Chosen Fool (Forever Evermore #5)(39)
Shocked to my bones, I eyed the Mysticals inside this room. All leaders. All powerful. And not one showed any remorse for their rudeness. “I know you have better manners than what you’ve been expressing so far to him and his family.” I brushed hair out of my face, peering up to the faces that appeared carefully blank. Becoming plenty irked, I asked heatedly, “Why the hell aren’t you thanking us for saving your asses?”
All I heard was the sound of people walking outside the suite.
Everyone was mute, looking anywhere but at me.
“What?” I finally asked. “I know Leric is a bit of an ass…” Almost everyone he had once threatened glanced at me with frosty gazes, so I paused, altering my speech, “All right, he’s an *, but his parents—and I—saved you last night.”
More silence.
“Seriously?” I stared at everyone wide-eyed. “You aren’t going to say anything?”
Aria cleared her throat, earning everyone’s attention. She stared at the floor and stated softly, “We’re trying to be respectful to you and the spirit Elementals.” She finally peered up at me with apologetic blue eyes.
I blinked at her, more than confused. But it slowly, ever so gradually, dawned on me as they stayed quiet. No one seriously liked, or approved of, Leric. “Ah, I understand.” And Leric was the leader of the spirits.
Abruptly, Brann pushed off the wall, his wolf growling in his chest. He stalked toward me and sat down on the coffee table to stare into my now carefully blank face, placing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. His vibrant amber eyes stared straight into my frosty gaze, his wolf riding his voice hard. “I’m going to be your friend right now and tell you what everyone else here won’t say, because I believe that’s what a true friend does—even if it pisses the other person off.” His nostrils flared. “We do appreciate what he and his family have done to protect us.” He shook his head a bit, staring at his hands, and was quiet for a moment in apparent thought before looking back into my eyes. “But there’s something wrong about him and all of the other spirit Elementals we’ve met.” His gaze never wavered. “The way they all stare at you when you’re not watching, eyeing everything you do, it’s just wrong.”
My eyebrows furrowed, almost touching I was that deeply confused. “What are you talking about?”
“Their eyes,” Aria murmured quietly, interrupting. I glanced at her, seeing her flicking her finger between her own blue eyes. “They…aren’t right sometimes.” She shook her head. “I’ve never seen you do what they do.” Her lips thinned as she dropped her hand. “And their emotions are so faint, I can barely smell them.” Her brows pinched. “Like they’re muted, or something. Or just that unfeeling.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” I stated slowly. “The Shifters would know if they were being deceitful.”
Brann shook his head slowly, rubbing his chin while staring me in the eyes. “Emotions are very different to the scent of truth and lie.”
I blinked slowly, resting back onto the couch and crossing my arms. I was a bit hurt, feeling more than ganged up on, even if I had asked for it. “None of you like them because they’re different.” It wasn’t a question. It was a definite fact.
King Collins sighed heavily, running a hand through his blue, choppy hair, then he murmured, “Caro, how we feel about him, or any of them, should have no bearing on how you feel for them.” He dropped his hand. “And you are right, just because we don’t personally like them, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be more polite to them, especially when they are saving our lives.”
Brann snorted, even as a few people sighed as if chastised. “With all due respect, King Collins, f*ck that. I’ve had enough of being quiet and respectful.” Amber eyes swung back to me, utterly serious and piercing my own gaze. I sat frozen under his regard, only having seen this expression once before on him. And that had been when I was fighting, saving their lives. “Look, Felon, I have a feeling I’m going to get reamed by Queen Ruckler for this, but I have to say it.” He shook his curls, inhaling heavily, before he clasped his hands together again. “I seriously hate Leric. There is something about him that just makes my wolf want to rip his head off and—”
I interrupted, “That’s a bit much.”
His wolf huffed quietly. “Caro, just shut up and listen to me.”
My eyes widened a bit, but my mouth eventually closed.
“Like I was saying, my wolf wants to tear him apart practically all the damn time, which I don’t even f*cking understand. It’s not just the way they all eye you when you’re not watching, it’s…” His nose crinkled. “They f*cking reek.” A shake of his head. “They smell nothing like you do. I don’t know if it’s a product of living at the Temple, but it’s just not right.”
“I…” Confused. I was definitely confused, and I was starting to worry about Brann a little, so I spoke carefully, “I don’t smell anything when they’re near me.” I evaluated his face closely. “What exactly do they smell like?”
Not only did Brann answer, but so did Queen Ruckler.
Both said with disgust, “Death.”
As I stared back into Brann’s eyes, my brows puckered.