“You are all free. Each and every one of you,” she added for good measure. “I hope that at least some of you will choose to stay as we need an army to guard our gates, but none of you,” she emphasized, “are prisoners here.”
A low murmur began throughout the room, and it exploded into a loud burst of voices as she turned back to face Samuel. Her temper still burned inside of her, even in the face of his stunned expression.
“These are guards not slaves. We, my sisters and I, have always been the true prisoners here.”
This time when she made her way down the hall, Samuel made no move to follow. Slamming the balcony door closed behind her with more force than necessary, she looked around for something she could take her anger out on. Her eyes landed on Thomas. Her fury drained away at the sight of him.
His brown hair was short but it curled right behind his ear—so many times she had wanted to wind that tiny curl around the tip of her finger. That was the first thing her eyes latched onto. He was sitting with his arms crossed over his massive chest, and even in his relaxed pose, his muscles flexed as if ready to spring into action.
His appearance was a surprise, but not an unpleasant one, and hope surged through her. She tried to stamp it down at the guarded look on his face.
He waited until she took the seat across from him before speaking.
“I’ve asked Gideon to take my place guarding the mirror, after all.”
A smile grew in Katrina’s heart but she didn’t dare let it grow to life. “Are you coming home, then?”
Thomas shook his head. He hated admitting that he was wrong, but this was one of those times. “I realize now that I was only being stubborn by turning him away, and as much as I love Tam, this is your decision.” He took a deep breath as the words caused a profound pain to slice through his heart. “If you do not want me as one of her guardians any longer then that is your right.”
“It’s not that!” Katrina cried, taking him by surprise.
His brow furrowed in confusion. “Truly, I don’t understand you,” he admitted. “You send someone to replace me, but not because you want to replace me. What do you want from me?”
Coming to her feet, Katrina gripped the arms of his chair and bent to hold his gaze as she answered. “I want only you.”
The honesty in her words shocked him to the point that he did not see the kiss coming until her lips were already against his. By then, it was too late for him. Thomas had never been able to deny her anything, and this contact of skin on skin was no different. He couldn’t lie to himself and say that he did not equally desire this connection between them. The taste of her mouth combined with the longing in his gut was the same as being strapped to a chair while forced to stare at a smorgasbord of his favorite treats. He was a starving man unable to eat a single bite. Her tongue brushed his and a moan grew inside his throat. He wasn’t a fool. He knew that she would allow him to enjoy her body, but what of his soul afterwards? He knew the answer. He would be enslaved and end up standing guard at her gate as she choose a worthy male, as she should.
With one last deep stroke for memory’s sake, he pushed her away, and moved to stand against the wall. It was a fitting position to mirror his inner turmoil of always feeling backed into a corner with her.
“You do not choose me then,” she mused aloud, but her golden-eyes flashed with a passion the words lacked.
He ground his teeth against the screaming inside his head.
“I am not your equal.”
“No one is my equal,” she burst out before tempering her voice. “I have no equal, so I should be alone, is that what you’re saying?”
His temper snapped. “You should have a god, or a king. I don’t know what. I know that you should have someone worthy of you.”
“I should have a god, should I? One like Tam’s father, do you think?” Without waiting for his answer, she continued with her rant. “I suppose I am only worthy of a man who would use me for his own gain and then turn his back on me as if I am nothing. I want a man who loves me.”
Her confession left him stunned. “Tell me that you don’t love me and I will never darken your door again or demand your presence here. I swear it.”
He could not. If she asked anything else of him, he would willingly do it, but he could not tell her he did not love her.
“Say something,” she commanded.
He broke at her words. Spinning on his heel, he slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a gaping hole. Keeping his back to her in fear of his own fury, he asked, “What would you have me say? Do you wish to hear that I am dying without you, because I am? Do you want me to tell you that I will never love anyone other than you? That is true also, but I can give you nothing. I am no one. I am ... nothing.”
His eyes closed as the words fell from his lips. Why could she not leave him to his numb emptiness? It seemed she would not be happy until he bled. Why did she not want more out of life than a slave?
Katrina stared at his heaving body in shock. There was so much emotion locked inside him, and she had done this.
Without thinking, she closed the distance between them and touched her lips to the bare skin between his wings. Snaking her arms around his waist, she held tight, half expecting him to bolt.
His muscles tensed beneath her fingers, but he made no move to pull away.
Katrina squeezed her eyes against the pain that grew inside her. She pressed her cheek against his spine but didn’t loosen her grip.
“You can walk away from this place and do whatever you want with the rest of eternity. The universe is your oyster, as they say. I’ll never have that. My duty is my curse, and my cage.”
His muscles relaxed beneath her touch. She wanted to somehow make him love her. She wanted to force him to stay here in the heavens. She couldn’t do either of those things. Instead, she pressed her lips to his back once more and released him.
“I’m sorry for clinging to the dream of you for so much longer than you deserved. Be free and happy, my love,” she told him. He turned until they stood toe to toe.
“I’ve created my own version of hell.”
His confession brought her astonished gaze to his. The shock of what she saw froze her to the floor. His image shimmered, replaced by one that she could never forget. Soft green eyes that mirrored her daughter’s, shined out at her before returning to the sweet brown gaze that she’d become accustomed to over the years. She gasped, before covering her mouth to smother the sound.
“Oh dear gods. How?” she stuttered, unable to finish the question.
“I had to keep you safe,” he explained. “I needed to know that you and my daughter were protected.”
His gaze pled for her to understand. He took a deep breath as if bracing himself for his confession. “I have loved you since we first met, but no one would have believed me capable of it. Your home,” he said waving his arm at their surroundings. “It would have never known peace. Every turn of luck in my favor would have caused whispers amongst the other gods. This was the only way that I could watch over you, the only way I could be with you even if I couldn’t be with you.”
Katrina’s head spun.
“What better way than to be your guardian angel? I was a slave and a man beneath your notice.” He smiled wryly. “I should have known that it wouldn’t matter to you.”
“Tyr,” she began not knowing what she intended to say, but he shook his head.
“No. Tyr is gone. Always remember that.”
Katrina’s eyes fell closed and her nose burned from the tears beating at the back of her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest as if it could protect her heart. She’d believed herself abandoned, yet it had all been a ruse. He’d given up everything simply to be at her side.
“You rejected me,” she said. It was the one thing that stood out above all others. He’d been by her side all these years, but he’d rejected her body and her heart.
“I became a slave.” His voice hardened. “By the gods, Katrina.
You should have wanted more than a slave.”
Her eyes snapped open at the words.
“I wanted you,” she cried. “Tyr, Thomas, a God, a slave. It doesn’t matter. I still wanted you.”
“I wanted you to have more,” he said as if pleading for her to understand. “I’m sorry that I didn’t know how to make it right,” he said quietly as his image slowly disappeared.
She stared longer than she should have at the empty spot where he’d stood, but really, she had nothing else.
***
Resting his chin on his forearm, Freddie watched Tam try on a different pair of shoes. It was her tenth pair, and he wondered how long it would take her to figure out that he’d added a spell to the trunk. It would continue to produce as many shoes as she liked until she got bored with it. They’d enjoyed a pleasant meal with Freddie’s mother, but as soon as they were back inside his room, she went right back to pint-size. He found it funny that she thought she was safe to be herself in front of Astrid, but not while alone with him. Little did she know, Astrid would willingly tie her up to keep her there even faster than Freddie would.
“I can’t get the buckle to work right on this one,” she complained as she tugged at the strap of a ridiculously sparkling silver sandal.
“Let me help,” he offered. She grew to full-size in an instant. Perched on the edge of his desk, she set her foot in his lap when he pushed his chair back in order to give her more space.
Touching her way more than necessary, he ran his hand down her bare leg before cupping her foot and working his magic on the shoe’s clasp. With one finger still hooked into the strap, he dipped his head before she could guess at his intentions and touched his lips to her inner thigh. She immediately flashed back to pixie size and flew back over to the trunk. He hid a smile at her actions as he moved his chair closer the desk and went back to resting his chin on his arm.
He knew that she was guarding her heart against him, but he was content to simply be with her, no matter what they were doing.
She twisted at the waist and stared down the line of her body at the shoes.
“Mistress Katrina would love these.”
“I’ve heard you mention her several times before. Has she been a good friend to you?
Tam felt herself light up from the inside out at Freddie’s question. “She is wonderful. You would love her. Ever since I was little she has spoiled me rotten.”
“If she’s been good to you then I already love her,” he remarked, before adding, “I haven’t heard you say much about your childhood or your family.”
Tam closed the lid on the trunk and sat down on it, giving Freddie her full attention. His face was very close to her as he leaned on the desk watching her. She hid a girly sigh over his perfection. At five-foot-ten, Freddie was average height for a man, and his frame was slim, but damn, his body was a work of art with his hard lines and defined muscles. He had a way of looking at a person, a way that let them know he was completely focused on them, and boy was his focus something to remember. She forced herself back to the topic at hand, and because he seemed genuinely interested, she heard herself telling him about her childhood without any real thought.
“I am an orphan,” she explained. “There was a great war between the gods, and I was born in the middle of it. Samuel found me abandoned near the outer wall of the Hall of the Gods while on patrol one night. He took me in, and Mistress Katrina named him as my ward.”
A bright smile lit Freddie’s face causing his eyes to twinkle. “I bet it was hell keeping up with you when you can make yourself all small like that,” he said, pointing out her current size.
Tam giggled. “I was a teenager before I learned how to make myself all small like, but growing up with so many guardian angels around meant that I couldn’t do much, anyhow.”
Freddie snorted. “I’m sure. It seems strange to me that my sister’s husband is like a father to you.”
Tam thought that one over for a moment before shaking her head. “I don’t really think of Samuel that way,” she admitted. “I think it is because, despite what you know of him, Samuel can be a very naughty boy. It’s almost like he is a brother. Thomas has always been the one who was a bit fatherly.” She shook her head again. “I don’t know how to explain it. I can tease him as I would a friend, but he has an unbending side to him, as well.”
Freddie nodded. “Yep. That does sound like family.”
Sitting up straight, he stretched his arms wide, causing the bones in his back to pop loudly in protest. Instantly, Tam became full size.
“I’m so sorry. I’ve been making your back crick up.”
A half-smile touched his lips before he swooped in and pecked her on the cheek.
“It was totally worth it,” he told her as he pushed his chair away from the desk and stood.
Striding away, he pulled his red t-shirt over his head, flashing his muscular back as he began pushing his jeans down his hips.
“Woah, hold up!” Tam cried, as the magical band connecting them pulled her from the desktop. “What are you doing?”
Freddie chuckled. “I’m going to bed,” he replied over his shoulder as he finished pulling off his pants. She caught a glimpse of black boxer briefs before he disappeared inside the open bathroom door. Against her will, she was forced to stand outside it as he brushed his teeth, and she followed on his heels as he flipped off the lights. When he climbed on the bed and settled in, he gave the empty spot next to him a pat.
“Why don’t you join me?”
“You think that I’m as easy as all that, huh? A few new shoes and I’m jumping in bed with ya?”
He held his silence, refusing to be baited, and Tam felt like shit. She knew Freddie would never do that. Besides, with his looks he didn’t need to stoop to buying off a woman, she thought bitterly.
One hand rested on his stomach and the other supported his head as he stared at her. Even in the darkened room, she could make out his every line perfectly. His pose seemed so relaxed that something inside of her melted. This was Freddie. He was her best friend, and she loved him in a way that she’d never loved anyone before. She also felt sure that she would never love anyone else as deeply, so why couldn’t she ask all of the questions that were driving her insane? There was no reason why she couldn’t, she suddenly realized.
Climbing in beside him, she rolled on her side and watched his profile.
“Why did you leave me?”
“Why didn’t you come with me?” he asked, instead of answering her question.
“I asked you first,” she shot back.
He chose his words carefully as he answered. “While I was cursed, you told me once that I was perfect just as I was. I think that was the moment that I fell in love with you.”
Tam blinked rapidly in order to stave off the tears that burned behind her eyes. Freddie had told her many times that he loved her but she’d stopped believing in those words as soon as he stepped through the speculum, leaving her behind. Now that the words were leaving his perfectly shaped lips once more, she knew they were still true.
“Yet you still left me,” she pointed out, attempting not to choke on the words.
“I had nothing to offer you in the mortal realm.”
“I’m a fairy,” she told him, hearing the desperation in her own voice. “I don’t need anything and I would have given you anything you wished for.”
“But we would have never been on equal footing,” he said as he closed his eyes, and a small smile played on his lips. His voice came out in almost a whisper as sleep began to steal him from her. “It was my greatest wish to give you things you didn’t even know you wanted.”
Freddie’s even breathing let Tam know that sleep had finally won.
“Wish granted,” she whispered into the dark.
CHAPTER THREE
The morning sun shone brightly across Tam’s sleeping form, and pure lust hit Freddie in the gut at the sight of her in his bed. His hand lifted of its own volition, rea
ching out as if to touch her. He forced himself to stop before making contact with her skin. He had no rights to her. With that depressing thought at the forefront of his mind, he tried to tiptoe out of bed to keep from waking Tam. Unfortunately, the loud thump of her hitting the floor behind him brought the reality of their situation rushing back. She was chained to his side, and in the light of the day, he realized that was an issue that could not continue. He didn’t want her here against her will.
“Ow! Son-of-a-bitch,” Tam rubbed her lower back as she stood gingerly.
Wincing, he was quick to apologize. “I’m so sorry. I forgot, and I was trying to let you sleep in.” He waved his hand at the bathroom door and winced again. “Um, do you mind?”
“Yeah, well, whose fault is it that I’m holding you up?” Tam grumbled, but she dutifully followed in Freddie’s footsteps.
“Holding me up,” Freddie snorted. “If I’m up, then it’s definitely your fault,” he told her without looking at her to check her reaction before closing the door in her face.
When he came out again, he headed towards his desk, taking a seat behind it.
“I hate to do this, but I skipped out on signing all these forms last night, and I really need to take care of it today,” Freddie tried to explain. He felt bad for turning his attention to anything other than her, but his mother would beat down his door if he didn’t stay on top of his responsibilities to the people.
Tam flashed him a smile. “Don’t worry over it. I’m adept at entertaining myself.”
She grew to twice her size and slammed her head against the ceiling.
“Fucking A!” she screamed. “I freakin’ forgot,” she bitched as she shrank down to pixie size and began to flit around the room.
He split his attention between wondering what it must be like to be able to fly and kicking himself for keeping her here when she had tried to leave the day before. His only excuse was that he would have never forgive himself if he had not at least tried to make her understand that he still loved her.
The Pixie & The Prince Page 3