Page 18 of Forbidden Obsession
“Not ‘us,’ Jin, only mixlings of human heritage. I don’t pretend to understand, but it can’t be good. And not just to sign the registry but also to make loyalty pledges to the royal family.”
Thinking this over, I kick off my shoes. Rahz releases Magna to drink from the lake and eat her fill of grass, trusting her to stick around. Or at least to return when he whistles. He takes off his shoes as well. In unspoken agreement, we wade into the cool water. Our feet sink into the mud. I like the goopy muck of it squishing between my toes.
“Maybe it’s not bad,” I offer. “Maybe they’re only making sure mixlings know they’re valued just as much as full fae.”
He scoffs. “You can’t possibly believe that.”
My gut lurches. I can’t deny my feelings are a little bruised by the harshness seeping into his tone, but I know he doesn’t mean anything by it. He’s stressed. And he’s received the emotional blow of a lifetime this morning, so I let it pass.
“It could be true.” My voice comes out small and low.
He rolls his eyes. “But we clearly aren’t as valued. Take me, for example. You saw what I went through in school before my magic developed. What my mom goes through day in and day out. It isn’t fair.”
Words fail me. We were all picked on in school; it’s what kids do. Sure, maybe Rahz got it worse because Vander took an early disliking to him, but it was only teasing. And Rahz’s mother has always seemed happy to me. Quick to smile, with a cheerful disposition and a kind word for anyone who crosses her path. What’s Rahz referring to? What does he mean?
I open my mouth to ask when he says with a vehemence uncommon to his usual patter, “I’m not going. I won’t sign their registry, and I won’t pledge my loyalty to Aurielle.”
My jaw drops. “What? You aren’t loyal to our queen? But why, when she has provided so much? I don’t understand.”
He spins, his expression fierce. “What has she provided, exactly? What? Not our shelter—we built that ourselves—not the fertile soil, which rightly belongs to all creatures, not the food on our plates or the clothes on our backs. We provided that.Ourwork. I owe her nothing, least of all my name on a registry declaring my human heritage, my magical powers, my age, my hometown. What could she possibly need that information for that benefits me?”
I blink, overwhelmed. My stomach knots. Rahz speaks with such force I feel we’re in an argument, and I don’t want to argue. But I must disagree. “The queen ensures our realm’s safety. She keeps the peace. She protects our history, the light lineages, the—”
“What peace? The one where fae can come and go as they please, work or not work while humans pick up the slack to keep the cities running? And mixlings like me fall somewhere in between, not a true member of either group? What protection? What is she protecting us from, exactly?”
I’m stunned. His doubts hit like a jolt to my heart, speeding it up a notch. In my failure to reply, he shakes his head. Is he disappointed in me?
Rahz walks farther into the lake until the water dampens his pants, where he’s rolled them up to the knee. I stay where I am, carefully turning over all he said. A sinking feeling lodges in my gut.
I trust the royal family, even if Rahz doesn’t. It’s what I’ve been taught. All I know. Our comfort, our happiness, and all the abundance in our lives are because the four light lineages—including Aurielle and her consort—protect the realm.
Why would they lie? And what would they have to gain from Rahz’s name on a registry? Nothing I can think of. Meanwhile, perhaps such a thing would finally make him feel included. Like he belongs. Because he does. But that’s not how he’s interpreting things at all.
A large swath of gently rippling water separates us. I watch the flow as my thoughts run wild. What should I say? How can I help?
Before a solution hits me, Rahz sinks into the water’s depths, clothes and all, leaving only a splash where his feet kick, propelling him farther away from me and churning the water between us.
It’s far too cold to be swimming for my liking, so I don’t follow. The unbroken surface of the lake glimmers in the midday sunlight. I pick a spot, guessing that’s where he’ll emerge, and stare at it.
But I’m wrong. When his head breaks the surface, I see he went in the opposite direction. He flings his hair back, creating a sparkling arc of droplets cascading high over his shoulders. He’s lovely to look at, as always, but my heart hurts for him. He’s torn, and I haven’t helped.
Somehow I feel as though I’ve made things worse.
Rahz catches my gaze, his eyes blazing like wildfire. Heat despite the crisp water of early spring. He stalks toward me, and the mood shifts.
Oh.
A swell of anticipation quickens my heart. This is often how we handle our problems.
“Jin.” My name is desire from his lips. With every step he takes forward, I shuffle back, out of the water, and onto the riverbank.
I like the way he looks at me. His intensity. As always, my body responds to him, cock filling, belly tingling. I’m ready to give him whatever he wants.
He strips his wet clothes off as he nears. “Do you want—”
“Yes.” There’s no need to finish that question. “Anything. I want.” I’m unbuttoning my shirt when he grabs the laces of my pants and deftly works them free.
This will always bring us back to each other. This connection. This magnetism that smolders without end. An irresistible force we feed often and with enthusiasm.
