Page 35 of Cheshire's Smile
We fell back into that silence once more except, this time, it wasn’t as uncomfortable as before. I didn’t know what happened to Morgana, but my first feeling about her was spot on. There was more to her story. Someone had wronged her, and no one had listened to her side of the story.
“Fuck them.”
Morgana’s head jerked my way. “What?”
I stopped at her side. “Fuck them. The fae, the humans, all of them. They don’t know us or our stories. We don’t owe them anything. I say, do what you want to do. Everyone else can go to the shadows.”
She stared at me for a long moment and then smiled a genuine smile. “Right. Fuck them.”
Both of us smiling, we continued on our way. After a few minutes, the mist spread open to reveal another house. This one was smaller and less upkept than Morgana’s, if that were possible.
“We can pause here for a breather, if you like.” Morgana stepped into the clearing, releasing the magic in her hand to extinguish the flame.
I quickly fell in step with her, gaze jumping around the area. A curved hill with a worn top sat to one side. My nose sniffed the air. A faint familiar scent filled my nose.
Cheshire.
This had been his home when he was here. My eyes locked on the mirror nearby. A mixture of anxiety and joy twisted in my stomach.
“What’s wrong?” Morgana placed a hand on arm. “You look like you’re going to be ill.”
Oh, yes. I definitely was. But not for the reason she thought.
If this was where Cheshire lived, that meant...
My eyes darted to the door of the house. As if my attention summoned them, the door opened and out stepped the two fae males I’d been looking for.
Carban and Coby.
My long-lost loves.
Based on the flared nostrils and daggers shooting at me through their eyes, Cheshire was right.
They despised me.
Chapter 16
The Tweedles could have stepped out of the magic-induced dream from the Bandersnatch. I didn’t know if the Bandersnatch had used my own memories of them or if they had created the Tweedles on their own.
Either way, the dream version of Coby and Carban was nothing on the real-life fae males.
Their brown hair had grown longer than in my dream. One had his hair pulled up into a messy bun on the top of his head. This one was Carban. The hard set of his eyes, the tight line of his jaw, every bit of him showed a hatred so much more intense than his brother’s.
I knew that intensity. I’d felt it on my skin as I slid down on his length. My body tingled at the memory. I curled and uncurled my fingers into fists, letting out a long breath.
Coby left his hair loose around his shoulders. His green eyes held just as much ire in it as his brothers, and yet there was a softness in them. It was as if he fought against his own emotions.
They wore matching form-fitting pants that my hands itched to touch and discover if they were as soft as they looked. Unlike the dream, Carban wore a long-sleeved cream-colored tunic that pulled over his chest, as if there was too much male to be retrained by such a small piece of fabric.
Coby had forgone a shirt all together. The warm tan stretch of skin across his muscles made my mouth dry. I wanted to drag my hands and mouth down it, to see if it was as wonderful as I remembered. My gaze shifted up to his lips where they fought against a smirk.
“So it’s true,” Carban’s voice came out so harshly that I winced. “Youwerereleased.”
“Oh, brrr. I feel a little animosity here.” Morgana cocked her hip, leaning her mouth closer to me. “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back. We can have these two on their knees in seconds.”
“No.” I shook my head. “They won’t hurt me.”
I could feel the burn of the Tweedles’ gazes on me. If they ever loved me before, they certainly didn’t now. Even with all their loathing directed at me, the very fact that they were here, they were looking at me. It made a piece of my heart I didn’t know was missing fill with emotion.
