sea of lust that I hadn’t even heard the opening of the door and the woman coming in. I was usually alert.
Rydstrom ignored me. He only had eyes for the Fae female, yet a dark storm wheeled in his eyes.
“Get the fuck out,” he told her, and bluish light blasted out of him like the power of a cold star.
I raised my crossed arms to shield my face, though I knew it’d be in vain.
The starlight bypassed me and crushed into the Fae female, ripped her apart, and reduced her to dust.
“What?” I shrieked, my eyes going round. “What the bloody hell? You killed her! You can’t just kill people like that!”
“She annoyed me,” he said simply.
Once again, it dawned on me that I’d come to a world that played by completely different rules than the human world. But murdering people in cold blood like that…
“You can’t just kill whoever annoys you,” I yelled. “Are you all psychopaths?”
Should I now worry for my own life? I pulled the dagger out of my boot. At least I still had it. Neither the bouncer nor the guards had frisked me before they let me slide into their boss’s office.
But I doubted my dagger would fend off this Fae psycho. If I was smart, I would grab my clothes, flee right now, and never come back. On my way home, I’d call the cops to report a crime and give away the location of the Claws, Fangs, and Fiends.
I couldn’t believe that I’d nearly stripped bare for him! And residual lust still coursed in my bloodstream.
Just as I was about to escape the monster’s lair, no longer caring that I wore only my bra and underwear, a golden light filled the room, and the same Fae female materialized.
My mouth dropped open.
“The girl has more sense than you, King Rydstrom,” she scolded. “You can’t just kill anyone who annoys you. The girl who entertains you obviously doesn’t know anything about us.”
Us? So Rydstrom had tried to kill his ex-girlfriend? What kind of male was he?!
“What the hell?” I gaped at the two Fae.
“A cheap trick of astral projection,” Rydstrom said, his face dark and cold. “It won’t help your queen’s case by sending you to spy on me, Adele.”
He rose from behind his desk, his menace charging the room, his voice a snarl.
“Get out,” he ordered.
“Cool your tits,” I said and picked up my pants. I couldn’t wait to get out of here. “I gotta put my clothes back on first. Jesus.”
“Not you, Evelina. You stay,” he said. “I was telling her to get the fuck out of my realm.”
“This isn’t your realm, King Rydstrom,” Adele said. “If it were, even my projection couldn’t enter your domain. But I did not come on behalf of Queen Brigantia. I came for Evelina.”
I froze when she glanced my way. Why did she come for me?
“The Dawn Queen will be here in her glamoured self in three minutes,” Adele continued, speaking to Rydstrom again. “Never show Evelina in front of Brigantia. I don’t have more time to elaborate. I think you recognize now what the girl means to you. If you want her alive, do as I say.”
She vanished in a weaving light.
What queen? My head was going to explode over all these crazy “royals.”
“This is nuts,” I said, buttoning my pants. “What is wrong with people? I’m just an ordinary girl.”
And then Rydstrom was beside me, and I hadn’t even seen him move. Before I could react, he yanked my tank top down my head. I adjusted the shirt and opened my mouth, intending to tell him exactly what I thought of all this. But his scent and the touch of his hands on my bare shoulders muddled my mind, and I leaned toward him involuntarily.
Then he clapped his hands, the sound loud in my ears.
A guard pushed the door and slid in like a silent shadow.
“Take Lady Evelina to leave through the back door,” Rydstrom said.
The giant guard grabbed my arm and started pulling me away.
This was doubly humiliating. And I truly had had enough. I struggled against his hold and shouted at Rydstrom. “I’m not a backdoor girl! I have nothing to hide, and I’ve done nothing wrong!”
“Make sure she gets in her car safely,” Rydstrom added, ominous light flashing in his eyes. “And Evelina, you’ll start working here first thing tomorrow. Don’t be late, or it’s going to be deducted from your paycheck.”
“You mean I’m really hired?” I asked as the very strong