Immortal Blood

by Magen McMinimy

  “Don’t play coy with me, Bain. You know I speak of the human.”

  “She has a name—it’s Isabelle, in case you’ve forgotten.”

  “I don’t need to remember her name. She won’t be with us much longer. Your sister and Cree are meeting with Darion as we speak.”

  Bain’s eyes narrowed.

  He hadn’t heard anything about Darion contacting Ro. Cree said he’d let Bain know if anything came up. He wasn’t sure he was ready to come face to face with Zander just yet. Physically, he could handle Zander, if he kept his wits about him. But while he wanted Izzy safe and getting her luck back would do that, he just wasn’t ready to let her leave here. Not after today.

  “That means nothing. Izzy will leave here when she’s ready to go, and no sooner.”

  “Once her luck’s restored, she will have no need to stay, and with Rowan meeting with Darion, it is nearly guaranteed he will turn Zander over. Then she will need to go.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything, Mother. Who I choose to spend my life with is my choice.”

  Lady Esperanza’s eye narrowed, taking on a glacial sheen. “Spend your life with?”

  Bain’s own eyes narrowed with the tone she used. “Maybe… I care about her… It’s more than that, I love her.”

  Lady Esperanza scoffed, “Please, Bain, don’t be ridiculous. You don’t love any of the women you bed. Your looks do you little service in that area. I’m your mother, and even I know you don’t love anyone but yourself, and certainly not this human.”

  Bain sat slack jawed, shocked and hurt by her words. His mother had never spoken so distastefully about him before.

  Was that really what she thought of the son she’d raised?

  “Don’t look so surprised. It doesn’t mean I love you any less. You’re my son.”

  “I’m done here,” Bain growled, and started towards the door.

  “Let me ask you one question first.”

  Bain looked over his shoulder at his mother.

  “What of her mortality? Will it hurt less if you let her go now, or if you stand by and watch her die the slow death of her race?”

  Bain didn’t answer. He had tried desperately not to think about it. There was no way for him to increase her longevity. Izzy would likely die somewhere in the next fifty to seventy years, if he was lucky. Of course, Bain hadn’t expected to fall in love with her, and worse, he hadn’t expected her to fall in love with him. And he was fairly certain what he felt wasn’t one sided.

  “That’s what I thought.” Esperanza’s eyes took on a cold stare. “I saw my granddaughter today. She said Daddy was spending the day with a pretty girl, but he promised she could go with him to the lake next time.”

  Bain’s eyes flashed. “Where are you going with this, Mother?”

  “How do you think it would affect Kyra if you allow this human into her life and she finds she loves her too, but has to watch her die?” she asked, spite all over her tone.

  Bain still had no answer. His mother was pulling out the one person who would always affect the decisions he made.

  “It’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all… Isn’t that what your precious humans say? I suggest you let loss come now rather than later.”

  There was hate in his mother’s words, and he couldn’t handle hearing another word from her mouth.

  “We really are done with this conversation, Mother. I’ll see you at dinner.”

  Bain was out the door and a few feet down the hall when he heard his mother’s parting words.

  “This conversation is far from over, Bain,” she called after him. “She is not the one for you.”

  ****

  “Are you okay? You’re uncharacteristically quiet,” Izzy said as she walked with Bain to the dining hall. She was dolled up in a black dress tonight, with a halter and a back slit in the floor-length skirt.

  “Yes.” He forced a smile as he looked down into her beautiful, dark eyes.

  Izzy frowned at him. “You don’t seem fine. You seem distant, and I got to tell ya, that worries me a little.”

  Bain dropped a kiss to her forehead. “Not distant, sweetheart, just distracted. But I think I have a solution, come on.”

  Bain steered her past the doors to the dining hall and past a few busy staff members. They moved through a large, arched door framed with bricks and entered the kitchen. Bain skimmed over the busy cooks and waiters, his eyes finally settling on Darnell.

  “Master Bain?” Darnell gave him a curious look.

  Bain let go of Izzy’s arm. “I’ll be right back.”

  Ten minutes later, Bain had a basket with enough food for the two of them, two wineglasses, and a nice bottle of Merlot to accompany their dinner.

  “What are we doing?” Izzy asked.

  Bain smiled at her. They were going to have dinner with just the two of them. They passed a large window with deep green velvet draperies. Bain stopped and, with one hard yank, had the material falling into his arm.

  Izzy gasped. “What are you doing?”

  “Trust me, sweet Izzy, you’re going to thank me later.”

  Once outside of the castle’s main keep, Bain handed Izzy the bottle of wine and the two glasses. He held the basket of food in one hand and tossed the velvet drapery over his arm. He pulled her against him as his wings opened and lifted them into the cooled night air.

  Bain set Izzy down on the hard, flat roof of the castle’s main keep. He set the basket down and laid the drapery out. With a smile and flourish of his hand, he gestured for her to sit. She shook her head and smiled as she sat down, hiking her dress skirt up a little and settling more on her hip than her bottom.

  “Aren’t you glad I grabbed it now?” Bain asked teasingly.

  Izzy smirked. “I suppose I am.”

  Bain sat next to her and laid dinner out for them.

  The night had the chill of fall in the air and, by the time dinner was done and the wine was nearly gone, Izzy was feeling that chill. Wine didn’t heat her body like most other alcohol did.

  “You’re cold,” Bain noted.

  She nodded, admitting, “A little.”

  Bain started to get up, but Izzy grabbed his hand to keep him sitting with her. She was cold, but she didn’t want to leave this evening to memories. This was the closest they’d come to having an actual date. It was romantic, and her mind kept re-playing the stories of the stars he’d shared with her.

  “I don’t want to go in yet,” she said softly.

  Bain smiled and pulled her to him, with her back pressed to his chest and his arms settling around her waist. He let his wings extend back out from his shoulders and wrapped them around her, cutting out the chill of the night’s cool breeze.

  Izzy had to admit that she found this part of Bain to be far beyond the beauty of his good looks. He was gorgeous, always, but something about his wings, their lightest shade of gold weaved into the white feathers… Well, there was something extraordinarily beautiful about them. There was something virtually angelic about him.

  Izzy ran a delicate finger over the soft down feathers. Each feather was velvety to the touch and not a single one looked the same; each was unique and mesmerizing.

  She felt Bain shiver behind her. She strained her neck to get a good look at his face. It wasn’t easy; her back was pressed tightly against his chest.

  “Did you just shiver?” she asked him.

  She noticed his eyes were glowing then, but he closed them and took a very audible, deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, he’d staunched the glow. Izzy studied him for a brief second. Something was up, but she couldn’t place it.

  Did it really surprise her that her touch would cause a shiver of pure lust to dance through his body? She looked utterly innocent as she asked, which just made her all the more alluring.

  “It feels good,” he whispered. “I’m unsure why the wings don’t bother you.”

  Izzy continued to stroke his feathers. “Because they’re be
autiful and a part of you. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve taken quite the liking to you.”

  Bain chuckled. “Yes, I had noticed.”

  “So then it shouldn’t surprise you,” she said seriously. “I love that you’re different. You are unlike anyone I’ve ever known.”

  Bain nodded. She loved that he was different; she loved the part of him that was otherworldly. She accepted the part of him he feared would frighten her. He dropped a small kiss to her cheek.

  “I will admit that they raise a few questions for me,” she said, absently stroking his feathers.

  “Like what?” he asked.

  “Like why they don’t rip your shirt? And if it hurts you when you spread them free of your shoulder blades?”

  “Ah, two very good questions, one of which I don’t have a good answer for. I don’t know why they don’t rip the shirt off my back every time. All I can say is that while they’re part of me, they’re the magical part of me.”

  Izzy nodded. “Not all things have to be explained. We lose too much of the mystery in life if we try to understand and explain everything. So does it hurt?”

  “No.” Bain shook his head softly. “No, sweet Izzy, it does not hurt.”

  “Good, I’d be mad at you if you had hurt yourself because I was cold.”

  Izzy turned back to look out over the view. The vantage point the roof provided was enchanting. Izzy let out a deep breath and settled comfortably against Bain’s chest.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “Where’s your brother, Rowan?” Lady Esperanza asked in a hushed voice as she leaned towards her daughter.

  Rowan smiled. There were a lot of people at dinner, and she hoped her mother wasn’t going to cause some sort of scene.

  “I believe he’s having a private meal with Izzy.”

  Esperanza scoffed. “With the human? Who told you that?”

  “Her name is Isabelle, Mother. Darnell said Bain came by the kitchen and got some food, Izzy was with him. So I made the leap and I’m guessing they’re off having dinner together.”

  “This is unacceptable. He needs to look at the big picture, not to mention that you—his leader and sister—just returned from meeting with Darion. He should be here showing his support.”

  “Let it go, Mother. I know Bain supports me. He deserves some time alone with Izzy, if that’s what he wants.”

  “What he wants may not be the best thing for him. That boy is out of his mind.”

  “That boy is over five hundred. I happen to think it’s sweet he finally cares about a woman,” Rowan said, her smile never faltering as her eyes drifted from her mother’s aggravated face to those of her guest.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Rowan. Do you honestly believe that Bain cares for her any more then he has for any of his other conquests? Besides, even if he does, this is by far the worst woman for him to decide to finally fall for. She is human. A mortal.”

  “This is not proper dinner conversation. This is Bain’s choice, and he’ll have to decide what he wants to do.”

  “No, Rowan. If you care at all about your brother, you will help put an end to this nonsense. He’s asking to be hurt, and you, as his leader and his sister, should not allow it.”

  “We’re done discussing this, Mother. Darion is bringing Zander here tomorrow. Once Izzy is safe, we’ll deal with what Bain wants to do, but I happen to believe we should support him.”

  Lady Esperanza wasn’t going to leave Bain to make this decision—it was too important. He’d caused enough embarrassment over the years. She wasn’t going to allow him to put the final nail in the coffin so to speak. A human was not a suitable mate.

  “I believe I will take my leave of you all for the evening,” Lady Esperanza told them. They all stood, and Cree pulled her chair back for her. With steely goodbyes, she made haste from the dining hall, with one destination in mind.

  ****

  “Grandma!” Kyra squealed as she rose from the floor, leaving her crayons and paper to run to Lady Esperanza.

  Lady Esperanza loved her granddaughter, as much as she loved her own children. That was why she couldn’t let Bain make this mistake. She was his mother and, as such, she knew best.

  “Hello, darling.” Esperanza hugged Kyra briefly. “What masterpiece are you creating?”

  “It’s Daddy,” Kyra said proudly, grabbing up her picture and handing it to her grandmother to admire.

  “Why yes it is, and you’ve done a very lovely job. Is that you with him?”

  Kyra nodded. “Yep, we’re going to the lake, just like Daddy said. I couldn’t go today, but he promised next time I could go with him and his friend.”

  “That’s nice, darling. Perhaps it will be just you and Daddy.”

  Kyra smiled, and Esperanza smiled back at her before setting her gaze upon Kathleen.

  “We need to talk,” she told her.

  Kathleen knew that tone and while she owed Esperanza nothing, she was not naïve enough to try and tell her no.

  “All right, give me a minute,” Kathleen told Esperanza. “Kyra, it’s time to take a bath and get ready for bed, so I can talk to your grandmother.”

  Kyra sighed, but shuffled down the hall to the bathroom, with Kathleen on her heels. Esperanza moved into the kitchen, turning on the stove to heat a kettle of water.

  Kathleen returned a few minutes later. Once Esperanza heard the familiar sounds of her granddaughter playing in her bath water, she set her steely eyes on Kathleen and started in.

  “You met the human today?”

  Kathleen’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Yes, Bain was with her earlier. Kyra ran into them while out playing.”

  “Well, my son is under the delusion that he loves this female, and that simply won’t do.”

  Kathleen moved to the cupboard and pulled out two mugs. She then grabbed two tea bags and poured the heated water into them. This conversation was going to take on a very uncomfortable edge. She placed one of the mugs in front of Esperanza and took her seat across from the cold-eyed Fae woman.

  Kathleen sat silently for a second, sipping on her tea. She hated the thought of Bain loving someone else, but she had accepted their relationship long ago. They were friends, and that was it.

  “I’m not sure what that has to do with me,” Kathleen finally said.

  “I can’t allow this to go any further, and you, my dear, are going to help me put a stop to it.”

  Kathleen was actually frightened. Whatever Esperanza had in mind, was concocted with a touch mania.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Bain was stiff as he escorted Izzy to Rowan’s study. Darnell had woken them early this morning, letting them know that Rowan needed to see them immediately.

  “Do you think it’s Zander?” Izzy asked as she struggled to keep up with Bain.

  Bain answered with a grunt.

  Izzy stopped and waited for Bain to finally stop and look at her.

  “What are you doing?” Bain asked.

  “I’m not moving until you talk to me,” Izzy said stubbornly. “There has been something wrong with you since yesterday. Talk to me.”

  Bain’s face melted, the stern man on a mission look fading and a small smile taking place of it. He walked back to her and pulled her to him.

  “I’m sorry, Izzy. I’m just distracted and, trust me, I realize what a dick move it is after yesterday. My mother is a difficult woman, and she has her hooks in me. And yes, I believe Darion and Zander have graced us with their presence.”

  “What did your mother do?” Izzy asked.

  “Nothing you need to worry about, sweet Izzy. Now let’s go see what we can do to help you.”

  Bain laced his fingers with hers and walked at a much slower pace, allowing her to keep up with him.

  ****

  Bain held Izzy’s hand tightly as he scanned the room. Cree was there of course, standing close to Rowan. Darion sat smug as ever. His crown covered most of his brown hair, but his eyes were that same startling silver color t
hey always were, lending an air of evil to his appearance. Bain’s gaze landed on the tall, irksome man who lurked in the shadows at the far corner of the room.

  Zander smiled at Bain. “Hello, Bain, I see you survived our little scuffle the other night.”

  Bain glared at him.

  “Ah beautiful Isabelle, I had hoped you would survive. It’s a shame you won’t be around in a hundred years. You were a sweet one to feed from. So much pure, undiluted luck… it was like ambrosia.”

  “Shut up,” Bain growled low and dangerous. “You don’t get to talk to her.”

  “Darion,” Rowan warned the Dark Fae leader.

  He scoffed and raised a silencing hand towards Zander. “That’s enough, don’t prod him. Give the girl what we agreed upon. I’m ready to return to my lands.”

  Zander pushed off the wall and looked to Cree. “Hold on to him.”

  “Why?” Bain asked.

  “Because I have to give it back the same way I took it. I plan to at least enjoy myself while giving up my luck.”

  Bain growled louder this time. “It was never your luck.”

  “Come on, big guy,” Cree said. “You don’t need to watch this. I believe your mother wants to see you.”

  Bain glared at Cree. “I’m not leaving her alone with him.”

  Izzy was completely with Cree on this one. She didn’t want Bain watching her kiss another man, but she understood what was going to happen here. She was going to have to let Zander kiss her in order to get her life back.

  “Bain, it’s all right. Go see your mother.”

  His eyes narrowed on her, but she smiled.

  “Not until you get Kale and Uriah or Lothar in here. I won’t leave either of them alone with these two.”

  “You got it,” Kale spoke up from behind them, Lothar at his side.

  Bain pulled Izzy to him, slamming his lips to hers in a passionate, bruising kiss. He kept his eyes locked on Zander, making the kiss a statement of possession. Izzy knew what Bain was doing, but she didn’t mind him claiming her. Although she felt a little exposed kissing him like this in the presence of his sister and brothers, not to mention the Dark Fae leader. Izzy dropped her face, pulling her lips from Bain’s before the kiss turned into something more and she tried to jump him right there.