King Hall (Forever Evermore, #1)(43)

A shake of my head. I had thought about this a lot since he died. “I can’t. And now, not only am I a freak,” my glare turned on Antonio, “I’m also just a damn job. Thank you for that.”

I lurched away from my friends and stormed out of the room, needing to get away before my mouth decided to spout anything else I would rather others not know about me. I, normally, gave off a very confident vibe. And that, in there, hadn’t been. Definitely not the tough side I usually tried showing to cover my insecurities.

King Kincaid’s voice carried down the hall, growling, “I’m going to kill Felix!”

“King Kincaid…” Antonio murmured in reprimand.

I didn’t hear anything else because I picked up my pace, purposely not listening as I rushed out of the house to the backyard. Tears stung my eyes, wetting my cheeks, and my throat felt like it was clogged and burning. Choking on a sob, I ran to the nearest tree I could find. I wasn’t going to really run away because I found out a guy had screwed me to keep an eye on his job, to protect me, but I definitely needed some good self-pity time. Even if Felix had just been a fun time for me, it still hurt my ego, the fragile thing that it was to begin with.

Jumping, I caught a branch, and swung my legs up. I hung upside down for a few moments until I coughed on another sob, and then swung myself up. Climbing from branch to branch, I aimed for the large, thick limb halfway to the top. Once there, sitting on the heavy branch, my cheek resting against the hard bark of the trunk, I let the tears take over.

So long I had wondered about Dominic. We had jumped in so fast. When Felix took what I thought to be an honest interest in me physically, I had believed, maybe, just maybe, Dominic might have actually found me attractive like he had said. Oh, he definitely had once we were mated, but that could have been the magic. Now, all those doubts were back.

If I was honest with myself, my issues weren’t solely focused on my late mate. They were also inner-focused. On me. I hadn’t lied when I had said it was hard being around all these perfect Mysticals. They were all so tall, and curvy, with everything perfectly proportioned. Everything I wasn’t. It was pitifully vain, but it still hurt on a daily basis.

My sobs eventually quieted to a sniffle, or two, when I heard footsteps on the grass below. I tried to scent the air, but my nose was too stuffed up. After a moment, I didn’t need scents to tell me who was coming. Two heads of hair came into view below through the branches. One blue and the other black and red. The men had found me.

They didn’t even look up. They just started climbing.

Wiping my cheeks and rubbing under my nose, I hastily cleared my throat.

Neither glanced in my direction, but both found a branch to sit on near me.

A beat later, Pearl was below, grumbling about breaking a nail, but didn’t hesitate when she started climbing, finding a perch under the three of us. Oddly, she seemed at home in the tree as she lay back on the branch, gazing up to me. My eyes darted away, completely mortified from all I had spewed, and she sighed. There was a flash of gold, and she snapped her fingers, stating, “Truth time.”

Jack and Ezra groaned, but didn’t argue with her using truth magic.

She muttered dryly, “I’ll go first, since no one seems to enjoy the spell.” She lifted a foot, kicking one of my hanging ones, making me look at her. “Lily, if I wasn’t mated, and wasn’t straight, and you were a Mage, and we hadn’t made that pact for friendship’s sake, I would totally screw you. You’re beautiful. And, really, most of the women at school are jealous of you. Not just because of your status as Prodigy, but because of your differences. What you call freak, most Mys women would love to be.”

She shrugged when I stared in shocked wonder. “I wouldn’t mind being a lot shorter. It’s awkward with the majority of Coms being so much smaller than me. It makes me feel like a gorilla.” Her mouth slammed shut. Really, she pinched her lips in an apparent effort not to say anything else. She pointed to Jack, sporting slightly pink cheeks.

He cleared his throat. “If you were an Elemental, and we hadn’t made the pact for friendship’s sake, I’d have sex with you in a heartbeat. Your face and body are just as gorgeous as any other Mys. You aren’t a freak because you’re smaller and you’re a Shifter with red hair. I can’t believe you don’t know you’re beautiful.” He cocked his head, brows rising, and bent at the waist to peer into my bloodshot eyes, his tone incredulous. “Do you not own a mirror? I mean really, Lily?”

I pretty much gawked at his truth to all.

Pearl pointed to Ezra.

He stated bluntly, “Lily, I think you’re sexy as hell. You have hips that a man can hold on to. A perfectly round, firm ass. And after seeing your breasts today, I’m pretty f*cking sure I prefer them over any I’ve seen since I’ve been in New York. Your facial features and red hair are just as attractive as the rest of your body.” He shrugged. “If you were a Vampire, and we didn’t have the friendship pact, I would have seduced you into my bed a long time ago,” a roll of his finger, “for lots of sex.” Another shrug when my jaw hung open.

Pearl stated factually, “As far as Felix goes, if you want me to kill him, I will. For you.”

“Ditto that.” Jack cracked his neck. “I’ll take care of him tonight, if you want.”

Ezra snorted. “I seriously doubt Felix was having sex with Lily because of his job.” He paused, and then added, “But, if you want me to kill him, I’ll do it.”