“A year and a day—in my court.”
Her eyes narrowed. “How long would that be in my world?”
Good. She was using that intelligent brain of hers.
“About ten turns of the sun,” the king replied.
“And what would my duties be?”
A smile curved Sindre’s lips. “To entertain me.”
“No.” Luc’s snarl tore through the room. He slammed against the cage over and over, uncaring of his seared and bruised flesh.
Marjani’s chin jutted. “I won’t be your whore.”
The king inclined his head. “If anything happens, it will be with your full cooperation.”
For some reason, that made her freeze. Her lips went white around the edges. “You’ll swear to that.”
“I will.”
Suddenly, Fane couldn’t bear it. Sindre had dark tastes—and ways of ensuring an unwilling person’s cooperation. A year and a day with him would age Marjani in ways she couldn’t know.
He dragged in a breath. The hell with it. He’d break the geas. He couldn’t live with himself if he stood by while Marjani bound herself to Sindre.
Then Blaer stepped forward and grabbed the quartz around Marjani’s neck. Marjani’s hand shot out, gripping the fae’s wrist.
The two women stared at each other. Marjani’s lip peeled to show a single sharp canine. “Let. It. Go.”
Blaer squeezed the milky chunk of rock and shot Sindre a triumphant grin. “You don’t have to bargain with the animal, my lord. She’ll do anything I say.”
Sindre shook his head, but remained silent as Blaer tightened her grip on the substitute quartz.
“You’re in my power now, fada,” she said gleefully. “Drop to your knees.”
Marjani stared back. Blaer’s brow creased.
Marjani exploded into action, tossing Luc a stiletto at the same time she jerked her head back, ripping the quartz from Blaer’s hand. A moment later she was airborne. Her booted feet struck Blaer’s chest. The fae staggered backward.
Marjani was right there. She aimed a roundhouse kick at Blaer’s solar plexus, dropping her to the floor.
Sindre raised his hand, preparing to freeze Marjani.
Pulling her dagger from her boot, she darted forward and sliced his arm. Blood welled, soaking the white linen. Sindre’s breath sucked in. He eyed the slash in disbelief, and then lunged for Marjani.
She danced away in Fane’s direction. He grabbed her wrist and somehow managed to summon the energy to conceal them both.
Luc inserted the stiletto’s skinny blade in the cage’s lock. It released with a click.
“Get Jani out of here,” he said in Fane’s general direction as he shoved open the door. He leapt at Sindre, shifting in mid-air to a huge brown wolf. He slammed Sindre to the floor just as the king opened his mouth, probably to order Fane to release Marjani.
Fane hustled her toward the door, but she dug in her heels and tried to twist out of his grip. “Let me go, damn it. I’m not leaving without Luc.”
A cursing Blaer rose to her feet. Blood trickled from her mouth and her pale skin was bruised from her struggle with Marjani, but a powerful fae like her could heal in minutes from a blow that would've broken the ribs of a human.
Her gaze swung in Marjani and Fane’s direction. Dark tendrils slid over his skin. Despair filled him.
Give yourself up—you’ll never escape.
They had to leave. Now, while Sindre was occupied with fighting Luc and couldn’t order Fane to release Marjani. Because when it came down to it, he wasn’t sure he’d have the strength to resist the compulsion the geas put on him.
Marjani slashed at him with her dagger. “I said, let me go.”
He leapt back just as the blade ripped through his sweater, narrowly missing his stomach. His mouth dropped open. The woman had tried to disembowel him.
Fuck this.
He twisted her right arm behind her back and shoved her into the hall. There, he clamped both arms around her from behind, immobilizing her arms against her body, and raced down the stairs, Marjani fighting him the whole way. Twice, she nearly escaped, but somehow he managed to hang on to her.
He dashed for the nearest exit, and a few seconds later, they were outside the castle by a little-used portal. Still gripping her, he flicked his fingers and muttered the incantation, and then jumped through into the human world.
Unfortunately, to shut the portal required both hands. As soon as he released Marjani, she leapt for the shimmering circle. He rapped out the correct words and made the closing motion with both hands, wayfarer-fast, and then grabbed her by the waist and hung on until it contracted, leaving them on the outside.
Marjani rounded on him. “You asshole.” She crouched, her dagger raised. “Let me back in—now. I won’t leave without Luc.”
Jealousy twisted through him. What was the other man to her?
He dragged in a breath. “No.”
“No?” She growled and lunged at him with the knife, but this time he was ready and easily evaded her.
“No. The goblins would be on you the second you stepped through. Because you can bet Lady B is sending them after us. You didn’t make a bargain with the king, so as far as she’s concerned, you’re fair game. And she’ll have his blessing, because he wants you, too.”
She stared at him, both of them panting. High above, the sun peeked out from behind a fluffy white cloud. It was noon—a point in their favor. Goblins were nocturnal; Blaer would have to wake them, buying him and Marjani a little time—as long as they didn’t waste time arguing.
“Please,” he said. “Your friend—Luc—doesn’t want you there. You heard him. He told me to get you out.”
“Fuck that. You want to go, fine. I don’t need you. Just let me back in.”
He set his jaw. So bloody self-sufficient, she was. But a woman didn’t get so self-sufficient unless life had made her that way.
“How about if I promise I’ll help you get back in? But not right now. You saw what the goblins did to your friend. Their orders will be to bring you back alive, but Lady B won’t care if they beat the shit out of you first. Please. Just come with me until we can figure out a plan.” He held out his hand.
Marjani’s mouth compressed into a tight line, but she put her hand in his. “If he dies,” she ground out, “I’ll never forgive you. Never.”
Still weak and hurting from Sindre’s attack, he glared down at her. He’d just thwarted the ice fae king for her, putting his own life on the line, and all she wanted to do was put herself back in the king’s power.
And on top of that, now Blaer was after them, too.
It was a hell of a time to realize he was falling in love with the woman.
“At least you’ll be alive,” he gritted.
17
Luc slammed into Sindre’s chest. He fell down and the two of them rolled across the floor.
The ice fae king was strong. He had to be hurting as the iron entered his system, but he didn’t show it. Luc strained to reach the king’s pale neck and the carotid pulsing so temptingly beneath his ear. But Sindre dug his fingers into Luc’s fur, holding him off long enough to mutter a few words.
The air around the king shimmered and he ’ported across the tower. Luc loped after him. As he gathered his muscles to leap, Sindre flung up a hand.
Icy fingers reached inside Luc’s chest and squeezed his heart. He dropped like a stone to the floor and lay there, writhing with pain.
Blaer hurried over and grabbed Luc’s quartz. He groaned, the pain even worse than what Sindre had done to him.
“Freeze,” she hissed, and his muscles locked. He lay on the floor, twitching and humiliated as she yanked the pendant off his head.
“No,” he rasped. He tried to make his hand move so he could snatch it back from her. But he couldn’t.
“I know the secret,” she whispered. “Even the king doesn’t know what I know. That it’s easiest for a night fae to get to the heart of your q
uartz.”
She chanted the secret words, and dark talons closed around the magic at the center of his quartz. The humming crystals stuttered, and then started up a new, unfamiliar music—a tune that somehow connected him to Blaer.
His bowels iced.
Her lips curved. “You have to obey me.”
“No,” he said, but it was the last, desperate gasp of a drowning man.
Sindre came up beside her, nursing his injured arm. “Blaer, min. Do you really need two? Fane has a point. We don’t want to get the earth fada all stirred up. I’ll have to fight back, and that might bring the sun fae into this. The queen seems to have adopted the local fada.”
Blaer moved a smooth shoulder. “I wasn’t planning to keep this one. He’s simply bait. The female will come back for him.”
“You seem so sure.”
“I am. Clan is everything to them—she won’t leave Iceland without him.”
Sindre’s mouth curved. “And when she does, I’ll be waiting.”
“Exactly.”
They exchanged a smile. Then Sindre said, “I’ll just take care of this one for you.” He ’ported Luc back into the cage and slammed the door shut, then glanced at his bloody arm. “I suppose I’d better have a healer look at this.”
The fae lady nodded. “And if I may summon the goblins?”
“I thought you were sure she’ll return.”
“I am. But it wouldn’t hurt to offer her a little incentive.”
They headed out the door, ignoring Luc’s furious growl.
The last thing he heard was Blaer asking, “And you? What are you going to do about the mixed-blood?”
“Don’t worry,” the king returned. “He can’t go far without my permission.”
18
Thrice-damned interfering prick.
Marjani glowered at Fane, moving grim-faced beside her on those long, ground-eating legs. She could’ve cheerfully slit his throat and walked away smiling.
And why was he helping her, anyway? There was nothing in it for him. In fact, Sindre was going to be out for his blood. And she’d seen how scary a pissed-off Sindre could be.
Her heart clenched—not for Fane, who deserved whatever he got—but for Luc.
Gods, she hated to leave him behind with Sindre and that fae bitch. Luc must know Marjani wouldn’t abandon him. Still, that didn’t make her feel any less guilty. She’d known Luc would follow her, with or without Adric’s say-so.
They covered a mile, then another at a slower pace. Fane wavered, hand to his chest, lips white. He must be running on fumes.
She scowled. “You okay?”
He nodded and pressed on, going slower and slower until he was stumbling forward, feet dragging.
“You have to rest.” She grabbed his arm, worried in spite of herself.
He placed his hands on his thighs and dragged in a breath. “My energy. The king…drained me. Almost gone.” He nodded at a pile of boulders. “In there…a cavern.”
“I’m on it.” She wrapped her arm around his waist. “Lean on me.”
He tried to pull away. “Too…heavy.”
“I’m stronger than I look.” She tightened her arm around his waist.
“Stubborn.” But he let himself lean on her.
“Yeah, I get that a lot.” She headed toward the boulders, half-dragging, half-carrying him.
“There.” He indicated a fissure in the boulders. “A cave. Secret.”
She snorted. The fissure didn’t look big enough for a very skinny elf. “You’re kidding, right?”
He grimaced without answering. Okay, now she was definitely worried. In her experience, Fane had a ready response to just about anything. If he wasn’t talking, he must really feel shitty.
They had to turn sideways to get through the opening. She pushed him in first, frowning when he stopped to rest his forehead on a boulder.
“Keep going.” She nudged him. “You can do it.”
He lurched into movement again, eyes half-closed, feeling his way along the boulders. The passageway turned down and tunneled underground. Things went completely dark, and her eyes went night-glow. Not that there was much to see except the rough basalt pressed up against her cheek. Still, it was easier for her; Fane might be lean, but he was still bigger than her.
The tunnel narrowed even more. Fane halted, his cheek against the rock, panting raggedly.
A high-pitched, excited chittering came from far away. The goblins, still distant but moving in their direction. Goose pimples popped up all over her body.
“Move,” she said in a hard voice and nudged him with her hip.
He continued to inch sideways, her following—until his shoulders got caught.
She muttered a curse. “You sure you’ve done this before?”
“Yeah…my secret…place.”
“Well, then, you’ve gained some weight.”
That earned her a weak chuckle.
“Okay. When I give the word, blow out your breath—and say a fucking prayer.” She managed to turn enough to shove his nearest shoulder with both hands. “Now.”
He exhaled with a grunt. There was a tearing sound as his shirt ripped, and then he was through. She slipped after him.
Shortly after that, the passage widened, and suddenly, they were in a small underground cavern. A crack in the ceiling let in enough light to show walls of rough gray basalt. At the opposite end, a turquoise-blue thermal pool steamed gently.
Fane fell to his hands and knees, chest heaving. Marjani almost knelt down next to him, just to give thanks.
“Hey.” She touched his back. “You still with me?”
“Don’t feel…so good…” He collapsed the rest of the way and curled up on the cavern floor.
Her breath caught. He looked so still, his face pale under his golden tan, mouth a bluish-pink. But his chest was moving.
She gave him a shake. “Damn it, Fane. You better not die on me.”
No response.
Dragging off her sweater, she draped it over his chest before sitting cross-legged on the stone floor to take stock.
The cavern was a rough oval shape about ten feet wide and twenty feet long. They had light and fresh air from that crack in the ceiling. But the best part was the thermal pool. The steaming blue water kept the cavern at a comfortable temperature.
And she still had her knives—and her quartz, thanks to Fane.
That was the good news.
The bad news was she was holed up with an unconscious man and no food. She thought longingly of the backpack she’d left in Sindre’s tower and everything inside it, including the fishing knife.
At least they had water. She’d done her research and knew Iceland had some of the cleanest water in the world. She glanced again at the pool. The water might smell of sulfur, but it was drinkable. All in all, her cat approved of their temporary den—it was safely underground, easy to defend, and even had its own water supply.
And she could hunt for food, assuming it was safe to go outside. She glanced at the ceiling crack, straining to hear the goblins. For now, it was quiet.
Fane dragged in a breath and pillowed his head on his arm. At some point, he’d lost the leather tie around his hair and blond strands spilled over his shoulders. Her fingers twitched, recalling how silky it had felt when he’d kissed her.
Then she recalled how he’d played her and balled those fingers into a fist. All that time she’d thought he’d been helping her, and instead, the prick had been spying on her.
You were a job to him, nothing more.
Then why had he held her in bed last night without asking for more?
And this morning, why had he obtained a decoy quartz for her—and then helped her escape?
Gods, even after Sindre’s attack, he’d come to Blaer’s tower. To help her, Marjani.
The man was a fucking onion, with layers upon layers. She had a feeling she could know him for a decade and still not understand how his mind worked. And the bitch of it was, she
wouldn’t mind sticking around for that long. Fane intrigued her. Inside, her cat hummed agreement.
She scowled and removed her quartz from her bra. For now, she’d keep the other quartz around her neck as a decoy. She didn’t think she could stand losing her real quartz again. Once in a lifetime had been enough.
She bit the inner side of her cheek. A part of her would always mourn her first quartz. The pain as the men ripped it from her had been excruciating, like having her heart torn out, and when they’d smashed it in front of her, the agony had doubled and redoubled.
Only a mate or close relative could touch an earth fada’s quartz without it hurting. Bad.
And that had just been the start…
She exhaled and dragged her thoughts back to the present.
Time to report to Adric. She hadn’t intended to call him until Corban was dead, but he needed to know what was going on with Blaer and her cages. The other earth fada alphas should be informed, and maybe even the water fada clans. This was bigger than Marjani trying to prove herself.
She tapped a slight depression, accessing the quartz’s smartphone. Another tap pinged Adric.
He answered immediately. “Jani? You okay? Where the fuck are you? It’s been over a month.”
For some damn reason, her eyes stung. Goddess, she missed him. The two of them had never been apart for this long. She could just picture him scrubbing a hand over his spiky hair, his hard face a mixture of anger and worry.
He was as much feared as loved. Very few people saw the big heart concealed behind that ruthless façade. But Marjani did.
Adric was only two years older than her, and the two of them were more like twins than siblings, especially after the death of their mom and dad. You tended to bond with someone when you were fighting for survival.
This past year, her brother had been so damn patient with her, gently coaxing her back to something resembling a normal life again. He’d fed her. Talked to her, even though she spent most days as her cat. Asked her advice when her only response was a twitch of her tail.
Charming Marjani Page 12