Page 8 of Changeling
“Yes, but who’s counting?”
“Ten. And that’s letting you off easy.”
“If you say so.”
I roll my neck and fight not to question my own stupid decision. A faerie hiding among a den of incubi? Something tells me this won’t end well.
CHAPTER3
Sebastian
Ivaz leftme alone in our room and told me not to worry, but I can’t help it. I’m trapped underground in the home of a gigantic demon who hates me for reasons I can’t fathom. My situation doesn’t exactly lend itself to ease.
Gathering my blankets and bedding from the floor, I rise to make the bed. The least I can do is leave it as tidy as I found it.
This room is quite luxurious, if a little tacky. Everything I touch is soft or plush. Or softandplush. No one needs this many pillows. I sort of love it.
Thick black furs cover the floor. The bed covers are fine gleaming satins and velvets in shades of deep red with gold accents. An abundance of sweet-smelling candles and oil lamps light this glorified cellar as if it’s a fancy inn for the likes of nobility. It’s sensory overload, but not unpleasant. A chamber made for pleasure.
My curiosity leads me to the bedside chest of drawers to see what else a brothel staffed by sex demons might be hiding. The door opens, and Ivaz strolls in.
I jump away from the drawer. Good thing I hadn’t opened it yet. I hope he doesn’t realize what I’d been up to.
He doesn’t. “Good news.” Ivaz claps his hands. “You can stay.”
I fail to see how this is good news. “Are you sure that’s wise? You saw how he reacted. Dominus doesn’t want me here.”
Ivaz waves this off. “We had a little chat. You’ve nothing to worry about. It was just a bit of a misunderstanding. That’s all.”
“That’s not what it seemed like when he said ‘I want him gone.’”
“Pssh.” He collects his things. “Dominus is dramatic. Always has been. It’s all been resolved. We only need to go over a few ground rules.”
My nerves erupt, and my chest tightens. “No, really, you can’t leave me here with him. He hates me, and I don’t even know why.”
Ivaz halts what he’s doing and looks at me. Genuine concern shows in his gaze.
I’m shaking. Energy flutters around my fingers, always trying to protect me, but I don’t know how to use it. “I can’t stay where I’m unwanted.”
Ivaz steps close and takes my shoulders in his cool hands. “As long as you follow some simple instructions, you’re safe here, I promise. Dominus has his reasons, which I will share with you now, but rest assured, he’s a good man with a big heart. He won’t let any harm come to you under his care.”
That’s not what I’m afraid of, but I don’t tell Ivaz. He won’t understand, and I don’t need another enemy.
“Sit down,” he says gently.
Frowning, I plop onto the feather-soft bed, cross my arms, and sulk.
Ivaz sits next to me. “Let me tell you what I’ve learned. Once you understand, you’ll realize it’s perfectly safe here. And it’s only for a few weeks. I’ll be quick as an arrow.”
While he goes over his conversation with Dominus, I pick at my fingernails and concentrate on even breaths. Inhale, exhale, repeat.
Ivaz means well. It’s not his fault he has to leave me, and I’m grateful for his help getting this far. But even if my ancestors cursed Dominus’s ancestors, I don’t understand why the incubus reacted so strongly to me. It was thousands of years ago. Neither of us was alive then. Besides, I’m not particularly fond of faeries myself. They abandoned me after all, their own son.
My thoughts turn to my mother and father—the ones who raised me, fed me, sheltered me, and kissed every skinned knee and bruised elbow until I felt better. Gone now. Tears well in my eyes, threatening to spill over.
“Hey, hey, you’re all right,” says Ivaz, his hand on my knee. “What’s wrong? On my honor, Dominus isn’t as bad as all this.”
I don’t have it in me to explain it’s not the incubus upsetting me. Besides, arrangements have already been made. Ivaz is leaving. I’m staying. There’s no reason to argue, so instead, I give him the assurance he needs. “I’m all right. I understand. Keep silent. Don’t tell anyone what I am. Stay out of the way. Got it.”
