Hunter: Faction 10: The Isa Fae Collection

by Angela Fristoe

  She opened the door beside the armoire to reveal a bathroom complete with glass enclosed shower. She'd have preferred a bath, but a shower would do. Despite the magic she used each day to freshen up, the memory of the grime she'd been covered with still lingered.

  * * *

  Thirty minutes later, she was wet and cold, but clean and wrapped in the large towel she found under the sink. She dreaded putting on the clothes she'd worn for the last month. While she'd managed to keep them clean, they hadn’t escaped the elements entirely, and the skirt sported a few tears. She'd never been much for wearing skirts.

  Inside the armoire, she found a pair of pants and a shirt. They looked like men’s clothing, and entirely too big for her, but they'd be better than her skirt.

  The pants were about a foot too long, so she rolled the hems up. Luckily, her hips fit in snuggly and prevented the pants from falling. She pushed up the sleeves and then grasped the bottom of the shirt, twisting it into a knot that bared just a hint of her midriff. Her worn sandals completed her new ensemble.

  As she finished putting her hair into a side braid, there was a cheerful knock on her door. She opened it to find a tiny smiling woman with a head of wild curls that rivaled Thora’s. The exception being the woman’s hair had vibrant streaks of red and violet mixed within the brown.

  “Hi. I’m Rossa. Oh. I am so excited!” She grabbed Thora, wrapping her in an exuberant hug, while Thora stood there stiff and completely unsure of how to respond. Finally, Rossa let go of her and stepped back. “It’s been ages since a new breed has been found. Okay. So it wasn’t so long ago, but it feels like it was forever ago. Where did Garrett find you? Did he steal you away from the witch holding you?”

  “He found me in the woods,” Thora managed to say.

  “How exciting! I’ve never been in there, though Darrian always said that’s where he came from.” Rossa spun around and strode to the window, gripped the long, dark curtains, and threw them open. “I’m not sure I believe him. He thinks because he can pass for Fae he can fool everyone.”

  “He’s telling the truth. We grew up together.”

  “Fancy that; a fake Fae speaking the truth.” Rossa turned back to her and grabbed her hand. “Did Trilby show you around? Never mind. She’s oblivious to anything that might make life easier for anyone else. Come on. I’ll show you where everything is.”

  Rossa tugged her in to the hallway. The tour of the breed quarters didn’t take long—a winding maze of corridors lined with closed doorways was the extent of it. Through it all, Rossa babbled on, while Thora tried to keep up. For such a short woman, Rossa moved surprisingly quick.

  The main floor took longer, with its vast rooms and Rossa’s constant stopping to introduce her to everyone they encountered. By the time they reached the kitchen, Thora had met more people than she'd known her entire life.

  “This is where the real magic happens,” Rossa said. She pushed open the double doors, and a wave of scrumptious flavored heat washed over them.

  “They use magic for cooking?” Thora asked, confused. “That seems like such a waste of atern.”

  Rossa laughed. “No. Real magic. Not real magic.”

  A squat young boy rolled his eyes as he walked past with a platter of roasted meat. He paused to glance back at them, and said, “Rossa thinks the kitchen has been cursed with dark magic.”

  “Truly?” Thora didn’t know how dark magic differed from regular magic, but the ominous tone the boy used suggested it couldn’t be good.

  He snorted. “No. Rossa just needs an excuse other than her daydreaming to explain why every meal under her watch is a disaster.”

  Rossa started to protest, but abruptly cut herself off, snagged Thora’s arm, and yanked her back out of the kitchen. As the doors swung shut behind them, she pulled Thora around the corner then paused to peek back around. Apparently not seeing anything, she heaved a sigh of relief.

  “That was close,” she said, and walked toward the atrium with Thora following behind.

  “What was close?”

  “Sophie was in there.”

  “Sophie?” Her interest piqued, Thora straightened up and quickened her pace to catch up with her new friend.

  “You probably haven’t met her yet, but trust me, don’t get too close to her.” Rossa shuddered. “Oh. She puts on a big show for the Fae, but as soon as they’re gone, she’s a complete witch, and I don’t mean that literally. Or maybe I do.”

  A knot twisted in Thora’s gut, though it was so unlike the one the meeting with Amadeus had caused. No. It was more like one of excitement. Sophie was in the kitchen. That meant she wasn’t with Garrett.

  “I was supposed to have kitchen management duty this afternoon, but…” Rossa shrugged. “If Sophie’s in there, she’ll just take over anyway.”

  As they finished the tour, she listened vaguely as Rossa went in to detail about the horrible things Sophie had done to the others. Each story only fed in to Thora’s thoughts about Garrett. How could he love such a woman? If he loved Sophie, wouldn’t he know what kind of a person she was? Every question Thora had cycled back to the one that had consumed her thoughts all day. Why had he kissed her?

  “Rossa,” she said, interrupting the other woman. “Do you know where I could find Garrett? I wanted to thank him for bringing me here, and he mentioned he could be leaving soon… ”

  “I wish he'd found me, but no. It had to be Canaria. She’s almost as much a witch as Sophie. Now, Garrett. Well, we could have had some fun.” Rossa giggled and fanned her pink cheeks. A wicked grin crept across Rossa’s cherub face. “I'd leave, too, if I were chained to Sophie. Come on; his room is upstairs.”

  Rossa practically skipped through the atrium and up the stairway. Thora trailed after her at a slightly more subdued pace.

  On the fourth floor, Thora found what she'd been expecting of the magnificent building. Stain glass windows cast streaks of blue, pink, and green across the floor, and sparkling chandeliers floated high above.

  They passed doors with shimmering silver handprints impressed upon them. Eventually, Rossa stopped in front of one.

  “This is his room,” she said.

  “Are you certain?” Thora asked. “They all look the same.”

  “Trust me. I think Trilby enjoys putting me on housekeeping rotation. I’ve cleaned these rooms so many times over the past five years, I could find this blindfolded.”

  Nerves hit Thora. “I should just speak to him later. He might be sleeping. He might not even be in there.”

  Rossa shook her head in exasperation. “You’re here. He’s probably here. So talk. Or do other stuff.”

  She reached out and briskly knocked on the door, before spinning around and running away, leaving Thora staring after her in shock. It was reminiscent of a game Thora and Darrian had played as kids, usually at Freddie expense. Only, then she'd been the one knocking and running.

  She was long past the age of playing such games, so as much as she wanted to give chase after Rossa, she stayed where she was. She'd almost given up when the door opened, and she came face to face with Garrett. A half naked Garrett.

  “Thora? What are you doing here?” He braced his hands on the door frame and leaned forward, peeking his head out and glancing up and down the hall. She started to step back, but he grasped her hand and pulled her in to the room, then closed the door.

  He turned to stare at her, and her nerves went haywire again.

  “Hi,” she said, and cleared her throat as her mouth went dry.

  She slid her tongue along her bottom lip. Realizing she was staring, she looked around the room. It boasted lavish furnishings in lush reds and golds with an ancient statue of a winged angel that must have been taken from the human world before it fell.

  “What are you doing here, Thora? Someone might see you.”

  “Is there a rule against breeds being up here?” She glanced at him over her shoulder.

  “No. But… ”

  “But?”
<
br />   She knew why. If someone saw her going in to his room, it would surely get back to Sophie. Maybe Thora would have felt guilty about the other woman possibly getting hurt if she hadn’t spent almost an hour listening to Rossa detail Sophie’s every vicious deed and word.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said, and ran a hand through his dark hair. “I’m sorry. Everything happened so fast this morning.”

  “I… I deserve an explanation.” That was what she wanted. Why she was here. Not to stare mindlessly at his muscles and the thin line of hair that disappeared below his pants.

  “Everything I did was to ensure that you made it here,” he said. “This is where you’ll be safe. Where you’ll be happy.”

  He moved to stand before her, and a shiver passed through her. It was an odd feeling she'd never experienced before. Even when she and Darrian had first been intimate, she'd never felt that anxious need to be with him. Lust was too simple a word to explain the swirl of emotions and sensations that took over her.

  “Will I?”

  “We’ve been together every day, all day, for a month. I know you well enough to know what would make you happy.”

  “You would think,” she said. “It’s what I thought as well. That I knew you. Yet, I don’t think that’s true.”

  “You’re upset because I didn’t tell you about Sophie.”

  She could have kicked him for stating the obvious.

  “No. I’m not upset. I’m surprised.”

  He already knew she couldn’t lie, but saving face seemed to matter most at that moment.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her. I wanted to, but… ”

  “But you needed me to follow you,” she said. “You thought I followed you because of an infatuation with you, and if I knew about Sophie, I wouldn’t come.”

  “Thora.” He sighed.

  “It seems to me that I underestimated the size of your ego. I followed because I had nowhere else to go.” She gave a tight smile and crossed her arms under her breasts. His gaze dropped, and a flush of heat spread through her.

  “I realize that, Thora.” He pulled his eyes up to hers. He closed the distance between them and rested his hands on her upper arms. “I am sorry I didn’t tell you.”

  She focused on the delicate gold swirl woven through the blanket spread across his bed. “You shouldn’t have kissed me. Not if you love someone else.”

  “I needed the atern. I told you that.”

  “This morning. You shouldn’t have kissed me this morning.”

  He let go of her and cleared his throat. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have.”

  “I don’t like to be manipulated.”

  “That wasn’t my intention.”

  He paced the length of the room.

  “Do you love her?” She wasn’t sure what possessed her to ask the stupid question. Especially one she didn’t actually want the answer to.

  Chapter 8

  Garrett paused in his pacing to stare at Thora before starting up again. What kind of question was that? Did he love Sophie? He planned to unite with her; spend the rest of his life tied to her. With her. Not tied to her.

  “Sophie is… it’s complicated,” he said.

  “What’s complicated about it?” Thora stepped in front of him, halting his progress.

  He reached out and gripped her chin, tipping it up until her eyes met his. Everything she was thinking, feeling, was right there looking back at him, daring him to tell her the truth. And he wanted to. If he could just figure out what the truth was.

  “I don’t know how to explain,” Garrett said. He let go of her and burrowed his fingers in his hair, releasing a groan of frustration. “It’s not as simple as whether I love her or not. Sophie opened my eyes up in so many ways.”

  It had been Sophie who first told him about what really happened at The Sanctuary; about what happened to the breeds who joined the service. She'd shown him how distorted his grandmother’s legacy had become. She alone had the courage to reveal the darkness hidden from the rest of the faction. The breeds had a choice—Unification or service.

  At first, he'd been devastated that so many of those he brought to the home Tatiana had sacrificed her life for had been forced to make such a choice—that, one day, Sophie would be forced to make that choice. Her trust in him had given him purpose. He'd continued bringing others in, providing a safer place for them to live, while gathering information to bring down Amadeus and The Council.

  “Without Sophie, I'd be one of those Fae seeking time with the service staff,” he admitted, hating the thought of who he might have become as the callousness of The Council wore him down. “I wouldn’t have cared whether they were there by choice or coercion.”

  “I don’t believe that,” Thora said. “You would never take what wasn’t freely given.”

  “That’s who I would have become.”

  “In a future that will never happen.”

  “Because of Sophie.”

  “So she changed your life. She made you a better man. That doesn’t answer the question. Do you love her?” Thora pressed.

  “Part of me does and always will love her.”

  “Then why did you kiss me this morning?”

  Why had he? Damned if he could explain. He could say he did it to distract her from her concerns, and he supposed that would be truthful enough. Maybe he had even told himself that when he did it. Yet, it had been so much more than that. The way she had stared in to the woods as if lost and alone again had torn at him. He'd wanted to banish that loneliness; give her hope and life. Kissing her had seemed like the right thing to do. The only thing.

  As Garrett tried to find an answer that wouldn’t make things worse between them, the same look came over her. She had been through so much the last few weeks. Lost so much. He could tell her he did it because he wanted her to follow him, or that it had meant nothing to him. But he'd lied to her enough.

  “I kissed you because I wanted to. I shouldn’t, but I did. I do.”

  He'd hoped when they left the seclusion of the woods—when he saw Sophie again—that the desire he had for Thora would vanish, or at least fade. Yet, all it had done was increase as he faced the reality of what life had been before he met her.

  It had been a good life, with everything he'd ever dreamed of. So, why did he feel the need to kiss her again? Why was his guilt only for the pain he'd caused Thora and not for the fact that he had done so behind Sophie’s back?

  “I don’t know what this is between us,” he said. “I’ve tried ignoring it, but something about you calls to me. To my soul.”

  Thora’s breath caught as he lifted a hand and trailed his fingers along her cheek to the delicate curve of her neck.

  The subtle scent of her, so unique that he didn’t doubt it would haunt his dreams for eternity, consumed him. All his thoughts about Sophie or his responsibilities to The Sanctuary dissipated. He wanted Thora. He needed her. Nothing else mattered.

  He took a step closer to her, his hand slipping behind her neck and through her blonde curly hair. His other hand traced a slow path down her arm and then grasped her waist, pulling her flush against his body.

  Lowering his face down toward hers, he stopped just short of their lips meeting, giving her a chance to pull back. She lifted up, closing the distance between them a fraction. It was all the invitation he needed.

  He kissed her, slowly at first, as he tested the softness of her lips. As she released her breath, her lips parted, and his tongue found its way in to her mouth. The raspberry taste of her filled his senses and sent a shock of desire raging through him, straight to his penis.

  A rasping moan escaped her, and the sound urged him on. With his hips touching hers, he pushed himself against her so that she could feel his erection build. When he pulled his hips back, she followed, and he pressed in again.

  Their tongues tangled in a delicious dance that felt new and exciting, yet familiar. It was as if he'd spent his life waiting for that kiss. Time spu
n out as the kiss seemed to last forever.

  But he wanted more than a kiss from Thora. He wanted everything. He wanted to touch, taste, every part of her body.

  He nibbled her bottom lip, teasing it with his teeth then sliding his tongue along the plump flesh. When he released her and pulled back, she opened her eyes, gazing up at him in confusion.

  “Why did you stop?” she asked, her breathing heavy.

  “I want you, Thora.”

  “I want you, too.” She threaded her fingers through the hair at his nape and tugged him closer, but he held firm.

  “More than this. I want you. Completely.” He slid his hand from her waist to the curve of her back and pressed his hard length against her soft belly.

  “Yes,” she said, exhaling deeply, and her eyes begged him to kiss her again.

  Taking her face in his hands, he lowered his mouth and brushed his lips over hers, then skimmed along her jaw and to her neck. He suckled at the delicate skin before moving to catch the lobe of her ear between his teeth.

  A shudder coursed through her, and he realized that while she didn’t possess the pointed Fae ears, she did have the heightened sensitivity. He lapped the skin, then blew cool air across it, loving the way her breath caught and released with a shaky sigh.

  He let go of her hair, moving his hand down her back and around her ribs. His fingers grazed over her ribs until he reached the underside of her breast. Her back arched, and he palmed her flesh through the rough fabric. Her rigid nipple pressed against the edge of his finger, and he could tell she wore no bra.

  His thumb rubbed against her nipple, dragging the shirt with it. Thora gasped and dropped her head back, exposing her graceful neck.

  He untied the knot at the bottom of the shirt then unbuttoned it, letting the material fall open. He paused to take in the beauty of her. In the midday sun streaming through the windows, her skin glowed a creamy bronze.