Tiddly Jinx (21 page)

LILY MET ME AT Sy’s bar. We had to get in front of this. We needed the man’s name now and we couldn’t risk anyone overhearing. Sy raised an eyebrow when I walked in. I shook my head and he motioned me back to his apartment behind the bar.

“Send Lily back,” I told him as I walked past.

“As you wish, Erlking,” Sy said with plenty of sarcasm.

I smiled as I went into his shabby apartment. One thing I loved about Selene’s family was they were all headstrong and did as they pleased—well, all of them except her father, who had followed my father’s every wish—including abandoning his own child. My smiled melted away as I sat on the ratty couch. What was Tahlik planning? Was power really worth hurting his daughter again? The thinly veiled threat from my meeting with him still weighed heavily in my mind. I tried to help him, to reunite the two of them, but Selene couldn’t do it and I couldn’t blame her. The man was the scum of the earth walking away from her as a baby. If Sy’s mother hadn’t taken her in, what would have happened to her? I shuddered to think about it. There weren’t a lot of options for unwanted fae, or unwanted anything in the Abyss. If Sy was right and there was a governing council, why didn’t they set up something for orphans or do anything useful for the benefit of our world?

“You know, you hang out in places that no Erlking has gone before.” Lily’s voice snapped me back to reality. She hooked a thumb over Sy’s shoulder. “But I appreciate getting to see the eye candy. Is he single?”

Sy stood in the doorway, frowning at me with his arms crossed over his chest, but he winked at her when she glanced back. Flirting came so natural to him it was practically an instinct.

Lily bit her lip, interest coloring her eyes. “I could use a new bartender at my club. You know, if you’re ever looking.”

“I’m always looking, just not for a job, sweetheart.”

I cleared my throat. “Have you found him?”

She turned back to me, shaking her head. “That guy is like a ghost. I’ve checked security cameras, and his face is blurred. I’ve asked just about everyone I can trust who was there and no one has any solid memories of him, just of what he said. I even have the jinn looking for him.”

“Who is this?” Sy asked.

“Someone who has been talking about the Pole being here,” I said. “Rumors are spreading. Tahlik came to ask me about it today. He’s planning something.”

Sy’s eyes narrowed. “I could take care of Tahlik. Permanently.”

I shook my head. “Not yet. We need to find this guy.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.” Lily shrugged. “He vanished. I have nothing to go on unless he comes back in.”

I ran my finger through my hair. “Fine.”

Anger still glinted in Sy’s eyes. “You want me to have someone pay Tahlik a visit?”

“I don’t know who this Tahlik person is, but I know jinn. They can make it look like an accident,” Lily offered.

“Tahlik is Selene’s biological father—”

“Not that he ever did a damn thing for her,” Sy said.

“I’ll handle him. We aren’t killing Selene’s father, even if he is a dirtbag.”

“What do you need me to do?” Lily asked. “I can help. I know just as many shady people—if not shadier—as him.”

Sy laughed and walked back out to the bar.

“Seriously, though, what do you need?” she asked again.

“I could use a little luck,” I said, though I knew what her response would be.

She sighed. “I’ve told you. It’s not like that. I can’t give you luck without taking it away. That should be a last resort, because while one thing will go right, everything after that will go wrong. Very wrong.”

I nodded. She was right. I should save Lily’s luck boost until Selene was in real inescapable trouble or until the Pole was within our grasp but just out of reach. “I appreciate the offer, but I really don’t know how you can help. Tahlik is preparing a political move against me that will destroy his daughter, I would bet my ears on it. The Pole has already caused two tears we have barely contained. Selene’s friend killed six people this morning and is now in my dungeon awaiting my judgment. Oh and we’re dealing with magical forces I can barely comprehend. Pretty much a normal day.”

She scrunched her nose. “Maybe I should hang out with you for the next couple days in case something does come up I can help you with.”

“You can’t put your life on hold to help me bail water from this sinking ship. Live your life, Lily, and keep looking for that guy.”

She shrugged. “Okay, but I’m just saying that if the club closed down for a few days, it wouldn’t hurt anyone. I’ll ask the jinn to tail Selene’s dad. I know a little something about shitty fathers.” She flashed a bright grin. “But I guess so do you.”

I didn’t bother to correct her that I actually had a decent childhood. It didn’t actually matter. “Thank you for trying. I’ll call you if I think of anything you could help with.”

Her eyes flashed with excitement. “Good,” she said, grinning.
She’s so young
, I thought.

I caught Lily up on everything that was in motion, including Frost, so if I did call her in she would be up to speed. She didn’t blink an eye at killing someone who just a couple days ago was a friend to us. Apparently my sister’s moral code was a bit more flexible than I’d thought.

“Sounds like we should pay the vampire a visit,” she said. “You have no real idea how things went with the necromancer last night, do you? I have time right now, if you want company.”

My plan had been to let Selene handle Corbin, but the more I thought about Lily’s suggestion the better it sounded. Maybe it was time I got to know Corbin better.

“That’s an excellent idea.”

“Where’s the elf I actually like?” Corbin asked, looking past Lily and me when he opened his door.

“Home.” I walked in without waiting for an invitation. His house was dark, the windows covered with thick shades and the walls painted black. Only the white throw pillows popped on the charcoal couch. A dim lamp was lit in the corner and a book lay on the arm of a dark chair.

Corbin closed the door. “Why are you here with your groupie? I thought we were all supposed to keep up appearances.” He rolled his eyes.

“How did it go with Frost last night?”

He sat in his chair, both feet planted firmly on the floor and each arm on a rest. He looked like a tired king on a makeshift throne. “I guess we’ll see.”

Lily settled her hands on her hips, her thin arms sticking out, looking fragile. “Hey leech, love what you’ve done with the place. Is this early emo? Do you have a jar of gypsy tears somewhere in here? I bet you do. But that’s neither here nor there. Answer the man’s question.”

Corbin gave me a disdainful look. “Who is this?”

“My half-sister.”

He turned back to her. “Sit down, Lucky Charms, let the adults have a discussion.”

She flipped him off with both middle fingers, but plopped down on the couch and blew a rather large bubble with her gum.

“She doesn’t like vampires,” Corbin said when he finally tore his stare from Lily.

“You knew that going in,” I said.

“And personally, a dead necromancer is my favorite type of necromancer, but winning her over wasn’t too hard. Selene was right. She’s lonely. I planted some seeds of doubt in her mind last night, and by this evening she’ll be believing everything I tell her. Satisfied?”

I nodded. “You don’t like me, do you?”

“I don’t need to like you,” Corbin said. “But no, I don’t. I think you’re entitled and have always gotten what you want. You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth and now you have the best prize of all, Selene. The real pity here is that that’s how you see her—as a prize. Something you can prance around with and put on display, but that isn’t who she is. She isn’t a trophy you can mold to suit you. You’re killing her spirit.”

I considered defending myself, but it wasn’t worth it. I didn’t have to explain myself or my feelings to him. Selene was never a prize. She was my heart, and without her I could never truly live. I didn’t want her to change. I wanted to change the world to fit the way she needed it to be. “Why are you helping us again?”

He stared at me for a few moments. “It appears we have something in common, Erlking. Never thought I would say that. We both would do anything for her, even things we find utterly distasteful. You’ll converse with lowly vampires and make deals to kill the necromancer, and I’ll help.”

“But only one of us will get Selene in the end.”

“True.”

“And it’ll be me.”

“It does seem to be going in that direction, but the winds can change. I’m not out of the game just yet.” He splayed his hands as if demonstrating that he had no other choice than to keep playing.

Though he didn’t say it, I could hear it beneath his words. He loved her. Not in a selfish way, like one would expect from a vampire, but in a legitimate, wanting-what’s-best-for-her way.

“I know the two of you connected in the underworld in a way I’ll never understand.” Corbin was still. I kept going. “I don’t mind that you’re in love with her. Frankly, it’s hard to imagine anyone not loving her, but I’m going to marry her. Not as a trophy or because she’s beautiful. I love her. She’s a pain in the ass and she’s always in trouble. She almost never makes the right decisions and she has completely turned my life upside down on more than one occasion, but I still love her. I always have, and she has been a part of me since the first day I set eyes on her. I have lived without her once, but I won’t do it again. I will do whatever it takes to protect her and keep her. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

A slow smile eased over his face. “You seem to think I’ll try to prevent your marriage.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Won’t you?”

He shook his head. “I don’t need to. She’ll never marry you, elf.”

My muscles tightened. “She married me once before.”

“And she broke it, didn’t she, Erlking.” He leaned forward. “All I have to do is wait and she’ll once again find a way to free herself. She can’t be caged, no matter how lovely the cage may be. So I’m helping her now because one day, she will be by my side.”

After the urge to punch the smug smile off his face passed, I stood and offered him my hand. Though his words ate at me, I appreciated the straightforward honesty in his intentions. It wasn’t something one ran into with fae very often. Corbin’s waxy fingers folded around mine and we shook. “You’ll be at the wedding?” I asked.

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket. A text message from Sebastian.

Selene needs you now.

SEBASTIAN SAT CLOSE TO Katrina just inside the castle doors. Though they weren’t speaking or even looking at each other, her hand rested securely in his while she chewed on the fingernails of her other hand. They both stood up when I walked through the door, and Sebastian pulled away from her. Katrina hugged me while Sebastian scowled.

“You shouldn’t have stayed,” he said.

“I’m fine. Actually, everything went surprisingly well.” I opened my palm, displaying the piece of bronze. “Okay. Let’s figure out how to save Jess.”

“I’ll find Devin and Leslie,” Katrina said. “Meet you in the garden.”

Sebastian fell in step with me with his arms behind his back. “That was irresponsible.”