helped him out of his vest and took it from him to throw it into their laundry bin. They had separate boxcars, but he didn’t know why the Faire bothered. They only ever spent the night in his. Amanda only used hers for costume storage.
She did have a lot of costumes, to be fair.
He shrugged out of his shirt. He lay back on the bed and stared up at the wood paneling of his ceiling. “I don’t know. I worry she’s already too far corrupted to listen to reason. But I will try.” As Amanda slipped into the bed beside him, he pulled her close and hugged her to his chest. She was so very small. He was so very broad. It never ceased to amuse him. It never ceased to entertain her.
“By which entity—Simon or the Faire?” Amanda kissed his cheek as she shimmied up higher on his chest to prop her elbows on his pecs and push herself up to watch him. “One can be stopped. The other…I’m not so sure.”
“If she chooses to listen to both, there’s nothing I can do to stop her. She cares deeply for Simon, that much is clear. As for the Faire? Perhaps she’ll understand that we are creatures not meant to render anything unto this world but harm.” He shut his eyes slowly. “You still agree with me, yes?”
“Of course, love.” She kissed his jaw. He smiled again. “Of course I agree with you. I always have.”
“Sometimes I feel so alone.” He hugged her tight, knocking her off her elbows. She squeaked and laughed as he did. “This is my burden to bear. But I am grateful I can share it with you. I fear I’m not sure what to do next.”
“Try to win her over. Try to explain to her why we shouldn’t exist. She’s suffered so much since coming here—her friend being threatened, being taken against her will, Simon…now Clown? She might side with you. She might understand why this place needs to die. Why we’re doing the right thing.”
“I know. I’ll try. I fear I haven’t gotten off on the right foot.” He ran his hand along Amanda’s lower back, loving the feel of the hollow of it beneath his massive palm. She was such a lithe little thing. “And now with the Puppeteer whispering in her ear, I fear it’s too late.”
“So, win her back. You’re charming. I can attest to that.” She kissed his jaw again. “He’s cruel. Unpredictable. She’s a smart girl, and you’re the voice of reason. Do something that forces him to hurt her. Make him reveal his true face to her. Then she’ll understand.”
He let out a long, exhausted sigh. “I tire of these games…”
“I know. But this was Lazarus’s last stand. Now that he’s gone, you’re the only one left who remembers.”
“But that isn’t quite true. If the Faire whispers in her ear—if she was where I believe she was—then she knows the truth. It has told her its lies. It’ll try to lure her to its side with honey and sweets.” He wrinkled his nose. “And Simon. To each their own, I suppose.”
She chuckled quietly and rested her head on his chest, cheek to bare flesh. “I’m surprised. But you did bond them, after all. She has a piece of him inside her, and vice versa.”
“I forced him to Sponsor her because the Faire gave me no other choice. It was that or lose you.” He hugged her for a moment. “I would do anything to spare you.”
“It’ll take me from you in time. You know that. You’ve always known I was just a bargaining chip.” She kissed his chest. “I’ll die before you, and the Faire will make it so just to watch you suffer.”
“I…I know. And I am so sorry for that.” Turk cringed. He tried not to tear up. He had cried over his lover’s future death enough for several lifetimes.
“You told me what I was getting myself into. I knew from that first day you told me the whole story how this would end between us.” She scratched at his goatee, and he grunted in pleasure. She had the perfect nails for it. “And I chose you. Because ten lifetimes of love at your side is worth the painful end it will bring me.”
He smiled mournfully and shut his eyes. “I love you, Amanda.”
“And I you, my Turkish mountain.” She chuckled.
“I will wait to drive them apart. I know how to prove to Cora who Simon