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“I have to go soon. Before I leave, I have things I need to say to you.”
“You have nothing to say that I want to hear.” Her breath hissed from between her clenched teeth. “Where are you going?”
“I can’t tell you.”
She threw her hands up. “How did you get out of the prison?”
He flashed a cocky smile. “Did you really think they could keep me?”
“Yes, actually. They had you mired in charmed iron up to your neck.” She studied him. “If you could escape, why didn’t you do it earlier?”
“I didn’t have a reason until you came to see me, Bella. You still care about me. There’s still a seed of emotion in you for me. I thought I’d crushed it a long time ago, but it’s still there.” He held out a hand to her.
What? Her mind whirled with all the implications of his words.
She looked toward the door, needing a way out. There might be a bit of truth to what he said, but it wasn’t something she wanted to face right now. He’d hurt her so badly. The last thing she needed was to show him her soft underbelly again and allow him to snap out another bloody chunk.
“You presume too much,” she said in her best icy voice.
He dropped his hand.
A hard pounding on her front door made her jump. The Summer Queen’s Imperial Guard, most likely. She leapt from the bed and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward her walk-in closet.
He resisted a little. “Where are you leading me?”
“I have a secret room behind my shoe rack.”
“Why do you have a secret room?”
She glanced at him. “Do you think I would serve in a place as treacherous as the Summer Queen’s court without a safe place to go?”
She flipped on the light and pulled a knob on the wall containing her dozens of pairs of designer shoes. A panel slid open and she pushed him through.
He hesitated, looking back at her. “How do I know you won’t turn me over to them?”
“You don’t.” She gave him a final shove and closed the panel back in place.
THREE
Flipping the closet light back off and going into her bedroom, she grabbed her bathrobe off the end of the bed. By now Lolly, her house hobgoblin, should’ve answered the door.
“Can I help you?’ Bella asked, squinting against the light in the foyer and tying her silk wrap more firmly around her. Lolly, a knobby, wrinkled hobgoblin of about five feet tall, stood near the two guards. A more loyal housekeeper was never to be found, and right now Lolly looked upset that the keepers of fae law were shadowing their doorstep. The guards were both dressed in head-to-toe rose and gold metal and wearing heavy black boots and helms. Shining swords hung at their sides. The fae had never really gotten on board with firearms.
The Imperial Guard was primarily made up of lower-blood sons and daughters of the Tuatha Dé. All were fiercely loyal to their queen. They had unmatched speed and strength and were well suited for their position.
“We’re very sorry to disturb you, my lady. We are looking for an escaped prisoner,” said the on
e on the left.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Ronan Achaius Quinn, no doubt.”
“Yes, Miss Mac Lyr.”
Bella smiled at Lolly, who stood as if ready to defend her mistress’s home with her life. “Thank you for answering the door. You can go back to bed, dear.”
Lolly nodded once, glared at the guard, and melted back down the darkened hallway.
Bella turned her attention back to the men. “As you are already aware, since all of Piefferburg and the free world is also aware, I asked Ronan Quinn to marry me to save him from the Wild Hunt and he refused. He chose death over marriage to me. Why do you think he would come here?”
