Bonds of Cupidity (Heart Hassle Book 2)

“Hey! Get back here!” Evert exclaims. “Go steal your own shit!”

He’s gearing up to pounce on the tree and make a climb for it, but Ronak puts an arm out to stop him. “Wait.”

Well, that’s all fine and dandy, but I don’t have to wait. So I decide to do some recon because I’m badass like that.

Wait, is it recon if I’m chasing after someone? I shake my head at myself as I float up the tree. I actually don’t know what stipulates a strict “recon” mission, if I’m being honest. I just get pumped up when the guys are around doing important sneaky things and I throw around mission words like “recon” in my head because it seems appropriate. I clearly need to study some spy terms.

Maybe I should have spied on more military humans when I had the chance. Although, I did do a stint in a boot camp once. There weren’t a lot of romance embers to stoke to life over there, but I liked watching all the drills and the yelling. It was very titillating. But only because I wasn’t the one doing the drills and stuff. That would’ve sucked.

When I reach the top of the tree, I catch up to the fae who stole our necklace. She’s perched precariously on the highest branch, crouched with her knees pressed against her chest. She has straight, silvery hair that looks exactly like the tree’s, and skin to match the color of the bark. It’s uncanny how much she blends in with it.

She cups her hands around her mouth and makes some strange whistling and clicking noises, the gold chain of the necklace still entwined in her fingers.

She waits with her head cocked, and then flicks her tongue out at the air, and I shriek a little in surprise. “Whoa, that thing could take out an eye.” It’s super long and bumpy and is coated with a green slime. Yuck.

After a moment, we both hear the replied whistles off in the distance. Seemingly satisfied, the fae stands, and like a spider monkey, she starts swinging down the branches until she lands in a crouch at the bottom of the Elder Tree, facing the guys.

I realize then that she’s totally naked. Like, I can see everything. Her nipples look like tree bark. And the carpet definitely matches the silver stringy drapes.

I turn and point at the genfins. “If any of you check her out, so help me, I will Lust you to death in your sleep.”

Aside from some widened eyes of surprise at her appearance, the guys keep their gazes steadily above her neck. It’s like they know I’m thinking of murdering them with their own erections.

“Your token is accepted,” she tells them, her voice much deeper and raspier than I expected.

I notice that her bare feet and legs are shimmering slightly, and then they’re no longer gray, but brown and green to match the forest floor. The top of her is still gray though, so it looks really weird.

“You’re a chameleen,” Sylred says with a bit of awe in his tone.

The fae nods, and pulls off three pieces of braided tree-hair that had been twined around her biceps. “Put these on over your eyes.”

The guys exchange a look and then dutifully tie the hairy blindfold thingies around their heads. Satisfied, she whistles, and two more chameleen females appear out of nowhere. They’re also naked.

“Can’t you guys make some camouflage clothing, or something? This is unprofessional.”

The three chameleens each take hold of my genfins’ hands and start pulling them forward. A bout of irrational anger washes over me. The intense jealousy takes me a bit by surprise, if I’m being honest, but—Is Ronak checking out her ass?

I fly around and get right in his face, and it’s like he knows. His eyes immediately snap up. A bit of a growl escapes me when I continue to glare at him.

Damn. I’m getting salty in my invisible new age.

“That’s your only warning, Not-First,” I point in his face. He walks right through me. I would be so much more intimidating if I was corporeal. “We’ll talk about this later!” I eye Sylred and Evert as they pass. “I’m watching you two.”

The chameleens lead us to a circle of mini elder trees. The leader drops Evert’s hand and strolls forward to a tree. She places her palm against one of the knots and with some magic forest juju, the ground suddenly opens to reveal a stairwell made of hard-packed dirt.

“The Horned Hook will see you now,” she says, her skin changing to accommodate her surroundings as she moves.

“Thank you,” Sylred tells her as the three of them strut toward the stairs. The second we start climbing down, the ground above us closes back up.

“That’s comforting,” I mumble.

The guys don’t look the least bit concerned that we’re practically buried underground. Shocker.

It should be pitch black down here, but the elder tree roots poking out are giving off a soft phosphorescent blue glow. At the bottom of the stairs, a narrow passage awaits. The guys have to duck their heads to walk down it. At the end is a door. Ronak balls his fist, pounds on it once, and then lets himself in without waiting for any kind of reply. Sylred sighs in exasperation.

The room inside is weird.

There are all kinds of different sized hooks hanging from the ceiling and walls, and they’re holding all sorts of what I’m guessing are stolen objects. Most of it is jewelry, but there’s also clothing and weapons.

Standing in the center, lit up blue by the glowing roots, is a man wearing a silver mask. It has four horns on either side, starting from the top and curving around to the chin. The mask even covers his lips and eyes, leaving only small slits for him to see and speak through. Looking at him standing in the midst of his hanging treasures, I totally get his nickname.

“Welcome,” he says. Ronak crosses his arms as Evert and Sylred flank him. “Ah, genfins. Can’t say I’ve ever had the pleasure of doing business with your kind before.”

“Genfins are not ones to deal with thieves,” Ronak replies.

Sylred puffs out another exasperated sigh, but the Horned Hook just laughs. “Indeed. Yet here you are, and thieves yourself,” he says, nodding his head toward the necklace clutched in Evert’s hand.

Evert holds his fingers open, but before he can hand it over, The Horned Hook makes a flicking motion with his hand and the necklace zooms right to him.

“Whoa,” I breathe. “Guys. He can move stuff without touching it. What’s that called again? Tele-something. Telephone, telemarketing, telegraph, telescope, telepathic…I know I’m close.”

“You are telekinetic,” Ronak says.

“That’s it!”

The Horned Hook tosses the necklace back and forth between his hands. He ignores Ronak’s statement and makes the necklace float in front of his face to better study it in the blue light. “This is worth quite a lot. It also has the crest of the royal jeweler on the back. Very valuable, indeed.”

He flicks his hand again and the necklace goes flying up to hang on an empty hook above us. “Very well, you’ve earned my services. But first, do you know the reason that I require not just a precious item, but that it also be stolen?”

Sylred is the one who answers. “Because you trade in secrets.”

The fae nods. “Exactly. Any good thief who’s worth their weight can find things and be paid in jewels,” he says, gesturing to the many items on display. “But a great thief knows that the most valuable things to take are secrets. When I require a stolen item in exchange for my services, it’s not just to be paid, it is also to ensure that I have a secret over you, just as you will have one over me. You stole from the royals. That is my advantage over you.”

The guys watch him carefully, and I have to say, I’m a little impressed. Okay, a lot impressed.

“So tell me your secret,” he continues. “How did you steal this necklace?”

“During the culling commencement ball at the palace,” Evert explains smoothly. “While everyone was busy, we went outside, and I climbed onto the princess’s balcony and slipped inside her open window. That was on her dressing table.”

The fae cocks his head, and even though I can’t see it, I’m pretty sure he’s smiling. “You stole the princess’s necklace right out from under their noses? You three must want something very badly. Very well. I’m listening.”

The guys exchange a look, and my nerves amp up several notches. If he can’t help us…

Sylred clears his throat. He’s always the one to talk during delicate matters, since he’s the best at it. Ronak goes into his scary caveman speech too often and Evert just says ‘fuck’ a lot.

“Someone we know is trapped in the Veil. We want to get her out.”

The fae rears back in surprise. “In the Veil?” He shakes his head. “Impossible.”

“It’s not,” Sylred says evenly. “She was brought out once before by a fae with incredible raw power. The magic caused her to anchor to other physical entities, keeping her here. Unfortunately, her ties to those anchors were broken when the distance between them was too great, and she got forced back into the Veil. We need you to find someone who can bring her back and anchor her more securely.”

The Horned Hook starts rubbing his chin in thought from underneath the mask. He says nothing as he starts walking around the small room, lost in thought.

His body is leaner than all of my genfins, and he’s shorter, too, but still taller than me. Based on his body and his voice, he seems around the genfins’ age, but the fae age weird, so who really knows?

“The fae who did this in the first place—I am guessing it’s not an option to simply ask him or her to do it again?” he finally asks.

Ronak says a stern, “No.”

“I need to think on this,” the fae replies.

“We need this to be done now.”

The Horned Hook sighs, not at all cowed by Ronak’s growing temper. “Yes, yes, everyone who wants something wants it now. The problem is, there is not a single fae in the realm that I know who has this level of raw magic.”

Evert curses, Sylred looks around like he’s trying to spot me, and Ronak’s fists clench. “If you’re wasting our time—” he begins, taking a menacing step forward.

The fae holds up his hands. “Calm yourself. I said there is not a single fae. I do, however, know of a pair of fae with the ability to combine their magic. They may be able to do what you need. But they do not see outsiders much. It’ll take some convincing.”

“Then fucking convince them,” Evert snaps.

“My, my. You three do want this fae out of the Veil. A female, was it?”

None of them answer, but I can hear the mirth in his voice. “It’s always a female.” He swings back around to Ronak. “Alright, I’ll secure a meeting for you. Deal?”

Ronak and Evert begin to nod, but Sylred cuts them off and steps forward. “Not quite.” The other guys share a confused look.

“Oh?” the Horned Hook drawls. “You have someone else trapped in an impossible location, too? Perhaps a water sprite in the underworld?”

“This isn’t a fucking joke,” Evert growls.

I can practically hear the fae roll his eyes. The fact that he’s not intimidated by the three genfins is actually kind of impressive. “My sincerest apologies,” he says, amusement evident in his tone as he puts a hand over his heart. “Please continue,” he tells Sylred.

“Since you don’t have to actually do much for this first job except set up a conversation, we also require a second job from you. And based on the priceless token we brought, this request should be more than fair.”

The Horned Hook doesn’t answer for a few beats, and it makes me a bit freaked out. I mean, what if Sylred pissed him off, and now he’s going to refuse to help us? But the guys stare back at him, cool as a cart of freaking cucumbers on ice, and he finally relents.

“Very well. What is this second job?” He doesn’t sound pleased.

Sylred totally shocks me by saying, “The princess’s personal guard was taken prisoner. We need to know where he is.”

Oh my gods. If I could kiss him right now, I would. He didn’t forget about Okot. Even though he’s nothing to the genfins, Sylred knows he’s something to me. “I like you so hard right now.”

The Horned Hook laughs humorlessly. “The royals do love to fill their dungeons. I’ll tell you what, I will do this second job for you. Mostly because I like to piss off the prince whenever I can,” he admits as he rolls back on his heels.

The idea of committing treason against the prince really put a pep in his step. “Where and when was he taken, and what is his name?”

“Okot. He’s a lamassu,” Sylred replies. ‘One of the princess’s personal guards.’

“And he was taken from the spectator box during the third day of the culling,” Ronak finishes.

The Horned Hook snaps his fingers and smiles. “You’re the infamous genfins who survived the culling! I should have known. Five-year banishment, was it? I was banished once…or twelve times.”

I gape at him. Twelve times? He wasn’t kidding about liking to piss off the royals.

He looks excited about doing it again. “Done. I will set up a meeting to get your Veiled female back, and find this lamassu for you. You’re lucky I’m in such a giving mood.”

He holds out his hand, and Sylred shakes on it. “Go now. I’ll be in touch. Oh, and this meeting never happened, blah, blah, and all that,” he tells the guys with a dismissive wave of his hand. The genfins turn and head back up the dirt stairwell.

The ceiling opens before they reach the top, and then we’re in the creepy forest again.

“What do you think?” Evert asks quietly. Ronak moves his eyes around the forest.

“Not here. Too many eyes and ears.”

“Too many nude-ass chameleens, you mean,” Evert drawls.

I punch a fist of Flirt-Touch right through his chest. He shivers. “Scratch, don’t do that flirty shit on me. Wanting to pick wildflowers and sing songs to you is not my thing.”

Sylred smirks. “Which is why she hit you with it.”

“What the hell did I do?”

Sylred looks at him like he’s an idiot. “Talked about naked chameleens.”

Evert throws his hands up. “They were naked! Hard not to notice.”

“Wrong thing to say,” Sylred mumbles.

I punch Evert again. Twice. He does this whole-body shake thing and tries to run away like he’s a cat that got stuck in the rain. “Knock it off!”

I stick my tongue out at him, because I’m super mature like that.