Here I thought I knew a lot about paranormals. Turns out, I was wrong. But I guess Asher’s un-genie-like nature already made me start to realize that.
East moves up behind me and loops his hands around my waist, a move a lot of the staff members notice and frown at.
I could wiggle away, like I normally do when he crowds my personal space, but I don’t want to make a scene. And truthfully, I’m sort of getting used to his touching, much to my dismay.
“Are you impressed?” he whispers in my ear, his bare chest pressing against my back.
“Kind of.” The truth is, I’m beyond impressed, but East doesn’t need his ego stroked any more than it already is.
Even right now, the creatures around us look like they’re one flirty smile away from getting down on their knees and worshipping him.
“Kind of?” He lightly pinches my side. “How you wound my ego, sweetheart.”
I roll my eyes. “I think your ego can handle it.”
He chuckles, pulling me closer. “So, which ones are the creatures you don’t know?”
“Well, there’re the ones with all the eyes on their heads,” I say, trying to discreetly point at a group of them, yet they all turn to look at me, causing me to inch closer to East.
“Those would be seeing demons,” he explains. “And they’re staring at you now because they see everything and saw you point at them.”
Worry crawls through me. “Are they dangerous?”
“Most demons are, but they wouldn’t dare touch you when they know you belong to us.” He rests his chin on my shoulder and stares at the demons until they look away.
“I don’t belong to you,” I gripe, but he only chuckles. I stomp my foot and cross my arms. “Whatever, faerie. When I leave you guys, you’re going to realize I wasn’t all along.”
“Hmm …” he murmurs, grazing his lips along the crook of my neck. “Or maybe it’s going to be the exact opposite.”
I sigh in exhaustion. “You’re the most persistent person—thing I’ve ever met.”
He freezes, and so does every creature nearby, all of them gaping at me.
Okay, what’d I do now?
“A thing?” East says with a hint of shocked amusement. “Did you just call me a thing?”
“Um … yeah?” I shrink against him as a couple of the bigger creatures glare at me. “Why are they staring at me like they … like they want to, like, bitch-slap me or something?”
“Because you called me a thing.” His sounds fully entertained now. “Which is quite close to the worst dirty insult you can throw at a paranormal. It’s basically like calling a human a whore.”
“Oh.” I frown. “I didn’t know that. I just thought it was like calling you a dude or something.”
He laughs quietly, his breath caressing my ear. “Sometimes, I love how innocent you are.”
“I’m not innocent,” I growl. “I’ve done a lot of bad stuff in my life.”
“I’m sure you have, but you’re also very innocent with a lot of things. It’s okay, though. It’s things like your innocence, feistiness, cleverness, and general lack of regard about whether you piss me off or not that makes you so appealing.” He caresses his lips against my cheek. “That and the fact that you’re unbelievably fucking gorgeous.”
I stupidly flush like a dumbass, swoony groupie, but thankfully, he can’t tell. Or, well, I think he can’t. But then he reaches forward and strokes my cheek with the back of his hand.
“I also love that you blush,” he murmurs. “It’s been ages since I’ve been around another creature who has something else besides lust in their eyes.”
“I’m not blushing,” I lie indignantly.
“It’s also fucking cute when you lie. And how you never seem to get flattered no matter how much a compliment you. You’re a tough crowd to win over.”
It’s at that exact moment someone from the crowd spots East and me and squeals, “East!” at the top of his lungs.
Within seconds, more paranormals have spotted him and, like earlier, they start to chant, “East! East! East! We want East!”
Asher is in the middle of autographing a vampire’s forearm when he pauses to glance behind him. Then Arrow twists around in his seat, and both their gazes instantly find us.
The look on Asher’s face is unreadable as he motions for East to come out while pushing back from the table and rising to his feet.
“I’m going to trade places with Asher for a bit, okay?” East swings around in front of me.
“You can all go out there together,” I say. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
He gives me a tolerant. “I’m going to trade places with Asher for a bit,” he repeats then tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear, a move that earns me the reward of several dirty looks from both staff members and the fans outside.
Yep, that’s me. Harlynn Merringten, making friends everywhere I go.
When East turns around and steps out on stage, the crowd goes wild with roars, shouts, and even a few creatures send magical fireworks up in the air, which I’ll admit is kind of cool. And East eats that shit up, throwing his hands up in the air and encouraging everyone to shout louder.
I roll my eyes, not a bit surprised. Just like I told Asher earlier. An attention whore.
Then again, Asher said he grows tired of it, and East seems good at pretending. At least, from what I can tell. Maybe this is all an act. It’s really hard to tell, and I don’t even know why I’m analyzing it so much. Why I’m becoming so interested in them.
I really need to get my head back in the game …
As East reaches the middle of the stage, Asher walks off. His fierce gaze is locked on mine as he strides toward me. Then he laces his fingers through mine and, without missing a beat, hauls me with him as he hurries toward the back area.
While a few staff members looked shocked when East appeared with me, every single creature backstage that spots Asher holding my hand nearly trips over their feet.
“They seem shocked to see me with you,” I remark as Asher steers me toward a set of sheer curtains hanging on the far back wall.
“Probably because they can’t figure out what you are.” He gives a short pause. “Well, that and I don’t usually walk around holding hands with other creatures.” He quickly clears his throat, as if uneasy with his last comment.
“Not even aftershow women?” I question with cynicism.
He glances over at me, cocking a brow. “You seem awfully obsessed with the idea of me, East, and Arrow being with aftershow women.”
I’m secretly relieved he’s acting like his normal, snarky self again. I can handle the cocky, sassy Asher way better than I can handle the upset or compassionate version of him.
“I’m not obsessed,” I stress. “I was just making a simple, and I’m sure, accurate statement.”
“No, a completely non-accurate statement. We never bring anyone backstage.” With that, he ducks behind the curtains and steps into an enclosed space that gives us some privacy from all the staring. Then he releases my hand and spins around to face me, his gaze sweeping up and down my body before locking in on my skirt. “Your skirt’s fixed,” he mumbles, fiddling with the hem.
“East fixed it with magic before we came out here.” I scratch my wrists, getting squirmy over where the conversation is heading.
Asher’s gaze skates to mine, and that compassion that makes me stupidly uncomfortable is reflecting from his eyes. “I’m not going to make you talk about what happened or ask you any more questions for now. I just wanted to …” He dithers, looking contemplative. “I wanted to apologize for freaking out on you earlier and locking you in the room. I only did it because I didn’t want you following me.”
I gape at him. “You’re apologizing to me?”
A crinkle forms between his brows. “Yeah … Why do you sound so surprised about it?”
I give a half-shrug, leaning back, the curtain brushing against my back. “It’s just … I didn’t think ge
nies apologized. Especially to humans.”
“You’re not human,” he reminds me. “And I’ve apologized to you before. But you’re right; I don’t do it very often.”
As his words start to sink in, I grow extremely twitchy. “You don’t need to apologize. What you did wasn’t bad, and I think you meant well.” I drum my fingers against the sides of my legs as uneasiness festers inside me. “I want to say, though, that you don’t need to go after Yellow. It’s too risky.” For several different reasons. “One day, I’ll get my revenge on him.” I plaster on a smile, trying to lighten the mood. “In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m kind of a grudge holder.”
He tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. “No, Harlynn, you’re really not.”
Between the use of my real name and the way he stares at me with the strangest, almost endearing look on his face, my comfort level plummets even more. Fortunately, the crowd starts yelling Asher’s name.
“You might want to get back out there.” I seize the opportunity to have a moment alone because, holy hell, if he keeps looking at me like this, I may very well try to bolt.
And I’d really rather not do that while we’re on Steel, especially since the sunlight is slipping away.
“They’re fine,” he mutters, tilting his head to the side as he continues to stare at me with utter fascination and a bit of confusion.
As the chanting grows louder, I sigh.
“Ash, will you just go out there? I’ll be fine by myself for a little while. I’m more used to being by myself than I am being around others.” When his lips twitch in amusement, I frown. “What’s so funny about what I said?”
He rolls his tongue in his mouth, fighting back a smile. “Nothing. What you said … it was actually kind of sad.” His smile evaporates.
“Don’t you dare pity me,” I warn, crossing my arms. “And if you didn’t find it funny, then why were you grinning like an idiot?”
“I wasn’t grinning like an idiot,” he denies. “I was merely a bit amused.”
“About what?”
“About the fact that you called me Ash.”
“Oh.” I feel stupid for giving him a nickname, but I play it cool, trying to salvage what little dignity I have left. “I don’t see what the big deal is. East calls you that all the time.”
“He does, and so does Arrow. No one else.”
“Well, sorry, I guess.” Although, I still don’t get what the big deal is. “I’ll try to stick to calling you genie dude or cocky asshat from now on.”
He grins, amused, and then closes the space between us. “Call me whatever you want. I’ve been called a lot worse.” He reaches up and traces the pad of his finger along my bottom lip. “Personally, though, I liked hearing Ash come from your lips.” His lips kick up into a grin as a shaky exhale fumbles from my lips. But then his grin dissipates as the crowd continues screaming out his name. “You’re right; I probably do need to go back out there, just for a little bit.”
“Go,” I encourage, more than eager to get a break from him, from East, even from Arrow. And during that break, I’ll take some time to repeatedly kick my own ass until I get my shit together and start acting like the old Harlynn who didn’t let little touches, smiles, and apologies fog up her judgment.
He nods with reluctance. “Stay backstage, okay? No wandering off.” He grabs the curtain and pulls it open. “I’ll let all the staff know you’re with us so no one will bother you. If they do, yell for us.”
I roll my eyes. “Stop being so paranoid. I can take care of myself.”
His gaze flits to mine. “I’m not being paranoid. I’m trying to keep you safe. Now, please behave.” With that, he folds his fingers around my wrist and tugs me out behind him as he strides forward.
He only releases me when we near the entrance of the stage. Then, with one final, concerned look in my direction, he makes his way back out to his fans, who shout in excitement.
Despite how much I want to wander off, I stay behind stage like I promised Asher I would. While I never did see him tell any of the staff members about me, no one tries to bother me, so I figure he either had Maple do it or used some sort of weird genie communication power on them.
Occasionally, Asher, Arrow, and East all glance in my direction, as if making sure I’m staying where I’m supposed to be, which begins to drive both myself and their fans insane.
“Who’s that girl you keep looking at back there?” an attractive, red-headed succubus asks Asher as he glances back at me while signing his name across her shirt.
“A friend,” is all he says. Then he hands her back her marker and motions for the next fan to move up.
The succubus glares at me before shoving a vampire waiting in line out of her way and stomping off toward the exit gates.
A friend, huh? So that’s what I’m supposed to be? It’s a little weird—the idea of being friends with paranormals. Then again, I’m a paranormal myself. Besides, it’s not like we’re really friends. I’m sure that’s just a cover up for what I really am.
Which is what, Harlynn?
I grimace at my thoughts, realizing I don’t have an answer. Realizing, I’m still fairly unsure of why Asher, East, and Arrow are keeping me around.
“That girl’s staring at you,” a vampire with long, blonde hair stage-whispers to East as she has him sign her arm.
“What girl?” East replies without glancing up.
“That girl behind stage.” She gives an insinuating glance in my direction. “Is she a stalker? Maybe you should have someone remove her.”
East caps the marker then gradually twists around in the chair, looking at me, his eyes shimmering with mischief.
I give him a dirty look, like don’t you dare bring me into your drama. But that only seems to make his eyes shine brighter.
“That pretty girl right there?” he asks the vampire with his gaze fixed on me. “The one with the gorgeous eyes and killer legs.”
I fire a glare at him, and his lips quirk.
“Um … I guess so.” The vampire shifts her weight, nervousness edging across her pale expression.
“Hmm … Stalker or not, I think I might keep her. She’d make a delectably delicious treat later after the show.” He winks at me, to which I respond with the middle finger.
He chuckles, facing the vampire again, whose jaw is hanging to her knees. After she wanders off with confusion written all over her face, he goes back to signing autographs and charming his fans.
East is really entertaining to watch and is beyond charming, but I’m not too surprised by that. Asher is a bit moodier, but sporadically puts on an alluring smile that makes everyone go crazy. And Arrow is exactly like how I imagined him to be—quiet and kind, offering a small smile here and there, but not the real smile I’ve witnessed a couple of times.
I’m not sure how long I stand there watching them, but eventually, a human-like creature approaches me. He looks around my age, is tall, with blond hair, and he’s wearing a staff badge.
“Hey,” he greets me. “I was told to come see if you wanted anything to eat.” My stomach chooses that exact moment to grumble, and he chuckles. “Never mind. I think I have my answer. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll go get it for you.”
I crinkle my nose at the idea of being served. “I can go get it myself. Just point the way.”
“Are you sure?” he checks. “It’s sort of my job to serve the band members.”
“Yeah, but I’m not a band member,” I point out. “And I’m not really a fan of being served.”
He gives me the kind of smile that screams human. Could it be that he is one? “Fair enough. But at least let me show you where the food is.” He winks at me, his eyes briefly illuminating.
Okay then. Definitely not human.
I start to follow him, but pause, remembering the promise I made to Asher. “Wait. Is the food backstage or somewhere else?”
He points at a section of curtains not too far away from where we’re sta
nding. “It’s just back there.”
“Thanks. I think I can find my way on my own.” Not that he seems like a bad guy, but not knowing what sort of creature he is makes me uneasy.
To my relief, he nods and walks off, leaving me to go get food by myself.
I quickly walk back to where he pointed and duck behind the curtain, ready to dive into some yummy food. But being hungry becomes the least of my concerns when I realize nothing is behind the curtain but a door. Worry prickles through me, and I reel around, ready to hightail it back to my safe spot right beside the stage, when a hand is slapped across my mouth and a body is pressed up against mine, the stench of darkness flooding my nostrils.
I try to scream, but I’m jerked backward, farther away from the curtain and into a small room that I’m assuming is behind the door.
“Shhh …” the Wishing Shadow whispers in my ear. “No one’s going to hurt you, princess.”
I bite down on the fucker’s hand then kick him in the shin, but it barely fazes him.
He pulls me deeper into the room that is lit up by a single, flickering light. A chair is in the corner, and chains and cuffs have been strapped to the arms and legs.
Panic soars through me as he guides me into the chair. I immediately start to stand up, but the cuffs snap around my wrists and ankles, by magic I’m guessing.
Taking a deep breath, I open my mouth to scream, but no sound leaves my lips. As the severity of the situation weighs down on me, I swallow hard.
“Relax, princess.” The Wishing Shadow steps in front of me. “Like I said, no one’s going to hurt you.”
He’s wearing the cloak he had on earlier, but the hood is lowered so I can see his face better. His features are striking, not just in the sense that he’s gorgeous in a scary, intimidating sort of way, but his face is also familiar. A click of a moment later, I figure out why.
He looks kind of like Asher.
Sure, his lips are silver instead of blue, but they are full and shaped like Asher’s. His eyes are the same shape, too, but glow with embers instead of flames. And his hair is equally as dark, but chin-length instead of short.