Page 39 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

She looked a bit uncertain, so I figured it was time to be social.

“You’re stuck with a fae bastard too?” I asked her, cutting into some sort of casserole.

Nissa’s stomach rumbled loudly, and my sympathy grew. “Unfortunately.”

I nodded. “It sucks, but at least there’s food. I’ve been locked in a damn cellar since my magic came in, and my town rarely bothered to feed me.”

“I was trapped in a tower,” she admitted.

I shivered.

A tower?

Veil, I’d rather die.

She did seem to have had some sunlight in her tower though, and I envied that immensely. My prison would’ve been much more livable with a little sunlight.

Maybe I wouldn’t rather die.

“I do not do well with heights, so I don’t envy you. Here.” I pushed one of my plates over to her.

Eisley tried to give me the plate back, so I gave her a dirty look. I had plenty, and Nissa was clearly starving too. “I’ll have the kitchen make her something,” the fae said, before leaving us.

I pushed the plate back to Nissa as soon as she was gone. “So what’s your power?”

She grabbed one of the pastries I wished I could’ve forced my stomach to take. Those things were incredible. “Plants. They grow around me, draining my magic in a few hours. I have no control over it.”

That was epic.

Sunlight, and plants.

Veil, I’d trade my fire and my cellar for her prison any day. I could deal with the heights for that.

“Damn, that’s lucky. My magic is uncontrollable too, but it’s fire magic. You can feel the heat in the air around me constantly, and if I feel anything too strongly, I burn.”

“Really? Have you ever burned yourself?”

I grinned. “I’ve tried, but the fire dodges me. I’ll show you if you’re ever around when I light up.”

“Veil.” Nissa suddenly swore, crunching her pastry in her fist and grabbing her wrist with the other hand. There was a metal bracelet wrapped around it, and I assumed the metal was hiding a mate bond.

I’d reacted much the same when Ravv first walked away from me in the desert, so my heart went out to her for it.

“Do you have a handprint too? These things are miserable.” I tugged the top of my sleeve down, showing her my handprint for a second before pulling it back. “I told Ravv that if he keeps walking away from me, I’m going to melt his ice castle. He’s stayed close enough not to ignite the pain since then. He’s a grumpy asshole, but he doesn’t seem to want to start another war.”

“Is walking away what triggers it?” Nissa took a bite of her food, then set it down so she could massage her handprint through her bracelet. I wasn’t sure how much good the massage would do, because when those things hurt, they really hurt.

“Mmhm. Physical distance seems to do it.”

“Does it cause the men pain too?”

I nodded and tossed out a joke to lighten the mood. “Yep. They like to pretend they don’t feel it, though. Makes them feel better about themselves and those tiny fae cocks.”

She snorted, and I grinned at her again.

“Alright, here you go.” Eisley gave Nissa a plate and then sat down beside her. “How’s the wrist?”

She didn’t answer. I assumed it was because she didn’t want to admit she was in pain.

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