Chosen Fool (Forever Evermore #5) (8 page)

“Leric,” I murmured softly, my voice shaking in an embarrassing manner. “I’m telling you, it’s not like that.” My eyes darted back and forth between his. “And besides, you told me you didn’t—”

“I know what the fuck I told you. And I can see I made the right decision if you’re so fucking blind to what I’ve been doing so far.” He shook his head, his white rolls of curls flying as he stared at me from shadowed eyes. “You had the right of it, Sprite. You’re nothing but a childish fucking twenty-three-year-old, who’s a fucking liar since you still can’t tell the goddamn truth when confronted.” He growled deep in his throat, baring his teeth at me. “And apparently you’ve also turned fucking slut after our night together.”

My jaw clenched, utterly mortified to be demeaned like this in public. It was further embarrassing when my eyes welled with tears of blatant hurt.

Leric flicked his wrist above my head. “Do it, since the truth can’t pass her lips.”

My breath caught on a gasp as a large palm landed on the back of my neck.

A pulse of stars shot straight to my brain.

I kept my guns hidden as I passed the revelry drinking and chatting, heading for the most secluded location on the side of the building. I was careful where I walked as I stepped on the snow. I turned the corner and raised my guns.

My voice was empty of emotion while I narrowed my sights on the Mage standing twenty yards away. “Hello, Jasper.”

His teeth flashed in the moon’s glow, almost as frightening as the twin guns he had aimed on me. “Hello, Caro.” His head cocked, his golden eyes were steady. “Miss me?”

“Like a pesky spider. You just keep showing up no matter how many times I try to kill you.”

He chuckled softly, the sound snaking on the light breeze. “God, how I truly miss that mouth of yours.” His eyebrows waggled suggestively. “Would you care to give me another demonstration of how you slipped away that last time?”

Unbidden, my own lips twitched. “You always wanted it, so I gave it to you.” My own brows lifted. “If I remember correctly, you weren’t too upset when I escaped on your watch for the first time.”

Again he snickered, the sound quiet and intimate. “No, I wasn’t.” A full minute passed by in silence as we eyed each other, possibly both of us remembering that night years ago when we had actually had a civil conversation. I had then taken full advantage of the situation, or him, using a bit of feminine persuasion and wiles. Jasper’s guns, though, never waved. Mine didn’t either. He stated with a cool tone, “He wants you back.”

“Is that what this is about? You’re coming to do his damn bidding?” I barely withheld my anger at the intrusion. “Are you fucking kidding me, Jasper? You don’t even have anything to hold over—”

I jerked forward, away from the power, with tears slipping over my cheeks. The back of my chair thumped onto the floor as I jumped from it, backing away from Reese where he had snuck up behind me. I stood behind King Collins’s chair, gripping his shoulder hard. Quickly, I wiped the humiliating wetness from my face, though more tears were welling. I glowered at Reese’s completely expressionless face, his eyes dark pools on his creamy complexion.

“Did…what I think just happen, actually occur, Caro?” King Collins asked almost casually, placing a soothing hand over mine while he stared up at Reese. “I mean, other than the asshole across the table kissing away any wish he had for you?”

I quickly wiped away more tears and stuttered, “I…I need…” I sucked in a huge breath. “I need to process this before I accuse anyone of anything.” I giggled, my thoughts a bit crazy. “Because Reese wouldn’t be the one I blamed, since he was blatantly ordered.”

It was so damn silent at the table.

Then King Collins actually started snickering right along with me. “You mean, it would be,” clear distaste, “
the One
you would punish?”

“Exactly.” I turned my face away, still half chuckling, half crying as I wiped at my cheeks with my free hand. I squeezed King Collins’s shoulder and cleared my throat before I slipped my hand out from under his. “I think I’m going to my room now.” I reached for my purse on the ground and put my feet into motion away from that fucking mess.

Leric muttered, “Reese, I don’t give a shit about—”

“Sir, with all due respect,” Reese cut him off, gruff and blunt. “We need to talk privately and then possibly with the four Rulers.”

I wasn’t far enough away because I still heard Leric’s tone completely alter behind me, changing to an utterly bottomless voice as he asked, “What did you see?”

Chapter Nine

I sat in the bathtub, taking a long shower, or more precisely a long crying jag, letting the water run over me until it ran cold.

Evil had come from him—an apparent asshole—in front of everyone.

An asshole I—
fuck me
—had feelings for.

The last thing I wanted to hear were multiple voices in my hotel room.

Arguing.

I jerked the freezing water off.

Wiping my face, I sniffed hard and wrapped the towel around me.

I opened the bathroom door a crack and muttered on a croaking voice, “I need my clothes out there, so if—” I gasped, then I grunted as I banged back against the wall as Leric fucking barged into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind him. Holding my towel closed tight with one hand, I ran my other hand over my puffy, obviously-been-crying damn face and jammed my finger at the door. “
Get the fuck out!
”

He held up his hands, his eyes running over my features. “Just give me a second. I want to talk before we go out there with everyone.”

My face flushed in anger, and my fucking chin started trembling again when I remembered what he had said to me. “Don’t you think it’s a little late for decorum, Leric?” I sneered, waving my hand at the door. “You already embarrassed me in front of every single person who is eventually going to be my fucking colleague.” I jabbed my finger against his chest, tears of hurt and embarrassment flooding down my cheeks, pissing me off further. “I may be fucking twenty-three years old, but so help me, I would never,” I paused, growling the word again, “
never
act as you did in front of any of your goddamn equals.” I shoved his chest hard and…he didn’t even have the grace to take a step back and act like it affected him. “
You humiliated me, Leric! Fucking humiliated me!
” I pounded his solid chest a few more times, utterly furious.

His jaw clenched, and he took the beating stoically before he tried grabbing my beating hand. But I yanked it away quickly from his grasp. Leric exhaled slowly, his tone more purr than menace, although his words came in bits and pieces. “I know I did, Sprite. And I want to…apologize. I behaved completely…inappropriately—”

I held up a hand, stopping him quickly. “Leric, you obviously don’t apologize very often, so I’ll save you the effort of trying.” I glared, again shoving a finger against his chest. “Because you can take your fucking pathetic apology and shove it straight up your ass.”

Leric’s eyes flashed silver under his hooded lids and his lips parted, ready to speak.

“Get the hell out of here.” I was going to lose it. My skin was glowing, and my voice was shaking the floor, the walls, and the mirror as I jabbed a finger at the door. “
Get the fuck out!
”

God, he only grinned, crossing his arms as the bathroom shook around us. “You’re cute when you get angry—”

I decked him, flat out punched him with my glowing fist, putting enough magical power behind it that his massive upper body knocked sideways over the sink and the side of his face smashed into the mirror. The glass shattered, the cutting crap falling down around us. He gripped his jaw where my punch had landed, his silver eyes shining as they opened in slow motion.

Leric pushed to straighten himself, and his expression was a mixture of amusement and irritation even though he had blood dripping from his cheekbone—the wound already healed—where he had hit the mirror. While I fumed at him, my free fist still clenched, his lips tilted up at the edges. We could both hear some type of argument resuming in my previously silent room.

There was a hush before a knock came at the door.

Roselle cleared her throat. “Sir, Caro, is everything all right in there?”

“Everything’s fine, Roselle,” Leric murmured evenly, rotating his jaw twice before continuing. “Sprite just put my face into her mirror. She’ll need Queen Cooper to fix the mess in here later so she doesn’t cut herself.”

A long pause, then she answered, “Understood, sir.”

“Just leave,” I hissed not a second later, done playing whatever fucking game this was to him. “I want you to get the hell out and leave me alone.”

Leric rotated his jaw once more before lowering his hand. He bent gradually, placing his face, bloody and all, in front of my glowing one. He stated slowly, “I’m not leaving until I say this.” His nostrils flared as he inhaled immensely, gathering his thoughts, stalling as I seethed. My eyes were glowing brighter on his face before he finally continued, “You were correct. I am God-awful at apologies. I rarely have to make them.” Another giant inhale. “I haven’t handled things right with you. Instead of telling you I wanted more with you, I tried backhanded, manipulating actions—”

Lord, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know
.

“—to try to win you over. It obviously backfired on me, and when I assumed you went off with someone else this evening…well, I lost the thin amount of control I had remaining and I was purposely cruel and hurtful to spite you.” His jaw clenched, the muscles ticking at the sides. “I am truly sorry for that, Sprite.”

Unwavering, silver eyes peered into my own gaze. Finally he grumbled deeply, “Say something, Sprite. I just laid it out there for you, and you’re honestly starting to scare me.”

I swallowed hard, trying to calm myself. “I’m a bit overwhelmed.”

Slow speech. “Overwhelmed?”

I nodded rigidly inside his hold, my stomach kind of clenching oddly and not in a good way. “Yes.” More nodding of my head. “Overwhelmed.” In fact my stomach churned in a very unpleasant way, and I felt the blood drain from my face. I was more than a bit dizzy with emotions and fatigue.

I watched silver eyes widen on my face. “Sprite, what’s wrong?”

My stomach clenched again and I mumbled, “I’m fairly sure I’m going to be sick.”

There was a beat of silence. “Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for—”

“Leric,” I groaned, cutting him off by clapping a hand over my mouth, “there’s glass all over the toilet.” I stood on tiptoe, rotating to glance for any outlet but trying not to cut my bare feet, my stomach rolling. “Not good, not good, not good.”

“Shit,” he muttered, his eyes flicking from my face to the glass all over the floor before he hurried to straighten. He opened the door a bit, barking outside, “Mom, get me the trash can over there.” I heard her start to say something but he cut her off, shouting, “Now!”

Three seconds later, I heard his dad mumble something close to the door, but Leric pulled a medium sized trash can—unlike the small one in the bathroom covered in glass—inside. He slammed the door on whatever his dad was saying, placing the trash can under my mouth just as I spewed into it, my stomach crunching painfully. I groaned heavily, trying not to move my feet, which was harder than I thought. I hurried to tuck in my towel tighter so I could grab the trash can from him, since he—the One—was already silently gagging as I heaved into it again. Once I had a grip on the trash can, he flipped the fan on—as if that was really going to help with the immediate smell—but he stayed in the bathroom manfully, pulling my hair back while I dispelled every last ounce of my dinner.

And possibly some of my breakfast.

I moaned quietly, spitting the disgusting remains of my stomach’s contents. “Can this evening get any worse?”

Leric gagged, his choking making my stomach clench all over. But there was nothing left in it to come out. Dry words were spoken by the One. “I’m thinking not.” A pause as he choked on air. “What the fuck did you eat, Sprite?”

“A little bit of everything from the looks of it,” I mumbled honestly, groaning as I spit into the trash can again. I didn’t really want to remove my head from the thing for him to see, partly because it was embarrassing and partly because I didn’t want to hold his hair while he used it next. “Can you grab a washcloth over there to cover this?”

“On it,” he rumbled, sounding more than happy to do so. Using one hand to hold my hair, he grabbed a cloth off the counter. He shook the glass off it gently, then quickly placed it over the opening of the trash can under my face. He released my hair to take the trash can from me and, yes, gagged again at the feel of it. He opened the door a bit, holding it out of the crack. “Mom, take this…away.”

“Is she all right?” His mom ask softly, actually sounding worried. She took the disgusting trash can since Leric’s hands came back inside the bathroom empty.

“Never better,” I mumbled in his stead, catching my towel as it loosened again. I took the opportunity to shove Leric out the door. I glared at everyone in my room. “Can someone get me some damn clothes?”

Wincing as Roselle pulled glass shards from my feet with bitty tweezers, I didn’t glance Leric’s way. But I was pretty sure he was either scowling or watching with amusement since that seemed to be his mood when I was making him leave the bathroom. Not to mention, I was fairly sure I was wearing clothes his mother had bought me. I truly hated the pure white silk pajama pants over a matching white silk tank top.

Gritting my teeth while Roselle plucked another shard out, I watched as Queen Cooper exited my bathroom, done using her Mage magic to fix my mirror. I really wanted to brush my teeth now, seeing as every single damn Ruler was crammed into my smallish room—and
all
of the spirits in attendance—leaving hardly any room to move, much less breathe on people.

Queen Cooper’s lips were pinched on her beautiful face, and she completely surprised me by placing her hands on her hips, stating bluntly, “You’ve thrown up twice recently.”