“What about—”
“That might be more difficult to solve. The fae only use that tactic for one reason: to keep a person within the fae realms. If I helped you, I would make enemies of too many people.”
I frowned at him. “But there is a way to reverse this curse?”
He laughed. “My lady, being fae-nipped might be uncomfortable, but it is hardly equal to a curse.”
I cringed at that thought, realizing I didn’t know much about the new world I had been thrust into. What else could they do to me?
Gibbit studied my expression. “Not to worry. You are too important to have anyone really harm you.”
Good to know, but I didn’t think that was really true. If he had seen some of the fae royalty look at me with pure hate, he might rethink that statement. At least he still had Lily’s journal. I had tried to put it in the back of my mind, but there was still something nagging at me. Had I missed a crucial piece of information simply because I hadn’t known what I was looking for? “When can you get it to me?” I whispered in case Heath had decided to play detective again.
“It is in a safe place. I will deliver it to you when you are back in Faeresia.”
I fought back a pout and nodded. He could refuse me altogether if he wanted to. Heath had made it clear he didn’t want Gibbit to be around me. I looked at the little troll again trying to see evil in him. All I saw was someone trying to survive under the circumstances he’d been handed. He was a survivor. Who could blame him for it? I certainly wasn’t going to.
A commotion started near the beach yanking me away from my thoughts. I raced to where everyone was huddled around something…no someone. I pushed my way between two of Heath’s men and nearly threw up.
One of the guys from the scout party was writhing on the sand clutching his ear. Blood oozed between his fingers and down his arm. He was speaking so fast I had a hard time keeping up. When Heath noticed me, he blanched, shooting a warning glance at the man on the ground.
He changed dialects, and I couldn’t understand anything he was saying now. I’d pieced together something about dark matter and uncontained, but that didn’t make any sense to me. What the heck was dark matter anyway? I remembered hearing something about it on the Discovery Channel, but if I remembered right, scientists didn’t exactly know what it was.
Heath rattled off sharp commands and the group dispersed leaving me standing across from him. Cassie was bent over the injured man, holding his other hand. She told him it would be okay, but from the look on Heath’s face, I doubted it.
Heath stared at me with a look of pure fear and uncertainty which made my heart beat faster in panic. He skirted around the hump of a man that was still writhing in apparent pain and pulled me off to a safe distance.
“What happened to him?” I asked, glancing back at the gruesome scene.
“He was attacked by the compound guards. He was fortunate. Everill didn’t make it back.”
I shouldn’t have worried about the poor guy. He was immortal for heaven’s sake. But the man crying out only a few feet away from me in agony was too hard to ignore. “What is going on Heath? I didn’t think you guys could be hurt like that. Aren’t you supposed to have power to stop this sort of thing from happening?”
“We don’t have time to discuss this now. We have to get you back to Faeresia. I should have never brought you here.”
“As if you had a choice.”
He leveled his gaze with mine. “As if you could have escaped me.”
Chapter Twelve
I shook my head not sure what to do. Somewhere on this retched island were the two men I cared about most in this world. I wasn’t about to let Heath take me away now. I had to find them and my family. I had to make sure they were okay.
Without another word I marched toward the jungle. I didn’t make it more than two steps before Heath had me bound in a bear-hug.
“Let go of me,” I hissed.
“Stop being so stupid. Don’t you get it? This is a trap. Set for you!”
“Why would the Order care about me? I’d hardly be useful to them yet.”
“So now you’re an expert?”
“Why won’t you tell me what happened?”
“I’m not going to argue about this here. We are leaving.”
I found myself floating on a current of matter before I could say another word. I screamed at Heath to let go of me. I pummeled my fists into his chest and kicked at his shins. I was not going back, but I already had. Cold enveloped me like a tomb.
I wrenched myself out of his embrace. “How dare you!” His jaw clenched but he didn’t say anything. I stared at him in disbelief remembering something Luke had told me.
Heath turned away from me and started toward the castle. I raced up next to him, my body convulsing in shivers. I wasn’t going to stay here very long, but I had to clear this up. “I thought Zach was the only fae that could drift with another person.”
He didn’t even glance at me. “Obviously not.”
I stopped in my tracks hissing out a curse when I realized we were inside the castle compound. No. I couldn’t get out of here unless I was outside the castle walls. An angry racket blasted through the air. I raced for the closing drawbridge.
Cassie screamed at me to stop, but I couldn’t. I had to get back to that island. I had to save the men I loved. I had to do something. The bridge was at a forty-five degree angle when I reached it. I didn’t think I could make it, but I would have rather fried in a river of lava than set another foot inside that castle.
I was two feet from the edge when a compulsion so fierce it took away my breath crashed through my barriers. My legs turned to stone and my arms refused to move. I might as well have been made of marble.
Heath stood behind me. I could feel him there, taunting me to break his command. I fought with all my might to push him back, but he was too strong. The moment I stopped trying, he released me. I crumpled into a heap at his feat, exhaustion claiming me. The last thing I saw was the stern set of his jaw as he lifted me into his arms.
Patience is not something I’m known for. I’ve tried to develop it during different parts of my life, but somehow I always end up getting frustrated with how long it is taking to get what I want.
Now was no exception. I peeked out my door for the fifth time in about three minutes. I’d been trying to drift out of here for hours even though I knew it was no use. The wards were too strong for me—either that or I was just flat out too tired. I gave a little shiver when I thought about Jett managing it.
I woke up feeling as if I hadn’t eaten in a week. I stumbled out of bed but before I had been able to get very far I noticed the table of steaming food over in the corner. I rushed over and started shoving things into my mouth without bothering to look for a fork or even see what I was eatich.
“Slow down,” said Cassie. “You’ll make yourself throw-up.”
I nodded at her, but seeing as how she didn’t know how it felt to have your insides twisting into a knot of insatiable hunger, she had no right to tell me what to do. I finished off the loaf of bread then gulped down the hearty bowl of soup. The fae don’t eat that much differently that we do. It just tastes a whole lot better.
“What’s happening?” I asked around a mouthful of salty goodness.
She didn’t hide her cringe in time for me to miss it. “Tabitha is coming.”
I choked on my juice and heaved myself into the nearest chair. No. No. No. No. No! She was the last person I wanted to see. No doubt she’d show up with Jett in tow.
I didn’t want to hear any more. I got up without saying a word and went into the closet. When my search for a bag didn’t yield anything, I ripped a case off one of the pillows and began shoving clothes into it.
Cassie lingered in the doorway biting her fingernails. “Rayla.”
I held up a hand before I turned my attention to packing again. When I was done with the necessities, I pressed the button for the jewelry, but the shelf was empty. Blast that Heath
.
Didn’t matter. I still had a few things, but when I looked at my fingers all the rings were gone. I felt my earlobes. Naked. Well that just sucked. Nothing like stealing from the unconscious. Oh well. I’d just have to find another way to get something to bribe Gibbit with.
I marched into my sitting room and lowered to my knees in front of the fire-pit. I pressed my fingers to the stones in a random pattern. It had to be here somewhere.
“That’s never going to work,” Cassie said in a singsong voice.
I ignored her. I couldn’t allow Tabitha to get her clutches on me again.
“They sealed it.”
I still didn’t stop. This was just the nightmare I had been trying to avoid. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would have to deal with that wild woman again, but I had never imagined I’d have to do it without Luke and Zach by my side.
I figured the next time I saw them I would just know which one I should be with. Left up to Tabitha’s devices, it wouldn’t be either of them. I felt a soft hand on my shoulder, but I just kept going. My fingers were starting to hurt because of the rough stones. Wait a minute. They had been smooth before. So that was their game.
I stood up and brushed Cassie’s fingers from my shoulder. “I know what you’re trying to do, Cass, but I have to find a way out of here.” I grabbed a knife from the tray in my bedchamber and went to work digging the grout out of the grooves.
“Theft wasn’t bad enough,” said Heath. “Now you’re resorting to vandalism.”
I kept scraping the knife between the stones. I felt him kneel beside me. His hand came around mine and squeezed gently on my fingers. When I didn’t let go, he tightened his grip.
I whirled away from him and plopped on the nearest couch just to avoid feeling his skin against mine. He rose to his feet and settled on the couch opposite me. The fire cast his face in shadow. If I had cared I would have noticed how tired he looked, but I didn’t. At least I didn’t want to. I sat there and stared at him blankly.
His lips rose in a smile only he could give: ruthless with an edge of regret.
“What are you doing here, Heath?” I asked when he didn’t say anything.
“My job,” was his only reply.
“Good to know.”
I stood up and walked toward the gardens. I tucked a candle stick into my waistband on my way out, praying he hadn’t noticed. I wandered the pathways for a while searching for the best place to try my escape.
After a while I realized the only place I could manage it was in front of the pond. I meandered to the edge of the water, smiling at the friendly little things that greeted me.
“I wouldn’t get that close if I were you,” Heath said from over my shoulder.
“No one asked you,” I huffed. I picked up a handful of flakes and let them drift into the water. As before the fish went crazy. I tilted my head to make sure I wasn’t imagining what I was seeing. How had I missed the size of their teeth before?
I inched away. Heath laughed at me.
This was probably the most distracted I could hope he’d be. I ran toward the glass, candlestick poised to strike. He didn’t try to stop me like I thought he would. I bashed the candlestick into the barrier, but the only thing that broke was my wrist. I bit back my pain and looked into amused eyes.
“You’re never going to learn are you?”
I stomped away from him and made my way back to my room wishing for ice. I tested my fingers. They still worked, so maybe it wasn’t as bad as I had originally thought. I went straight for the front door. Neeko twisted toward me.
Not bothering to think twice, I held my hand out and said, “Will you fix this for me like you did in the arena?”
Heath was directly behind me again as if I had grown another shadow. Neeko glanced at him before he said, “I don’t know what you mean, my lady.”
Great. He was probably afraid of what Heath would do to him if he found out he had that kind of power. I didn’t bother arguing because I had no desire to get him in trouble. He had healed me once. I know he had, but with the way he had just acted it was clear to me that he shouldn’t have.
Heath twisted me around. “Let me see that.”
He cradled my hand in his and pressed at the bones. I winced, but I wasn’t about to release the tears that were terribly close to spilling over. I glanced up at him, my heart racing from his touch despite the fact that he wasn’t using a compulsion on me.
He could have been any other attractive man for how much I could feel him, but it was as if my body had been trained to react this way. I was just as bad as Pavlov’s dogs but at least I wasn’t salivating. Yet.
“You should be okay.” He released my hand and caught my gaze. “Would you like me to call a medic?”
I shook my head. He wasn’t going to scold me for being so stupid?
He nodded and gestured for me to follow him. I was beginning to hate my sitting room. Every time I saw that fire, I would be reminded of my failed escape, but worse, I would relive the feelings of that day. Why didn’t my body get what my head already knew? Heath had already admitted he didn’t want me anymore. So why was I fighting the temptation to seduce him? If I hadn’t known better I would have thought Ainessa was hiding in the shadows.
I took a seat but refused to look at him. I didn’t want him to see the weakness in my eyes.
“I assume you’ve heard then?”
There was no point in trying to skirt the issue now. I nodded solemnly.
“There’s a chance that Tabitha will bring Jett with her.”
I tried not to let my fear show through my bluster. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”
“It is more likely she will be alone.”
Now I was just confused. Jett had already made it clear he would be coming back for me. What could possibly keep him away?
As if he had read my thoughts, Heath said, “He’s the captain of our army. He will be busy orchestrating an attack on the island.”
I heaved a sigh of relief. “Why is she coming then?”
“I have my suspicions, but I can’t be certain.”
“I promise not to hold you to it.”
“The only way to really protect you from Ainessa is through a bonding.”
I didn’t like where this was headed. “But the only lord not already attached or otherwise occupied is…” I glanced up at him just to be sure I was right. His stiff posture told me all I needed to know. “So how do we get out of it?”
He laughed, and I realized just how much I missed the sound. I swallowed hard. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen with my life, it changed. I had already convinced myself that I didn’t need to worry about Heath. Now, if Tabitha got her way, I just might be bound to him before the night was over.
He knelt in front of me bracing his hands on my thighs. “I know of no way.”
I sat there stiffly unsure what to do with my hands even though with him this close I would have loved to run my fingers through his dark locks. “Then why are you here?”
“I thought you might take the news better…privately.”
I pressed my back into the sofa not wanting to relax into his touch. “What about you? I thought you’re offer was off the table. In fact, if I recall right, you insisted you wouldn’t bond with me ever. Now you’re just going to do what Tabitha says? Just because she says it?”
He lowered his gaze, “No one defies Tabitha.”
I laughed mockingly. “Is she some evil dictator or what? I can’t imagine why you people do what she says. She isn’t even like the rest of you.”
His eyes found mine and held them. “How do you know that?”
I frowned. Didn’t everyone? She didn’t feel like anyone other fae I had met. There was something infinitely deeper about her, as if she was the heart of nature itself not just an extension. When I didn’t speak up, Heath blasted me with a silent compulsion so strong I almost bit my tongue when I answered him. “I don’t know how I know. I just
do. I thought you were done trying to compel me!”
He sent another one my way for me to be quiet. Try as I might I couldn’t get my mouth to work. I glared at him, and suddenly I was cross-eyed. I lifted my uninjured hand and gave him the finger. My fist closed tight. If I didn’t stop it I was going to end up twisted like a pretzel. Then just like that I was released, and he was near the door.
I spun around to shout at him, but I was off balance. I caught myself on my injured hand and yelped expecting pain to burst up my arm, but my hand didn’t hurt anymore.
I clenched my fingers into a fist and released them twelve times. Not even an ounce of stiffness remained. What had he done to me?
I was summoned about an hour later. I had been primped in record speed. Lysanne had been in a frenzy trying to get me ready on time. I hadn’t dared an attempt at small-talk even though it would have eased my shredded nerves. She had blinked a glittering gown onto my frame seconds after she dowsed me with a fae shower. My hair was swept up into a complicated array of twists and curls with strands of jewels woven throughout.
I didn’t know why Lysanne was bothering. Didn’t she know that Tabitha was blind? And it wasn’t as if Heath cared anymore.
She was puffing perfume onto my throat when the pageboy came for me. Even he walked stiffly as if his whole career as a pageboy rested on him getting me safely to the Great Hall. But he didn’t lead me there. I was taken to the east-wing arena.
The place was decorated as if for a wedding. I cringed at the thought.
In the middle of the lawn, enormous roots and flowering vines jutted out of the grass in a complicated archway. A lattice work of the same vines crisscrossed overhead creating an intimate feel. Even from here I could smell the heady aroma of roses. The columns were covered in ivy and the whole place looked like an enchanted garden forgotten by time. It was beautiful and terrifying just like most everything fae.
The pageboy turned toward me. “Wait here.” He hurried away as if his feet had grown wheels.
I stood there for a few moments with my eyes closed just breathing in the heavenly scent. That was when I heard the hushed tones of angry voices. I glanced around, but I didn’t see anyone. I followed the sound even though I knew it would be better for me if I just stayed put.
Dark Matter Page 12