Dangerously Charming

by Deborah Blake

  “That’s ironic,” Mick muttered, “since before this week we hadn’t seen or spoken to each other in months.”

  “Irony aside, she was quite determined that I get this message into your hands,” Gregori said to Jenna. “I very much doubt it says, ‘Congratulations and good luck with the rest of the riddle.’”

  Jenna unrolled the scroll with some trepidation, and as she read it she went first hot and then cold, a shiver running down the length of her spine. “Shit,” she said, and gave the scroll to Mick, who read it out loud.

  “If you want your brother to live, come to the house of Larissa and Kelvin the elves at the place where the curve of the Phaedrus River meets the bottom of Farthingale Hill.”

  “Shit indeed,” Gregori agreed. “I take it you have a brother?”

  “Had,” Jenna said, bitterness filling her mouth. “I had a brother. My mother had to give him up to Zilya because of the curse. It was before I was born, so I never even met him. I have no idea what happened to him after Zilya took him. Presumably, she brought him here to the Otherworld, so it is possible she actually has him in her possession and could kill him if I don’t do what she says.”

  “It is almost certainly a trap,” Mick said. “As you said yourself, you have never even met this brother, if in fact she has him at all.”

  Jenna bit her lip. “I know. But I can’t risk it. I lost my brother once already. If there is any chance I could save him now, I have to go.”

  Gregori’s eyes glinted and one corner of his mouth twitched. “Who does she remind you of, my brother? I believe the cosmos is laughing at you.”

  “If so,” Mick said with a glower, “I don’t approve of its sense of humor.” He turned to her. “Jenna, are you sure we can’t talk you out of going? You’ll be putting your baby in danger.”

  Jenna felt as though she was being torn in three different directions at once. How could she go when she knew that she would almost certainly be walking into the clutches of the faery who was determined to steal her child? But how could she not go, when there might be an opportunity to find—perhaps even to save—the brother her parents had given up so many years before? This might be her only chance to see him, and she’d wondered about him for so very long.

  She gazed despairingly at the two men. “Tell me—if she really does have my brother, would she truly kill him if I don’t show up?”

  They exchanged glances that told her the answer before Gregori even spoke.

  “She is very angry and very frustrated. I do not believe there is any predicting what she might or might not do at this point. But she most assuredly does not mean you well, and it is clear she has no intention of abiding by the Queen’s ruling.”

  Day took her hand in one of his larger ones. “What do you want to do, Jenna? Whatever you choose, I will do my best to keep you safe.”

  “As will I,” his brother said with a small bow.

  “I have always resented my parents for giving him up,” Jenna said softly. “For letting him go without a fight. How can I do the same thing now, no matter the risk?”

  “You are a very brave and determined woman,” Gregori said, pulling a sword in its sheath from a holder on his saddle and fastening it around his waist. “I have no doubt that you will triumph in this matter.”

  Jenna thought that Mick didn’t look so sure, but he, too, strapped on a sword and placed another impressively large knife on the opposite side of his belt.

  “I hope I don’t let you down,” he said in a voice so quiet she could barely hear it. “I couldn’t live with myself if I did.”

  A chill ran down her spine, almost as if another chime had rung out that only she could hear. What had she set into motion now?

  CHAPTER 23

  DAY and Gregori were both familiar with the address Zilya mentioned in her note, so they set off at a brisk trot. Farthingale Hill was no more than a half a day’s ride from where they were now, nearly on top of the place where Day and Jenna had come through the doorway from the Enchanted Rock. Ironically, they’d come almost full circle, but in some ways, it seemed to Day as though they were no closer to the answers they needed than when they’d first arrived.

  At least, not the answers Jenna needed to save her baby. Day had a better idea of what was happening to him physically, although he didn’t know why or what on earth he was going to do about it. More questions he couldn’t answer.

  He ground his teeth, grateful that Jenna was facing forward and couldn’t see him. He was certain his expression was not a pleasant one.

  Frustration bubbled up like the murky potion the evil Brenna had stirred in her cauldron all those months ago. What good was his strength if he couldn’t use it to help the person he’d grown so attached to? He should have stuck to his vow to remain uninvolved and avoid women in need of rescue. Never mind that Jenna didn’t expect him to rescue her and was perfectly determined to save her child on her own if necessary. Never mind that he had at least been able to come to her aid a few times. None of it was worth a hill of beans if in the end she lost that which she valued the most.

  When had her life become so entwined with his own? Was it when she’d heard his story and looked at him without pity or scorn? Or when he’d felt the kick of little Turnip’s tiny yet powerful foot against his hand? Certainly, the two nights they’d spent in each other’s arms had opened his heart to the tendrils of fondness that now bound him to her, but it was more than that.

  Somehow, without intending to, she had mended his broken spirit. Not completely, no. That journey would be long and probably take the rest of whatever time he had left. But because of her, he rode at his brother’s side again. Because of her, he had stopped hiding and returned to the world to discover who and what he was. He had many questions, but she had given him the courage to seek out the answers, just by being the bright light that she was.

  Day knew that she could never be his. Despite her insistence that she was no longer afraid of his change into something so blatantly magical, he had no illusions that she would want to raise her child around such a monster, especially if he could not learn how to control it—or even if it could be controlled. And as they rode toward this final confrontation, he had to confess (if only to himself) the ground-shaking truth he’d been avoiding for so long.

  That this was what he wanted. To be with Jenna, to help raise her baby, to keep them both safe through days filled with sunlight and laughter and nights full of passion. Gods help him, the lonely Rider wanted to be lonely no longer.

  Too bad it was impossible.

  No, even if they managed to thwart Zilya, Jenna would return home, where she belonged. Perhaps to the father of her child, if she could find a way to forgive him for his actions. Perhaps to find some normal Human man to share her life and all those glorious nights.

  Acid burned down his throat and into his heart as he swallowed hard. Day was nothing if not a realist. Jenna could never be his, nor could she ever know that he had ever wished for such a thing. He couldn’t bear it if she finally looked at him with pity in her eyes, all because the White Rider had fallen in love with a dark-haired, light-filled angel who would always be out of his reach. This time with her had been a gift that he would never be allowed to keep. All he asked of the universe now was the chance to do what he had sworn he had no interest in doing—save the only damsel in distress he had ever truly cared about.

  If he could triumph in this, perhaps it would in some way redeem his soul from his previous errors. He couldn’t undo the past, or the damage done to his brothers, but maybe, just maybe, he could give Jenna the future she deserved. That would be enough for him, no matter the cost.

  When they arrived at their destination, they found Zilya waiting for them.

  She was perched on top of the hill, overlooking a large, prosperous house with gabled peaks and lots of windows that looked out on a rolling lawn of blue grass dotted wi
th Technicolor wildflowers. In front of the house they could see a boy of about nine or ten playing with a three-headed puppy. The faint sounds of laughter and barking in three-part harmony could be heard floating up the hillside.

  It would have been an idyllic scene, if not for the wickedly sharp arrow Zilya held aimed directly at the boy, already nocked in the bow she held in competent-looking hands.

  Zilya seemed quite pleased with herself when they came riding up and quietly dismounted a safe distance away from where she stood. Her smile grew even wider when she took in Jenna’s increased size, and Day had to fight the impulse to charge across the space between them and throttle her with his bare hands. Unfortunately, it was clear she would be able to get a shot off before he reached her, so he settled for growling under his breath, until Jenna put a calming hand on his arm.

  She was right, of course; now was no time for him to lose control of his internal beast. Mindless violence wouldn’t help them out of this one.

  “Oh my,” Zilya said to Jenna. “You have been busy, you lovely thing. I so appreciate you making this even easier for me. I have never been a patient woman, alas.” She gave a mock sigh, still keeping most of her attention on the weapon she held aimed at the boy below.

  “What is this all about, Zilya?” Day asked. “You’ve sent minions to try to claim the baby, and they failed. The Queen has forbidden you to touch Jenna yourself. There is nothing you can do.”

  Zilya might be impatient, but even she wasn’t crazy enough to disobey a direct order from the Queen. Skirt it? Yes. Turn herself into a contortionist to get around it? Certainly. But outright defiance? Even Zilya knew that would be suicide. One didn’t live for thousands of years without developing a strong sense of self-preservation. He had no idea what the hell she thought she could achieve here.

  “You might think that,” Zilya said, her dark crow’s eyes gleaming. “But you would be wrong.” She laughed softly, a sound that reminded Day of a nest of snakes rustling together. “I am not going to do anything to Jenna. She is going to do it to herself.”

  Day, Gregori, and Jenna exchanged glances. What the hell?

  Zilya turned to face Jenna, the bow and arrow rock steady in her slim white hands. “I hope you still have that lovely amulet I sent you. I believe you are going to want it.”

  Jenna held up the medallion in its protective leather bag. “I have it,” she said. “Although, really, it’s a little gaudy for my tastes. Next time, perhaps you could send something in a nice sapphire?” While Zilya sputtered, Jenna pulled the three Keys out from underneath her shirt. “I also have the Key from the riddle,” she said. “I am ready to solve it and break this curse forever. Give it up, Zilya. You’ve lost.” She spoke so decisively, she almost had Day convinced, and he knew that she hadn’t actually figured out the last part of the riddle yet. He was so proud of her in that moment, he thought his chest would burst wide open.

  But Zilya just chuckled. “I think not,” she said with soft menace. “Look down there. I suspect you have always wondered what happened to your brother after your mother was forced to give him up.”

  “So?” Jenna said. She seemed completely at ease, but Day could see the tension in the way she held her shoulders and the effort it took her not to clench her hands.

  “So now you can meet him. If you do as I say. Of course, if you do not, you can watch him die right now.”

  “You’re bluffing,” Jenna scoffed. “My brother was born two years before me. He’d be thirty-one now. That child can’t be more than ten. He’s clearly not my brother, just some innocent little boy who happens to have dark hair and look a bit like me. I’m not falling for your trickery.”

  Day peered down at the boy with his keen eyes, able to see farther and in greater detail than Jenna’s merely Human vision could. For instance, he could make out the shape of the boy’s face, whose delicate paleness and determined chin echoed the one he’d been staring at for days. But much harder to duplicate were the eyes; large and that unusual icy blue color Day had only seen on one person before, surrounded by the same long, dusky lashes.

  Damn. Why couldn’t anything be simple?

  “Jenna,” he said quietly. “Remember the strange way that time can work here in the Otherworld. And take a good look at the boy’s features. He’s got your eyes.”

  Gregori nodded impassively. “In truth, Jenna, the child resembles you greatly. Zilya has lied about many things, but I doubt very much that she is lying about this.”

  Day watched Jenna carefully as her expressive face showed every emotion she was feeling. The confident look slid away to be replaced by hope, then fury, then fear. In the end, it held some feeling he couldn’t read at all.

  Zilya, watching all the transformations with arrogant satisfaction, nodded her head briskly. “You see? You have no choice.” She waggled the bow and arrow, still aimed at the boy, and said to Jenna, “You lost your brother once before. Will you stand by and lose him again when this time you have the power to prevent it? Or will you bow to the inevitable and simply place my claiming amulet around your neck? Once you have done so, I will gladly take you down to meet him.”

  The faery practically radiated triumph, her white dandelion fluff hair crackling around her head like a storm cloud bringing with it doom and destruction. “You are young,” she said in a smooth oily tone. “You can have more children. But you will have only one brother. It is up to you: will he live or will he die?”

  Day watched Jenna. Tears sprang into her eyes and she put one hand on her chest, as though she could keep the heart inside from breaking. He knew, better than most, how precious the life of a brother was. Zilya had given Jenna an impossible choice, damn the faery’s cold and clever mind. He could see the moment when Jenna began to waver.

  “I have let too many people down already,” Day said to Gregori, in a voice so quiet no one else could have heard it. “I could not bear it if I let Jenna down too.”

  Gregori started to speak, but Day just shook his head minutely. “She brought me back to life and gave me back my soul. I will not let her make this sacrifice. She would never be able to live with herself. I will not have her go through one moment of the agony I have suffered in this last year.”

  Jenna stood frozen for a moment, then slid the medallion out of its pouch and started to lift it, hands shaking uncontrollably, a single tear making a forlorn path down over her pale cheek.

  “NO, Jenna!” Day yelled, and raced at Zilya, getting between her and the boy. He heard the snap of the bowstring and saw the flash of the pseudo-sun off the arrow, right before it buried itself deep in his chest. And then there was only pain.

  CHAPTER 24

  JENNA screamed, barely able to comprehend what she saw. She and Gregori would have rushed to Mick, but Zilya stepped forward and put one booted foot on the feathered end of the arrow where it stuck up out of Mick’s chest. He lay still, sprawled awkwardly on his back with his arms spread out as if trying to break his fall. Jenna couldn’t even tell if he was breathing, but she could see an ominous trickle of bright red blood sliding from the corner of his mouth.

  “You bitch!” Jenna said. “Get away from him. He never did anything to you. How could you shoot him?”

  Zilya shrugged. “He got in my way. Literally.” She looked from Mick, lying at her feet, and then back at Jenna. “So that is how it is,” she said with a smirk. “That makes things even simpler. Put that medallion over your head, Jenna, or I will shove this arrow the rest of the way through his chest. Day is not immortal anymore, is he? He can die as quickly as any other mortal, without his magical healing to help him.”

  She smiled, and it was not a pleasant sight.

  “The choice is up to you, Jenna Quinlan. Allow me to claim your unborn child. You can see how happy your brother is; his foster parents have given him a pampered and privileged life where he wants for nothing. Give me the child and Day lives. Or at
least, he might. Refuse me, and he has no chance at all.”

  Gregori glared at Zilya. “The Queen will have your head for this.”

  “Not if you both swear to keep your silence, in return for Day’s life. This is the Otherworld, after all. You know such vows have power.”

  Gregori scowled, but Jenna noticed he didn’t argue with her.

  They both heard a low groan, coming from where Day was lying. At least he was still alive. For now.

  “Why didn’t he change into that creature?” Jenna asked Gregori in a whisper. “Why doesn’t he change now? Wouldn’t that make him stronger?”

  Gregori’s lips thinned into a straight line. “He has only changed forms when you were in danger, right?” She nodded, not taking her eyes off of Zilya, who was waiting, one foot still poised above Day’s wounded body.

  “When he charged at Zilya, he was only trying to protect your heart, not your life,” Gregori said. “Perhaps it wasn’t enough to trigger the transition. And he still can’t change at will, as far as I know.” His deep eyes were sadder than she’d ever seen them. “I thought that perhaps the solution to his condition lay within the riddle, but since we never solved it completely, there is no way to say for sure.”

  Jenna brushed away tears, unable to look away from the tableau in front of her. “What should I do?” she asked Gregori in an agonized whisper. It felt as though her heart were being torn in two. It had been a difficult enough decision to make when the choice had been between her unborn child and a boy she’d never met but knew to be her long-lost brother. To choose between the baby she carried and Mick? Impossible.

  Gregori gazed at her steadily with grief in his dark eyes. “I cannot tell you what to do. Only you can make this choice, Jenna.”

  “Don’t do it, Jenna.” Mick’s voice was weak and laced with pain, but she could hear the determination in it even so. “It isn’t worth it. I’m not worth it. I forbid it.”