Fierce Enchantment

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  Faith turned behind him and came to his side, her fists clenched, her wings fluttering red. “What the hell? You’ll be sorry you did that, you bitch.”

  He didn’t grip Faith to his side and tell her to stop speaking. That would show weakness on both their parts. Besides, he liked the fact that she’d stood up for him. She also didn’t go on the attack since she had to know that, against so many pixies, it would be tough to get out of there alive.

  The pixie in charge narrowed her eyes at Faith’s wings then turned on her heel and stomped away. The others pressed at Levi and Faith, apparently wanting them to follow the lead pixie’s path.

  He gripped Faith’s hand, wanting her close. He lowered his head so his lips were right by her ear. “We’ll get out of this. Just don’t attack unless I give you the okay.”

  “Fine by me,” she whispered back. “You’re more experienced.” He heard the anger in her tone and knew it grated on her that she couldn’t do anything about their situation. He felt the same way, but he had to hope there was a way out of this without death or war.

  Of course to save Faith and those he loved, he’d flatten the world and bring death to those who fought against him. But if he could avoid that, he would.

  The pixies kept Levi and Faith free from bonds and ropes but still surrounded them so he could find no way out. This was not the introduction to Faith’s new world that Levi wanted for her. However, there was only so much he could have done. He knew—in fact all of those close to the lightning-struck had known—that the realms were watching. One glimpse at Faith, even with her wings hidden away, and they would have known she was a pixie. Paranormals could tell who their brethren were just by sight or scent. Scouts would have told those in charge what Faith now was, and it was only a matter of time before things were taken to the next level. He’d hoped, though, that the pixies would have wanted Faith as theirs, or at least tolerated her.

  Each of the lightning-struck had a different experience, and now Levi would do all in his power to ensure Faith survived hers. And if he found Faith a weapon, she’d be able to protect herself as well. Nothing sexier than a woman who was also a warrior.

  They followed the path toward what Levi assumed was the royal territory. On the way, they passed all forms of pixies who regarded them with curiosity. From the way their eyes widened and the whispers passed among them, they either knew who Faith was or weren’t used to having leather-bound pixies carting off a wizard and one newly of their own.

  Faith’s gaze followed each and every pixie they passed, and Levi wanted to scream at the injustice of it all. She should have been welcomed in their arms and found a people that she could have been part of. She deserved so much more than the hypocrisy of their situation.

  He vowed that she would find her place among the pixies if it killed him. And if that didn’t work, he’d ensure she’d be welcome in the wizard realm as his mate and true half. He was done waiting, done sitting back and allowing time to pass so they could breathe. The space he’d put between them so she could find her way had only hurt them.

  There was only so much he could do and not break.

  There was only so much Faith could do and not break.

  The pixies led them through the chamber doors once they reached a large black castle. If he’d been able to sit back and enjoy the scenery, he might have found it enticing. Right then, however, it looked more like a prison draped in chains.

  The forty or so pixies that had brought them there pulled away to stand in lines and left Levi and Faith to face a woman seated on a throne.

  The pixie Queen.

  Her dark eyes narrowed, and she ran her hand through her long, straight, raven-black hair. She’d dressed herself in a leather skirt and top with chains and straps crisscrossing over her body. The short skirt had a sheer layer over the top of it that went to her ankles but had a slit up each side for easy movement.

  In other words, she looked like a royal who could fight her own battles.

  Not someone Levi particularly wanted to mess with, but if he had to, he would.

  “What is this?” she asked, her voice low, sultry.

  The lead pixie that had kidnapped them stepped forward, her head bowed. “My Queen, I have brought you the half-breed and the wizard scum she fucks.”

  Faith growled next to him, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before both of them broke. There was only so much they could take before they needed to fight back—even if they couldn’t win.

  The queen blinked then stood up, her long legs taking large strides. “Veronica, what is the meaning of this?”

  The other woman flinched, her body bending into more of a bow.

  Interesting. It seemed that the queen hadn’t been the one to order their abduction. That would help her case if Levi brought the events to the wizard council. Of course, the queen could just be a fantastic actress and doing this all for show. He always tried to never underestimate his enemies.

  “My Queen, the half-breed. She’s a threat to the crown. I have brought her here as a prize so you will be able to do with her as you wish.”

  The queen cursed then slapped the other woman so hard that Veronica staggered back and fell to the ground.

  “You’re a clueless idiot. Do you know who you brought with Faith? That is Levi Hughes, Crown Prince of the wizard realm, and you kidnapped him. In. My. Name.”

  Levi let out a breath and squeezed Faith’s hand. There might be a way out of this after all.

  “Get the fuck out of my chambers while I’m still calm, you dumb bitch,” the queen—Jezebel, he remembered—screamed.

  Veronica and her minions scurried out of the room, leaving the queen and some of her people alone with Levi and Faith.

  Jezebel turned toward them, her hands on her hips. “Did they hurt you?” She raked her gaze over his body, and Levi felt as though he needed a shower. Just because she didn’t want him dead right then didn’t mean he trusted her.

  “He’s bleeding, and keep your eyes off my mate,” Faith growled.

  Levi smiled despite the situation. It seemed his mate was a little territorial. The mere fact that she’d used the word mate in such a possessive tone made him want to howl like a shifter. However, antagonizing a queen probably wasn’t the best way to make friends. Not that he cared, considering this realm had taken them from their home against their will.

  “I see he’s bleeding,” Jezebel said, her voice almost bored. He didn’t trust that though, not with the way her eyes studied the two of them so intently. “Anything other than that?”

  “I don’t know about the damage to my house as of yet, so I don’t know. Next time your little minion wants me to stop by, she should just call or text. Much easier than stealing me from my home and threatening my life and the life of my mate.”

  Fuck, he loved his woman.

  He’d tell her that. Soon.

  Jezebel narrowed her eyes then threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, you’re going to be a welcome member of our realm, Faith.”

  “I don’t know if I want to be part of your realm, thank you very much. Not the best introduction.”

  Jezebel shrugged. “Whatever. Those wings you hold so tightly to your back speak otherwise. You don’t have to decide now, but you’re one of us. And from the magic that pours out of you, I’d say your blood speaks of someone closer to the royals than those beneath us.”

  Levi ground his teeth. He didn’t like this woman, and fuck, he didn’t want to think about what it would mean if Faith’s blood was royal. If she was close to the crown, she’d have to fight those who wanted to take her place in order to stay alive. It didn’t matter if Faith didn’t want it. The way of the pixies was a brutal death match compared to even the demons who literally fought in hell.

  “Can you tell us what bloodline she comes from?” Levi interrupted, needing to get as much information as he could. Tristan and Dante would be able to get more information about what powers Faith would have if they knew that.

  Jezeb
el raised a brow. “She’s of the Sangue line.”

  Levi froze, trying to keep his expression calm. That was one of the deadliest lines, if he recalled correctly. Faith would one day be able to create diseases and burst blood vessels if she was close enough to her prey. Levi didn’t know much about the different lines, but he knew of that one.

  “You’re boring me now,” Jezebel said lazily. “You can leave, but I can’t promise Veronica will make it easy.”

  “You’re just going to let your people try to kill us?” Faith asked, her voice incredulous.

  The queen sighed. “You’re a pixie. You’ll have to fight for your right to live within the pixie realm. I can order her not to attack you in other realms, but if she wants your death in this realm, it’s her right as my second.”

  Her second. Well, that was fucking perfect.

  “Where can I open a portal?” Levi asked, trying to remain calm. He couldn’t open a portal in all parts of every realm, as their magic didn’t mesh. The human realm was different, as there wasn’t any magic to begin with—or at least not much anymore—but this wasn’t his home.

  The queen snorted. “Like I’d make it easy for you, wizard prince. I do not want to start a war with your realm, but we don’t like weaklings either.”

  Levi held up his palm, a ball of light bouncing, ready to go off and kill anything in its path that Levi didn’t like.

  The queen sucked in a breath.

  “I am not your peon. I held back so I wouldn’t create a war, but I will fight for our lives. Do you understand me? Tell me where I can create a portal to go home, or I will make you very sorry you ever saw us.”

  “There is a lake a mile outside the royal territory. It runs along the mermaid realm so you’ll have to be careful so as not to antagonize them. They own the lake, but we own the land around it on our side.”

  “Fine.”

  The mermaids liked his family, and he would have allies if he needed them. That didn’t mean this would be easy, however.

  He pulled Faith with him as they left the chambers, aware that there would be people on their tail any moment.

  “What the fuck, Levi?” Faith asked as he pulled her into a run.

  “We need to get out of here before Veronica and her people come at us again.”

  “I get that but…”

  “We’ll talk about what your line means when we get home. I promise, my pixie.”

  He felt her stiffen by his side, and he had a feeling he might need a new pet name for her. Her introduction to the pixies wasn’t doing him any favors.

  He pulled her toward the heart of the pixie realm, keeping their heads down as they moved. The pixie realm wasn’t that much different than the wizard realm, except that things weren’t as modern. There were more horses, carriages, and stone buildings. The closer to the queen’s layers, the darker the buildings, the harder the people. When they got to the more rural areas, there were more flowers, hills and less pollution. The sky also wasn’t like that of the human or wizard realms. Instead, the stars here seemed brighter, as if reflecting the glitter of the pixies’ skin. Either way though, he didn’t want to stay there too long.

  They made their way through the back alleys of the royal territory. Most people would be in their homes or at work, not paying attention to a wizard and pixie trying to find their way to a lake. By the time they made it to the lake, he was panting hard and knew that the others wouldn’t be far behind. For all he knew, they’d staked out the lake and were ready to ambush them.

  “Now what do we do?” Faith asked, her attention on the lake and their surroundings rather than him. “Fuck. I wish I had a weapon. From now on, I’m not being stupid and not having one on me.”

  “Fine with me,” he said then winced. “Not that you’re stupid.”

  “Stop it. Just find us a way out of here, and then we can figure out what our next step is.”

  Levi searched the lake and cursed a blue streak.

  “What is it?”

  “I can’t make a portal in the pixie realm at all it seems.”

  “That bitch was lying?” Faith asked.

  Levi cursed again. “Not technically. You see, I can make a portal, but it has to be in the lake.”

  He looked down at his mate, whose wide eyes made him want to crush her to his body and tell her everything would be okay.

  “Can you do that?” she asked.

  “I think so, but I don’t know how deep we’ll have to go or if I can hold my breath that long.”

  “Shit.”

  “Shit.” He cupped her face and kissed her as hard as he could, putting every feeling he possibly could into his touch. “I’m going to get us out of here, Faith. I promise you.”

  “I believe you, Levi. I’ll just have to hold my breath.”

  He nodded then pulled her into the lake, hoping he was strong enough to do this. He could hear someone coming up behind them and knew they were out of time. He looked behind him to see Veronica snarling.

  “Now!” he said then pulled Faith under the water with him. The lake was deep, deeper than he’d thought it would be. He was pretty sure from what the queen had said that the other pixies wouldn’t be able to venture into the waters, however, as this was mermaid territory.

  He just hoped the tailed creatures didn’t attack him and Faith.

  Once they entered the lake, he started his internal chants, working on the magic of the portal. However, until they got deep enough into the small part of the lake where his portal would open, it would all be for nothing.

  He swam as hard as he could and knew Faith was doing the same. It had to be enough. There was no way he and Faith would go out like this.

  Finally, they were at the right location, and he let out his magic. The swirling vortex began to open, but he knew it was too late. His lungs burned, and his vision started to darken. He pulled Faith to his side and looked into her wide eyes. Her pulse rose against his hand, and he prayed he could push her through the vortex quickly enough so they could survive. Since the portal had to open within water, it was sluggish and took longer than they had.

  His throat burned, and he held Faith to his side. She blinked once at him then lowered her lids, her body going limp.

  Fuck. No. This couldn’t be the end. This couldn’t be how they died.

  He thought of his girls and the way they needed him and used his last bit of energy to push the portal along. Only it wasn’t enough.

  It was never going to be enough.

  His lungs seized, and he broke for his mate, for his family, for his life.

  It was all over, and they never stood a chance.

  Just as he was about to close his eyes and try to push Faith toward the mostly open portal, strong hands gripped his hips and pushed him.

  Levi had one glimpse of a blue and green tail before he passed out, praying he’d wake again to thank the stranger—and tell Faith he loved her.

  If only.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Seth Oceanus prayed he’d been quick enough to save the wizard and the pixie he found deep within the lake. He’d seen the two of them trying to swim deep down to the bottom of the lake where he knew any type of magic would be able to work. However, he wasn’t sure they would be able to survive on their own. That was why he followed them after he saw the pixie bitch Veronica scouting around his lake.

  He wasn’t sure he’d been fast enough¸ considering he had to pull two unconscious bodies through the portal. And since he wasn’t sure how long it took to perform the kiss of life, he had to go with them through the damn thing. He had no idea where he was, other than a home in the human realm. He quickly shifted back to human form, his green and gold skin going back to a normal tan and his fin shimmering to jean-clad legs. Thank the gods he wasn’t like a wolf or other kind of shifter who lost his clothing during a shift. He didn’t want to scare these two with his dick hanging out while trying to save their lives.

  Wherever they’d landed, it looked as if someone had f
ought a good fight before they got there. Windows were blown out, and photographs had been knocked off the walls. He couldn’t sense anyone around, and he had a feeling that whatever wards had been there had shielded the fight and noise from prying human ears. Thank the gods again because he didn’t want to have to deal with that.

  He had more important things to worry about. He quickly turned over the two he’d saved and pressed his hands over their chests. He could sense the water in their lungs and drew it closer to him. As a merman, he had an affinity for water and would, hopefully, be able to push the liquid out of their lungs so they would wake.

  He quickly pressed harder and let out a sigh as the woman and the man coughed up the water from their lungs, their eyes fluttering. The pixie had folded her wings back into her skin when they landed, and her skin looked human, so at least he didn’t have to worry about a potential broken wing from the harsh way they landed coming out of the portal. There had been no way to avoid that since he’d been focused on getting them out of the water, rather than on how to shield them from the landing.

  The wizard sat up, gave a wide-eyed look at Seth, and then turned toward the pixie, crushing her body to his. He cupped her face, kissing her until they were both left breathless. Seth cleared his throat, forcing himself not to get turned on by the act. He couldn’t help it. The two of them were hot and clearly in love. It had been a while since he’d been with a woman—or a man—so he blamed his reaction on that.

  When the wizard pulled back, he turned once more to Seth. “Thank you, whoever you are, thank you.”

  Seth gave a half-grin and shrugged. Since his human legs were starting to hurt crouched as he was, he stood up and held out his hands. Surprisingly, both of them took his hands and let him help them stand.

  “It was no problem.” And it really wasn’t. He wasn’t hurt, and he got to piss off the pixies. Win-win for him. “I’m Seth Oceanus, by the way. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself under the surface.”