Soul (Chaos #1)

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Sorcha stood beside my bed the next morning, her dark eyes full of spite. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Food," she said, pointing at the tray on the bedside table.

"No, thanks." Taking food from the fae was a bad idea, but taking food from Sorcha was the height of stupidity. Not that I'd been particularly smart lately - or ever, if I were being honest with myself.

With one last scornful glance, she turned on her heel and strode away, her skirts drifting along the floor like mist on water.

I showered and wrapped a towel around me before stepping out of the bathroom. Brendan was sitting on the bed, studying my phone. He was the only fae there who wore casual human clothes on a regular basis, and I wondered why, but it was kind of a comfort to see familiarity amongst the weirdness.

"Um, hello? Privacy?"

He looked up at me. "Why aren't you eating? Is this a new game? I told you what would-"

"The last time I ate food Sorcha handed me, I couldn't leave the room until Drake sobered me up. I still can't look at apples!"

He tossed my phone on the bed. "Humans need to eat regularly. Most humans die here because somebody forgot to feed them. I need you alive."

"Well, as long as you get what you want. I need to get dressed."

He held up my jeans with a grin. "I wish human women in my day had realised how fetching slacks were."

"They're called jeans, you turnip."

He laughed and held them out to me.

I grabbed them and glared at him. "Can I please get dressed now, your majesty?"

He stared at me blankly.

"Brendan... get out."

"Why? Are you disfigured and ashamed?"

I took a calming breath. "I'm not getting dressed in front of you because humans tend not to get naked in front of strangers."

"We're not strangers." He lay back on the bed, an irritatingly smug expression on his face. "I might be more agreeable if you eat."

"I'm going to eat on my lunch break and after my classes. And I'm going to be late if you don't get out of here."

"Classes?"

"Classes. As in college. That involves actual attendance."

He sat up, looking excited. "Fine. We'll go to this college."

"We? What do you mean, we?" No. Freaking. Way. It was bad enough trying to concentrate on a lecture with a couple of small, fidgety, mischievous fae whispering next to me without the actual king and his entourage tagging along. And if he happened to see Ronnie? Bad news all round.

"I can't leave you unattended. You attract trouble like a moth to a flame, and I want to be the one who deals with whatever comes for you. It'll give me a chance to study the tactics of my enemies."

"As much as I enjoy being your bait, Grim and Realtín have done a pretty excellent job of protecting me all by themselves."

"They warn and conceal; they aren't strong enough to protect. And what if your father shows up again?"

"Someone will call the police or something. He's not going to be there, Brendan."

"And if another warrior like MacDearg attacks your friends to get to you? What then? Sadler isn't done with us. He'll keep trying until the ceremony... to unsettle me, if nothing else." He grinned at me, his gaze travelling lower. "Besides, I'm curious about those wild college days."