CHAPTER 6

Nika

"Oh, she's a beauty, she is," an older man announced, beaming a toothy smile at me, his thinning grey hair in utter disarray around his head.

His wife maneuvered around him, wearing an apron over some kind of weird holiday-themed sweater. Directly in the middle of her chest was a rainbow flag hovering over the word "Pride." I recognized the flag and its purpose and failed to hide a smile. Lev would absolutely adore this woman from head to toe. While our kind never waved flags or paraded around our sexuality and personal labels like this world did, it was always nice to find people who supported it.

But the one thing about this couple that surprised me the most was that within seconds of arriving, I knew they were Normies.

Normies were what our kind called humans who didn't have an ounce of magic or supernatural in them. They were often completely unaware the rest of us existed. Granted, humans rarely believed in anything magical, but the ones that did or had any amount of magic in them were called crazy or sent off to institutions to treat their "illness."

I'd never encountered a Normie because I was kept close to home, but my father talked of them often enough for me to know plenty about them.

Being the person he was, my father believed that one day we could unite the entire world and live harmoniously. I never had it in me to argue that it was rather unrealistic because Normies were terrified of what they couldn't understand, but my father always insisted it was possible with education.

It was very clear to me that these two knew exactly what we were because Silas took down a protective barrier to get close to the home. It made me wonder what his attachment to them was. The way they invited the two of us inside was akin to Silas being their long-awaited son who'd finally returned home.

I eyed a few pictures of them together in frames throughout the dwelling, several where the couple were decades younger. I assumed Silas was easily a hundred years of age, if not older, due to his impressive talent and skill, so what was their connection?

The sweet-faced grandma grumbled at her goofy-grinned partner of forty years—something she'd mentioned several times in complaint about his habits that hadn't changed in all that time. The partner in question was sat on an aged chair, uncomfortably close and in front of us, not the least bit concerned over his lady's bickering. The older woman, who Silas introduced as Maude, dropped a few plates of food in front of me and Silas, who were sitting oddly pressed side-by-side on a couch much too small for us. I had a lot of things to say, but the gentle smiles Silas's friends offered me shut down anything I wanted to utter.

Slapping his knees, the man Maude introduced as Richard, "the old goat," got up and muttered something about Irish coffee before sneaking into one of the nearby cabinets.

"Oh, put that away, you old fool," Maude barked, pushing my plate closer as if to silently order me to eat. "You use any excuse to drink whiskey," she added to the man currently stealing a glass bottle out of the cabinet, giggling to herself.

"Aye, I do. It's an every-occasion drink, it is."

Maude rolled her eyes, sighing. "That's what drunkards say, you git."

"And that's what quitters say, you blabbering teapot," Richard clapped back, taking a swig and smacking his lips happily. "That'll burn the hairs off your chest, right, mate?" the old man murmured and offered the glass bottle to Silas.

My journey companion chuckled and took the proffered whiskey from his friend's hand before taking a large swig himself. "Oh, that's a good burn, it is. You've been holding out on me, Dick."

"Only because you barely visit these days, you supernatural wanker."

"Normie tosser," Silas shot back, never hesitating.

I nearly spat out the sip of coffee I'd taken, beyond amused but refusing to let it show on my face. If Lev were here, the two of us would never stop laughing. It was outright ridiculous, but the very thing that would endlessly amuse the pair of us.

Maude sighed loudly, then directed a sheepish smile at me. "I'm sorry, dear. These two are bloody idiots. We're usually not this..." She struggled to explain their antics. "Well, we go back a long time, and these two have never said a nice word to each other. But it's all in good fun."

Smiling, I set down my cup. "I haven't known him long, but I'd agree he's definitely an idiot."

"Oh, I like this one. She's a keeper, you oversized nincompoop," Richard said directly to Silas, who was on his feet with the older man's head locked under his arm.

It was clear that these three got along well enough to poke fun at each other, and I couldn't help but laugh. Even Silas seemed proud of himself when I coughed away another giggle.

Maude cleared her throat and pushed the plate of food in front of me again. "Don't be shy. You've had a rough few days, darling."

I eyed Silas, who was obnoxiously enjoying himself by the grin he offered me when our eyes met. "Eat up, princess. Maude will feed it to you like you were a little bird if you don't."

My eyes widened briefly, sending Silas into a fit of laughter, before I was rapidly eating to avoid such a fate. I wasn't happy to be the number one amusement for Silas at the moment, but I'd hate it more if I was force-fed like a child in front of him.

Returning to his seat, Silas let out a wistful breath and started to eat the food on his plate like he'd been starving for weeks. I hadn't been fed in over a week myself, but the mercenary's shovel-by-the-spoonful approach to his plate made it look like I'd been overfed.

Men.

Our hosts moved around, bumping into each other and quietly bickering before kissing like the love between them had never faded, not in all of their forty years together. It was an odd sort of feeling in my stomach as I watched the happy couple squabble and taunt my journey companion. But I never felt like an outsider. They always found a way to drag me into the conversation and make me feel like one of them. Like we'd all been friends for years. And I couldn't pretend to hate it.

If anything, I never wanted to leave the cozy dwelling.

It was as if we hadn't been on the run from the Dark Fae. Like the world was right as rain and this was just a normal visit amongst friends. I hated how much I liked the way it felt here, conversing with two people I didn't even know and another who was an inappropriate bastard most of the time. But this was exactly how people got killed—they got too comfortable.

I was given a fresh refill of coffee, and Silas was thrown a couple of treats Maude nabbed from a metal box near the sofa.

"You rarely bring anyone here, Silas," Maude finally voiced, taking a seat in the chair where her partner previously sat. "She must be very important."

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Silas slouched, large leg crossed over and nearly hitting me. Then the annoyingly comfortable dude threw an arm around the back of the couch. I reacted by straightening my spine and scooting away. His rich, husky laughter rang out a second later, obviously tickled I was so blatantly disgusted by the close proximity to him.

"This is the one," was all he said to the woman.

Her faded brown eyes danced over to me like she knew exactly what he meant. "Then it's true," was her soft-spoken reply.

"What's true?" Richard asked, coming over to stand beside her.

Maude waved the man away with her hand, clicking her tongue in obvious agitation. "You'll be needing your things then, I imagine?"

What things?

Silas smirked at the woman who was easily in her sixties, the sexiness practically oozing from his pores. "You'd be right, love. I want to be ready for whatever comes our way."

Fixing some blonde-grey hair that had been scooped up into a messy bun, Maude nodded and stood from her seat. "It'll take a minute or two to get to it. Why don't the two of you go get some rest in the guest room upstairs in the meantime."

My body stiffened. "Both of us?"

"Hope you're not a virgin, princess. Not many places to sleep here, and I need you within reach. Hope that doesn't damage your sweet, innocent heart," Silas taunted, rising to his feet and offering me a hand.

Taking his hand with a lift to the sides of my mouth, I quickly twisted his arm behind his back and planted my foot on his over-muscled shoulders. Spitefully, I yanked his arm up at an uncomfortable angle. The oversized troll was brought to his knees, and I didn't hesitate to emphasize how easy it'd be to break his arm.

My physical strength was bolstered by my defensive magic, and it outdid most enemies who I went up against, be it woman or man. It was something my father revered when I'd mastered it during our training exercises.

Arrogant assholes like Silas needed to know their place, and right now, he'd gotten comfortable underestimating me when I'd given him every reason not to. It was a flaw that was unfortunately relatively common with his sort.

Silas quickly gripped the same shoulder as the arm I had a deadly hold on and grunted. "Ouch, okay, okay! That's a brutal hold you have there, little bird."

Richard stared openly, surprised stupid by the sight. "Oh, aye. She's a keeper."

Silas sent a glare at the old man, careful not to move. "Shut up, you gobshite."

Richard tossed a piece of cookie into his mouth, grinning. "Never thought I'd live long enough to see someone spank you right in front of me, but I can die a happy man now, I can."

Sighing unhappily, Silas quickly said to me, "I may not look it, Nika, but I am a gentleman. I'd never touch you like that, promise."

"Could've fooled me, you saucy wanker," Richard chimed in, out to ruin his friend's life by the sounds of it. He stood there chewing the rest of his cookie, blue eyes glittering in childish mirth.

The punished man at my mercy huffed a little, smirking. "She's my charge, Dick. Even I have a code to follow."

Eyes connecting with Richard's, I smiled impishly at the wily old fox aiming to get his friend punished for the sake of a good laugh. Sadly, I was enjoying myself a little too much, and it made it tough to separate the fun from the danger.

"Oh, aye. She's the Devil's faerie, she is, and the late great Shimmering Assassin will be nothing but a myth after she's done with you, you pompous wanker," Richard went on, chomping away at his cookie with nothing but admiration on his face. "Pity. If I were thirty years younger..." Richard muttered under his breath before getting smacked and dragged away by the ear, his angry wife lecturing him on the way out of the room.

"The Shimmering Assassin?" I asked, clinging to that one comment.

"The man doesn't choose the name, love. The name chooses him," Silas responded, and I sighed loudly.

It was unfortunate, but I had heard of the Shimmering Assassin. He'd assassinated some big names among my kind, often a sparkling magic left in his wake. If Silas was the infamous assassin, then Lev was right to rely on his skills. Even the council hadn't a clue who he was or how to find him.

Releasing Silas, I crossed my arms over my chest. "I don't know what women you've dealt with up to this point, but I'm nothing like them. You might think you're the alpha here, but I don't need you. Lev pushed me to do this with you, and I'm still not convinced you're worth the trouble."

His gold eyes went liquid again before the mercenary took a step closer. "Have you ever been with a man intimately, pet?"

"I don't see how that's relevant—"

"Just humor me."

I sighed, shrugging. "I'm not a virgin if that's what you're implying."

The mercenary seemed surprised to hear it. "Really?"

Sensuality and sex in Fae society, especially Dark Fae, were two things regarded the same way as coming into our magic—it was a rite of passage. In some cases, it was currency. I didn't use it often, but I wasn't innocent either. I knew how to employ my charms and body to get what I wanted. A truly potent fighter used their entire body's arsenal to fight, and seduction wasn't beyond my scope of assaults. Love, however, seemed harder to get my hands on.

Aside from familial love, I'd never felt that way about anyone. Honestly, I never really wanted to. For a long time, I was worried I wasn't capable of it, but the way my father talked about my late mother and his present lover, Dugan, a Light Fae man he met a decade ago on one of his missions, I had to believe one day I'd feel that way for someone. But I'd been with plenty of people in my sixty years of life. Enough that I was well-acquainted with sex and its long list of uses.

Silas was underestimating me again, which wasn't anything new. Most men I encountered did. If I were honest, I counted on it to exploit them. But Silas had obviously made up his mind about who I was, and I'd enjoy clearing up the misunderstanding.

Smirking, I walked closer, staring unabashedly into his gorgeous liquid eyes. "Yes, really, mercenary. But if you must know, I've mostly been with women."

I dropped my eyes down his body, adopting the same tone he'd used on me too many times to count. "Men, more often than not, prove to be an utter disappointment in the bedroom and definitely not worth my time."

Eyes flicking back up to his, I offered Silas a knowing smile. "Men are all talk."

When his mouth dropped open and I'd gotten my fill of his stupid-as-shit expression, I pivoted on my heels and took the stairs to the second floor, leaving the shell-shocked mercenary behind.