When the Woods Go Silent (Haret Chronicles: Dark Fae #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

R OSE

I’m kneeling behind the front counter, working on setting up our new cash register system, when the bells I hung on the front door jingle. My nerves flare at the thought that I forgot to lock up behind myself after grabbing sandwiches earlier.

How do I keep neglecting basic safety shit, when I’m already so paranoid?

“Sorry. We’re not officially open yet. That’s tomorrow,” I call, my head still ducked under the counter where I’m trying to arrange the cords in a neat bundle.

“Sorry to intrude, then. I couldn’t resist, when I saw you through the window.”

The deep male voice with a hint of a sexy Irish accent pulls me up so fast I almost hit my head on the counter, my thoughts going immediately to the man I saw last night. I feel my cheeks flush as I take in the guy before me now. He’s just standing there all gorgeous and tall, giving me this flirty half smile, and I’m supposed to make him leave?

“I love books,” he adds, and the smile grows as I adjust my glasses and straighten the deep vee of my shirt. He rakes long fingers through his fluffy hair, a bit browner than mine, but he’s definitely a fellow redhead. He’s got the best parts of a male ginger, too, with a light dusting of freckles and features so chiseled he could be a high-fashion model, and full Cupid’s bow lips.

“Um, we soft-open tomorrow, and on the weekend officially. But I guess I don’t mind if you look.”

His forest-green eyes twinkle at me, and he lets them slide down my body, taking my words in a whole new direction. “I’m Kier,” he says, stepping a bit closer and holding out his hand.

“Rose,” I manage, relishing the warm strength of his fingers gripping mine. My mind flashes all sorts of dirty images of him holding that hand above my head, while he-

“Charmed,” he murmurs, a hint of laughter in that silky deep voice. Oh, hell. Haven’t I just sworn off men? Promised Ruby I was going to try taking it slow? Call me a liar and lock me up, then. As long as he has the key.

“Are you local?” I ask, regaining a tiny bit of composure as he lets go of my fingers and turns to skim the nearest shelf. I try to remember which shop I saw the man in front of last night.

“No, unfortunately. But whenever I’m nearby for business, I always take a day or two in Clearwater. It’s just... magical here.”

My attention snags on his wording, but I shake it off quickly. Just a coincidence. I don’t have to read into it like Ruby would. “What kind of business?”

“Security,” he answers, giving a light one-shouldered shrug. “Have you read this one?” Kier turns a cover toward me, and I can’t help but grin.

“One of my favorites,” I admit, thinking of how lucky the lead woman is, to have a whole house of hot men who do nothing but worship and protect her. She’s no damsel, either, and it sounds like such a fun life. “Do you read romance?”

“Of course. Men complain that they don’t know what women want, yet it’s all here, isn’t it? Right on the page.”

I swallow hard, wondering if this guy is even real. “It’s almost like we want you to know.”

“Why is it a favorite?” he asks, his fingers sliding over several of the new titles Ruby brought home from the conference.

I consider how to answer, deciding to be uncharacteristically real with him. “The sex is hot and it’s a great adventure, but honestly, my favorite part is the sense of family the main character has. So many people who love her and want to take care of her.”

Kier turns to look at me fully, leaning on the edge of the counter as he frowns a bit. It doesn’t make him any less handsome, either. His eyes are deep green laced with gold, like sun slitting through the forest leaves.

“Do you have a big family?”

“No.” The word comes out more like a whisper, and I glance down, busying my hands with organizing a cup of pens.

“I’d say it isn’t always great, but that won’t convince you, will it?”

I shake my head, keeping my eyes on the counter. People with large families always say things like that, but he’s right. It never helps diminish the dream.

“I do love the new look here,” Kier says when I stay silent. “I stopped in often when William owned it. Did anything happen to him?”

“Oh no, he just retired. My sis- my friend and I bought it from him and moved in from upstate. So you saw it before? It was kind of a mess.”

Kier chuckles, turning to examine a struggling potted violet on a little table. I’ve almost killed it, and it’s barely been a week.

“It certainly was, but there were some treasures here. Did you keep some?” He gestures to the full shelves in the next room.

“We kept everything. I’ve been trying to organize and catalog it all. Kind of crazy how little he kept track of what he had.”

“He kept track up here.” Kier taps his forehead, handing me the romance book. “Will you keep it for me? Until you’re ready to open?”

“If it gives you a reason to come back,” I tease, writing his name on a slip of paper and tucking it between the pages.

“I can think of a few other reasons,” Kier says, the silky undertone to his voice pulling a thrill of anticipation from my body. “It was good to meet you, Rose.”

“See you soon, Kier,” I say, catching my composure and giving him some bedroom eyes. He makes a small noise, like the echo of an appreciative groan, and I know I could find myself in all sorts of good trouble with this one.

As the door closes behind him, I notice the violet he touched seems a lot less droopy, and there are even a few blooms open now that I didn’t see before.

“Same, girl,” I say to the plant, sighing as I watch Kier stroll his long legs across the street, heading toward the woods. He was even dressed nicely, somewhere between casual and business, the pieces obviously expensive and chosen with a good eye.

Once I can’t see his tall frame any longer, I duck back under the counter to work on the cords again. I’ve just gotten practically on my belly to reach the awkward angle when the bells jingle again.

“Seriously?” I grumble, realizing I forgot about the door again. Hoping to see Kier standing over the counter again, I scramble to my feet and am immediately disappointed. “Oh. It’s you.”

Torrence narrows his golden-brown eyes at me but doesn’t say anything.

“Ruby isn’t here. She drove some packages to the post office.”

“Who was just in here with you?” he asks, his voice cold and demanding. I resist the urge to snap that it’s none of his business, but I should probably play nice. Ruby likes this guy, even if he still seems like an ass to me.

“Just a hopeful customer. We’re not officially open, but I let him look.”

“A local?” Torrence asks, stepping closer to the shelves and running his hand over the same books Kier was looking at. He pauses to flick the edge of a violet leaf, and I glare.

“Leave the plant alone, dude. No, the guy said he was around on business. Why does it matter?”

“Did he leave a name?” Torrence asks, staring down at me. He must tower over Ruby.

“Why does it matter?” I ask again, my hands planting on my hips. “And just so you know, you’re checking a whole lot of my asshole boxes.”

He sneers. “I don’t care what you think of me.” His eyes scan the counter, snagging on the book I set aside for Kier. His hand snatches the paper from it, and the room seems to grow ten degrees colder as Torrence reads the name.

“You fucking should care. Ruby’s my best friend, stupid. You don’t mess with the best friend.”

“Stay away from Kier. He has a reputation here.”

I bark out a laugh. “Excuse me? I don’t think you get a say in this one. What do you even know about him?” I have to ask, though, unable to help myself. Arlo seemed nice at first, too.

“I know he’ll fuck anything with two legs. Then again, so does Arlo. Maybe you have a type.”

Anger flares in my chest. I’m not the type to make a scene, but this conversation is over. “Okay, buddy. Time for you to leave.” The audacity of this asshole. Ruby is getting an earful when she gets back.

Torrence only smirks at me and turns away, letting the slip of paper flutter to the floor. Hand on the doorknob, he turns back to look at me, those amber eyes flashing in warning.

“Best friend or not, Ruby will pick me if I want her to. Don’t ask her to do it, Rose.”

I suck in a breath, a string of words already crowding together on my tongue, but he’s gone. The bells haven’t even stopped tinkling, and he’s halfway down the street.

What the hell is his problem?

Ruby would never pick him over me, and if he’s this much of a garbage pile now, I sure as shit will be telling her to forget about him.

Men never seem to get nicer once you let them in, only more and more demanding.

KIER

It was unexpectedly hard to leave the bookshop and its enchanting new owner, even though I’d told myself I was only checking on her because of the dreamwalking.

Rose looks just as good in tight jeans and a low top as she did in her underwear in the woods. And of course, I’m glad to see her unharmed, sensing nothing of dreamwalker magic or the gobbelin woman around the shop.

As I head deeper into the dense trees, I enjoy the memory of her curves, conjuring up dozens of ways to make her scream my name, and I feel my cock already straining against my trousers. Fucking hell.

I have things to do, and flirting with a human is unfortunately low on the list. Protecting one is even lower. I love human women, but I need to focus. I’m well overdue to be back in Aralia, and I’m fucking pissed that I wasn’t able to catch the dreamwalker.

Still, I needed to talk to Rose and see her awake, to make sure there was nothing I was missing. As tempting as she is, I still don’t sense any magic in her, and certainly not the hidden wellspring of power that the changeling should have. That means the dreamwalker and the gobbelin were just hunting.

Either way, I’ve hit another dead end in my secret search for the changeling.

It’s probably stupid to think I could be the one who finally finds her. She was hidden away somewhere on Earth over twenty years ago, and whoever did it was better than any of our trackers. Mother had her hunted for years with no results.

But I’m desperate enough to keep looking. Finding the only fae my bitch mother ever feared would be just the leverage I need. I don’t want to rule, and with the changeling as my leverage, I could bargain to be free. Free to travel Earth as I please, free to fuck my way through any city, free to follow every one of my whims and desires, all on my own time. Free to be myself instead of one of three interchangeable fae princes.

The breeze practically vibrates with magic as it winds through the forest, reminding me why I always pause here in Clearwater, checking on more than the gobbelins.

There’s ancient magic here, much more than in other human places, and more than last time I visited, too. The woods are awake now. They were protecting Rose for a reason.

There’s a secret hidden here, beneath layers of glamor and magic.

I need to unravel it before anyone else does. Even if it’s not the changeling, it might be enough to tip the balance in my favor. And if I do somehow find her, then I’ll hold all the power. Our enemies want her magic to destroy us, and it would. We can’t hold out much longer, the three of us, without taking mates to stabilize the heart of our fae magic.

Ronan is the one I trust the least. If he finds the changeling before I do, he won’t hesitate to cut out her heart and offer it to the Dark Mother, the same way our mother planned to.

Ronan and I may be on the same side of the war, but we certainly don’t agree about the best way to win.

Brigance is the one I would bargain with. For my freedom, I would give the changeling to him to be his Queen. They would mate, and she would repair Aralia’s breaking magic.

And I would be free.