You Bet Your Banshee by Danica Avet Page A

teeth, and my eyes had seemed bigger than my face. “I was about eighteen at the time and I remember thinking you didn’t look like you could find your way out of a closet much less lead the banshees. I didn’t know you’d turn out to be so funny, or loyal.”
    “Loyal?”
    He nodded his head at Breeze who purred on my chest. “You could’ve left him behind, but you didn’t.”
    “Of course I didn’t! He’s my pet.” As if I’d ever let my Breeze go hungry.
    “What about that sliver of the wood elf you were friends with?”
    My cheeks burned. “How did you know?”
    “I can read your mind, remember? I know you’re carrying it with you because you feel responsible for his death. That’s what a leader does, Magda, they take responsibility for others. They’re loyal and won’t leave anyone behind. You’re a born leader.”
    “I don’t think I can lead anyone, Ryvan,” I finally whispered after considering his words. “I’ve only had to take care of myself for so long, I’m not sure I can safely take the responsibility of others, especially my own people.”
    We were both silent for several minutes. Ryvan navigated the streets of New Orleans like an old pro. Maybe he was. I had no idea how long he’d been in the earthly plain. Maybe he spent a lot of time throwing beads to the flashers on Bourbon Street. Maybe he hung out around strip clubs. He was part gancanagh after all; he’d want to be around women. Hell, maybe he liked hanging out at the Audubon Zoo to watch the howler monkeys. I don’t know because I didn’t know anything about him, not really.
    “You know what I am,” he answered my unspoken thoughts. That was really getting on my nerves. “You know why I’m here. You know I want you more than any other female I’ve ever been with and not because you’re going to be queen,” he continued as the thought crossed my mind. “I’ve watched you grow up, watched and fought my every instinct as Queen Melosia warped your people into tormenting you. Queen Tamsyn had to lock me up several times because I wanted to take you out of there.”
    His hold on me grew tighter until breathing became a little difficult.
    “What? And this is the woman you want to bring me to?” I was horrified at the thought of another cruel, unjust queen.
    He grimaced. “I might have attacked her personal guard when they tried to stop me.” I gaped at him. “I was frantic to reach you. Don’t you understand, Magda? You’re mine. You always have been and you always will be. You’re the love of my eternity.”
    No one can blame a girl for melting at that, can they? I mean, here I am an imperfect banshee with an overweight cat, and the sexiest male I’ve ever met just claimed that I was his love. Not for life, but for eternity .
    I stared up at him, awed and a little unnerved. I didn’t love him back. I barely knew him, but I did like what I knew of him. I couldn’t love him. Yet. His mouth curled to one side and I knew he’d read my mind. Again.
    “How can you read my mind?” I blurted out because all this thinking and talking about love made me vaguely uneasy. I didn’t know how to handle affection, which probably explained why I had a cat instead of a dog.
    Ryvan looked up again, watching where he was going. “When we made love, I opened myself up to you, which means I’m capable of receiving your thoughts. The reason you don’t hear my thoughts is because you’re not open to me.” I started to apologize but he gave me another squeeze. “It will come in time. I know we’re meant for each other and soon you will as well.”
    Huh, he sounded so confident I couldn’t find the nerve to ask him how he knew. My experiences hadn’t taught me about love. The few males I thought I might come to love had been killed before I could feel more for them. Melosia had done everything in her power to make me cry. Now she was doing everything she could to kill me.
    “Why now?” I muttered. “If she knew about