Torn (A Wicked Saga, #2)(30)

“Let me guess. Because you never thought it would be an issue?” I laughed harshly as I pulled a sweater off a hanger. Shoving the door shut, I faced Tink—man-sized Tink. “I’ve heard that excuse before.”

“I know.” He glanced out into the living room. Ren had left with the body to go do God knew what with it, but he could return at any minute. “It’s just that when we enter the human realm, we always take this form. It’s a protective measure, and you found me in that form, and I thought it was best—”

“Oh my God, Tink, you could’ve just said something. Like, oh, I don’t know. ‘Hey, I may look small, but I’m really a giant dickhead.’ That would’ve been helpful.” I pulled the sweater on over my head then stomped out into the living room, walking around the shimmery blood that smelled faintly of berries and cream. I just couldn’t even deal with that. “You’re cleaning that up!” I shouted at Tink.

“I’ll clean it up, Ivy, but I don’t like it when you’re mad at me.”

I snort-laughed as I walked into the kitchen, grabbing the broom and dustpan out of the pantry. “Then how about being honest with me, completely honest with me? That would stop me from being pissed at you.”

Tink followed me back into the living room, watching as I brushed up the pile of dirt. “If you knew that I could be this size, you wouldn’t have been comfortable with me staying here,” he said.

I stopped and looked up at him. Damn straight I wouldn’t have been comfortable. “Correct.”

“See?! You probably would’ve tried to kill me. You knew me in my smaller form, so I stayed that way until I felt like I had to intervene.” Tink sighed. “Look, Ren might’ve handled the knight, but knights are extremely deadly and powerful. I reacted without thinking.”

I returned to the mess on the floor, scooping up more dirt. “I’m glad you took care of the knight, but that doesn’t change the fact that you haven’t been up front with me this whole time.” Bending down, I picked up the dustpan and brought it over to where the lamp had landed, stepping around the puddle of bluish-colored blood. “There’s so much you haven’t been honest about.”

Tink was quiet as he righted the plant stand, then plopped the fern back onto it. By some act of dark magic, the towel secured around his waist stayed there.

I didn’t know what to say to him. There was so much going on and my mind was focused in so many different directions that I almost didn’t have the brain space for him.

Tink appeared at my side. “Hey, at least I killed the warrior with my sheer strength and skill.”

I snorted as I brushed up the pieces of broken lamp. “More like you shocked him with your nakedness.”

“Well,” he said, grinning. “My girth is impressive.”

“Ew,” I muttered, and then faced him. A couple of moments passed. “I need to seriously know if there is anything else that you haven’t told me. I’m being so serious this time. If you lie to me again—” I cut myself off and swallowed a sudden knot in my throat. If there were more lies, that was it. It was too much. “Now is the time to be completely honest.”

Tink’s pale blue eyes met mine. “There’s nothing else, Ivy. You now know everything about me.”

“What I asked you earlier about . . . about communities of fae that might not be . . . bad? Were you telling the truth then?” I asked.

“Yes.” He nodded for extra emphasis. It was hard holding his stare right now, because Tink was . . . he was hot and that just made me feel kind of gross. I had never thought of him that way before. It never once had crossed my mind. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. They may be out there, but I honestly don’t know. And I really haven’t left here,” he said, his brows knitted together. “It was overwhelming when I came through the gate. Everything was so loud and . . . and yeah, I haven’t gone back out.”

Was Tink actually afraid of going out into the world? That could explain his obsession with Amazon. I’d always thought it was because, well, he was tiny and it was kind of hard to blend in when you were only a foot or so tall and had wings. Obviously, he could’ve switched into this form at any time when I wasn’t around and left this apartment to party it up on Bourbon Street.

“You’ve really haven’t gotten back out there?” I asked.

Tink shook his head. “I’ve thought about it, but I haven’t taken this form since I came to this side.” He glanced down at himself. “It’s weird. Being this size, that is.” Drawing in a deep breath, he lifted his gaze to mine and said, “It’s easier being smaller here. There’s none of my kind. No one. It’s just easier for me.”

I suddenly felt pretty bad for Tink, and I didn’t want to, because he’d lied to me so many times. Harboring anger was easier than forgiveness and understanding. He had valid reasons for his lies, but they still stung. I set the dustpan on the coffee table.

“Are you still mad?” Tink ventured closer to the couch. “I can stop ordering from Amazon. Okay, well, I can cut back on ordering from Amazon. Like maybe down to three orders a—”

“You don’t need to stop ordering from Amazon.” I clutched the broom as my gaze drifted to the door.