by Shea Balik
Other than it being south of them, Fritjof had no idea how far the Fae were from them. In the sky, they appeared to be right above them. But in reality, he knew it was much farther away, thanks to Dermot’s potions to keep them safe from the Fae stepping through the Veil and onto their property.
They’d hoped the potion would keep the Fae from even being able to come near them, but he knew in his soul they weren’t going to be that lucky.
“Hrafn called and said the Fae…” Eirik glanced out the door, seeing the gigantic opening in the Veil. “How many?”
Fritjof shook his head. “An army,” he said. Then he met Eirik’s eyes. “A Seelie army.”
Eirik’s gaze went instantly to Tess.
But before either of them said anything more, Tess answered the unasked question. “He saw me.” Her violet gaze landed on Fritjof. “He’s going to take me. You can’t let Wylie follow, not like he is now.”
“What?” Fritjof asked, confused.
“He’d die,” was all she said before they heard the clash of weapons. All three of them faced the door to find Hrafn, Bjorn, Ulf, and Oluf battling an army, while Teagan, Cullen, and Dermot used their magic to try and hold the Fae back.
Wylie was racing across the yard toward them, or more accurately, to his niece’s side. There was no doubt Wylie would do whatever it took to keep Tess safe. The problem with that, because Fritjof had his head stuck up his ass for too long, that would mean Wylie could, and probably would, die.
Tess yanked on Fritjof’s hand. He glanced down at her. “Promise me, he doesn’t cross that veil until he’s safe.”
Fritjof still had no clue what she meant. As far as he knew, no one was safe going into the Fae realm.
Then she smiled at him and said, “I’ll be okay. You’ll save me in the end.”
“No, Tess,” Wylie screamed.
Fritjof spun around. His instincts had his sword in hand as he faced the man who had led the Seelie into the human world. Even as he swung the blade at the Fae, it went flying out of Fritjof’s hands to clatter on the front porch.
He stepped in front of Tess, blocking her from the Fae. But even he knew there was no way he was going to win this battle. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t do everything in his power to stop him.
Eirik, who was still there next to him, managed to nick the Fae with his blade, but the impact shattered the steel. Yeah, they were fucked, and not in a good way.
With a wave of his fingers, the Fae sent Eirik flying through the house and crashing through the two story windows along the back of the living room. Fritjof wrapped an arm behind him, tucking Tess close to his body.
This time, when the Fae took a step closer, putting him within arm’s reach, Fritjof had a knife already in his other hand and shoved it through the Fae’s thigh. As fast as he pulled the blade free, the wound healed as if it had never been there.
Shit.
Then he went flying out the front door, crashing into Wylie who had just been racing up the steps.
“Tess,” Wylie screamed as he tried to yank her away from the Fae with his magic.
Tess had moved as if she were sliding across the floor. But the Fae was far stronger, for she hadn’t gotten more than five feet away from him, when he lifted a finger and stopped her momentum. Then he picked her up and stared into her eyes with a self-satisfied smile.
In the blink of an eye they were flying over Fritjof and Wylie’s heads. Fritjof watched in horror as they crossed the Veil into the realm of the Fae.
The next thing he knew, Wylie took off after them. Too stunned to comprehend what was happening, Wylie had managed to get a distance ahead of Fritjof before he got to his feet to chase Wylie down.
He’d made a promise to Tess, sort of. More importantly, he knew if Wylie went through that Veil, Fritjof would never see him again and that wasn’t something he was ready to accept.
Just as Wylie had gotten to the far side of the paddocks, Fritjof caught up to him and grabbed him around the waist. “I’m sorry, princess,” he told the man who was fighting him tooth and nail in his arms. “But I can’t let you go.”
The Fae were fleeing quickly as they all crossed through the opening. Seconds later, the Veil closed and a wail broke from deep within Wylie’s body.
There was zero doubt if Fritjof had allowed Wylie to go into the Fae’s realm, he would have never seen him again. But because he didn’t, he feared Wylie would never forgive him. Either way, Fritjof had lost his heart to man who would never love him back.
His heart felt as if it would never beat again, but if it was the last thing he did, he would get Tess back. He owed Wylie that much.
Who would have thought he’d been right all these years? Love only destroyed everything it touched.
CHAPTER 16
Everything within Wylie shut down as he watched that Veil close and any hope of keeping his promise to his sister died. No way was he going to be able to save his niece. He had no way into the Fae realm without that Veil being opened.
It made him sick to know that he was clinging for dear life to the man who had stopped him from following Tess, but try as he might, Wylie couldn’t let go of Fritjof. He was sure if he did, his entire body would fly apart, something that he might deserve, considering what he’d let happen.
He should have fought harder. Pushed his magic. But he hadn’t. Now Tess was lost to him. Stuck in a world she couldn’t begin to understand.
“I swear to you, princess, I’ll get her back.” Fritjof had been saying that over and over since that damn Veil shut, but he hadn’t really heard him until now.
Shoving from Fritjof’s embrace, he glared at the man who dared to hold him back from going after his niece. “How dare you?” he screamed. “She’s only five.”
Thrusting his arm out to point at where the Veil had been moments before, he forced himself to speak around the lump that was lodged in his throat. “I should be there with her. Keeping her safe. Making sure she’s okay.”
A sob ripped from deep within his chest as he thought of her all alone in a strange place. No one there to hold her. “She’s all alone,” he cried as he dropped down to his knees.
Those strong arms he shouldn’t want, were there again, this time picking Wylie up off the ground and carrying him back to the house while he sobbed so hard he was sure he was going to turn himself inside out. How was he supposed to survive knowing he’d failed to protect Tess?
It was the one thing he’d dedicated himself to since his sister died. He’d been the one to make sure she stayed safe in the middle of the jungle with dozens of dangerous animals, reptiles, and bugs that could easily kill her. He’d been the one to ensure she knew how to hide when others came around.
It had been Wylie who taught her the importance of being proud of who she was, while still understanding why sometimes it was imperative that she not be seen. His parents had done none of that. All Dùghall had done was grumble about the sacrifices he’d had to make, while mama bowed down to his every wish, often times ignoring her child and grandchild.
“Anyone mind telling me what the fuck just happened out there?” Arne, the most outspoken of the group, said as he stomped into the house right behind them. “How was Hrafn able to warn us they were coming before the Veil started to open?”
Confused, Wylie did his best to force himself to listen to what was being said, as everyone took a seat in the living room. Well, the druids sat, most of the Vikings paced, especially Eirik, who was also clenching and unclenching his fists, as he kept glancing at the now smashed window that was in the back of the room.
“Fritjof told me,” Hrafn said.
All eyes went to where Fritjof sat with Wylie on his lap. Unsure how he’d even gotten there, Wylie debated moving, but… he blew out a stream of air. As much as it killed him to admit it, he needed to feel Fritjof’s strength at the moment. To soak it in as he struggled with all that had happened.
He should have known it would be short lived. A part of him knew he
wasn’t going to like what Fritjof had to say.
“Tess knew,” the man said.
Wylie froze, his gaze fixed on Fritjof, praying the man was lying. But he could see it in those golden eyes. He was telling the truth.
“She said they were coming,” Fritjof’s words triggered something.
How could he have forgotten when it had only just happened? Yet, Wylie had. In the aftermath of losing his niece, he’d pushed the rest away.
Scrambling off Fritjof’s lap, Wylie stared at him in horror. “Buttercup,” he whispered.
The defeat in Fritjof’s eyes was all he needed to know the truth. “You lied to me this whole time,” he whispered. “It’s why I didn’t hear what Tess said. Why I didn’t run with her when she first said they were coming. You’re the reason she was taken,” he accused even knowing as he said it, how unfair he was being.
“I know, and I’m sorry.” Did it help that Fritjof didn’t try to defend himself? No, not really.
Well, maybe. But not enough for Wylie to forgive him.
“Excuse me, did you just call him Buttercup?” Arne snickered.
Fritjof didn’t even tense as Arne started to tease him. “Our bad ass Fritjof, has been reduced to Buttercup,” Arne cackled. “This is priceless.”
But the laughter stopped as abruptly as it started when Arne was encased in a block of ice with his lover, Dermot, glaring at him. “You know how I feel about you making fun of others, Arne.”
Then Dermot shifted in his seat to look at Wylie. “Look, I get you’re upset about Fritjof lying, but I think we need to focus on the real issue here. They took Tess into the Fae realm. How are we supposed to get her back?”
Dermot was right. Wylie needed stay on track. He could yell at Fritjof later, maybe even kick him in the balls for tricking him like that. But the fact remained, nothing came before getting Tess back.
“Okay, so how do we open the Veil so we can go after her?” Wylie asked.
“There’s only one way you could go into the Fae’s realm, and I doubt you’re ready for that,” Fritjof said softly, as if he hated even having to say it.
“I don’t think now is the time to bring that up,” Dermot told Fritjof, who nodded in agreement.
“The point is,” Fritjof told him. “There is no way you can go into the Fae realm right now,” Fritjof insisted. “You’d die before you could ever reach Tess.”
That was a new one for Wylie. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Ryley answered for him. “We don’t know everything about that world, obviously, but we do know humans aren’t able to survive there.”
“It’s one of the reasons the Fae keep trying to enter the human world,” Dermot agreed.
Wylie was sure he was missing something, because none of what they said made a damn bit of sense. “What?” Okay, so he wasn’t being particularly articulate himself at the moment, but Wylie seriously wasn’t sure where to even start with his questions.
“A lot of what we have to go on comes from ancient sources,” Teagan said.
“And Fen, we can’t forget about him,” Kegan interjected.
“And lord knows, Fen isn’t one to be very helpful,” Bjorn grumbled.
“Okay, enough,” Dermot told everyone. “Basically, through Aed’s journals, stories from our parents and grandparents, as well as indications from Fen, humans don’t last in the realm of the Fae. Why?” Teagan shook his head. “We have no clue,” he admitted.
“All we do know is a human can’t survive there. So, the Fae came into our world. It was one of the reasons the Fae had built the Veil to begin with, so humans couldn’t cross it. Aed just added to their existing spell to keep them from crossing over into our world.” Dermot leaned back and glanced at his lover, who was still shrouded in ice.
With a flick of his hand the ice disappeared, not even a drop of water remaining. “Can you be nice, now, or do you still need to chill?” Dermot asked him.
Arne pouted, but he sat back against the couch and wrapped his arms around Dermot, as if that would stop his love from freezing his ass again.
“But that can’t be true,” Wylie insisted. Their ancestor’s plight proved that. “Didn’t Fen take Ceit into the Fae realm, where she met his brother and got pregnant? She was human.”
The entire room went silent as they stared at Wylie. It was almost eerie the way they were all processing the information with nearly the same dumbstruck expression on their faces.
Then Eirik tilted back his head and bellowed, “Fen. Get your ass here, now.”
“I can’t believe we never put those pieces together,” Ryley whispered as if still in shock. “Not that any of us wanted to go there, but still…” He shook his head instead of finishing whatever he’d begun to say.
Nearly a minute later, Eirik called for Fen again. “I’m telling you old man, if you don’t come now, I will spend the rest of eternity making your life a living hell.”
Energy crackled around them, shooting through Wylie’s body, nearly freezing him in place with its power. “What makes you think you aren’t already doing that?” a man Wylie had never met before said as he appeared, wearing a long elegant robe that reminded him a bit of the old Star Wars movie.
He was slightly older, maybe in his fifties or sixties, but still quite handsome. Yet, based on everything Wylie had learned about the Fae since his sister became enthralled, he looked nothing like them.
“How can you be Fae and look like that?” Yeah, it was probably rude to state it so baldly, but Wylie was still in a lot of shock over what had happened to Tess.
“Is that really why you called me here?” Fen asked him with a smirk that had Wylie itching to smack it off of him.
“No, you son of a bitch…” a hand clamped over his mouth, stopping him from insulting the Fae any further.
It was Eirik who spoke next, as Wylie fought to get Fritjof’s hand from his mouth. “Someone we love was taken into the Fae realm. How do were get her back?”
There was a flash of sorrow in Fen’s gaze before it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. “You can’t. Humans don’t survive long. The odds of you finding this person is already highly unlikely, but to do so before she dies…” There was a slight shake to the Fae’s head as he said, “I’m sorry. But there’s no way she’ll survive.”
“But you took Ceit there,” Wylie shouted at him as he ripped from Fritjof. “She survived long enough to get pregnant.”
Fen winced at the reminder of what he’d done to that poor girl, but Wylie could care less. So long as he got his niece back, he didn’t give a shit who he insulted.
“I never took her into our world,” Fen said. He held up his hand to stop the voices that demanded an explanation. “I took her. But I only told Aed it was into the Fae realm. Our world just isn’t compatible for humans. They don’t die instantly, but it doesn’t take long.”
“What if this person is half Fae” Wylie asked, praying the answer would be enough to give him the chance he needed to save Tess.
“That’s impossible,” Fen insisted. “No Fae has been on this side of the Veil until the past few months. Even if one of them had gotten a human pregnant, the baby wouldn’t have been born yet.”
“I hate to burst your bubble,” Wylie sneered, already not liking the guy, “but six years ago one of your kind came to our home and enthralled my sister.”
Seeing Fen’s superior façade drop into one of shock was far more satisfying than Wylie would have thought. “That would be… No. I don’t believe it.”
“I don’t give a damn what you believe,” Wylie told him. “Would that child, who is now five, survive?”
Fen nodded. “Yes. But she wouldn’t thrive. At least, not in the long run. Eventually, she would need to be raised in the human world.”
“How do I find her?” he asked, not giving a shit about the other stuff because Wylie had no intention of letting her live there long enough for it to matter.
Fen stared at him for a
long moment. “You don’t.” He waved his hand around to the others in the room. “Since the rest of you are immortal, in theory, you should survive the trip.”
Wylie couldn’t explain it but what Fritjof had said earlier floated around in his brain, as if trying to get him to understand all that was being said, yet not. Then he felt something in his stomach cramp as realization dawned on him.
Whirling on Fritjof, he glared at the man. “You want me to let you fuck me? Are you out of your god damn mind?”
No. Just never happening. Not after he’d let Wylie pour his heart out to his horse, never once letting Wylie know it was him all along.
“Go to hell, asshole. I’d rather fuck the devil himself than let you touch me.” The pain he saw in Fritjof’s golden eyes didn’t sway him in the slightest.
It didn’t.
CHAPTER 17
Tears swam in Fritjof’s eyes as he heard Wylie deny any chance they might have. It was no less than he deserved, but he’d begun to hope… What was he saying? When it came to love, there was no such thing as hope.
None of it existed.
Except…for the first time since that damn raid, he’d discovered what it meant to love. If only he hadn’t destroyed whatever had been between them. No. Not between them, for Wylie had never once given Fritjof a second glance. The only one he’d let in since they’d met was Buttercup.
That they were one and the same didn’t matter. Wylie clearly had no need for Fritjof. Worse, he didn’t feel a damn thing for the man instead of the animal.
“Then I guess you don’t want to save your niece, for without you becoming immortal, there’s no way you can find her and bring her back before dying, or…” Fen’s stared at Wylie as if daring him to look the man in the eye.
“What?” Wylie demanded. “What is worse than death?”
Fen smiled in a way that left chills racing up and down Fritjof’s spine. “As a measly human, you might become enthralled first.” Fen seemed to be challenging Wylie as his smile turned downright creepy. “You’d become a Fae’s bitch, doing anything and everything he or she asked of you, no matter who was watching, including your precious niece.”