the back of it. Then they shoved him against the wall so violently that it made me wince.
What in the world? Had they planned this while I was gone? What happened to their wanting to beat the crap out of each other thing?
I got to my feet and made my way over to them.
“Now like I said,” Alex practically growled at him. “We know an Ira can take us to The Underworld, so just tell us where we can get one and how to use it?”
“I don’t kn—” Nicholas started to say, but Alex pushed on him harder. “Okay. Okay. I might know where to get one.”
“And you’ll tell us where.” Alex’s tone was firm.
Nicholas glanced at everyone and then this look passed over his face and all I could think was, great, what does he want.
“I think if I do, I should at least get something out of it.” His eyes landed on me, and I took a step back. “Something I want.”
I took another step back as the three guys all looked at me.
Alex shook his head. “No. No way. You’re not having anything that comes from her.”
“Then I won’t help,” he said simply.
Alex waited a second, and then shoved Nicholas against the wall again. “Think of something else.”
Neither one of them looked as if they were going to back down, and when Laylen glanced at me, I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands. I’ve already been bitten by a vampire, so why not see what faerie boy wanted to add to my Stipulation list.
“What do you want?” I asked, walking toward him.
Alex shook his head. “Don’t.”
I ignored him. “What do you want?”
A devious smile rose on Nicholas’s face. “A kiss.”
Ugh. “Really? That’s all you want, and then you’ll just hand over the Ira and tell us how to use it so we can get into The Underworld.” I was having a hard time believing that a kiss from me—Freaky Girl With Violet Eyes Who Couldn’t Feel—was going to seal the deal. But Nicholas was a weirdo so…
He nodded, his smile so impish I wanted to slap it right off of his face. And then that’s when I felt it—the prickle, releasing a new kind of confidence I never felt before. In fact, I felt kind of strong.
“Okay, then,” I said. “I’ll do it.”
Alex looked at me with anger blazing in his eyes. “No.”
“You’re paying your dues for this,” I said, taking a deep breath. “This is mine.”
“You act like it’s such a bad thing,” Nicholas said with a smirk. “But deep down I think you know it really isn’t.”
I shot him a glare and then, with a wave of my hand, told Alex to, “Let him go.”
Alex did not take his eyes off of me as he gave Nicholas one more hard shove against the wall before letting him go. Laylen let go of him as well and Nicholas rubbed his arm where Alex had been holding him.
“God, you Keepers think violence is the key to everything,” Nicholas remarked.
“And you faeries think tricking people into doing things is the key to everything,” Alex bit back.
“You’re right,” Nicholas said, his golden eyes locking onto me. “We do.”
I scowled at him. “Let’s just get this over with.”
He stepped toward me, never taking his eyes off of me, and it took a lot of effort on my part not to back away from him. Laylen walked toward the doorway, looking really uncomfortable with the situation. And that was okay. The less people watching this painful scene, the better. Because kissing a half-faerie—the only other guy I’ve kissed besides Alex—in front of Laylen and Alex was absolutely mortifying. I wished they would just leave the room, but instead Laylen leaned back against the trim of the doorway, folded his arms across his chest, and stared out into the foyer. And Alex…well, he went over and punched a hole into the wall.
I shook my head and took a deep breath as Nicholas leaned in.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the kiss. Honestly, I expected a little more than what happened. I mean, it wasn’t like Nicholas was hard on the eyes or anything, just a little weird and annoying. But as his lips brushed against mine, all I felt was…nothing. I felt absolutely nothing. In fact, it made me feel empty, like it was all wrong, and I needed to fix it somehow.
Weird.
I let Nicholas finish his one-sided kiss and then he pulled away, licking his