“Then tell me.” Lexi was proud of herself. Her voice was smooth, even if she was shaking on the inside, as if on another level, she knew she wasn’t going to like what she heard.
“What you’ve seen are the Fae. The Dark Fae, to be precise. There are Light Fae, but it’s the Dark who have the red eyes.”
Lexi sank against the wall. She had heard him call them Dark. But Fae? Surely not. Beings like that only existed in fairy tales.
“You doona believe me.”
She looked to find Thorn staring at her. “I … I don’t know what to think. I know a man with red eyes killed Christina, though there wasn’t a mark on her. I know that I’ve seen them change in ways that defy logic. Yet, if the Fae were real, wouldn’t more people know of them?”
“They came to his realm millions of years ago. The Dark feed off souls. You didna find a mark on Christina because every time they had sex with her, they took parts of her soul until nothing was left.”
Lexi was going to be sick. She clutched her stomach wanting to tell Thorn to stop while at the same time silently begging him to tell her everything.
“There was a war. The Fae Wars. The Fae were stopped before they could take over this realm. They signed a treaty agreeing to stay away, but the earth is a large place and no’ everywhere can be patrolled. They slipped in here and there, taking their victims.”
“Who fought the Fae? Us?”
Thorn sat back in the chair. There was doubt in his eyes, as if he didn’t want to tell her the answer.
Lexi wasn’t going to give in so easily. “You began this. Tell me. Because if it was us, that’s not something that would’ve been kept secret.”
“Nay, it wasna humans.”
Somehow Lexi already knew that’s what his answer would be. “There are other beings here?”
He gave a single nod.
“Who? What?” she urged.
“They keep to themselves. You’ll never see them.”
“But you know them.”
Thorn waved his hand. “I help them.”
“I want to help. I want to fight the Fae.”
“No’ all Fae are bad,” he said. “The Light Fae sided with the other beings and helped end the Fae War.”
Lexi rolled her eyes in agitation. “Fine. I want to fight the Dark.”
“You have no magic.”
She laughed at this. “As if any human does.” When he didn’t so much as blink, she knew she was once more wrong. What the hell was happening to the world she knew? “There are those with magic?”
“Druids.”
“Oh.” What else could she say? There was so little history about the Druids. Now she began to see why. “I have to avenge Christina.”
“The Dark seduce you with a look, a smile, a touch. No one can withstand their pull. Your body instinctively knows it’ll receive unimaginable pleasure at their hands. You seek it, crave it—and unknowingly go willing to your death.”
Lexi’s stomach rolled. Poor Christina. She never stood a chance. “Is there a way to block what the Dark do?”
Thorn’s head leaned to the side as he studied her. “I know a few who can. It’s rare, however, I watched you shake off their attempt.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Dark use glamour to change their appearance and hide their red eyes. You then wouldna be able to tell if you were talking to a human or a Fae. You felt the desire they can flip on in a human like a switch, and yet you fought it and got away.”
Lexi remembered that encounter on the street. She hadn’t known that’s what was happening, or that she had come that close to dying. “How did I do it?”
“I’d verra much like to know.”
“I’ve seen others flock to the Re … Dark all over town. Why are their eyes red?”
Thorn rubbed his palms on his thighs. “All Fae are breathtakingly beautiful. They also all have black hair. It’s a choice the Fae make to turn Dark. The first time they take a life, their eyes turn from silver to red. The more lives they take, the more silver runs through their hair.”
Lexi thought back to the guy who had killed Christina. His hair was more silver than black. “Dear God.”
“I can understand you wanting to avenge your friend’s death, but if you get close to a Dark, it’ll be your life you lose.”
Lexi shook her head. “This can’t be real. Please tell me this is all some kind of sick joke.”
“I’m sorry, but I can no’.”
“I didn’t think so. It’s just … how could all of this be happening and no one get that it’s other beings doing it?”
Thorn smiled sadly. “Humans like to pretend they’re the only ones here.”
“Yeah.” Lexi had wanted to know the truth, but it made things much more complicated. How could she ever trust anyone again? If a Dark was using glamour, she’d never know it.
“I have a friend who has been hunting the Dark with me. His name is Darius,” Thorn said as he got to his feet. “He’ll be here shortly. He went to your place and gathered your clothes.”
Lexi took a deep breath to try to steady herself. “Where am I, by the way?”
“A friend’s. Her name is Darcy Allen.”
“That’s right. You told me that.” She blinked, because she now knew she hadn’t dreamed he had healed before her very eyes.
“Her place was warded by a Light against all Fae. The Dark can no’ get to you here.”
“I saw you heal.”
His dark eyes dropped to the floor as he sighed.
When he didn’t reply, she said, “Say something.”
“I’d hoped you had forgotten that.”
“Forgotten?” she asked in surprise. “How could I possibly forget that I stabbed you and watched your skin mend on its own?”
He shrugged and lifted his gaze to her. “You were still ill.”
“What are you to be able to do something like that? Is it magic?”
“Aye.”
“Are you a Druid then?” Because he wasn’t Fae. He was unimaginably good-looking, and though his hair was dark, it wasn’t black.
“Nay.” Thorn motioned to the kitchen. “If you’re hungry, I can heat up some soup.”
“That sounds good.” Lexi scooted to the edge of the bed and let him change the subject. For now. “I’d also like a shower.”
Thorn eyed her. “Are you strong enough for that?”
“Probably not, but I’m going to do it,” she stated.
He smiled as he turned away. “I’ll start your food then.”
Lexi waited until he was in the kitchen before she gingerly climbed out of bed. The last time she had nearly fallen on her face. She didn’t want a repeat.
She took her time walking to the bathroom. After she turned on the water to get it hot, she looked in the mirror and closed her eyes at what she saw. Her hair was sticking out everywhere. She was pale with ugly, dark circles beneath her eyes.
It wasn’t like she wanted Thorn to ask her out on a date—liar!—but she didn’t want to look awful either. Lexi turned away from the mirror and stripped out of the gown.
It wasn’t until she stood beneath the spray of water that she remembered Thorn had seen her naked. He hadn’t shown the least bit of interest.
“You’ve been ill,” Lexi told herself.
She angrily shoved aside such thoughts and began to wash. As she did, her mind went over all that Thorn had told her.
Fae. There were Fae on Earth, as well as some other kind of being. Those others had saved humans from the Fae, but why would they want to remain secret?
Then again, with the history of what humans did to things they didn’t understand, she could well comprehend their decision. Still, she wished she could thank them for helping.
How shocking and strange to learn humans weren’t the only intelligent beings on the planet. It scared the shit out of her to the point that she wasn’t sure she could ever walk the streets alone again.