You are dead if he decides it. He’s undefeated in the Games. He rules this place.”
“Games?”
“Right. You’re a fish.” Tad’s head bobbed, and he rubbed at his callused chin. “No words would accurately describe it. You will see for yourself tonight.”
A bell sounded in the room, and a table filled with blue and yellow uniforms next to us jumped up, making me flinch. My senses and defenses were turned up so high being this close to a bunch of fae.
“Breakfast is over.” Tad gestured to everyone heading for an exit. “It’s been a pleasure, Laura.” He winked at me, struggling to rise. “Work time.”
I leaped up, helping him get off the seat.
“Damn this old twisted frame,” he grumbled, his nails digging into my arms as he rose to his feet. “I preferred when the only thing twisted about me was my mind.”
I laughed, watching him hobble away, picking up our cups to take to a bin.
A figure moved past me, and people leaped out of the way, knocking into me. My head lifted to see the man in black sauntering past, towering above most of the prisoners here. His presence sent a chemical reaction through me; heat flooded my chest and flushed my cheeks. His broad shoulders, torso, and ass were so taut anything would bounce right off.
Did he spend all day just working out?
Why did everyone bow down to this guy? Why was he so special? Even the demons moved out of his way.
“Don’t think about it, little lamb.” A familiar voice tsked in my ear, moving in next to me. The blue-haired demon smirked at me, her head shaking.
“What?”
“There is not a woman or man who hasn’t tried.” She wiggled her eyebrows at his fleeting figure. “They bring women in for him to fuck. He doesn’t speak to or associate with anyone here. He killed someone for sneaking into his cell and trying to seduce him.”
“Seriously? They bring in prostitutes for him?” I blinked at her.
“Prostitutes.” She snorted. “These girls would pay him. All come willingly.”
“Why? What’s so special about him?”
“Besides the obvious?” She pulled on her braid, still staring at his ass before he disappeared from view.
“He could be human for all you guys know. I didn’t think fae ever bowed down to humans. Aren’t we less than? Scum that needs to be erased?”
She curved her head to me and assessed my body. “Aren’t we to you?
Fair point.
“He doesn’t care if you are female, male, old, young, fae, or human. You bother him? You’re good as dead.” She moved forward, glancing back at me. “Just a friendly warning from your local demon. Stay far away from Warwick Farkas.”
The foam cups slipped from my fingers, splashing the leftover contents across the cement floor, spraying over my boots.
“What?” Fear wobbled my voice.
“I gather even the human side has heard of him.” A sharp smile curled her mouth. “It’s like finding out dragons still exist, huh? But you’ll never get to tell anyone you’ve seen one in person. Heed my warning, lamb. Stay away.” She turned back around and strolled out of the room.
Warwick Farkas?
Holy shit…
Hanna’s mention of him the day in training came back into my head.
“We’ve all heard the tales. He will kill you without blinking…and he’s so unbearably hot, you go willingly.”
“I’m here to train you guys for real enemies, not make-believe ones.”
“My sister’s boyfriend’s father said he was very real. Saw him fight a dozen men at once in the Fae War.”
“Did he tell you Santa Claus was real too? The Wolf is nothing but an exaggerated and glorified tale, inflated every time he is mentioned.”
But the man himself just walked by me. The stuff of myths and fables—ghost stories told around a campfire, setting fear in your blood. The rumor was he did not consider himself loyal to any side. No one knew anything about him personally, only that he moved like a ghost and killed in silence. A true enigma.
But he was real. Here.
The man whose last name meant “Wolf” ruled the House of Death.
“Prisoner 85221!” A gnarly voice coiled down the dark hallway, sounding similar to broken glass ground on pavement. A huge creature stepped into my path, and I sucked back a wheeze of fear. Not all fae were beautiful or had a sultry voice, luring in their prey. Some were scarier than nightmares.
Dressed in all black like the rest of the guards, with weapons hanging off its belt, a monster more than nine feet tall stomped up to me, the ground