Page 11 of Fake Fae-Ancée

"Perfect, just perfect," I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose. Sinking in the seat I watched the city rushing by. Tiny's words mixed with all the other alarming things that had happened. My wrecked clothes. The knifing pain in my shoulder-blades. My strength missing. The blank spot with me where the humming power source of my Anima used to be…

The kiss.

No! I definitely didn’t think about that. My lower lip felt swollen as I brushed it with the tip of my thumb. His lips on mine, his taste, the animal urgency he had thrown upon me. Bruising. Demanding. A treacherous, aching heat waved through me, pooling between my legs.

I bit down another curse. How could he dare kiss me just like that?

Whereas... I had kinda kissed him back, hadn’t I? For a second there, at least… though otherwise, of course everything else was his fault. Everything that led my thoughts down that particular and dangerous path was entirely and utterly his fault.

"I'm serious, Kai," Tiny barged into my thoughts. "Chief almost blew an aneurysm. Report to him and get your orders."

"What orders?" I snapped back. "He can’t order me around on my day off, can he?"

"Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s nuthin’."

I clawed my phone. Tiny’s much-ado-about-nothing theory didn't fit with the rest of what had been happening.

"Yeah, right," I muttered.

"Call the chief, get it over with. And afterwards you doll up and have fun at the wedding."

I froze. My insides turned into icicles. The spinning carousel of thoughts in my head crashed to a stop.

"What wedding?"

"Oh, come on! Claudio's and Lily’s wedding." Tiny sounded a little exasperated by now. "It's today. You've been talking about nothing else for weeks. Did you fall on your head last night or something?"

"I have to go," I pressed out, ending the call.

Shit, shit, shit! The wedding! My best friend’s wedding was today! How could I forget a thing like that? What had happened to me that my brain only held an empty spot where my memory of the past 24 hours was usually stored?

"You alright there?" The driver threw me an anxious look over his shoulder, probably worrying I would puke into his precious car any second. I just wanted to tell him to mind his own damn business, when a new message popped on my display — from Lily. The happy bride to be.

"Wherever you are, please come home!!!"

I gulped. Lily was the happiest and most balanced person I knew. Her overuse of exclamation points did not bode well. Something terrible must have happened at home.

"Can you maybe speed it up a little?" I asked the driver in a husky voice. He just grunted and stepped on it, and I curled into a ball in the backseat, my head spinning.

Okay, okay. Whatever the hell was going on, I could do this. I was a problem-solver. Solving problems and keeping people safe was literally my job. I decided that the chief would have to wait a little bit longer before I would call him back. I could only deal with one crisis at a time.

"On my way," I answered Lily’s text and hit send.

At least, I thought grimly, pocketing my phone, whatever was going on and whatever was waiting for me at home, Kalinin would be incapable of thwarting my plans in the immediate future.

I had made sure of that.

Yuri

"Are you all right,your royal highness?"

Bate's head appeared, a blurry bubble in my field of vision. I tried to blink him into focus, but my eyes felt as if they had turned into burning raisins.

"I suppose I am," I croaked.

"I'll get you some ice, sir." My butler helped me sit up without even a hint of astonishment in his voice. "And water for your eyes."

"Thank you, Bates," I murmured as he hurried away. I carefully touched my aching nose and flinched back at the pain, cursing my temper. I had only myself to blame for underestimating Kai. Even stripped of her powers she could fight back brilliantly. Nevertheless, she was in danger and completely defenseless out there, exposed to another attack.

---