“What the hell is going on with you?” I demanded, my hands moving rapidly as I signed.
His eyes blinked up at me, and I saw for myself how far gone he really was. Eyes barely able to focus, head wobbling and I wasn’t entirely sure he could move his body to sit up even if he wanted to.
Though his hands moved drunkenly, I got the gist of his words. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Feet braced apart in irritation, I whipped back, “You’re drunk as a skunk and you’ve only been in here for less than thirty minutes. You make it a personal goal to irritate Gearden and feel me up on a daily basis. Rather than contact my mate when I’m ill, you take it upon yourself to take care of me. You go out of your way to make sure you come between him and I, and I’m tired of it.”
The jerk didn’t move an inch, except for a scowl to form on his handsome face. Damn it, I groaned inwardly. Why the hell was I even noticing his attractiveness at all?
Eyes flicking to the side, he purposefully ignored everything I had to say, choosing not to answer.
“You know what?” I said rhetorically. “I don’t care. We’re leaving in a week anyway. Our time in faerie is nearly over and we can move on to getting you and the rest of your people settled above. Once that’s done, you and I will have nothing to do with one another.”
I hadn’t realized that I was stepping closer and closer to him as I ranted. By the time I’d finished, I was so close to the desk that I bumped into it as I turned to walk away, knocking something off the edge.
What I thought was an immobile man slouched in front of me suddenly leaped forward to grab it before I could even process it falling.
Lighting fast, Lugh caught the small ornate hourglass in his nimble fingers, saving it from shattering on the hard stone floor.
Surprise at his quick movement was overlapped by wonder as I considered where the thing had come from. Why was this thing so important to him? What did he use it for? I mentally shook it off, but before it left my mind, I noticed the look of horror on his face. Gone was the drunkard he’d been just a second ago, replaced by a man caught with his pants down.
I put two and two together. “What is that thing?” I asked.
He didn’t answer, just turned away to put it on the opposite side of the wood desk.
“Lugh?” I signed. “What is that thing?” I remembered what Dad had told me before, that faeries were masters at manipulating.
Slowly, he started to sign. “I wanted to make our time last.”
Confused, I just frowned, his words not making sense. Then, it clicked. “What did you do?”
The contrite look that marred his features told me all that I needed to know. “It hasn’t been just three weeks for us down here, has it?” My heart felt like it would burst from my chest as fast as it was pumping just then. Hands were shaking from the added adrenaline that shot into my system again. There was such a thing as being scared to death, right?
He shook his head slowly.
“How long?” I demanded.
When he took too long to answer, I screamed, “How long?”
He jumped, the only indication that he even felt the consequences of his actions. “Three months.”
My hands felt heavy when I lifted them to repeat, “Months?”
Remorsefully, he nodded, looking down and away in shame.
And well he should be shamed! He tricked me. He tricked both of us! Our families, our packs, above had expected us to be back in a month. This trip was supposed to be a peaceful gesture in trust, preparing everyone for the faeries’ return.
“Take us back,” I demanded out loud.
Right away, his eyes lifted to mine, signing. “Maeleigh, but you haven’t finished your training with Ariela.” My eyes rounded at the gall he had to argue.
“Her and I can train anywhere, preferably above ground. You’ve been holding us here without our knowledge,” I told him. “You had no right.”
Starry blue eyes turned panicked, but he gave a short nod. Slowly, he reached for the hourglass again, and deliberately turned it over. The second he did, I felt a blanket of magic fall from me, almost like taking off a sweater. I shivered at the sensation.
“You’re taking us home tomorrow.” He looked like would try to naysay me again, but I held a hand up to stall him. “That’s final.” I dropped my hand, exhaustion overcoming me again, the potion’s effects running dry.
“How could you, Lugh?” I breathed, scared of the shudder in my chest. Crapcrapcrap, don’t let me cry right now, I thought.
“Maeleigh,” he said, moving to stand up, hands reaching for me. Instantly, I stepped back, stumbling over my own feet, their weight so heavy. He shot out of his chair and caught my elbow.
The second he did, he snapped his hand back and looked to the doorway. Slowly, I followed his gaze, seeing Gearden there with murder in his gray wolf eyes. I turned to walk to him, the hurt in my heart overriding the care of what he might to do Lugh. I reached out, needing help, as I could barely walk without stumbling.
Without taking his eyes off the faerie, he gathered me close when I reached him, taking most of my weight off my tired legs. The parting growl I felt at his chest promised murder before he turned us away.
Gearden
As Maeleigh slept on our bed in our apartment, I walked around, gathering the things we came with and a few things that were given to us during our time there. Three months, she’d said. The asshole had kept us here for three god damned months. That wouldn’t go over well for what Maeleigh was trying to work towards above ground. He’d basically tossed gasoline on the still glowing embers in the fire of what we were trying to do there: help with the transition of the fae moving above ground and rejoining the humans, lycan, vampires and Unseelie there.
A moan came from Maeleigh in her sleep. We’d taken food back from the meal hall to eat on the bed. The moment she’d eaten enough to fill her, she’d passed out. I tucked her in and left her to recover as I got ready to return topside.
A soft knock at the door sounded. I hurried to answer it so whoever it was didn’t disturb Maeleigh. Opening it, I saw Ariela standing there with a guilty look on her face, her scent also reeking of it.
“You knew,” I stated, scowling at her.
Hands wringing in front of her, she nodded, an apology already on her lips before I shook my head. “I wanted to tell you but Lugh…he’s our king. If he doesn’t want something known, we’re bound not to share.”
I nodded. I’d learned about the magical tie the king or queen had on their subjects. If Lugh hadn’t meant for other faeries in Seelie Hill to talk about the real length of time we’d been there, they would have been physically unable to speak of it.
Still, it sucked.
“How is she?” Ariela asked, peering around my shoulder to see inside, spotting Maeleigh on the bed.
“Sleeping,” I told her, not really sure I could even pretend to be cordial at that moment. I needed time to sort things out and let the anger fade.
“That’s good,” she whispered, eyes going back to mine. “We’re all preparing to go up tomorrow…with you.”
Surprised, I straightened. “What?”
“That was always the plan, right? Maeleigh and Lugh had a bargain. He’d go up with her when she returned. That part hasn’t changed, despite the…” she didn’t say it, but I knew she meant dishonesty.
“But all of you?”
She nodded. “There isn’t a faerie down here who doesn’t wish to see the sun again.”
I nodded, unable to imagine what it would be like not to see the sun for thousands of years. Three weeks – months – was enough to make me miss fresh air. I hadn’t been on a run since before we arrived, either. The magic in Seelie Hill kept my wolf at bay for the most part, but I still longed to run at full speed into the woods. To go for a hunt just for the fun of it. Letting my wolf take the reins for a few hours in the forest.
“I hope you can give me the chance to regain your trust,” she said,
bowing her head, a gesture of sincerity.
The wolf inside me wanted to lash out and shout “no,” but I tamped it down. There were bigger things than hurt feelings to worry about right now. We needed truces and fellowships, and Ariela’s betrayal wasn’t by choice.
“Of course,” I told her. Behind me, I heard Maeleigh stir in bed.
“I should go, let you both rest,” she told me, taking one last peek at her student and friend. Giving me a small smile, she turned and walked down the hall. I shut the door before her footsteps faded completely and turned to gaze at my mate, my wolf scratching at my subconscious, still pissed about Lugh touching her earlier. Their relationship was complicated, even I could see that. And though I never for a second doubted her devotion to what we had, I wondered what it was that drove Lugh to feel so drawn to her. I felt it, even smelled it sometimes. She tried to hide it, but her scent changed around him even if she was unaware and hated the faerie when he got too close. Problem was, the only one who may be able to shed light on the whole freaking fiasco was the dickhead himself.
She made a sound in her sleep again, and I could feel her subconscious search for me. I crossed to the bed, blowing out the candle before sliding under the covers to pull her into me. I would never get used to the instant sensation of peace that I felt with her body against mine. She relaxed back into a deep sleep as I held her close, and eventually I fell asleep myself, wondering what we’d find the next day at the surface.
Chapter Four
Maeleigh
I tried so hard to keep from turning around to scream at Lugh as we all gathered in the meal hall, the only place large enough to contain the amount of people waiting to see the sun again. I worried about the greeting we would find on the other end. If we’d really been gone for three months instead of the one as we’d originally agreed, then there was no telling what the McIntire pack, the Unseelie or humans would be ready to do.
The Hunters wouldn’t have cared at all, as they would have preferred all faeries remain below ground for the rest of time, but the contract keeping them there was broken, so there wasn’t anything holding them now.
Lugh stood behind me conversing with Weis. Though I hated his close proximity, him and I were under the same guard’s security and Gearden was close by, thank god. I reached out for his hand, finding his reaching for mine at the same time. Immediately, I relaxed a little, just anxious to get this over with.
“Are you ready?” Gearden asked. I looked around, seeing that many other eyes were on me, so it was likely Lugh asking. I nodded, refusing to look back.
“He’s opening it now,” he informed, gripping me tighter.
At the wall before me, less than a foot away, the surface began to move, looking like something wiggled underneath the stone. A few seconds later, it started to wobble and a shimmer waved over it, creating a large circle, big enough to fit even Weis’s large frame.
“Tell him to give us a twenty-second head start,” I told Gearden as the portal solidified, ready for transfer.
Gearden moved his head to the side, saying what I instructed, before stepping through with me, hand in hand.
The trip was instant, like walking from one room into another. One second, we were in Seelie Hill, and in the next, we stood in center of the McIntire compound behind Gearden’s family home. It was the largest place I could think of that wouldn’t be abandoned. I couldn’t bring them to Westboro, as I wasn’t sure what we’d find there after three months. And Amergin’s headquarters might have been public property then for all we knew.
It was mid-day, the sun just going behind the tallest line of trees, giving shade to half of the large courtyard. At first, it was quiet, like any other day when people were going about their own business. The cabins saved for visitors stood empty; everyone else was either at work or enjoying their time inside, because right then, it was flipping summer. Holy crap, it was hot. What the hell. Either my body had acclimated to being underground in a regulated comfortable temperature or Winter was officially over. We’d left towards the end of November. If we were gone three months, that meant it was close to March. Surely it wasn’t normally this hot in the Spring.
“My Grandpa,” Gearden alerted me, head snapping to his grandfather’s cabin towards the back of the compound.
The older man was rushing down his porch steps, headed straight for us. I could see the relief on his face and feel the familiarity of his wolf reach out to Luna all at the same time. She ached to greet her pack member, but I held back. Just then, movement from the middle of the line of cabins caught my attention. Thorn, James and Julie pushed through the door. As they approached, I noticed the strange way they moved, calculated, keeping an eye on the portal at our backs. That, and James was holding a sword that was nearly as long as I was tall…My reaction was delayed, but I kept it cool, I thought.
“Everyone stay calm. We’re all right,” I said out loud, looking to Gearden, who was saying something similar.
“Tell them they are coming and to keep calm. And tell James to put down the sword,” I told him, wondering how fast we could get Bri or Sally down there.
He started to speak, but before he could finish, I felt the pressure behind me shift, alerting me to the arrival of Lugh and his guards. I didn’t have to see him, to know that James had lifted that sword and gotten closer, just as Thorn and Julie were probably coming to surround the portal.
Thinking fast, not considering my actions whatsoever, I slid in front of Lugh, taking the position of bodyguard. “Anyone who harms him, has to go through me first. Is that clear?” I announced, meeting every single person’s gaze and staring them down until they nodded or stepped back. Julie stood down faster than the men, which reminded me of how much I liked her.
Before I could say anything else though, long fingers wrapped around my arm, forcing me to the side. “Don’t ever do that again, you idiot.” Lugh signed at me, glaring. I rolled my eyes and shoved him off me.
“And don’t you tell me who I can and can’t protect. They won’t hurt me, idiot. You on the other hand could piss off a fly.” Letting him stew on that, I stepped away, making sure to keep my body between James and his obvious target, the Seelie king. “Put it down,” I told him, not stopping in my advance.
When his eyes grew wide and he looked like he might argue, I felt my patience wean and a flare of magic rush to the surface like a power surge. His gaze changed and his attention drew from my eyes to my cheek, telling me that I’d unveiled Danu’s mark on my face. The tattoo of iridescent roses and vines ran down from my temple, covering my right cheek all the way to my neck. Inwardly, I rolled my eyes at the display. It wasn’t exactly planned, but if it did the trick, then great.
I could feel Gearden’s alpha power raise up in the air. In kind, Luna proudly sent hers out as well, permeating the air for any wolves around. The others could feel the power as well, they had to have, but it wouldn’t have sway over their will like it would for the Lycans. Turning, I saw Pierce come out from the cabin, slower than his other Cearer partners, Italia stepping out behind him. They stood on the porch, observing as Lugh looked around to make sure the threat had been neutralized. When I felt that James wasn’t going to skewer anyone, I turned my back to him to look at Lugh. “Send everyone through,” I signed.
Without checking anyone else for assurance, he turned to the portal, stuck his hand in and then back out, seemingly to give the “all clear” to those on the other side A moment later, Weis and the rest of the guard stepped through, followed by Ariela, Trune and all the other soldiers. Lugh, Gearden and I stepped to the side to give everyone room to exit the portal.
A few moments later, the flow of faeries still steadily coming through, someone yanked me around from behind, hugging me tight. Bri. Goddess, I missed her. I hadn’t even realized how much. Luna took solace in the presence of another pack member, and I thought I felt a little mewing sound escape my throat before I cleared it.
Letting me go, she signed, “I thought I’d nev
er see you guys.” She moved to hug Gearden tightly as well. He lifted his best friend off her feet to give her a good bear squeeze before setting her back down.
“It’s a long story. We didn’t mean to be gone for so long,” I told her.
Her million-watt smile was like a breath of fresh air. Which seemed to turn stale in the next second when Lugh stepped up to us. About three-fourths of his people had already passed through, and just the last few groups remained before he could close the portal.
I looked up to him, lifting a brow.
“Where can I show them they will be staying?” he signed fluently.
Good question. Looking to Bri, she answered even before I could try to interpret. “We’ve prepared tents back here. We had hoped that you would eventually bring them back to us.” She started to walk towards the back of the compound. “Follow me,” she told him.
Lugh’s brows raised in surprise, glancing at me as if to say he was impressed but I walked past him, not giving him the chance to extend any olive branches. Though, I would have to praise her at how far she’d come along in her sign language, especially since I’d been gone.
Gearden said something to Senior, his grandfather, who nodded and kept a steady eye on those still coming in, before coming to walk with me as I followed Lugh and Bri.
Just as she’d said, there were an impressive number of tents, in what I thought was just trees. Rather there were small clearings grouped close enough to one another to house at least thirty huge tents, large enough to house eight to ten people each, it looked. In awe, I turned to look at Bri. “This is amazing, Bri,” I praised her.
She beamed, taking the props. “Thank you. Liam, my dad and I had some time to find what we needed. We grouped them in colors, so that people would know where to go. In case Lugh needed to separate anyone: boys, girls, couples.” She turned to look at him then, but he was busy staring up, looking straight at the single ray of sun that peeked through a blank space of leaves.
Truce: Book 1 in the Aftermath Series Page 3