He laughed. His wolf filled his eyes as he stared me down. “No one gets kicked out of my pack. The only way to leave is to die. Keep that in mind.”
Alvin shoved past me. When the door finally closed behind Alvin and the other two, I nearly fell over. Ryder caught me by my armpits. The smell of blood became too strong to ignore.
“What happened?” Ryder asked, too quickly. “Why are you bleeding?”
Cerri breezed back into the room. She motioned for Ryder to set me down in a nearby chair before she knelt behind the coffee counter. A moment later, she came back up with a clear cup of potion that glittered in the light.
She slapped a twenty-dollar bill into Ryder’s hand. “Go down to the end of the street and order a tri-tip sandwich. We don’t have anything here that will get Ness back onto her feet.”
Ryder drew himself up to his full height and glowered down at Cerri. “Where the hell were you when this happened?”
I kicked Ryder in the knee with my good foot. He turned his glare upon me. I didn’t care. Exhausted and angry as I was, he didn’t scare me. He could shift into a dragon and eat me whole for all I cared. I would give him the worst case of indigestion possible.
Ryder didn’t say anything, though. He crumpled the money in his clenched fist and stormed out the door. When he was gone, Cerri pushed the potion into my hand. I trusted my friend and her arcana, but I didn’t know what she could do to help me.
“No questions.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Just drink.”
I sniffed the cup’s contents and almost gagged. The pungent smell of herbs and fermented ingredients overwhelmed my senses. “You couldn’t have bothered to hide this in a coffee? I’d kill for a mocha right about now.”
Cerri groaned and rolled her eyes. I was acting up because of what happened. Cerri didn’t deserve my attitude right now, so I pinched my nose and downed the potion in one gulp. It traveled down my throat in a lump before landing in the pit of my stomach.
I shoved the cup back at her and cursed when the aftertaste spread across my tongue. “Why does that taste like a barn?”
She laughed, but the sound was hollow. “You don’t know what a barn tastes like.”
I wanted to argue that I’d smelled more than one barn in my lifetime, but Cerri kept looking over her shoulder. The way she watched the door made me wary. I didn’t think she was nervous that Ryder would return.
I touched the back of her hand, pulling her attention back to me. “You know something. Tell me before he comes back.”
She sighed. “How well do you know that guy? Do you think it’s a good idea to be around him?”
“I don’t know him, really.” I hesitated, weighing the truth. Cerri was my friend, but I didn’t want her to think less of me when I told her what I’d asked Ryder to do for me. I swallowed the truth. “He thinks that I can do something for him. Apparently, another witch thinks she knows what I can and can’t do.”
Cerri gave a hollow chuckle. Once again, she looked over her shoulder. “That medallion belongs to Queen Beryl.”
My jaw dropped. “The Unseelie Queen Beryl? The one who took the court under the lake in a very bloody assault? That one? Why would he have gone to her?”
“I don’t know, but that medallion means that he has her protection. She doesn’t give that out to just anyone. Her price is very high.”
My foot nervously tapped against the floor. Ryder had struck a deal with the fae queen while he should have been keeping watch over my father. The information stung. I knew that I shouldn’t have put my trust in Ryder because he was an outsider, but I’d hoped that he would have my back.
I squeezed Cerri’s hand. I could trust her, but I couldn’t ask her for help—not without putting her in harm’s way. I didn’t want to do that to any of my friends. They had my back, but I wanted them to stay safe.
The potion warmed my stomach. That warm sensation spread from my gut to my torso and on to my limbs. My thigh tingled at first. Then the feeling turned hot. I clenched my teeth as the gashes burned.
“What did you give me?” I bit out.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t have enough energy to heal. If it hurts, then you need to eat something soon.” She paused and bit her lip. Once more, she looked back at the door. “I learned more about your new friend.”
My heart stopped, as if even it wanted to be quiet so that I could hear what Cerri had to say.
“Ryder was part of the Thunder Pass clan, though I’m unsure of his rank.”
Oh, I did not like the use of the past tense in her statement. “Was?”
She pressed her lips together and gave a firm nod. “Apparently, Ryder fled from his clan in Colorado after the clan leader was murdered. There isn’t a whole lot of information that I could gather because the dragons are pretty secretive. My guess is that someone framed Ryder for the murder.”
I let that sink in. I had no idea what to make of this situation without further information. The rumor mill could only grant me so much before it twisted the truth and gave me false ideas. I would have to get the truth out of Ryder himself.