Prim and Proper Fate (Twisted Fate Series Book 2) (5 page)

Chala, although they were technically Light Ones, did not have the ability to shift. Instead, they had a small amount of magic that, when honed, could be used to help them protect themselves from a Rakshasa attack. Few practiced their magic, though, because they always had either a Fate, most of whom had a great deal more magic than a Chala, or their shifter mate to protect them.

Sydney, from what Prim understood, had not only honed her magic, but she’d trained in hand-to-hand combat as well. And she’d participated in at least one battle and had come out alive, although it hadn’t exactly been on purpose, and Gavin no doubt refused to let her do so again. She was far too precious a commodity, to him and to the pack they led. But if she had to, Sydney was prepared to defend herself, and that was what really mattered.

Too bad the Fates and Light Ones hadn’t thought of that tactic several hundred years ago. Maybe Sydney wouldn’t be the last one left, and it wouldn’t be as big of an issue that she’d chosen to mate with a cursed Rakshasa instead of a Light One.

“I can tell,” Sydney said, walking further into the courtyard. “Why wouldn’t you help us, otherwise?”

“Do I really need to go through the list of reasons again?”

“They all boil down to you being afraid. You’re afraid to leave this island. You’re afraid to go after Gavin. You’re afraid to try to curse him again. Basically, you’re just afraid.”

“I am not male, nor a shifter. Taunting me into helping won’t work,” Prim retorted.

Sydney shook her head. “I’m not taunting you. I’m just pointing out that the only reason you won’t help is because you’re afraid. And the only way you’ll actually conquer your fear is if you
do
help us.”

“I don’t particularly care about conquering my fears.
If
I have any fears to conquer,” Prim added tartly.

“Have you ever been in love, Prim?” Sydney asked softly.

Yes
.
With every one of my Chala
.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because if you’ve ever been in love, then you would understand how I feel right now. It’s like . . . like a part of me is missing. I feel like my life is empty right now. My heart feels the most empty of all. And it’s not just me. Gavin is an integral part of our pack. He’s our leader. Those shifters are completely disorganized without him. Do you think that’s the best sort of protection for the last remaining Chala in the world?”

“I think it’s terribly ironic that your pack is led by a Rakshasa.”

“A
cursed
Rakshasa. One you cursed. One you can curse again. If you just stop being afraid.”

Prim pursed her lips and balled her hands into fists at her side. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said stiffly. “I need to speak with my chef and check on dinner.” She hurried through the arched doorway leading to the kitchen, glancing over her shoulder and then sagging with relief when Sydney did not follow.

William caught up with her an hour later, after she’d reviewed the dinner plan with Brutus and Brokk and then retired to her private suite, if only to avoid her houseguests. It made her infinitely nervous that they were here at all, and she should be hovering over them, ensuring nothing bad happened, but she couldn’t do it. She needed a little distance, at least for a few moments. Unfortunately, William wouldn’t allow her those moments.

“Sydney tells me you are refusing to help us, Prim.”

William had changed out of his green cover-up and instead wore a bright yellow halter-top and a matching flounce skirt. An ocean of hairy, thick abdomen was revealed between the two pieces. His wig was black and straight, and his lips were coated with hot pink gloss. William was the size of a football linebacker. The result on anyone else would be comical. On William, it was just . . . William.

Prim watched as he wandered over to her vanity and inspected her makeup.

“It isn’t that I’m refusing, exactly. It’s just that I’m not sure I
can
help,” Prim allowed. She and William had never been particularly close, but she’d never had issue with him, either. She had a healthy dose of respect for him, because he’d been able to hide a Chala in plain sight, at least until Gavin had discovered her. Since Gavin had been cursed at the time, the discovery had resulted in the two of them falling in love, instead of him trying to kill her.

Until now. Now that Killian had reversed the curse, Gavin would come after Sydney with a renewed vengeance. And because of his connection to her, he would find her. He would kill her without an ounce of remorse.

“How in the world did Killian manage to release him from that curse? The man never studied, never read any of the reference materials the First provided.”

William lifted a vial of perfume and sniffed, then lifted the stopper and touched it to his neck, then at the V of his halter-top. “He had a copy of
Tried and True Curses
.”

“Killian? How in the world did he obtain a copy? There are probably no more than a dozen in existence, if that.”

“I suspect he stole your copy. He was just here visiting you, was he not?”

“He did not—” Prim rushed to the tiny, three-hundred-year-old curio cabinet where she kept most of her prized possessions. Sure enough, her copy of
Tried and True Curses
was not there.

“That-That-That—” Prim was not one to swear very often and she could not think of a word strong enough.

“I understand,” William said.

“I did not grant him permission to be in my bedroom.” She didn’t know why, but she wanted William to understand that her relationship with Killian did not involve anything that might happen in this space.

William’s shoulders sagged. “I’m afraid it’s my fault. We’ve overstayed our welcome, and I’ve suspected it for weeks. I went to Killian in the first place because he is such a recluse. I thought for sure we could hide from the Rakshasa at his home. I did not think about the reasons he is such a recluse.”

Prim glanced over her shoulder, at the doorway leading out to the hall. “As I understand it, the one you’ve brought with you, Brandon, led them to Killian’s place.”

“Not exactly. I suppose, in a roundabout way, it was his fault, but another Light One, one who died, ultimately led them to us. Either way, we should have left once everyone was healed. I have known Killian long enough to know he does not tolerate company well.”

“So why didn’t you?”

William picked up a tube of rouge and swept the color onto his cheeks. “We haven’t been able to figure out where to go, and in truth, I’m not sure we’re ready to battle the Rakshasa yet. Gavin and Sydney lead the pack like a democracy. They allowed everyone to have input into where they should settle. The majority wanted to return to Hilde’s place in Michigan, despite the fact the Rakshasa found us there, too.”

Prim allowed a tiny smile. “Hilde is a very sweet Fate. I can see why they would like to stay with her.”

“They love her property, too. That lake she lives on, all that property with no human neighbors for miles and miles. And as shifters have elevated body temperatures, they prefer the cooler climate. And Hilde, of course, loves the company. She hates being alone.”

“The polar opposite of Killian,” Prim murmured, watching while William added eye shadow to his lids.

“And yourself, it would seem.”

“I’m not alone here.”

“Yes, you are, and you know it. If you won’t come with us, Prim, teach me the curse, so I can go after Gavin. We have to get him back. I can’t let my Chala suffer like this.” He turned away from the vanity and gave her a beseeching look.

A sliver of guilt laced through her system. “Do you love her?”

“Yes,” William said immediately. “She’s like my sister. Or even my daughter. I had a daughter when I was human. Sydney reminds me a lot of Beth.” He sounded terribly sad.

“
You
had a daughter?” Prim couldn’t help the incredulous quality of her voice.
William? The cross-dressing linebacker?

He made a face. “Yes, I had a daughter. And a wife. Back when I was alive, homosexuality wasn’t exactly an accepted practice. Neither my parents nor my wife understood my desire to wear women’s clothing, my attraction to males. Not that anything back then would fit me,” he said with a quirk of his lips. “It wasn’t until after I became a Fate that I was able to let my true nature out.”

Prim eyed his hairy abdomen.
He’s certainly let it out.

“I can’t teach you the curse,” Prim admitted. “It’s far too complicated. I’m not even sure I remember it, let alone have the ability to teach it to someone else.”

“You need to remember, Prim. It is your duty as a Fate to help my Chala.”

His definition of a Fate’s duty had definitely become skewed. Her duty was to ensure the Chala remained safe and ultimately mated with a Light One, so she could see to her responsibility as, essentially, the mother of the Light Ones. A Fate’s duty was not to ensure their Chala’s heart wasn’t broken. Hell, back when Prim first became a Fate, they were still able to choose their Chala’s mate for them. Love seldom had anything to do with it.

Despite her wish that they simply pack up and leave again, Prim played the hostess with aplomb. She instructed Gaya and Brutus to rearrange the courtyard so that one long table stretched through the middle, enabling everyone to sit and eat dinner together. They set the table with her best China and crystal. She had instructed Brokk to chill several bottles of what she knew was excellent pinot grigio. The wine paired particularly well with the seafood gumbo and crusty bread he had made for dinner. She dressed in a hot pink cocktail dress and matching heels with tiny bows over the peek-toe opening.

As Prim sipped her wine, she watched Brandon over the rim of her glass. He sat across from her, devouring his meal without once looking at those who were seated around him. Yet Prim had the distinct impression he knew exactly what was going on at all times. If she picked up a butter knife and started the motion of tossing it, she imagined Brandon would leap across the table and wrench the knife from her grasp before she could even follow through. She couldn’t say why she felt so certain of her impression of the shifter, though.

Gaya pranced into the room, wearing the same skimpy dress she’d changed into earlier. Instead of fawning over Killian as Prim would have expected, Gaya made a beeline for Brandon. As she filled his water glass, her other hand came to rest on his shoulder, and she bent forward completely unnecessarily. Her breasts were practically in his face. If he wanted to, he could have flicked out his tongue and licked them.

A red-hot emotion swept through Prim, an emotion with which she had only the vaguest relationship. Jealousy.

I’m jealous of my own servant
?
Why? I’m not attracted to shifters. In fact, I’ve been avoiding all contact with shifters for the past 170 years.

And yet, she could not help but bark at her servant, “Gaya. Perhaps you could bring
me
some water?” Acid dripped from her words. Gaya straightened and looked pointedly at Prim’s full glass of water. Prim deliberately lifted her goblet and took several swallows, then set it down and waited. Gaya’s eyes were stormy, but she turned her back on Brandon and walked around the table to do as she’d been instructed.

Prim glanced down the table at Killian, and found him watching the exchange intently. Even Sydney and William appeared acutely aware of the reason for what she’d just done.

Lovely
.
The whole bloody island now thinks I have a thing for the shifter
.

Her guests chose not to harass her about the curse over dinner, a decision for which Prim was eternally grateful. She didn’t think she had the emotional strength left to fend them off right now. She needed a solid night’s sleep first. Then she would feed them breakfast and send them on their way. With her blessing, but not her person.

Maybe she’d even try to write down the curse, so William could take it with him. It was coming back to her, in brief flashes of memory. By the time dessert was served, she was reasonably confident she could recall it with enough accuracy to be credible. If William practiced long and hard, maybe he’d get it right. And if he didn’t . . . Prim determinedly shook her head, excused herself from the table, and slipped through the doorway leading to the other wing of her home.

Acutely aware of the Fate and her every move, Brandon watched Prim go. She was sex and candy walking, and he had always had a healthy appreciation for beautiful women. If she wasn’t a Fate, he would probably be trying to finagle his way into her bed by now. But she was a Fate, and that made all the difference in the world. She could stand over a hot grill, preparing the perfect, rare steak, wearing nothing but those impossibly high heels with those little bows on the toes, and he would still not be interested.

He was pretty sure that was the truth.

Her spike of temper when her servant had shoved her tits into his face had been amusing, especially considering the Fate was doing her damnedest to pretend like she wasn’t the least bit affected by their visit. Her fake veneer was too damn thin, though. It was obvious they’d rattled her, although what wasn’t obvious was why.

She didn’t really have anything vested into returning Gavin to his cursed state. She had no real connection to Sydney. In fact, according to Sydney, the two women did not particularly like each other. And according to William, he and Prim were little more than passing friends who happened to do the same job for a living. William also mentioned that until Gavin came along, Prim had been one of the premier Fates. She had always been first choice when a new Chala was born.

“The First Fate loves her,” William had explained. “She is particularly fond of Prim, because Prim has always treated her Chala like they are her children. More so than the rest of us.”

“More than the way you feel about Sydney?”

“Exactly the way I feel about Sydney,” William had qualified. “Except Sydney’s the first one I’ve been so close to. Prim develops this attachment to every single one of her Chala. Every time she handed one off to her mate, it was like sending her own child off into the real world. It broke her heart every time. But that’s what makes her so good at her job.”