Page 41 of A Hint of Delirium

“What do you want, Cael? I don’t have time for this. I’m missing an episode ofThe Real Housewivesright now,” Ansel said while absentmindedly cleaning his nails. I choked on a laugh and Cael glared at me, making me swallow my mirth. I guess he wasn’t a fan of trashy reality TV. I continued to be surprised by how much human knowledge Ansel had.

“I see we’re no longer looking for the registry,” Cael noted dryly. While the others didn’t seem to notice, I saw Ansel’s shoulders tense. “Yet you look cool as a cucumber strolling along the streets of New York City with your lady friend. Why is that?”

Ansel winked at him. “If you’re worried about my work ethic, have no fear; I’m still on the case.”

Cael’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You know where the orb is, don’t you?” Ansel froze, finally tearing his gaze from his pristine fingernails and back to the Unseelie enforcer. Cael smirked. “That’s right. You can’t lie to me. You wouldn’t be wasting time hanging around your human girlfriend if you hadn’t already located it.”

“You must be delirious, Cael. If I had the orb, I wouldn’t still be here in the human realm now, would I? I’m obligated to bring it back to the Seelie Court. You know that,” Ansel growled.

My stomach dropped at his mention of bringing me – the carrier of the orb – to the Seelie Court. Had Ansel been planning to do that this whole time? Did he lie to me and my mother? Right now, I didn’t know who to trust or where to go to stay safe. I couldn’t go home, and returning with Ansel didn’t sound like a safe bet, either. I missed my mom. She would’ve known what to do.

Cael grinned. “True, you’re not one to break the rules. So tell us, what did that wench in Connecticut tell you before you killed her?”

Is he talking about my grandmother?

“Nothing that was any of your business,” Ansel brushed him off. “If you think I’m going to spill because you’re here with your two goons, you’re sorely mistaken.”

Cael gritted his teeth and ignited a ball of fire between his hands. With a loud growl, he flung fireball after fireball toward Ansel.

Ansel was quick. He stomped his foot on the pavement, making the concrete rise and form a protective barrier in front of him, effectively preventing the fire from hitting him.

I was silently excited that Ansel had the upper hand and his concrete shield seemed to hold up when suddenly I choked, unable to breathe. I clutched at my chest and throat, dropping our dinner as I fell to my knees, gasping for air.

“Vi!” Ansel dropped the barrier and clapped his hands in front of him, causing the brick walls to start closing in on the three Unseelie. As bricks and debris rained down on them from above, Ansel grabbed me and our dinner and hustled us out of the alleyway before they could fight their way out.

The instant we turned the corner, I sucked in a lungful of sweet air, gasping it in deep pulls. After I caught my breath, I turned to Ansel with wide, terrified eyes. “What the hell was that? Why couldn’t I breathe?”

“One of them was an air elemental,” he answered, as if that was sufficient information to quell my fear. When he noticed I needed more of an explanation than that, he continued, “They can pull the oxygen right out of your lungs, but they can’t do it to multiple people at a time. He was trying to distract me by attacking you.”

I continued sucking in gasps of air. “What you said back there … is it true?” I needed to know. I wasn’t the type to make assumptions, but I also wasn’t the type to trust blindly.

He raised a brow. “Iswhattrue?”

“Are you planning to take me to the Seelie Court?” I clarified.

He sighed and ran a hand through his lustrous hair. “I am obligated to do so, if that’s what you’re asking. But I haven’t figured out if I’m going to.”

I frowned. “Why?”

He shrugged. “Because I don’t know what they’ll do to you once they find out what you are. Until then, we’ll stay put.”

“What if what they’ll ‘do to me’ isn’t good?” I whispered in fear of what he would say.

His bright emerald eyes darkened as they peered intently at me. “There’s always a way to stay hidden, Vi. We’ll find a way.”

I furrowed my brows. “You would do that … for me?”

“Yes,” he replied without hesitation. “I would do that and more. Don’t ever doubt how far I’ll go to protect you.”

My eyes widened by the ferocity in his voice. “Oh,” was all I could say in response.

“Come on; let’s get out of here before they come looking for us again. The spanakopita is probably cold by now.” He grimaced as he lifted the bag that held our spinach pie, grease stains lining the bottom.

* * *

The next morning,I woke up feeling even less relaxed than the night before. After returning to Ansel’s apartment, we reheated our dinner and ate quietly before cleaning up and going to bed early. I had a hard time falling asleep, tossing and turning all night long. I didn’t know how to feel around Ansel, much less how to act. I didn’t understand why he would risk it all for me, someone he barely knew. It didn’t make sense. Those thoughts kept me up all night long.

The undercurrent of intensity that thrummed between us made me nervous. I liked Ansel; I just wasn’t sure I was supposed to. The more time we spent together, the more attached I became. My feelings for him moved farther away from the platonic feelings I experienced when we first met.

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