King of the Unsightly (Tempting Trickery #1)

In Spite and Anguish

S tartled awake from an intense throbbing against my skull, I rubbed my face and scanned the room. The dim lighting produced a clean look, but the black gunk at the top of the cream walls stuck out. Most likely from chain smoking since a strong odor of cigarettes plagued the motel room, presumably from its last hundred occupants.

I wanted to recoil inward from the putrid smell and vacate this place, but my whole body ached so badly I could hardly move.

I struggled to get myself in a sitting position as I glanced down at the firm mattress with its cheap floral-designed comforter draped over me; a stained mahogany nightstand sat beside it with my phone on top.

My eyes glided over to the bay view window behind a circular table with one chair pulled out. A thick layer of dust rested on the plastic blinds. Only a minuscule amount of light filtered through them, but I could still catch glimpses of dirt particles floating in the air from each ray creeping in.

I snatched my phone, but I had no messages from Lucien despite finally having service.

So they took him.

My chest tightened as if someone pinned me down and compressed my lungs. My breaths intensified as each bit of air left my throat.

Faint footsteps grew closer from outside.

Someone stopped at the other side of the door and fiddled with the handle.

Tremors bombarded my nerves as apprehension clouded my mind.

I panicked and launched out of bed. I snagged the burnt orange lamp, yanked it out of its plug, and moved behind the door.

I couldn’t guarantee it was Gren. From what I learned up to this point, I had to be cautious.

The door clicked open as a shadow engulfed the room.

I raised the lamp over my head and swung at the ebony waves bouncing past me.

Almost scraping the side of Gren’s face with the lamp, I sighed and slid against the wall, crumpling to the ground.

God, I was so paranoid.

Gren held a brown bag in his hand with a pool of grease soaking the bottom.

So he left to get food.

Gren turned away from the bed and his eye landed on me—on the ground, clenching the lamp against my chest.

Gren scrunched his eyebrows together and crouched by my side. “Are you all right?”

“Fuck no. Not being in control was ... terrifying,” I confessed, and I couldn’t believe I let those words spill out of my mouth. I cleared my throat, placed the lamp next to me, and pointed at the brown bag Gren held. “I’m famished. Is that what I think it is?”

Gren opened and closed his mouth like he had no idea what he should address first.

He stood up, walked over to the wobbly table, and set the food on it.

He took a seat and stared at me with the same blank expression, and he shook his head. “Come eat. I know it’s been a while.”

He tore open the bag and set a flimsily wrapped burger opposite to him.

He peeled his open and started eating.

Gren sat, silent, and I knew he was the quiet type, but this felt different. Strange .

I rose from my feet, walked over to the table, and plopped down beside him. “What happened?” Gren didn’t say a word, and I pushed him further. “I mean, how did you stop me?” I looked up from my burger, anticipating an answer, but he stayed tight-lipped.

Gren finished his food, wiped his hands on the napkin beside it, and glowered at me. A mixture of anger and something else I couldn’t pinpoint.

Gren averted his glare and rubbed the back of his neck as he slouched more into the chair. “You lost control.” He licked his lips as he took a deep breath. His darkened gaze refused to meet me. “So, I absorbed your magic until you were able to calm down.”

I eyed him. “Did something else happen?”

Gren appeared shocked for a brief moment and concealed his emotions again. “Not particularly.”

Gren was hiding something, but if I kept pressing him now, I knew he would never tell me.

It had to be on his time. He would trust me, eventually. Or so I kept telling myself.

I threw my head back and rubbed the sides of my face. I was so exhausted from these games. “All right, I trust you.”

A flicker of dismay enveloped Gren’s face before he started talking again. “Do you want to shower?”

“Only if you come with me,” I teased him.

I tried to lighten the mood, but it turned sour on my tongue, and I felt like a creep.

God, why did I always have to joke around at the worst times?

Gren only leaned his head. “I’m not entirely familiar with the customs of how humans bathe, but if you need my help, I’ll do my best.” He blinked at me with a trusting sparkle in his eyes as the joke went way over his head.

I snorted so loud I shocked myself and gave Gren a weak smile. “I was only teasing. I didn’t mean it.”

Gren sighed again. “You’re as odd as I remember.”

I scoffed. “Are you saying I was a weird little girl?” I tried to decipher if he was messing around or if he truly meant it.

Gren’s frown told me he meant every word. “Extremely.”

I laughed again. “Says the talking bird that turned human.”

“But I’m not human or a bird.”

“You know what I mean.”

My body eased as I relaxed into the chair, but my mind wouldn’t let go of the cluttered thoughts, and I wished to silence them somehow.

Gren raised a brow, and his dark eye bore into me. “Go shower, and I will teach you what I know from the days I spent living with you and your mother.”

My eyebrow perked up in excitement. “You mean it?”

“What would I gain from lying, Adeline?”