Heart's Bandit (Shifting Crossroads Book 48)

by Zenina Masters

  She cleared her throat. “I think we should get out of here before that side effect takes over.”

  “As my lady wishes.”

  He wrapped her in his arms, and they transported home.

  Chapter Nine

  Karo hoped that there wasn’t an issue with the transport from the Crossroads, but a moment later, she and Yorin were kissing, and she didn’t really care how they had gotten to a place that was private.

  Her clothing disappeared in a wish, and his was easy enough to peel off in rushed layers.

  His hands were busy caressing, arousing, and learning every inch of her. The disparity in their heights was suddenly apparent, and she giggled.

  He paused, “Something to laugh about?”

  “You are going to get an awful crick in your back.”

  He chuckled. “You will just have to be on top then.”

  “Deal.” She glanced around and spotted the bed, pushing him back until he fell.

  His boots fought her, but she finally got him naked, and her beast was clawing at her mind while she tasted him from knee to chest.

  “That isn’t fair, Karolyn.”

  She crawled up him, and her hair was still braided into submission while his was flowing around him on the bedding. He looked more lion than man, but the feel of his erection brushing against her while she rocked back and forth was definitely male.

  She eased him into her, and the static energy between them was unleashed. Karo’s mind was lost in a haze of bucking and pleasure. Friction and magic built up between them until Yorin gripped her hips and held her in place while he shuddered. Watching him and feeling his hands on her, she jerked and dug her fingers in his chest, hissing as a wave of magic left them before it returned and collapsed into them.

  Karo came out of her daze with tugging against her scalp. She murmured against Yorin’s chest. “What are you doing?”

  “Unbraiding your hair. I want to run my fingers through it now that it has these lovely highlights.” He chuckled.

  She didn’t look at him, but she sought his memories. Her cheeks heated as she took in the vivid view of her breasts from an hour earlier, but the more recent memory of her hair being streaked with gold was also a bright one. Oddly enough, she was also at a stranger angle than she remembered.

  “What happened?”

  “I believe that the magic has crept into us and locked in place.” He stroked his fingers through the unbraided lock and sighed happily.

  “You aren’t concerned?”

  He shook his head. “I am not. This is what we were meant to become, so this is what we are.”

  “That is a very sanguine way to think of things.”

  He went to work on the next braid. “I am fairly laid back in most things. Changing one’s appearance is the least of our concerns.”

  She sighed and relaxed against him as he worked with her hair until he could run his fingers through all the waves he had unleashed. He was literally purring with contentment as he stroked her hair, and she dozed off again.

  Karo had never been molested by a shower before, but there were so many jets at so many angles she was clean before the water was hot and scrambling for freedom a second after.

  She panted as she stood on the mat. Yorin was laughing at the sink.

  “You look like a wet rat.”

  “You are cruising for celibacy. Not a great way to talk to your mate on day one.”

  She wrinkled her nose and grabbed a towel, working on her hair before patting her body dry.

  The mirrors in Yorin’s bedroom told the tale. She was six inches taller; her hair was still brown with heavy waves of gold running through it. Her eyes were now moss green with gold pupils, and her ears had a more distinctive point. She looked like a normal elf, but her raccoon still worked, it was her lion that she wasn’t used to.

  Yorin’s lion had black and silver in the mane, as did his hair. He didn’t lose height, but his beast had a soul that had not been there before. He had to deal with instinct now, and he was a little unsettled when it kicked in. He didn’t dare see if he had a raccoon as well. It might break him.

  She finished drying herself and looked for a hamper to drop the towel in. “So, where do the towels go?”

  “Next to the tub. The housekeeper will be in as soon as we leave.”

  Karo nodded and swallowed. Going into the fey court in her current state was a little off-putting. Meeting up with Lady Mathoway was going to be rather tense.

  “You look stressed. It will be fine. Larion will be delighted, and my sister will finally have someone to keep tabs on me. It will take a job off her shoulders.”

  “You have always been close?” Karo started to brush her hair, but he took it over.

  “We have. We were born a hundred years apart, and she is the younger, but we have always been close. I was there when she took her first steps and said her first words. I stopped listening after that.”

  Karo laughed, and she kept that light feeling the entire time she chose an outfit and worked up the nerve to go back the fey court knowing what she knew now.

  Yorin had an expansive wardrobe, and he chose from it. Karo sat and shifted her webbing outfit to match what he selected.

  “We don’t have to match if it makes you uncomfortable. You can just be yourself. Larion would not expect anything less.”

  She cocked her head. “Are you sure?”

  “I am.”

  Karo stood and built her outfit. She started with black leggings and slippers, the webbing stretched to become a long black tunic with a wide embroidered belt. Her legs were free to move, her sleeves were slit up the inside to mid-bicep, and she was free to flex.

  The tunic was cut in a deep vee that showed a hint of cleavage, and the edges of the dark fabric were embroidered with silver and gold.

  “With your hair down, that looks exceptionally appropriate.” He finished with his Victorian business suit and smiled.

  Yorin wrapped his arms around her hips and pulled her to him, rubbing his face in her hair. “You look splendid.”

  “Thank—” Before she finished, they were at the court.

  She gave him a dark look. “I will get even for that.”

  “I look forward to it.” He offered her his arm, and she took it, linking hers in with his and standing close to him.

  “Why are you walking so close, not that I am complaining.”

  “The looks in the area just got a lot more predatory.”

  “I thought you could handle anything.” He murmured it on their way to the throne room.

  “That was before I got a new body to get used to. I don’t know how this one moves. Damn. I need a new driver’s license.”

  He laughed at her practical turn of mind.

  They walked to the court and were escorted to the king immediately.

  Larion sat up in surprise when the crowd cleared and they were in front of him. They walked forward, and she curtsied gracefully, while Yorin bowed.

  “Um, Hunter Karolyn, you look different. It is excellent and rather shocking. No bonded pairs have had this result yet.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I know about my parentage, Your Majesty. I believe that has something to do with it.”

  He chuckled and nodded. “Miiravella definitely did a good job birthing you.”

  The courtiers nearby murmured in shock.

  “I would like to meet her. Could that be arranged?”

  “Of course. As she has managed to create such a stellar version of her genes, I believe she would be a natural to join the court. Perhaps she can do more than design the transformational webs you favour.”

  She looked down. “She makes these?”

  “It is her sole occupation. She is kept to the edge of our lands and not allowed to socialize, so if you wanted to visit her, I am sure it would be a welcome distraction for her.”

  She looked to Yorin. “Could we? I just want to know why.”

  “She will tell you her version. You will have
to make your mind up.” Larion nodded. “Go.”

  It was all the warning she got before she and Yorin were standing in front of a small cottage.

  A quick look around showed a small patch of grass and a tree, and nothing else. Literally, there was a void around the cottage. “Is this what banishment is?”

  “I have never seen one so severe before.” Yorin put his arms around her. “She has only been in for just over twenty years, she should be fine.”

  “What happens if she has been in there longer?”

  “Eventually, fey in isolation go mad.”

  Karo nodded. “Right. Let’s go and see if I get my people skills from her.”

  Yorin kept his arm around her, and together, they went to the door and knocked.

  There was a moment of silence and then a cautious step from the other side of the door. “Who is it?”

  “Prince Yorin of the Southern Winds. I have brought a guest who has an interest in speaking to you about your child.”

  The door opened, and a woman who looked more like Karo’s sister than her mother stood there.

  “Is she all right? She never should have become a hunter. Far too dangerous.” Miiravella was staring at Yorin, and then, her head slowly turned to take in Karo.

  She watched the initial shock turn into curiosity.

  Miiravella beckoned, “Come in, come in.”

  The interior was sparse but comfortable. There was a spinning wheel in the corner, a small table with four chairs, and a Victorian-styled sofa, there was a tidy kitchen visible through an archway, and Miiravella expertly prepared tea.

  Karo spotted something hanging on the wall, and as she stepped toward it, it got bigger. When the small icon had expanded to full size, Karo nearly fell on her butt.

  Her life was there in clippings, scraps of journals she had lost, and copies of reports she had filed for the shifter’s guild.

  Her father’s life and death were recorded on the upper level, and Karo teared up as she saw the picture from home with her dad holding her as a newborn.

  Karo jumped when Miiravella said from right behind her. “That was my lover and our daughter. She is an amazing hunter. Such dexterity.”

  Karo tried to remain calm. “Why did he raise her?”

  Miiravella whispered, “They would have destroyed her. She wasn’t supposed to exist. He was a shifter, you see, and our child shouldn’t have been possible, but she was, and she was perfect.”

  “Who would have destroyed her, the king?”

  “No, no, not him. My family. They wanted her dead, so I hid during my pregnancy, and I gave birth to her in a human hospital, so she was on record. No one could pretend she wasn’t there. I made her as safe as I could, and then, I gave her to Terrence before they caught me.”

  They stood in silence for a moment, and then, Miiravella chuckled. “I had a horrible craving for syrup while I was pregnant, so I named her after that. Karolyn.”

  Karo was having a hard time keeping it together.

  Miiravella put a hand on her shoulder and said softly, “Tea’s ready.”

  “Thank you.” She glanced back at the picture and sat next to Yorin while the tea service floated in and settled on the table.

  “Pardon me, I don’t get many guests.” Her mother carefully poured and handed them each a cup. “You said you have news about my daughter?”

  Yorin nodded. “We do. Your daughter has recently bound herself to one of the fey. The ceremony was performed at the Crossroads, and their magics were balanced. She has transformed and is still herself, but all the potential of her bloodlines is now at her disposal.”

  Miiravella paused. “Really? A fey?”

  Karo smiled. “He isn’t all bad, Mother. He has his charms.”

  Her mother put her cup down in the saucer and set it down on the table. “Why did you call me that?”

  “For years I didn’t know you existed. I am trying it out.”

  She looked her mother in the eye, and her mother looked back at the wall. “No one has sent me that update yet.”

  Karo smiled. “It only just happened in the last day, at the order of the king.”

  Miiravella frowned. “My daughter would not give in to the king of the fey.”

  Karo set her tea down and leaned forward. “I would if I was told that I was half fey, was handed to the king by the shifter guild, and had your existence as a fey confirmed by my aunt. Plus, I was just moved about by magic, I had to figure everything else out myself.”

  Miiravella leaned forward. “Give me your hand.”

  “Fine, but you can’t keep it.” Karo held out her hands, and the touch of her mom’s grip made her smile. It was delicate but specific in what it was looking for.

  Her hand was stroked, turned, and finally, a small cry came from her mother. “It’s still there.”

  Karo knew what she was referring to without looking. There was a tiny crescent birthmark on the heel of her palm only three shades darker than her normal skin tone. “Yes, it is still there. I used to colour it in with markers and then make it be a stamp.”

  Miiravella smiled, and there were tears in her eyes. “I have an entire collage made of those in my scrapbook. They grew as you did.”

  Yorin sighed in relief.

  Miiravella looked at him with a smile. “You are my new son-in-law.”

  Yorin looked slightly appalled. “I suppose I am.”

  “Take care of her, or I will come calling.”

  He looked very nervous about that.

  Karo got to her feet and walked around the table. “Mother, I would like a hug.”

  They embraced, and Karo felt the strange sensation of holding another fey. When she released her mom at long last, she leaned back. “I think the king is going to lift your banishment.”

  “That would be lovely. I could come and visit now and then.”

  Yorin stood up and announced, “I will provide you a cottage on our property. Karo has stated she wishes plenty of children, and having a live-in grandmother would be very handy.”

  Karo blushed. “I didn’t mean immediately. It will happen when it happens.”

  Miiravella inclined her head. “If no suitable offer appears, I will take you up on your suggestion.”

  The rest of the visit whirled by, and when they left and stood outside her cottage, Miiravella smiled and waved.

  When they transported back to the court, Karo was exhausted.

  Yorin held her up with a casual arm around her waist, and they inclined their heads to the king.

  “So, Karolyn Millican, did you learn what you need to know about your mother?”

  Karo nodded. “It’s a start. Now, can we take her home?”

  King Larion shook his head. “We have to train her on the modern age. She has been gone for twenty years, and when she has been caught up on the current mundane details, we will allow her the chance to join you. It will give you a chance to prepare for her arrival. She will need a spinning wheel to continue her work.”

  Karo frowned. “Her work?”

  “Yes, she makes the wearable webbing out of magic. I thought you knew as you are wearing one. She has also spent the last two decades teaching a few likely pupils how to do it as well. Yorin, your sister took the class.”

  He nodded. “She did. She is fairly competent, but she prefers to wear them rather than spin them.”

  Karo ran a hand down her clothing. “This isn’t one of Lady Mathoway’s.”

  Yorin shook his head. “No, it isn’t. I don’t know why she gave it to you, but I am glad she did.”

  Karo chuckled. “She was bribing me to rescue you from an inappropriate alliance. If only she knew what was going to happen next.”

  The king smiled. “Yes, if only some of us had a bit of foresight. Now, congratulations to you two. I will send an organizer to you for arrangements of the formal wedding. Karolyn, I believe that your family will attend?”

  She smiled. “Try and stop them.”

  “I wouldn’t
dream of it. I hear most of them can get out of just about anything.” He winked and inclined his head. “Have a good few weeks. The wedding is going to be a challenge.”

  Yorin smiled. “As long as no one tries to interfere with our union, everything will be fine.”

  Karo grinned and slid her arm around his waist. “Yeah. What he said.”

  The king grinned, the sound of the court got louder, and he dismissed them.

  Karo staggered, and Yorin caught her. “That was emotional.”

  He nodded. “Better to get it over with.”

  “I agree. Now, I need a nap.” She smiled. “And then, I need to call my aunt. She’s going to flip.”

  “I will need to get the physician to take a look at her.”

  She looked at the bed, and it was pristine and inviting. She shifted the web into a slinky nightgown. “You make that call, and as I am serious about that nap, you are welcome to join me. I am still getting used to these long legs.”

  His eyes lit up, and he went to his bedside table, pulling out his phone.

  Karo crawled into bed and tried to relax as the aches and pains of the transformation slowly eased. When Yorin wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against him, she fell asleep with her mate wrapped around her and her lockpicks still in the front seam of her negligee. Life was taking a rather fun and exciting turn.

  Author’s Note

  Whew. Made it back to the Crossroads. I wonder where Tol and Lady Mathoway ended up, or how Delia and Wesku got on.

  The next story isn’t their stories, but the wedding looms, and everyone is going to be attending.

  Next up is the story of an elemental at a mountain retreat. Crying Fire should be interesting and written while I am still in the white of winter.

  Thanks for reading,

  Zenina Masters

  About the Author

  Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.