How long had we been gone? I tried to count, but the elf was right. It was hard to keep track when it was always night. “I hope we haven’t missed Christmas.”
“Christmas?”
“Humans celebrate that instead of Winter Solstice now. It’s a religious holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the son of God,” Connor explained.
“Which god?”
“God, god,” I said. “We date time B.C. and A.D. That means ‘Before Christ’ and ‘Anno Domini’, or after Christ’s birth. We’re in two thousand seven A.D. unless it’s two thousand eight now.”
“Interesting. Perhaps it’s the One God you speak of that some humans believe created the world. We heard of them before the Sundering.”
I nodded. “That’s Him.”
“The world existed before those humans latched onto that idea. Not that their ‘One God’ doesn’t exist, but if he caused the creation of the world, he left it alone afterward for millions of years. I believe it unlikely he’d return and the other gods wouldn’t know it.”
“How long have elves been around?”
“Far longer than humans, as have most races. Only shifters are younger than humans.”
“Cool. So did you see us crawl out of the ocean, or did we just appear out of nowhere?”
“Those are the theories?” Kethyrdryll chuckled. “Well, neither is correct. The first humans came from the stars, delivered from a great ship by strange beings of light. Humans were little more than animals then, but evolved as did other animals, at least to a point. Then they surpassed the animals and at that time, we began our acquaintance with them.”
My mouth had fallen open. I closed it. “Mind blown. We’re aliens?”
“If that means beings not natural to this planet, yes, though now, millions of years later, I suspect present-day humans cannot be considered ‘aliens’. Your species has been here too long to not be a part of the natural order of this world.”
Connor snickered, and we looked at him. “I’m going to guess there were some romances way back when, because elves have treated humans as near equals for as long as shifters can remember.”
The elf shrugged. “Possibly. All of that occurred well before the birth of any elf currently living. The eldest elves we have are merely in their fifth millennia.”
Elves were supposed to be immortal, but I’d seen one eaten by a god, and knew they could be killed. Logan had told me that beheading worked on most supes. Plus, elves had done their best to eradicate dark elves. “How long can elves live?”
Kethyrdryll’s expression brightened. “We don’t know. Historical records indicate some of our ancestors lived nearly a million years—and by the way, we did crawl out of the ocean, Lady Discord. Or some groups of us did. Others stayed, evolving differently. It’s all quite fascinating.”
“Yeah, it is.” My head was spinning, trying to fit his information into place with what I’d been taught and what humans had believed for so long.
Though there was a group that believed we’d been planted here by aliens. They called it the “Seeder Theory” or something. Apparently, they were right.
“Can you explain what magic is in terms that won’t make my head explode?”
“Energy. Some of us have always been attuned to it, and others have become attuned to it. Those who are attuned can use that energy to manipulate the world around them.”
My head didn’t explode, because his explanation was simple and made sense. “But not everyone can just do it. Witches...“
“Like much of life, there are levels to magic. Some require aids, others do not. For example, I must visualize or focus by using words. A witch must do the same, but needs the assistance, or favor, of a god to achieve results.”
And psychics?”
“Far more attuned. You think and do. You’re natural energy conduits, hence the term ‘natural mages’. Though of course, even your kind has levels, those who can conduct more energy than others.”
All of it actually made loads of sense, and sort of chilled the “it’s scary” feeling I’d had since waking up from my coma. But it raised a huge question. “If we’re natural conduits, how come the Sundering stopped us from being able to do anything?”
“That was the genius of Olven’s spell. It drew all of the energy we’re able to manipulate, and wound into a...well, a ball. That ball,” the elf smiled, “Bounced a bit out of step with the world.”
I had to think about that for a minute. “So all the magical energy was out of sync.”
“The majority of it, yes. I said all, but some had to tether the rest to the world.”
“Okay.” That explained the brownie excursions. “I guess the Melding was because the ball stopped bouncing? Came back into sync?”
“Yes. Nature doesn’t enjoy being divided in such a manner for long. Olven’s spell was a masterpiece. There were many discomfited that a human was the solution to saving our world.”
“I’ll bet.” Olven had been human. Another thought occurred to me. “Um, the demon realm didn’t sync completely.”
“As it should not. Different energy, though similar in some respects. It bounces at a slightly faster rate, and always has.”
“Oh.” Did “faster” mean David’s theory that demons saw time differently was right? “When we get home, I want you to meet a friend of mine. His name’s David, and he’s a witch. He’s really smart. I think you two will like each other.”
“I’ll be honored to make the acquaintance of any you call friend.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that, and decided to smile and concentrate on eating dinner.
NINETEEN
Before bed, I wanted a soak in hot water, but had barely slipped into the tub when a howl sounded.
Leandra howled in the main room, and I climbed out, grabbing for a towel. The hangings between the bath and main chambers fought my attempts to go through. The howl sounded again, closer, and I stopped to listen.
I knew who was howling, and couldn’t believe it. “That’s Leglin.”
The hangings finally cooperated, letting me through. Both men looked at me. Connor grinned. “You can’t go outside in a towel.”
“Don’t leave without me.” Ducking back through the hangings, I found clean clothes waiting. After drying and dressing, I went back out to grab my gloves and coat. The guys were suited up and ready to go.
Out we went, into a light snowfall. Kethyrdryll opened the thorny barrier and we heard Leglin howl again. Leandra howled back and ran ahead, disappearing from sight before anyone could call her back.
“Uh-oh.”
We ran after her, following her paw prints in the snow. The two hounds traded howls, locating each other. By the time we caught up with Leandra, she and Leglin were bouncing around each other like a couple of puppies, their tails blurring the air.
“Leglin!” I ran a few more steps, and my hound spun around, his ears perking.
“Mistress!” He came to me, and I bent to hug him.
“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to call you here.”
“I am well. I heard your calls, but this is a strange realm. I cannot travel as I should be able to.” Leglin licked my cheek, his tail thumping the ground. “You found my mother and her master.”
“Sort of.”
“I found someone too.” Leglin turned. “Here they come.”
“Selwin,” Kethyrdryll said. “She has a rider.”
Connor jogged away, going to meet the horse. “It’s Logan!”
Logan was barely conscious, half-frozen, and wearing the horse’s blanket as he clung to her neck. We hurried back to the pavilion, the hounds leading the way. After they helped Logan off the horse, Kethyrdryll took Selwin into her stall, and Connor carried Logan into the pavilion.
“Put him in my room.” Logan’s guestroom didn’t exist right now. I went in first, to pull the covers back and helped Connor untangle Logan from the horse blanket. We tucked him in, propping him up with pillows, and Connor moved
the brazier closer to the bed.
Logan slowly blinked. There were still punctures across his stomach and back. They weren’t bleeding. I bit my lip. “Maybe we should put him in the bath. It’ll warm him faster, and we can clean him up at the same time.”
“Okay.” Connor hauled Logan upright again, ignoring the older man’s groan. “You’ll feel better soon.”
I forgot Logan was naked until we lowered him into the tub, and I stepped away for a second to stretch my lower back. He was relaxing, his arms uncurling, his back and legs straightening, so I was treated to a full frontal view. If not for the puncture wounds, the view would’ve been amazing, and I may have blushed more than I did.
Because of the holes, I focused on business, instead of drooling over him, and grabbed a couple of towels. Logan began shivering as I knelt beside the tub. Dropping one towel in the water, I put the other behind his neck and head. The second towel had soaked up water, sinking below the surface.
I tried not to look or touch while spreading the towel out and tucking one edge under his butt. Connor smirked at me while tucking the towel on the other side. “Humans think about sex too much.”
“You can shut up now.”
He laughed. “You do. Must be because you wear clothes all the time.”
“Probably.” I picked up a bathing sponge and wet it to wipe Logan’s face.
He mumbled and opened his eyes. I smiled. “Hey.”
Logan mumbled again, his eyes slowly closing. I glanced at Connor. “What did he say?”
“I think it was ‘my queen’.”
“Poor guy’s delirious. Must think I’m Terra.” I finished cleaning Logan’s face.
“Guess so.”
“How long should we leave him in here?”
Connor put his hand on Logan’s shoulder. “Until his temperature’s normal.”
“What about the bite wounds?”
“They’ll heal without help, once his temp’s normal and we get some food into him.”
“Okay.”
Kethyrdryll slipped through the hangings. “How is he?”
“He’ll be all right,” Connor answered.
“How’s Selwin?” I asked.
“She is well. Her injuries have healed and she’s eating.”
“Good.” I made a note to take her a couple of apples. “Her blanket’s in my room.”
“Thank you.” He left.
“I’ll see about feeding the hounds. Yours is probably hungry.”
“Thanks. I’ll uh, make sure Logan doesn’t drown.” Connor left, and there I was, alone with someone who could accurately be described as a wet dream. Even if it wasn’t exactly what “wet dream” really meant, and there were holes in him that shouldn’t be.
I wiped down his neck and shoulders next. Logan’s eyes opened again, and his lips nearly formed a smile. “Are you in there?”
He blinked, and responded in a hoarse whisper, “Barely.”
“Coherency. Yay.” I patted his cheek, scruffy with a lack of shaving. “I bet you’re starving.”
“Could eat.”
“As soon as you’re warm.” His cheek felt chilled. I wet the sponge again, and wiped his face, as well as those bits of him that were exposed above the lightly steaming water. “They thought you were dead.”
“You didn’t?”
“No,” I agreed. “I didn’t. You have nine lives, remember? Though you’re down to six now, by my count. Need to quit spending them so fast.”
Logan chuckled. “Sorry.”
“You should be.” I leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “Quit scaring me, damn it.”
“Saw you.”
“What?”
He shivered. “Pulled me out of the river.”
“Um, no...” Was he delirious? “I haven’t seen you since the drake snatched you in mid-air.”
“I saw you,” he said, his voice firmer and less hoarse. “Couldn’t pull myself the rest of the way out. You came.”
“Logan, I swear,” I paused, something trying to surface. “I didn’t... wait. I had a dream that night.”
“White Queen.” He blinked. “You were a White Queen.”
Chills ran through me, lifting every tiny hair on my arms and the back of my neck. His words triggered a clear recollection of hanging in darkness, a circle of tigers around me. “I think I was a tiger in my dream.”
“You pulled me away from the river and helped me shift. Warmed me. Then you were gone and the horse was there.”
I can’t leave him.
I’ll send another to watch over him. You need to wake the Unseelie, and soon.
Water splashed as Logan began to sit up. I planted my hand on his chest. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
He subsided. “You looked scared.”
Of course I did, finding a mostly forgotten dream had been real. “Did you see anyone besides me?”
“No.”
“And I was a tiger?”
“A White Queen with green eyes.”
“My life is unbelievably strange.”
He blinked. “It was you.”
“Apparently so.” I frowned, trying to remember more of the dream. “We wanted to look for you, but the horse was hurt and a blizzard started. When I went to sleep, I was in my house. The river was in the attic. There was a drake, then I found your car and it took me for a ride. Really weird stuff went on. But the weirdest is I dreamed of becoming a white tiger and found you on the river bank, and you frigging saw me.”
“Gods?” Logan had some color in his face.
I shrugged. “No clue. Whatever it was, the important thing is that you’re alive and back with us.”
“Because of you.” He smiled. “Always one-upping me.”
I returned the smile. “You’re definitely feeling better.”
“Yeah.”
I touched his shoulder, then his forehead. Both felt cool, but not chilly. “Okay. I’ll send Connor in to help you out and into some clothes. Dinner and bed after that.”
“I might still be cold.” He shivered, but the corner of his mouth quirked.
Tapping his nose with my finger, I looked him in the eyes. “If you want snuggling, say so.”
“I want snuggling.”
“Then there will be snuggling.” I stood and grinned. “May take a little while to convince Connor, though.”
“I can get out of the tub.”
I laughed and hurried out. “Connor, would you please help Logan?”
“Sure, but the snuggling thing isn’t happening.”
“Oh, come on. Cats love to snuggle.” I blinked, realizing the hounds were lying in front of a fireplace, and that wall of the pavilion had turned into stone. “We’re redecorating?”
Kethyrdryll came in from outside. “I thought it would be useful to have a larger source of heat this evening.”
Connor wiggled his fingers. “Magic.”
“Right. Good idea.”
TWENTY
Not too long passed before Logan had eaten his fill. I insisted on wrapping his wounds, even though nothing had begun leaking out of them. “Sorry, but they look yucky, and I really don’t want open wounds on my sheets.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He cooperated, lifting his arms to let me roll the linen bandages Kethyrdryll had provided around his middle. Done, I called Leglin to follow us; we went to my room. The other two had already gone to bed.
“Redecorated in here, too.” A large, rectangular cushion was in one corner, and my hound went to it. My cot had disappeared, replaced by a queen-sized bed on a wooden frame. A nightgown lay across the foot of it. “I’ll go change.”
“Okay.”
When I returned, Logan was already in bed with his eyes closed. I quietly slipped in next to him, and the magical lighting began to dim.
I rolled onto my side and found his hand under the covers.
“Not exactly snuggling,” he said when I put my hand over his.
“You have holes.”
> “They’re healing.” He turned his head to look at me. “Just don’t touch them.”
“You really want snuggles, huh?”
“Yes, please.”
“Okay.” I scooted closer and he moved his arm. A minute of arranging, and I was mostly against his side, my arm across his chest, my head on his arm and a pillow. “Better?”
“Your knee’s poking me.”
I bent my leg and let it rest on his. “Now?”
“Much better.” He kissed my forehead. “Here we are, in an elf’s bed again.”
“Guest bed.”
“Guest bed,” he repeated. “I’m curious.”
“About what?”
“If we’ll ever be in one of our beds together.”
I felt my face grow warmer. “Well... We’re breaking the snuggle barrier tonight, so no telling what the future might bring.”
“That’s a maybe. Right?”
More like a definite yes, but I didn’t want to say that because I wanted to do things without rushing into anything. “Right.”
“Maybe’s good,” he said. “I like ‘maybe’ when you say it under these conditions. I like that we’re breaking the snuggle barrier, too.”
Boy, so did I. He’d warmed up nicely, his skin a few degrees hotter than my own. Perfect snuggling partner for winter.
“Are you sleepy?”
“A little.” Not really, since the image of him naked in the bath was on a loop in my mind.
“I’m not. Think I was out of it too much.” He moved his free arm and put his hand on mine. “Are you cold?”
“No. Just human temp.”
“Right.” Logan was quiet for a minute or so. “Do you think we can do this? Find a way back home?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good. I don’t like this place. Don’t like being so far from the clan. Especially from Terra.”
I gave a slight nod. “She’s going to need you around for a while yet.”
“Yeah, but I won’t be as busy.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Does Arcane Solutions have room for another employee?”
“You’d have to ask the boss, but I’d say chances are good.”
Logan’s hand moved, his fingers sliding down my forearm and back. “I’ll ask, unless you don’t like the idea.”
Frost & Bothered (Discord Jones Book 4) Page 16