his shoulder, just missing my hand. I turned for the house and let the fae drag behind me, fully expecting Finn to follow.
A heavy sigh sounded from behind me, and Finn’s footsteps finally began. “Not in the house, and I will be with you every time you want to speak with the fae. You’re not to be alone with him. Not even for one second.”
I tossed a glance back. “One of these days, I’m going to…” I let the sentence trail off. Finn clearly wasn’t ready for more. He might have thought so in the South Island forest, but I needed him to accept the darker parts of me before he got the fun bits. “Never mind. Just lead the way.”
Finn strode ahead while I still dragged the fae behind me. His legs bounced on the ground as I took extra care to walk over every rock I saw. I followed Finn around the back side of the house and watched our surroundings as we moved. Where there was one cockroach, there were usually more.
But nothing stood out in the quiet of the night, and the moon was fully risen in the sky as we entered what appeared to be a small shed from the outside, but actually led to a set of stairs that took us underground.
Finn held the door open for me, and I raised a brow at him. “I didn’t take you for the underground bunker type.”
“Just because I’m not a murderer like you, doesn’t mean I’m an idiot who thinks the world smells like roses.”
I shrugged. I guessed that could be true. Instead of dragging the fae over the stairs, I tossed him down the steps. Finn hissed, but I grinned. “If he bleeds, it’s not my fault. You should have carpeted the stairs.”
He pushed past me, and I let him tend to the worthless spy while I took a peek around. The room was open, and I could see from one end to the next right where I stood. The walls were made from cinder with wood posts placed every ten-or-so feet for support to the ceiling. There was a couch with blankets on it and several chairs, one of which Finn had deposited the fae onto before moving to grab a rope.
“You like to tie people up, huh?” My brows waggled at him, but he ignored me, ruining my fun.
Gods, I was a glutton for punishment with this sexy fae. My mind wandered to the previous mention that the poison inside Finn was the only thing he thought attracted me to him. Given all that had happened, I was beginning to believe it might be true.
Over the course of the last few years, I’d refused to settle for less than I deserved. Not after how I’d been controlled by the king for so long. But now, I seemed to be throwing out my normal rules without a care. Finn didn’t understand me, and he likely never would. Why was I still trying to get a rise out of him? It was just as much torture for me as it was for him.
I also needed to get back to my roots and remember all of the things that had kept me safe since I’d been on my own, torture being a key component. Oh, how much fun I’d had thinking of ways to torment the king without ever even touching him.
Finn grunted, pulling me from my thoughts, and I resumed taking in the bunker. Besides the couch and chairs, there was a small fridge and cabinet. I took the few steps across the concrete floor to open both only to find canned food and water. Why wasn’t I surprised?
When Finn was done, I slid next to him, walking my fingers up his arm and giving his ear a slight tug. “Thanks for tying him up.”
“I didn’t do it for you, I did it for him.” He met my heated gaze, the charcoal in his once again prominent. I licked my lips and enjoyed watching his eyes dart down to catch sight of my tongue before I patted him on the chest.
“You don’t know him, right?” I asked Finn, realizing there was a good chance of that possibility.
Finn concentrated on our prisoner. “Never seen him before.”
“Good. Now, it’s my turn with him.” I shoved Finn out of the way and placed my hand over the fae’s chest, pulling my magic back out of him, so he could speak. “What’s your name?” The fae sneered instead of