Cass settled onto the grass beside her and sat still as the bees crawled over her as well. “I can’t get over this, Bumblebee,” she said in a wondering voice, barely loud enough to be heard over the loud buzzing that filled the air. “You are amazing. Look at them shine. I’ll have to tell Dar he’s the proud papa of half a million bees.” She laughed with obvious delight, holding her arms out for the bees to land on.
Rienne piped happily, feeling at peace as the bees worked.
“HOW ARE THINGS going at the house?” Foster asked as he and Shiloh settled down at a table in the pub for lunch.
“Pretty good.” Shiloh took a healthy bite of his sandwich. “Foxglove is the stud of the hour. He and Rienne seemed to have hit it off.” He still felt a little disgruntled over how Foxglove had managed to romance Rienne so quickly. “Hell, I’ve barely managed a couple kisses, and he’s spending the night. I don’t know what he was doing, but she was very vocal in her approval of it.”
Foster chuckled. “Have you—”
His words were cut off as a huge shockwave of magic exploded across the island.
Shiloh was vaguely aware of the rest of the inhabitants of the pub falling to the floor and writhing in the same pleasure-pain that was racking his body. After so many years of starving for magic, the blast was almost more than any of them could bear. Tingles spread through his whole body as he bucked and twisted, trying to control the wild magic ripping through his huge frame.
A massive set of antlers sprouted from the top of his head, dragging it to the floor, and his clothing tore as muscles bulged and contracted. The wave passed, but a tremendous amount of magic still hummed silently in the air.
Sucking in panting breaths, he dragged himself onto his hands and knees, struggling with the weight of antlers he hadn’t felt in nearly a millennium. “What the fuck was that?” he yelled hoarsely.
Dragging himself up, he was stunned by the sight of Foster. His friend had been trapped in the body of a nine-year-old child for years, but now, he was in his original form. In place of a child was a young man with a feral, catlike beauty. Ivy twined through knee-length, wavy ash-brown tresses. He was nude, shreds of torn clothing scattered around him from the change. Moss-green eyes sparkled with sensual knowledge and wild magic.
They stared at each other in disbelief. “You have mistletoe in your hair,” Foster breathed.
Joyous cries sounded around them as the others cried and laughed. Creatures of myth knelt and lay on the floor as they absorbed the magic hanging in the air like a heavy mist.
Shiloh and Foster helped each other to their feet. “We need to find out what happened,” Shiloh said, lifting his head again when the antlers threw him off-balance. Several others trailed after them as they staggered out the door.
All along the street, more people poured out of the buildings. Dar came running up and grabbed them. “I didn’t know,” he moaned, tears running down his handsome face.
Shiloh grabbed Dar’s shoulders. “Didn’t know what?” He shook the younger man. “What did you do?”
“Cass asked for some semen for Rienne. She said she needed it for the bees.” Dar looked like he didn’t know if he should be horrified or ecstatic. “I didn’t think it would do anything. I mean, bees? What the hell would bees need semen for? But I felt it. The magic went over me like a tsunami, as if twenty Mystics had been born in a moment. I didn’t know I would feel it. This is what Dad meant,” he said, speaking of his deceased father. “He said when I had children, I would feel it.” A look of wonder filled his handsome face. “Bees. You’re safe. Even if something happens to my sisters, or me, magic will still exist! The witch hunters won’t know about the bees!” He laughed a little drunkenly.
Foster and Shiloh looked at each other and took off running in the direction of the boarding house. Nearly the entire population of the island followed them. Half a mile from their destination, they found the small fey. Foxglove was covered in a living blanket of bees.
Tears ran down the man’s face. “They call me Father,” he said in a voice choked with tears. “Where did they come from?”
They watched the bees dance and hover around the small fey who, like the rest of the island, were laughing and crying at the same time. After a bit the bees lifted away and began buzzing from flower to flower.
Moving slower and much quieter, the group converged on the meadow where the blast had originated. Once there they saw Cass laughing and chattering a mile a minute to a huge queen bee. The bee lifted off the ground and flew in lazy circles. A gold-and-brown streamer of honeybees followed her.
Cass poured some liquid into a shallow bowl. “Rienne, come drink some of this. You know you need the calories,” she called out.
Shiloh looked around, expecting to see Rienne. She didn’t appear, but the huge queen landed gracefully and sipped from the bowl. Realization dawned as several smaller bees joined her. Bumblebee. “That’s Rienne,” he said in a wondering voice. “She created bees using the seed of a Mystic.” Quiet murmurs spread out around him as the information was passed along. His knees gave out as they all watched a miracle in progress.
Suddenly Cass’s head jerked. She growled low in her throat as she carefully inspected the trees and underbrush surrounding the meadow. The watchers went still as death, hoping she wouldn’t notice them. Small furry ears sprouted from the top of her head and swiveled. A long, fluffy tail popped out of the back of her loose gym shorts and flicked with irritation. Her pointed nose went in the air as she sniffed in different directions. Another growl vibrated through the air.
“UH-OH,” DAR muttered. He stood and walked into the clearing.
Cass relaxed and chittered softly at her husband. “Hey, babe,” she greeted in a velvety purr.
“Hello, sexy,” he returned. He sat on the grass next to her. “Wanna tell me what’s going on?”
Rienne buzzed her wings and lifted off the ground.
“Oh, Rienne is making some new hives.” Cass lay back in the grass and hummed softly to herself.
“I see,” Dar said carefully. “Did you stop to think what would happen if you used my sperm to do it?”
Cass turned her head and looked at him. “Yep.”
He blinked at her blasé answer.
“Didn’t know if it would work, but I figured, what the hell, it was worth a try. Since you’re here, I guess it did.” She plucked a piece of grass and chewed on the stem.
He gazed at the bees in amazement. “Yeah, baby, it worked.” His eyes burned with unshed tears as he watched them fly in and out of the hives. Cass might not be fully aware of what she had accomplished today, but every other person on the island knew. With one small experiment, she had changed their lives forever.
The tip of her tail tickled his chin. “So, you coming home early tonight?” she asked in a sultry voice. “I got a new costume in the mail yesterday. I might be talked into letting you spread a little more love.” She leered at him comically.
He chuckled and leaned down to press a smacking kiss on her lips. “It’s a date.”
She stretched lazily. “So, how long are your friends going to hang out and watch us like museum exhibits?” she asked casually.
Dar winced and bit his lip. There was no way she would have missed the many scents surrounding the clearing. “Probably not long. They were curious. Does it bother you?”
She shrugged. “Not really, as long as they stay in the trees. I don’t want them bugging Rienne. She hasn’t shifted like this in a long time, and she needs to stay relaxed so nothing goes wrong.”
“I’ll let them know.” He stole another kiss before getting to his feet to spread the word.
THREE HOURS LATER everyone had drifted away. Foxglove stayed and kept an eye on his lover and her cousin. He couldn’t stop watching her. He sat up straighter when she landed and beat her wings so quickly a low humming sound filled the air.
Scooting farther out onto the branch, he watched intently as bees converged on her and seemed to
be absorbed into her body. Her image wavered, and she returned to her human form.
She sucked in a gasping breath and collapsed to the ground, looking as if she had lost ten pounds or more since this morning. Every inhalation held a dangerous rattle at the end. Her ribs were sharply delineated under a thin layer of skin, and he could see her hip bones clearly.
Cass grabbed her and held a bottle of water to her lips. “God damn it, Rienne! You did too much!”
Rienne choked on the liquid a little as she struggled to swallow. Her hands came up to hold the bottle still as she drank.
Foxglove swore under his breath and dived off the branch, flying toward the women. Their eyes went wide when he changed size in a shower of sparks. He helped Rienne sit up and took the bottle from Cass. “Drink some more, love.” She was shaking like a leaf as she sucked in air between sips.
Cass shook herself all over and started digging in her bag. She pulled out a sticky-looking wad of nuts, seeds, and raisins. “Eat some of this, Bumblebee.” After pulling a chunk off of the wad, she popped it in Rienne’s mouth after Foxglove lowered the bottle.
Rienne chewed, leaning tiredly against Foxglove’s chest as her breath continued to come in raspy wheezes. Her hands reached behind him to brush one giant wing. “They’re real?” she asked in a weak voice.
He nodded, resting his cheek on top of her head, and reached for another bit of Cass’s concoction and fed it to her. Feeling Cass’s eyes on him, he looked up to meet her gaze. Her usually animated face had an expression on it he had never seen before. It was only then he realized she was a predator. Most of the island thought she shifted into something cute and cuddly to match her sweet, easygoing nature. In an instant he realized how wrong they were.
He’d seen cats with that look as they watched small fluttery things and realized he was a small fluttery thing to her. Going still, he nodded. She smiled slowly, some of the hardness leaving her eyes. She gave him another chunk of the nut mix. After he fed it to Rienne, he gave her another drink.
Two dots flew into the clearing and materialized into Dandy and Thistle. Cass jumped a little and eyed them warily. “Good grief. Rienne has flaming fairy godfathers!”
“What’s wrong with her?” Dandy asked, going to his knees beside them after scowling briefly at Cass.
“She is an idiot, that’s what’s wrong with her,” Cass said tartly. She grabbed Rienne’s jeans and sweatshirt, ignoring Dandy’s glare of outrage over her pronouncement.
Foxglove helped her get the bulky sweatshirt over Rienne’s head while Thistle glowered at the taller woman.
“Had to make enough for healthy hives, Cass,” Rienne mumbled. “At least three pounds for each hive.”
Foxglove was relieved to hear the rasp leaving her chest as the food and water hit her system.
“Uh-huh, whatever, Bumblebee. I should turn you over my knee,” Cass retorted, setting the jeans down again and digging out a jar of golden honey and a spoon. She twisted the lid off with an angry jerk and dug out a spoonful of the sweet stuff. Shoving the spoon into Rienne’s mouth, she then pulled more food and drinks out of the bag while muttering under her breath. “There is no reason you couldn’t have made one or two hives instead of four or five. It wouldn’t have been nearly as hard on your body! It’s not like you couldn’t have spaced it out a bit and made a couple more next week.”
Rienne sighed around the spoon. Foxglove picked her up and folded his legs before placing her in his lap. He pulled the spoon out of her mouth and dipped out some more honey to feed her.
Dandy pulled off his shirt and draped it over her legs. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked in a worried tone as he stroked the hair off her cheeks.
She nodded, drinking when Foxglove held the bottle up for her.
Thistle took the spoon from Foxglove. He took over feeding her honey while Dandy helped Cass.
“Great idea to have a picnic, Cass,” Dandy said with false cheer.
She gave him a droll look, but her lips twitched a bit.
Rienne shook her head when Thistle offered her more honey. Foxglove was relieved to see the color coming back in her face. Her eyelids drooped a bit as she cuddled closer to him. Her breathing seemed easier as well.
Cass came over and checked her cousin over carefully. “She’ll be okay now. Give her a bit, and we’ll put some real food in her.” She gave Foxglove a sandwich. “Here, she’s probably not gonna want meat, I forgot that.” She sat beside him and munched on some grapes. “Go ahead and eat, guys. You can tell me what it’s like to fly.”
Foxglove looked down. “Has she been like this before?” he asked quietly. Rienne sighed softly and fell asleep. Looking from her to the sandwich, he handed it to Dandy and put both arms around his lover.
Cass lay back in the grass, her face still tight with tension. “Not since we were kids. It took her a while to figure out how much was safe. Sometimes the family gets someone like her. They shift into ants or spiders, or something similar. But, they never come back from the first shift.” She swallowed hard and blinked rapidly. “Rienne says it’s because if she’s not really careful, her mind gets split so much she can’t remember who she is. Most of the time she tries to keep as much of herself together as she can. But, it’s even worse when she leaves bees behind. They are all a little part of her, you know. Like her kids, but not quite.” She threw an arm over her eyes. “She wouldn’t look so bad if she’d been in better shape.”
“What do you mean?” Thistle asked. He tucked the shirt more securely around Rienne’s legs.
“She’s already lost so much weight. When she gets stressed, she can’t eat.” She lifted her arm to glare at Foxglove. “If you hurt her, you’re dinner. No fighting with her. If you guys get mad, keep it calm and work it out. Stress completely messes her up.”
He nodded. This was something he was already discovering. Anytime Rienne was around conflict, she started rubbing her stomach and got the pinched look he had noticed when he first met her. Rienne always brushed off his concern, saying her stomach was upset, but the wary expression in her eyes told him there was more to it than that.
Cass picked up an apple. “She’ll be okay,” she said again, looking tired.
He nodded again.
“The cousins are coming soon,” she said, changing the subject. “That will help. Guess I should rent a couple of the cabins.”
The men let her ramble. It was obvious Rienne’s condition had scared her more than she wanted them to know.
Dandy ate the sandwich while Thistle slipped Cass more fruit, which she absently ate, seeming to not notice they were taking care of her too.
He gave her a chunk of soft white cheese.
Her nose twitched when she started to bite into the cheese. Lifting her arm away from her eyes, she sniffed it again. “What the hell?”
Thistle gave her an inquiring look as he chewed his bit of the cheese. “Something wrong?”
Cass inhaled again. “Brie smells like sex and sperm.”
Thistle stopped midchew and looked at the cheese in his hand.
Dandy gaped.
Foxglove blinked a few times. “Really?” He didn’t have any idea what else to say.
She shoved the cheese in his face. “Smell.”
He took an experimental whiff. “You’re right, it does a little bit.”
Cass snickered when Thistle turned a little green. “Oh please, like you’ve never had man milk in your mouth before. I’ve seen you and Dandy getting steamy.”
Foxglove chuckled as his friends turned pink with embarrassment.
SHILOH FROWNED AS he checked each room in the house. There was no sign of Rienne. Several hours had passed since he had left the meadow. He was a little worried she hadn’t returned home by now and debated whether he should try to find her. Most of his afternoon had been taken up with checking on the residents. There was a flurry of magical works being done as most believed the influx of magic was temporary. They were cautiously hopeful the bees wou
ld survive and continue to generate magical energy, but after starving for so long, no one wanted to get their hopes up just yet. Better to use what was available now rather than hope more was to come later, seemed to be the consensus.
Of course, a few inhabitants were focusing on other matters. Foster had ensconced himself in a cabin with a half-dozen dryads and was in the process of working off a decade of celibacy.
He checked each room carefully. Rienne and Cass had done a wonderful job cleaning the house and grounds. Within a few days, the new tenants would be moving in, and getting any time alone with Rienne would be almost impossible.
Where is she? he wondered, coming to a stop at the bottom of the stairs leading to her private living quarters. He debated if he should go up. He tapped a finger on the banister for a moment before deciding against it. Instead he wandered into the kitchen and dug through the fridge. Nothing looked very appealing at the moment. I think I’ll take Rienne and Foxglove out to dinner at the pub tonight. That will give me a chance at courtship.
He had spent as much time with her as he could in the weeks since she had moved to the island, and found his initial attraction had only grown. It had been a long time since he had been this interested in a woman.
He wondered if he would have to become Foxglove’s lover to be Rienne’s. Stopping where he was, he turned that thought over in his head. Why haven’t I considered this before? Knowing the attraction between Rienne and Foxglove, it seemed a little bit odd he hadn’t contemplated taking Foxglove as a lover before this. It had been a very long time since he had taken a male lover. When one was immortal, sexual orientation became a blurry thing. It was something humans obsessed over, and it changed all the time given the cultural mores of the time and place. Picturing Foxglove, he contemplated the younger male. Very sexy, he decided with some surprise. The thought of Foxglove’s moon-pale skin pressed against Rienne’s warmer tones was much more interesting, and he suddenly found he needed to adjust the crotch of his jeans. They seemed to have shrunk in the last few moments.
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