Prisoner of Darkness (Whims of Fae Book 2)(7)

No one wanted to ask too much after someone’s mom killed herself. Who knew such a tragedy could make lying easier?

“And what about you?” Natalie leaned back as she held Scarlett’s hands. “You look hot!”

Teddy approached slowly, a small grin on his face. “Hey.” His hazel eyes were a shade lighter than his sister’s.

Scarlett’s heart raced. Breaking up with him had been hard, but losing him as a friend had killed her. Maybe they could get their friendship back someday. “Hi.”

Natalie looked between them with a smirk. “Teddy, get Scarlett a drink.”

“Yes, master,” he joked, turning to Scarlett. “What would the lady like?”

“Surprise me,” Scarlett said.

She tried to block out the emotion swirling around her. So many people—so many drunk people—so near overwhelmed her as their lust, rage, and jealousy filled the room. But she couldn’t ignore the happiness trickling from Teddy as he turned and headed to the kitchen.

Natalie locked her arm with Scarlett’s and pulled her to the couch. After they sat, she said, “Whatever happened to that hot guy that came to the last party with you?”

Shit. Scarlett had forgotten Cade had met Natalie in the mortal realm. Raith must not have erased that memory. “Nothing really.”

“Oh, come on. He was gorgeous. Almost as gorgeous as you.”

Scarlett blushed, not at Natalie’s compliment, but of the memory of her and Cade together in Faerie. She’d drawn the line before sleeping together, but they’d done other things.

“We had fun, but it wasn’t serious.” It was as close to the truth as Scarlett was willing to go, but she didn’t want to lie to Natalie. She’d already done the unthinkable by asking Raith to take away Natalie’s memory of her time in Faerie. But it seemed the only option. It was a dangerous world, and one Scarlett wanted to keep her friends away from.

But what about now? She wasn’t mortal anymore. Not one bit. Scarlett had felt the change in herself the moment she swallowed the pill Kaelem had given her, but it took time for all the changes to set in. Maybe she wasn’t done with them yet. Only time would tell.

She wondered how it was possible that she was part fae in the first place. Had her mom shared the gift, plagued by otherworldly creatures instead of hallucinations? Or was it her father, who she’d never met, who had passed on the fae genes to Scarlett? She may never know.

But what sat at the pit of her stomach like spoiled fruit rotting inside her was a bigger question: where did she belong now?

Was her presence endangering everyone there? Would she be strong enough to leave the mortal world behind if it meant protecting those she loved?

“Earth to Scarlett.” Natalie’s voice snapped Scarlett back to reality.

“Sorry, I was daydreaming.”

“Thinking of Cade?” Natalie wiggled her eyebrows. “He was good in bed, huh?”

“Things didn’t go that far.”

“Wait, are you still a virgin?” Natalie scooted toward Scarlett.

“Well, no.” Crap. Scarlett wanted to lie, but didn’t.

“Who?”

“Cade’s brother.” God, it sounded awful. It was awful, really. Scarlett never planned to sleep with Raith. It just happened.

But she didn’t regret it.

“Dang, Scar. You dirty girl,” Natalie teased.

Scarlett knew she wasn’t actually judging her. Natalie was the more experienced friend, by far.

“Alcohol, as ordered.” Teddy approached them, wine cooler held out. “What are you two giggling about?”

“Nothing,” Scarlett said, too quickly. She caught Natalie’s look from the corner of her eye. “Nothing interesting, anyway.”

Teddy stared at her, but didn’t respond.

“Thank you.” Scarlett took the drink and smiled. Had he heard what she’d just told Natalie?

Scarlett reached out to his emotion. Curiosity buzzed, no anger or jealousy. He’d have surely felt one or the other if he'd heard. Right? Scarlett relaxed. She didn’t want him to know about Cade or Raith.

She hated when Kaelem pried into her mind. Was reading Teddy’s emotion any different? Most of the time she couldn’t help it, but in that moment, she had purposefully searched for it.

“I need to find Mikey before he gets so drunk he passes out,” Natalie said. “Keep Scarlett company, will you?” She hopped up and bounced away, wine glass now empty.

“She must have inherited all the bossy genes,” Teddy said as he sat next to Scarlett. “But I can think of worse things than sitting next to you.”

“Like running sprints?” Scarlett shifted her body toward Teddy.

“That's a tough one,” Teddy joked.

Scarlett hit his leg playfully. “Shut up.”

“I always did enjoy puking after coach made us run for missing free throws at basketball practice.”

“Green is your color.”

Scarlett missed this. So much. Teddy was playful and flirty, kind and thoughtful. All Scarlett had ever wanted. She stared at his familiar face, the creases next to his eyes from squinting when he laughed and the freckles sprinkled across his nose that appeared whenever he spent a lot of time in the sun.

Teddy’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Scarlett. “Did you do something new with your makeup? You look different.”