CHAPTER FOUR
Roxie had been given a room of her own instead of a prison cell, something she was surprised about considering Isaac looked like he wanted to throw her there himself—either that or probably end her life right then and there. She knew it was cruel to dangle his freedom right in front of him like that, but well, what other choice did she have?
He was a stubborn ass, and she was running out of time. Using her measly powers on him at the risk of her life had been the only thing to do to get him moving.
She knew he was thinking it over, but it had been over ten hours, and he still hadn’t shown up to give his final answer on the matter. Roxie paced, the anticipation killing her and making her impatient at the same time. She tried leaving her room but was thwarted when she realized she’d been locked from the outside and had no way of actually leaving. She grumbled about this but had to admit that it was better than being imprisoned. At least they still gave her the customary food, and he even had the courtesy to give her fruits—the only thing she could eat in this world if she wanted to keep her magic intact.
Because she couldn’t get out, Roxie tried to distract herself by eating everything on the fruit tray. When that was done, she paced again, running a hole the carpet but not really caring. When even that wasn’t helping with her nerves, Roxie did the thing that she told herself not to do the moment she got here.
She crawled into bed and slept in the enemy’s lair.
A few hours later, she was woken up abruptly by a couple of knocks at the door. Roxie shot up immediately, swaying in her spot as she blinked her eyes and tried to look presentable. The door opened, and someone’s head popped in—thank goodness it wasn’t the leader himself. It was his guard, the young one who seemed to be in charge of all the other guards.
“Miss K'Lash…”
“Roxie,” she offered, trying a smile. He didn’t smile back, but his mouth did quirk, an indication that he wasn’t as humorless as his boss.
“Right.” He cleared his throat. “Miss Roxie, the leader’s ready. He wishes to speak with you in the main hall.”
She nodded her head and asked for ten minutes, and he looked bothered for a moment. He was probably wondering how he was going to explain to his uptight boss. But he let her be, and Roxie hurriedly tried to compose her hair and her clothes—a simple pair of pants and a shirt, something she still wasn’t used to wearing—before finally deeming herself good. She slipped out and followed the guard as he led the way, noticing that no one else accompanied them, unlike the last time.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
The guard hesitated before realizing her question meant no harm. “Urban Nole.”
“You really shouldn’t give out your name that freely, by the way,” she admonished, making him freeze. “But don’t worry about it. I’m not your enemy, so consider it practice for others.”
She gave him a brilliant smile before going ahead as he opened the door for her. She already liked him for his politeness and non-judgmental quality.
“Miss K'Lashtama, stop charming my people and get down to business. It’s not going to work.”
Again, unlike his ass of a boss.
Her smile disappeared as Isaac slid in the door, too, and went ahead of her towards the main hall. She followed him with a frown, but eased it off the moment he turned around to face her. She waited expectantly in the exact same spot she was in earlier, portraying the image of someone who was very compliant.
She waited in the silence, but he kept at it until impatience stirred inside her again. Tired of his game, she narrowed her eyes. “Well?”
“Hold on,” he said.
She glared, but he didn’t seem to notice. Five minutes later, the door opened again, and two more slipped in along with Urban. Roxie turned her attention towards the two, surprise filling her at the sight of them.
They were teenagers, that much was obvious. The guy was perhaps older than the girl, or just taller—he certainly was tall enough to almost reach Isaac’s height and go past Urban’s by a few inches. He had dreamy good looks that indicated he’d be a real heartbreaker when he grew up, if he still wasn’t now. She sensed something inside him—an animal, she realized, though she could tell right away he wasn’t part of this clan with the cautious way he moved about.
What was another shifter doing here?
The girl, in the meantime, was short—not as short as Roxie, but more average. She was slight, too, and had the gloomy face of any regular teenager who sulked when they didn’t get what they wanted. It was an indication that she also wasn’t from around here and was perhaps reluctant to be here. Her eyes were the most intriguing bit about her, green and too big for her face.
But it was the power she held in that surprised Roxie the most.
Not a shifter, but something else.
“How has your trip been?” Isaac asked them.
“Good,” the boy said diplomatically, glancing at Roxie before turning back to Isaac. “Thank you for the safe passage.”
The girl kept her mouth shut, watching the whole exchange quietly.
Isaac nodded his head, then turned back to Roxie. His gaze considerably grew colder. “Miss K'Lashtama, these are Simon and Robin. Robin is a witch who can help us with our journey, and Simon is her protector.”
Journey. Meaning he was going to help her. Relief poured out of Roxie in waves, and she tried to rein it in.
“Companion,” Robin muttered. “He’s my companion.”
Simon’s mouth quirked, and he accidentally met Roxie’s eyes. Her own quirked, too, up until Simon looked back at Isaac. Robin’s eyes followed what happened, and her mouth flattened as she regarded Roxie with suspicion. All that simple exchange told Roxie that she needed to be wary of these two, too.
“Miss K'Lashtama, can you explain how the travel is going to go?”
She really was getting tired of the formalities. Roxie forcefully smiled at Isaac, showing her teeth. “Roxie, please. I came from the fairy court, for those who haven’t been updated yet.” Simon’s eyes widened, but he tamped down whatever other expression he could give out. Robin appeared unperturbed. “So that makes me a fairy.”
Well, not a full fairy, but they didn’t need to know that. She continued. “I come from the Autumn Court and my mother has been kidnapped by the Winter Court. Mr. Hart has volunteered to…”
“Offer help,” Isaac supplied. “And it’s Isaac.”
“Right. I’ve traveled from my land via magic, but there’s one thing about the fairy world: we can get out easily with said magic, or travel from one fairy court to another…but getting back in from a different world is quite hard, and our magic can’t help us. We need a portal created by a non-fairy.”
She turned to Robin, who absorbed the information quietly. The girl turned to Isaac expectantly. Isaac nodded.
“I can’t create portals without…” Robin trailed off. Roxie nodded.
“I know. I’m using something of mine to create the direct pathway to Winter Court.”
What Robin had been trying to say was she didn’t know how to create a portal directly to where they needed to go, but that was okay. All Roxie needed was any kind of portal opened, and she would handle the rest.
She also needed to get rid of the witch and her companion the moment the portal was opened, but that was another scheme altogether. She’d think about the how later.
They began to discuss, with Roxie confirming that she traveled from Rio de Janeiro before getting here. Fairy portals needed ripe spots, and that was the nearest she could find. She kept quiet as Isaac instructed the others on what they needed to do before dismissing everyone.
“Roxie, please stay.”
His tone indicated he might as well have said I’m ordering you to stay. She stifled harsh words and waited as Simon, Robin, and Urban left. When it was just the two of them, she turned back to Isaac and found that his eyes were already on hers, studying her with an intensity that sent a jolt in her stomach. He had that way of looking that threatened to undo his enemies, and he was using it on her now. Refusing to cower, she steeled her shoulders and quietly stared back.
“Are you sure you’re not leaving anything out, Roxie?”
Oh, she was leaving a lot out. But if she told him now, he wouldn’t go through with it—and there would go her last hope for her mother. Frustration sizzled in her at having to do this, but she didn’t let it show in her expression at all, nor in her body language. Instead, she nodded and kept her cool.
“I’m sure. I promised you’d be free after all this, and I keep my promises.”
Except she was lying through her teeth with this promise, and she hoped she was doing the right thing.