And I was in no hurry to alleviate her sense of anticipation.
My cat, Aurora, rubbed against my legs, her loud purrs rumbling through the room.
I stole another glance at the morgen, her damp blue hair draped over her shoulders. Her beauty distracted me. And there was something about her scent I found disturbingly alluring. She smelled of sun-kissed sea air and wildflowers. And under that, something unique to her that drew me inexorably closer—something wild that I wanted to tame.
I pushed the errant thoughts from my mind.
From a drawer in my desk, I pulled out a bottle of 1858 cognac. I liked Aenor’s eyes on me, knowing that I controlled her. I delighted in the sound of her heartbeat racing as she watched me. The scent of her fear warmed my blood.
The subjugation of a mortal foe tasted sweeter than brandy.
With an unhurried pace, I poured the cognac, then I let heat pulse from my palm to warm the glass. I took a sip, savoring the ancient, rich flavor—a rare bottle from before the best vineyards had been blighted.
In the cold ash of my soul, an ember burned. My heart rate seemed to be responding to Aenor’s racing pulse.
Now this was a deeply unfamiliar feeling. Or more like a long-buried feeling, something left dormant in my mind for eons. It was like discovering a sensation lost to evolutionary history.
Was it the sense of victory making me excited?
I turned back to her, sniffing the cognac as I eyed her over the rim of the glass.
She stood, immobilized, waiting for my commands.
I stalked closer to her, watching her chest rise and fall faster at my approach. A little bit of panic began to take hold of her. Seawater dampened her top.
Once, long ago, I would have tortured the answers out of her, just like she said. I would have sunk my teeth into her perfect skin, delighted by her screams. Maybe I’d lost my appetite for such worldly pleasures, but evil deeds clung to a man like smoke. I’d never rid myself of the stench. Aenor could sense it on me, and it was making her panic.
I took another step around her, my gaze sliding over her damp clothes. I didn’t delight in sadism these days. When I’d finished with her, I’d kill her fast. I should have done it long ago, but some insane impulse had stopped me from hurting her.
I let my magic beat from my body, invading her mind. Right now, she’d be hearing the drums of my enchantment magic pounding louder in her blood. I watched her back arch as my magic began to overtake her completely. She was glaring at me, pure hatred in her blue eyes. It seemed like a challenge I wanted to take on—just try to tame me.
I hadn’t desired a woman in eons.
Except now.
My gaze swept down over her body, taking in her small waist and the perfect curves of her body. Her clothes clung to her. That was when a different sort of impulse ignited my mind.
Why torment her with pain when I could make her ache with sexual desire?
I wanted her bent over my desk, slick with desire. I wanted to see her writhing, moaning in erotic torment beneath me. I’d make her throb with a sexual ache so deep that she’d tell me anything I wanted. The fact that she despised me would only make her desire all the sweeter.
My breathing quickened as I started to speak in her mind. It was a god’s voice, one she couldn’t hear in normal words. She only knew that heat was swooping though her body. Already, I could hear her pulse racing. Her chest started rising and falling faster, pupils dilated.
My eyes flicked down to her perfect breasts, her nipples straining against the wet fabric. When her full lips parted, I imagined what it would feel like to kiss her, my tongue mingling with hers. Her body temperature rose, her blood pounding.
My mind danced with the image of Aenor crossing to my desk, unbuttoning her shorts. Her eyes would burn with lust, and she’d wonder why she couldn’t control herself…
But with the look she was giving me, I could see right away that it wasn’t true lust in her eyes. Her body might be warming with magical desire, but her hatred for me cut through it like a blade of ice.
And that look in her eyes snapped me out of my trance.
I gritted my teeth, mastering control of myself.
What the hells was getting into me? What was that?
I was turning into the Salem of old, the animal with a rapacious appetite for sex and violence. The one who lost focus at the slightest provocation. No—not really. Even in those days, I hadn’t used this sort of magic to control women. There was no skill in that. Where was the glory in magical seduction?
I took a deep sip of my cognac, nearly draining it. Aenor had only been with me a few moments, and already I was losing control. The old beast was rising in me.
Don’t lose sight of your destiny. The goddess Anat had given me a deadline, and I’d keep to it. After October thirty-first, when the darker half of the year began, it would all be over.
Once I’d mastered myself again, I began walking around Aenor, sweeping closer.
“Tell me exactly what you remember from that day. You trapped someone under the sea. Where was it?”
She closed her eyes, her breathing growing even faster. She definitely hated my invading her mind, but she was powerless to stop it. Her chest rose and fell fast, and my gaze dipped to it.
“It was midsummer.” Her fingernails dug into her palms. “We had a big midsummer festival. You know how it goes. Apple groves, alcohol, dancing. People mating in the grass. Not me. I never did…” Her fingers dug deeper into her palms. “Well, there was one time—”
“I don’t care who you did or did not mate with.” Oddly, that was a lie. The idea of her locked in another man’s embrace filled me with a strange sort of rage, but I wasn’t going to examine that now. “Just tell me about when you slammed the ocean down on someone with immense magical power. That’s what interests me.”
“That night, I drank blueberry wine, and dandelion, then blackberry…”
“I get the idea. All varieties of wine. Move on to the part where you drowned someone?”
“The point is, my mom had given me all the wine. It was almost like she didn’t want me to know entirely what was going on. She didn’t want me asking too many questions, or knowing who we were trapping. She summoned me from the festival, and she had a boat waiting. She said someone was coming for Ys. Or… more than one person. She said our island would burn. It’s just like now, with the Fomorians.
“And there was only one way to save the island,” she went on. “And we had to act fast. We took the boat out to a smaller island, far out to sea—”
“What island?”
She shook her head, her jaw clenched like she was trying to keep her secrets. “I don’t know. I remember rocks and grass? It was somewhere between Britain and Ireland. I’d been throwing up over the side of the boat for the whole journey. Maybe we were in the Celtic Sea or the English Channel. Anyway, we docked on a small island. I mean, very small. A mile, maybe. And off the coast, a glowing cage bobbed in the waves. Someone was in it. I couldn’t see who.”
“Go on.”
Her nails dug deeper into her skin, drawing a little bit of blood. I wanted her to stop that, but I thought my magic was causing it.
Maybe she couldn’t enchant me, but Aenor was already getting into my head.
10
Salem
She opened her eyes, but they looked unfocused. “Then Mama grabbed me by the shoulders. She said, ‘Aenor, I know you can’t always handle all the power that the gods gave you.’” Aenor’s accent had shifted, from American to a lilting Cornish. “‘I know you feel like you’re drowning in your magic sometimes. But the gods gave it to you for a reason, and you have a destiny. And this is it.’”
Her eyes focused again, sharpening on me. “Then my mother pointed at the driftwood cage. It was glowing in the sea. She told me if I didn’t sink it, then Ys would be lost forever. I had to compel the ocean to cover it for good, so it could never rise again.”
“And that was all it too
k for you.”
She wiped a shaking hand across her mouth, like she was trying to stop herself from speaking. I saw a glimpse of the streak of blood on her palm, and my throat tightened.
“No. Like I said, I did a spell for myself. Back when I had my magic, I could do little spells to see the future. Or the possibilities of the future. I called them what if spells. I wanted to see what would happen if we let this fae do what he wanted. And what I found was pure destruction.”
“Is that so?” How very wrong you are.
“He was going to destroy Ys first, then the world beyond. Do you know what I saw?” Her voice had gone low, intense. “I saw seas boiling and drying up. I saw the future—a column of rock crushing my own skull, blood leaking over the hot marble. And all the little children of Ys turned to dust and blew away on the wind. Then the destruction moved on to the rest of the world, leaving a trail of death.”
She took a deep, shaking breath. She really believed this.
“So I did what they asked,” she went on. “We were the protectors of the sea, it was our job to keep it safe. Just like it’s my job to stop the Fomorians now. It’s the same thing, and somehow, it’s all connected to you.”
“And you’ve based this on your what if spell.”
“It’s never been wrong. I’d do one now, but you haven’t given me my power back. So yes, I used my power over the sea to drag your friend to the bottom of the ocean. I buried that cage, because I had to. And it’s still there.”
I felt a wild impulse to believe her, against my better judgment. And yet I knew the woman she’d drowned—a goddess who had no desire to burn anything. Coldness slid through my veins as I thought of her alone under the sea. If I’d known she was still alive down there, I’d have come for her sooner.
“What did she say when you drowned her?” I asked.
Aenor now looked completely alert. “She? She didn’t say a thing when I pulled her under the waves. I didn’t know she was female. All my mother’s enemies were men.” Her expression was resolute. “But I know what I saw with my what if spell. And if you unleash her on the world, she’ll burn it.”
My lip curled. “I really don’t care what happens to this wretched world. But just so you know, you were wrong. You drowned someone with great power, but she had no desire to burn the world down. That’s more my thing.”
I was feeling something again, but it wasn’t sweet revenge. I felt a strange twist in my chest when I watched Aenor digging her nails into her palms again.
“So how do I find her?” My voice chilled the room. “If you don’t know where she is? Will your magic get us to her?”
Her jaw tightened as she fought my control over her. Each one of her muscles went rigid, her cheeks flushing. She was using every bit of restraint she could muster. Truthfully, she was holding out longer than I’d imagined, but she couldn’t resist forever.
“Merrow.” It was as if the word had been wrenched out of her.
Something flashed in her eyes, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Rage, perhaps.
“The Merrow will know where to find her,” she said through gritted teeth. “He’s probably somewhere near the British Isles. He never strays far. But I can’t be more precise than that until I have my magic back. I remember what his magic sounds like under the sea. Once I have my power, I’ll be able to track him, even if he’s far away. I can take you to him.”
I went still. “And why can’t you just track her directly, once you have your power? Why must we find this Merrow first?”
Her body went rigid, jaw tensing. “I don’t know what her magic sounds like. I won’t be able to pick it out from the other noise in the sea. The Merrow’s I remember. I know the sound of his magic, and I can find it in the sea.”
“How did the Merrow trap her?”
She was shooting me a look of death. “He made a soul cage and trapped the fae. It tethered her body and soul into a cage of driftwood. She’s still alive in the soul cage, but can’t escape. The charmed driftwood pulled her magic from her body.”
Wrath slid through my bones.
As soon as Aenor helped me find who I was looking for, I should complete the task I’d failed at years ago. She deserved death, my blade through her neck.
Once I achieved my destiny, nothing else mattered. I wouldn’t let her beauty pull me off my task.
I released my control on Aenor’s mind, and her muscles started to relax. My chest unclenched a little as she calmed down.
Her chest rose and fell fast, and she pushed her wet hair out of her face. “Who is she? The woman in the cage?”
I sipped my brandy. “Perhaps you should have asked this question before you drowned her.”
“She’s obviously important to you.”
I swirled the brandy in my glass. “I think the time for your questions about her has passed.”
She took a step closer. I read hunger in her large blue eyes. “Okay. So when will I be getting my magic back?” She craved her magic more than anything. “And how?”
“You’ll get it from me, soon. I have the power to steal magic, at least for a time. I can hold it in my body and transfer it between people. I’ve stored your power in an urn.”
“An urn?” she repeated. “Like what you’d keep human ashes in?”
I raised an eyebrow. Was she mad? “I would not keep human ashes in an urn. In any case, I’ll pull the magic back into my own body, then I’ll reflect it back into you. I can channel it slowly, so you’re not overwhelmed. You can use me and the earth to ground the magic.”
For the first time, I saw Aenor smile unguardedly, if only for a moment. Beautiful.
Then the guarded look overtook her features once more, and the light was gone from the room. “Let’s do it now.”
The corner of my lip twitched. I did like making her wait for things she craved. “Tell me, Aenor. You have lived for a hundred and sixty years. Am I right in thinking you never took a long-term lover before Lyr?”
She crossed her arms. “You really don’t have anything better to worry about than my dating history?”
“I just wonder what it was about him that changed your mind after so many years.”
She pressed her hand to her chest. “Why, Devil Himself, are you jealous? You do flatter me.”
The insane thing was—yes. I was jealous. “Do you know what I think it is? Lyr travels in and out of the death worlds. He rules the realm of the dead. And that’s what you crave, isn’t it? Oblivion. Death. Sweet release from this world that you’ve tired of, now that you can’t feel any more. Your magic is gone, and so is your feeling of living. And now you need reprieve from those terrible thoughts and memories that play in your mind. That’s what drew you to Lyr. Oblivion.”
Aenor’s satisfied smile faltered, and she looked like someone had slapped her across the face. I’d hit the mark exactly.
Then she composed herself and beamed again. “I think you might be projecting just a bit. That’s what humans say when they want to tell you that you’re talking about yourself and don’t realize it. You crave death, don’t you? Because nearly the entirety of living history hates you down to your bones. What’s the point of living if nobody loves you? I don’t have a lot, but I’ve always had a friend or two.”
Hollowness yawned in my chest, and I fell silent.
Hells, perhaps we had more in common than I’d liked to admit. Maybe we both craved oblivion.
I brushed my gaze down her body again, taking in her wet clothes. “You can get ready before our journey in one of the guest rooms, if you like. Then meet me in the garden. You’ll get your power back, and we’ll head to the British Isles.”
Soon, I’d fulfill my destiny. I’d find the soul cage; I’d kill Aenor. I’d do this all before October thirty-first.
Then true glory would be mine once more.
11
Aenor
I stood in Salem’s shower, pale stone walls around me. So far, everything was working out as I’d hoped. I’d get my
magic back; we’d find the Merrow. I’d get the sea glass.
And Salem thought it was all his idea.
But even with the Merrow’s help, I wasn’t under the illusion that it would be easy to kill Salem. He was dangerous as hell. In the dark magic that slid around him, I felt torment. It was like a perpetual warning to anyone who came near him that he might burn you to death. He might flash you a seductive smile, then rip your soul from your body.
Now, at last, I knew why Salem had destroyed Ys. It was punishment for drowning this woman who wanted to burn the world down. Ironic, I guess, that in trying to keep Ys safe, we’d brought on its demise. Still, at least the people had survived. No one turned to hot dust in the wind.
I let the water stream over my face.
What I wanted to do was another what if spell. I needed my magic back for that. Then I needed to be alone.
What if I failed to stop Salem? I had a feeling it would look as fiery and destructive as the first time.
I’d turned the water up so hot that it turned my skin pink. I grabbed the soap, which smelled faintly of lemons, and lathered myself up, washing off the dried sea salt. Steam billowed around me.
Who was this woman I’d drowned?
Salem was desperate to get her back. He didn’t seem like the type of person who would care about anyone but himself, so I had to wonder.
Was she his mate, perhaps?
I turned off the shower, and water streamed down my body as I stepped out. Fragrant air skimmed in through the open window onto my bare skin.
As I toweled off my hair, I stared down across the wide courtyard. Salem lived in what I’d call a palace. Where I stood now, I was two stories above the garden. Beneath me, fig and apple trees lined a dirt path.
Was it just me, or did the worst people have the best lives?
I watched as Salem crossed out into his garden, bathed in the moonlight. He moved smoothly in the darkness, his cat hurrying after him on the garden path. I could see my magic glowing around his body.
Fallen King (Court of the Sea Fae Trilogy Book 2) Page 5