by Karen Lynch
I didn’t know what to say. He had been at the hospital, not once, but multiple times, and I’d been entirely clueless.
There was one thing I did know, and that was why his ward wouldn’t work on me. I suspected it was the same reason the ke’tain sensor went on the fritz whenever I picked it up. I had to tell him.
I cleared my throat. “Do you remember our talk about goddess stones after I told you about the stone I took from the kelpie? I asked if you wanted to go back to the island and look for it. You said it wouldn’t be there because it had gone back to the kelpie.”
He frowned, puzzled by the abrupt change in topic. “Yes.”
I reached for his hand, and my stomach quivered at the contact. Lukas didn’t say anything when I lifted his hand and placed it on the back of my head.
“What if the goddess stone chose a new owner?” I asked as I pushed my hair aside so his fingers could feel the stone cleverly concealed there.
The confusion on his face gave way to shock as he touched the smooth stone. He turned me so my back was to him, and I could feel his warm breath on my nape when he leaned in for a closer look. The feel of his hands in my hair, touching my scalp, sent a jolt of heat straight to my belly. It was all I could do not to close my eyes and lean back into him.
“So, what’s the verdict?” I asked lightly to hide my reaction to him. “Is it the real thing?”
He studied it a moment longer. “I’ve never seen a goddess stone, so I don’t know. You had this when you left the island?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t find it in my hair until I showered at the hospital. It was white when I took it from the kelpie, but I think it’s the same stone. If I remove it, it reattaches to my hair, and it hides itself if I put my hair in a braid. Violet did my hair one night and she didn’t see the stone or she would have said something. It’s like it has a mind of its own.”
Lukas didn’t speak for the longest time, and his silence made me nervous. Not being able to see his face, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Did he think I was lying? Or was he upset that a human was in possession of a precious Fae object? It wasn’t like I had any choice in the matter. I’d happily give it to him if I could.
But what if I could give it to him? I’d only ever taken the stone from my hair and put it in my room. If I gave it to a faerie, it might choose them instead.
Reaching up, I pushed his hands away and grasped the stone. I winced as I pulled it free. I spun to face Lukas and shoved the stone, along with a few strands of my hair, into his hands. “Take it. It belongs with a faerie.”
He turned the red stone over in his hand. “I can feel something inside it.”
“Magic?”
“It’s more like energy.” His hands stilled, and he did a quick intake of breath. “It feels like Faerie.”
“Don’t all Fae objects feel like that?” I asked.
Lukas continued to stare at the stone. “Once something leaves Faerie, it loses that energy. Magic remains, but the life force of Faerie fades. It’s why we have to return home to replenish it.” His eyes were full of wonder when he lifted them to mine. “I believe it is a goddess stone.”
I’d suspected that all along, but having him confirm it left me a little shaken. “Why me?”
His tone gentled. “It’s not for us to understand Aedhna’s ways, but she gifted the stone to you. You jumped into the river to save a life, and then you took the stone from the kelpie. Aedhna must have felt that act was worthy of her blessing.”
“But I’m only human,” I protested.
He picked up my hand and placed the stone in it. “I would never use the word ‘only’ to describe you, Jesse.”
The air around us felt charged as we stood inches apart with my hand in his. I wanted to blame it on the stone, but it had never filled my stomach with butterflies or made me crave someone’s touch.
Lukas’s lips parted slightly, reminding me what they felt like against mine. He moved an inch closer, sending my heart into an erratic rhythm. I was like a moth drawn to a flame as I closed the remaining distance between us. I felt the tremor that passed through both of us when my body pressed against his.
He lowered his head, and I closed my eyes as his lips grazed mine so lightly I thought I’d imagined it. His warm breath caressed my cheek, making me light-headed from anticipation and need. Kiss me, my whole body begged him.
His mouth covered mine as if he’d heard my silent plea. Unlike the hungry kiss on my couch, this one was tantalizingly slow and filled me with longing for something I couldn’t have. Lost in his touch, I didn’t care about the world outside this garden or the things that would never be. There was only him and me and nothing else.
I knew it had to end, but that didn’t dull the sting when he broke the kiss. Or the cold that rushed in when he released me and stepped back, putting distance between us.
“Jesse… I shouldn’t have,” he said roughly, but it was the guilt in his eyes that hurt more than his words.
I held up a hand. “Don’t. I kissed you back, so this is not on you. We were caught up in the moment.”
He looked like he wanted to say more, but nothing he said would change our situation. My heart constricted, and I looked down at the stone in my hand as I regained my composure. “Now that you know about the goddess stone, do you think it’s why your ward doesn’t work on me?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“What if I give it to you? Or Faris?” I held it out to him.
He shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way. It has to be gifted by Aedhna.”
“What have we got to lose?” I spun and headed to the door. If he didn’t want to try, I’d get someone else to do it.
“Where are you going?”
“To give it to Faris,” I called over my shoulder. “If anyone deserves to be goddess-blessed, it’s him.”
I entered the living room and walked over to Faris, who was now reading a book. I held out my hand with the stone on my palm. “Take this.”
“What is it?” He lowered his book to look at my hand.
“It’s a goddess stone. I want you to have it.”
He gave me a lopsided smile. “I think those are supposed to come from the goddess, not an angel.”
I glowered at him. “Just take it.”
Chuckling, he plucked the stone from my hand. “Ten minutes alone with Lukas and you are bossier than he is. Now why do I need a…a…?”
“Faris?”
He didn’t answer, only stared at me with the glazed look of someone in a trance. Fear clawed at me, and I grabbed for the stone, but it was clenched tightly in his fist.
I shouted for Lukas, but he was already there. He rushed past me and tried unsuccessfully to pry Faris’s fingers open. Whatever was holding them together was stronger than the crown prince of Unseelie.
My legs wobbled, and I sat on the couch beside Faris. Guilt rolled through me as I watched Lukas trying to rouse his unresponsive friend. Please, Aedhna. Don’t punish him for my mistake. Please, please, please, please, please.
Faris blinked once, twice. His blank expression changed to one that could only be described as serene. I held my breath as his fisted hand opened to reveal…nothing.
My hand went to the back of my head, and sure enough, the stone was back in my hair. But what about Faris? If it had hurt him, I’d never forgive myself.
“Faris?” I said tentatively.
“Angel.” He smiled at me. Was I imagining it, or did his color look better than it had a few minutes ago? And there was something different about his eyes. There was a spark in them I’d never seen before.
“Are you okay?”
He inhaled deeply, like a man breathing fresh air for the first time in months. “I can’t remember the last time I felt this good.”
“What do you feel?” Lukas asked him.
Faris stood with ease and walked to the other side of the room where he turned and threw out his arms. “I feel like myself a
gain.”
Lukas went to stand beside him. He pressed his palm to Faris’s chest, and the air around his hand shimmered with a soft blue magic. It was the first time I’d ever seen him use his magic, and I suspected he didn’t do it often around humans.
“I can’t detect a trace of iron in your body.” Lukas lowered his hand. “You’re completely healed.”
Faris placed his fist over his heart and looked at me. “You did this.”
“It was the stone.” I looked to Lukas for help.
Lukas smacked his friend on the shoulder. “It’s seems our Jesse has been goddess-blessed.”
“What?” Faris’s jaw fell.
I let Lukas explain it. Picking up my lukewarm coffee, I sipped the rich brew while he brought Faris up to speed. Conlan, Iian, and Kerr came in halfway through the story, forcing Lukas to start over. Their loud exclamations over the miraculous healing brought Faolin running downstairs, his hair wet from the shower. There was a lot of back-slapping and man hugs as they cheered Faris’s return to perfect health.
I sat quietly through it all, feeling more and more like an intruder on their private celebration. My eyes strayed to the door, and I wondered if anyone would notice if I snuck out.
Standing, I moved as unobtrusively as I could toward the barstool where I’d left my coat and keys. I picked them up, careful not to jingle the keys.
“And where do you think you’re going?” asked Lukas from right behind me.
I yelped and spun around. My keys flew from my hand and skidded across the floor to stop at his feet. He picked them up, making no move to give them back.
I clutched my coat to me, suddenly the center of attention of the Unseelie crown prince and his entire royal guard. “I figured I’d…”
“…sneak out while we weren’t looking?” Lukas finished for me.
Yes. “No.”
His cocked eyebrows said I was a crappy liar. But what was I supposed to say? That I felt out of place here? That it was awkward being around him after we’d shared an incredible kiss that had ended with him saying it was a mistake? Or that I was afraid I might be falling for him again, and there was nothing down that road for me but heartbreak? They were all true, but I couldn’t bring myself to say any of them.
He motioned for me to sit on one of the barstools. “We still have the matter of your protection to discuss, now that we’ve established that a personal ward isn’t an option.”
“Who does she need protection from?” Faolin asked.
Lukas’s eyes stayed on mine. “Anwyn.”
That got a reaction from them. They all gathered around us as Lukas told them about my visit from the Seelie royal guard. Before I knew it, they had decided who would be on the first watch, and my protests fell on deaf ears.
“You’re all blowing this out of proportion. I won’t see Prince Rhys again, and the queen’s guard will leave me alone.” I rubbed the back of my neck, which had started to ache.
Conlan rested his elbows on the island. “You don’t know Anwyn. If she even hears a rumor about you and her precious son, she will be all over it.”
A chill settled over me. There was nothing to stop one of those gossip magazines from making up a story if they thought it would sell copies.
“Then we give Anwyn a different rumor,” Faris said. “Something that will assure her Jesse has no interest in Rhys.”
I looked at Faris. If the mischievous gleam in his eyes was meant to reassure me, it failed miserably.
“What do you suggest?” Lukas asked.
“Pictures of Jesse with someone who is not Rhys. Nothing compromising, but it will have to look like they are more than friends.”
“No,” I blurted, but no one was paying attention to me.
“It has to be someone Anwyn will recognize,” Conlan said. “One of us.”
Faolin spoke up. “Anwyn’s not going to believe a human chose a lesser royal over a crown prince.”
Faris nodded. “It has to be Lukas.”
“You’re not serious.” I laughed nervously and looked at Lukas, who did not laugh with me. In fact, he appeared to be considering this ludicrous idea. Didn’t he realize he’d be subjecting himself to rumors, too? From what I’d seen, he had never been linked romantically with a human.
“This has to be handled right,” Conlan said. He snapped his fingers. “Tennin. We can have him take the pictures, and he’ll know exactly how to spin it for our purposes.”
I slid off my stool. “You guys have lost your minds. There’s no way I’m letting you put my picture up on some tabloid site.”
Faris laid a hand over my keys when I reached for them. “Tennin will make it look good. He won’t embarrass you.”
“That’s not it.” I trusted Tennin, but once your picture went out into cyberspace, you had no control over it. I turned to Lukas who was watching me with an unreadable expression. “What happened to me keeping a low profile?”
“That went out the window the moment Anwyn saw those photos of you and Rhys,” he said pointedly. “This is the best way to throw her off your scent.”
I sank down on the stool in defeat. “I think I’d rather go with the bodyguard idea.”
Conlan threw an arm over my shoulder. “Now where is the fun in that?”
Chapter 18
I got out of the Jeep and shut the door, wincing when the movement sent a dull pain through my shoulder. I rolled my arm to loosen the joint before I started up the street to our building. I needed to remember to tell Levi to ease off with the troll jobs. Trolls might be as dumb as a bag of rocks, but they were dirty fighters. I was going to have to keep ice packs on my shoulder tonight if I wanted to move it at all tomorrow.
I didn’t see the figure standing by the lamp post until I reached the steps to the building. Movement out of the corner my eye had me reaching for my stun gun as I whirled toward the person approaching me. I hadn’t seen any of the Seelie royal guard in the week since they warned me to stay away from Prince Rhys. But I was still a little jumpy at times, such as when someone came up to me on the street at night.
This someone was not the royal guard or anyone else I’d ever expect to see outside my home, but there was no doubt in my mind she was here to see me. I took my hand off the weapon in my pocket and waited for the faerie to state her reason for being here, even though her sneer spoke for itself.
Dariyah didn’t bother with a greeting. “Who do you think you are?”
I bristled at her aggressive tone. “I know who I am. You seem to be the one confused and lost.”
“Stay away from him. He is not for the likes of you.” Her gaze swept over me, and her mouth twisted like she’d smelled something foul.
“And who would that be?” I asked innocently. We both knew I knew who he was, but I was too irritated to play along.
“Vaerik,” she bit out. “I saw the photos of you with him. I should have known you weren’t sniffing around his place for Faolin.”
Ah, the photos. How could I have forgotten those?
It had been two days since Tennin had taken the carefully-staged photos of Lukas and me outside of a restaurant and uploaded them to one of the more reputable celebrity gossip sites. In the pictures, we were standing close together with Lukas’s arm around my waist and him smiling down at me. You could only see us in profile, but I was identifiable to anyone who knew me well and, most importantly, to the Seelie Queen.
So far, there had been no mention of the name of the mystery girl photographed with Lukas Rand. Lucky for me, a much juicier story had popped up last night, involving a Seelie princess and a US congressman. If the public loved one thing more than a faerie scandal, it was a scandal about faeries and politicians.
Dariyah scoffed loudly. “If you think you’ll get more from Vaerik than a few nights in his bed, you’re delusional. He might not be immune to a pretty redhead, but you must know you’re only a diversion to him. He doesn’t keep human lovers for long. He’s too honorable to toy with their feelings.”
She said honorable like it was a character flaw. I didn’t bother to correct her assumptions about Lukas and me or tell her he had already made it clear we were nothing more than friends. I didn’t owe her an explanation, and I did not appreciate her tracking me down at my home.
“How did you find me?” I asked. Lukas would not have told her anything about me, even if they were dating.
“I have my ways.” She tossed her hair back over her shoulder. “And now that we’ve had our little talk, I hope you don’t give me a reason to come back.”
Her thinly-veiled threat reminded me of the one from the Seelie guard, but unlike him, she didn’t scare me. I laughed humorlessly. Twice in a week, I’d been accosted and warned to stay away from a faerie prince. I must be on a roll.
Dariyah looked like she’d swallowed a bug. “What is so funny?”
“Private joke.” I rubbed my sore shoulder. “If we’re done here, I’ll be going now.”
I turned to the steps, but didn’t make it to the first one before she grabbed my bad arm in a painful grip, reminding me how much stronger than me she was.
“I don’t think you are getting my message, so let me put this in words you can understand,” she ground out. “Vaerik is the Unseelie crown prince and heir to the throne. As king, he will need a consort to continue his line, and no one but a blue blood is worthy of that role. Vaerik knows this, and he will choose a mate suitable to rule with him.”
“Such as you?” My heart suddenly felt like it was in a vise, but I wouldn’t let her see it. It wasn’t as if she was saying anything I didn’t already know.
Her smile held no warmth. “Have no doubt, when the time comes, I will be his consort.”
“Then you have nothing to fear from a human, do you?”
She tightened her hold on my arm and leaned in. “You will not see Vaerik again.”
I held her gaze. “If you have a problem with our friendship, you can take it up with him.”
Her brow furrowed, and it took me a moment to realize the source of her confusion. She had tried to glamour me.