The Glass Man - Lila Gray Book 1

Chapter Twenty-Two

Liam passed a hand under the floating door, then stretched to reach up the sides. If fae glamour hid the construction holding it up, touch would reveal it. Or so he'd told me when I'd interrogated him.

I walked a tight circle around the door for the fifth time, but found nothing new. A narrow mother-of-pearl inlay decorated the arched top and continued down the perimeter two inches from the edge of the door. The wood had been stained a dark honey color, and an emblem of an eye had been carved into the center of the single raised panel.

Garret sat cross-legged in the grass in his still-wet underwear, elbows on his knees, staring at the oak slab.

"I'm going to touch it," I said.

"No. I told you, we don't know what might happen." Liam came to stand beside me, still nude. He seemed at home, one hand hung over the back of his neck, the other dangled at his side. All while I fidgeted in the black dress, wishing I had pockets.

I did my best to keep my gaze glued to his face, but my eyes kept wandering back to his enticing hot spots, of which he had many.

"We can't risk your safety," Liam continued, "and if Garret or I touch it, it'll probably burn us because we're Unseelie."

My eyes narrowed as I edged closer to him. "What do you think it'll do to me?"

"I don't know. That's the problem." He stood in front of the door, his arms straight at his sides.

"So what do you suggest? Stand here and stare at it?" On one hand, I wanted Dun Bray to fill me with a sense of home and to find others like me after believing I was alone for so long. On the other hand, I wanted to find nothing and prove my mother hadn't lied to me, that I wasn't the queen of the Seelie. And if there were fae inside, I wanted them to hate me, so it would be easier to leave.

I didn't want to be fae, and I certainly wasn't queen material. I didn't know what I wanted anymore. Peace in a Parthalan-and-Rourke-free-world might have been enough, to go a day without seeing something horrible. To have the comfort of Liam's body wrapped around me one more time, and the insane pleasure we shared that night. I groaned internally.

The longer I thought about what I'd find beyond the door, the worse images my mind conjured of corpse-strewn streets and ruined buildings. Somehow I needed to get Liam away from that door before I convinced myself all of my mother's people were dead.

Wincing, I pressed my fingers to my temples, feigning illness.

"What's wrong?" Liam ran forward, but I turned away from him. When he came around in front of me, I whirled around and rushed for the door. I placed my hands against the smooth finish, just barely touching until I determined it wouldn't eat at me like the last one I'd leaned against. My heart fluttered.

"Goddamn it." Liam appeared on one side of me, jaw flexed. Garret stepped up on my other side.

"It just feels like a door." I didn't mask my disappointment very well.

Liam turned and uttered a curse. When he returned his focus to me back, he said, "Fine, you're right. Push it open then." The unease tucked behind his dirty look seeped out. I wanted to ask what he thought we'd find on the other side, but I didn't want him to know how torn up I was on the inside.

I hesitated for a second before I pushed hard. When it didn't budge, I hung my head. "I guess I'm not welcome here after all." Not that I blamed them. I remained still, afraid to take my hands away, as if that would make my rejection final.

Liam reached for me, but stopped short and dropped his hand. The deep blue of his eyes drew me in, but I couldn't take the intensity in them. To stare at them too long would weaken my resolve on the distance I needed to keep from him. I returned my attention to the door.