Why Are All the Good Guys Total Monsters? Read Free Page A

bigger than the Fairy moth,
flying through the branches of the umbrella tree, through the flowers and the
rain. Their faces were exquisite but dangerous, their wings translucent — and a
sense of menace singed the air.
    I don’t remember how I managed to stand my ground, but I do
remember Sabastien throwing a handful of dust, like firelight, into the air.
The particles fell down around me, becoming sparkling white snowflakes in the
night.
    He whispered something, not to me or to himself, but somehow
to the night itself. And the only word I understood was spellbound.
     
     

     
    ‘Leave her alone!’ a voice roared
through the storm.
    The blond guy I’d met earlier was standing in the garden as
if he’d appeared from nowhere. Had he?
    Anger burned across the ice cold features of his face, the
pale grey eyes two slivers of glistening intensity.
    The menacing little faeries fled in terror, leaving the
three of us alone, with only the sound of the rain pouring off the leaves.
    I stood there, frozen in fear, soaked to the skin, my flimsy
summer top and jeans dripping wet, rivulets of water running down my hair.
    ‘Come with me, Vesper,’ Sabastien said calmly, stepping
closer, putting himself in front of me like a shield against the other’s rage.
They were similar in age and height, both taller than me, well over six feet. I
barely came up to their shoulders.
    I hesitated, my senses at odds, warning me, yet tempting me.
Up close Sabastien’s eyes were lilac. He was beautiful, with dark wet hair
swept back from his flawless face. When he held his hand out to me, I felt my
hand accept it.
    ‘No!’ the other guy shouted. ‘You cannot trust him. Step
away from him.’
    I felt Sabastien’s grasp tighten around my hand, his strong,
smooth fingers urging me to side with him. ‘Who would you trust?’ he said to me
in a deep, velvety voice. ‘Daire, who frightens little faeries half to death,
or me, who tried to warn you of the dangers?’
    Daire? Who was he anyway? What was he? And who was
Sabastien? My mind was in turmoil. I couldn’t think straight, could hardly
breathe, and then my own defiance kicked in, that stubborn trait in my nature,
giving me the impetus to break free from Sabastien’s grasp.
    I hate being pressured, being cornered. I wanted to run, to
run away from both of them. Who did I trust? Neither of them. I just wanted out
of there, and pulled myself free of him.
    But Sabastien wasn’t letting go. He reached out, grabbed my
wrist and pulled me back to him, so close I could see starlight in his eyes.
And then I felt myself falling . . . falling into their mesmerising depths. He
was so hard to resist, and yet my instincts were screaming at me to get a grip
of my senses and run.
    I didn’t get a chance to run. Daire wrenched hold of
Sabastien, pulled him away from me and threw him to the ground with a
bone–jarring thud. The hem of Sabastien’s long, dark coat was edged with purple
thorns. They cut right through the stems of the Cupid’s darts, scattering the
flowers across the grass at my feet.
    Before Sabastien regained his senses, Daire lifted me up and
carried me across the wet grass to the patio. His movements were elegant, and
the ease with which he lifted me confirmed my thoughts that he was far stronger
than he seemed.
    My arm was around his shoulder, holding on, and I felt his
hair, which was long enough to touch the collar of his unusual grey jacket,
brush against my fingers. Even when wet, his hair felt like silk, and the
smooth texture of his skin tempted me to touch it to see if it was real — if he
was real.
    His profile was perfection, and I saw his dazzling white
teeth through his parted lips as his breath poured like mist into the air.
Sabastien was beautiful, but Daire was something else. I wanted to know who he
was and why he looked at me as if it troubled him.
    He put me down carefully, fixed me with a look, and then
turned back towards the garden, no doubt planning to finish the