But still.

“My upbringing was a little more unconventional.”

Because Des is a king of the Otherworld. A king.

I took a fae king to my supernatural prom.

Jesus. All I need is the Monster Mash playing in the background to round this out.

We step onto the dancefloor just as one song ends and a slow one begins.

I suck in a breath, about to be like, “Oh, ew a slow song, let’s sit this one out,” despite wanting to latch onto the Bargainer like a koala. But before I can get a word in, he pulls me in close, one of his hands going to the small of my back, where my skin is exposed.

There’s something oddly intimate about his hand touching the bare skin at the base of my spine, something that has my cheeks flushing.

I have no idea what to do with my hands. No freaking clue.

The Bargainer leans in. “Put your arms around my neck,” he says.

Tentatively I do so.

I’ve fallen asleep draped along this man, and yet this feels oddly more exposed, what with him looking down at me, his silver eyes shining strangely.

I give him a nervous smile, one I’m sure he sees right through.

His head dips down to my ear. “Relax, cherub.”

His thumb strokes the exposed skin of my lower back, and my mouth goes dry. My eyes drop. I can feel the pull to give into the siren. I don’t have a good handle on her yet. But as the song goes on, I get more comfortable. I decide to peek up at Des.

I’m not prepared to see the tormented expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Everything, cherub,” he says. “Everything.”

Present

I stare at my phone long after I hang up with Temper.

Fairies only do this with their betrotheds.

Technically, Des and I were lovers. But we weren’t in any sort of relationship. And we definitely weren’t betrothed, to use Temper’s outdated word.

But Des was going around flashing his wings at other men, forcing them to back off without telling me.

My blood is beginning to boil.

How dare he.

I storm out of my room only to find the Bargainer pacing, looking agitated as hell.

“Is it true?” I demand.

He pauses. “Is what true?”

I’m almost surprised he’s not aware of what I talked about with Temper. So much for being Master of Secrets, or whatever the fuck his title is.

“About your wings,” I say. “Is it true that you’ve been flashing them to let everyone know not to touch me? That I belong to you?”

He goes utterly still, but his eyes… his eyes are bright. Around us, shadows begin to gather in the room.

Alarm bells are going off in my head.

“It is,” I say as the truth dawns on me.

Carefully, he approaches me.

“You bastard,” I say. “Were you ever going to tell me?”

He stops in front of me, looking a little menacing.

And I don’t give two shits.

I poke him in the chest. “Were. You?”

He looks down at my finger, like I personally offended him. And then I see the corner of his mouth curl.

He steps deeper into my space, his chest brushing mine. “Are you sure you want to know my secrets, cherub?” he says. “They will cost you much more than a wrist full of beads.”

“Des, I just want answers from you.”

I’m surprised to see his eyes deepen with excitement. He picks up a lock of my hair and rubs it between his fingers. “What can I say? Fairies can be incredibly jealous, selfish lovers.”

“You should’ve told me.”

“Perhaps I was proud to have my wings out,” he admits, setting my lock of hair back down. “Perhaps I enjoyed the way you looked at them and the way others looked at them. Perhaps I felt things that I haven’t felt before.”

As he speaks, his wings slowly unfurl. And with each word he says, my irritation dissipates. In its place is something more uncomfortable. Something that makes my heart ache.

“Perhaps I didn’t want to tell you only to find out that you didn’t feel the same. I know how to be lethal, Callie. I know how to be just. I don’t know how to deal with you. With us. With this.”

“With what?”

He’s still being cryptic, even now after he promised to tell me his secrets.

He runs a finger along my collarbone. “I haven’t been wholly honest with you.”

This isn’t exactly a shocking revelation.

“There was a question that you asked me,” he continues. “Why now? I’ve been gone seven years, Callie. So why do I come back now?”

I furrow my brows. “You needed my help,” I say. The mystery, the missing women. He’d been very clear about that.

He laughs, and the sound has an edge to it. “A lie that became the truth.”

Now I give him a strange look. If not for that reason, then why?

He touches my cheek gently.

“Callie.” It’s not so much that he says my name as it is the way he says it.

His wings spread fully out, the span of them stretching across his living room. The things are huge. “A fairy doesn’t show his wings to his betrothed.”

He slides his hand behind my neck, his thumb stroking my skin. “A fairy shows them to his soulmate.”

Chapter 23

May, seven years ago

After the dance, Des walks me back to my dorm, disappearing only long enough to slip past the girl manning the main desk in our lobby.