Torn
Page 14

“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said, instead of answering my question, his pale blue eyes fixed on mine.
My hand curled into a useless fist. “That is extremely creepy to hear.”
That cold smile returned. “Why don’t we talk? There are seats across the way.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”
The slow smile increased but never reached his eyes. “Oh, I know it is.”
Fine hairs rose on my arms.
“What exactly can you do right now?” he said in the same coldly polite voice. “Refuse me?” Creepy Prince laughed, and it wasn’t a bad sound. Again, it was something that was just cold, as if he were mimicking what a human would do. “You can’t.”
“I can.” My palm itched to grab the thorn stake secured under my pant leg, but I held still. I might be reckless, but I wasn’t stupid.
“Really? I will have to beg to differ on that. You see, humans surround us. So many of them, and I have an extraordinary appetite.” His eyes appeared to glimmer as his gaze slithered from the top of my curly head down to my toes. “A rather impressive appetite for many, many things.”
“Okay. First off, ew.” My lip curled. “Secondly, I don’t want to hear about any of your appetites.”
One dark eyebrow rose. “Oh, but you should know that I could kill twenty of these humans in less than five seconds and feed on the rest, leaving them to believe that it was this little red-headed girl who murdered these innocent people.” His voice dropped even lower as he leaned in and icy air brushed my cheek. “You deny me this, those lives will be on your hands, little bird.”
Anger flushed hotly as my eyes met his. There wasn’t a single part of me that doubted anything he said. He had me. God, I hated to admit it, but he had me.
Pivoting on my heel, I marched to the corner of the street and then crossed it, heading towards Jackson Square. I didn’t have to look behind me to know the prince was following. I could feel him, his iciness beating upon my back.
The whole entire time, my heart raced so fast I was sure I was going to go into cardiac arrest on the sidewalk. This was insane on so many different levels. I was about to have a conversation, albeit an unwilling one, with the mother freaking prince of the Otherworld on a lazy Sunday afternoon. At any minute, he could kill a dozen people before anyone knew what he was up to. Any Order member could stumble across us, and how would that look, me being chummy with the prince?
Man, I really should’ve listened to Ren.
Then again, would the prince have stayed away if Ren were with me? Creepy Prince said he’d been waiting for me. He could’ve come anyway, and Ren would’ve gone ape shit, and his life would be in danger.
It really was a no-win situation.
All the benches were full, but the prince strode right up to the first one that was under the shade of a leafy tree. An elderly couple took one look at him and then struggled to their feet. Not a single word was exchanged. They ambled off as fast as their tired, old bodies could carry them.
“I bet you’re real useful on a crowded bus,” I remarked.
He sat down on the bench. “Sit.”
“I prefer to stand.”
Those eerie eyes locked onto mine. “And I prefer you to sit.”
My fingernails dug into my palms. “You wanted to talk, then talk.”
His eyes were no longer glimmering. They were as hard as chips of ice. “Sit, little bird.”
“Don’t call me that,” I snapped.
There wasn’t even a flicker of surprise or anything that gave a hint about what he would do next. He simply lifted a hand and crooked one finger. A second later, a horn blew and someone shouted—several people shouted.
I looked over my shoulder. “What the . . . ?” I trailed off, eyes widening as a young man, no older than me, stood in the middle of the busy street. It was the waiter who’d cursed earlier when I’d whipped around. A car door opened as the young man dropped to his knees in the middle of the street.
“Sit, or I will make sure his insides are on his outside.”
Oh my God. Heart dropping to my toes, I pressed my palm to my chest. “How did you . . . ?” I’d seen fae manipulate humans, but never like this. Never from this far away and without touching them.
“I am the prince,” he replied. “You have met no other like me. Sit.”
Holy shit.
I sat.
I sat as far away as I humanly possibly could on the bench. The prince smiled, and the young man shuddered. A look of confusion crossed his face as he looked around hastily. He rose to his feet and stumbled across the street where people surrounded him.
“The mortal realm has changed,” the prince said after a moment, and I looked over at him. He was staring at the road, dark brows knitted. “The last time I was here, horses carried people where they needed to go. There was no world wide web or TV.”
My brows inched up my forehead.
“It has taken me a few days to . . . adapt to all of the technology and people. They are everywhere. Ready to serve.” He smiled again as he stretched out his long legs. “My people will do well here.”
Pressing my lips together, I inhaled through my nose and remained silent.
“My world is dying, little bird. It is dark and dead. Nothing new is reborn.” The prince extended an arm along the back of the bench. If he touched me, I’d puke in his lap. For real. His chin tipped toward me. “The only way I can save it is to permanently open the gates.”