Persephone Alcmedi 00 - Wicked Circle

chance. Reckless impulsiveness is not a quality I will tolerate. I believe it is that kind of behavior that led to your confinement.” He cursed quietly in the old language she would understand. “Now I cannot trust you.”
    “What oath will satisfy you, lord?”
    Mero considered it. “Swear upon your sisters’ heads that you will be obedient, Liyliy.”
    She hesitated for a second, knowing that responding too quickly or too slowly would send a message she did not wish to convey. “I swear upon my sisters’ heads I will obey you, lord.”
    Seemingly satisfied, he nodded. “Clothe yourself, Liyliy.”
    From nothing, the gray silk writhed up and around her once more. And her scheming commenced.

CHAPTER TWENTY

    I t occurred to me that ringing a doorbell wasn’t exactly an action I’d expect of a violent trespasser—but it could be an indication of a more despicable kind of intruder. Whoever this man was, he’d circumnavigated the wards, and I didn’t want him in my house. Wait. He did more than just get past my protections—I hadn’t felt the alarm of anything triggering the wards at all.
    I strode toward the door, reaching for the knob.
    “Milady!” Ivanka put a restraining hand on my arm. “Let me.”
    Zhan snorted and tucked her wet hair behind her ears. “Maxine and I tried that when we first arrived. The E.V. is adamant about answering her own door.”
    Ivanka fixed me with her “intimidating” stare. “Bad idea.”
    The reward for her effort was seeing my “firmly resolved” stare. “Let go.”
    The command made her withdraw. As I opened the door, a blast of cold air hit me like a frozen slap. My heart was pounding, and I was grateful for the separation of even a flimsy screen door between myself and this mysterious man. I said nothing.
    Before me, long and pale fingers rose slowly to lower the hood of the robe.
    His raven hair was worn in a non-styled manner, simply combed straight back over his head, where it hung almost to his shoulders. Add to that a trim beard, and all that darkness steered my focus to his blue eyes, his slightly sunken cheeks and a mouth that seemed a fraction too wide.
    At first, I thought him bony and underweight, but as my consideration lingered, it occurred to me that he did not emit the forlorn and pitiful hunger of the emaciated. What he did radiate . . . I couldn’t put my finger on. Even so—and regardless of the fact that he was dressed for a long-gone era—I found him attractive.
    “Persephone,” he whispered.
    Granted, when most people go to someone’s house, they know whose door they’re knocking on. I hated being at a disadvantage with people on my porch, but that was something I was learning to accept. A lot of people recognized me since I’d been on TV. “Who are you?”
    Palms out in a benign gesture, he said, “Call me any name you find worthy of me.”
    I blinked. “Okay. Henceforth you shall be known as Creepy.”
    His only response to my sarcasm was the corner of his mouth crooking up.
    Mountain arrived and assumed an intimidating pose one step from the porch.
    “Why are you here?” I asked Creepy.
    “A friend told me you might be in danger. I am here to provide protection.”
    Peripherally, I noticed Zoltan, a young dragon, slithering silently along Mountain’s path. “What friend?”
    “Menessos.”
    It surprised me so much that I winced.
    Mountain crossed his arms over his broad chest as he spoke. “He’s not someone most people want to claim to know, let alone be friends with lately.” Zoltan slithered to Mountain’s side and hissed. So much for “surprising” strangers with our pet dragon. We need to work on our offensive tactics.
    Creepy perused the dragon without any of the astonishment I expected. In fact, he sounded convincingly bored as he answered, “I care little what people choose to think.”
    “Why were you in my cornfield?”
    “The vortex was the easiest way to arrive.”
    He rode a ley line. Fairies rode ley lines, and if any fey remained here on earth, they couldn’t get home because of my actions. Probably not something anyone left behind would be happy about. “Get off my porch.”
    At my words, the tension radiating from Zhan, Ivanka, and Mountain ratcheted up a notch.
    He made no effort to vacate the porch. “Have I offended you, Persephone?” His voice was husky, but sounded sincere.
    My perimeter wards were specifically set to keep fey out. If he was fey—even in part—he should have at