Read Online You Bet Your Banshee by Danica Avet - Free Book Online Page B

withdrawal. History was rife with stories of women who’d died after their gancanagh lovers lost interest in them.
    “How?”
    “My father seduced my mother and nine months later I was born,” he said with an easy shrug.
    “Did she—” I wanted to know if his father had killed his mother, but I didn’t want to bring up a painful subject.
    Ryvan shook his head, his dark hair flopping over his forehead. “It isn’t a painful subject, sweetheart. They’re still together. Ma uses her water magic to keep Da on a short leash.” His lips curled into another seductive smile. “Da doesn’t mind at all.”
    O–kay. “But why does that make us…you know?” I looked down at the tear in my hand. How did any of this make sense?
    “Magic doesn’t make sense, Magda, it just is. I’m the only elf-gancanagh halfling I know of, you’re the only banshee born without the ability to shed tears, maybe those two things together combine to make a power never before seen in Fairworld, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is what we do with it and that we face all obstacles together.”
    Together . The word echoed in my mind as I searched his eyes. I’d never had anyone on my side before. I’d always had to deal with everything alone. The tortures, the tests, even starting a new life had been about me against the world. Ryvan insisted we were meant to be together, to fight together, and to rule together.
    My heart ached. This was my greatest desire, staring me right in the face. The need to have someone on my side, a companion, a friend, a champion who would be with me no matter what bubbled through my veins. Ryvan offered everything I’d ever wanted without hesitation.
    Gods, I wanted to believe in him, in this strange magic we shared, but centuries of betrayal by my own people held me back. Ryvan’s eyes gazed back at me steadily. I wanted to believe and maybe I would, later.
    As though he’d heard me, the light in his eyes dimmed. My heart ached because I knew I was hurting him. He didn’t love me or anything, but he believed in the prophecy and I couldn’t.
    “I’m—”
    A knock sounded on my bedroom door. “Sorry to break up this love fest or whatever you have going on in there, but I think we’ve been found out,” Sable said through the thin wood.
    Ryvan jackknifed out of the bed, pulling his clothes into place. I rolled off the mattress and hit the floor. Reaching under the bed again, the tips of my fingers grazed the edge of the box. I snagged it, tugging it from beneath the bed.
    “Get some clothes on,” Ryvan ordered as he went to the door.
    I ignored him. Everything I needed was in the case. When it emerged from its hiding place, the breath whooshed out of my lungs. The rosewood box with platinum trim was the only thing I had left of my life in Fairworld.
    I pressed my thumb to the latch feeling a prick in the pad of my finger. Blood flowed freely for a moment, absorbing into the metal holding the box closed. It was a Fairworld form of security. We didn’t deal well with combination locks since most Fairworlders were capable of snapping a lock in half. No, to protect the things we owned, we used blood spells. I’d purchased this spell and lockbox the moment I came through the portal.
    I breathed a sigh of relief when the lock sprang. The scent of lavender, smoke, leather, and iron wafted to my nose as I opened the lid of the box. My palace uniform, the only thing I’d worn while in Fairworld looked as good as new. The black leather was devoid of all embellishments. I hadn’t earned any honors while in training so I lacked all the pretties other banshees adorned their uniforms with. I pulled it out of the box.
    I crawled across the room to my skirt, glad I’d kept the remainder of the Quick-Clean potion. I didn’t want to attempt to drag leather pants over my soaked thighs. The potion didn’t taste any better this time around, but when I finished it, my body was as clean and fresh as it would have