Heart of Stone (Rock Star Fairy Tales #1)

Chapter 54

C h apte r 54

Fear and Co nsequences

Morning, Wednesday, March 4 th at the Palace of Lord Rebinus in Demacia , Lorellon

T he next time Margot opened her eyes, she lay in the big bed in Tobin’s room. Lord Rebinus’ room, she corrected herself, looking up at the ceiling and recalling the last time she had been in this bed. She turned over, searching her surroundings . “Tobin?”

“I’m here, darling,” he said, and she realized that she had been resting against him, what she had taken for a pillow was actually his leg. Before she could say anything else, he plucked a mug from the nightstand and put it in her hand. “You need to drink.”

Margot sniffed, moving her dry tongue inside her mouth and pulled herself up. Her body was light, languid, satisfied and filled with the echoes of a good time. She gave Tobin a look, glancing down at herself. She was wearing a plain nightgown, not her own, but the ease in her body wasn’t from sex. Taking a sip, she winced at th e flavor.

“This isn’t coffee,” she said frowning.

“I told you that fae coffee was terrible,” he remi nded her.

“I thought you were just saying that to get us out of this room before someone discovered us,” she said, peering at the brown liquid in the mug.

“No one will discover us, darling,” he assured her. She took another sip, thirst winning out, and winced again. “That said, there’s a reason we spend so much time in Ardon. Food is so much bett er there.”

“I always thought fae food would be delicious, a temptation to stay here forever,” Margot said, recalling the stories her mother had told her about the fae world, stories Margot now knew were proba bly true.

“Some food,” Tobin admitted. “Coffee is not one of them. That’s a hum an thing.”

“Oh,” Margot said, taking another sip despite the bitter taste. A flash of Alby’s face reminded her of what she had done, and she took a longer sip, wanting the bitterness to quell the lingering calm wi thin. “I…”

Tobin placed a hand on her leg. “You don’t have to,” he told her. “It happens. Mistakes are made. You aren’t the first and you won’t be the last to break a human.”

Margot shivered at the coldness in his tone while something inside her rejoiced at his words. “Did I break him?” s he asked.

“Oh yes,” he ass ured her.

“Maybe I can undo it—” s he began.

“It can’t be undone,” he told her. “Humans are fragile. Once broken, they rarely come back.” He gave her a long look, half admiration and half frustration. “I don’t know what he did—though I can imagine—and I wager he deserved it. That said, I don’t want you to forget this moment.” He jerked his chin at her body. “You still feel it?” he asked. “Inside?”

Margot bit her lip, then nodde d slowly.

“It feels good,” Tobin said. “So good. It’s very easy to get addicted to it. Trust me , I know.”

“Did you ever make mistakes?” she asked, voice small in the big room.

He quirked an eyebrow. “None that I admit,” he replied. “My mistake was in feeling the way you do right now—wracked wi th guilt.”

“I pretty much killed a man,” Margot said. “I should fee l guilty!”

“A pitiful excuse for a man,” Tobin argued. “A human who no doubt molested many other people before you. You saved future victims, Margot.” He shook his head. “And no doubt that band will find a better singer. You’ve likely improved their fortunes as well, darling. It all balan ces out.”

Margot stared at him, wanting his words to make less sense, wanting to lose herself in her guilt. “I think he was going to hurt me,” she said quietly, trying to justify her actions. “I wa s afraid—”

“Oh, darling,” Tobin interrupted , “don’t.”

Margot stared at him, not sure what he meant. “Do n’t what?”

“Don’t convince yourself that way,” he said. When she stared at him, not following, he leaned forward, putting a hand to her cheek. “I found you, Margot, because you were excited. Honestly, I thought you had decided to take Ash back. It took me a moment to recognize what you were doing.” His hand tightened, fingers clenching her jaw. “Margot, I know all the emotions you were feeling. Fear was not one of them.” He released her, leaning back against the headboard, assessing. “You really going to tell yourself you pushed him because he threat ened you?”

“He did threaten me!” Margot exclaimed, but her mind spun back to that moment, recalling her emotions. What had she felt? Annoyance, mostly, and that had quickly exploded into anger. Now that she thought about it, she had never been afraid. She never thought Alby could hurt her. She looked down, taking another sip of the bitter drink, then nodded, breath exploding out of her. “Fine,” she admitted. “I wasn’t afraid. But I hurt him. I … ruined him. He may have been a shit human being, but he didn’t deserve that. Or at least, it shouldn’t have been my choice to j udge him.”

“Why not you?” Tob in asked.

“What kind of question is that?” she prompted, hating that she had already begun to unwind the logic. Who else had been in the position to stop Alby? Who but her had known how dangerous he could be?

Was he dangerous?

Margot sighed, brain struggling to process the various emotions. She knew part of it was justification, her morality desperately trying to find a reason to make her actions acceptable. It was going to be a long time before she could unpack the good and bad consequences. Sighing, she stretched, glancing at the light outside. “What time is it?” s he asked.

“It’s almost noon,” he told her. “I know you don’t want to think about this now, but the band has already started back to Genc. You have a few days off before the show in Dikmen on Friday, but they don’t want to stay in Bacoli after what happened.”

“You’ve been talking to Ash,” Margot said, trying to get back into work mode. “How did they h andle it?”

“It’s unfortunate,” Tobin said. “The lead singer for Das Leprechauns suffered a stroke. Happily, Stone Dragons and the remains of the band were able to perform the final show together and sate the fans, though I will say, I did not enjoy their rendition of ‘Heart of Stone’ t his time.”

Margot narrowed her eyes. “Why not?”

“Das Leprechauns doesn’t sing love songs,” Tobin reminded her, “not without the clever addition of the word ‘bitch’ to the end of each line.” He shook his head, dismissing the show. “They won’t be continuing with the tour. Stone Dragons will hook up with Devil’s Play for the rest of the Gencia n shows.”

Margot stared at him. “When did you start doin g my job?”

“When you were too sick to continue last night,” Tobin replied. “I can text as well as you, and Cayla said to rest up during the break.” At her expression, he added, “Margot, I’m a vassal. Organizing things is what I do.” He patted her leg. “You need to rest.”

Margot nodded, the idea of rest very appealing. She wanted to close her eyes and sleep for days. “Oh no,” she groaned, an idea hitting her. “My bus. I need to drive to Dikmen b y Friday.”

“Margot,” Tobin said, “you are in no shape for driving.”

She nodded, trying to recall how many times she had zoned out during their conversation. “I know, but I can’t leave my bus there, not with angry Bacolian fans breaking down fences.”

“Margot,” Tobin said softly, gray eyes gentle, “I know it’s a boundary. I know you ha ve rules.”

She watched his face, part of her wanting nothing more than to surrender to his care and let him take care of everything. “Will you…” she tried, but the words wouldn’t come out.

“Yes,” he replied, answering her unspoken question.

An hour later, they sat in her bus, Margot dressed in her yoga pants and a soft sweatshirt and sitting in the passenger seat, adjusting to the awkward view. She watched Tobin move her mirrors, the fae fitting in her bus perfectly, knowing where everything was almost as well as Ash. He started to set the music and Margot reached out, intending to play her Road Trip playlist. Dikmen was two days away.

Tobin slapped her fingers away playfully. “Rules, darling,” he reminded her. “Driver picks t he music.”

Margot bit her lip and let the smile cross her face as she surrendered to him. “Passenger shuts her piehole,” she finished.