couch and thought that over. It was clear Cress hadn’t a clue Shayne had snuck off. Apparently, Lily hadn’t told anyone about what she’d discovered from her phone call to Greyson.

So, Dranian called Lily next.

“What’s wrong?!” Her voice was panicked, desperate, and raspy from sleep. “What happened, Dranian?!”

Dranian made a face. “Nothing faeborn happened,” he said dully.

Lily let out a breath of relief. “Then why are you calling me at four a.m.? I thought that fox-guy was murdering you or something!”

“You didn’t tell anyone that Shayne lied,” Dranian said. “I thought you would have told them.”

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