Mad Woman Rambles

Korbin enjoyed having this level of control over me. To be fair, he was a master vampire. He always had control over me. But most of the time, he allowed me to have my autonomy. He allowed me to fight back. Hells, I think he enjoyed it when I did. Unfortunately, this was the one time I happily acknowledged his power and wore it as the shield it was intended to be.

There were very few supes that could contend with a high fae–and a noble high fae at that. Vampires, some demons, a couple of demi-gods that I knew of, and… well, that was it. You could probably say angels, but they were always too busy to bother with us “lower beings”. Elitists’ bullshit, if you ask me.

“Krystal. Krystal, you there?” Nathan questioned, waving his hand at me. I blinked back from my thoughts, bringing me back to my current problem. I shifted uncomfortably in Korbin’s lap and attempted to get u,p but he held me firmly in place. With a sigh, I scowled at Nathan.

“Yes, I am. What was the question?” I asked in defeat.

“No question just yet,” Nathan replied, sitting down in the chair I had just vacated when I thought I could scratch out the eyes of a vamp. Korbin could be such an ass. I hated him sometimes. This is the precise reason I just stick to myself and try to stay under the radar. I dislike being the only human in a room full of supes that could crush me with a thought. Korbin knew it, and I knew he was enjoying my discomfort immensely.

“Korbin, could you please let go of my client?” Audrey asked, clearing her throat to take the scrutiny off of me. ‘Thank the Goddess for small miracles. I might just survive this debacle.’

“Oh, I don’t know, she seems pretty happy right here.” Korbin retorted, giving me a curious look like he was considering her request. One glance at his face and I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. I sighed and swiveled my most pitiful face to Marcus. He was always the wild card, but if I looked as if I was going to cry, he would help me.

Marcus had his fist covering his mouth, barely containing his smile. ‘Betrayal!’ I sighed in defeat because it seemed Marcus was backing Korbin’s play here.

“I’m fine, Audrey. Let’s get on with this. I would like to go home sometime soon. I have to check on Max,” I conceded, crossing my arms and pouting.

“See Audrey. She is fine where she is. Now, shall we proceed, Nathan?” Korbin said, turning his attention to the high fae.

“As I told you over the phone, we need to take Krystal back to Faerie so she can identify the fae involved with this drug operation,” Nathan stated logically as if the matter was a foregone conclusion. Korbin’s grip on my hip tightened–showing his irritation–while the rest of him remained relaxed.

“And as I told you, old friend, she is currently my prisoner because she broke one of the Kiss’s cardinal laws,” Korbin retorted, shifting me on his lap so that I was leaning back against his body. I could feel the heat radiating off of him, meaning he must have eaten before this meeting. Curious. He normally didn’t feed on a live human unless he was expecting a fight. Frack!

“What law would that be?” Audrey asked before Nathan could do so. Marcus cleared his throat, and Korbin sucked his teeth. The communication wasn’t lost on any of us. He was reeling in Korbin’s temper. It would not be a good look to kill the witch in the room.

“It really doesn’t matter because I need her for my investigation. I have obtained a written order from the Fae King himself and the cooperative agreement from S.N.O.B. to detain and question her based on her involvement with the drug operation,” Nathan replied, handing over the documents to Audrey, who read them and swore under her breath.

“So, you will hand her over, or I will go to the vampire council to obtain permission to remove her,” Nathan stated, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his knees as if he were saying checkmate. Korbin’s grip on me tightened to the point I squeaked at the pain. He quickly eased back the pressure and whispered an apology in my ear.

“You can’t take her,” Korbin began and held up his hand before Nathan and Audrey could protest. “She is my source and can’t be separated from me for any length of time.”

“You never said—” Nathan started to stand, and Audrey stood there dumbstruck.

“You didn’t tell me you went back to being his source,” Audrey hissed at me. I just shook my head at her.

“That is the law she broke. She went to Faerie without my permission,” Korbin replied, bending the truth. I was dragged to Faerie, and I hadn’t been Krobin’s source of food since we broke up.

“May I offer a compromise?” Marcus asked before proceeding to offer it regardless. “Nathan, Krystal is a flight risk. Question her here. That way, we can continue to negotiate with Audrey, her legal counsel, on her release to go back to her normal life, and you get to interrogate her.”

“I don’t like how you worded that,” I muttered. Then turning to Marcus and mouthing the word ‘traitor’. The corner of Marcus’s lips quirked up as he fought not to smile.

Nathan huffed. “Fine, I will conduct my questioning here, but neither of you can be present.” I held up a finger, and Nathan held up his hand before continuing. “Krystal, your counsel can be present during the questioning. As long as you haven’t done anything wrong, I won’t have to arrest you for crimes against the High Court.” He finished retrieving his documents from Audrey.

“Agreed,” Marcus replied for everyone else in the room. “If you and Audrey will come with me, I will show you where to set up.” Marcus gestured for them to follow him out of the room. Audrey turned to me to gauge how I was feeling about it all, but Marcus stopped her. “Korbin will bring her along shortly.” He finished ushering them out of the room. He gave Korbin a pointed look before closing the door behind him.

“You asshole!” I shouted and smacked Korbin’s chest. He released me to stand but turned me to face him. His hands gripped my hips. “Why would you say that? I haven’t been your source in years.” He leaned back in his chair with an amused look on his face.

“You’re welcome,” he replied and pulled me closer to him.

“I’m not thanking you for the mess you just put me in,” I retorted, crossing my arms across my chest. Uncomfortable with the fact that my nipples started to pebble being this close to him. Why did he still have an effect on my body like that?

“I didn’t put you in any mess. You did that all on your own. I am helping you, Cricket,” he replied, enjoying watching my ears turn red the more pissed off I became.

“You didn’t have to tell them that I was your source or that I broke a law. I didn’t, and you know it,” I said. It came out more as a pout than the powerful truth I wanted it to be.

Korbin sighed, sitting up straight and pulling on my hands so he could hold them.

“I did all that to ensure your safety. Technically, we broke up, but I never released you as my source. Also, I haven’t had another source since you either. This way, you have my protection. I can’t protect you in Faerie, but here I can. If they were to take you over there, I would need permission to go get you.” He leaned back in his chair and pulled me back on his lap.

“Oh,” I said, clearly taken aback by his honesty.

“Of course, I wouldn’t ask for permission, and then you would have started a war. We wouldn’t want that now, would we?” he stated before pulling me into a kiss that stole my breath and every last brain cell I had. I was in trouble, and at the moment, I didn’t care.