Army Of The Winter Court (Skeleton Key) (10 page)

This must be Auri’s brother.

“You smell lovely, is that jasmine?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
 

“Uh…yes,” she stuttered.

“You must be Evvie. I’ve heard so much about you,” he said, steadying her as he took a step back and bowed. “I am Nolan.”

He’s heard of me?

Until the night before, she hadn’t even realized Aurelian had a brother and the extent of her knowledge on the subject was merely his existence.

“Thank you for catching me,” she blurted out.

He smiled at her. Nolan’s demeanor was more relaxed than she’d expected, especially after her experience with Aurelian.

“The pleasure is mine,” he said, jutting out his elbow and offering his arm. She took it and let him assist her down the stairs.
 

“I’m usually not that clumsy, I must still be weak.”
 

“You are not well yet?” he asked, turning her to look at him.

Heat flooded her face as he examined her. She wasn’t used to this type of attention from complete strangers.
 

“No, it’s okay—”

“No, it’s not,” he said with a hard edge to his voice. “Auri should have taken care of you when he brought you here. Didn’t you tell him?”

“I thought resting would take care of it.” Frowning, Nolan lifted his palm to her forehead. A chill raced through her, calming the fire that raged through her veins. Relief flowed from her head all the way down to her toes, easing the ache in her muscles.

“What did you just do?” she asked in awe as he dropped his hand.

“You were poisoned. I cleansed it from your blood.”

Her mouth dropped open. Nolan had said it so casually.
 

What kind of place is this? Forced to come here and in less than a day I’ve already been poisoned!

“Poisoned? Who would poison me?”

“Do not worry, it was not a lethal dose.”

“That hardly fills me with comfort. Lethal or not, I’d rather I wasn’t poisoned in the first place.” The pitch of her voice rose with each word, as the implications of what could have happened sank in.

“I wouldn’t let any harm come to you. You are needed.”

“Thank you,” she said sheepishly.
 

“What did you touch?”

Having someone she didn’t know declare himself a protector of some sort was odd and she couldn’t form words to respond to his declaration. Not wanting him to see how awkward she felt, she backtracked to his comment from a moment before.
 

“How did you do that?” Evvie asked as they started walking again.

“We are fae. You didn’t think we would be without magic, did you?”

That explains the clothes as well…
She thought. “Should I worry about another attempt on my life?” Evvie stopped in her tracks and her hand reached out to grip a window frame.

She looked out the through the clear glass and over the strange world of blackened trees casting shadows, their fiery leaves blanketing the ground as if the land was bleeding.

“What did my brother tell you?” he asked, breaking the trance the landscape had over her.

“About what?” she asked, turning to him. Her fingers gripped the window’s ledge as she tilted her face up to look at him.

“About why you are here.” Nolan’s hand reached up and twirled a piece of her hair before letting it slide from his fingers.
 

“H—he told me that I was the key. That I had to choose between you and him. That my decision would decide who would be the next King.” Evvie dropped her eyes as embarrassment continued to flood her cheeks. Nolan was handsome, but in a different way than Aurelian, he was also nice… maybe nicer. She was glad she hadn’t made a hasty decision.
 

It’s always better to take your time and weigh the odds, right? Especially if they were going to affect my future... but how could anything in the fae world affect me?

She frowned. They would let her go home after she’d made the decision… wouldn’t they?

Nolan stepped closer, his fingers trailing along her neck and over her shoulder.
 

“That is all he told you? I’m surprised he wasn’t more forthcoming about what your decision would cost you.”

“Cost me? What do you mean? He just said that I had to decide and that it would affect me… he didn’t say it would cost me anything.” Her gaze shot up to meet his. Nolan was too close for her comfort, becoming almost predatory. She turned from him to face the window again.

“You will have to decide—that much is true—but he failed to tell you about the army.” His voice trailed off on the last word.

“Army?” She echoed.

“Yes, you are the key to the creation of the most powerful army. Whichever you decide will cost something from you.”

She shuddered, “What will it cost me?”
 

A cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

“One of us needs your blood and the other,” his hand slipped up her arm and rested above her heart. “The other requires your heart.”

She gulped and moved to the side, slipping out of his intimate embrace but Nolan was still too close.

“No thanks, I’m kind of using them both right now. I’ll pass—but thank you for the offer.”

“One will cost you, your life, the other will cost you a lifetime beyond anything you have ever thought possible.” He stepped forward and placed his hands on her arms.

“And which do you want? My heart or my blood?” She could feel a bead of sweat rolling down her temple as her heart beat furiously against her ribcage.

“Me?” Nolan asked, a surprised look on his face, almost as if she’d offended him. His hands slid up her arms and rested on her shoulders. “I want your heart, dear, Evvie. It is Auri who wants your blood.” His voice dripped with honey as his fingertips grazed across her skin, tracing a line from their resting spot on her shoulder to her heart. “Did he not tell you that?”

Evvie shook her head, licking her lips nervously.
 

He was so close…
 

The smell of jasmine wrapped itself around her. She hadn’t noticed it at first but the scent was warm and sweet, almost overwhelming her.
 

Is… that him?

“Yes, I’m afraid it’s true. Auri brought you here for your blood.” He turned her to face him again.

“He wants my blood?” Evvie asked in disbelief. “Why didn’t he tell me?”
 

She started to slide down the wall as her knees gave out. Nolan reached out and lifted her up, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer.

Tears prickled in her eyes. She tried to blink them away but a single tear escaped and traced a path down her face.

“Why are you crying?” Nolan asked softly.

“I—I thought I could trust him, but he lied to me.”

“
Did
he lie to you?”

Evvie thought back to his words. Aurelian hadn’t lied, but he omitted the information he knew would make her decide against him.
 

“No,” she admitted.

“We may be the Unseelie fae, but we must still play by the rules.”

“Thank you.”

“For what, my dear?”

“Telling me the truth—all of it.”

Nolan hummed and considered her words before speaking, “It was in my best interest to tell you.”

“I don’t know why Auri didn’t tell me,” she murmured.

“I think we both know why he didn’t—he wants your blood, Evvie.”

She looked up at Nolan with blurred vision.
 

“But…”

“Tell me, honestly. Would you have even considered backing him if he had told you as much?”

Evvie gulped and shook her head.
 

“No,” she choked out. As much as she’d wanted to say yes, she couldn’t. Lying to herself would be pointless. Did she care for Auri? It was crazy, it was impossible, it was too soon… but she had felt a connection with him, even after finding out that he wanted her blood. The attraction she felt for him could be her undoing if she didn’t fight it. Evvie knew she had to choose logic if she were going to make it out alive.

“He was doing what he thought he needed to. Keeping it from you served his cause, just as telling you benefits me.”

It was a cold, hard truth that she didn’t want to know. Already, she was beginning to hate whatever game this was, hating that she was dragged into the middle of it, and hating that she had to decide the future of this place.
 

“How can I trust either of you?”

“We can’t lie to you.”

“I have so many questions.”

“As you should,” he said, stepping closer.

“Why can’t you lie to me? Why am I the key? What’s so special about me that I have to be the one to decide? Why do you need an army? How can I be responsible for building an army? What will happen to me?”

Nolan chuckled placing a finger to her lips to silence her.
 

“You will get answers in due time,” Nolan said, as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Why can’t you just tell me now?”

Nolan pulled her closer, her hands pressed against his chest. He lowered his face to hers, his lips resting now only a breath’s distance away. His intoxicating scent permeated her senses, clouding her judgement. She felt drunk as her heart beat loud in her ears and her eyes locked onto his lips as he moved closer.

A thunderous crack startled her, causing her to jump and move away, but Nolan’s arms held her tightly in place. Evvie's gaze darted to the bottom of the stairs. Aurelian stood at the landing, looking up at them with narrowed eyes. His fist was pressed against the wall where ice had formed and radiated outward, cracking the obsidian stone.

“Auri…” Evvie whispered breathlessly. His mouth twisted into a scowl as she stared into his icy, anger-filled, blue eyes.

Pushing out of Nolan’s embrace, she chased after Aurelian as he strode from the stairwell.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Aurelian
 

“Auri!” Evvie yelled. The padding of her shoes struck the floor as she ran toward him. Aurelian wouldn’t run from her, but he wasn’t about to wait for her to catch up. Anger boiled over and he lifted his hand, throwing a blast of icy power outward. The blast hit the wall, sending shards of ice and glass raining down around him.
 

Another explosion. Another eruption of power.

He could hear Evvie’s cry of surprise from behind.

“Stop, Auri!” she yelled, but he ignored her and kept walking.

As he neared the end of the hall, her small hand landed on his arm and pulled at his sleeve. The burst of energy he’d conjured left his hand and flew into the wide open throne room he’d been heading toward. Rounding on her, he sneered.
 

“What do you want Evvie?”

He couldn’t control his anger. The thought of Nolan getting so close to her… holding her like that. It made him sick. Aurelian wanted to end this contest, take the crown and be done with it. A game was no way to settle something so important.

She straightened her spine and opened and closed her mouth.
 

“Are you serious? Are you really going to stand there and be mad at me? For what?” He opened his mouth to speak but she held up her hand, silencing him. “No, you don’t get to be upset over any of this! After everything I’ve gone through—everything that
you
have put me through—You don’t get to be mad.
I
do.”

 
Aurelian advanced toward her until her back was pressed flush against the wall. Pressing his hands against the black surface, he caged her between his arms as ice crackled, spreading out from his palms. He stared down into her frightened emerald eyes.
 

“You’ve known him for minutes,” he snarled.

“I—”

“Why did you let him get so close to you? A few pretty words? Is that all it takes for you?” he snapped. Moving his arms around her waist, Aurelian pulled her against him. “All you had to do was say so…”

“Why are you doing this?” she whimpered, her warm breath caressing his cheek. He brought his face to hers, nuzzling her.

It made him sick to see the terror in her eyes that he had inspired. Why should he care about her feelings? She was a means to an end. The only reason he had even gone to the human world was that he needed her blood and she was the halfling that could make everything possible. With her half-Seelie, half-human blood he would be able to create an unstoppable army.

Warmth spread across his chest. If only he could forget about Nolan and just focus on her at this moment.
 

“Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“Stop it!” Evvie moved her hands up to his chest and her fingers curled into the material of his shirt.

He stumbled backward as she shoved him. “I know you need me to choose you, and this,” she waved a hand at him, “Is not going to convince me. I have a brain, and I’m not going to make a decision based on who is the best flirt. Neither of you can seduce or bully me into doing what you want.”

He expected her anger; he wanted it… deserved it even, but hadn’t expected to her to do more than scold him. The desire to push her until she was forced to unleash all the rage she held back overwhelmed him.

“Really? It seemed to be working so well for my brother.” Aurelian knew he was baiting her and that his words would only drive her further from what he wanted, but he couldn’t stop himself. Seeing Nolan with his arms around her, leaning in…

Standing still, he hardly allowed himself to breathe as he locked his gaze on hers, willing himself to calm.

“Are you jealous?”

“Jealous of what?” he spat, immediately regretting the disgusted tone of his voice.

Jealous… of Nolan?

He’d never had a reason to want anything that his brother had; there was never anything that Aurelian couldn’t have.

Evvie’s fists clenched and unclenched at her sides. He watched as she worked through her emotions, her expression changing as anger turned to fury, then to confusion, sadness and finally pain.

“Then why are you so angry, Auri?” she asked, barely speaking above a whisper. “I thought you were… you’re an idiot if you think I would make my mind up based on a kiss.”