Page 96 of Sidhe
“I would like to have a moment alone with you, if I could,” Lindsey said with all the timing and tact that Nathan had come to expect from the surly incubus. He didn’t look particularly homicidal though, which Nathan figured might have something to do with them being the same species at the moment.
“Uhh…sure. I think the side lounge is free.” Nathan cast a quick glance at Sasha, who smiled hopefully back at him. He and Lindsey had hugged, after all, so Nathan decided he could take this one on faith.
They left the others at the doors, as Nathan led Lindsey through the bustle of the bar area into the side lounge. Nathan didn’t bother shutting the door, but Lindsey reached back and closed it tightly once they’d crossed the threshold. Nathan tried not to let that worry him.
Awkward would have been a nice way to put how those first few moments alone felt. Nathan was about ready to burst and knew he had to say something when Lindsey finally spoke.
“I know you saved Cam’s life. Sasha’s too,” Lindsey started a little haltingly, looking more at Nathan’s T-shirt than at him. “You risked your life for both of them in Pittsburg, from what Cam told us. You did much more when your contract with the sidhe was up. Sasha’s devotion to you…cannot be the folly I once believed it to be.”
Figures it would take a complete act of self-sacrifice to sway this guy, Nathan thought, but he had to smile. “Yeah, well…loving him is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me, even if it has painted a few more targets on my back—and front—on occasion.”
Lindsey let out a small huff. “Do you know why I hate seals, Nathan? Why I have trouble trusting them, let alone any humans? Because just like Sasha, my parents were killed by a seal simply because of what they were.”
Nathan had not known that, but he answered plainly regardless. “Then we have something in common.”
Lindsey returned Nathan’s steady stare. “It would seem so. Sasha is wrong if he thinks I’ve hated him just because he wanted to be like his father. It’s hard to believe I can trust him as a seal, but he’s still one of us—even if at the moment, he’s not.
“What made me so angry back then was that he never said anything to me. Best friends our entire lives and he doesn’t bother to tell me he wants to be a seal until we’re ready to head out into the world? I figured…if he didn’t trust me, why should I trust him? And I know howstupidthat sounds,” Lindsey said in frustration, walking past Nathan further into the room.
From behind, his white hair glowed from the light hanging in the center of the room.
“We were just dumb kids and we lost so much because of it. Maybe it’s all simpler than I want to believe. Maybe it isn’t a trick. Maybe you really do love him as much as I feel from you…and there really are seals out there who only want to help.” Lindsey turned back to Nathan, surprising him with how wet his acidic green eyes had become. “But I won’t put the people I care about at risk. Even seeing you as one of my own now, I will always have one eye on you.”
“Fair enough,” Nathan said, “just as long as you give Sasha more of a benefit of the doubt than you give me. He’s really missed you.”
Nathan saw a corner of Lindsey’s mouth twitch. “Will you give him something for me?”
“Why don’t you give him whatever it is yourself?”
A deep sigh fell from Lindsey’s lips, but his harshness had vanished, and Nathan thought he was finally getting a look at who Lindsey truly was. “Because I wantyouto do it,” he said, almost childishly indignant. “Later, when you’re alone with Sasha. He’ll make a big deal over it and…I’m not ready for all that…” Lindsey made a weak gesture at the air like he was trying to stir up the rest of his sentence.
“All the crying and hugging and sappy crap?” Nathan said.
This time Nathan was certain a corner of Lindsey’s mouth curved. “Exactly. It’s nothing big,” he said, and as he did he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. “I was supposed to give it to him…a long time ago. Never got the chance.” He pulled out what looked like a small bit of paper and handed it to Nathan.
A grin broke out on Nathan’s face as soon as he saw it. “Okay, you definitely made the right decision if you want to avoid the mushy crap. I’ll give it to him when the time seems right.”
“Good,” Lindsey said. Then with some difficulty he added a low, “Thank you,” while redirecting his gaze. “I assume I don’t have to tell you that if you ever hurt him…”
“Wrath and carnage. Got it. But, uhh…you’ll still let me buy you a beer some time, right? You know your wife thinks I’m adorable.” He smirked.
Lindsey narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps.”
“All I’d ask for.”
They returned to find the others gathered around a table not quite big enough to fit them all, so they each chose to join the group by standing behind their better halves.
“You all know as well as I do how pointless it is to talk to those people,” Sasha was saying as they walked up. “They’d probably watch the whole world burn and not even shed a tear over it.”
“What’s up?” Nathan asked.
Sasha had an angry expression that Nathan was not used to seeing. Then he realized that amidst Sasha, Jim, Charis, Cam, and now the twins at the table, Shiarra had joined them as well.
“I’ve managed to arrange a meeting with the High Council,” she said. “Both to request pardon for Sasha and to allow him to once again return to the Veil when he chooses, and to request their direct aid in the coming battle. The king and queen of light fae have no say over our people. You’ll need to speak with them directly.”
“Awesome,” Nathan said, since more help sounded fantastic, especially if it had the benefit of letting Sasha return home when he wanted. Sasha didn’t look as convinced though. “I get that it will be a difficult conversation judging by the drawn faces, but this affects them too. I’m sure I can sway them. How long do I have before the meeting?”
Shiarra leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. Her hair was long and wavy as always about her shoulders, a rich black that matched Sasha’s now, though she wore a more utilitarian outfit than usual, in jeans, a fitted T-shirt, and a canvas jacket.
