Traitor of the Entitled: An Obsidian Queen Novella by Shari L. Tapscott

Author:Shari L. Tapscott [Tapscott, Shari L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

7

I threw away the phone one month ago—right after I fried its circuits. Dead phones tell no tales.

You should have written down his number, I think to myself as I jog around a park that’s covered in snow. It’s freaking freezing, and my breath puffs out in front of me. My lungs are starting to ice over; there’s probably crystals forming in them now.

He’s not here. He’s not coming. He’s not a moron.

I got a little desperate, all right? Two weeks ago, in the middle of the night, I did a little routine hacking into the Royal Guild’s computer system and pulled up Eric’s info.

I know.

I know.

But the way I figure it, I wasn’t taking anything I didn’t have before. He already gave me his phone number once. And, yes, maybe I had to do a little snooping into private phone records to find his address when the one the guild had on file seemed to be old, but now I can confidently tell him his carrier is overcharging him. If I ever work up the nerve to call him again.

I probably won’t.

Which is why I’m here, in this frozen wonderland of a park near his condo, hoping to bump into him semi-organically. The Bunny is fit, right? Surely he jogs? One of these days, I’m bound to run into him.

He probably goes to a gym, I scoff. Heat controlled, not snowy. Not freezing.

A jogger who’s way more dedicated than I am passes me for the zillionth time. He’s like some freakish gazelle, running like a lion is on his heels. It’s becoming embarrassing.

I don’t even run in the nice months—I shouldn’t have chosen December to give it a try.

By the time I make it back to my car, I’ve lost all feeling in my feet. My phone rings just as I start the engine.

“I think I have frostbite,” I tell Nicole when I answer. “Can you save toes?”

“You don’t have frostbite.”

“How do you know?”

She laughs like it’s a joke. “I’m making those cookies you like, the ones with the chocolate glaze. Can you buy a bag of powdered sugar on your way home? I’m almost out.”

“I can tell you’re taking my condition seriously.”

“Did you run into him this time?”

I grumble as I pull my knit hat from my head, making my straight hair all staticky. “Run into whom?”

“Nice try. No one in their right mind drives two hours into the mountains in the middle of winter to go jogging.”

“I didn’t drive two hours just to jog,” I argue. “I had business at the guild this morning, and I thought I’d stop here before heading back.”

Admittedly, it would have been more convenient, and a whole lot warmer, if I’d just run into Eric at the guild again. But before was a fluke. I usually end up at the place once or twice a week, and I haven’t seen him again.

“Sure,” Nicole says, not believing me for a minute. “So…did you see him?”

“No,” I finally admit, acknowledging I’m a loser. It doesn’t matter, though—it’s just Nicole.

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