“What is your problem, Neldor?” I demanded, backing away from him as I tried to chill on my need to fight. I glanced around and didn’t recognize where we were, but saw it was far from anywhere.
It looked like the top of a damn mountain if I had to guess.
I snarled at him. “If you’re going to try and throw me off a mountain and take over, you’ve got—”
“Don’t be dramatic,” he snapped. “I brought you here to talk.”
I couldn’t even digest that fast enough. “I’m being dramatic? You brought me to the top of a mountain to talk and I’m being dramatic? You are…” I groaned and then scrubbed my hands over my face. “Fine, talk, you fucking weirdo.”
He did not like my response, but ignored it. “What did you do tonight?”
I flinched, but then hardened my gaze at him. “I don’t answer to you.”
“Yes, you do now.” He stormed towards me when I laughed and reached for me, pissed when I lost my mirth and easily blocked him. “You clearly cannot be trusted with our safety and to not make stupid mistakes like telling the wolf council—”
“What? You don’t even know what I told them, and clearly you’re already wrong, as I didn’t tell them, but one councilman whose mate I trust. And I didn’t tell them nearly what you thought. I have a serious fucking problem and I handled it. Just as I’ve been doing before you and I will continue to do long after finding and saving you, Neldor. So enough with the dramatics.”
“You cannot portal back without me,” he reminded me. “You’re still injured.”
“From saving you,” I bellowed, understanding now why he’d portaled me away. “Something I wish I’d never done!”
“You need me.”
“I needed help, and you’re not proving to be anything more than a burden and a pain in my fucking ass.”
He snorted. “Clearly you—”
“You know nothing!” I roared. “You know nothing about what it took to get here and what’s at stake. You’ve had a few weeks to catch up and learn what was needed to help heal our world. I had to do it all alone, so don’t fucking come in here at the last part of all of this and lecture me about how I’ve been handling it all, and think to take over, or I will push you off a godsdamn mountain!”
“You—” He started, but I corrected myself.
“No, not alone. I had Mel, and I cannot lose her, okay? I took a calculated risk to get help so I don’t lose her. We all have our lines and this was hers. It worked out, and I heard their thoughts that they would keep the secret, even if it meant their lives. They’re all in. They didn’t push for answers. They were the right people to trust and have on our side.”
“You should have consulted me before sharing our secrets or—”
“There’s no we, Neldor,” I snapped. I blinked at him when he seemed confused. “Why would I ever tell them about you? What do you have to do with any of this?”
He let out a growl. “If you tell them about your lineage, then of course you would—”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I sighed. “I didn’t tell them that. I only told them I was a fairy and I was getting the others back. That’s it. You didn’t even have a clue what I was telling them and threw a fucking fit and declared I answer to you. Again. I’m not the drama here, Neldor. You are.”
I wasn’t sure what else I might have said, but a temp portal opened and, just like the night I was dropped into this world, I locked gazes with deep emerald green eyes. Except this time he wasn’t exuding calm and trying to hide he was worried at what he’d found.
He was fucking pissed.
Craftsman launched an impressive power clap that focused solely on Neldor, sending him flying. Then he wrapped his arm around me and turned us right back into his temp portal, closing it behind us.
“Are you all right?” he checked when we were back in my garage. “Did he hurt you? Try to—”
“I’m fine,” I promised, moving my fingers over his lips. “He was being drama and wanted to talk.”
“He was way too pissed to fucking talk,” Zack snarled. “He needs to stop this shit. He doesn’t own you.”
I snorted. Preaching to the choir. “He declared I now answer to him because I cannot be trusted.”
Needless to say, there were four of us furious with Neldor when he came through the portal moments later. He flinched and focused on Craftsman. “I assume they called you thinking I was a danger to her, so I will forgive you the assault. I will not harm her.”
“Maybe not physically, but we both know you will harm her in other ways if it gets you what you want,” Craftsman shot right back. “You tear her down enough like an emotionally abusive boyfriend, so she’ll be easier to bend to your will, and none of us like it. It’s beneath a fairy, much less one of your position. And yet you think you should take over her and all of Faerie. You’re no better than the councils.”
For the first time since I’d met him, someone actually seemed to land a hit against Neldor. He reacted like he’d been punched, almost stumbling away. He rubbed his chest before he could catch himself, muttering a good night to us and hurrying off.
Wow, finally maybe someone go through to the dickhead.
I doubted it.
“Thanks for
