Falling Into Faerie After

by Mercedes Jade

  “Sometimes,” Loren cryptically answered.

  “Like when you spend your magic making stuff?” I said.

  Kheelan turned and gave me his back as he walked away from the tent, expecting me to follow, no doubt.

  “Like glamour?” Loren said.

  “I said magic,” I replied, following Kheelan.

  “And stuff,” Loren added. He sounded a bit miffed. I don’t think I had heard this tone from him yet. Angry, horny, teasing, seductive and a touch threatening with Falin in my bathroom, but miffed was new. I decided to push it.

  “Yeah, stuff. Like blowing things around is nifty, but Kheelan made me something impractical and itchy from my sensible clothes. If that isn’t a waste of talent, then you could always try to zap me up something warm to eat, or maybe chocolate? Or is that alchemy? I always get these fanciful branches of magic mixed up.”

  Kheelan turned back around, grabbed me under my arms and threw me through the air. I screamed like a girly girl as a cool wave of Kheelan’s refreshing magic stripped the clothes right off of me, leaving me completely naked as I bounced down on a downy blanket covered bed along with glowy beside me.

  “Move over,” Kheelan said. I shifted to the center of a rather narrow bed if they planned to join me, grabbing glowy to put over my head. I guess we were sleeping under the stars.

  “This bed is mine,” I possessively declared. “It’s from my dress.”

  “I made you that dress and this bed,” Kheelan said, dropping his body beside mine. He slipped an arm under my head to pillow me and another over my hips to pull me against his chest. I breathed in a slightly smoky scent I associated with his magic. “You’re mine, princess,” he said, kissing the top of my head.

  Loren’s big body made me roll back where the bed dipped. He really didn’t fit, squeezing up against my rear curves like a custom fender. This was worse than sleeping with the twins.

  “Are you sure you’re tired?” Loren whispered into my ear.

  “Absolutely,” I answered.

  “Tomorrow then, do you want to begin your other lessons?” Loren asked.

  Did he mean the ones that had Kheelan at my mercy? “In magic?” I said to clarify. No point needling Kheelan when he had his hands all over me. I didn’t need another spanking before bed.

  “I don’t specialize in the kind of glamour magic that Kheelan has impressed you with so far, but I do have a reputation for other magic, kitten.”

  The hard cock that prodded my bottom made sure his meaning was clear.

  “As long as I’m on top,” I answered.

  Chapter 13:

  “Her disguise is to wear a dress?” Jackson said with a barely suppressed laugh. “Why didn’t you just put on a pair glasses and slick your hair back to hide your super side?”

  “You look nice, Evie-baby,” Matthew said, not siding with his twin for once.

  “Oh, I’m a villain, not the superhero. My disguise has to cover up all the darkness. Just be glad Kheelan didn’t make it pink. I might start attracting songbirds and wildlife and break into random song.”

  “Wrong fairytale,” Kheelan corrected me.

  That joke was going to get old fast, especially when it was used on me. I turned my head and stuck my tongue out at Kheelan, returning the childlike admonishment. Kheelan reached to the side of the path and snapped a tiny twig from an overhanging branch, tapping it against his thigh.

  I nearly stumbled, turning back around to watch where I was going. “Don’t tell me how to write my fairy ever after,” I muttered under my breath.

  “What?” Matthew said.

  “She’s tired. Eve had a restless night,” Loren announced.

  Jackson’s shoulders stiffened up beside me. The twins had not been happy to wake up and find me sleeping between my two Marks instead of them. Thank goodness the blanket had covered my nakedness.

  Loren had spelled the twins into sleep, so their untimely awakening could only have been deliberate. I wasn’t sure if Loren had done it to help me after hearing my dilemma with the taboo closeness between the twins and me last night, or if he was poking at the their overprotective instincts for his own amusement.

  “We could stop and take a rest,” Matthew suggested.

  It had already been a few hours of us walking through the woods this morning and my legs were still feeling pretty good. I wasn't that active, although I prefer to walk in my neighborhood to get groceries and for small chores to save the gas for Baby whenever I could. My new-found endurance was probably more from my Fae side than the exercise routine I had been putting myself through to prepare for this trip.

  “I can keep going,” I reassured Matthew. “Besides, Kheelan has an appointment. The sooner he completes his clandestine encounter, the sooner we can start back home. I've been convinced that an escort would be preferable.”

  “Escort is non-negotiable,” Kheelan commented.

  “I said I have been convinced,” I muttered. “Your Light fairy ass chasing after me is the least of my worries right now.”

  This time Jackson coughed. I guess I hadn't even been quiet enough to keep it from regular human hearing. The Fae stayed silent. That actually worried me more. Did that mean Kheelan agreed that bigger trouble was going to track me down, or more accurately, fly down from the sky in an ominous cloud of dark vengeance?

  I had finally gotten to talk to the twins alone this morning. They now knew more of the background story of what had happened between me and the Fae since I met them, except for the numerous unanswered questions that I hadn’t been able to find answers for yet. I had downplayed most of the sexy times, too, and outright skipped revealing I lost my cherry. They knew Dain had been set up and Kheelan couldn’t be trusted.

  I had insisted Loren and Kheelan let the twins talk with me alone a few minutes after our rude awakening, pointing out that awkwardness could be avoided with better understanding. That hadn’t been my real motivation, of course, but I fooled them with blushes that were plenty justified.

  Unluckily for me, Kheelan had set a time limit to our private conversation. I wasn’t sure if it was because he needed the control or was wise to my motives, but it had stopped us from discussing escape plans. I wasn’t so sure leaving Loren and the possibility of healing my mother behind was a good idea anymore. Instead, I had told the twins about the geas and pumped them for information.

  Like their information about Fae from online games, I had to take what they said as mythology and imagination, although we now knew some of that was true. A geas was a type of binding magic, which made sense, but the twins had been as clueless as me on how it worked. Matthew said he had heard of a geas used on a betrothed lady to keep her virginity for her promised one during a long war. A magical chastity belt. Yeah, if that was so then I had broke it, which I didn’t share with the twins.

  ‘Do you think Evie-baby is still in danger?” Jackson said. I could tell he was probing for more information. Both of the twins hadn’t been that subtle since Kheelan interrupted our talk.

  “Why don't you show her something useful?” Matthew asked. I looked over at him, puzzled. “She has Fae magic, same as you. If you show her how to defend herself, maybe Faerie wouldn’t be so dangerous.”

  Already done while they had been sleeping and I had been proven dangerous. The twins didn’t know I could now properly use the walking stick but they had commented on how nicely all my weapons fit over my new dress. Kheelan had fussed over getting everything just right and in easy reach.

  “I have a dark side to my magic,” I reminded Matthew. “And you already know why I won't go for lessons with our resident prince of darkness,” I said, dismissing the idea.

  Loren had made some magic sound risky to use around the twins like his wind circle when he changed my glamour. Glowy had even made a lightning god wince. Anything that would allow me to defend myself would likely carry an element of danger I didn’t want to expose the twins to while I fumbled learning it.

  “Magic lessons from
your Dark Marks isn’t a bad idea, kitten,” Loren suggested.

  It was kind of surprising to hear. I thought the Light and Dark Fae didn’t get along and here Loren was trying to get me to learn from his Darker competition. Was there some need for me to find a balance or something?

  “I’ll consider it if any of them find me. We can bargain for ways to protect myself to make it sporting when Dain gets the last of the wood slivers out of his chest,” I said.

  “Eve!” Jackson said, shocked voice almost thunderous.

  Damn. I had forgotten that the twins didn’t know the whole story about what I had done to Dain before I picked them up and we ran the hell away from Faerie the first time. I had skipped it, along with Orin fucking me in the lagoon while they were sleeping.

  “How did Dain get wood in his chest?” Matthew said very carefully and slow, as if deliberately picking his words while trying to figure it out in his head. The solution was obvious given my new archery hobby but his mind wasn’t ready to accept it.

  Time to break his delusions of my niceness. He knew better. “Arrows, genius.”

  “You shot Dain in the chest with an arrow after he rescued you?” Jackson said, still sounding incredulous and outraged. He was past denial and onto anger.

  “Arrows, one for each Mark,” I admitted. One of the Fae behind me coughed in a choked response, either amused or warned.

  “What is a Mark?” Matthew asked. I had skipped that, too.

  “A bond that provides protection from one Fae to another,” Loren said. “Your sister is well defended.”

  The twins quickly counted. “Seven arrows?” Matthew said.

  “Only six,” I corrected. “Technically, Loren isn’t under the Claim.”

  “Tell that to the magic,” Loren said. “I’m tied to you as tightly as your other Marks.”

  What? When had that happened?

  “Why did you do it?” Jackson asked.

  Good question. I wanted to plead temporary insanity. Better to be crazy then to admit the weakness and shame I had felt when Dain caught me fucking Orin after I swore I would never sleep with any of them, and then smirked at me like he had won a bet.

  My reaction had been more than embarrassment, however, fear and rage caught up in me from years of being suppressed over so many injustices, and a target that had represented a deadly threat had become its focus. I truly had felt the power Dain held over me in that moment on the boulder, standing naked and exposed to him.

  I never questioned if it had been a two-way street until later. Dain hadn’t held a weapon to me. Orin had said he wouldn’t hurt me, although he had also admitted nothing kept me safe from Dain. Could they really blame me for striking first?

  “Evie-baby?” Matthew said, and warm arms came around me from behind and in front, a comforting twin sandwich.

  I had stopped walking at some point. Tears were wet on my cheeks and I tucked the evidence away against Matthew’s chest.

  “It was a mistake,” I admitted. “I was scared. I wasn’t sure if Dain was going to save me or kill me after I betrayed him to help Kheelan.”

  “The only one Dain planned on killing that night was me,” Kheelan admitted softly. He was standing somewhere near, but the twins didn’t give him an inch to get close enough to touch. “And it would have been for betraying you while under his protection. I still will have to face his anger over my choice.”

  “You really know very little about Fae culture if you think so little of your Claim, kitten.”

  I asked what I had wanted to know, the question that had haunted my nightmares since I hit Dain with everything I had and ran away.

  “Do you think he is okay?” I brokenly whispered. “Eloden said he could take a dozen arrows to the chest and it would only slow him down.”

  “He’s fine,” Loren answered. It sounded a tad uncomfortable. Was he hiding something?

  “How do you know?” I asked pulling my head out of its cocoon in Matthew’s hug.

  “I dragged Falin back to his master after we fought over you,” Loren answered.

  That conversation must have been tricky. I still didn’t get why everyone referred to Falin as Dain’s pet.

  “What are you talking about?” Jackson said.

  No. The bathroom encounter was supposed to stay buried. Skip, skip, skip.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said, trying to wiggle free from my twin sandwich. It was suddenly a prison. “Dain’s fine. Falin’s fine. Everybody’s fine. Break is over. Let’s go.”

  “I want details tonight,” Jackson whispered in my ear before releasing me.

  “And I want to know when you saw Falin and didn’t tell us,” Matthew added, giving me one more squeeze before letting me go as well.

  “Later,” I said to them both. Now I knew how the Fae felt with all my pestering questions for knowledge. There really were some things I didn’t want my brothers to know.

  “Six arrows? That explains how so much of Dain’s blood got in the lagoon,” Loren said when we all started walking again.

  I tried to speed up, as if I could run away from my mistakes. They always followed me.

  “Six arrows?” Kheelan clarified. We had this conversation last night. They shouldn’t be so surprised. Six was just a number. “You loosed each of them yourself?”

  Dain had been an unmoving target.

  “Do you want another demonstration?” I sweetly offered.

  I heard a twig snap and jumped a little. Asshole.

  “Since we know your archery is coming along well, perhaps we can focus your defensive manual training on daggers and swords,” Loren said.

  Swords were supposed to be Dark Fae weapons but Kheelan carried one. He should be a proficient teacher, although the opportunity to needle him back about his skills was too good to resist.

  “Do you know anybody Dark enough to teach me?” I asked.

  “Your fox prefers to play with more than one at a time,” Kheelan said. “A mouse like you should start out with a wooden training sword while we teach you basic footwork. Even a Light child would be able to show you how to dance.”

  Somehow, I ended up being the one insulted again. “Fine, I’ll just borrow the stick from up your ass,” I said, nearly tripping on a root when Kheelan made some sort of growly noise.

  I clenched against the ache that sexy growl caused, trying to suppress the sudden thought of Kheelan stripped of his shirt with his sweaty, muscled chest on display as he taught me all kinds of swordplay. I could at least get him back for some of his lashes, surprising him with my speed to land a few on my own.

  “We can teach you swords, Evie-baby,” Matthew said, interrupting my fantasy. Well, I hadn’t really been thinking about swords anyway.

  “Sure,” I agreed. The twins had paid for the best instruction. They would also be less distracting than Kheelan as a teacher.

  “Your sister needs Fae lessons,” Loren said.

  “Humans can use swords as well as a Fae,” Matthew insisted.

  “They’re good,” I said, defending the twins. “Better than using a stick for lessons,” I muttered.

  “We’ll see,” Kheelan responded.

  “After we settle our business in town, we can set up a demonstration of skills,” Loren suggested.

  I hooked an arm into each of my brothers, pulling them closer so they wouldn’t argue with what I was going to say next. This wasn’t about defending my honour or other stupid male crap. “You are not fighting my brothers,” I said, tone final. I didn’t care if Loren thought it was just a way to distract my too-close siblings, either.

  “They can fight each other,” Kheelan said. “We need to judge their ability to defend you.”

  He sounded reasonable except for the part that implied I needed defending. “No. I’m the oldest. Their safety is my responsibility,” I claimed.

  Jackson snorted amusement. “Backseat nagging has given you a lot of experience telling us how to keep safe, Evie-baby, but I think you lack the muscled arms
for this job.”

  “Speed and strength, Evie-baby, and while you have the ability to use the first, you do tend to be overly cautious,” Matthew said.

  “Baby is still under payments,” I reminded them, as I did every time they poked fun at my driving.

  “What are they talking about?” Loren asked Kheelan.

  “Her transport in the human realm. A big metal car.”

  I looked over to Kheelan, peeking around Jackson. Guess, he had paid attention.

  “What does a car have to do with learning to wield a sword?”

  “Exactly. Thank you, Loren,” I said. “My brothers and I will practice with the weapons we brought from home by ourselves.”

  “How many Fae have you fought at home, mouse?” Kheelan said. He had snuck up behind me and plucked me from between my brothers with a quick tug back on my hips.

  I squeaked in surprise, cursing under my breath at the high-pitched sound of fear. Kheelan didn’t need me reinforcing his impression of me as a cowering mouse.

  “Dozens, at one time or another, and the first time was six-to-one,” I reminded him. I wasn’t sure if he would count running for my life in the woods before being knocked unconscious and dragged to Faerie, but I definitely felt it had been a fight, even if I lost.

  My neck was nuzzled over Kheelan’s mark. The twins caught the embarrassing intimacy, turning around. I elbowed Kheelan for all I was worth, but he was better at holding me captive than Loren, shifting in time to miss the worst of my blows.

  “Should we have two types of lessons, princess?” Kheelan whispered into my ear, ignoring the sharp gazes of the twins. “One with your human brothers during the day and another for the nights with your Marks, where we will show you the real magic of Fae weaponry?”

  “Fine,” I said, realizing I was going to be sacrificing sleep. At least if I was too tired my libido would be exhausted as well. There was more than one way to burn off sexual energy. I could always take a sip of Loren’s nasty moonshine if necessary.

  “Tonight, Eve,” Kheelan said, deep voice running through me. He rarely used my name and the promise in his commanding voice had me shaking off a shiver, walking in between the twins again. There wouldn’t be any running away from what Kheelan had planned.