I put on the top and was pleasantly surprised to see that it mostly fit. It was certainly not a Fae top since it was made of a stretchy T-shirt material that seemed to fit no matter what the shape of the person wearing it. It was a simple black. I put on the matching black yoga pants and finally felt like I wasn’t running around looking like a homeless person doing a walk of shame.
I quickly brushed my hair, realizing just how wild my hair had gotten. When that was done, I felt alive again. The feeling of it all being a fantasy mixed with a nightmare had faded, and after thirty-six hours on this adventure, I finally felt awake.
Long black socks and a pair of running shoes were the last pieces of the ensemble. Now I wouldn’t have to worry about where I stepped. Who knew that a good set of clothes and shoes could make such a difference in the way you viewed your situation?
I looked in the mirror and smiled. I didn’t look half bad. Even with wet hair, I looked better than I ever had when I’d been human. Yes, I was ready for the adventure now.
I stepped out of the bathroom and found Sebastian talking to Astriel. She had a look of horror on her face, but Sebastian seemed nonplussed.
“Let’s try this necklace on you,” he said.
He walked up to me and pulled a ridiculous necklace out of a pocket in his trousers. I looked at the necklace that had to have been worth more than most cars.
“Turn around,” he said sternly. There was definitely something going on, and he was trying to remain calm.
I turned around and lifted my wet hair for him. As Sebastian’s fingers brushed my neck, I recognized the feeling for what it was. Lust. With just a touch, he had turned my mind away from the situation towards him and what he could do to my body.
With a soft, almost inaudible click, he latched the necklace in place. “That should keep your scent hidden from everyone,” he said softly. His fingers trailed down my neck, and I shivered before he stepped back.
“Let’s see it on you.” I turned around and looked down at the wealth of gemstones wrapping around my neck.
“It’s gorgeous,” Astriel said. “Though, I doubt that it’s worth the cost.”
I ran my fingers over the central diamond, surprised at just how big it was. It was at least as big as my thumbnail. The smaller sapphires were the size of my pinky nail. They were all so massive.
“This must have cost a fortune,” I said softly.
“More than a fortune,” Astriel said with a snort.
Sebastian crossed his arms and assumed a defensive stance as he glanced at Astriel before turning to me. “It cost what it cost. You needed it, and there was no getting around the price.”
Astriel stomped towards the stairs. “She may have the right bloodlines, Bastian, but is she really worth this? Is she worth the risk?”
“Anything is worth it if she is what I believe her to be.” Astriel turned to him, one foot on the first step, and they stared at each other for a few seconds, neither of them willing to accept the other’s argument.
The tension in the air was thick enough to cut, but then something interrupted it, shattering the silence.
A cracking sound. Beginning as a soft crack, like when an ice cube is put into a glass of water, it grew, and I glanced down at the diamond. A tiny crack in the center slowly grew outward, and both Astriel and Sebastian’s eyes were trained on the stone.
The crack slowly grew until it finally reached the surface of the stone, and with a resounding pop, the stone broke in half, both pieces slipping out of the setting and falling to the ground.
The scent of a campfire began to fill the room. I could almost hear the crackling logs. A scent of power. My scent. This was what I smelled like?
Sebastian and Astriel’s eyes both got wide as they stared at the stone on the ground.
“What does that mean?” I whispered, my voice the only sound in the room.
“It means that you are more powerful than anyone I’ve met other than High Queens,” Sebastian said, a wry smile crossing his lips.
“It means you could be the next Dark Queen,” Astriel said softly.
I didn’t know how that was possible. I was just a girl who happened to have parents that were fairies. I couldn’t even do magic.
“I can’t be a Queen. I’ve seen what you can do, and I can’t do anything like that. A Queen is supposed to be powerful, isn’t she?”
Sebastian nodded. “You need training. That’s all. You’ve had magic flowing in your veins for less than two days. You just need training and time to understand your powers.”
Suddenly, the scent of a smoldering fire wafted into the room, and both Sebastian and Astriel’s bodies went tight. This was nothing like my scent. This was polluted by the faint scent of rotten eggs, of sulfur. “Get her clothes and get her to the portal. I’ll meet you there.” His tone was commanding, and Astriel ran to me, pulling me across the room to a cabinet next to her dresser, and when she opened the door, I saw stairs leading down.
“Come on,” she hissed, pulling me into the hidden stairwell.
“Whose scent is that?” I whispered back as I followed her, closing the door behind me.
“Nyx.”
Chapter 16
Sebastian
I walked down the stairs where Barbie smiled at Nyx in his assassin’s cloak. A cloak exactly the same as the one in the pack on my back. She was a nice girl, and she knew a few things about immortals, but she didn’t know that she should have run and hid the moment that anyone
