“Truthfully, you’re are drunk off of your ass and don’t know what you're talking about,” shot back an irritated Nicole as she tried to step back from him to only find herself pressed against the glass doors.
A seductive smile curved Slade’s lips as he placed his hands on the glass doors, one on each side of Nicole. “I can give you a world you never dreamed of Nicole. Money is no object. Anything you could ever want would be laid at your feet like the queen you are.” He inched forward until his lips were just centimeters away from Nicole’s, “I am the only one who can give you the one thing you have wanted since your powers started to emerge.”
Nicole swallowed hard as she fought the feelings his sultry look was stirring inside of her. She knew he was being this forward because of the alcohol—alcohol that he had consumed to help her, but still she was mesmerized by his words. Unable to look away or move she whispered, “And what would that be?”
He slid one finger along her cheek and down her neck, slowly tracing the outline of her bare collarbone before he spoke, “A normal life. No more blocking out the voices or struggling with the power inside of you. You wouldn’t have to pretend anymore. I can keep all of that locked away forever and you can live a carefree life for the rest of eternity.”
“Eternity?” Nicole’s brows knotted together as she absorbed his words, “You’re saying I’m immortal?”
An amused glint filled his eyes as he bit the edge of his bottom lip, “That warrior isn’t good for you Nicole and that proves it. He didn’t think you needed to know you are an immortal?” Slade laughed. “He wanted you to feel like you needed his protection. He wanted you to feel like you needed him in your life forever.”
Slade lifted her chin up with one finger as he closed the space between their bodies, pinning Nicole up against the cold, glass doors and causing her to gasp in surprise, “I think you should be able to choose who you spend forever with without blinders. That’s the kind of man I am Nicole,” he whispered.
Nicole held her breath as she digested Slade’s words. Would Luke really betray me like that? she wondered and then asked herself, Why would he keep the fact that I’m immortal hidden from me?
“That doesn’t add up,” she said weakly as Slade brushed his lips across her cheek, then moved smoothly towards her lips. Her self-control was now gone and all she could think of was the heat of his body pressed against her own. The smell of his skin drew her in even though her mind was struggling to break free of his….spell.
Snap out of it you idiot! Sage’s voice shouted inside of Nicole’s head. Nicole’s eyes cleared as if a vail had been lifted. Sage’s energy was clear to Nicole and she had missed the strength of it almost as much as she missed her friend and trainer.
She pressed hard against Slade’s chest, shoving him back from her just as his lips grazed hers. A bright red glow lit the space between them as power seeped into her palms, waiting on her command with the loyalty of a pit bull. “I’m going to chalk your babbling up to you being a drunken asshole but let this be your warning,” Nicole took one defiant step towards him, looked firmly into his wide eyes. “You will not lay another hand on me. I am grateful for your help but I will not be bullied into anything…not by you or by Loch.” Nicole let the power recede back inside of her then strode over to the open doors of the room. She grabbed onto the door frame focusing on controlling her temper that was threatening to explode before turning to face Slade’s hardened face, “You know… you shouldn’t be so hard on Luke. He’s a better man than you give him credit for,” she sighed deeply then left the room, leaving him alone to recover from the alcohol and hopefully, rethink his view.
Chapter 6
Nicole lay awake in her bed staring at the ceiling as her mind raced. She had tried desperately to reach out to Sage over and over again but kept coming up empty. She knew she hadn’t imagined Sage’s voice in her head. There was no doubting the distinctive, snippy tone of the sharp-edged, Gothic fae that had truly set all of her powers free. Sure, she had almost killed Nicole in the process but in the end, it was worth the risk. Nicole remembered how different things were the second she woke after Sage sent her to death’s door. She wasn’t limited to hearing just the evil thought of others any longer. Now she could hear everything along with commanding the power of wind, fire and water with remarkable ease. If it wasn’t for that hard-nosed fae, she was sure her best friend, Kat, would have died that horrible night at the airfield. There was no way she would have been able to call upon the rare, white healing fire that only one other fae in history had controlled: her grandmother, Queen Titania.
She let out a long frustrated breath as she flipped over to her side and hugged her pillow tight against her body. There hadn’t been a sound from Slade’s room since she left him alone. She hoped that he had passed out but thought it was more likely he was brewing over the rejection. Slade didn’t strike her as a man who heard the word “no” often….actually from the way Morena was clinging to him she figured he had never heard the word.
“Oh God! Did I really punch her in the face?” Nicole groaned as she rolled over onto her back again, covering her face with her pillow. “I don’t need more enemies in this place. I’ve already got enough haters lining up.”
“Do you always talk to yourself?”
Nicole flung the pillow from her face and leaped from the bed. Her hands were glowing with a faint light as she searched the room for the intruder.
“Wait, wait,” The bedroom light came on revealing Slade’s broad frame filling the doorway with his hands stretched wide to show he wasn’t armed.
Nicole let the near absent power recede back into her body as she took in Slade’s placid demeanor. “I see you’re about sober. That would explain why my power is weakening,” she sighed.
“Yes, I’m feeling a lot better,” he leaned up against the door frame crossing his arms over his bare chest. “I….well,” he stumbled over his words as a small grin lit up his eyes.
Nicole looked down at herself and quickly realized what was causing his reaction. She was standing in the open, wearing a black lace camisole and panties. She gasped pulling the sheet from the bed and wrapping it around her. Her face felt like it was on fire as her cheeks heated. “You know, most normal people knock before coming into someone’s room,” she grumbled trying to cover her embarrassment with sarcasm.
“I didn’t think you would hear me as loud as you were talking to yourself,” he chuckled then bit his lip as he tried to slate his face. “Please don’t be mad at me. See that’s why I came in here,” he said quickly.
Nicole stared at him with a crinkled nose, “Was that some form of an apology?”
Slade shifted his weight from foot to foot with his eyes on the floor then he settled his body back against the door frame, returning his attention to her face. “Yes…do you accept?”
“That was the worst damn apology I’ve ever heard.” She poked fun at him, fighting hard not to let the giggle escape, but honestly she was glad to see he wasn’t mad at her. She didn’t want to lose their friendship to some drunken mistake.
“I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” Slade said.
He had the biggest puppy dog eyes she had ever seen. She smiled at him realizing he wasn’t catching on to her playful mood. “I’m not going to act like tonight didn’t happen but I’m not mad at you anymore. You did a hard thing for me tonight and I’m sure you will have one hell of a hangover in the morning to show for it,” she winced as she thought of her last hangover. “So let’s just call it even, okay?”
He nodded, smiling as if a huge weight had been lifted from him, “That’s not really fair. I can get drunk off of wine but I won’t have to deal with a hangover,” he shrugged his shoulders. “Just one of the many perks of being a fairy,” he winked. “So the way I see it, I still owe you. If you’ll let me, I’d like to show you a few places tomorrow. I'll give you the grand tour around some of my favorite sites of Ireland.”
“Slade, that is nice of
you but I think we are losing focus on why I’m here. I need to get to Loch and soon. God only knows what he’s planning while I sit here, in the lap of luxury, with you,” Nicole sat down on the edge of her bed being careful to keep the sheet pulled tight around her.
“Nicole, we can’t do anything until he calls me again and trust me, he will. You are the one thing he wants more than anything so he won’t keep you waiting long,” he sighed as he raked his hand across his face in frustration. “I can’t let you sit here and just wait for, well….who knows what kind of situation.”
“He didn’t tell you what he was planning?” Nicole asked with curiosity written all over her face. These were the questions that she was dying to know the answers to but so far, no one had been able to tell her what she needed to hear. The only thing she knew was she was unique, being as she was the only warrior/fairy mix. A trait passed to her when her grandmother, Queen Titania fell in love with her warrior, Alaois, and conceived a child of mixed bloodlines. Unknowingly, they created a powerful being that had the best of both fae and warrior powers. The queen was forced to hide the child away in the human world and to cast a spell that locked the power away so the child wouldn’t be found by the warriors who loathed the product of the union. The power would only be awakened when it was needed to protect the bloodline and that was how it was found in Nicole. First it was subtle, simply hearing thoughts laced with malice and evil but the closer the warriors came to capturing her, the more her power evolved to give her the tools she needed to protect herself. But none of what she knew told her why Loch wanted her alive.
He had his chance to kill her years ago, doing away with the tainted blood line once and for all but he didn’t. Instead, that night on a Florida beach, he set everything into motion. He wanted the power to surface in Nicole, he wanted her to discover what and who she was but why?
Slade studied her face before answering, which had given her the time to get lost in her thoughts. She realized that he was pondering his answer before speaking, “He has never told me but I would say it’s to control your power. I mean, you are the rightful heir to the throne that was left empty when Queen Titania died. If he had you under his thumb then he would control the kingdom,” he shrugged his shoulders.
She thought back to the sad story Sage had told her of how Queen Titania had allowed herself to age, giving up her immortality because she could not live her life without her love and their child. But even Sage didn’t say much when Nicole asked what it meant for her. “Does he really think I plan on ruling a kingdom? I’m no queen. I can barely rule my own life,” she chuckled trying to lighten the mood but was only met by Slade’s annoyed glare.
“It is your place to rule,” he said firmly.
Nicole was startled to see the anger that was radiating from Slade. He had always seemed very well put together but something in her words was touching a nerve with him and she didn’t want to push the issue so she only nodded.
Slade took a deep breath then exhaled slowly, “Nicole, there is so much you still don’t know about yourself and your place in this world. I would love to be the person to guide you and help you learn everything but,” he rubbed his eyes then placed a finger over his temple, “I don’t think I’m running on all cylinders yet.” Slade smiled softly at her then walked over to stand beside where she sat on the bed, “I couldn’t let myself rest knowing that you were upset with me. I’m so ashamed with how I acted earlier,” he slid his hand down her bare arm before taking a step back. “I’m not going to deny that I’m jealous of the feelings you have for that warrior,” he held up his hand stopping the protest he could see building in Nicole. He looked down at the floor before meeting her eyes again, “Just, please, give me a chance to prove that I’m not the jerk I acted like tonight. I want to show you a bit of my world and I promise I will have my phone on me so if Loch calls we will know.”
Nicole stared at her lap as she tried to process the jumbled thoughts that were tumbling around in her head. There was no way that she was even considering the relationship Slade was pushing for. She knew her heart belonged to Luke even if she had never spoke the words. She missed him every second they were apart. There was a deep void in her heart that could only be filled by Luke. “Slade,” she let her eyes meet his, “I’m very grateful for everything you’ve done for me but I won’t pretend to be interested in you just so you’ll keep helping me,” she watched as Slade’s eyes took on a hard look. Her heart jumped up in her throat causing her to swallow hard, “I’d like to be able to call you my friend, Slade, but if that isn’t good enough for you….I’ll leave.”
The creases around his eyes softened as he studied her face, “No,” he shook his head slowly, flashing a small smile in an attempt to hide some of his disappointment, “I don’t want you to leave.” He walked back to the door and stood staring out into the darkness, lost in his thoughts, before he turned to face Nicole again. “It’s killing me to think you’re mad at me Nicole, so if friendship is all you will allow me to have….I will take it,” he smiled softly at her. “Good night, my love,” he winked as he flicked the light-switch off then walked out of her room leaving her alone in the dark.
Nicole flopped back onto her bed and covered her face with a pillow, letting out a muffled, frustrated groan before tossing the feather filled silencer roughly to the floor. The sound of Slade’s laughter drifted to her before he closed the doors to his room. “Men,” she sighed, settling under her covers and praying for sleep to take her. This had been the busiest day of her life and it was just her first day in Ireland. She was afraid to imagine what day two in this foreign land would hold for her.
**~***~**
The darkness of peaceful sleep drifted away from her as a familiar and ancient graveyard began to take shape out of the haze. This place had become Nicole’s sanctuary where she could find guidance and wisdom from a surprising source. Queen Titania sat underneath the sweeping limbs of a giant weeping willow that took precedence in the center of the long forgotten resting place of the dead. Her long white hair cascaded around her lean, strong shoulders as her kind, pale blue eyes looked expectantly at her granddaughter. “Come my dear, sit with me and talk,” she motioned for Nicole to sit beside her on the bed of green moss that covered the ground around the base of the tree.
Nicole smiled softly at the beautiful woman as she moved underneath the gently swaying limbs. “I’ve missed you, Grandmother.”
“And I have you too. I feared the worse when I no longer felt your power reaching out to me. Where are you now my child?” Queen Titania placed her hand over Nicole’s when she settled down into a spot next to her. Concern was written on the woman’s face as she waited for Nicole to answer.
“I’m in Ireland. You were right. The only way for me to save those I love is to fight so I’ve come to find Loch.”
“Yes, sadly this was the only right choice and I’m proud of you for moving forward. I was afraid,” her voice trailed off as she studied Nicole closely. “You are weak Nicole. Even now I can feel your spirit pulling away from me. Where are your warriors?”
Nicole bit her lip nervously as she thought about how to explain. It would seem the spirit of her wise grandmother had been shut out the past few days thanks to Slade’s power. He must be able to keep other peoples power from touching her as well as keeping her from using her own gifts. His powers acted as some sort of shield or a dome that was covering her. “I have no warriors,” she whispered. “I released Luke of his oath then trapped him, Rhys and Sage in a prison of wind so I could leave the United States without them.” Nicole could see the anger building behind the pale blue eyes of Queen Titania so she pressed on, “This is my battle and I will not risk losing anyone I love.”
Softness replaced the hard lines creasing the Queen’s forehead as she raised a hand to touch Nicole’s cheek, “I know what it is like to lose someone you love, my dear. I also know what it is like to see the man you love risk his life for you,” she sighed as she brushed the hair from
Nicole’s face. “Luke will not fail you. Even after you sent him away he still follows you, I can feel his presence very close to us. He does not do this because of an oath to me; he does this because he loves you.”
“You can’t know that for sure,” Nicole rushed to say as her heart jumped in her chest. The idea that Luke may actually love her had her both happy and scared at the same time. She knew that she loved him, even if she had been too stubborn to admit it to him but she had never dreamed that he would return her feelings. After all, he was an immortal warrior who had lived for hundreds of years, what could he really see in her?
A small smile turned up the edge of her grandmother’s lips as she studied Nicole’s eyes, “You are sitting on the edge of a great war, one that has been building for generations, and your only fear is love,” she chuckled creating a sound as magical as wind chimes singing in a summer breeze.
“I guess you’re right,” sighed Nicole, “It is a bit teen drama for…” Her words were cut short as a gut wrenching pain shot through her body. The world around her began to spin as pain contorted her face.
Queen Titania fought to steady Nicole by the shoulders, “You're being forced away from me. Who are you with?”
“He can’t help…this,” stammered Nicole as she tried to think past the darkness that was closing in on her.
“Who, Nicole? You must tell me who is doing this to you,” the woman forced Nicole’s rolling eyes on her face, searching desperately for the answer that was quickly slipping from her grasp.
Nicole began to fade from the magical realm though she fought with all she had to not sink into the darkness that was pulling her under like quicksand. “A fae…named…Slade,” she watched the Queen’s face twist into a shocked, wide eyed stare. She could see the old woman’s lips working frantically to form words that never sounded in her ears. She awoke with a gasp, struggling to fill her tight lungs with air as she sprung upright in her bed. The beads of sweat on her forehead caused goose bumps to rise on her skin. The cool night air danced in the room around her, sending a few loose papers floating gracefully down to the floor. The last of her power, power that had summoned the protective wind to her, drifted away. She leaned back into her pillow as her heart beat slowed back into its normal, steady rhythm, “Slade must be completely sober now,” she sighed.
Blood Of Fire (The Blood Burden Series) Page 5