White Little Lies, page 1
Copyright © 2024 by Sara C. Roethle
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Art by Phoenix Designs
Chapter Art by Red Headed Trickster
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
1
Crispin gripped my arms, steadying me. His fresh scent, like the first new leaves of spring, filled my senses. “Easy now, you didn’t make it too far this time.”
I took a deep breath, willing the dizziness to subside. He was right. We were still in his tower, sparkling sunlight cutting a long line across the floor through a stained glass window. Stacks of books teetered haphazardly around us.
“There, that’s better.” Crispin released me, then turned back toward his workstation to scribble a few notes.
I watched his broad shoulders, clad in a periwinkle button up, as he continued writing. On anyone else, the color would have been too much. But on him it just sort of… worked. The plaid pants and dapper suspenders probably helped.
One of these days I was going to get a peek at that journal and see that he was just scribbling Eva is a failure over and over again. He was doing his best to help me learn how to travel to the near realms to find my mom, but so far I hadn’t managed to go far. The only time I had made it anywhere impressive had been to save him, and that was because he had already forged the pathway. I had something to focus on to get there.
I glanced at Sebastian, leaning against the wall near the window, watching us with a bored expression. He was dressed in his usual black and white, the creases in his trousers as sharp as his cheekbones.
Scowling, I put my hands on my hips. “You may as well leave if you’re just going to stand there like that.”
“It’s only been a week since an elf tried to kill you, and you would like me to leave you unprotected in Emerald Heights?” A flash of fire in his eyes emphasized his words.
I frowned. “Zenith is rotting in a dungeon somewhere. No one else wants to kill me.”
“You’re being naïve.”
Shaking my head, I turned back toward Crispin. His blond hair was mussed from raking his fingers through it so many times, and his blue eyes were weary. I seemed to have that effect on people. At least lately.
He set his journal aside. “I hate to agree with the devil, but there is no sense in throwing caution to the wind. I myself did not exactly enjoy being run off the road by crazed fairies with poisoned blades.”
I shifted uncomfortably at his words, remembering how one of those poisoned blades had pierced Gabriel’s chest, which led to me to think of what had happened after that. Waking up in the arms of two different men had been a new experience for me, one we were yet to repeat. One I wasn’t sure we would repeat if a life wasn’t hanging in the balance.
It was also an experience I was avoiding discussing with either of the goblins because my cheeks burned like fire every time I thought of it.
“Earth to Eva.” Crispin’s intelligent blue eyes sparkled. “Care to share what secret thoughts have you blushing in the middle of our lesson?”
I cringed. “Nothing important. Now let’s try again.”
Crispin sighed. “As fun as it is having to find you when you shift to an unfamiliar area of the palace, I think we should perhaps call it for the day. I’ll try to come up with something else for next time.”
I gave him a wary look, and he lifted his hands. “No forging my own paths, I promise. Nearly getting trapped in that tiny room last time was enough to scare me straight.” He lowered his voice to a whisper, though Sebastian would hear him regardless. “Not that I minded the rescuing.”
My entire face heated. The make-out with Crispin was also a one time thing. I had only done it to save him. With both Mistral and Gabriel, and hells, sometimes Sebastian, my dance card was more than full.
My eyes flicked toward the devil in question and he smiled at me like he knew exactly what I was thinking. We had only kissed a handful of times, and each time I boldly declared to myself that it would be the last. But would it? My magic reacted differently to him than it did to the others, and each kiss always left me wanting more, even though I wanted to punch him just as badly.
“And now you have that same look for Sebastian. Curious.” I turned to see Crispin stroking his chin.
“Not curious,” I grumbled. “Annoying.”
Crispin lifted a brow, but didn’t comment further. “Elena asked if she could escort you to the border today. I promised I wouldn’t tell her father, though gods help me if he finds out.”
I rolled my eyes. “She can gallivant around the city shooting people with arrows, but she gets drunk one time and that’s what her father is hung up on?”
Crispin shrugged. “I think it was the getting drunk with werewolves part that has him on edge.”
I pinched my brow and shook my head. Perhaps it had not been my wisest plan bringing everyone to Willowvale, but it had worked out okay in the end. Save for Braxton’s cousin Warrick pestering me for Elena’s number. I had told him that I wasn’t sure if elves even used phones, but that was yet to dissuade him.
My head whipped up as Sebastian suddenly appeared right beside me, instead of leaning against the wall. Since there was no telltale flash of darkness, he had probably just walked over. Man, I was exhausted. Shifting uselessly around the palace could really take it out of a girl.
He offered me his arm, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“You’re going to fall down the stairs if you try to walk on your own.”
My eyes narrowed further, but he was right. I was dead on my feet. I took his arm, trying to not delight at the little thrill of dark magic prickling up my skin, instantly tightening things lower.
By the gods, I really needed to find the Realm Breaker to fulfill our contract and get me away from him.
Considering he was a devil, my very soul might hang in the balance.
“So listen,” Elena said as we rode our bucks toward the gates. “I’ve been thinking about the fairy who cast the glamour to fake your death.”
My eyes whipped from our green surroundings to study her face. Part of Sebastian’s new contract with Elena’s father was to share whatever information either of them had on my mother. Even though Sebastian had garnered that information from spying on me, it was technically necessary to share it. Since it would come out anyways, I had told Elena about it too.
“You want to go to the Crystal Vale, don’t you?” I smoothed my hands across my buck’s fur. At least I was finally trusted to ride on my own after the past week visiting Crispin.
She rolled her eyes toward me. “Well I can’t go there.”
“Only Eva can go there,” Sebastian said from my other side. “And it’s far too dangerous.”
“Those fairies only tried to kill her because they believed Ivan was paying them!” Elena argued.
Sebastian took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “There are many others in the city who still want Eva, and the fairies have made it obvious they will work for the highest bidder.” His buck shook its head, unsettled by his irritation.
“It is the best lead we have on my mom,” I interrupted. “The glamour was aimed specifically at her. Whoever cast it would have needed to know her.”
“And what makes you think they’re still alive?”
I shrugged. “Until recently, my mom still thought I was dead.”
“That does not mean the glamour is still active, only that she stopped looking.”
My shoulders hunched against the sun heating my back. “It’s still our best lead,” I muttered. “Either that, or Lucas.”
Sebastian had claimed Lucas was just following orders, that he had no true contact with my mother, but was fulfilling an old debt. Even if it was true, it had to be some debt for the effort he’d put in, not only killing night runners, but harassing me, and even threatening to hold me prisoner in the Silver Quarter.
The latter had convinced me to stay away from him, but I might have to confront him eventually. Even if I could learn to travel to the near realms, I would still need to have a rough idea of where my mother was hiding.
“Just work on your realm jumping,” Sebastian said tersely. “Without that, none of the rest of it matters.”
Elena chewed her lip like she wanted to say more, but she kept quiet. I had a feeling I would be hearing all about it once Sebastian wasn’t around, but that might take a while. The only place I could go to escape him now that the elf king had given him a free pass was the Bogs, and Elena couldn’t go there.
And if I went there…
I’d had communication with both Gabriel and Mistral since that night, but I hadn
t gone long enough to stay within the Citadel. I would have liked to say that maybe I didn’t fully trust them, but it wasn’t true.
In reality, I just didn’t fully trust myself.
2
We ran into one of my neighbors on the way up to my apartment. Noel had fairy blood somewhere in her ancestry, but it wasn’t strong. Just enough to give her a feel of otherness that most wouldn’t even notice. She pushed a lock of black hair behind her ear and gave me a coy smile as we passed her on the stairs.
I forced a smile in return. Sebastian had been around so much, I was pretty sure most of the neighbors thought he was my boyfriend. Most of them also wouldn’t be able to tell that he was a devil. If they could, they might think a little differently of me.
I glanced at him as we continued toward my door. He seemed oblivious, but I knew it was an act. Sebastian missed very little.
He finally looked down at me as we reached my apartment, but his dark eyes were distant, his thoughts somewhere else. “I will return for you tomorrow.”
I could have let it go at just that. I should have let it go at just that. But hells, he had saved my life one too many times. It didn’t feel right lying to him. “I have a delivery tonight, so if you sense your calling card out and about, that’s why.”
His eyes were suddenly keen on my face. “You’re being foolish.”
I lifted a hand to cut him off. “Hey, a girl’s gotta eat, and there’s nothing in our contract that says I can’t take other jobs. But in case you didn’t catch the rest of my statement, I will bring my card.” It vexed me, but once again, he had saved my cookies one too many times. Every time I’d heard a motorcycle over the past week, I was looking over my shoulder for fae.
“Whatever you will earn for the delivery, I will double it.”
I gritted my teeth. “I’m freelance, and this client is a regular. I can’t afford to lose them.”
He studied me, the sunlight cutting a harsh line across his high cheekbone. “Then I will escort you.”
“You don’t have to—”
Fire flashed in his eyes. “I have invested far too much time into you to leave you unprotected.”
I wrinkled my nose at his words. “Oh, gee, and here I thought you’d actually grown to like me.”
“That is an entirely different subject. What time is your delivery?”
I looked at my watch. “I have to leave in two hours.”
“Then I will return in two hours.” He disappeared in a flash of darkness.
Shaking my head, I reached into my bag for my keys. If Noel had crossed our path just a few minutes later, she would have seen him leaving. I was betting her expression would have been a little different had that been the case.
I unlocked the door and went into my apartment. I had been convincing myself that I was brave enough to go to the Bogs tonight, but with Sebastian hounding me, I might not get the chance. I hated that part of me was relieved. It wasn’t like the experience hadn’t been wonderful, and I cared deeply about both goblins, but…
I could admit, if only to myself, that dammit, I was embarrassed.
Ringo bounded toward me as soon as I was inside, his blue fur fluffed up with excitement. Sebastian might have a free pass into Emerald Heights, but Ringo was a pure blooded goblin. I was yet to muster the courage to ask King Francis to let him in too.
I crouched down for him to climb into my hands, then lifted him onto my shoulder as I walked toward my bedroom. I was looking forward to two hours of alone time before Sebastian returned.
Well, relatively alone, but I didn’t mind Ringo hanging out on my bookshelf.
Braxton popped his head out of his doorway as I passed. His hair was mussed and his eyes groggy, so I must have woken him from a nap. “Just thought you might want to know, there’s a giant goblin waiting in your bedroom.”
I stopped mid-stride, then took a step back to face Braxton, giving him wide eyes. “How long has he been in there?”
He shrugged. “About an hour.”
I winced. “Thanks, I guess.”
He gave me a wink. “You two keep it down in there. I need my beauty sleep.”
My cheeks burned. I knew it had been a mistake to tell Braxton what happened, but I had to tell someone. I had hoped he could give me some advice. Instead, he had laughed his ass off and asked when I had gotten so much cooler than him.
Really, I should have known better.
As Braxton shut his door, I approached my room, my palms already sweating. I turned the knob and went inside, and there Gabriel was, leaning against the wall beside my bed with his arms crossed.
His straight black hair was loose, tucked behind his ears, and his massive arms were mostly bare in his T-shirt. The deep green fabric contrasted beautifully with his brown skin.
“I’m not used to seeing you in regular T-shirts,” I said awkwardly, lowering my shoulder so Ringo could hop onto my bed.
I couldn’t read Gabriel’s expression as he replied, “It’s easier to blend in with the humans in the city.”
I looked him up and down, all 6’6” of him. “Gabriel, I don’t think you blend in anywhere.”
His expression still unreadable, he pushed away from the wall, straightening to his full height.
“You know, you could have sat on the bed, made yourself comfortable.”
“I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”
I shook my head. “If you say so. So what’s up? Why are you here?”
“Mistral believes you are avoiding us. He believes you are embarrassed.”
I fought the urge to squirm, turning away to toss my bag onto my bed so he couldn’t see my expression. “Not embarrassed, just busy. I was in Emerald Heights all day.”
I sensed him stepping toward my back, his nearness and the fact that we were in my bedroom giving me a little thrill.
“Eva—”
I turned toward him abruptly, and he was closer than I had realized. “I’m not avoiding you, I swear.” Gods, was it ever lucky that I only had a bargain of truth with Mistral. “It’s just that we don’t have a lot of time. With things unstable in the Bogs—”
He took my hand, his big fingers swallowing mine up. “If you regret what happened—”
Even just the touch of his hand felt too damn good. “I don’t. Seriously, I don’t.” I took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. Sebastian I could skate around the truth with, but Gabriel… He was just so earnest. It felt wrong. “I’ve just never dated two people at once, okay?”
His small smile tugged at my heart. For a while, I hadn’t even been sure that Gabriel could actually smile. And now, having that smile just for me?
“So we’re dating?”
I waved my free hand in the air. “In a vague, nebulous sense of the word.”
His smile shifted into a smirk. My opposite hand grew warm in his, my magic rising. He lifted my fingers, my skin gently glowing where it touched his. My magic reacted differently to each of the guys, and the glow mostly seemed to be for him. He leaned down, placing a kiss on my knuckles.
My heart fluttered. “You know, I can’t think straight when you do things like that.”
He kissed the next knuckle. “Come to the Bogs, Eva.”
“I have a delivery tonight.”
He turned my hand, extending it to kiss the underside of my wrist.
My breath hitched.
“In how long?” he muttered.
“Two hours.”
Another kiss, further up the inside of my arm. “And what do you intend to do until then?”
“Well I was thinking about having some alone time, but suddenly that doesn’t sound terribly appealing.”
He cradled my arm, kissing the inside of my elbow, leaving a soft glow behind.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, inhaling his earthy, smoky scent. “Mistral didn’t send you, did he?”
A flash of a smile again as he lowered my arm and stepped closer. “No, though he is aware I am here.”
“And he’s totally fine with that?”
He nodded, pushing my hair behind my ear, gazing down at me with heat in his dark eyes.
I saw a flash of blue as Ringo jumped near the door, turning the knob so he could scurry out of the room.
Gabriel cupped my jaw with his large hands and kissed me, tearing away my last shred of resistance. But really, I didn’t want to resist. As much as the whole situation made me nervous, I still wanted it. I still wanted both of them.
