Page 119 of Falling in Love with A Tiny Bat

“It did not. Understand, Razah, you are asking a favor of me, not I of you.”

“Oh.”

He chuckles. “I apologize that the term causes you some anxiety. Rest assured, Xios would not have sent you to me if he thought the journey would cause you harm.”

“Xios might trust you more than I do.”

“And you don’t yet trust him enough to put your trust in his?”

Basically.

I shift against the ebony velvet upholstery and pin my gaze out the window overlooking a garden swelling with white blooms and the occasional burst of purple berries. Given the gray lighting in this part of faerie, the whole scene appears like a weathered painting.

Wringing my hands in my lap, I don’t reach for anything on the table. “Will you help me or not?”

“Gladly.”

“How long will it take to find Dani?”

“A few weeks, perhaps. Tracking naught but the trail of an emotion over countless miles is no easy task.”

“Yet you’ll do it for free?”

“No, but I’ll not ask anything beyond what it already supplies me if that’s your concern.”

That prickle of unease inside me riots.

Here—in this lavish room within the belly of a palace crawling with creatures that have sharp teeth and claws—it is hard to remember this man’s goofy moments.

Here, he is a powerful faerie and a villain to those I consider friends.

Wetting my dry lips, I ask, “What do you mean?”

Castor begins counting on his long, slender fingers. “Well, I’ll gain some merit in your book; helping someone often results in no less. I’ll require access to the thread of your feelings for your friend; that will breed trust, no doubt. I’ll obtain access to your precious friend… Do you understand yet?”

I wish I didn’t.

“Trust. You will get my trust.”

“Very good.” His smile then does anything but inspire the trust I’ll need to give for this to work. “Don’t be so guarded, Razah. Consider it an honor I value your friendship and have learned from past mistakes. In previous relationships, I never could acquire the trust of those I cared for most. You have not seen me at my worst yet. I would like to know you might continue to hold me in some regard even after you’ve witnessed my more volatile nature take hold.”

I wince. “How about we justdon’tallow our volatile nature to take hold, hm? That sounds like a better plan to me.”

He laughs, pulling a strand of his hair forward to toy with. Against the pure white of his hair, his fingertips almost carry an undertone of peach.Almost. Perhaps in a different lighting he’d look a little less like bone. “I have tried before to subdue my nature. It ends poorly. The best I can do now is embrace accountability and transparency. Or so Xios has told me. He says it serves no one to be at war inside themselves. Building an atmosphere of care and finding those around me who accept who I am without trying to curb my chaos will help lead me away from destruction—of myself or others.”

“Is Xios your therapist?”

“He has joked about as much, suggesting Polly rubbed off on him…” Castor’s smile dissipates. He sighs. “I do wonder how nurture impacts a character… Pollux always did bring me such uncanny peace.”

My heart twists. “What happened between the two of you?I understand that Cael didn’t tell you he was also unseelie, but what happened with Pollux?”

Castor turns his face toward the sofa’s back cushions. “He didn’t trust me. I suppose that is the simplest answer.” Drawing himself upright, he regains his smile and offers me his hand. “It is the only one I will give you at this time, too, so…tell me…do you agree to my terms?”

“Your terms being that you aren’t asking me for anything outside of what makes my request possible?”

“That is correct.”

“You know that if you hurt or trick me, Xios will never forgive you?”

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