by Meara Platt
“I see,” he said with a nod. “It is what Lord Bad Cock will feel when he finds out that you love me and not him. In anger, he will try to hurt you. That is jealousy.”
She rolled her eyes. “First of all, I haven’t said that I love you and I won’t ever say it. Jealousy is what you will feel knowing I chose Lord Babcock over you. I do wish you would say his name correctly.”
“I am saying it exactly as it deserves to be said. But you haven’t chosen him.” He put a hand on each side of the headboard to neatly trap her against it. “And you never will. Your heart won’t let you, for it is true and innocent. It understands that you and I belong together. It understands,” he said in that exquisitely tender way that always left her aching with desire, “that I would never hurt you … never … even if you were so incredibly foolish as to choose him.”
How did Cadeyrn manage to melt her resistance with such ease?
She closed her eyes and stifled a groan.
“Don’t choose him, Melody,” he said in a whisper, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I need you.”
“No, you don’t.” She opened her eyes and struggled against the urge to surrender. “Go away and leave me alone. Go fight your demons and leave me out of it.” Her heart lurched as the cruel words spilled from her lips, but he was being no less cruel to her, insisting she battle demons when she wanted to do no such thing. It wasn’t fair of Cadeyrn to make these demands. Why should she save his people? They were his responsibility, not hers, and he had no right to thrust her into his battles.
He shook his head and let out a soft sigh, regarding her with surprising gentleness, though she knew better than to trust his motives. “It is time you met my subjects, for they’ll soon be yours as well.”
“Have you heard nothing I’ve said? No. I won’t do it. I know what you’re about, hoping to work your people into my heart. Well, I control my heart and won’t take them in, not any of them. Not even the children.”
He suddenly drew away. “You needn’t concern yourself on that score. There are no Fae children, haven’t been for thousands of years. I am the last, the youngest.”
At first she thought he spoke in jest, but quickly realized he hadn’t. “Oh.” She drew a ragged breath, now feeling quite wretched for her brusque words. A sick, sinking feeling sprang within her stomach. “I didn’t know … didn’t think … what happened?”
“We Fae are partly to blame. In elevating our minds, we ignored the needs of our bodies. Fae don’t touch, other than to heal, and occasionally in dance, but only because it is required by the steps. A few did succumb to the ancient urges and bore children.”
He ran a hand roughly through his hair and then turned away to walk to the window. He rested his shoulder against the frame and stared into the vast outdoors, his gaze intense as he peered out.
Melody followed him, pausing at his side. “Go on. Please, tell me the rest.”
“There’s little to tell. They’re dead. All of them, young and innocent, quietly murdered by Lord Brihann in the early days, before my father realized how depraved Lord Brihann had become. You see, my father had resolved to change the Fae, to encourage them to return to the old ways. So he planted his seed in his queen and she bore me. He meant to set an example for our people.”
“They’re your parents. His queen was your mother. Why do you not call her that?”
He shrugged, still refusing to glance at her. “I did not know her. Lord Brihann killed them shortly after I was born, but I’ve told you that.”
“Yet you survived.”
“I don’t know how. Lord Brihann was strong, even back then. It is said that he couldn’t find me, though he searched the castle high and low. The elders won’t tell me how I escaped his grasp. Perhaps they don’t know or can’t explain it.” He cast her a small smile. “Melody, you’re touching me again.”
“Am I?” She followed his gaze and saw that her hand was gripping his shoulder. A proper young lady would have removed it, but there was something compelling in Cadeyrn’s gaze that made her leave it there. It wasn’t a faerie spell, she was sure of it. That look was one of needing. Of needing her.
“Your eyes are watering.”
She nodded. “I can’t help it. You have a way of drawing me closer each time I try to break away from you.”
“You’re drawn to me for a reason, one that your heart understands. Stop resisting it, allow it to lead you down your destined path.” He extended a hand, obviously expecting her to take it.
She stiffened and drew away. “I will not.”
“Take my hand,” he urged, still holding it out to her, “for I know how you like to touch me.” The shadow of a grin spread across his lips as he spoke the playful words.
She blushed, unable to deny the truth within his jest. She did like the feel of his muscles against her palms. He knew her too well, and that troubled her to no end. How could an unfeeling being know her thoughts and sense her fears as well as he did?
“Let me take you into my world, introduce you to the Fae. I promise not to let go of you until I return you safely to your bedchamber.”
“No, I can’t meet your subjects.”
His hand stubbornly remained outstretched. “You’re the only one holding yourself back.”
“I have chores to finish. My mother will grow alarmed if I don’t come down for supper.”
“Then I’ll come for you after supper. No one will notice that you’re gone.”
He obviously did not mean to be cruel, but his words rang painfully true. Oh, her mother would miss her, but Vicar Axwell, ever the dutiful husband, would be there to lend comfort. Melody wasn’t really needed by anyone other than Cadeyrn.
“Your visit to my kingdom will take no longer than an hour as you humans count time.”
She took another step away from him and then began to pace as he had done moments earlier. “It’s ridiculous. It will never work. I’ve never seen your Fae council, though I’ve tried. What makes you think I’ll be able to see your people?”
He let his hand fall to his side. “You will if you’re meant to.”
“But I’m not meant to. I keep telling you that.”
“Then what are you afraid of? If you don’t see them, it will be a sign that you’re not The One. If it is so, I will leave you in peace and never place another demand on you.”
“And if I do see them?” Good heavens, it couldn’t be! She was ordinary Melody, not savior queen of the Fae. “What happens if I do see them?”
He refused to answer.
Chapter Seven
“Good night, Mother,” Melody said, giving her a quick hug and preparing to bolt from the kitchen after cleaning up the remains of their supper.
Her mother grabbed hold of Melody’s apron tie and held her back. “Child, what are you about? You practically threw our dishes into the sink, you splashed water all over the place in your haste to finish, and you’ve been acting quite odd lately. Is something wrong?”
Melody tamped down the well of hysterical laughter threatening to break out. “No, all is well. I have … I … there’s something I must do.”
“Not more sewing, I hope.”
“Yes, that’s it.” She winced at the small, inconsequential lie … still, it was a lie.
Her mother gave a lovingly stern shake of her head. “Melody, it can wait until morning. You’re my daughter and I love you. I won’t have you toiling from morn till night, wouldn’t even ask it of a servant.”
Melody let out a sigh. “You’re right, of course. I don’t know what I was thinking. I haven’t been quite myself lately.”
“Ah,” her mother said with a sudden, sly grin. “I know what your inattention is about. I heard that you encountered Lord Babcock this morning in Borrowdale and he returned you to the vicarage in his coach. Vicar Axwell is right, my dear. It seems the pleasant lord has taken quite a fancy to you.”
“But why should he? Don’t you find it odd?”
“Not at all.” H
er mother patted her hair. “You’re beautiful and sweet, a capable chatelaine and dutiful daughter. You’re charming and caring. I would go on, but fear I shall swell your head beyond all proportion.”
Though Melody grinned at the bit of teasing, her mirth quickly faded. “I’m not rich or titled. Isn’t that the sort of girl such men seek?”
“Who’s to say? Lord Babcock is of an age to marry, yet has not. I can only think it is because he hasn’t found the right young woman until now. As for wealth and title, he has those and may not feel the need to seek more elsewhere. You have the grace and charm of a London debutante, all gained without a single fancy lesson. Why shouldn’t he take you for his wife?”
Melody walked out without responding and climbed the stairs. However, she felt no relief upon entering her bedchamber for Cadeyrn was there, looking remarkably handsome in his regal finery. She noted the jeweled sword at his side, the one with which he’d battled demons the night before, its sheath tied to his muscled thigh.
Cadeyrn said nothing but merely held out his hand.
Melody glanced down at her gown, a simple one of forest green wool, hardly suitable attire for a queen. If Cadeyrn’s people believed she was The One, then they were as foolish as he was and deserved to face their doom.
“No one deserves to die,” Cadeyrn said, reminding her of his uncanny ability to read her expressions.
Drat!
“I don’t wish you or your subjects ill,” she said in hasty apology. “I was merely being petulant.”
He cast her a soft, melting smile. “In truth, I rather like the way you stick out that lower lip of yours when you pout. Makes me want to kiss you.”
She knew it was a well-intended lie, for Fae did not have feelings, and if they didn’t have feelings, then they couldn’t have urges. “I won’t let you kiss me,” she grumbled, “so don’t even think about it.”
“I’ll try not to.”
There was something in the way he said those words, as though he really meant them. She was about to ask for explanation, but he cut off further conversation by taking her hand and suddenly whirling her into his arms, out of her bedchamber, and into the starlit night. Time and space seemed to explode all around her in that moment, in bright bursts of light followed by inkiest darkness. Or perhaps these explosions were merely the thunderous hammering of her heart, which was pounding in uneven beats.
She lost all sense of where she was and found herself catching glimpses of sights that simply could not be—of expanses beyond the sky, of worlds beyond worlds all streaming past in the blink of an eye, so fast she could not make out their shapes, only their brilliant colors … shimmering pinks and greens and lilacs against a black palette. However, these were only glimpses, for the alternating bursts of light and dark left her dizzy and she could not quell the rumble of nausea rising from the pit of her belly into her throat.
She closed her eyes and tightened her arms around Cadeyrn’s neck as they continued to spin and soar among the heavens with frightening speed. A cold wind struck her cheeks in a barrage of stinging prickles as they spun still higher and higher, reaching heights not even birds could reach. Her unbound hair whipped wildly about them and she knew it would be a ghastly mess by the time they reached Cadeyrn’s realm … assuming she made it there alive, which seemed unlikely at the moment.
“This is the worst part,” Cadeyrn said in a soothing chuckle that did little to calm her fears.
He held her firmly in his grasp, his strong arms wrapped tightly about her. She knew he wouldn’t drop her, yet she clung to his shoulders and burrowed her face against his chest, for hurtling through the starlit heavens was new to her and she didn’t like the effect one bit.
Cadeyrn had done this often, so these odd sensations would feel quite natural to him, but he was far too casual about guiding her through her first experience, Melody decided. What if he accidentally released her? She would fall … it would be a long, long drop.
“Trust me,” he whispered, and in the next moment, without warning, he turned her in one smooth motion so that her back was pressed hard against his chest and she now faced outward toward the stars. She opened her eyes for a quick look, shut them again, and let out a cry that was swallowed up by the vast nothingness stretched before them.
“Open them,” he insisted, “and look about you.”
“I can’t!”
“You can.” He secured his arms about her waist, not seeming to mind that she dug her fingernails into his wrists as she held them in a death grip. “I never tire of this sight,” he continued calmly, though her nails had pierced his skin and must have drawn blood. “This is beauty in its purest form.”
Melody pried one eye open, and then quickly shut it. The stars and sky were all too much to take in. She felt like a turtle rolled onto its back and utterly at Cadeyrn’s mercy, for her shoulders were still pressed against his chest and her legs were flailing.
He let out another light chuckle. “You’re as skittish as a newborn filly. Calm yourself. I won’t let go of you.”
He kept true to his word, and as her fear diminished and she opened her eyes, she noticed the stars began to brighten and glisten like diamonds upon a black velvet sky. Somewhere in the midst of her panic, she and Cadeyrn had stopped spinning and she realized they were now gliding across the glittering expanse. Her hair was no longer wildly whipping about her shoulders but floating gently in the air, and her body felt light, as though she were sailing upon a tranquil lake, caught upon a languid, summer current.
There was something wonderfully serene about the smooth, wafting motion and the protective way Cadeyrn held her in his solid arms. “I’ve never done anything like this before,” she said with a shaky laugh. “I’m sure it is nothing to you, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget this moment.”
“How does it feel to you?” he asked.
“I’m frightened out of my wits … and at the same time, exhilarated! I’ve never been so free, like a bird on the wing.” Secure in the knowledge that he would not let her drop, she finally let go of him and held out her arms. A cold, celestial wind blew through her fingers, but she didn’t feel the least bit cold while firmly nestled against Cadeyrn’s body.
“I’ll teach you to fly on your own, if you wish,” he whispered against her ear.
I rather like it this way.
He turned her slightly to face him and, tucking a finger under her chin, tipped her head to meet his grin. “So do I.”
She returned her gaze to the stars, fascinated as these brilliant arcs of light began to settle into the smoky tendrils of colors that had flashed before her eyes only moments ago, the now familiar pinks and lilacs mixed with sunburst orange and crystal blue. To her right were still others in the shape of celestial rivers of honey, varying in shades from yellow to amber and ruby red.
“Come,” Cadeyrn said, his breath warm against her cheek. “Everyone is eager to meet you.”
Melody stared in wonder as she and Cadeyrn and myriad stars descended in a great whirling swoop. When the spinning stopped, she found herself standing firmly on a highly polished floor of checkered black and white marble in the entry hall of what appeared to be a castle.
“This is my home,” Cadeyrn said, keeping a firm hold of her as though he expected her to run away.
She had no intention of doing so, for how could she run when she didn’t know where she was? Or if she could ever get back to the vicarage by herself? “I’ve never seen a place so grand.”
She wanted to roam through the vast halls in hope of learning more about Cadeyrn. Though she hadn’t spoken a word, he read her expression and assured that he would show her all of it, for it would be hers as well once they married.
“Um … er …” Since she had no better response, no clever words to dismiss his presumption, she turned away and studied the hall in which they were standing. She gazed up to look at the soaring ceiling, its cream white expanse squared off at the edges with gold trim. Real gold. Not that she could t
ell, but there was something about this fantasy castle that spoke of wealth and elegance. No faux anything.
The hall itself was magnificently furnished, the center table fashioned of finest ebony above which hung a chandelier that appeared to be made of crystal and gold. The fabrics on the elegant chairs set along opposite walls were gold velvet. Despite the elegance of the hall, it held an undeniable warmth … not that she cared or ever wanted to live in this magnificent structure. No, the vicarage was just perfect for her.
“You see them now, don’t you?” Cadeyrn asked, glancing upward.
Melody returned her gaze to the ceiling, which was now dotted with gleaming lights. “What are they? I’ve never seen candles shine so brightly.”
He sighed. “You know what they are. Let me introduce you to our subjects.”
Our subjects?
“Are the members of your council among them?”
“They’ll arrive shortly. You’ll see them when they do.”
She hoped not.
The stars began to line up in a row, as though forming a queue for the start of a procession. Melody watched in fascination as they began to take on human form and glide toward her. The first to descend was a tall, stately gentleman who held a baton. He stopped in front of Cadeyrn and bowed.
“Good evening, Malthius,” Cadeyrn said.
“Good evening, Your Majesty.” As the gentleman rose from his courtly bow, an orchestra suddenly appeared behind him.
The Fae musicians, their instruments in hand, bowed to Cadeyrn, then to her, before moving into an adjoining room. Melody heard the faint tinkle of music as the violinists began to tune their violins and a trumpeter let out a short blast on his trumpet.
More shapes approached. The hall began to fill with the scent of honeysuckle, a scent she now realized was common to all Fae, though Cadeyrn’s was subtly different, somehow masculine and exciting. She enjoyed breathing in his fragrance, that mix of honey nectar and maleness … in truth, she enjoyed too much about him to be safe.