Elf-Shot Book 6 in The Twilight Court Series

by Amy Sumida

  The Northern Lights didn't hurt either. They streaked the sky with vivid, green bands which pulsed and glowed in alien beauty. It was magical and so appropriate for the day. Then an arrow struck the ground near the tub, and my entire Guard freaked the hell out.

  I was suddenly covered in Killian. His entire body was plastered over mine as he scanned the area carefully. Then his gaze went to the arrow and he relaxed, easing back from me.

  “Message for you, Princess,” Killian stretched out in the suddenly spacious tub. Only he and Hrafn had remained with me.

  “He's right,” Hrafn nodded to where a dripping, steaming Conri was picking up the arrow and holding it out carefully. A piece of paper was bound around the shaft. “That will be your invitation.”

  “Your Highness,” Conri brought the arrow over as the rest of the Guard searched the area.

  I unwrapped the paper and saw that it was indeed an invitation. Fancy writing, almost too swirly to read, bade me to seek the elves at dawn the next day. I was perfectly fine with dawn, which was just another word for twilight. That was when I, and my Guard, would be at our most powerful. Even if the twilight magic boost only lasted till morning broke. Seelie got the day, and Unseelie had dominion over the night. It seemed unfair that Twilight only got the small spaces of time in between, but as if in consolation for our reduced time, we gained even more power during it. I often wondered if we all were given the same energy boost, except Twilight's was more condensed than the other two kingdoms.

  “At ease, everyone,” I called out to the knights. “We've been invited to meet the elves, and they've even offered us safe passage.”

  My Guard wandered back to the hot tub, and we discussed our plan for the next day. It was a huge relief to have it settled, and I ended up relaxing completely and staying longer in the hot tub than I should have. Long enough that most of the others went in to bed. Only Killian and Cat remained behind to guard me, and Cat was asleep on the brick courtyard. Her fur was fluffed, and her nose tucked into her belly. She seemed perfectly happy in the frigid night.

  “So, did you tell Raza about Tiernan?” Killian asked in a hushed voice.

  “I did,” I kept my eyes on the pulsing sky.

  “And he took it well?”

  “Well enough,” I shrugged. “He understood.”

  “Did he?” Killian had his arms spread out above the rim of the tub, making his biceps bulge. “I don't know if I would have.”

  “Yes, you made yourself clear when we first met,” I tried not to notice how good his chest looked wet, but even the Northern Lights couldn't keep my eyes from straying to Killian.

  “And I thought I made myself even more clear the other night,” he cocked his head at me. “But perhaps it didn't sink in. Talk to the dragon about us, Seren. Or I will.”

  “There isn't an 'us', Killian,” I sighed.

  “Isn't there?” Killian slid across to me, his bulk bracketing me in against the wood rim. “I think you're lying to yourself, Twilight. See, I had a long think over what you said up in that tree. I thought about your words, the way you said them... and how you looked when you spoke. The things you didn't say were nearly as important as what you did. I came to the conclusion that you want me as much as I want you.”

  “Killian,” my voice was the barest breath of sound. “Back up.”

  “No,” he leaned in closer, his face a mere inch away from mine.

  We were in our underwear. No one had thought to bring a swimsuit to Iceland. But we were all grown-ups, and we decided that we could handle seeing each other in our unmentionables. Especially if it meant we could soak in a hot tub. We had laughed and teased each other at first. But now it didn't seem so funny. Not with Killian's nearly bare body pressed against mine, and the evidence of his arousal laying on my thigh.

  “No,” I repeated his word, but it meant something entirely different to me.

  “Yes,” he switched tactics. “There it is, that look.” His hands went to my waist, then slid up to rest just beneath my breasts. “There, you just caught your breath. Your lips are parting, Twilight. Your eyes are slowly closing. Your body is shaking. I can make it shake more,” he spoke the last word against my lips. “Just give us a chance.”

  Oh, Goddess. He was so close. And he smelled like a man. Like a human man with just the barest hint of other. But I could ignore that tinge of magic about him, ignore the ridges of the wings embedded into his back, and the slit pupils of his eyes. All I had to do was close my eyes and breathe him in. Then I felt human again. Killian reminded me that I wasn't just fey, and I loved that about him. It made him dangerously tempting.

  “Killian,” I angled my face away from his, pressing my hands to his chest. “I won't betray Raza again. It was bad enough the first time.”

  “Then talk to him, Seren,” Killian nuzzled my ear. “Tell him how you feel. Be honest with him, and with us.”

  “Us?”

  “Tiernan and I.”

  “You're seriously campaigning for Tiernan now?”

  “The only way Raza would accept this is if it were in line with Danu's plan,” Killian pushed a strand of wet hair behind my ear tenderly. “And that means Tiernan has to be a part of this too.”

  “I never would have believed you'd be cool with sharing,” I shook my head.

  “Maybe stepping into Fairy has changed me in more ways than the obvious,” he eased back just a fraction. “Or maybe you changed me. All I know is that I love you, and I think you love me back.”

  “You're wrong, Killian,” I pushed him away, and scurried out of the hot tub. “Come on, Cat,” I nudged her awake, and we headed back to the safety of the hotel.

  “Am I?” Killian's voice chased after me. “Are you sure about that?”

  Danu damn him, but I wasn't.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Hello, Princess Seren,” a velvet, male voice came from the darkness of my hotel room as I reached for the light switch.

  “Jesus Christ!” I flinched, flipping on the light.

  Sixty watts of warm white was not enough to fully illuminate the space to my liking, but it was enough to see the man sitting in the room's only chair. He looked like your average Caucasian man. Golden brown hair, dark eyes, skin a little paler than most, but we were in Iceland, and that was more normal than not. He wore jeans and a collared shirt, with a cashmere coat on over it. He gave me the impression of a businessman on holiday, and his slim build enhanced the image. But there was something in his eyes and the way he held himself. The way he smiled... and his smile itself.

  “Guess again,” he smirked wider, making sure I could see his fangs.

  “Yeah, I caught the canines already,” I leaned against the door frame as Cat sat before me, and regarded the intruder calmly. I thought that was odd, the fact that she wasn't reacting more violently, but I took it as a good sign. If Cat wasn't worried, then I wouldn't bother to be either. “You can put them away now, biter.”

  “I was just trying to be polite,” he shrugged and stood. “Since you seemed to be confused over my identity.”

  “Startled, not confused, as you very well know,” I watched him carefully as he walked over to me.

  His stride was smooth and confident, his skin was nearly poreless, and when he extended his hand to me, I saw that his fingernails were buffed to a dull shine.

  “General Soren Dahl,” he introduced himself as he shook my hand. “I've come to welcome you to Iceland, and offer my services.”

  “Do you always lay in wait for women in their bedrooms, General Dahl?” I waved him back towards his seat and shut the door behind me.

  “Please, call me Soren,” he gave me a closed-lip smile. “I thought it best to speak with you alone, and the only way I could think to accomplish this was through somewhat unchivalrous means. My apologies,” he bowed, then resumed his seat.

  “What kind of services are you offering, Soren?” I sat on the bed across from him, Cat jumped up beside me and went to sleep. Nope, not concerned
at all.

  “Protection,” he shrugged, “guidance if needed. You are deep in Elven and Bite territory.”

  “There's a Bite community here?”

  “A very large one,” Soren nodded. “The cold doesn't bother us. We like it here.”

  “I assume you've been briefed on the elf situation,” I said.

  “I know about their allegiance to your aunt, and their attack on your person,” his eyes roamed over my person slowly. “What a tragedy it would have been if they'd succeeded.”

  “Are you hitting on me?”

  “Well, there goes subtlety,” he sighed. “I'd heard you could be abrupt.”

  “My plate is a little full right now.”

  “Yes, so I saw,” he smirked. “Aren't you tired of pushy men?”

  “A little,” I said pointedly.

  “I'm not trying to be pushy,” he cocked his head at me. “I'm gently informing you of my admiration, and allowing you the chance to decide if you like my attention before I give you more of it.”

  “Thank you?”

  Soren laughed, a sort of surprised bark, then caught himself. He smoothed his slacks as he crossed one knee over the other.

  “My apologies,” he cleared his throat.

  “For having a normal reaction?” I lifted a brow. “What is it with biters and being so stuffy? Does drinking blood make you constipated or something?”

  Soren's mouth fell open, a strangled sound emerging from it. Then his chest began to shake, and his palm covered his open mouth. He laughed hard and loud until tears started trickling out of the corners of his eyes. He finally got himself under control and wiped away the tears with concise movements.

  “I see,” he nodded, looking me over again. “Beautiful, powerful, capable, and entertaining. That's why they're so pushy. You've got an irresistible combination of qualities.”

  “So, that's a 'no' to the constipation question?” I smirked.

  “That's a no,” he chuckled. “Though I agree that a lot of us are more reserved. It comes from segregation within the tribes I think. We are one under the umbrella of the Coven, but, like siblings, we fight amongst ourselves. The Bite believes it's superior to other witch tribes, and so, we tend to act more superior.”

  “A very honest answer,” I was surprised and showed it.

  “I'm an honest sort of man,” he smiled. I had to admit, his smile made him more attractive, but I still wasn't the least bit tempted.

  Another man was the last thing I needed. More soldiers though... that was never a bad thing.

  “Are you offering me your sole protection or do you have an army with you, General?”

  “I can give you both,” he spread his hands wide. “I was instructed by the Bite Elder to lend our assistance however you required it.”

  “So the Coven has agreed to participate instead of trying to ignore this threat?”

  “The Coven is not stupid,” Soren said. “Individual members can be, but not the Coven as a whole. We know where we stand. The ink on our truce is still wet. We cannot jeopardize it by remaining aloof in this. Nor can we ignore the threat to ourselves. If the elves succeed in whatever nefarious plans they've hatched, they could upset the balance. Even if they leave us out of the war, we will still be affected.”

  “That's pretty much what I told Elder Turner,” I nodded. “War will affect everyone.”

  “The Bite of Iceland is especially concerned, as you can imagine,” he added.

  “Right,” I considered him. “So you came to offer me protection when actually, you want to join me so that you can protect yourself.”

  “They made a wise choice when they asked you to be Ambassador,” he noted. “Yes, Princess, I am here because it suits my purposes more than yours. But then, I had no idea what kind of a woman you are. My reasons for being here are slowly changing.”

  “You said you were giving me the chance to decide if I liked your attentions before you offered me more of them.”

  “Yes.”

  “I don't like them,” I gave him a steady look. “Now, where do your reasons lie?”

  “Surprisingly, I find them leaning even more to altruism,” he licked his lips.

  “Wanting to help me so you have a chance of getting into my pants, is not altruistic.”

  “Isn't it?” Soren pursed his lips. “As you like then. Will you accept my help or not?”

  “I will,” I leaned forward. “As long as you don't help yourself to my blood.”

  “I'd never,” he said dramatically, then smirked. “I don't bite until they beg for it.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  We were up bright and early the next morning. Scratch that. It wasn't early at all. The sun rose way after nine in Iceland, so we'd actually slept in. It also wasn't bright. It was dismal and dark. We were up at dark and late the next morning. We wanted to get to the elven enclave just before dawn hit, aka twilight time, so we'd be punctual and also magically juiced up.

  I had informed Soren about our plans, and he'd promised to return in the morning with a group of Bite soldiers. I'd been surprised, assuming that they'd be restricted by sunlight. He had laughed a little and reminded me that biters were descended from baobhan-sith, a type of blood-drinking fairy, and weren't actually the undead. I informed him that baobhan-sith couldn't tolerate sunlight, a fact which he evidently didn't know. That sobered him, and he ended up staying another half an hour, asking me about his ancestors. I questioned him about his tribe in return, and we both learned a lot that night.

  Bite witches had evolved into something much closer to the modern vampire myths than they'd like to admit. The only similarity they shared with their ancestors was the need for blood. A lot of them did have an aversion to sunlight, but it wouldn't physically hurt them to be in it. Biters had also gained fangs in their evolution. Baobhan-sith didn't have fangs, they used sharp talons to puncture a victim's neck. I suppose talons in place of fingernails would have been too obviously inhuman, and so evolution had found a way to hide the fey traits. Bite witches weren't immortal, though they tended to live longer. Drinking blood promoted good health while abstaining would result in sickness, and eventually, death.

  It had been a fascinating conversation, and I was excited to learn about the Bite tribe. They may not be immortal, but they were faster and stronger than your average human, and they did possess some minor magical abilities. One of them was the power of allurement, which I determined to be an off-shoot of the fairy-strike magic. Soren had confessed this to me with a grimace, saying he couldn't understand why his allure hadn't worked on me. I chuckled and explained how fairies couldn't be fairy-struck, at least not with that type of magic. He was shocked to hear that my father and I were the only fairies who could strike other fey.

  Soren had been true to his word and had shown up with fifteen soldiers in the morning, shortly after I'd finished informing my group about him. In fact, they were still grumbling about their failure in securing the hotel and protecting me, when Soren and his biter team pulled into the parking lot. Killian especially had been upset, since he'd been the last one with me, and several of my Guard were giving him a hard time for not escorting me inside. I finally pointed out that Cat would have defended me if she'd thought Soren was a threat. That stopped their whining for a little while, but they still felt as if they'd failed me. After that whole elf-shot incident, I suppose they were feeling a bit inadequate.

  “Is this a bad time?” Soren asked as he approached with a group of casually dressed biters.

  Maybe it was his military title, but I'd expected his team to look more like a fighting unit, and less like a sampling of suburban America. Or suburban Iceland, I suppose.

  “It's fine,” I assured him. “Thank you for coming.”

  “My pleasure, Princess,” Soren bowed.

  Killian stepped closer to me, and stared Soren down, “Dahl.”

  “Blair,” Soren smirked.

  “You two have met?” I asked.

  “During my amb
assador work,” Killian nodded. Then he went back to glaring at Soren. “I heard you were spying on us last night. Funny, I didn't peg you as a peeping tom.”

  “I was waiting for an opportunity to approach the Princess,” Soren shrugged. “Though you might want to be more discreet in the future, Blair. That dragon of hers won't take kindly to hearing you've been pestering his woman.”

  “What I do with Seren is none of your business,” Killian growled. “But you may want to take your own advice. I know that look, I've worn it often enough myself. Seren isn't interested in a biter, so keep your fangs to yourself.”

  “Who needs coffee when you have testosterone in the morning?” Gradh rolled her eyes.

  “Do not think to challenge me, caster,” Soren narrowed his eyes on Killian. “I am far deadlier than I look.”

  “Seeing as you look like a fucking pussy, that wouldn't be so difficult,” Killian growled.

  “Enough!” I snapped. “You are supposed to be here to help, not rile up the ranks,” I pointed at Soren. “And you,” I transferred my stare to Killian, “are supposed to be an ambassador, not a high school jock. The both of you need to get over yourselves. Today is about the elves, and we cannot show up on their doorstep with the two of you bickering like a couple of roosters fighting over a hen.”

  “Especially when this hen belongs to a much larger cock,” Conri called out. “As in dragon-sized.”

  “Conri!” I glared at him.

  “What?” Conri tried to look innocent, a feat which should have been impossible, but being a bargest gave him the ability to do puppy dog eyes really well. “A cock is another word for a rooster.”

  “Yes, Conri, I know what a cock is,” I huffed.

  Killian chortled. I glared at him.

  “And Raza is big,” Conri added.

  “I know,” I ground out.

  Killian laughed harder, but I was too busy glaring at Conri.

  “And black.”

  “Yes, Conri.”

  “He's like that card that trumps all others in Cards Against Humanity,” Conri went on.