Page 40 of A Hint of Delirium

I blinked. “I take it that’s a problem?”

She scoffed. “Duh! How do you not see that?” she exclaimed. “That was family I’d never met that you got rid of because they were a problem!” she seethed.

I walked around the kitchen counter and approached her, carefully standing a few inches away. I placed my hands on her shoulders and shook her lightly. “You didn’t know your grandmother. And from what I know, she wasn’t a good person, even according to human standards. I don’t know how much your mother shared with you, but you didn’t miss much. So are you really mad I killed off your grandmother, or is this something else?”

She looked down at her feet. “Killing people isn’t a good habit to have. I thought you were supposed to be thegoodseelie,” she mumbled.

I chuckled. “I’ll be honest with you, Vi; there’s no such thing as a good seelie,” I smirked as I whispered the truth like a dirty secret. “The Seelie are better than the Unseelie, but what is it that you humans say? Oh, yes –the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.”

She snorted. “You were right when I first met you. I shouldn’t believe you.” Vi looked up at me innocently, with glassy brown eyes that reminded me of pools of melted chocolate. She was feisty, but she’d also been sheltered her whole life. That made her naïve. She still had so much to learn. There was so much I wanted to teach her. I just didn’t know if I was the right person to do it.

Her pupils dilated as she stared up at me openly. Her scent curled around me, wrapping around us both until I felt compelled to pull her closer. My nostrils flared as I hungrily watched her nibble her bottom lip nervously.

“Even though we cannot lie,” I said, snapping out of my reverie, “never believe a fae.”

She raised a brow. “Are you sure you should be telling me this?”

I brushed her hair back and tucked it behind her ear. “I’ll always protect you. Even if it’s from me.”

She blushed deeply and looked away. I heard her heartbeat accelerate when I grabbed her chin and forced her to look at me. Her eyes widened in shock and she gasped.

“Ansel,” she whispered, breathing deeply.

I stared at her, memorizing every inch of her face. She really did possess the beauty of the fae. How I didn’t notice it before surprised me. Then again, her loveliness wasn’t as obvious as most fae. Her beauty was more subtle.

“Don’t worry,” I whispered. “I’m not going to kiss you … yet.” I released her with a grin and walked back to the kitchen, turning my attention back to the stack of take-out menus. “So … what do you want for dinner?”

21

VIOLET

My heart raced a mile a minute.

He was planning on kissing … me? For some reason I couldn’t compute. How did we get from point A to point Z in a handful of days?

He’d always been a bit flirtatious, but I just assumed it was a fae thing. I didn’t realize … Could he tell every time my heart accelerated when he was near? When I got excited? Was that a fae thing, too? Now I was completely mortified.

I shook my head, snapping out of the crazy thoughts running through my head. I was an over thinker, and if I let myself, I would ponder what he said on a nonstop loop until I reached a random conclusion about what he actually meant. Of course, it would probably be some outrageous scenario where my sanity would be put into question again.

We decided to pick up dinner from the Greek restaurant instead of having it delivered so we could get some fresh air. I definitely needed it. While Ansel went inside to pay, I waited by the entrance of the restaurant. He’d stuffed his pockets with leaves as we walked down the street, which he now handed over to the cashier to pay for our food. The ease with which he fooled other humans annoyed me to no end. That was fraud, and I was convinced the FBI would eventually catch him. My jaw dropped as I watched him get change back, the clerk oblivious to his sham, and stuff it into his pocket as they handed him our dinner.

He sauntered over to where I stood by the door, fuming. “You ready?”

“You’re a menace to society,” I grumbled and turned for the door, too irritated to be charmed by his movie star looks.

He easily caught up and walked beside me on the sidewalk. “You can’t stay mad at me about that forever.” He smiled down at me, his eyes and smile equally dazzling.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m just saying, you’re going to get caught one day and I’m going to laugh my ass off when you do. Don’t call me to bail you out of jail. You better figure out how to pony up some leaves for your bail money,” I huffed.

He laughed, a full belly laugh. “The day I’m caught by a human will be the day there are someseriousproblems in your realm.”

I sighed loudly at his overconfidence and started to roll my eyes, when my attention was snared by a flicker of fire down the alley that was headed straight for us. “Duck!” I yelled and shoved Ansel to the ground. The fireball whooshed over our heads, just inches from us.

Ansel whirled around to see who it was. “Cael.” His hand tightened on the bag that still held our dinner. He snapped his fingers to activate his glamour, making himself invisible to passersby, and started walking down the alley where Cael and two other Unseelie guards were waiting for him.

“Nice to see you around these parts, Ansel. Does your little friend live around here?” Cael sneered. His words made me realize they didn’t know where Ansel lived.

Ansel handed me the bag of Greek food and I stepped to the side, away from whatever nonsense was about to happen. I attempted to blend into the darkness, except Cael’s eyes trailed my every move. He wouldn’t let me disappear so easily.

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