Shadow's Kiss (Monstrous Hearts: Fleur's Story)

Chapter Eleven

"This might take longer than I thought," said Fleur, staring at Mason's YouTube page. The man had uploaded over 900 videos. A quick scroll through the titles suggested most were music reviews, political rants, and various garbage content. "It's probably better to start with his second channel, which looks like vlogs he made whenever he toured with his band. Maybe he talks about the occult in some of them."

Dario sat beside her in Prosy's chair, stroking the cat while she purred in his lap. "How many are there?"

"Almost 200, but most are under 20 minutes long." She didn't look forward to spending that many hours on this asshole, and sighed while clicking on the most recent video. It was about what she expected—badly edited and heavily filtered footage of him playing on stage, walking through a cemetery with the other band members, and drinking at a bar while he rambled in a voiceover.

Then she heard the rustle of plastic and looked over. Dario had the bag of chips she had strangled during their kiss. He tore it open and offered it over.

"Thanks." She took a handful of chips with her formerly injured hand and added, "And thanks for healing me. I'm not even tired anymore."

Or sore, although she wasn't about to mention that, or how every inch of that kiss felt burned into memory and would definitely be absorbed into her fantasies. She was starting to like him and knew that was dangerous. Still, she couldn't help watching him try a few chips for himself. "How do you like your first taste of modern junk food?"

His response was to grab a bigger handful.

Soon, they were eating out of the bag together in a comfortable rhythm while watching the videos. After half an hour, she leaned back in her chair and said, "God. He liked talking about himself as much as Hayley. He hasn't mentioned her or his bandmates at all."

Dario made a noncommittal noise, studying the footage of Mason saluting the viewer with a flaming shot of absinthe. "He had the ego of a warlock but nothing else. Human through and through."

Fleur shoved another chip in her mouth. "He performed magic somehow."

"No, that was you."

The words were spoken with such certainty that she turned to him. "I was drugged and tied down in the middle of some scribbled symbols. That's all I did."

"They set up and recited the necessary words, but you're the reason it worked. Like a battery for a clock."

"How? I'm not a witch."

He didn't disagree, rubbing at the side of his jaw as though lost in thought. "I can tell this is why you're uncomfortable around witches, so I don't ask lightly. When you were taken by the coven, were you kept alone or trapped with other humans?"

Fleur tried to sound bored, like she was long over the memories. "Trapped with others, but we were put into separate cages."

"Twelve in all?"

"How did you know the exact number?"

"I knew Edric. Not well, but enough." The tone of his voice made it clear he hadn't been impressed with the other warlock. "Like most hag kings, he demanded extravagant tribute."

She didn't understand most of his answer but recognized the name. It was the same one Balbus had mentioned during his rambling about Colton. "Wait. So that Golden Staff coven is the same one that kidnapped me?"

"Golden Stag."

"I don't care."

His eyes lost their sharpness as he focused on her. Then he grinned, as if he could tell she really didn't. His smile made her stomach flip, and she quickly refocused on the video just as he said, "Didn't your sister talk about this?"