Lachlan

While the fae man studied me curiously, I gaped up at him. He could never pass as human, not once you got within a few yards of him. It wasn't just the eyes that looked like pools of mercury, shimmering even in the low light of my cousins' living room. It was in the delicate points of his ears, the long, lean limbs, and the tattoo that spread over the top of his shirt. It was clearly some kind of script, but not one I recognized, and the ink looked like shining metal had somehow been tattooed into him. It was bright gold and I badly wanted to touch it, just to see how such a tattoo made the skin feel.

"You are human and not human," the fae man said.

It wasn't phrased as a question, but he waited with an expectant air until I slowly – reluctantly – nodded my head. I wasn't going to risk upsetting him with lies, not when I suspected he would see right through them.

He kept his eyes fixed on mine while he raised his nose and sniffed delicately at the air. He glanced at Safiya and back at me, one of his brows lifted slightly in intrigue. "You're related," he said.

It took longer, this time, for me to debate how to respond; in the end, though there was no denying it. "Yes."

The fae man's eyes warmed, looking even brighter and more like liquid mercury than before. I could have sworn I even saw the silvery color swirling and churning. His countenance softened until I almost thought he might be on the edge of smiling at me. "It's good that you're here. Family is important, and I thought it was just Glenna and Safiya."

"They aren't alone," I said. No way would I give him any indication of just how big our family was. That could only lead to trouble.

Now his lips definitely twitched upward. He took a small step back and held his hand out between us. "I'm Luin."

I'm not going to lie – I panicked. I might be willing to break my rule against touching supernaturals for Magnus – in very particular circumstances when he needed me or when the temptation was too much to resist – but this man was a dangerous stranger. Besides, couldn't fae teleport or work some kind of portal magic? No way was I messing around with that.

Then again, what if he was one of those types who was only truly dangerous when angered?

Glenna stepped between us with a good approximation of her usual kind smile, though there was no missing the worry in her eyes. "Luin, I hope you won't be offended if my cousin refrains from touching you. He has a hard time with trust and means no disrespect."

Luin frowned a little but withdrew his hand. "Of course, Glenna." He dipped a tiny bow in my direction. "Apologies."

Well, wasn't he polite? I didn't trust it for a second, but I was too grateful he wasn't pressing the issue to dwell on it. "I'm Lachlan," I offered. I didn't like him having my name, but I was certain he could learn it without expending too much effort, so it was better to get the brownie points for giving it freely rather than risk angering him further.

Luin's frown disappeared. "It's good to meet you."

"Likewise," I said. It was probably a lie.

Luin sidestepped so Safiya was part of our little conversation ring. "I hear you've been asking questions," he said to her.

Safiya's eyes widened comically. "Oh?"

"You want to know about soulmates." It was impossible to tell from Luin's tone what he thought of this. Glenna and I exchanged concerned looks, but Safiya wasn't so circumspect. She lit up and her eyes turned pleading.

"Can you help me?" she asked, the hope all too evident in her voice.

I didn't know that much about fae beyond the normal "don't spark their curiosity" rule, which I had already broken, but I was pretty sure there was another rule against asking them for favors. Unless the lore was wrong, the fae took favors very seriously, and what they wanted in return wasn't always stated up front. Sometimes they would go years or even decades before coming to collect the debt, and when they did, a person might find that the price was far too steep.

Glenna and I watched Luin apprehensively, but his casual air didn't falter. He looked like he was having any other conversation. "Why don't we sit down?" he asked, gesturing to the couches as though he were the host rather than the guest.

"Of course! Would you like some tea?" Safiya asked.

"Yes, tea would be great," Luin said.

Safiya turned pleading eyes on Glenna, who fixed a polite smile on her face and headed for the kitchen – though not before shooting me a stern look. I nodded at her, knowing exactly what she wanted: for me to keep an eye on Safiya.

Glenna was back only a minute later. Tea was such a fixture in her life that brewing it was an art. She had charms for heating the water and for speeding the steeping of the tea, so it was almost instant. She had probably spent the most time on setting out the tray and cups. The true art for Glenna was in the tea itself.

Jasmine tea with a hint of mint was passed around and we all settled, looking expectantly toward Luin. Even I felt morbidly curious about what he had to say on the subject of soulmates. I only knew what Magnus had told me, some of which Glenna was able to confirm later. Safiya drank from her steaming mug, but she kept her eyes fixed on the fae man. Meanwhile, Luin was inhaling the steam from his cup with an appreciative smile.

"This smells wonderful, Glenna. I will never tire of your tea."

I looked at her, surprised. When had she served him before? Were my cousins on friendly terms with him?

Now wasn't the time for these questions.

"I'm glad to hear it," Glenna said.

I was sick of the formalities already, but the three of them treated this like it was some kind of tea party for another few minutes before finally picking up the soulmate conversation.

"In Alterra – the land you'll have heard referred to as faerie – we all grow up knowing where to find our soulmates. Where to find them, but not who they are." Luin drank from his mug and smiled down at the tea in it. "This really is exquisite," he said.

If I weren't so anxious about what debt Safiya might unwittingly enter into with Luin, it might have been amusing just how happy he seemed to be to have Glenna's tea. Every time he smelled or tasted it, he looked purely happy in a way I had rarely experienced before meeting Magnus.

"Well?" Safiya said impatiently. "What else can you tell us?"

"Patience," Luin chided. "I would like to know what, exactly, you intend to do with this information. Some things are forbidden. I might live outside the laws of Alterra, but I still honor them."

As he stared at Safiya, Luin grew brighter again like a switch had flipped. It wasn't just his eyes; I thought his hair looked brighter, too. He almost glowed as he gazed deep into Safiya's eyes. Even though I wasn't the target of his stare, I felt it. No one could lie or prevaricate, not with Luin looking at them like that.

Safiya sat up straighter. "I want to create a way to track and identify someone's soulmate."

Luin frowned. "For what purpose?"

Now Safiya frowned. She didn't answer right away. Instead, she looked between Luin, Glenna, and me as though one of us could answer for her. Finally, she said, "Don't you think everyone should have a chance to meet their soulmate?"

For just a second, I could have sworn Luin flashed brighter than lightning. My eyes shut instinctively and when they opened a second later, he looked... normal. And I don't mean that he looked like he usually did – no, he had faded until he looked almost human with no unearthly glow at all. There were half-moons of dusky purple skin under his eyes, which were focused on his hands. He looked like a man defeated.

I exchanged another look with Glenna, one of concern this time. Was this how broken Luin was on the inside? Because it would be easier to fake confidence and brightness than to fake this kind of despair.

Safiya reached a hesitant hand forward but pulled it back before she could touch Luin's arm. "Luin?" she said hesitantly.

He looked up and I saw just how dull his eyes were now. They were a flat grey, like slate. "Yes, Safiya. Everyone deserves a chance to meet their soulmate," he said quietly.

My mind scrambled to put together some kind of explanation for Luin's transformation. Obviously, it was something to do with soulmates. What was it he had said about soulmates where he was from? Everyone knew where they were but not who they were. What did that even mean? Could you not isolate who your soulmate was by process of elimination? Eventually, they would be alone, right? You just had to catch them in that moment.

And what did it mean that Luin was here in our realm instead of in his? I couldn't imagine he would have left his soulmate back in faerie, so either something awful had happened or his soulmate was here on Earth. Maybe... had Luin been rejected?

It was all speculation, though, and I simply didn't have enough to go on to make an informed guess.

Luin looked back down at his hands, which still held the mug of tea. He brought it to his lips and inhaled appreciatively before drinking deeply. When he focused on Safiya again, he looked a bit more like his usual self. "I would like to help you," he said, "but I need to learn more about how soulmates work in this realm. I expect it won't be so different, but then, I expected many other things to be similar between our realms and have been very wrong in the past. And if I can help you, I have conditions."

Safiya leaned forward. "Okay," she said eagerly.

If she weren't sitting too far away, I would have kicked her for that. For a smart woman, Safiya sure wasn't using her head. Even if she wasn't dealing with a fae, she should know better than to make an agreement without hearing the terms. She could be like this too often – so headstrong and focused on her goal that she got reckless.

Glenna was closer to Safiya and put a hand on her sister's arm in warning. "Luin, what would your conditions be if we decided to work together?" she asked smoothly.

His eyes twinkled – and I don't mean metaphorically – when he looked to Glenna. "I will not take advantage of your sister, Glenna. I mean none of you any harm."

Glenna's eyes widened comically. What had I missed? Luin saw my confusion and said, "Fae can imbue their words with magic. When we do this, our words can only be truth and our promises cannot be broken. Though I have long considered Glenna and Safiya friends, Glenna appears surprised I would make such a vow regarding your safety."

I glanced at Glenna and saw that her cheeks were vivid red. "I'm so sorry, Luin. I meant no offense. It would be an honor to be your friend."

And now Glenna was joining Safiya off the deep end. Great.

There were tales about the fae, stories about never thanking them because of the debt that would cause between you. Wouldn't the same hold true for apologies?

"I will neither by word nor deed cause intentional harm to you or your family, Lachlan, so long as you all do the same for me," Luin said. This time I caught the flare of bright silver in those incredible eyes of his, felt the shiver of magic running through me.

Well... that made it a lot harder to doubt him. I mentally searched for some kind of loophole, but I couldn't find one with how general his statement had been. As long as we didn't intentionally hurt him, he wouldn't intentionally hurt us. It was a good deal. "Okay. So... what are your conditions for helping Safiya with her soulmate project?"

He quirked a brow upward. "You are interested in finding your soulmate, as well?"

I looked away, searching for some response I could give. We might have a truce in place, but that didn't extend to Magnus. Better to avoid bringing him up entirely.

"Oh, Lachlan already met his soulmate," Safiya said. "He's a werewolf."

Or Safiya could spill the beans. That worked too. I didn't even bother glaring at her this time. Obviously it did no good and I was getting sick of trying, at least for today.

Luin didn't bother masking his surprise. "Oh? Where is your soulmate, then?"

Was he asking out of innocent curiosity or something more? Well, I couldn't trust Luin with the details. "He's taking care of some pack business tonight."

"Oh. Well, I would like to meet him sometime."

What? No. No way was this freaking gorgeous, not to mention dangerous, fae meeting my mate.

Sometimes I was pretty good at masking my emotions, but this was not one of those times. I could feel the way my face contorted, but I couldn't stop it. My eyes were wide and worried, my eyebrows drawn in, my mouth pressed into a thin line.

Luin held up his hands in placation. "Maybe there's another mated werewolf you could introduce me to instead? If I'm going to help Safiya with her project, I need to know more about soulmates in this realm."

Somehow I felt like I might possibly have overreacted a little. If he was genuinely just trying to help – and that was a big if – then I might owe him an apology. I thought that over for a second and shook my head – no. Suspicion was the only reason I was human right now. If I hadn't carefully honed my paranoid instincts, I would have been caught years ago.

I made the mistake of looking Safiya's way. She had aimed pleading eyes at me and a slight thickness to the air made me think she was using magic to tug at my emotions, because I instantly felt softer toward her. "Please, Lach? Please?" Then – most dangerous of all – she pouted at me.

Glenna lightly whacked her on the shoulder. "Cut it out!"

But the damage was done. I wanted to help her. I couldn't untangle the desire Safiya had put in me from my own wants. I looked back to Luin and said, "I'll introduce you to him, but you must swear not to hurt him in any way."

Luin lifted a brow and for the first time, I think he looked a little annoyed with me. "I will not intentionally or knowingly cause your soulmate any harm as long as he does the same for me."

I searched for loopholes but couldn't find any, and though I didn't like Luin putting conditions on his promise, I couldn't fault him for it. I would do the same in his shoes. "Okay. I'll introduce you if he agrees."

I just hoped I wouldn't regret this.