by Claudy Conn
The room seemed to fill with a soft glow, and then it was as though the air moved in waves around her. She stepped back, feeling as though she were in a desert looking for an oasis. Maxie was certain she could almost make out another dimension. The thin air gave her distorted vision a blurry sense of floating and then, wop, all clear and back to normal. Well, not quite normal. What was normal anymore? Nothing in her life felt like it would ever be normal ever again. All at once, she felt a parting of those same distorted airwaves, and someone was stepping through. Her eyes had to adjust to the sudden glow.
A male, yet not a man, stood before her. His body spelled warrior, yet his facial expression clearly said, ‘art—magic … science, and lover!”
It was the male Fae—the royal Fae she knew as Breslyn, Prince of Dagda. Oh yes, indeedy, she told herself, right here, flesh and blood—that is if the Fae are flesh and blood?
She realized he was cloaked in the Féth Fiada—the ability of Fae to go undetected by humans—but Maxie was able to perceive him without any difficulty. Thinking himself safe from human detection, he hadn’t bothered to use human Glamour to tone down his Faeness as he boldly occupied space and looked her over.
Max remembered the last vision she’d had with him standing in furious resignation over her ancestor’s murder. She had been surprised by the depth of emotion he radiated. Do Fae have hearts? she asked herself as she stared at him. He was staring back at her. In fact, he was letting those sparkling eyes linger all over her body. She sucked in air, because when she opened her mouth, and in spite of her determination to speak, nothing came out!
“You have her look.” The big, hunky Fae breathed softly. He realized from her gaping stare that she could see him, but he didn’t remark upon it as his eyes opened wide for a fleeting moment before he continued, “Your hair is a touch darker, a shade blacker, and it is thicker—shorter. You wear it very differently than she did, but I like it. In fact, it is most … appealing.” He was making no attempt to hide the fact that he was studying Max in a thoroughly sexual fashion. He seemed to take it as his right. His bright eyes lit upon her full breasts, and he bit the corner of his bottom lip.
Maxie felt his eyes peel away her black sweater, and she felt a wave of heat as she realized her nipples were reacting very perkily to his gaze. She felt herself burn right up into her cheeks, but she still couldn’t speak. She also couldn’t stop doing the very same look over, taking in every incredible inch of him.
His dark blond hair was thick and shiny as it fell about his handsomely chiseled face and rested on his broad, tanned shoulders. Around his neck was a gold torque. Around his naked arm was a wide gold band, as well as a tattooed braid of Celtic knots and runes. His eyes, which at first she thought were a blast of colors, seemed to meld into silver. His smile tickled a response from her, made her want to reach out and touch his sensuous lips, as his mouth captivated her with its winsome curve.
His accent was Old World enchanting and sexy beyond belief. Maxie admitted silently to herself that when her eyes took in his firm, naked mid-section she wanted to devour him. Her eyes continued the journey and found his trim waist—and discovered that his dark brown leather pants held a bulge that would boggle any woman’s mind. Speak? Impossible! Breathe, she told herself—she had to keep on breathing or she would definitely pass out.
The prince was grinning, and Maxie could see that he was pleased with her reaction to him. He came closer, and his dangerously sensual accent tickled her senses into high gear. “Ah, you do have her look, but you are not very much like her. Your name is the same, but I think I will call you Lia.”
“Why?” Maxie squeaked.
“Lia Fail is our Sacred Stone of Destiny. Destiny is what brought us together.” He moved, and in one fluid maneuver had Max tightly in his arms. “You … like she … are able to see through my Fae cloaking. You have her gifts, but yours are somehow different.”
“Yes … different.” She sounded a fool even to herself. What would he think? Max was totally enthralled. She contemplated this, as she didn’t enthrall easily. Already twenty-one, and never before had she been enthralled!
“And you are not given …” he said into her ear. She had a weak moment when she wanted him to do much more than whisper there.
“No, nope—not given.” Her voice was hoarse as she idiotically shook her head.
“You have not yet been properly tasted and satisfied, but, my beauty … I mean to correct the situation.” He bent his head as he gently molded her body to his. His mouth sweetly covered her full lips, and his tongue invited hers to a spellbinding waltz.
He was sending sparks through her body, and she suddenly knew what it meant when they wrote about burning blood—oh yeah, burning all right.
He raised his head, and she had a job looking up that high. He had to be well over six feet tall, and Max was not much more than five foot four.
“I had to see you for myself,” the prince said quietly. “Our time is now,” he added with more feeling, and then he took her hand to lead her to the sofa.
“Yes—our time.” Oh, I’m good, really good at spontaneous conversation. She grimaced to herself.
“Things will start to happen now—too quickly for you to waste anymore time reading your journals. And I promise you, Lia, the queen will not tie my hands with useless rules this time!”
Max could see the fierce glint in his silver eyes, and she tried to collect her thoughts as she put a finger to his hard, broad chest. “Prince …” Maxie’s voice was cautious and not much above a whisper. “… useless rules? What rules?”
He tipped her chin up. “the Treaty between Man and Fae requires us to refrain from interfering in your lives.”
“Yes, that is a good rule. Whenever Captain Kirk landed on a new planet they had this directive …” Now she was babbling like a baby.
He touched her cheek and chuckled. “Ah, my Lia, it is a very exasperating rule. However, forget it for now.” Breslyn shrugged. “My queen is busy with other matters at the moment. At any rate, this time, I am given the right to use my discretion. So, I have decided to exercise it and make you aware of a few facts. First … I will tell you this—Julian of Talbot is awake in Tir nan-og. He has been busy with his educator.”
All at once Max found herself. She jumped to her feet. “He really is alive and well in Faery, and now he’s awake? Why, this is wonderful … isn’t it? Why are you frowning? What do you mean—educator?”
He laughed. “Which question shall I answer first?”
“All of them.”
He brought her back down to the sofa with a soft pull on her hand, and then he kissed it as though it were the most precious thing in the world. It sent shivers down her spine, and her eyes lingered on his fingers before coming back up to his face. He was saying, “We shall start with your last question. Someone versed in the niceties of your modern world is teaching him how to be a twenty-first-century man. Indeed, if he is to survive he must be brought up to speed.” He began grinning wickedly again, obviously pleased with himself for already possessing that education. “And if I frowned, it is because that is not the only thing I must tell you.”
“Right, ha! My vision was real. I saw you take him to Faery—that was real …” Max looked at him hard. “That is … if you are real?”
“Oh I am real—you knew me at once … did you not, my Lia? But shall I convince you how real I am.” He had somehow gently pulled her into his strong arms, and a definite two thirds of her wanted to be right there. However, she was made of sterner stuff. Her brain battled with her body and with the hungry wild woman inside wanting to play if only for fun. Go for it, girl. The other part of her mind was weaving its customary protective shield and telling her to calm down.
She pulled out of his arms and sat away from him, demanding, “Tell me the rest. You said something you have to tell me was what made you frown—what was it?”
He laughed. “Remember, I am a royal prince. I do not respond well to anyone
’s … commands.”
“The queen commands you.”
“The queen has many ways to … shall we say punish those of her court who disobey her direct orders. I, however, am her favorite, and I am allowed much leeway.”
Maxie laughed. He was so damn proud of himself but somewhat endearing as well. “Okay then, Prince, how about telling me the rest, if you please?”
He looked into her eyes, and said softly, “Well done, Lia. I like your manners, and I like the warmth in your green eyes. Their glow is like the emerald lake I have on one of our isles. And like my lake, your eyes offer warmth. I will take you there, to this lake of mine, and we will enjoy a picnic together—soon.”
It was tempting. He was tempting. She was just so damn tempted! She licked her lips while she considered a picnic with this Fae hunk. “Maybe.”
He laughed. “No maybe about it, woman. However, for now there is something you need to know about the beast, and her servant.” He sounded as though he was spitting nails.
“If you mean the vampire woman DuLaine …” Maxie’s green eyes grew dark. “There is only one thing I want to know about her—that she is dead.”
He nodded and lifted her chin between his thumb and forefinger. Before she knew what he was doing, he had dropped a beautiful little kiss on her lips. His tongue gently, sensually licked her bottom lip and then withdrew as he took a small nibble there. It was the kind of kiss that made you yearn for more. He sighed and continued, “DuLaine is not a vampire. I do not consider her human any longer, but my queen insists that she is still human. Therefore, regretfully I have not been allowed to kill her. She had been serving her sentence of two hundred years of enslavement within the Druid Realm. Lamia thought she was being tortured—I thought she was being coddled. All they exacted from her was hours of reading, study, and a vow of allegiance to the Druid Realm.” Disgust lined his voice.
A snort of annoyance and agreement escaped Maxie. It wasn’t a very feminine thing to do, but before she could stop it, out it came.
The prince appeared taken aback but then roared with laughter, flicked her nose, and said affectionately, “Bewitching woman-child on the verge of exploration, I shall enjoy being the one to teach you—show you all you will beg for …”
“Well, of all the arrogant … beg you to teach me?”
“Ah, do I mistake? Are you already well versed in the art of … making love …?” He was teasing her, touching her fingers, running his other hand down her arm. It was so completely gentle and yet infinitely sensual. His touch urged a woman to submit. His eyes promised tenderness and passion. His closeness closeted them both in a mist of magic that whispered pleasures awaited.
Oh boy, this guy—Fae, whatever—is pure, primal sex. He was almost irresistible. If she let her guard down she might be in trouble. She decided to cold shower herself with will power. She had to find out just what was out there waiting for her, because she knew in her gut that she was a direct target. As casually as she could muster she said, “We were speaking about DuLaine.”
“Were we?”
“Yes, and as far as I am concerned they—the Realm—treated her with kid gloves. If it had been left to me, I would have given her torture, and then death, just like she did to so many in addition to my ancestor poor Maxine and … and Julian!”
“My Lia is bloodthirsty.” He approved. “I am here with you, telling you everything I know about this situation because this time, you must not be neglected in the battle against DuLaine.”
Battle, in the same sentence with DuLaine and me. “Battle? Ooh no, buddy. I don’t plan on doing battle! What have I got to do with battle? You—definitely warrior … me, sissy-girl.”
“And where is my bloodthirsty Lia now?”
“Living in the twenty-first, Princey boy! DuLaine killed my ancestor, who from what I have read had quite a coterie of powers. I am not in the same league. I don’t plan to cross swords with DuLaine. Not exactly my battle.”
He dove right in. “The queen asked that the DuLaine be released two weeks ago, and so it was done.”
“What?” Max jumped up from the couch again. “Why, for God’s sake?”
“The queen keeps her reasons to herself. Our time in Tir is very different than your time, and the Fates will allow no more meddling. We took Julian of Talbot there so he would not age while in his coma. That has served well. The Druid elders tried to age DuLaine but were not successful in their attempts. Because she is human, we were forbidden from aging her—which we could have done. I would have liked to see her old and wrinkled for her sins. However, she did not age overly in the Mist of the Realm where she was imprisoned. I would say she is still in her late twenties. She is not yet aware of Julian. She does not yet know that he lives. She does not know about you. But she will … and mark me, Lia, she is bitter. She prefers to blame everyone else, rather than herself, and she will be dangerous when she regains her strength. Want it or no, it will be your battle.” He reached for her again, but Max was agitated and would not be pulled back to the sofa.
She paced—needing to sort it out in her mind. This is history repeating itself—only this time, I’m in it! What did she have to do with it? She wasn’t married to Talbot. Oh no, this is not good. Not good at all!
The prince stood up and took one long stride to catch Maxie and hold her by the shoulders. “My wee beauty, I don’t mean to let DuLaine hurt you—you can count on me if on no other.”
“What does that mean? She is free. Do you know where she is? Are you going to kill her? Can I watch? I would like to make sure she is really dead—and buried this time.”
Maxie felt certain that DuLaine, with all her powers, would be quite outside the law in this century. For one thing, DuLaine had the power of compulsion—Max had seen in her vision DuLaine work it on Julian, who was a Druid priest—and could therefore put humans without powers like the police in a trance while she walked away clean after every kill. And then … oh no, the Internet. She could do so much once she got the hang of computers … oh no, computer dating? They wouldn’t know what she was. They wouldn’t believe what she was. She was going to hurt so many … kill so many … and Maxie could only imagine what else she could do. It was time to send her to hell. No passing go—just directly there!
“I would like nothing better than to kill the beast,” the prince said harshly. “She is scarcely human … and yet she is human. There was a time when killing humans was permitted. They were savages. We Fae came, and we ruled—the Irish passed the knowledge first by word of mouth and then in their books …” He sighed. “But humans will not be ruled for long by any but their own kind. They sacrifice themselves for ideals. We watched them die in battle with us for an ideal … freedom.” He waved this off. “Some of us … most of us could not bear it. Hence, we allowed them to save face with the Treaty.”
Maxie watched his flitting expressions; it seemed as though the telling made him relive the pain. He sighed. “At any rate, our queen was honorable and compassionate. She drew up an agreement that suited both the Tuatha Dé and the humans …” He paused. “Perhaps not quite all the Tuatha Dé were pleased, but a substantial number agreed. One of the most important clauses was the one where we vowed not to shed human blood. Not all the Seelie Fae were happy about this. You see, there were some Seelie Fae that thought this world should be theirs. We had the might, we had the magic, we had time … and there are those who feel that way still.”
Maxie couldn’t help herself: she was intrigued into silence. All she could do was stare and listen raptly to him while he told her—in his beautiful, arcane accent—a history almost no one knew anything about.
He looked into her green eyes, and she saw an ancient alien being, but not one she was afraid of. He was immeasurably potent. He had thousands of years behind those silver eyes. He was capable of unimaginable feats. She should be frightened, but already she felt safe with him.
“My Lia studies every word, doesn’t she? Wise wee lass.”
�
�Tell me more.” She wanted to know their history. She supposed she needed to know the Fae history because she was a Druid.
“The queen enabled the Treaty to go forward and decreed that any Fae that broke this agreement would suffer the worst punishment imaginable at her hands.”
“Even death?”
“Even death—but that was not likely.”
“Because you are all immortals? So how do you kill an immortal?”
“There are ways to kill Fae. There are Seelie Death Hallows that can kill Fae.” He said carefully, “At any rate, our queen remains powerful above all other Fae. Her will cannot be defeated. There is a madness that comes to the Fae after they have lived too long. Her age numbers well near seventy thousand years, but she has not had to drink from our sacred cauldron, and she retains her clear thoughts. She is disciplined and all knowing. She is the wisest queen the Seelie Fae have ever been fortunate to have rule over us. She drew a line we cannot cross. That line holds the shields up between our worlds. Those shields must not be destroyed, as they keep the Dark Ones imprisoned in their Black Realm. I am committed to my queen and her ultimate will.”
“And still you came here to tell me things she wasn’t ready for me to know?” Maxie cocked a look at him.
He grinned back at her, and it was devastatingly seductive. “Just a wee bit sooner than was decided, not enough to really count.” He reached for her again and enfolded her in his embrace. His arms were strong, and his scent surrounded her intoxicatingly as he bent to take her mouth once more beneath his own.
She should have pulled away. Should have—would have—couldn’t. She told herself that if this was a hallucination, it was a damn good one!
Eventually she managed to pull free, surprised that he didn’t try to stop her. She nearly stumbled, as she had expected resistance. “You must stop that. I don’t even know you, and besides … you are a Fae and I am a human. Aren’t there rules about the likes of us mingling?” She put up a good front.
Back in his arms again. “No rules—just dangers …” It was a soft whisper in her ear.