Enforcing Boundaries

Chapter 16

Lachlan

While the fae man studied me curiously, I gaped up at him. He could never pass as human, not once you got within a few yards of him. It wasn't just the eyes that looked like pools of mercury, shimmering even in the low light of my cousins' living room. It was in the delicate points of his ears, the long, lean limbs, and the tattoo that spread over the top of his shirt. It was clearly some kind of script, but not one I recognized, and the ink looked like shining metal had somehow been tattooed into him. It was bright gold and I badly wanted to touch it, just to see how such a tattoo made the skin feel.

"You are human and not human," the fae man said.

It wasn't phrased as a question, but he waited with an expectant air until I slowly – reluctantly – nodded my head. I wasn't going to risk upsetting him with lies, not when I suspected he would see right through them.

He kept his eyes fixed on mine while he raised his nose and sniffed delicately at the air. He glanced at Safiya and back at me, one of his brows lifted slightly in intrigue. "You're related," he said.

It took longer, this time, for me to debate how to respond; in the end, though there was no denying it. "Yes."

The fae man's eyes warmed, looking even brighter and more like liquid mercury than before. I could have sworn I even saw the silvery color swirling and churning. His countenance softened until I almost thought he might be on the edge of smiling at me. "It's good that you're here. Family is important, and I thought it was just Glenna and Safiya."

"They aren't alone," I said. No way would I give him any indication of just how big our family was. That could only lead to trouble.

Now his lips definitely twitched upward. He took a small step back and held his hand out between us. "I'm Luin."

I'm not going to lie – I panicked. I might be willing to break my rule against touching supernaturals for Magnus – in very particular circumstances when he needed me or when the temptation was too much to resist – but this man was a dangerous stranger. Besides, couldn't fae teleport or work some kind of portal magic? No way was I messing around with that.

Then again, what if he was one of those types who was only truly dangerous when angered?

Glenna stepped between us with a good approximation of her usual kind smile, though there was no missing the worry in her eyes. "Luin, I hope you won't be offended if my cousin refrains from touching you. He has a hard time with trust and means no disrespect."

Luin frowned a little but withdrew his hand. "Of course, Glenna." He dipped a tiny bow in my direction. "Apologies."

Well, wasn't he polite? I didn't trust it for a second, but I was too grateful he wasn't pressing the issue to dwell on it. "I'm Lachlan," I offered. I didn't like him having my name, but I was certain he could learn it without expending too much effort, so it was better to get the brownie points for giving it freely rather than risk angering him further.

Luin's frown disappeared. "It's good to meet you."

"Likewise," I said. It was probably a lie.

Luin sidestepped so Safiya was part of our little conversation ring. "I hear you've been asking questions," he said to her.

Safiya's eyes widened comically. "Oh?"

"You want to know about soulmates." It was impossible to tell from Luin's tone what he thought of this. Glenna and I exchanged concerned looks, but Safiya wasn't so circumspect. She lit up and her eyes turned pleading.

"Can you help me?" she asked, the hope all too evident in her voice.

I didn't know that much about fae beyond the normal "don't spark their curiosity" rule, which I had already broken, but I was pretty sure there was another rule against asking them for favors. Unless the lore was wrong, the fae took favors very seriously, and what they wanted in return wasn't always stated up front. Sometimes they would go years or even decades before coming to collect the debt, and when they did, a person might find that the price was far too steep.