Page 16 of Sound
“You are only pissed because that responsibility will fall on you if I kick the bucket.”
His pissed-off growl makes me smile. Remembering why we are having this awkward conversation with me naked in the shower, I tiredly push the water off my face.
“The girl is trapped there, Lucien.” My heart kicks hard against my breastbone. “She needs help.”
“A lot of humans get trapped as a result of their own stupidity. That’s never been our problem. They can deal with their own.” Spitting the words, he walks out and I hear the chair groaning when he plops down.
Taking a deep breath, I blow it out slowly. Here goes nothing.
“She is not human.”
“Say what now?” He’s back, this time so close to the glass door I can clearly see the scowl on his face.
“She is not human.” I grab the soap, needing to wash this night off my skin, and so I don’t have to face him. “And she is mine.”
“Hang on there … whoa … hold on just a minute… putain de bordel de merde! “ Stuttering before reverting to French, he hisses out every vile word he has ever learned.
I wait him out, scrubbing at my skin until its raw.
“Is she one of us?” After he has exhausted his explicit vocabulary, he holds his breath while waiting for my answer.
“No.” Before he starts again, I hurry to say my peace. “I don’t know what she is but the witch has her trapped and is using her somehow. I’m sure it has something to do with the music.”
“The music …” Lucien murmurs distractedly. “We need Moël here too. This has gone way over our heads.”
“I heard everything.” My youngest brother speaks from somewhere in my bedroom. “So what’s the plan?”
“You are not going along with his stupidity, are you?” Lucien rounds Moël, walking out of the bathroom. “He doesn’t even know what she is and he thinks he found his mate.”
“Who are we to tell fate how to pair up souls, Lucien?” My shoulders relax at Moël’s carefree tone. “Mate or not, you think we should look away from a female in danger? It’s not like there are lot of them floating around.”
They continue talking but I tune them out. What Moël says is true. Every century, there are less and less females in all species, minus humans of course. After washing my hair, I turn off the water and step out. A cloud of steam follows behind me when I snatch a towel off the rack and sling it over my hips.
“She could be one of the Fae,” Moël mumbles. “They are all about music and what have you.”
“She is a tiny little thing,” I tell him as I head for the closet. “You could be right on that count.”
“I’ve never heard of a Fae being mated to one of us.” Lucien keeps poking where he shouldn’t. “Last time I checked, they hated us.”
Stabbing my feet into a new pair of pants, I yank them up. Everything in me wants to roar so the world knows she is mine. I don’t understand it myself, but I don’t question it. Fae or human, I do not care. I’m getting her out of there. Pulling a shirt over my head, I walk out and stop in front of Lucien.
“I didn’t ask for your help, nor do I have a wish to involve you in this.” He eyes me strangely, his body stopping all movement. A predator facing another predator. “I told you she is mine. That makes her my problem and no one else’s.”
“I don’t know about Lucien, but I’m in.” When Lucien glares at Moël, my younger brother shrugs a shoulder. “That place is strange. I’d like to see why. Helping Étienne is just a bonus. I was going to go there anyway.”
“Have it your way.” All the fight leaves Lucien and he rubs the top of his head. “But I have a bad feeling about this. At least if we go down we will do it together. Just like old times.”
“Just like old times.” Moël grins, probably remembering our younger days when the court had no peace from the troubles we caused. That is what I’m remembering now, too.
“Now what?” Lucien looks from me to Moël.
“I’m going back there.” I haven’t been back for an hour and I’m already itching to see her again. “You can search through the texts we have, see if you can find anything that might explain what she is.”
“On it.” Jumping off the chair, Lucien is gone before I register his eagerness to help, which isn’t easy anyways since only two minutes ago he was going for my neck.
“He worries about you, he just doesn’t know how to show it.” Moël chuckles. “You know those large dogs? The ones that could break your bones, but you still want to sit on your lap and cuddle? That’s Lucien in a nutshell.”
“I’m afraid to ask how you know about large dogs wanting to cuddle.”
