The little spitfire flashed hands on hips before retorting, “It’s Feng Shui.”
I stared, slack-jawed. Fae worried about a room’s energy, not shifters. I shoved the random thought aside, muttering, “I don’t have time for this,” and nimbly navigated the mess I’d made.
When I was two steps away from the door, she said, “You’re welcome,” before adding a mumbled “Ungrateful prick” under her breath.
I paused. Heat slowly crawled up my neck. Walk away. Walk away and don’t look back. I turned, scattering pieces of ceramic as I marched up to that glaring upturned face.
“For what?” I snarled, holding nothing back. “For driving my kind to the edges of your precious city? For beating them up when they step out of line?”
Her two-toned gold and sapphire eyes darkened. “I don’t—”
“Of course you do,” I spat. “You’re an Enforcer. And I’m supposed to thank you?” I pressed nearer to her, trying for intimidation. It was high time she got a piece of Fae malcontent up close and personal. But she didn’t budge. She had balls, I’d give her that. “You’re what’s wrong with this city.”
Before I swiveled on my heel, I saw her mouth pop open. Saw her hands curl into fists. If she were male, I would have stuck around. Seen what kind of damage we could wreak on this expensive waste of space. I wrapped my hand around the door handle right as she barked, “Stop!”
And, Gaia help me, I did. What was wrong with me? Now was not the time to pick a fight. Not with her. I looked over my shoulder at the five-foot-nothing slip of a girl. And when I saw the scowl she was giving me, like she could twist my balls off with one hand, my body flushed cold. Then heated. Make up your mind. “Yes, almighty Enforcer?”
She prowled toward me with feline preciseness, hips swaying. What was with female shifters and their hips? “You’ll never get to Fae territory without being seen.”
I snorted. “I’ll survive.”
She finally stopped a foot away, brow furrowing as she reached toward my face, gliding her fingers over my swollen cheek. “They’ll find you again and this time you’ll die.”
I jerked away from her touch, the blood in my veins simmering. “They can try. Haven’t succeeded yet. And what concern is my safety to you? Don’t they follow your example?”
Her hand, still raised in the air, formed a fist. I waited, expecting her to bash me in the face, but she was frozen. No, not quite. Her chest rose and fell sharply, like she wanted nothing more than to hit me, but was trying not to. I wondered why she didn’t. “I’ll take you where you need to go.”
“Don’t bother. You’ve done enough.” At that, her lips thinned, the action wrinkling her pert little nose. The look was almost—Nope. Not going there. Not ever. “Because of you, I’ve probably lost my job. So, if you don’t mind, I’m leaving.”
I finally wrenched the door open and stuck my head into the hallway. All clear. But before I could make my grand exit, having said my piece, she muttered, “You’re alive because of me.”
One last time—I swore this would be the last—I looked at her. “No.” I shook my head, putting as much loathing as I could behind my next words. “I’m dead because of you.”
—
I hated that she’d saved me last night.
Why couldn’t she have left me to my fate? Then this nightmare I couldn’t wake from would be over. And maybe, just maybe—Gaia willing—I’d see her again. She had been the exact opposite of the spunky little Enforcer. Tall and willowy, not short with killer curves. Long blonde hair that glittered in the sun, and a bright smile that never failed to punch me in the gut.
My heart throbbed. I had to stop and focus on my breathing. I leaned against an alley wall strewn with shifter propaganda—some old news about the Great Dragon Mordecai, their lord and savior, freeing them from oppressive Fae control two decades ago. Apparently, the first Fae who had settled in this city forty years ago were explorers. With their pointed ears and raven-like wings sharp as any blade, they’d been revered. Many thought them to be guardian angels.
But they were different than the Fae of modern day. They held a strength greater than the strongest Shapeshifter. And that wasn’t all. With a single touch, they could perform miracles. At least, that’s what humans and shifters used to think. After a while, there were whispers of dark magic. Witchcraft. Those Fae who had risen to power were seen as evil mind manipulators, so they’d been executed. War ensued.
But then something happened. The Fae began losing their strength, their abilities. Shifters saw this as a sign that their gods had cast them out. So Fae became the outcasts. When Mordecai rose to power, he said we were a blight. That we didn’t belong in this realm. You would think he’d let us leave, then, but no. Not that any of us even knew where to find our ancestral land if we had the freedom to choose.
In Nathra City, we were simply guests. Permanent, unwanted guests meant to serve our hosts. The Shift, they called the segregation of our two races.
A bunch of crock, the whole ordeal. Mordecai was a warmonger, plain and simple.
I dug a finger underneath the edge of a poster and ripped the lies off the wall. If only my actions made a lick of difference. Still, I enjoyed crumbling the paper and chucking the ball down the street.
That Enforcer—Reagan, I’d heard her called—would ream my hide for tearing off the poster. Not that it would hurt. How much damage could a girl that size do? Her lion form must not be very substantial either considering
