Page 42 of Harnessed in Gold
Or how I feel.
Liv’s whoop has me smiling as I move on with my rag to the bookshelf. My faerie wings still sit on top, limp and dull. When I give them a gentle shake, Leo’s words from the Halloween party seem to escape with the dust motes into the air:
You’re the prettiest faerie I’ve ever seen.
Oh right. Yes. Because you’ve seen so many faeries?
More than you can count.
I sigh. “I still need to get the wire for these.” I set them back on the now clean shelf, both happy and sad that I’m no longer that trusting girl who wore them.
“Oh, yeah.” Liv brightens. “Let’s go to McDougall’s tomorrow. And we can study for a while at Mountain Brew, too.”
How delightfully normal. “Yeah, let’s.”
CHAPTER TEN
I’mnervous about going to Redemption Baptist this morning. When I was still in single digits, Mom went through a phase where she believed all proper families dressed in their Sunday best and went to church every week. But the church we went to was about as innocuous and generic as a church could be. I’ve never been to a Southern Baptist service. In the South. Where the pastor’s wife is a witch.
And I’ve sure as hell have never gone to church with a faerie.
I’m dressed warmly and modestly in a sweater, boots, and the plum suede skirt Mom bought me for Rush. Yesterday, I told Liv I’d be going to one of Aaron’s ‘music things’ this morning, just in case she catches me all dressed up. But she has yet to come home from O-Chi. I hope her upcoming date with Liam on Friday was enough to keep her out of Braden’s bed last night.
At exactly twenty-to-ten, I hurry out the door to meet Leo, hoping I can cut him off before he gets out of the car to fetch me. Knowing my luck, that would be the exact moment Liv came home.
Sure enough, old habits die hard. Leo’s already striding toward Newberry, and holy shit, the sight of him turns my legs to liquid.
He’s dressed appropriately for church, that’s for sure. In a sport coat and tie, gray wool pants, and wingtips. Unlike most twenty-something guys, he doesn’t look like a boy trying to dress like a man, a hanger wearing a too-big coat. His jacket fits his shoulders and chest, his tie isn’t strangling him, and in the gusty wind, his supple pants conform to his muscular legs.
It’s like some sort of cruel joke, him looking this beautiful, especially since he’s in his supposedly ‘inferior,’ unglamoured form. But, oh god, how can I blame Liv for being weak in the face of an untrustworthy man when the one in front of me could very well be my undoing?
“Hi,” he says. Justhi.
“Hey.” I think a sound came out of my mouth, but it felt more like an exhale.
He gives me his patented crooked smile. “You ready to go to church?”
I fall into step beside him, a nervous, weirdly high-pitched laugh coming out of me. “It’s been a while.”
“For me, too.”
“You’ve been to church? A Subworld church?”
“Only in the UK. And only for research purposes.”
“I don’t think this is going to be anything like that.” I may not know much about British church services, but from the BBC shows I’ve seen, they seem fairly subdued. I hope Leo’s comfortable with some fire and brimstone preaching.
He chuckles. “Aaron sent me some videos to watch. To prepare me.”
“And do you feel prepared?”
“Not at all.”
He opens the car door for me and steps back to let me in. As I slide into the passenger seat, he leans closer, elbow propped on the top of the door, eyes cutting to the amethyst at my throat. “You look beautiful, by the way.”
My heart is saying,oh no you don’t, buddy,but my stupid mouthsays, “Thanks. So do you.” And now my face is blazing, with sweat breaking out along my hairline and no subtle way to get rid of it.
Once we’ve passed through town, I start to cool off. But then, Leo breaks the silence, “I’m going to take advantage of the fact that I have you captive right now to say something.”
