to focus on him despite my burning desire to seize the opportunity of an up-close view of the fantastic creature. “Is that your name?”
He didn’t respond, but again, I knew beyond any doubt that he was smiling. He once more pressed the palm of his free hand against the window while the other one held the seahorse next to him, at eye level. The sudden certainty that he was daring me, tempting me even, to look at the fairy—and face the consequences—blossomed with perfect clarity in my mind.
He’s testing me. But why?
“Well, Zain, I don’t need to tell you my name as you already know it,” I said, keeping my eyes locked on his face. “Now that the introductions have been made, I would like you to please let that creature go.”
“Why should I? It’s just a Spark. It’s not even sentient. I can feed from it.”
I gaped at him in disbelief. “There’s no way you can still be hungry after that massive beast you siphoned,” I argued.
Zain puffed out his chest, and his smug, throaty laughter echoed in my head. It was surprisingly pleasant.
“I was magnificent, wasn’t I?” he asked.
Narcissist…
Although I was starting to think he was rather a psychopath. His gratuitous violence towards the Cthulhu Beast, his cold indifference at taking the life of the ‘Spark’ simply because it had taken my attention away from him, his need for praise were ticking a number of the right boxes.
“Yes, you were,” I said, playing along, but also with sincerity. “With your much smaller size in comparison, I didn’t think you stood a chance, but it was the other way around.”
“Naturally,” he said with the same unrepentant ego.
“Please, let it go,” I repeated.
Zain immediately stiffened, and his hand tightened around the seahorse’s neck. That my mind had wandered back to the fairy mid-praise apparently stung him.
“You don’t need it,” I added quickly. “Clearly, you are the strongest Mist Being here. All the others, Walkers and Beasts alike, cowered before you. What would feeding on this wispy fairy do for you? Please.”
“I like when you beg me, Naima,” Zain said, mollified by my words.
“So I’m starting to see,” I said with a bit more sarcasm than I intended.
To my surprise, he didn’t take offense. Chuckling in that sexy fashion of his, he tossed away the seahorse. I almost turned to look at it, but thankfully caught myself at the last minute. However, from the corner of my eye, I saw the light sphere lure it back from whence it came. I instantly knew then that the Fourth Division—the official designation of the Men in Black’s organization—had sent the fairy out as part of my interview process.
“Why are you following me?” I asked.
“Because you’re mine,” Zain replied, slightly stunned, as if the answer was self-evident. “Because you want me to, even though you convince yourself otherwise.”
“That’s insane. You sound like a stalker,” I replied, feeling a little creeped out.
Zain recoiled, as if I was the one talking crazy.
“Of course, I do. Because I am,” he replied, sounding baffled. “That’s what you made me.”
“WHAT?!” I exclaimed, taking a step back away from him.
Before he could answer, the chime of the elevator at the end of the corridor echoed through the empty space. My head jerked towards it only to see the door slide open, beckoning me. I cast a sideways glance at Zain, feeling somewhat reluctant to end the conversation there.
“Don’t go,” the Mistwalker ordered in a commanding voice.
For some reason, that prompted me into challenging him instead.
“I must,” I replied in a gentle but firm tone.
He followed me as I made my way towards the lift. To both our surprise, as we approached the end of the corridor, a door opened on his side of the window. Mist already swirled within, indicating it would be safe for him to enter. We stopped and exchanged another glance. I didn’t know what kind of fucked up mind game the Fourth Division was playing with us, but I wanted to get to the bottom of this.
“Don’t go!” Zain repeated.
I gave him an apologetic smile then entered the lift. There appeared to only be three levels, with this one being the middle one. However, I didn’t have to interact with the panel. Seconds after I stepped inside, the door closed on the sight of Zain staring at me with glowing eyes.
Chapter 3
Naima
It was a short ride up to the top floor. It opened on a disturbingly normal office space. The central area had an open floor