Warrior Fae Trapped (Warrior Fae #1)(68)

Cold metal spread across her skin as Devon lowered the keys into her shaking palm. His touch lingered, warm in contrast, before he nudged her behind him.

“Since when do you care about humans?” Raw power laced Devon’s words. If he was at all afraid, he didn’t show it.

The elder vampire spread his hands in front of him. “I care nothing for humans. But alas, she is not a mere human. I must admit, I have not met her equal in so long, I forgot what her kind smelled like. How they appeared. Like a bonfire among matchsticks; exquisite. Truly a work of art, or does not your kind see beauty in the most flawless of magical beings, little wolf pup? I would bet not. You are too busy licking each other’s fur and praising your outstanding duty.”

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume you’re talking about our mission to protect humans from your kind?” Devon backed up, making her step with him. When she braced a hand on the center of his back, using his movements as unspoken direction, he reached behind and gave her a light shove.

Toward the driver’s side of the SUV.

He wanted her to get the motor running while he stalled.

“You are new to the employ of the elves, relatively speaking. You do not have hundreds of years of experience watching their continual decay. As such, I do not fault you for your shortsightedness. Without order, there would be chaos, aren’t I correct? Your cause appears noble, I suppose, to the dimwitted. Which shifters largely are, of course. I do, however, fault you for destroying my children. Our numbers have fallen. We cannot wage war in the Realm with so paltry an army. Roger is seeing to his own destruction. But then, I already touched on the dimwitted nature of your race. You need to be led. Blindly, it seems. Luckily, I am an excellent commander.”

“You’re outgunned,” Devon replied with smug assurance. “In this world, and the Realm. You’ll have to stick to commanding your dwindling army.”

A silky laugh drifted through the air. Charity shivered.

“You forget that I am an excellent negotiator and world-class manipulator,” the vampire said. “My allies simply need incentive, and I am providing that. Eventually, I shall provide the Golden Egg to a power capable of rivaling the elves. Children are a great lure, are they not?”

“Right, well, this is fun and all, but what do you want? My ice cream is melting.”

“Simple. I want the young woman who is currently trying to slip off toward the vehicle door. Stealth will be the first thing I teach her.”

A zing of fear shot through Charity. She froze, halfway to the door. Yes, obviously she’d realized he’d see her slipping away, but still, she had hoped…

“As I recall, she already turned you down.” Devon leaned forward with false intimacy. “That’s what it means when a girl shoots you.”

“You have no idea what you have in her, do you, little puppy?” The vampire’s voice dropped an octave, hinting at a wild savagery. Goosebumps joined her uncomfortable shivers. “What lost member of the Royal Arcana you have stumbled upon. I can only say how ardently pleased I am that such a treasure was entrusted to someone so incompetent. More’s the pity for your pack of mongrels. Alas—”

One of the side vampires rushed forward. Green magic was already swirling around Devon. Fur and teeth boiled before a huge black wolf wearing the remnants of Devon’s clothing lunged to meet the attack. The vampire hissed as Devon caught it by the throat. He raked the creature’s chest with his claws before dragging it to the ground and shaking its head. A fierce crack rent the night.

One down.

Short of breath and heart pounding, Charity lurched into action. Two fast steps and she was at the door, yanking it open. Before she could scramble in, the door slammed shut, a manicured hand flat on the surface.

“Now, now,” her BFF said, as calm as a spring day. His lips curled in a delighted smile. “Though I do love your spunk.” He lowered until his eyes were directly aligned with hers, trying to catch her gaze.

No way! She would never fall for that again!

Anger surged through her, Donnie’s memory filling her with pain that boiled into power. The air condensed around her and then exploded outward silently. Her magic flayed his body, scraping some skin off his face. He grimaced, fighting to stand his ground, trying to pit his power against hers.

Clearly he knew more of her magic than she did, including how to withstand it. Crap!

Focusing on that heat in her middle, she pushed her palm out. Power exploded from her like a hurricane, this concussion of air greater than the last. He staggered back in jerky movements, losing the fight.

Not wasting any time, she ripped open the door, launched herself in, and slammed the door behind her. A moment later, he was at the window, looking in. Healing while he did so. He gave her a dazzling smile, thankfully ruined by the bloody cheek. “So much power, but the majority not yet realized. You are truly a diamond in the rough. Darius hasn’t found the only treasure in the Brink, it seems.”

She didn’t know who Darius was, or what this psycho was talking about, but she was glad he’d chosen this moment to ramble on.

She slapped the lock button and jammed the push-button ignition, hoping to hell the vampire didn’t break the glass and haul her out before she could get the SUV in action.

A canine squeal/yelp pierced Charity’s heart, intense suffering in the sound. A fierce growl came a moment later, Devon hurt but still in the fight.