by R. A. Rock
“Look, woman,” Tess said. “You can’t do this.”
“Yes, I think I can.”
“Let us out or I’ll…” Finn said and then stopped speaking. What could he do?
Sanndrah grinned. “There’s nothing you can do, Finn. You’re trapped.”
“Well, you can’t do anything either,” Tess pointed out. “There’s the Truce spell.”
“Mmm, that’s not quite true, though, is it, Tessa Callahan?”
“How do you know my name?” Tess said, suddenly wary.
“It happens to be on every Wanted poster in the kingdom.”
“Sanndrah,” Finn said. “You wouldn’t.”
“What? Turn you in? Oh, are you so sure?”
“Look, you shadows-cursed witch,” Tess started, clearly angry.
“Ah, ah, ah. Manners.” Sanndrah held up one slender finger. “I’d love to turn you two in. I swear. Just give me a reason.”
Her lovely eyes were sinister. She was dead serious.
“That wouldn’t make for a very pleasant Hundred Years Ball though, would it?”
“You wouldn’t do it,” Tess said, her tone certain.
“Oh, wouldn’t I?” The bitterness on Sanndrah’s face made Finn feel bad. “How would you feel if he loved you and left you, never contacting you again?”
Finn looked at Tess and her graceful eyebrows were drawn together, contemplating Sanndrah’s question. What she would do if Finn ever treated her that way. Finn grimaced, trying to think of a way out of this mess that didn’t end up with them in the Dark Queen’s dungeons.
“Come on,” he said, pleading with his former lover. “You knew it wasn’t forever, Sanndrah. And you enjoyed it.”
Sanndrah’s lips pressed together and she scowled at him. “I did agree to no strings attached,” she admitted. “But did you have to be so Shadows-cursed charming, Finn Noble? Why couldn’t you have been a jerk so that I could properly hate you? And forget you.”
Finn didn’t know what to say to that. “Sanndrah…”
“Do you really think I won’t do it?” Sanndrah said, the grudge that she had been holding against Finn showing all over her bitter face. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a hundred years.”
Tess looked convinced. “Maybe you would,” Tess said, holding her hands up. “Fine. You want to talk to Finn. Talk.”
“You should leave now,” Sanndrah suggested. “Find someone else who won’t break your heart. There’s lots of Fae men more handsome than him and that will be good at night but not leave you crying the next day.”
“I don’t think so,” Tess said, her hands curling into fists, ready to fight. “Go on. Say what you have to say.”
She met Finn’s eyes. He gave a little shake of his head and Tess’s shoulders sagged. She dropped her hands.
“But could we have this conversation without the magic prison, Sanndrah?” Finn said. “We’re all reasonable people here, aren’t we?”
“No,” Sanndrah said with a shake of her head. She crossed her arms on her chest. He wondered how much Elixir she had already had tonight. “We’re not.”
“Sanndrah, I give you my word that we will stay and you can have your say,” Tess said. “Please. Drop the force field.”
Sanndrah clenched her jaw.
“I swear I’ll hear you out, Sanndrah,” Finn added.
Her gaze jumped back and forth between Finn and Tess, until she finally dropped the fan, her whole body drooping. She gave a chuckle that was completely lacking in amusement. Then she picked up one of the metal balls, breaking the spell. The other three jumped into her hand and she put them back in the leather bag. She turned and stared at Finn, her face haunted.
“I’ve been dreaming of this moment for a hundred years. I’ve imagined tearing a strip off of you, Finn, so many times. And now that I can, I don’t know what to say.”
“Sanndrah,” Finn said, gazing into her eyes. “I really am sorry I hurt you. I never meant to.”
She seemed completely surprised and taken aback at this sincere apology. And Tess and Finn were quiet, wondering if they were going to get out of this that easily.
“Screw it,” she said. “Let’s drop it in the Chasm and forget about it. I guess I never really had a right to hold a grudge anyway.”
Over the silence in the room, there was suddenly a commotion outside.
“What’s that?” Tess said, drawing her tiny dagger from her boot. “Have you called the guard?”
“Nah, don’t worry about that. We hear it all week.”
“What’s going on?” Finn said.
“The Dark Queen’s soldiers are quartered down the hall. It’s the usual hunt for the crown.”
“For the crown?” Tess said, suddenly all ears. “What do you mean?”
“The Crown of Visions?” Finn chimed in.
“Of course,” Sanndrah said, not seeming worried in the least. She went to a cupboard and pulled out a bottle of cheap Elixir. She set it on the table and got three glasses, pouring a finger of Elixir in each. While she busied herself with the drinks, Finn whispered in Tessa's ear.
"She deals in information. Maybe we can find out about the Crown?"
Sanndrah walked across the room and handed a glass to Finn and Tess, keeping the last for herself.
“What do you know about it?” Tess said, obviously thinking they could find something out that might help them. “Isn’t it just a plain old magic crown?”
Finn turned his head to look at Tess. What was she playing at? Tess inclined her head a tiny bit towards Sanndrah. Oh, he understood. She was going to play dumb in the hopes that Sanndrah might give them more information about it. Sanndrah did love to feel superior, so it might just work.
Sanndrah gave Tessa a pitying glance. “Just a crown? This is the gift that the King gave the Dark Queen on the occasion of her being crowned queen of Ahlenerra.”
“And?” Tess took a sip and made a face. This Elixir was strong and tasted terrible. Probably it hadn’t even been made at the new moon. She set her glass back on the table.
“And it’s one of the most powerful magical objects ever created. Haven’t you heard?” She seemed surprised that they didn’t know. “It’s rumored that it’s a part of the spell to end the Severance. Along with the Scroll.”
Chapter 14
“Are you serious?” Tess demanded, still playing the part. “How do you know this?”
Finn could not believe he had ended up in Sanndrah’s room and at her mercy. But at least, she appeared to have forgiven him a little. Enough that she didn’t want to turn him in anymore. Now if they could just find out what she knew about the crown and get out of here and back to their room before midnight, he would deem the night a success.
“It’s common knowledge that the Crown of Visions is necessary to end the Severance, Curly,” Sanndrah said, with a shrug of her bare shoulder. She took a sip of her Elixir, swallowing it and closing her eyes in pleasure. “Where’ve you been living? Under a rock in the dragon lands?”
“It’s probably not a secret. But it’s also probably not common knowledge, either,” Finn contradicted. “Sanndrah deals in information. Like Izzie but darker stuff.”
“Ah,” Tess said, pretending she hadn't known this. “And is this good information?”
“All my information is good,” she said so suggestively that Finn wanted to roll his eyes. He had once found Sanndrah attractive. Chasm below, even a blind man would find Sanndrah attractive. But he wasn’t interested in her anymore.
“Sanndrah.” She was clearly enjoying knowing something they didn’t. Good. If that meant that she would tell them what she knew in order to feel smarter than them, that would work out in their favor.
“The Crown can do many things but, of course, it’s the Visions that are its main focus.”
“Visions,” Finn repeated.
“Yes. The Crown allows its wearer to see clearly. To understand. To know the truth.”
“It would be perfect for
a queen, I guess,” Tess said, looking thoughtful.
“Exactly, but not a good thing for your worst enemy to have,” Sanndrah said. “That’s why the King took it back from Ransetta at the time of the Severance and buried it here, supposedly.”
“Yes, we’ve heard that rumor,” Tess admitted, her gaze flitting momentarily to Finn’s shirt where the map that led to the crown was hidden.
“You’re not much to look at,” Sanndrah said, changing the subject. She raked her gaze over Tess. “Not sure why he’d take up with you.”
“All right, Sanndrah, you’ve said your piece and we have to go now. Thank you for telling us about the crown. It was very interesting.” He turned toward Tess. “We have just enough time to get to our room before midnight.”
“Fine,” Sanndra said, gesturing toward the door. “But I don’t know why you’d want to be inside at midnight. That’s when all the fun starts.”
Tess and Finn left the room quickly and, as soon as they were in the hallway, they twisted their rings and began to run. It wasn’t that what happened at midnight was so terrible. The spell of the castle simply removed every Fae’s inhibitions at midnight.
Yes, all inhibitions were gone. Social norms. Expectations. Traditions. All of it was gone from midnight to five in the morning. And yes, things got pretty wild.
He had to admit that he had liked having all that freedom when he was younger. He had found it titillating, exhilarating even. But at the age he was now, the most exciting thing he could think of would be to stay in his room with Tessa—forever.
Stars and shadows, had he really just thought that? Yes, he had. And he meant it, too. Finn could hardly believe it.
They tore straight through the wall and Tess dove straight up through the floor with a powerful jump, avoiding the stairs completely. Finn ran as hard as he could and dove through as well.
As the bonging stopped, he lay there on the floor, wondering if he had been hit by the spell or not. It seemed like not. He sat up and turned the ring to bring himself back. Tess was standing there, staring at him. She was so beautiful.
“You know, you’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen?” he blurted out. “And I want to lie with you so much.”
Whoops.
He clapped a hand over his mouth. “Did I say that out loud?”
So much for avoiding the spell.
“You did,” Tess said with more emotion than he had ever heard in her voice. “And I feel the same. What’s holding me back is that I also fear the repercussions if Ransetta ever found out that I cared about you.”
“What would she do?”
“Cut you into a thousand pieces, roast you, and then throw the pieces in the Broken Seas all in different sections so you could never, ever come back.”
He made a disgusted face. “That’s horrible. Why did you tell me that?”
“Obviously we were both hit by the spell,” Tess said. Then she giggled in a way that was completely out of character for her. “Finn, what I want to know is why we hold back so much?” Tess dropped to her knees beside him and grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “When we could let it all out?”
Finn shrugged. Then he got up and grabbed a bottle of Elixir from the cupboard and two wine glasses. Tess scooted back on the floor and leaned against the wall, her body looking loose and relaxed.
“I think that society would collapse if we all just did and said whatever we wanted.”
“You’re probably right,” Tess said, taking the glass of blue liquid. Finn poured another and then watched as she held it up to the light, studying the drink as its color shifted from blue to indigo to purple. He could smell the delicious sour-sweet scent of it. “It’s nice during the Hundred Years Ball, though.”
“I forgot how nice it is not to care about all the things I usually care about,” Finn said, leaning back against the wall beside her.
They sat and drank their Elixir in companionable silence for a few minutes. Tess finally spoke.
“Did you mean what you said in the tunnel when you thought you were going to die?”
Finn turned his head to look into her blue eyes. “I could get lost in your eyes,” he whispered, forgetting about the question.
“Finn,” she said, insistent. “Did you mean what you said?”
He studied her lips, wanting to kiss them more than he wanted anything else in life.
“Yes.”
She blinked as if she hadn’t expected that answer.
“Did you mean it, Tess?” he whispered.
She swallowed hard. “I did.”
He leaned back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. Tess loved him. A feeling of bliss spread through his body and he wasn’t sure if it was the spell or the words she had spoken.
“I’ve never felt about anyone what I feel for you, Finn. I’m just afraid the bubble will burst.”
“Is that why you’re holding back?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know,” Finn said with a shrug, holding her gaze. “It always feels as though you’re not showing your whole self to me. Like you’re keeping part of you back. Protecting yourself.”
“Does that bother you?” she said, searching his face.
“It just feels as though you don’t care about me as much as I care about you. Like you don’t want to commit.”
“And you do?”
Finn dropped his eyes toward the stone tiles. “I don’t know.”
“What would show you that I was committed?” Tess said, her eyes troubled.
“I don’t know. Obviously, you’ve saved my life a bunch of times. I know you care about me. But you don’t care enough to show me that hidden part of yourself that you don’t show anyone.”
“I want to show you. I want to commit to you. I swear, Finn.” She blinked back tears. “But I don’t know how.”
Aw, Chasm and Severance, she was going to cry. He couldn’t let her cry. He wanted to take away her pain. So, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.
She made a little sound of need and he pulled her into his lap, never breaking the kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and they were so close. Finn lost himself in her sweetness. Her body was soft. Her hot mouth tasted like Elixir. He threaded his fingers into her hair, which had fallen out in their race back to the Keeper’s quarters, tangling his hand in her curls so he could tilt her head and take the kiss deeper.
She broke away and kissed along his neck.
"I changed my mind about us not lying together," she whispered. "If you want to, then I want to."
She wriggled on his lap and, if he hadn’t had so much Elixir, he would have been hard as a rock. But there was no way he could lie with her tonight, no matter how much he wanted to. Then a thought occurred to him. He suddenly wanted to give her something. Something that would make her feel good. Maybe erase some of the pain he had seen in her eyes a few moments before.
"I want to," he breathed into her ear and she arched her back.
His hands explored inside her gown, finding smooth, bare skin. Tessa’s body was ready and he touched her, bringing pleasure. And when she finally cried out in bliss, he felt satisfied. Like he had done some good tonight.
“What about you?” she said when she was able to open her heavy-lidded eyes once more.
“Another time,” he said, kissing her forehead. “I had too much Elixir. I couldn’t possibly. Tonight was for you.”
She closed her eyes again and he knew she was falling asleep, so he carried her over to the bed, laying her on top and pulling a blanket over her.
Then he went back and got his glass of Elixir. He wouldn’t be able to sleep for a while. And he ought to take advantage of the plentiful supply of Elixir that the Hundred Years Ball spell provided. The rest of the century, Elixir was hard to come by. But not at the Ball.
He sat down on the couch and took a sip of the liquid that was blue as he brought the glass to his mouth and purple by the time he set it back on the table. Finn was thou
ghtful. He couldn’t remember the last time he had given pleasure without taking any. In fact, he was pretty sure it had never happened.
His mind was so full of thoughts that he couldn’t sort out any of them.
But there was one thing that was clear.
He loved Tessa.
And he was deathly afraid that she would be taken from him. If that happened, he didn’t know how he would ever survive it.
Because he was quickly coming to understand that he loved her more than life itself and he would do anything to keep her safe and happy.
Chapter 15
Tess shot straight up in bed when she awoke the next morning in the Keeper’s quarters. She had been having a dream about how they could translate the Scroll and she tried to remember but it slipped away as she woke up. Tess moaned and put a hand to her head, which was pounding. She blinked down at herself. She was in her clothes. And she felt strange.
What had happened?
She looked around. The clock read half past nine. Tess spotted Finn curled up on top of the bed in his clothes, too. An empty wineglass sat on the bedside table.
Then all of it came back in a rush.
They had been hit with the spell because they hadn’t been in their room before midnight. And she had said…
Tess tried to remember what she had said.
She was pretty sure she had said too much. That was certain. There were also hazy memories of Finn touching her. She blushed. But had they…
Tess slipped off the bed and went into the bathroom, stripping off her masquerade clothes and getting into the bathtub that was just the right temperature. Shadows and Chasm, but she loved the Keeper’s quarters.
When she was clean, she wrapped a big fluffy towel around herself and went to the wardrobe. As she opened the door of the bathroom, it gave a loud creak and Finn started awake.
Predictably, he groaned and held his head.
“Morning,” she said.
“Morning,” Finn said, his voice sounding rough.
The spell caused its own hangover and then there was the fact that he had drunk nearly an entire bottle of Elixir himself. He was likely in more pain than she was. She pulled out an outfit of pants, boots, and a shirt that she would belt at the waist. Her usual style of clothes.