Page 59 of A Hint of Delirium

He coughed and gave a raspy laugh. “When the Unseelie find out about her … she’s dead.”

“Who have you told?” I shouted in his face and shook him hard enough to rattle teeth. “Who have you told, damnit!?”

He laughed, his coughs uncontrollable as the noxious smoke filled his lungs. “Good luck.” Before I could wring the answer from him, he collapsed in front of me. I dropped him and knew without checking he was already dead.

I turned to Alec with despair in my eyes. “Alec … you have to find out …”

“Ansel,” he stopped me. “Enough. We’ve already committed mass murder for this girl. How much further do you want to go?”

“Just until she’s safe,” I pleaded desperately.

Alec shook his head sadly. “She’llneverbe safe, Ansel. Don’t you get that? She has the power of all the elements. No fae has ever held that kind of power! If she ever removes that anklet, she’ll be indestructible. She’s a danger to the Unseelieandthe Seelie. That anklet may not even be enough to contain her if she sets her mind to it!”

I thought back to last night, when she pushed me back on the bed as if I weighed less than a feather. If he only knew how much strength she had evenwiththe anklet. I recognized it wasn’t normal.

“I’m getting her a stronger one,” I argued. “She’ll be safe then.”

Alec shook his head. “You don’t get it, brother, and I can’t help you anymore. After this, you’re on your own.”

* * *

After wipingthe children’s memories and placing them into good homes, I headed back to Hell’s Kitchen where I knew Violet would be waiting for me, most likely upset. I walked through my apartment door and found her pacing the living room floor.

“Oh my God, you’re finally back!” she shouted and stormed toward me. “I thought you were dead!”

I looked at my watch and realized I’d been gone ten hours. “Sorry about that. It took longer than expected.”

“A call would have been nice,” she grumbled.

I nodded. “Yeah, I probably should have called. Sorry.”

“Did you save the children?” she asked anxiously.

“Yes … I did. That’s what took so long.”

She exhaled loudly. “Oh, thank God.”

“You should really be thankingme,” I grumbled as I went to sit on the sofa.

She laughed. “I mean, yes, thank you.” She looked around. “Where’s Alec?”

I bit my lip and considered how to answer. “Uh … listen, Vi, we won’t be working with Alec anymore.”

She furrowed her brows and sat beside me on the sofa. “What do you mean?”

“It means that Alec is an Unseelie and he will choose his kind every time. We can’t trust him.”

28

ALEC

Ientered my loft and within seconds, I knew I wasn’t alone. I shut the door and caught the hand that reached behind me, twisting their wrist until I heard a throaty chuckle.

“I can never catch you off guard,” Sage whispered in my ear. She ripped her hand out of my grip and slithered around me in the dark.

“What do you want, Sage?” I pushed past her and stomped toward my kitchen for a bottle of water.

“You’ve been a naughty boy, Alec,” she admonished, sniffing the air around me. “I smell death on you.”

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