Torn (A Wicked Saga, #2)(14)

Chapter Five


Holy shit.

I took a step back, bumping into someone. The person said something, but I didn’t hear them or care. Part of me couldn’t believe I took an actual step away, like I was afraid, but I was beyond caught off-guard.

The prince of the damn fae stood in front of me, and he looked like he belonged in the Otherworld.

Or in an Anne Rice novel.

His raven-colored hair brushed broad shoulders cloaked in a white linen shirt. Like before, he must’ve forgotten to button it completely. Unlike normal fae, his skin wasn’t silvery, but bronze, and stood out in stark relief against the whiteness of his shirt. He’d ditched the breeches, though. He was rocking some leather pants now and . . . combat boots.

Actually, the prince looked like he belonged in New Orleans.

Snapping out of my surprised stupor, I became aware of the hum of conversation around us and I felt the warm breeze return. The sugary scent of beignets filled my nostrils, and I saw a middle-aged brunette openly gawking at him, and even though I found his very being to be disturbingly unsettling, I could admit that his perfectly symmetrical, angular face was beautiful. It was the kind of beauty that was almost hard to look upon. Like if he was just a picture on the Internet, you wouldn’t believe he was real. But he was, and there wasn’t a flicker of warmth or compassion in his features.

I lifted my right hand, reaching for my iron stake out of instinct, even though I knew it would do no good against the prince.

“You shouldn’t do that.” His voice was deep with what reminded me of an English accent. “I know you want to, but it would be very, very unwise of you, Ivy.”

My hand twitched.

Creepy Prince smiled slightly. “Your friend has been very helpful.”

That got my hackles up. I slid my sunglasses onto my forehead and forced my tone to stay calm and level. “I’m sure she has. Speaking of Val, happen to know where I can find her?”

His lips curled in a semblance of a smile as he stepped closer. The prince was tall, taller than Ren, who was pushing six foot two. My entire back stiffened as I forced myself to hold my ground, even though every instinct demanded that I run and run super fast, because he had almost killed me once before. Correction. He would have definitely killed me if he hadn’t realized what I was and had, I guessed, healed me.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said, instead of answering my question, his pale blue eyes fixed on mine.

My hand curled into a useless fist. “That is extremely creepy to hear.”

That cold smile returned. “Why don’t we talk? There are seats across the way.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

The slow smile increased but never reached his eyes. “Oh, I know it is.”

Fine hairs rose on my arms.

“What exactly can you do right now?” he said in the same coldly polite voice. “Refuse me?” Creepy Prince laughed, and it wasn’t a bad sound. Again, it was something that was just cold, as if he were mimicking what a human would do. “You can’t.”

“I can.” My palm itched to grab the thorn stake secured under my pant leg, but I held still. I might be reckless, but I wasn’t stupid.

“Really? I will have to beg to differ on that. You see, humans surround us. So many of them, and I have an extraordinary appetite.” His eyes appeared to glimmer as his gaze slithered from the top of my curly head down to my toes. “A rather impressive appetite for many, many things.”

“Okay. First off, ew.” My lip curled. “Secondly, I don’t want to hear about any of your appetites.”

One dark eyebrow rose. “Oh, but you should know that I could kill twenty of these humans in less than five seconds and feed on the rest, leaving them to believe that it was this little red-headed girl who murdered these innocent people.” His voice dropped even lower as he leaned in and icy air brushed my cheek. “You deny me this, those lives will be on your hands, little bird.”

Anger flushed hotly as my eyes met his. There wasn’t a single part of me that doubted anything he said. He had me. God, I hated to admit it, but he had me.

Pivoting on my heel, I marched to the corner of the street and then crossed it, heading towards Jackson Square. I didn’t have to look behind me to know the prince was following. I could feel him, his iciness beating upon my back.

The whole entire time, my heart raced so fast I was sure I was going to go into cardiac arrest on the sidewalk. This was insane on so many different levels. I was about to have a conversation, albeit an unwilling one, with the mother freaking prince of the Otherworld on a lazy Sunday afternoon. At any minute, he could kill a dozen people before anyone knew what he was up to. Any Order member could stumble across us, and how would that look, me being chummy with the prince?

Man, I really should’ve listened to Ren.

Then again, would the prince have stayed away if Ren were with me? Creepy Prince said he’d been waiting for me. He could’ve come anyway, and Ren would’ve gone ape shit, and his life would be in danger.

It really was a no-win situation.

All the benches were full, but the prince strode right up to the first one that was under the shade of a leafy tree. An elderly couple took one look at him and then struggled to their feet. Not a single word was exchanged. They ambled off as fast as their tired, old bodies could carry them.