Anessa reached out and took Leroc’s hand. She didn’t even need to see him to find him.
He squeezed her hand and whispered, “And now you will close your eyes and sleep.”
She felt a light dusting across her lips, and she slept.
* * * *
Leroc watched as Spike knelt on the bed, had her mate, Al, hold a wad of gauze at the ready, and when she nodded and pulled out the six-inch spike that had entered just below Anessa’s shoulder and jutted out below her elbow.
The blood spurted and flowed freely as the spike came loose. Al pressed the gauze to the wounds, but they quickly became soaked with blood.
Leroc looked at the bruising on the hand he was holding, and he watched it heal under the sparks that were wreathing their point of contact.
Spike hissed and worked at the arm, but the blood kept coming. “If you have some fey trick up your sleeve, you should find it now.”
He let Anessa go, channelled his energy into his hands and he moved Spike and Al aside. With all his energy focused, he grabbed Anessa’s arm and the lightning storm began as her body fought back.
Spike winced but watched. “It is working. Keep going.”
The blood flow slowed, and the bruising under the skin came to the surface before slowly dissipating. The open wounds took longer, but after an hour, there was no trace of her wound except for the blood-drenched bedding surrounding her.
Leroc was shaking when he pulled his hands away. They were stained red with Anessa’s blood. “How is she?”
“Pulse is weak but steady; she lost a lot of blood. She needs a bath and a meal. I am sure that Teebie can help with that.”
“I can bathe her if you two could help arrange the meal and Teebie could dispose of the blood.”
The blue woman nodded from the doorway. “I will. I have Anessa’s bedroom ready if you want to put her in there while I clean up in here.”
“Can you move my things into her room? We already had an arrangement before she came here and our attendance at the Crossroads is out of necessity, not wishful thinking.”
She looked at him and nodded. “Fine, but one complaint from her and you are going to be on the roof.”
He lifted her in his arms and nodded. “Accepted. Please, lead the way.”
He turned with Anessa in his arms. “Thank you, Spike; thanks, Al.”
They waved with bloody hands, and he carried his beloved into her bedroom, bypassing the bed and taking her to the bathroom. Her clothing was trashed.
Teebie put her hand on his shoulder. “Despite your agreement, I am not sure that she would appreciate knowing that you had handled her nude body without her consent. I will take care of her, and you can wait in the bedroom. I will bring her in when she is clean and dressed.”
Leroc sighed, washed his hands in the sink and left the bathroom. He kicked off his shoes and dropped onto the bed. The energy he had expended had exhausted him, but he was determined to see Anessa’s eyes open to see him when she woke.
He just needed to stay awake for a little longer.
* * * *
Anessa stirred and opened her eyes. She was wearing a silky gown in a pretty purple, and next to her, Leroc was sleeping.
She remembered focusing on him when she was told she needed to distract herself, and it had felt completely natural. Smiling to herself, she curled against him, and even in sleep, his arm curled around her. There was the faint scent of blood on him, but it was her scent in the blood, so she would ask him about that later. For now, she could inhale his comforting aura and their energies could spark against one another and they could both recover from whatever her arrival had wrought.
Chapter Six
Teebie smiled brightly at her as she brought in a tray. She set it on the table and came around to help Anessa up.
Anessa whispered, “You are Teebie, right?”
“I am. It was the djinn factor that gave it away, right?”
“That and you were holding a tray. I guessed you were the proprietor.”
“It is a bowl of broth and a sandwich. You lost a lot of blood.”
“I did?” She grabbed for the broth and drank it down. Immediately, she felt a little less transparent.
“Yes. Your elf there, he forced your body to heal itself. It was inspired thinking on his part. With all the energy sparking around, I never realised that it was basically an immune response.”
The broth tasted amazing, and she quickly moved to the sandwich. “I don’t know about that. I am a little new to this whole shifter, elf and magic thing.”
Anessa heard the change in Leroc’s breathing. He was awake.
She set aside half her sandwich and drank some of the lemonade that Teebie had brought along.
“Aren’t you hungry? You should eat.” Teebie looked at the sandwich on the plate.
“I figured Leroc might be peckish as well. I can always head out and get something to eat. I am not that feeble.”
The sheets rustled behind her as the elf rose to his feet. She sipped at the lemonade and smiled. “I thought we went to your room?”
He grimaced. “You had the bad taste to bleed all over the mattress, bedding and everyone in the room.”
She winced. “What happened?”
Teebie perked up. “Well, you are embedded with a lot of human magic, and the transporter didn’t take any safety precautions when he sent you through. Your magic hit the Crossroads, and it flared out of control. You blew a chunk out of the roof of the Meditation Centre and the wood splintered, hitting you in the arm. It went in just below your shoulder and came out near your elbow. It was not a good look for you.”
Anessa knew it couldn’t be her right arm, so it had to be her left. She ran her hand across the surface of her skin and felt a tenderness along the outside of her arm.
Teebie smiled. “I disposed of all the blood in water so that if you were a contact mage, you wouldn’t suffer pain.”
“I don’t know what that means, so I will just say, thank you.” She smiled.
Teebie blinked. “You really haven’t been exposed to magic?”
“I work at a spell-supply shop, but that is about it. I had to be told I was a shifter.” She gave Leroc a wry glance.
He had finished the half sandwich and sat back. “Would you care to get something a little more substantial? Not that I am insulting your food, Lady Teebie.”
Teebie waved it away. “Not a problem. This was just enough to get you both up and back on your feet. Al has prepared a restorative menu for Anessa, and he just went on shift, so you two can get dressed and get over there.”
Teebie cleared the plate and bowl but left the glasses and pitcher of lemonade. She took the tray and paused. “Wait a minute.”
She returned, fished around in her pocket and pulled out a small strip of leather with a charm on it. “This is for you, Anessa. It will buy you whatever you need while you are here. Just swipe the charm over any of the pay stations, and the fey court will get the bill.”
“Right. Thank you.”
She looked over, and Leroc had one as well. “Where does your bill go?”
He grinned. “To my bank.”
She smiled and blinked. “Where is my bag?”
Teebie inclined her head. “I unpacked for you, and based on your sizes, I got a few outfits to replace the clothing you had on when you arrived. They were pretty torn up.”
She nodded and went to the wardrobe, finding her familiar clothing hanging next to some very cute dresses, and next to that was Leroc’s clothing. It smelled like him.
She looked at him around the wardrobe door. “You are staying here?”
Teebie looked like she wanted to address that, but Leroc lifted his hand. “Anessa, can you imagine being with anyone other than me?”
She wrinkled her nose. “It isn’t nice to be so blunt.”
Teebie sighed in relief and left.
When the door closed, Leroc added, “I promise, your virtue is safe with me.”
She grabbed some of the underwear she required and picked a navy-blue dress with stars at the neckline and a flippy skirt.
She took her armload of clothing into the bathroom and leaned against the door with wobbling knees. Despite her bluffing, she was weak and dizzy. She must have lost more blood than she imagined.
When she was a little more stable, she removed the purple gown and put on her underwear, stopping to rest as she got dressed. It took about five minutes to get everything in place, but when she emerged, he was already changed and looking annoyingly refreshed.
He looked at her and smirked. “You need shoes.”
“Observant, aren’t you?”
Leroc went to the wardrobe, and he brought out her well-worn, high-heeled sandals. He frowned at them, and they changed shape as they dangled from his fingers. He went down on one knee and held the right shoe out to her. She slipped her foot in, and he fastened the elegant sandal with economical movements. She put her hands on his shoulders for the left shoe. “I liked those sandals.”
“They have been through the wars; it was time to give them a new life.” He looked up at her and winked.
“How did you do that?”
“Practice.” He finished fastening her footwear and got to his feet. He offered her his arm. “Shall we?”
She looped her arm through his, ignoring the sparks. They eased out the door of her guestroom, and he walked her down the stairs.
Anessa wished she didn’t need his support, but she did. Desperate to create a bit of chatter while they walked down the lane, she asked, “Why did you come a few days ago?”
“I was ordered to. Even I can’t defy the king, and the king listens to the seers. They said I needed to be here, so I had to be here. I was relieved when you called.”
“How did that work, by the way?”
He grinned. “If you ask nicely, they have Wi-Fi. You called my Skype.”
She laughed the rest of the way to the restaurant.
The server smiled and seated them, handing them the menus. He paused. “Are you Anessa?”
She nodded. Her menu disappeared.
The server winked. “Al has prepared something special for you.”
Leroc smirked and looked his menu over before making his selections.
Anessa was surprised when she got a glass of heady red wine and a bowl of beef consommé. “So far, I am liking the invalid diet.”
A pitcher of water was left at the table, and she was under orders to drink it all.
“I am going to slosh when I leave here.”
Leroc snickered. “When should we arrange the balance ceremony?”
She blinked at the change of topic. “What are our options?”
“We should do it sooner rather than later as we will be unable to do more than hold hands until the balancing has been completed.”
She smirked. “Like tires.”
He laughed. “Something like that. My home is in the hills above the city, so we can continue the courtship there.”
“You mean have sex.” She leaned back as the server took her bowl.
“No. I mean continue the courtship. I am not in a hurry; I have waited over a year for you, I can wait a few months more.”
She sat and stared at him for a moment before she laughed. “It won’t take that long. From what I have read, I have about two days before I rip your clothing off.”
It was his turn to blink in surprise. “Pardon?”
“I am in heat. Once I am in better physical shape, I am pretty sure that the hormones will rise again.”
He got a salad as a second course; she got a loaf of bread with a bowl of whipped butter. This was an invalid menu she could get behind.
“You are in heat?” He raised his brows.
“Yeah, and you are the only guy I thought of. I didn’t want to go to the pride or stalk a guy out in the open. So, yeah, I chose you.”
He looked at her in surprise. “Why?”
She laughed and ate a piece of bread before she answered. “Because you wanted me to learn who I was. I am not all the way there, but you put me on the path. That shows that you actually had an interest in all of me, not just the parts you can see.”
To her amusement, Leroc was blushing.
She made it through the small loaf of bread, and the crumbs were brushed away before the main course arrived. She attacked the beef stew with enthusiasm and kept up her end of the polite chitchat as he worked on his roasted Cornish hen.
The wine went really well with the stew. She enjoyed the pairing until the bowl was empty and the glass only had a memory of the wine.
Her dessert was a lightly marinated fruit salad and a bright, cold, sweet wine that paired perfectly.
Leroc got a chocolate mousse, but she thought she had the better of the deal.
When her fruit was done and she was leaning forward with the wine glass in her hand, she asked him, “Do you have any idea where I came from?”
He paused. “I have some suspicions, but we will have to apply to the Guild Master of the Mages for access to their seers.”
“Why?”
“Because I believe that one of your parents was a mage and one was a shifter. You aren’t supposed to exist, but you have too much of the power on each side of the line to be just a descendant of one or the other.”
She stared at him with her wineglass in her hand. “That isn’t supposed to be possible. Lee told me that shifters who mate with any other species normally end up with normal human kids.”
“That is normally the case, but it is not the case with you. When Evan told me that you read and answered the ad, that was enough to get me thinking. I did some research after you and I shook hands that first day and was able to determine that not only could you read mage script, but you also had the power of a full-blooded shifter. That is not a common combination.”
She sighed. “I just can’t do anything right.”
Leroc was taken aback. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I couldn’t be born to folks who wanted to keep me, couldn’t get adopted, and now, I am not one thing but two at the same time. Life is never simple and straightforward.”
He sighed. “And I am going to add fey into the mix. It is quite a bit for you to take on, but you will at least have a position in society and wealth enough to choose what you wish to do with your considerable life span.”
She perked up. “Life span?”
“Yes, I get half of you, and you get half of me. Balanced.” He inclined his head. “I will get your heat—”
“Actually, in males it is called rut.”
He sighed, “I will get your heat, and you will get the power and pointy ears.”
She shrugged. “You also get a lion and whatever magic I have.”
“Ah, yes. The lion. That will be a little odd. How did you cope with the change?”
She grinned. “Do you want me to tell you?”
“I do. Unless you want to go and visit Spike next door. She administered first aid to your injury. It would have worked, too, if you hadn’t torn an artery.”
She sighed. “See, I can’t even get injured properly.”
He laughed, and they rose to their feet for a walk outside. She could walk and talk at the same time. Evolution was wonderful.
“You have to watch out for the tail. It likes to jerk you from one side to the next. It is a wily beast, and if I can ever have a moment alone, I will catch it and punish it severely.” She clung to his arm as they walked around the corner to the Crossed Star Bar.
Time to meet the woman who tried to save her life.
Chapter Seven
Spike was petite, quick and had a bright look about her that made Anessa think of something small and fluffy.
The Crossroads’ medic looked her over and pronounced herself pleased with how Al’s menu was working to help replenish what she had lost. Shifters needed more
protein on average than normal humans, so that was why meat flavouring was key to most of their food choices.
When she had been pronounced as fit as she was getting, Leroc asked her, “Care to dance?”
“I don’t dance. It...you are the first person to ask.”
He paused. “Would you like to try?”
The gathering of men and women grinding together on the dance floor intimidated the hell out of her with one glance. “Um, nope. I am good.”
“I can teach you.”
“Not in a crowd.”
He laughed. “A private lesson in dance it is.”
She sighed and looked around. “Can we go back to the Open Heart?”
“Of course.” He smiled and offered her his arm.
Anessa looped her hand around his elbow and walked out of the bar with him. Her body was sated and tired. She felt a little embarrassed as she had spent the day sleeping, but the heaviness in her limbs was telling her that it was time to rest again.
Back in the Open Heart, Teebie grinned at them as they returned, and she inclined her head. “I have made the arrangements. Whenever you wake up tomorrow, we are a go.”
Anessa felt a flutter of nerves at the thought of the balance ceremony. She wasn’t sure what it would entail, but she knew it would change her life. If she hadn’t been yawning with every third step, she would have felt more than vague nerves. She wanted to get into bed in the worst way.
When they entered her room, she sat on the edge of the bed to remove her shoes and flopped back.
Leroc laughed. “I will take my turn in the bathroom.”
She flapped her hand at him, and he chuckled again. The darkness swelled around her and she fell asleep.
* * * *
Leroc came out of the bathroom and saw his future bride sprawled out across the bed. He didn’t want to move her, but she wouldn’t be comfortable if she woke up after eight hours in that position.
He touched the side of her ankle, and she levitated upward two feet and, then, she rotated until her head was above the pillow. He touched the edge of her dress, and it morphed into a silk gown similar to the one she had worn the previous night. He had enjoyed the look of it.
Roar of Magic Page 4