rogue shifter 07 - cut off

by parness, gayle

  Elle stood, untying the laces on her bodice, her expression blank. "No, stop." She tilted her head up, confused. I showed her the mating mark on my wrist. "I am bound to my lifemate, Jacqueline. I will never ask you for anything except perhaps a small amount of freely-given blood. I cannot help us escape if I am starved."

  "Why did you take so much from Niral?"

  "Fionna was going to feed her to the slaugh if I didn't drain her. This death was her choice, not mine."

  Her body went slack with relief. "At least she found peace at the end. Will you do the same for me?"

  "Only if there's no other way. I've promised Niral to do everything I can to rescue you."

  "Thank you, Garrett. You have honor. Few at court do."

  I sat in the far corner, giving her as much privacy as the small space would allow. "We prisoners should stick together."

  She didn't smile at my feeble attempt to make her feel comfortable. Instead her expression turned dark. "Because I am of impure blood, I am considered a mongrel, passed to her favorites so they may play with me as they like. Some want sex, others prefer to see me humiliated, others to hear me scream. I've never disappointed any of them." She wiped another lonely tear from her face. "Is Charles like his father? Like Lord Kennet?"

  The question surprised me. "Charlie's almost as tall, and he has an incredibly strong mind. Is that what you meant?"

  She was silent for a few moments. "He is not cruel?"

  "No. He's a healer, a trait inherited from my mate. His nature is compassionate."

  She nodded solemnly. "When he arrives, they will train him to be like Kennet. They will force him to torture and kill."

  I shivered at the thought. Eleanor had done the same to me. But then I thought of my love, positive that her ferocious protective instincts would prevail. "I am certain the queen and her court will never meet my son."

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  I was shown into the room by Aislin, who greeted me warmly and then dissolved with only whisper of a breeze left behind. Caelen and I nodded our own greetings, but the atmosphere remained cool. There had been other talks of this nature between Lord Caelen and myself. I hoped that I could find a way to allay his fears.

  "Thank you for taking the time out to speak with me, Lord Caelen."

  He indicated that I should sit with a nod toward the chair across from his. "I've grown fond of your family." His voice wasn't particularly warm.

  "You've been a father to Garrett for over a century. He loves and respects you as do I."

  "Do you?" He arched an eyebrow. "Garrett normally listens to my advice."

  I hesitated. "Garrett's older and sees certain situations differently than I do. In this case, I believe he would have encouraged me to send Charlie to the DR."

  "I disagree."

  I took a slow breath to calm my nerves. "Your advice and opinion are always welcome. However the fact remains that I'm Charlie's mother and Garrett's lifemate, and I put those allegiances above all others. Fionna and her fae soldiers can't travel to the Demon Realm. Charlie is safer there than anywhere else."

  "You don't trust us to keep him safe?" His eyes were hard with anger. This was the key. He felt I didn't trust him or his people with my child's safety, a bash to their communal ego. The Cascade fae had welcomed him into their hearts with every visit. They loved him as a young child and also as a young adult. I couldn't let Lord Caelen think that I wasn't aware of their generosity.

  Yet there was also a certain tidbit of information dropped into my lap by a long-dead twin that continued to weigh on my mind. She'd told me that the fae intended to help Charlie win the war and then strip him of his demon magic, leaving him fae and cheetah, a combination they could easily accept if he chose to live in Faerie. Bridgett had also revealed that Isaiah was the one who'd discovered the truth. When I'd confronted him about it eleven years ago, he'd laughed, telling me he'd never heard of an instance where that had occurred. Permanently blocking a part of someone's magic would be like tearing out a lung, leaving the victim unable to function at well, perhaps even bringing death.

  For Charlie's sake, he continued to search through arcane tomes for the answer. I hadn't as yet mentioned it to anyone else. Looking at Caelen's expression, I sensed that this wasn't the time to bring it up.

  I sighed and rubbed my eyes. I desperately needed a good night's rest, although I dreaded crawling into bed without Garrett there to hold me. Maybe I can sleep in a guest room tonight. "I would send him to you in any other circumstance, but Fionna's power is at its strongest in Faerie. She appeared during Kennet's trial without any trouble at all. Charlie is half fae. In her mind, he's her subject. She'd use that to control him."

  "We have ways to cloak someone."

  I forged ahead, lifting my chin. "He's where he needs to be, learning what he needs to learn to protect himself. Perhaps to protect all of us."

  Aedus asked, "Isaiah continues his training?"

  "Yes. I'm leaving him where he is. When this is over, I'll bring him home." When they didn't respond, I continued. "Charlie is the reason I survived my attacks, the reason I've been put on this planet at this specific time. Charlie has to survive no matter what happens to either of us.

  "The world could be devoured by the evil of Naberia if he's not there to lead the fight against her. Not just the shifter world, but the human, the werewolf, and the fae world."

  Caelen grunted. "Naberia does not know our strength."

  "Charlie is part of that strength. I'm asking you to trust my instincts as his mother. He'll be returned to me as soon as I get home with Garrett."

  "And if you and Garrett are killed?" he asked.

  I didn't hesitate. "Isaiah will bring him to you long before the war begins." We'd discussed this years ago.

  "You believe him?" Aedus asked.

  "Yes. He has no love for his mother or her ways."

  "Why? He is pure-blood demon. He would naturally support his mother. What you say makes no sense."

  "He told me his reasons in confidence."

  "Demons are not trustworthy."

  "They're like any other race, a mixture of good and bad. Are all seelie fae trustworthy? I can tell you from personal experience that they aren't."

  "You're gullible where Isaiah is concerned. I almost think... Perhaps he's influenced you without your knowledge."

  "Father, you don't truly believe that." Aedus frowned as he spoke.

  Caelen hesitated. "Forgive me. No I do not. But my experiences over time have made it difficult for me to trust anything they say. This is especially true of the royals. Isaiah is second only to Naberia."

  I smiled, remembering the crazy days I've spent with Isaiah. "I've seen the truth in his eyes and his mind and his heart. He's my uncle as you're Charlie's. Look for yourself." Before he could move away, I took his hand and raised it to my temple, opening my mind and lowering my shields.

  His eyes widened in shock because by doing this, I'd left myself completely vulnerable. His power could tear through my mind and turn it to cream of wheat, leaving me his puppet to manipulate as he chose. He could force me to bring Charlie to Cascade and then lock me somewhere far off or even kill me.

  Lord Caelen's expression softened when he saw the confidence I had in his integrity, the respect I held for him, and the affection.

  I placed my hand over his, still holding it in place. "I trust Isaiah with Charlie's life as I'm trusting you with Garrett's and mine. Please help me get Garrett back so that Charlie can come home. I need your help, Lord Caelen. I can't bring him home without it."

  He dropped his hand, smiling for the first time since I'd entered the room. "Jacqueline. You are fearless and foolishly impulsive. So like a child."

  "Fearless? Never. Right now I'm terrified that Fionna will kill Garrett. But the foolish part?" I shrugged. "I'm a female without her mate. I'm entitled to a few minutes of crazy behavior."

  We stared at each other in silence for ten heartbeats. That's a long time to lock gazes
with a fae male who'd been around when Rome fell to barbarian hordes. My heart was pounding so loudly I figured all of Cascade would hear it beating out the rhythm of my terror but also my hope.

  Lord Caelen broke the silence. "I will come to you when Fionna delivers her next message. We will bring him home together. When things are settled, you and I will continue our conversation."

  Deciding not to spend useless energy worrying about that next conversation, I jumped out of my chair. "Thank you." Hugging him, I smiled with relief when I felt him hug me back. Behind Caelen, Aedus saluted me like a soldier on the history channel. It appeared my world was corrupting even him.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Isaiah soaked in the hot tub while I sat on the edge, my pants rolled up to my knees and my bare feet tickled by the bubbling jets.

  He opened one eye and frowned at me. "Ask." He shook his head at my startled expression. "You're too easy to read. You need to work on your poker face."

  I flattened my mouth, preparing myself for another refusal. "What's the big secret?"

  "Secret?" He avoided my gaze, running a hand through the bubbles in a figure eight pattern.

  "The thing that nobody will tell me. The thing that makes people whisper and then shut up the minute they see me. It's been the elephant in the room my whole life. It must be something bad, or someone would've spilled."

  "Ask your mother."

  "I have. She lies and says there's nothing. I've also asked Dad, Sash, Rick, Liam and Farrell. They all tell me to ask Mom."

  "Good advice."

  I fisted my hands. "I don't want to get lied to again. Look, I know she thinks she's protecting me, but I can take it, whatever it is. Do I have some kind of degenerative disease that's gonna kill me at thirty? Is Mom dying? Is..."

  "Charles, she doesn't want you to know. She's made us promise."

  "If it's about me, I have the right to know. Be honest, is it about me?"

  "Yes."

  "I'm an adult. I'm taking responsibility and working my ass off, not just here but at home, too."

  "I've asked her to tell you. The fae even agree with me." He sounded just as frustrated as I did. "Garrett would tell you if she'd agree, but it shouldn't come from anyone but Jackie."

  I groaned. "Can't you give me hints or something? Then I can at least guess what it is."

  As Isaiah's eyes narrowed in anger, the bubbles in the hot tub started to heat. I pulled my feet out fast, afraid of getting scalded. Guess I should have waited, but the time never seemed right.

  Magical vibrations bounced around the room like pea sized hail, stinging my skin. Isaiah swirled the water with his fingers and the liquid sculpture of a familiar fae male rose up in the middle of the spa. He flicked his thumb and middle finger together and the head detached, floating above the rest. The fluid body collapsed back into the bubbles, but the head spun inches away from Isaiah's face.

  He hissed. "Fuck it. I'm sick of protecting him." The head exploded in a shower of spa water, covering me in a light spray. "Ask me how I met Jacqueline."

  Shocked and excited to finally hear the truth, I didn't waste any time. "How did you meet Mom?"

  It took him sixteen minutes, because he'd started off with how mom first met Kennet at the duel. Then he described how a month later he was summoned by Kennet to act as a guard for a female Kennet had described as his new lady. Kennet had kept my mom in a small room, cut off from Garrett and her magic. When Isaiah got near the end of the story he stopped.

  "He whipped her?" My body had begun to tremble, my anger only just contained. Isaiah nodded. "What year was this?"

  "2010."

  Holy crap. He didn't need to say another word. I slumped, wrapping my arms around my stomach to keep from going nuts. "He raped her. He raped her and she got pregnant."

  "Charles, listen. Even though I was no longer able to help her, your mother still found the strength to unravel the block and get herself out of that hole. It was a transcendent moment for her. The experience did not destroy her spirit. She grew in strength."

  I couldn't focus on anything else. "All this time I thought my birth was because of some kind of in-vitro thing so she could have a kid with Garrett. I imagined that Kennet had just said, 'Sure—I'll donate sperm. No problem." I clenched both hands and stood, pacing the room. "But I don't get it. When she found out she was pregnant because of the—why did she keep me? Why would she want me? I'm a constant reminder of what he did."

  "Stop." I stood still and met his gaze. "Have you ever felt unloved?"

  I thought about all the hugs and kisses and smiles. "Never. It's kinda the opposite. She gives overly protective a whole new meaning."

  "Jacqueline saw you as an innocent, which you were." He laughed. "She loved you so much that she summoned me against our agreement. I almost killed her for reneging. Another demon wouldn't have hesitated."

  Assorted facts clicked into place. "That's when she made the agreement for you to train me, and in return, you made her work for you here." He nodded. I leaned against the wall, running a hand through my unbound hair. "She must've been hoping for a normal kid, but she got slammed by the prophesy and then...then Faerie and the DR wanting to use me in their war. I've been way more trouble than she expected."

  "You've been a good son. The prophesy is more your problem than hers."

  "Why do you think she didn't want me to know about the...the rape?" It was hard to say. I couldn't imaging how hard it had been to live through.

  He shrugged. "She thought you might blame yourself. Or perhaps feel anger toward her."

  A strange sound erupted from my mouth, something similar to a snarl. "Anger toward her?" My skin heated as my dagger appeared in my hand, even though I'd locked it in the cabinet in the gym.

  Isaiah's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Well done, young demon. We'll work on this further."

  "Training can wait." I spun the dagger between my fingers in a steady rhythm, an exercise Isaiah had taught me. My rage fed it with energy, my aura snaking through the carvings, making the metal glimmer. As he watched me, my great-uncle's eyes had turned as orange as mine. He was feeding on my anger, which was just fine with me, 'cause I had plenty to spare.

  "Kennet is dead." My tone had dropped an octave.

  "I'd be happy to assist you in this mission, however, think long and hard. He is pure blood seelie fae. He is the three thousand year old half-brother of the queen, a direct descendent of Finvarra. He fights with his mind twice as well as you fight with that dagger. Kennet would've killed Aedus, if it wasn't for your mother's intervention, and Aedus is pure blood and over sixteen hundred years old."

  "But..."

  "You cannot win against him. At least not yet."

  "Maybe I can do more than you think."

  "I know your magical potential better than anyone else. Better even than you do. I know that you've been experimenting secretly and that's good up to a point. I approve. The Cascade fae hold you back, as do your parents. I understand their perspective but don't agree with it."

  "He hurt her."

  "He did. Badly. I tortured him for two months. He broke after two weeks. Still it wasn't enough

  "She's next."

  "Charles, look at me." I did, reluctantly. "Think. Killing him might divide the fae into two factions—weakening them for the war. Do you want that?"

  "Of course not, but how can I let him live after what he did?"

  He shrugged. "Let him help you win the battle against Naberia and then take him out when he doesn't expect it. He'd do the same in your shoes."

  "Yeah, he would." Kennet was a calculating bastard. "Your idea isn't exactly honorable. My dad wouldn't approve."

  "Does that snake deserve an honorable end? Garrett would understand, believe me."

  "The bastard made her take me to him twice a year. I knew she wasn't happy about it but I never thought... Oh man. She must have been freaking out the whole time."

  "Don't tell her that you know."

  "What?
That's stupid."

  "It'll hurt her. She's been hurt enough."

  Isaiah was worried about her, even protective. "Are you crushin' on my mom?"

  He laughed at my outraged expression. "I had a crush on her mom, only that's between us guys."

  "But wasn't she...like...your sister?"

  "Adele was my half sister, but the age difference was over three thousand years. That span weakens the feel of an actual sibling link. Plus she grew up in your world, not mine."

  "Oh, well I guess that's okay. Dad and I'd have to kick your butt otherwise," I teased him.

  "Dream on, demon spawn." He slid under the bubbles and then disappeared.

  I sent the dagger back simply by thinking it away, then undressed and sank into the water, needing the soothing warmth along with the time to think through everything I'd learned. It helped to know that Mom was safe at home and wouldn't be going anywhere near the court and Kennet.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Liam and I sat together on an outcropping of slate rock overlooking the ocean, a secluded place we visited on a regular basis whenever we felt the need for a private conversation. The first time he'd brought me here we'd discussed if I was able to finally put the kidnapping behind me. Liam had been instrumental in my recovery, but while we'd talked, he'd accidentally dropped the bombshell that I'd been raped, an event I'd psychologically blocked. That led to a day of chaotic indecision, followed by a lifetime of certainty as far as my baby, Charlie, was concerned.

  From that day on, we thought of this private spot as a place where we could talk about anything and everything. Our friendship had grown exponentially over the years, Liam becoming the one person, other than Garrett, who I felt I could always trust with my most fragile feelings. And I did often, as he trusted me with his.

  I'd suggested that we come here today, because I'd sensed that Liam was troubled, and I had a pretty good idea what bothered him.

  He was dressed in his usual attire when he wasn't in Faerie: a button down shirt and jeans. We'd taken off our shoes, rolled up our pants and were dangling our feet in the cold spray misting up from below.