by Linsey Hall
He cared. I swallowed hard and looked away, uncertain how to process that.
Or the fact that I’d jumped in front of him.
I didn’t risk my life for a lot of people.
But I’d done it for him.
Of course you did it for him, idiot.
I looked around his quarters. “Why are we here?”
“It’s safer.”
“My place is fine.”
“What don’t you understand about the fact that I’d do anything to protect you?”
“Wow. Um, this is not expected.”
“You’re kidding, right? I may be angry about your lies and trust you as far as I can throw you, but I will always protect you.”
“You’re compelled to do it. Because I’m your Mograh.”
“Because I want to do it.” His tone was so fierce that I didn’t argue, but when he put me on the bed, it felt like he was laying down his most precious possession.
Even so, I winced. It felt like thousands of needles were stabbing me all over my body. Like when your leg goes asleep, but everywhere.
“Now shut up.” His tone was sharp.
I scowled at him.
Until he pressed his hands to my shoulders and began to feed his healing energy into me. His brow was furrowed with concern and his mouth went tight with worry.
“You’re worried about me,” I breathed.
He shot me a look that suggested I was an idiot, then said gruffly, “Of course I am. Now lie still.”
His healing power flowed through me, taking away the agony that pervaded every inch of my body. As the pain faded, my head cleared.
Tarron was really worried about me. And frustrated by it.
I could feel it.
The healing power created a connection between us, and the desire to protect me roared through him.
It warmed something inside me—something primal.
Yet I was fated to kill him.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to drive out the memory of the premonition.
With my eyes closed, my other senses heightened. I couldn’t help but focus on the warmth of his hands. The sound of his breathing. The scent of his skin.
Heat shot through me.
Desire.
With the pain gone, all I could think about was his touch.
All I wanted to think about was his touch. Because everything else was a disaster. And this wasn’t.
Far from it.
It felt like the most natural thing in the world. Like we were being pushed together in the best way possible.
The energy in the air changed. It was as if he could sense the desire that gripped me. His touch on my shoulders tightened possessively, and I moaned.
“Mari.” My name sounded torn from his throat, his voice tortured.
I opened my eyes and caught a look of such desire on his face that it made me shiver.
Despite everything, I wanted him.
He swept me into his arms, and a low groan rumbled from his throat as his mouth crashed down on mine. Heat exploded through me as his lips moved expertly on my own.
He nipped and laved, and I plunged my hands into his hair, holding him close. His scent wrapped around me, a crisp autumn day along with the more intimate smell of his skin. His soap.
I pressed every inch of my body against him, running my hands down his neck and along the muscles of his shoulders and arms.
He cupped my head in one huge hand and cradled me against him with the other, curved protectively over me in the bed. As if he’d never let anyone get to me.
“We shouldn’t.” His voice sounded ragged as he laid me back on the bed, his actions belying his words.
“I don’t care.” I reached for him, pulling him down.
His weight pressed me to the mattress, his harder angles aligning perfectly with the dips and curves of my body. Pleasure shot through me, from my center to every inch of my extremities. He moved against me in the most perfect rhythm, and I shuddered.
I couldn’t resist him any longer.
This thing had been pulling at us forever, fate determined to push us together.
Fate…
Was that the only reason we were doing this?
My comms charm blared, pulling me from the moment. Tarron groaned, a sound of such tortured frustration that something tugged inside me.
Aeri’s voice blasted out of my comms charm. “I’m at the damned entrance to this stupid Fae realm, and I can’t get in! Mari, you better be there!”
I flopped back on the bed and groaned.
Tarron pulled away from me, dragging a hand through his hair. His eyes had turned fully black and his horns had appeared. Fangs glinted white against his lips. “I’ll take care of it.”
I touched my comms charm. “Tarron is sending someone to you.”
“Good,” Aeri snapped.
Tarron rose, lifting himself off me and climbing off the bed to stride to the other side of the room.
While he called on someone to get Aeri from Kilmartin, I drew in a shuddery breath and sat up. My injuries were gone, and I felt fine. More than fine, actually, if I ignored the thwarted desire still racing through my veins.
“We need to stop doing that,” I said, even as I knew it wouldn’t happen.
“Agreed.” He turned to me, eyes flashing. The signs of his arousal were gone—horns disappeared and fangs retracted—but darkness still gleamed in his eyes. “How do you propose we stop?”
“Chastity belt?”
He raised a brow.
“For you, not me.” I grinned.
He cracked a smile.
A knock sounded at the door.
He moved to answer, and I sagged backward. Good timing. Definitely good timing.
While he answered, I turned and pressed my hands to my hot cheeks. I needed to get myself under control. This was ridiculous.
I popped a butterscotch candy into my mouth and sucked hard, but it did nothing to distract me.
“Here, eat.” His voice sounded from behind.
I whirled around to see him carrying a tray laden with food toward a table near the wall.
“I’m good.” I stuck out my tongue to show him the candy sitting there.
His eyes flickered with heat. After the briefest hesitation, he spoke. “That doesn’t count. Eat real food.”
“You don’t have to take care of me, you know.”
“Maybe I want to.” With that, he turned away and laid out the food.
Holy fates, he was just going to drop that bomb and pretend he’d never said an insane thing like that?
I walked up to him, curious.
Before I reached him, there was another knock on the door. He left to open it, and I grabbed a sandwich from the tray. There was a bowl of fruit, and none of it looked like the Fae fruit that would make me feel compelled to stay here forever.
Aeri entered behind Tarron.
“Well, did you learn what you needed to?” she asked.
Tarron looked at me like he’d been wondering the same thing all along and was confused as to why I hadn’t mentioned it.
I wanted to remind him that he’d been kissing my face off the whole time.
I swallowed the bite of sandwich. “Sort of. I know that she’s after the Eternal Flame. And it’s something important.” I met Tarron’s gaze. “Your people seemed to know something about it in the vision I had.”
He nodded. “Aye, that’s possible. I’ve heard it mentioned before.”
“Well, my mother is after it, and she’ll use it to destroy your kingdom. From within.”
He nodded. “We need to see how the preparations are coming for the upcoming attack.”
“Potential upcoming attack.” I would stop this. Though I was getting more worried about that. The more time passed, the more likely it seemed that it might happen.
In which case, I really needed to tell Tarron about my vision of his death.
He nodded. “Potential attack. We’ll meet with the Court Guard,
make sure everything is going according to plan, then we’ll see what we can find out about the Eternal Flame from Arrowen the Seer.”
“Then we’ll hunt down my mother and kill her.” Saying the words turned my stomach.
It was necessary, but hell, it sucked.
Why was this my life?
It had been going so smoothly before.
Aeri reached for my hand and squeezed, as if she could read my thoughts. She didn’t remember her mother, and right now, I was envious. Far better for her to be a mystery than a murderer.
Tarron led the way through the castle, and Aeri and I stuck a few feet back, whispering about the Fae we saw and the fantastic architecture. The whole place still blew my mind. The sheer size and graceful elegance of it was astounding. I preferred my Gothic townhouse in Darklane, but the wide hallways and towering ceilings of Tarron’s castle followed a close second.
It lacked the musty coldness of most castles I’d been to, probably a combination of the fact that it was currently occupied and Fae sensibilities. Because the realm was protected and hidden—for the most part—the castle was more like a fabulous residence than a stronghold. Enormous windows dotted the hallways, each of them glassless to allow a lovely breeze to flow through. Diaphanous curtains floated on the wind. The air smelled fresh—of flowers and cool water.
“They must never have bad weather,” Aeri muttered.
“I think they control it somehow. The Fae are great with nature magic.”
“Good point.”
I looked out the window, spying the rolling hills of the Seelie kingdom, each speckled with the glowing lights of houses. The Unseelie realm had been beautiful in its own way, too. A darker half of the same coin.
Finally, we reached the war room.
Tarron led the way into the long, rectangular space that was full of waiting Fae. As soon as they spotted him, they surged to their feet, eyes alert. Each one—except for the old seer Arrowen—wore a uniform of gold and red that was perfectly pressed. Arrowen’s silver dress sparkled like stars. It really looked quite fab on her. Maybe I should try silver.
In unison, they all bowed low. The sense of respect on the air was so strong that I thought I could grab it and hold it. I’d missed this bit when I’d come to the war room last, because Tarron had already been here.
“You may rise.” Tarron stalked toward the table that was covered with a massive three-dimensional model.
The Fae all straightened, looking at him with varying shades of respect or deep fear. No matter what, this group would follow his orders to the death—that was obvious. As for the respect or fear that glinted on their faces, I had a feeling it had to do with whether or not they knew the truth about his brother’s death and Tarron’s ascension to the throne.
I wished they knew the truth about him. The self-sacrifice astounded me.
But that was exactly what Tarron didn’t want.
So I kept my mouth shut.
Luna strode forward, her blue hair tied up in a complicated braid and her pink eyes keen. I hadn’t seen much of Tarron’s right-hand Fae since the competition where we’d first met, but from the tired look in her eyes, she’d been hard at work.
Luna met Tarron at the edge of the table. “We’ve been shoring up the entrances to the realm and the weak spots in the ether.”
There was curiosity in her voice. Tarron must not have told them why.
I joined them at the table, Aeri at my side. A closer inspection revealed that this was a three-dimensional map of the entire kingdom. Certain parts at the edge were marked with blue crystal.
“What are the crystals?” I asked.
“Weak spots in the ether or entrances to our realm.” Luna met me with an assessing gaze. “Sometimes both.”
“Why are there weak spots?”
Luna shrugged. “It’s the nature of the ether. It’s how we built the portals to our realm, so no complaints from us.” She looked at Tarron. “Until now. What’s the deal?”
“The Queen of the Unseelie—the same one who launched the attack on the King’s Grove—is planning to invade with Eternal Flame.”
A series of low gasps sounded throughout the room.
Luna paled. “That can’t be right.”
“I’m afraid so.”
“She’ll likely bring demons,” I said. “She hires them as mercenaries. Her forces could be impressive.”
Another guard stepped up, this one tall and pale, with brilliant blue eyes and magic that smelled of dew and dawn. “We can’t possibly guard all the entrances against a Fae queen with Eternal Flame.”
“You’re going to have to.” Tarron’s voice was cold, brooking no argument.
“We’ll need backup,” Luna said.
Tarron nodded sharply. “We’ll find it.”
“I can help with that,” Aeri said. “We have friends who will help.”
Again, I was grateful for my years in Magic’s Bend. I hadn’t set out to make friends who would have my back, but somehow I’d managed it.
Arrowen leaned forward. The seer was ancient, though she possessed a timeless beauty. Her white hair was a halo around her head. Sharp blue eyes assessed the map and then Tarron. “Does the Unseelie Queen have the flame yet?”
“We assume not,” Tarron said. “Or we’d already be on fire.”
I bit back a huff of laughter.
That shouldn’t be funny.
But it was.
Arrowen even gave a wry, dark chuckle.
I stood by, listening as Tarron discussed the various entrances to the Seelie kingdom with his guard. They debated which soldiers to place where, how long it would take reinforcements to move from portal to portal, and which allies could be called upon from the outside world.
They were preparing like this would happen—like the queen would make it into the realm.
If she did, it would only end with their king’s death.
I shivered and shoved the thought aside.
“If the dark queen enters the realm, it will be nearly impossible to stop her,” Arrowen said. “Eternal Flame takes almost nothing to ignite. All she’ll have to do is throw it.”
Tarron nodded, face drawn. “We’ll call on mages to help us lock the entrances more tightly.”
It was no guarantee. Even I knew that.
But it was all we could do.
“Nothing can douse an Eternal Flame?” Aeri asked.
“Nothing that we know of,” Arrowen said.
Except for Tarron’s death, though that made no sense to me.
“We need to stop her before she gets here,” Luna said.
“Agreed.” Tarron nodded. “Mari and I will be focusing on that.”
I appreciated that he used the name Mari, which is what I’d used in the tournament. I liked that he remembered that was the name I’d chosen to go by in his realm.
“Could you infiltrate her realm to take her out?” asked the tall, pale Fae guard who’d spoken earlier.
Tarron shook his head. “When we entered just an hour ago, there were so many guards that we would never make it to her.”
“Not to mention, I don’t think they were acting of their own accord,” I said.
Arrowen frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I believe that my mother’s mind control magic has influenced some of the Unseelie to act in her stead. Otherwise, they might not.”
“Your mother?” Luna’s brows rose.
There were murmurs from around the room.
The Fae hadn’t realized that she was my mother, but now that Tarron knew, I had no reason to keep it a secret. I was used to people whispering about me, and I needed to try to be as honest as I could.
“Precisely.” I met Luna’s eyes, my own gaze hard. “And I want to stop her as much as you do.”
“Then we should invade their realm,” said the pale guard. “With more of our warriors. Bring the fight to them.”
“It would kill too many,” I said. “Seelie and Unseelie both. The Unseel
ie aren’t all evil. Their magic is dark, but that doesn’t make them explicitly evil.” I wasn’t evil.
“Who cares about the Unseelie?” Disdain sounded in his voice.
I opened my mouth to retort, but Tarron beat me to it.
“Enough.” He slashed his hand through the air, his voice cracking like a whip. “We will attempt to stop the queen without invading her realm. It’s not worth the loss of life. On both sides.”
I warmed slightly. He’d spared the young Unseelie’s life in our most recent fight, so he clearly was seeing the same thing I was.
“Why is she coming here?” Luna asked. “Her first invasion seemed designed to sway us to her side. But this… It’s wholesale destruction. Murder.”
“She was initially after this realm to expand her empire.” My voice was cold. “She’s accepted we’ll stop her no matter what. Now, she wants to destroy this place.”
A low grumbling sounded from the Seelie who stood away from the table. I could hear whispers of her mother.
Tarron’s cold voice struck. “Enough. Or I will evict you from the court forever.”
The ruthlessness in his tone made me shiver.
I’d forgotten that side of him. Almost. The cold and ruthless king. I’d seen it initially, before we’d gotten to know each other.
But it was part of him.
Tarron wrapped up the rest of the planning meeting quickly. Finally, the Court Guard departed, moving swiftly to the door to continue their work. Only Arrowen stayed.
“As for the next part of our plan,” Tarron said. “We must seek the Eternal Flame.”
I looked at Arrowen. “Do you know anything about it?”
It was a myth I was vaguely familiar with, but I’d never had reason to know it before.
“The Eternal Flame is as ancient as magic itself,” Arrowen said. The old seer leaned forward, her face alight with power and her dress a glittering silver.
Her tone was hushed with awe when she continued. “It has been guarded by the goddesses of fire since time immemorial.”
“Where is it located?” I asked.
“No one knows,” Arrowen said.
“Seriously? No one?” I frowned.
“Only the Guardians of the Eternal Flame know where the flame is located,” Arrowen said. “They live in an ever-changing place, nearly impossible to find.”
“Just our luck.” I frowned. “So they guard the fire. If we find them, we find the flame.”