She forced herself to nod. “Yeah. I remember.”
“I thank the gods for that, Harley. I was right about you. You are the one I’ve sought.”
“What do you mean?”
“You will be the one who will unlock me from my prison and allow the Wild Hunt to ride again.”
She stared at him for a moment, then licked her suddenly dry lips. “The Wild Hunt?”
The trembling in her voice betrayed her fear. She couldn’t help it. Over the past nine years, her thoughts had often drifted to the man who’d saved her. She kept coming up with the same question: why had he intervened on her behalf? It had never made sense, despite his explanation about breaking a promise and wanting to make it right by helping her. She was his enemy. Or she would be once she embraced her heritage and allowed the evil lurking inside her to take her over completely, turning her Unseelie once and for all.
Why help her?
Then again, a ghost can’t actually kill you. Without a body, Calan was harmless. If she released him—
“Why are you afraid?”
She stared into the disembodied eyes that had haunted her dreams and curled her fingers so she didn’t reach for him. “You’re kidding, right? An imaginary man tells me he wants me to release the Wild Hunt, and you ask why I’m afraid.”
“Trust me, I’m very real.” He chuckled.
The sound of his laugh skipped through her and left heat behind. Her lower belly quivered. She ignored the response. “You said that you’re real, just not here. Is this why? Because you’re a rider in the Wild Hunt?”
“Yes. I am the leader of the Hunt. Now explain to me your fear of it.”
“Are we talking about the same one? The spectral procession of hounds and horses riding across the night sky?”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“Then the answer’s no way, Calan. I’m not releasing another hellish entity to torture the world. There’s enough here already.”
“That is because the Huntsmen are not in your world to stop the fairies’ creatures.”
Harley glared at him. “What are you talking about? The Wild Hunt is known as a group of horsemen who kill everyone in their path. Sure, you might’ve hunted the Unseelie Court, but how many unfortunate humans got caught up in your fury?”
“Lies,” he spat. “All lies. Not once in all the years we’d ridden have we ever caused the death of an innocent on purpose.”
She wanted to believe him. She really did, but his last two words killed any hope that her fascination with him had been justifiable. All she’d been doing for the past nine years was craving one monster over another.
“On purpose?” Harley shook her head. “And that’s supposed to convince me you’re not one of the bad guys too?”
“Before you judge me for what you think you know of the Wild Hunt, come to me. Then you’ll see for yourself that I’m not the evil one.”
Harley held his gaze and asked the one question she’d always posed to herself. It had helped her survive. “Aren’t we all evil?”
“Everyone holds the potential for corruption, but people like us must struggle to maintain our honor.”
Struggle was the right word. The monster stuck inside her beautiful body wanted out. A monster he has sworn to hunt. To kill. She waited for fear to grip her. It never came. If she gave in to the lure of her heritage and became Unseelie, she’d want him to kill her.
But he also promised to save her. Could he? Heal her, maybe?
She blew out a slow breath. Nothing was black-and-white, and she was too tired to figure out where Calan landed on the spectrum.
“Easy to say. Hard to do.” She closed her eyes in an effort to dim her fascination with the leader of the Wild Hunt. It didn’t help. His woodsy scent wrapped around her, leaving her feeling safe, content, and needy. She wanted him to hold her. Be her hero. “Is that the reason you saved me? So I could release you?”
A long moment passed before he curled his hand around the nape of her neck. Her skin tingled and warmth spread. He dropped his hand before the sensation could consume her. She met his captivating eyes—her temptation, the greatest of all.
“Walk toward the lake, and you will find me. Don’t be afraid. I promise you, you’re safe with me.”
With his assurance given, he faded. Harley stared at the spot where he’d been and sighed. He never answered her. She supposed his avoidance was in and of itself the only answer she needed.
She was a means to an end.
Chapter Four
At the impatient knocking, Harley scrunched her brow and pulled the throw blanket over her face. The pounding continued to reverberate through her head.
“Open up. I know you’re in there.”
Unsure of where she was, she swept her gaze over the room. Dust sparkled in the afternoon sun. A bucket and mop stood against the wall and a grocery bag sat on the coffee table. Awareness returned with a rush of memories—Raul, Bea’s body, and her ghost man. Guilt followed everything. The emotion often choked her. Today, it crushed her.
Calan had told her to walk toward the lake. She’d thrown herself into cleaning instead. She’d needed time to go over his words. Too bad she hadn’t been able to focus on them. The vivid memory of his blue eyes overpowered everything.
After another rap to the front door, she jumped.
“Dammit, Harley, it’s Ian. Open the goddamn door.”
Ian. The tension drained from her limbs. She threw the blanket off and stood. “Hold on.”
She rubbed at her achy lower
