Page 27 of Kissed the Mark
“Somewhere quieter,” she said. She tugged meaway from the bathrooms, but I pulled her back toward them.
“In here,” I said.
“WHY?” she shouted, the dip in the EDMhaving picked back up.
“I HAVE TO PEE.”
“EW!” she shouted back, but she followed mein. I charged in with her hand in tow.
Right into the fairy circle I’d made.
The bathroom faded away. It was darker now,with an eerie mist rising from the floor—we were underground, afterall. Faerie didn’t like vampires, to be honest. They weren’t aseasy to trick as humans. A glow I usually found peaceful shimmeredaround us, giving off sinister energy. It was quiet except for thewhoosh of a gust of wind.
“What the fuck is this?” Leandra asked. “Didyou really just trick me like that?”
“You’re one to talk,” I said. Looking at hernow, I was appalled that the fake Leandra had ever convinced me itwas real. Leandra’s nose turned up at the end; the golem’s hadn’t.This Leandra was fun and playful, and perfectly capable of paintingher own nails. “Leandra, Patricia is going to absolutely ream myass if I don’t hand you over to her by midnight tomorrow.”
“Fuck,” she said.
“That’s all? I don’t want to be implicatedin any of this. I thought…I thought I was helping you withsomething.” I blinked a few times to wash the frustrated tears awaybefore they were noticeable to Leandra.
“And what, you’ll trap me here until I tellyou?” She looked around. “I haven’t been to Faerie before. There’snot much here.”
“Not under here. But yes, until you explainwhat’s going on to me.” I realized that she may have overheard someor all of Francesca’s explanation—I was still iffy on whether itwas good for her to know that the “past version” of herselfFrancesca had brought to the present was a fake.
But at least she probably hadn’t killed thewerewolf herself.
“I don’t even know where to start,” sheadmitted. “I missed you, Olympia.”
In spite of myself, I blushed. I grewincreasingly self-conscious of the giant stain on my pants from theclub. “Right. Sure you did. Did you know I was hanging out with ayou that wasn’t…you?”
“It’s a bummer you figured out thatFrancesca Gallo did her magic for me. I was enjoying you babying mefrom afar.”
“Jesus.”
“No, really, it’s good to know that ifanything ever happened to me, you’d even help paint my nails—”
“I should stake you.”
Leandra quirked an eyebrow. “Do it.”
I barely reached for my silver dagger whenLeandra body-slammed me, knocking me to the ground. She had myhands pinned to the dirt, leaning over me.
“This is my home,” I said. “I’m strongerhere.”
“Stronger than me?” she asked, batting hereyelashes.
“I don’t think you want to find out.”
Leandra shifted herself onto her thighs,settling them on my hips. “I think I do.”
Once more, I remembered how easily shepissed me off. The golem-Leandra had been like an untrained foal,deferring to me for guidance about simple things. This Leandra knewexactly what she was doing. And now she was laughing at me.“Contrary to what you think,” she said, “I would neverunderestimate that tight little fairy body of yours.”
“Excuse me?!”
“Did you like the rose I left you?” sheasked. I had a view of her from underneath, with the undersides ofher long lashes and an angle of her boobs I’d never seen before. “Inoticed you tossed it out the window.”
Fuck, I really thought Patricia hadBeauty-and-the-Beasted me. “Yeah, I especially liked the four-leafclovers,” I snapped. “Look what they did to my hand.”
