by Inara Scott
“I don’t understand,” she said. “You’re working a job you hate just to keep an eye on your brother?”
“I never said I hated the job.”
“You said—” She realized he had apparently lost interest in their conversation and was examining her face with a new intensity.
“I don’t know quite what to make of you,” he said. “I expected you to be lying in a bubble bath, not under a plant getting bitten by mosquitoes.”
“I used a lot of DEET,” she replied, unsure how to respond.
He chuckled. “Smart girl.”
Suddenly, there was a sound like the shriek of a child, but louder, with more intensity and strength. It started low and rang out and echoed across the garden. Kaia jumped, her hand coming to rest on Garrett’s arm. “What’s that? Is that Lexi?”
He caught her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “It’s only a peacock. Nothing to worry about. Portia keeps them to catch snakes.”
Her sudden lurch of the heart slowed, only to be replaced by a new sensation, a new rush of blood to the surface of her skin where his warm fingers brushed against hers.
“It’s a terrible sound,” she whispered, her throat tightening.
He frowned in the direction of the invisible peacock. “I’ve always hated them. When I was a kid, I would wake up terrified by their screaming. In Chicago, where I lived before I came to the Manor, if you heard something screaming at night, it wasn’t a peacock.”
Kaia wrapped her fingers more tightly around his, struck by the moment of bleakness, the hint of vulnerability she had never seen in him before. Like lightning it disappeared, replaced by a cool sensuality. He tugged her gently forward until she tumbled, off-balance, into his chest.
Kaia sucked in a breath. Every time she thought she had her feet under her, Garrett knocked her off balance. He was like a shapeshifter in human form; there was so much lurking underneath his surface, but she had no idea how to access it, much less control it. She forced herself to relax, to lean into him, but her heart was thumping fast and she could no longer control her physical responses. She didn’t know if the feeling in her stomach was panic or desire, but she suspected it was both.
“I can feel your heart beating,” he said, his voice a low rumble in his chest. “What are you scared of, Kaia?”
What could she say?
I don’t know?
You?
She watched a muscle flex in his cheek and felt the steady beat of his heart under her hands. She pressed the palm of her hand against his chest as she came to her feet, her knees unstable.
“I should go,” she said, even though she knew she should stay. She should try to use this moment to seduce him, to tempt him with her body, imperfect as it was, but she didn’t know how to control this feeling inside of her. She hadn’t expected to find him here, in the garden, and she hadn’t expected to feel so raw and vulnerable.
Tomorrow would be better, she promised herself. She would be in control tomorrow.
He turned away and picked up the sax, a low chuckle floating over his shoulder. A long, haunting note filled the still garden.
Kaia fled.
§
Garrett felt it the moment she disappeared. He forced himself to keep playing and to ignore the way the loss of her presence left him feeling somehow bereft. As if he had missed an opportunity he might never get again.
He hadn’t wanted to see her tonight. He wasn’t feeling like himself—he never did when he was at the Manor. Portia drove him to behave in odd ways, like pulling out his sax when he knew he should just have a drink and go to bed. And to see Kaia in the garden, to see her appear from under the plants like some kind of magical, woodland creature… well, it was obvious he’d been working too long. He was starting to lose his mind.
He blamed it on the need, this damn need that continued to pulse through him with a steady, thrumming beat, poisoning his mind and making it impossible to think clearly. He wanted her. Badly. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her all day, and the need to hold her, to feel her warm and pliant in his arms, had simply been too much. If she hadn’t pushed him away his body would have taken over and all his good intentions would have been for naught.
He needed distance. He needed to go to work tomorrow and forget about her. Forget about those incredible eyes, the long, smooth column of her neck, and the way it had felt when he buried himself inside her two weeks ago at the Avalon.
He would be in control tomorrow. And when he looked at her he wouldn’t have to battle this overwhelming need to pull her into his arm and kiss her senseless.
Yes, tomorrow would be better.
Chapter Eighteen
“Can we go find the faerie ring now, Kaia?” Lexi bounced up and down on a chaise longue beside the pool. The hot blue skies of morning had been covered by the usual afternoon storm clouds, providing some respite from the driving heat. A striped towel, wrapped around Lexi’s body sarong-style, covered her swimsuit. “Linda said if you go during the full moon, you can see the faeries dance. My dad won’t let me go at night so we should go now, don’t you think?”
Kaia looked around to ensure they were alone. Lexi had been talking all day about a little ring of mushrooms on the south side of the pond. She said Portia kept trying to destroy it, but the mushrooms kept growing back, sometimes by the very next day. Lexi had overheard a couple of the maids talking about it. They called it a faerie ring.
Kaia had been trying to distract Lexi, but the girl was relentless. Meanwhile, Kaia hadn’t seen Garrett all day. Though it was Saturday, Portia had loftily informed her at breakfast that Garrett was a busy man and had to work over the weekend. It was uncanny—at Good Sam, Kaia had been in a tiny room, but surrounded by masses of humanity. Here at the Manor she was in the midst of endless green, open spaces, but they were empty. Other than Lexi and the occasional maid, the Manor was frighteningly devoid of life.
“Faerie rings aren’t something to play with,” she said, her voice serious. “They’re real things—dangerous things.” Lexi’s eyes got big as Kaia continued, “A real faerie ring can take you to the land of the Fey, Lexi, and to Faeria.”
Lexi clapped her hands and squealed. “What’s that? What’s the Fey? What’s Faeria?”
“Faeries are a kind of Fey creature. There are lots of other Fey creatures, too—sprites, imps, pixies—but faeries are the most important. Faeria is like their castle, where their queen, Zafira, lives.”
“I want to see the faeries, Kaia. Can’t I go to Faeria?”
“No, honey,” Kaia said seriously. She didn’t know if a real faerie ring existed somewhere at the Manor—they were extremely rare, after all, and even the Fey didn’t know where they were all located—but if it did, she could not bear to think of little Lexi getting trapped in it.
Ordinarily, Kaia wouldn’t worry about whether a human child would wander into a faerie ring. But Kaia had never had an opportunity to get to know a human child before. Surprisingly, the creatures she thought were just smaller adults seemed more like an endearing species of their own. Lexi had an innocence Kaia had never seen before in a human—or in a faerie, for that matter. Even in the face of Portia’s disapproval, she was open and loving. She lived in a state of constantly changing emotions, her smile dropping like a rock when Garrett failed to appear at breakfast, and lighting up like a happy imp when Kaia offered her hand and walked with her to the stable to visit her pony, Sugar.
“Faeria is no place for humans. There are dakini and boggles and dark creatures who live there and can do terrible things to people. And once you’re in Faeria, only the Queen of the Faeries can release you. ”
“Oh.” Lexi sat still for a moment. “I didn’t know that. Are faeries mean, Kaia?”
“No, they aren’t mean. They just don’t like humans very much.”
“Why not?”
Kaia looked at the child, with her earnest face and bright blue eyes, so much like her uncle’s. “A long time ago, people tried
to control the faeries and make them their servants. A human king made a fool out of the faerie queen and hurt her feelings. People started building cities, cutting down forests, and putting houses on top of the places where the faeries used to live. All of that made the faeries sad. Now they don’t like it if you go into their world because it’s all they have left.”
“I didn’t know people hurt the faeries.” Lexi wrinkled her brow. “Can we just tell them we’re sorry?”
Kaia smiled. “I wish it worked that way.”
“Mrs. Burns says it’s important to tell people when you’re sorry. And it’s important to forgive someone when they say they’re sorry.”
“Who’s Mrs. Burns?”
“My old preschool teacher. She said sorry’s a very important word. When I spilled grape juice on Peter’s head because he took my ball, she made me say I was sorry to him, and she made him say, ‘I accept your apology.’”
“Mrs. Burns sounds very smart,” said Kaia, smiling at the girl’s serious tone.
“She doesn’t know about faeries. Neither does Aunt Portia or Uncle Garrett.”
“Well, they’re in charge here, Lexi. I’m just a guest. What they say goes.” Kaia spoke firmly, relieved to have an excuse to change the subject. She was on shaky ground saying as much to Lexi as she had. Zafira didn’t actually forbid the Handmaids from telling humans the truth about the Fey, but she didn’t encourage it, either.
A flash of khaki at the entrance to the pool deck alerted her to Garrett’s presence. The sight of his spare, broad-shouldered form sent a familiar shiver of nervous anticipation across her spine. She glanced nervously at her white string bikini—the only one she could find in the pool room—and the all-too-human body beneath it. She could only hope that Garrett would find some beauty in her long legs and narrow waist now that her lush curves had gone the way of her wings.
“Uncle Garrett!” Lexi dropped her towel and launched herself at him with a happy squeal. He threw her up in the air and caught her in a hug. “You’re back!”
“I decided to make an early day of it. What are you girls up to?” Garrett asked, setting Lexi down onto the chair beside Kaia.
“We were talking about faeries,” Lexi said. “Kaia knows tons about them, and they have a queen named Zafira, and there’s a faerie ring here at the Manor and we’re going to find it!”
“Lexi,” Garrett cut off her excited babble with a stern voice. “You know Portia doesn’t like it when you talk about faeries.”
“I know,” Lexi said, eyes downcast. “She says they aren’t real, and I shouldn’t believe in them or talk about them.”
Kaia cringed, imagining Portia saying the same sorts of things to a young, impressionable Garrett. In that moment, she saw a window into Garrett’s past and it left her with a deep well of anger for Portia.
He nodded. “That’s right. And the same goes for me. You mustn’t listen to those stories. There are no such thing as faeries, or faerie rings.”
“Mary said she saw a faerie ring by the pond,” Lexi said stubbornly. “She said Portia keeps trying to get rid of it, but it keeps coming back.”
Garrett rolled his eyes. “It’s just a bunch of mushrooms. You know how Portia is about anything that grows without her permission. There’s nothing magic about it.”
“I want to see it!” Lexi stamped her foot.
Garrett bent down, putting his hands on Lexi’s shoulders. “You’re not allowed near the pond. There are gators in there, and they aren’t friendly. You girls forget all about this faerie ring, all right?” He shot Kaia a serious look, and she had the idea that this wasn’t a joking matter. He turned back to Lexi. “Listen, I’ve finished my work for the day. What do you say we go get some ice cream?”
Lexi jumped up and erupted into a cheer. “Kaia, too? Is Kaia coming, too?”
Garrett’s jaw tightened. “I’m sure Kaia has other things she needs to do.”
Lexi clasped her hands together and turned to Kaia. “Oh, won’t you come? Please?” she implored.
Kaia backed away. The thought of imposing herself on Garrett and Lexi left a bad taste in her mouth. “No. You go along. I need to take a shower.”
Garrett did not argue, but watched Kaia speculatively. “Lexi, why don’t you run and change before you go? You can come find me in the front hall when you’re ready.”
Lexi shrieked a happy assent and bounced off. Garrett watched her go and turned back to Kaia. He looked pointedly at her bikini-clad figure. “I think you’re burning.”
Kaia adjusted the string around her neck. She’d layered the sunscreen on that morning, and again after lunch, but after hours in the pool her shoulders and chest were starting to turn a delicate shade of pink.
“Thanks,” she muttered, snatching her T-shirt from the back of her chair.
“Portia doesn’t like make-believe,” Garrett said, as she tugged her T-shirt over her shoulders.
“I see.”
“She thinks it’s akin to lying. Portia doesn’t like to be lied to.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kaia asked, her lips tightening.
“Nothing,” he said. “I just thought you should know. She isn’t a pleasant enemy to have.”
“Thanks for the warning,” she snapped. “I’ll try to remember that.”
She picked up her bottle of sunscreen and towel and turned toward the house.
He sighed. “You might as well come for ice cream.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Lexi wants you there,” he said.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the first cool breeze of the day stirred the hair around Kaia’s face. She turned toward it and closed her eyes. “You don’t, and Lexi will figure that out. She’s a child, not an idiot. And frankly, I don’t have the stomach for being humiliated in front of her.”
She should have thrown herself at him and begged him to take her with them, but she was hot and tired. After their conversation the night before she had hoped maybe some barriers between them had broken down. The fact that they hadn’t left her frustrated and angry.
The smile froze on his face. “I never said I didn’t want you to come, and I certainly had no intention of humiliating you in front of her.”
She pushed past him, heading for the back door of the pool enclosure. “Whatever.”
He grabbed her arm, staring down into her face with an odd, tight expression. “How long were you at the shelter?”
She shook her head, confused. “What?”
“The shelter. How long were you at the shelter?”
“About a week.”
“And before that?”
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
“What was your husband’s name? Where were you married? Why were you in Miami that weekend?” The questions flew at her in quick succession. “There was no plant conference. I checked.”
A nervous, edgy feeling sprouted in her stomach. “I thought you promised Rachel you’d stay out of it.”
“I said I wouldn’t send out my man. I never said I wouldn’t ask questions.”
Kaia tightened her towel around her waist and thought about what the imp had said about the information she should and shouldn’t give. “I did a lot of traveling after Charlie died. I made up the story about the conference because I didn’t want to talk about what was really going on. We lived in Arkansas.” She figured he’d get that much information from Rachel, at least. “I don’t owe you any more explanations.”
“You can’t expect to tell me a story like that and not have me ask questions.”
“Well, you can’t expect me to answer questions like that just because you don’t trust me. It’s my life, and if you don’t believe me, it’s your business.”
He sighed impatiently. “I’m not exactly asking for a blood oath. Just some basic information. Where you were born. Your real name. When you were married. If you’re telling the truth, I’ll leave you alone.”
A wave of desp
air passed over her. He wasn’t going to let go of this. He didn’t trust her and never would. How could she capture his heart if he was convinced she was a liar? “I don’t have to prove anything to you.”
“I need to know that you won’t lie to Rachel or Ted. They’re good people, and I can’t let you hurt them.”
“I just want to start over,” she said, feeling the irony in the dual truth of her words, as Kaia the Faerie’s need for redemption intersected with Kaia the Human’s need for rebirth. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
The breeze came again and she leaned into it, pressing the backs of her hands against her hot cheeks. More lies, of course. Hurting him was exactly what she had to do. She had no choice. She answered to Zafira, and Zafira had commanded it. If she wanted to come out of this horrible experience with her wings intact, she had to press on.
“Tell me the truth. Tell me the truth and I’ll leave you alone.”
“I already did,” she said stubbornly.
He opened his mouth as if to say more, but closed it again and gave a short, tight shake of his head. “Fine,” he said. “You’re expected at dinner. Don’t be late.”
§
“She is playing a dangerous game.”
“We will have her wings before long.”
Kaia blinked and jerked to sitting, pulling the thin cotton blanket over her breasts. Less than an hour before, she’d left Garrett and gone to her room to sleep off the long day, drawing the blinds tightly against the afternoon mix of sun and clouds. Now, a trio of dark forms clustered in the corner of the room, three shadows illuminated against the blank walls.
“Who’s there?” she called, though she knew the answer.