Panting hard, Callum remained on top of her for a long moment after, supporting himself on his elbows so as not to crush Elise beneath the weight of his body. He was not in a rush, and took the time he needed to recover and for his heart rate to slow back down to normal.
Before long he was nuzzling her neck. “You are mine now…I can’t give you up, not after this,” he murmured into her ear, bringing warm tingles to cascade down her arms and back.
“You don’t have to,” Elise offered boldly, wrapping her arms around his back and hugging him tightly. She felt so warm, secure and protected in his embrace.
Callum made a satisfied rumbling sound, acknowledging her response. “Then you’ve granted me my greatest wish,” he whispered softly into her hair.
Elise gave a small, sleepy nod. Taking a deep breath, she inhaled his familiar musky, reassuring scent, her eyelids becoming droopy as drowsiness began to overtake her.
Collapsing beside her, Callum rolled onto his side and pulled Elise to him, into the nook of his body, her curves snuggling perfectly against him. He gently kissed her on the forehead as she began to drift off to sleep.
“Callum…” she murmured before she dozed off, her sentence left unfinished. Content and exhausted, Callum soon followed her off to sleep. There were still many things he wanted to say and discuss with her, but all this could wait until the morning.
He pulled the fur covers over their naked bodies so they wouldn’t get cold in the night, and then he let slumber overtake him. Before he knew it, he was out like a torch.
❖ ❖ ❖
Elise woke up with a start, disturbed by a noise outside. She frowned as she sat up, wondering if she should ignore it, but an unsettling feeling in the back of her mind made her pay attention. She couldn’t brush it off.
It was the dead of night and Callum was still fast asleep on the bed beside her, looking so peaceful she didn’t want to wake him. She heard the light scuffle again and slipped out of bed, hastily put her dress back on, and walked across the room to the door.
It’s probably a cat or something… She tried to reassure herself as she placed her hand on the doorknob and hesitated, her heart speeding up slightly. “You’ll see, it’ll be nothing,” she murmured to herself, pulling in a deep breath. She straightened her back and turned the handle.
The door creaked slightly as she cracked it open.
The corridor outside was empty. She furrowed her brows, frowning. Something felt off…
Stepping through the door, she closed it softly behind her, deciding to take a careful look. If there was anything amiss, she could always just cry out for the guards… Where were they anyway? There were usually a pair stationed outside Callum’s room. Did they go to check out the disturbance she’d heard before, perhaps?
Lanterns lit the space outside, making it easy for Elise to pick her way along the corridor, towards the direction she thought the noise she’d heard had come from.
She strained her ears, trying to catch the sound again. She thought she was able to pick up on a light shuffling sound… footsteps maybe? But she couldn’t be quite sure.
She’d probably walked about twenty yards at this point, but she still hadn’t spotted anything unusual. The garrison was eerily quiet and she had the growing sense that something was amiss.
Goosebumps popped up along her arms and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickling up as she scanned the corridor ten yards up ahead of her, trying to peer into the shadows cast by the statues and rows of armor along the walls.
Her ears suddenly pricked up at a sound right behind her, but before she could turn to see what or who it was, a hand clamped itself over her mouth and she found herself being restrained in a set of large, steel like arms.
Eyes widening in panic, she tried to scream, struggling against her captor to get free, but her shouts only came out muffled.
“Quiet!” A deep, male voice hissed, and Elise stilled, her eyes rolling back to catch a glimpse of a familiar face.
Lord Varian’s mouth curled into an unpleasant smile. “Hello, Lady Elise,” he cooed softly, the false dulcet tone of his voice making her shudder as a terrible feeling of premonition shook her.
He smiled wider, seeming to bask in the fear emanating from her round, terrified eyes. With one swift movement, he twirled Elise around and pushed her up against the wall, his hand remaining over her mouth the whole time, rendering her voiceless.
Meanwhile, his other forearm pressed firmly against her chest, just below her throat, pinning her back against the solid stones behind her.
“If you promise not to scream, I’ll remove my hand from your mouth. If you make any noise, I’ll snap your neck. Deal?” he said, locking his threatening eyes on hers. “Nod slowly if you agree.”
Elise obeyed, careful not to make a sound. A cold sense of dread seized her heart and she had to fight down the panic rising up her chest to her throat, urging her to call out for help, as Lord Varian withdrew his hand.
He smiled, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. “Much better,” he said. “Now, what is a young lady like you doing wandering around so late at night?” he asked smoothly, keeping the smile on his face. It was unnerving.
“I-I was having trouble sleeping…” Elise lied, pretending she hadn’t noticed anything was amiss. “It’s not the first time I’ve gone for a short walk in the middle of the night when I’ve found it hard to get to sleep,” she added, in the hope of making her story sound more genuine. She tried to give a casual shrug, but only managed to lift her shoulders a little bit as Varian’s firm hold on her made it hard for her to move.
Varian raised an eyebrow, seeming to consider her story, a dry look of amusement on his face. “It seems Callum really has not taught you well,” he laughed, looking at her scornfully. “A woman should not go walking about at night willy nilly. Bad things could happen…” he trailed off suggestively, sending a sharp needle of terror through Elise’s heart, as terrible, violent images flashed inside her mind.
Lord Varian inched his face closer to hers, until they were only a hair’s breadth apart. Elise tried to lean away, turning her head to the side, but with little success.
In this position, she had her neck bared to him and he tilted his head at an angle, sniffing her curiously. With his eyes hidden behind lowered eyelids, he stared intently at a spot on her neck, but it was impossible for Elise to see his expression.
“He hasn’t marked you as his mate yet…” Varian commented in a low murmur, unable to hide his surprise. He straightened his head and flicked his gaze upwards to Elise’s face, a silent question evident in his look.
Elise shifted uncomfortably, her breathing shallow, made more difficult with Varian’s weight on her chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…what do you mean by mark me as his mate?” she said, trying to sound calm, while wishing she could free herself from Varian’s uncomfortable hold.
“You really don’t know?” he remarked with amusement, his eyes lighting up in delight. “When our kind want to bind ourselves to someone and make them our mate for life, we mark them with a bite. It’s the most intimate act of love and commitment we can perform.”
Elise became silent, digesting the implications of his words.
Varian chuckled, seeing understanding dawn on her face. The sound made Elise’s blood run cold. “Now that you know, are you wondering why? Perhaps he isn’t sure you’re the right one…” he said, giving her a sly look.
Devastation hit Elise square in the gut, and a feeling of betrayal flooded her senses, making her heart throb painfully.
Varian continued to act like he was completely unaware of the pain he was inflicting on her. His next words twisted the knife home, stabbing her even deeper in her vulnerable state.
“I see he never told you,” he tsked, clucking his tongue. “I guess he just wanted to use you to warm his bed,” he remarked cruelly, driving his point across bluntly and brutally, with no regard for her feelings.
&
nbsp; “I don’t believe you…” Elise answered back in a low whisper, denying the matter in spite of her own certainty Lord Varian’s words were likely true.
“You lie,” Varian stated flatly, his tone blunt. “You know you do—you can feel it in your bones. Callum sees you little better than a whore. Just another fanciful woman enthralled by his charm. But I can help you…” he said temptingly, eyeing her carefully as he watched her reaction.
Elise struggled to find her voice. “How?” Elise finally managed to demand, her voice suspicious, looking at Varian with eyes full of distrust.
“I can get you home,” he offered with a shrug. What he said made Elise gasp. Her whole body trembled hearing his unbelievable declaration, and she was pissed that he could feel it—to see she was completely vulnerable before him and at his mercy.
“You’re lying,” she countered him bluntly, refusing to believe him even as false hope rose inside her chest.
This man can’t be trusted! Her mind raged at her in alarm, but the promise he was offering was too much of an enticement. She licked her dry lips as she scrutinized the man before her with careful eyes. “Prove it,” she said.
Lord Varian arched an eyebrow. “I am a powerful Fae. I know you’re from the human realm. I could easily bring you to a portal and activate it so you can pass through and return home to the other side.”
Elise looked at him sceptically. “And what do you get out of it? Why would you want to help me?”
“Call it an act of charity,” Varian grinned devilishly, revealing sharp, white, canine teeth.
Elise snorted derisively, despite the threat of Varian’s arm pressing down on her near the base of her throat. “You don’t come across as a very philanthropic person,” she retorted against her better judgement.
For the first time, she saw Varian’s smiling façade slip off for a split second, and a look of irritation appeared on his face. But he recovered himself quickly, and in the next moment, his mask had returned as he replied smoothly to her. “It doesn’t matter either way,” he shrugged. “All you need to be concerned about is whether or not I can help you, and I guarantee you that I can.”
“What if I don’t want to leave?” Elise asked brashly, wondering to herself whether she’d suddenly become suicidal. What was she thinking, talking back to this man?! She should be grabbing any opportunity she had to flee this place!
Deep down, she knew the answer to why she was behaving like an idiot: she was worried about Callum. She sensed Lord Varian had ulterior motives for getting rid of her and she did not trust him in the least. He was planning something, and it wasn’t good…
“Then, I’m sad to say, I can’t be held accountable for your safety, my Lady,” he replied, feigning sincerity in his voice as he slid a knife out from underneath his tunic and levelled it at her face. Elise watched in terrified fascination as his long, narrow tongue flicked out and licked the edge of the knife.
Dread seized her entire body, making her face blanch white, and she shuddered at the display he was obviously putting on for her benefit. She swallowed hard.
“Maybe it’d be best that I leave now, then,” she said, pretending to go along with Varian and his plan for now to buy her some time.
“That would be a wise decision,” Varian nodded in agreement. “You’re not a fool afterall.”
Elise let him have that one, holding back a grimace despite his rude remark. She cleared her throat. “Perhaps you can release me, then? I’d like to leave as soon as possible.”
“Yes, per—hmmm…” Lord Varian hummed distractedly, his gaze catching on something sitting around Elise’s neck. “What is this?” he asked, slipping the point of his knife underneath her necklace chain and lifting it up with the edge of the blade. The pendant popped out from underneath her bodice where it’d been hidden, and he gazed at it with keen interest.
Elise wanted to snatch it back, but held herself still, forcing her hands to remain glued to her sides. There was no way she could win in a close quarter fight with this man, especially when he was holding a knife just inches away from her throat!
“It’s the necklace my father gave me,” she replied tartly, unable to keep the displeasure from her voice.
“It’s Fae,” he remarked, releasing the arm he had pressed against her, and grabbing the pendant with his newly freed hand to take a better look. “And it seems to be enchanted.”
That was news to Elise and she looked at him with genuine surprise. “My dad told me he bought it off a gypsy,” she told him defensively. “I don’t know or care if it’s Fae or not.”
“I think I’ll take this as payment for helping you escape,” Lord Varian informed her abruptly, making the decision without Elise’s consent.
“You can’t—” Elise began to protest, but he silenced her with a cold, hard look. She clamped up immediately, and while her mouth remained shut tight, he pushed the edge of his knife blade against her chain, intending to cut it off.
But as he was doing this, both of them heard a sudden growl from behind him. In that brief moment of distraction, the knife sliced the chain in two, and it fell off Elise’s neck with a solid clank onto the stone tiles near her feet.
At the same time, Lord Varian swung around, knife in hand, to see who or what had made the disturbance.
Elise gasped, spotting Callum’s large, towering form, charging madly towards them. His eyes raging with fire as he glared at the enemy in front of him in fury, his gaze darting to the knife in Varian’s hand, then to Elise’s small, trembling form behind him.
He opened his mouth wide and released a loud, echoing roar, as he bolted towards Varian, his muscles tightening as his entire body braced for battle.
Half-way across, he stuttered almost to an abrupt halt, his eyes going wide with shock as his nostrils flared, smelling a strange scent in the air. He gazed wildly about and caught sight of Elise’s necklace on the ground.
All of a sudden, it looked like Callum had been struck with an iron rod. He glanced up at Elise with a stricken look, and she watched in horror as his breathing started to come out in harsh pants and his face began to transform: the top of his ears elongated to tapered points and when he bared his teeth at them, Elise could see the front two growing into vicious, pointed fangs!
Lord Varian cackled with laughter at the sight, seeming to be struck by a realization that evaded Elise’s understanding.
What the in hell was going on?! This was Callum unlike Elise had ever seen him…he looked almost like an animal—a beast!
Panic and fright seized her limbs, freezing her to the spot, and she stared back and forth between the two men in bewilderment as Callum resumed his assault.
Letting out an animal cry, he plunged at Varian, aiming a hit with his fist. All the while, Varian’s dark laughter floated in the air around them. The man was sadistic, and clearly enjoying this.
He dodged Callum’s attack, and threw a punch of his own, which Callum blocked expertly.
“It seems I’ve found your weakness!” Varian called out provocatively, his voice dripping with self-satisfaction. “Who knew you’d go to such lengths to mask who she really is,” he laughed, leaping back and sidestepping to avoid Callum’s swinging arm.
“You treacherous bastard! When the king hears about you—” Callum growled.
“He won’t!” Varian hissed, swerving and skidding halt as he danced backwards, just out of his opponent’s reach. “You won’t be alive to tell him,” he stated with such certainty it brought a shiver down Elise’s back.
Her fear and anxiety grew as the two men parried. Callum was at a clear disadvantage given Varian wielded a weapon in his hand, while he remained completely unarmed. Fortunately, Callum had a plan.
Bartered to the Fae Lord Page 15