Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy, #1)

by Callie Hart

“Carrion.” The bastard sucked in a sharp breath, his attention snapping back to me. “She said my name.” He pretended to swoon. “You all heard it. She said my name.”

“He begged me to play with him. Who am I to say no? And if I’d beaten the living shit out of him, I wouldn’t have seen your little brother sulking around by the bar just now, would I? He’d still be out on the street, spitting blood into the sand. I hit him…” He thought about it. “Once. Maybe twice. That only qualifies as a light beating. And what’s a light beating between friends?”

“Spit it out, Carrion. You wouldn’t have bullied me into staying if you weren’t trying to work some kind of angle.” “Can I not just be enamored by your beauty? Can I not just want to sit and listen to the angelic tone of your voice?”

I’d needed to be chosen by the queen so that I could get close enough to kill her.

Saeris Fane was twenty-four years of age when she died. Honestly, she should have died a lot sooner, but the girl never did know when to give up.

“An Oshellith is a type of butterfly,” he called as he went. “Osha for short. They hatch, live, and die all in one day. The cold kills them very fast. Isn’t that right, Renfis?”

“Because I’m magic.” “What about you is magic?” “Everything,” he said, entering the room. “My looks. My sword skills. My personality—” “Your personality is trash.”

“Next time you’re curious about me, feel free to ask me,”

“Are you asking me how big my cock is, Osha?” “I don’t care how big it is. I care about the way you answer.” A slow, terrifying smirk spread across his face. “It’s big enough to make you scream and then some.”

“Careful, human. We Fae have an excellent sense of smell. You’d be amazed what we can scent floating on the air.”

“I like being surprised,” Fisher said, spinning his fork over in his hand. “I’m also a fan of aggressive foreplay. It’ll be a fun reminder.”

“It’s always confounded me. Humans aren’t restricted by the same laws as the Oath Bound Fae. You creatures can lie whenever you want. You do it all of the time. And yet you’re all so fucking bad at it.”

“You definitely can’t kill it, then. Not if we destroyed its home.” “It’s going to bite you,” Kingfisher said. “No, it won’t. It—” It bit me.

“I don’t hate your kind. I’m just disappointed by how breakable you are. If I held you down and fucked you the way I’m imagining fucking you right now, I doubt that you’d survive it.”

“That your body is betraying you in other ways. That I can smell you, Little Osha, and I’m thinking about drinking the sweet nectar you’re making for me straight from the fucking cup.”

One second, I was standing there, wanting very badly to put some space between us, and then the next, I was rising up onto my toes, still having to reach up for him even though he was sitting down, and I was pressing my mouth to his… The forge disappeared. Everything fell away. Everything but him.

“Careful,” he panted. “I swore I’d be still while you kissed me. At no point did I promise to exercise restraint if you climbed up into my lap and started grinding yourself against my cock.”

“This is not my brother, Fisher. This is Carrion fucking Swift!”

“I hate that fucking place, but I went there for you. I got stabbed seven times in various parts of my body. For you. This prick said he was Hayden. His blood said he was Hayden. I did what I said I was going to do. Now move. We’re getting the hell out of here.”

“I’ll happily kiss all of your aches and pains better for you once we strike camp. I’ve been told my mouth has healing properties. Especially when administered between a pair of thighs.”

“Now, I think I’ve been pretty patient while we’ve rehashed all of this gauntlet bullshit. I think it’s my turn to have a few things explained to me. Principally, where the fuck are we, why are we here, were the people who came in here about half an hour ago and laid their hands all over you really Fae, or did I hallucinate that part, and lastly…” He pointed at his foot. “Where the fuck is my other boot?”

“I’ll be eating dinner in the forge tomorrow,” I said. “They won’t have to deal with a filthy, mannerless human breaching Cahlish etiquette.” “You’ll be eating here,” Fisher corrected. “I don’t get a say in the matter?” “You’ll poison yourself if you eat in the forge.” “In my room, then.” “You’ll be eating here,” Fisher repeated.

“There’s every way,” Fisher rumbled, his eyes darkening. “I’d know the smell of you anywhere. On anyone. I’d know it blind and in the dark. Across a fucking sea. I’d be able to scent you—”

“Unless you need to relieve yourself, you won’t get out of that bed, Osha. Even then, you’ll go to the bathroom and get straight back into that bed. There are still trace amounts of poison in your veins. You need to rest until you’ve had time to properly heal.”

“Mm. You’re right. I don’t think you will invite me. When the time comes, I think you’ll beg—”

I detected your scent from three miles away, plastered all over that boy. Pheromones are signal flares to our noses, Little Osha.

Carrion swiped a piece of toast from my breakfast tray. He bit into it, creating a shower of crumbs that magically disappeared before they hit the bedsheets. “Just so I know,” he said, chewing. “Is that a no to fucking in your captor’s bed? Or a no to fucking in general?” “What do you think?”

Carrion snagged a grape from the tray and popped it into his mouth. “That I take a bath.” “A bath?” “Yes, a bath.” “That’s a weird request.”

“He said he didn’t like the way you smelled?” “Yes, and he was very rude about it. He had a bunch of sprites come in and scrub me with these stiff brushes until I was raw and pink all over. I swear they took off four layers of skin. They put this thick white clay all over me then and let it sit so long that it went hard, and they had to crack it to get it all off.” “Gods.” “And then,” he said, taking another grape. “They rubbed me down with this special kind of moss, which is where things got interesting. They paid particular attention to my…” His eyes trailed down his body until they rested in his crotch. I raised my eyebrows at him. “You let a fire sprite jerk you off with a handful of Fae moss?”

Speaking of which, you should really have changed after you left the forge, too.” “I did,” I said blandly. Carrion pulled a face. “Really? I seem to remember there being a very low-cut, sheer black dress on the end of your bed when I went back to the room earlier, and I can’t help but notice that you’re wearing a faded, threadbare shirt and some very dusty pants.” “So what? They are clean.” “That’s the only positive thing that can be said about them.” Carrion’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “I had a vested interest in seeing you in that dress.” “Why?” I shoved open the door to the dining room. “Your phenomenal tits, that’s why. They would have looked great in that dress. And your ass. The material was sheer as hell. Wouldn’t have left much to the imagination. Not that I need to use my imagination when it comes to your body, but—”

Carrion held up a hand. “I’d prefer not to be here, actually.” “Sit the fuck down,” I hissed. “All right. Gods.”

“If I were evil and using your oath for my own purposes, I’d order you onto your knees for me,” he said, cutting me off. “I’d order you to part your legs for me. I’d order you to suck and fuck me until you passed out from exhaustion. Is that what you want, Little Osha?”

“I don’t want you, Fisher.” “You’re thinking about my hands sliding up the insides of your thighs right now,” he said. “About my fingers slipping inside the wet folds of you. Working against your swollen clit, rubbing you until you’re panting and whimpering, begging for me to sink my cock into your—”

“I want to help you, Fisher! I’ll do it gladly. I might not understand your people or even believe that everyone in this realm deserves saving, but that’s not my judgment call to make, is it? For some reason, I have this weird ability that can help protect Yvelia from being ravaged by a tide of corrupted, bloodthirsty monsters. I’ve seen what they’re capable of. I know how horrifying they are, and I wouldn’t wish them upon anyone! Can’t you just trust that I—”

My back slammed up against something solid and hard—a bookcase?—but it wasn’t the shock of the pain that ripped the air from my lungs. It was Fisher’s mouth. His lips crashed down onto mine. For a brief moment, I didn’t react. I’d slipped into

“Fuck! Fisher, I want… I want you…” I panted.

“Of course not. I know him. Fisher would never…” He tiptoed around what he wanted to say, ushering me inside the tent. Delicately, he said, “I can smell you as well as him, Saeris. I wasn’t worried that he’d hurt you. I was asking if you were okay. There’s a difference.”

“I’m telling you to fuck me, Fisher. I’m asking you to—” His lips crashed down on mine. He stole my words, claiming my mouth with a ragged snarl. The kiss was incendiary.

“You asked for this. When you’re sore from coming so hard and you can’t recall your own name, remember that, Little Osha.”

“My, my. So worked up already? You’re slick as hell. What do you taste like, mm? Are you going to scream for me like a good girl when I have you ride my face?”

“I’m going to make you pant for me, Little Osha. And when we’re done, I’ll close my eyes and replay the sound of you moaning in my head every time I stroke myself to completion.”

“Perfect. You’re absolutely fucking perfect. If Danya does rip my head off tomorrow, at least now I’ll die happy.”

“Oh, no, Little Osha. You’re gonna be looking right at me for this,” Fisher said. “

“Please…” I reached for him like it was my right. His chest was warm and solid and perfect. Beneath my palms, the wolf tattoo emblazoned across his pecs came to life. The ink flowed beneath his skin, crossing from him to… to… sinners, it flowed along my fingertips, spreading over my skin, flowing just like his smoke over the backs of my hands. A delicate little bird took shape on the inside of my right forearm. It stretched its wings and took flight, its tiny body flitting over my stomach as its wings beat a thousand times a minute.

“Gods and fucking martyrs. Holy fucking shit. That’s right. Come. Show me how pretty you are when you fall apart.”

“I can’t have children, Fisher. I was cleansed when I was fourteen.”

“What do you mean… cleansed?” “I mean… they sterilize us,”

Carrion’s grin faltered. “You are extra fucking miserable today. You should really get laid. Might help improve your mood. Tell him, Sunshine.”

“Don’t call her Sunshine,” he commanded. “Why not?”

“Because she is moonlight. The mist that shrouds the mountains. The bite of electricity in the air before a storm. The smoke that rolls across a battlefield before the killing starts. You have no idea what she is. What she could be. You should call her Majesty.