by Lexi Ostrow
Leandra, had she been a Seelie Fairy, would have backed up.
“Not that I want to be the one to suggest this, but if it fails, you can just leave and come back.” For a second she regretted the words. Reminding him he could come and go at will wasn’t the best idea, since her world froze so to speak. The truce was so tentative, it didn’t matter that she had such strong feelings for him.
“Come to think of it, why don’t we skip this, and I’ll just do that and get my glasses.”
He took a step back, and she walked to stand in front of him. Arms crossed firmly over her chest, she regarded him with little emotion. “I’m your Guardian. I’m supposed to do what I can to protect you. Your vision problems could get us both killed. Stand fucking still and man up. Or were you going to just hope your glasses don’t fall off next time you have to get physical.” It pained her to see the anger on Dale’s face.
She might care for him, but she had been raised a warrior, and there was a time and a place for emotion. Battle tactics was not one of them. Emotion in battle got people killed—like her mother. Dale’s face twisted with emotion, first anger, then defeat. His green eyes locked with hers, and the anger still shimmered just below the surface as he turned back to Leandra and proceeded to pull out what was in his eyes. She held back a shudder that he hadn’t even attempted cleaning his hands.
“Fine. Do it.” Dale’s eyes widened, as if he thought he needed to hold them open.
Leandra closed her amethyst eyes again and began slowly moving her hands around his head. She didn’t say anything as she worked, she never did. Her mouth would tense up into a straight line, and she would sometimes get wrinkles in her forehead. But this time, Breena noticed a hitch in her breathing, and then a gasp just as she pulled her hands away.
If she hadn’t been watching, she might not have believed it. Leandra had stood so gracefully before them one moment, and then she vanished. Breena’s shock forced her to move forward, and she saw Leandra fluttering in the air. Whatever the fairy had done, it had depleted her reserves, or scared her into shrinking herself down. Contrary to popular belief, fairies were only small around humans as a way to not be seen.
She scooped her hand outward and gently grabbed the healer in her palm. “Leandra, are you okay?”
Naturally, she couldn’t understand the noises that came from the tiny healer, but she felt the woman stamp her foot on her hand.
“What, what happened?” Dale asked over her shoulder.
Without looking at him, she let Leandra fly off her hand. “When a fairy is scared or loses too much energy, they grow small, it’s like a protection.” That’s when it hit her. “Wait a minute, you can see her?” She whirled around to face him.
“Of course I can see her. She’s not microscopic or anything. Oh!”
The look of delight that passed over his face warmed Breena. A smile spread so quickly across his lips, she didn’t think it could be any bigger.
“I can see! This is wonderful!”
Dale’s arms reached out and picked her up. With a gentle lift, he twirled her around the room, his eyes looking into hers the whole time. Normally, the idea of being lifted off the ground by anyone would set her blood cold, but something about the look on his face and the way he held her, it just made her feel happy. His joy was impossible to ignore, and it was just the start of the ways she could protect him better.
“Thank you, Leandra. You have no idea what this means.”
Leandra flew up a little, to his eye line, and shook her head before flying away from them to the corner. Breena chuckled, already familiar with how testy Leandra was about being in someone’s company when the work was done.
“I think we’ve been dismissed,” she said with a small laugh.
Dale grinned and quickly kissed her lips. “That, I think we have. So what else can you show me about your world?”
The spinning sensation had nothing to do with his new sight. Dale couldn’t seem to come down off cloud nine. Getting his vision back wasn’t exactly a miracle, he could’ve gone through Lasik at any time. Breena had done something to protect him, something that proved she was more light than dark, and that had his mind reeling. He’d had some pretty rough Guardians before, and he’d even met Leather Jacket long before his brother. Sometimes the Guardians on that side of the fight did protect him. Mostly, they just influenced him with their bad habits and fought off the good characters that stepped from books, but that had been to protect themselves, not Dale.
She’d done the impossible just then. Dale felt it the moment he picked her up. That rush of happiness and the giddy sensation when they touched. He’d fallen in love with her. Despite how hard he wanted to remain distant from her, in case she couldn’t change, he was in love. The smile spread over his lips again just from thinking about it.
Breena had come into his life when he’d least wanted her, and despite all the obstacles he’d put in her path, she had fought for him, for a chance, and she’d won. He was going to tell her later that night, after spending the day with her. He was down to two days before his birthday, and while he only had to have a Guardian at twenty-seven, he wanted to release her. He wanted her.
By taking Dale to a healer to do something for him that would protect him it showed Breena was more than she appeared. She was fiercely loyal and did whatever it took without question, but that was only the cover for the girl that was protecting her sister. She was more good than she probably realized, and even if she’d only wanted to keep him around for her family’s sake, he could see her emotions for him taking her off guard—which was fine by him.
Still smiling, he couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she was, and how lucky he was that they’d been given this chance, even if it was by the brother in leather.
“Well then, what will you show me next?” his tone was playful, and he realized it was the first time since Ciara had given him her powers that he truly felt light hearted. Everything was finally working as it should.
Breena didn’t get to answer him. Her mouth opened, but froze agape. Her eyes were staring just passed him, but she wasn’t blinking. Terror slid through him, he knew what had happened.
“Show yourself! Now!” He focused on the fire in him and called it forth, allowing the flames to crackle just above both palms.
“This isn’t the time for games. It’s time to go home. Breena will be fine. In fact, just fucking grabbing the sprite and move it.”
Dale heard something in the man’s tone he had never heard before. Worry. He looked at him and saw nothing amiss. The feeling of darkness still came off him in waves and drowned Dale in an oppressive sensation, but when he turned to look at him, Dale jerked back and shouted in alarm.
“Who the fuck are you?”
For just a moment a smile appeared. The teeth were still perfect as ever, and the smile still chilled him to his core as always. But his eyes, they weren’t the same. He’d seen those eyes daily for long enough to know that. They’d been an icy metallic silver for as long as he could remember, but now, they looked like a liquid gold. Did one brother steal the place of the other somehow?
“My name is Demus. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Dale. Now as I said, be a good little Word Speaker and hurry on home.”
The space next to Dale began to shift and distort, he’d never seen one of the brothers make a doorway, and he was shocked it didn’t just appear perfectly formed at the snap of one of their fingers. When the man—no Demus, he had a name now—touched his back, Dale felt almost physically ill. He didn’t think something like that could happen from a touch, but he also didn’t really know what the brothers were.
“Stop!”
Dale heard the booming voice and immediately felt a maelstrom of wind. Wind? Inside? He shook his head in confusion and looked to the wall, the window hadn’t been drawn open.
Demus’ whole body changed, fear replaced the smile, and the man almost appeared to shrink in height.
Holy fuck, what can make him co
wer like that?
A split second later, Dale got his answer.
“There has been enough interference to last the remainder of your lifetime, Demus,” the voice roared along with the crazy wind. “It is time to let things play out as they should. It is a Guardian’s job to protect their Word Speaker. The rules have been broken for the last time.”
Dale’s head jerked from side to side, and he spun in a circle, not once, but twice. He couldn’t see a damn thing, but something, and something powerful at that, was in the room with them. Something that knew Demus. Papers from the various desktops and bookshelves fluttered crazily around the room, and he felt a small slice on his hand as one whipped by. Pens and crystals sailed around, and he quickly dodged a quartz crystal as it flew toward his head. Breena was in danger, and he couldn’t see to protect her.
It didn’t work, something is wrong with my vision.
Dale half-ignored the conversation as he brought his hands to his eyes and rubbed as hard as he could, trying to force them to be able to see whoever was talking.
“But that’s no fair! You already allowed me to interfere by giving him this book!”
“Yes, to atone for what was done by your brother. I have protected you each from yourselves. I have no interest or concern in directly engaging with or allowing out of conduct engagement with your warriors. It ends, now!”
The final word shattered the glass on the two windows, and Dale tore his hands away from his eyes as he flinched and saw the last shards of glass fall off the third story.
He still couldn’t see the speaker. He couldn’t see Demus either. He was alone in the room, save for Breena, who was still frozen so to speak. A tremor of fear raced through him, and his heart pumped faster than it ever had before. His Guardian was frozen, something had scared the biggest badass he knew existed, and he was not a physical match for far too many opponents to rely on strength. The storm of wind settled, and the items in the room slowed and fell to the floor—all except the few pieces of paper.
“Who’s in here? Why can’t I see you?” he stepped protectively in front of Breena and felt guilty for not doing it the moment she’d frozen.
The wind was nothing more than a small warm, breeze brushing over him.
“I am but a spirit on the wind, Dale Evanhart. I have no true physical form, and I do apologize for what is about to happen to you. But, all things must play out as they should. The time for interference is gone.”
The gentle breeze vanished entirely on the last word and the few papers still drifting on the breeze fell to the floor. A chill ran over his skin, leaving goose bumps in their wake. Whoever that dude was, Dale had a damn good feeling he wasn’t from the book.
“Dale, Dale what’s wrong?”
He felt Breena’s hand tap him on the back and he turned slowly, blowing out a breath. “I’m not certain.” His head wasn’t in any pain, but he could feel it throbbing as he tried to comprehend everything he’d just heard. “There was something in this room, something Demus, the man in leather, was afraid of. And he, it, the something apologized to me.”
Breena’s beautiful eyes shrunk as she scrunched her face in concern. “Dale, I’m not certain what happened, but maybe it’s just a side effect of your sight being altered. Nothing has been in here but you and me.”
Her hand lightly trailed over his arm, and he shuddered as a wave of lust raced through him. Her lips ran a gentle line up his neck, and when she pressed against him, his dick was at full attention. He could feel the lust slowly waking up inside of him, as if he hadn’t just slept with her hours before. The Guardian connection might be part of it, but he undoubtedly found the woman to be one of the sexiest people he had ever met, and something told him he would never get enough of her.
Teeth nipped gently at his neck, and he groaned and pulled her closer against him. The sensation of her body against his and her mouth tactfully kissing every inch of him except where he wanted her sent some of the prior moments scurrying away.
Maybe I was seeing things.
He shook his head and tried not to lose himself as Breena’s lips pressed against his. Half his brain wanted to slam her into the wall and finish whatever she was trying to start. The other half wanted to know why the man that reeked of evil was trying to get him out of Breena’s world, and why another something had apologized to him.
His hands started the decision for him, pushing the sleeves of her shirt off her shoulders and cupping her perky breasts in his hands. They were the perfect fit for his grip, and when she moaned into their kiss his head spun. Need and fear mixed a dangerous cocktail. The only sound he heard was their deep panting breaths as their tongues slid and danced together in a heated kiss.
It took all of his strength to push Breena back. His hands rubbed up and down her shoulders, trying to ensure her the problem wasn’t her. Whatever was going on, he knew she wasn’t a part of it. If Demus had really been there, he wouldn’t have mentioned taking her too if she’d been about to betray him, which meant something else in the world knew what he was and was coming for him.
“Breena, I know this will sound crazy, but I think it might be a good idea if we just went back to my world. My birthday is in two days. Let’s spend that time exploring us, exploring what we can do as a pair. Then we can come back here.”
The door slammed into the wall before she could respond. A sprite he had absolutely seen before charged in the room with two behind him, swords drawn. Dale growled low in his throat when he realized they were aimed at them. The men who Breena had saved him from before were back, and he was going to help her. His hands gently held onto the side of her face as he stared into her eyes and ignored the threat of silver glinting in the light.
“Breena, get back. The Queen has infiltrated your castle. You’ve saved me once. Let me show you I don’t need saving.” Tears filled her eyes, and he wasn’t certain what they were for. “I need you to believe me. Trust I can take care of myself. Like I trust you’ve changed.”
The small cry burst from her lips, and she slipped from his light grip onto the floor, her shoulders heaved.
“Well, I think you have some explaining to do then, Breena. I mean, clearly this human doesn’t know who we are. I think it’s time we informed him.” The man in front’s voice wasn’t exactly cruel, but it was deadpan, and he kept the tip of his longsword aimed directly at Dale’s throat – Breena had exposed him to the blade when she crumpled to the floor..
Dale’s eyes dashed between the men and the sprite sobbing at his feet. He squatted, completely ignoring the threat in the room, his attention was on Breena. Something was wrong with her. “Breena. Breena, are you all right? What’s he talking about?”
She looked up at him then, her brown curls spilling further down her back as her head titled. Her eyes were glassy, wet and more tears threatened to fall as her lip trembled, but she said nothing.
“Yes, Breena. Tell your human what is wrong. I don’t know who he truly is, but I know his majesty wants him, and you’ve had more than enough time to deliver him.”
Dale’s whole body tightened at the words, and the ground beneath them began to shake. His fear melted away into nothing more than anger. If he’d heard those words properly, then Breena had been using him from the start. He’d been nothing but a pawn to her, to Demus, to the man in the trench coat. If the Tanyan person hadn’t just lied, then everything between him and Breena had been a lie. Every kiss. Every touch.
“Tanyan, no!” Breena went from limp on the floor to springing into action in the blink of his eye.
She was all lithe muscles and battle ready as she struck out at the man she’d suddenly known by name.
Don’t judge her Dale. This man could be lying. It could all be an elaborate trick to turn us against one another.
He watched as her foot arched out and kicked the sword from the sprite’s hand. It clattered to the ground, and she wasted no time slamming her fist into his stomach. Dale didn’t know what to make of the other two in t
he room. They watched, sword hands twitching as she fought, but neither of them made a move to attack her or come closer to him.
Her hands tangled in the man’s shoulder length blond hair, and she quickly tugged down, taking his head with her hands. She leaned in and spoke clearly enough that Dale couldn’t help but hear.
“You forgot who you’re dealing with, Tanyan.”
She brought her knee up, and the cracking sound as it broke the man’s nose made Dale cringe a little. Blood dripped over her knee and onto the floor.
Dale let out a low whistle at the same time as the man laughed. “We were ordered not to kill you, Breena. Your father really didn’t want you harmed. But you’ve attacked me twice over this human, and while I won’t kill you, I don’t have to let this happen again.” He turned and acknowledged the two men in the room for the first time. “Do whatever you have to in order to bring him in. She’s failed, and I’ll deal with her.”
He lost control of his powers as he watched a slice appear, a bright red streak of crimson, across Breena’s arm. The slight trembling in the room’s floor escalated. He lost his own footing as three bolts of electricity shot from his right hand. The man closest to him hit the floor, a smoking hole in the center of his chest.
Dale couldn’t see anything as he crashed into the floor as well. A jolt of pain raced through him from his tailbone. His eyes watered with the sting, and he vaguely saw flames leaping out over his hands. Crystals and books flew off the shelves for the second time since they’d entered, and his cry of outrage as one slammed into Breena was the last sound he made.
Flames licked out over his arms and leapt from paper item to paper item on the floor he was laying on. They wasted no time claiming the body of the man he’d killed in a hungry blaze. Another item, what looked to be a wooden trophy, slammed into Breena, and she crashed to the floor, right in the flame’s path. The blood raced through his body like an erupting volcano, and he hardly heard the one called Tanyan’s orders.
“She’s out, take him now and get her safely out of her.”