To Kill a Fae

by Jamie A. Waters

  Sabine laughed, thinking about how Esmelle would preen when she heard the compliment. “I’ll remind you about that if she ever decides to try out some of her experimental mixtures. Those can be a little… interesting.”

  “Your warning is noted,” Malek said with a grin and took a drink. “But it’s difficult to imagine after tasting this mixture.”

  “Mmm,” she agreed, her gaze roaming over the rest of the cabin and falling on the chest again. “Will you tell me more about your sister?”

  “Kaia?” Malek asked, his expression turning curious. “What would you like to know?”

  Looking down at her cup, she realized she just wanted to know more about him. Sometimes learning more about a person’s loved ones and how they spoke about them was an insight into who they were as a person. Perhaps it would provide her with some clarity into her own situation.

  “Did you always get along with your sister?”

  He studied her for a long time and placed his cup on the table. “Not always. There’s a significant difference in our ages. I was tasked with acting as her guardian and protector quite a bit. She resented it when she was younger, and I didn’t care much for constantly having to bail her out of trouble.”

  “But that changed?”

  Malek nodded. “It wasn’t overnight. I started spending more time away from home, and the distance helped our relationship grow. We both matured. We’ve always cared about each other, but I’m much closer to her now than I used to be.”

  Sabine studied the books on the shelf again. The eclectic mix of titles indicated Malek had an interest in various cultures and races. There were very few stories, but more about the history of their world. Running her fingertips over the spine of a book about the Fae, she said, “I told you I have a brother.”

  Malek fell silent for a long time. “I’d heard siblings among the Fae are uncommon.”

  “They are,” she agreed, walking over to the desk to put her cup down. The tea had helped steady her a bit, but she still needed to figure out what to do about the situation with Rhys. “My people aren’t as prolific as humans. Multiple children are rare enough, but twins are almost unheard of.”

  Malek’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You have a twin brother?”

  Sabine nodded and wrapped her arms around herself as though it could protect against her emotions. Only Dax, Bane, and Esmelle knew about her brother, and each of them had sworn a blood oath to keep it secret. She’d never been tempted to trust anyone else, but Malek spoke to something inside her and she wanted a deeper connection with him.

  “When we were very young, we spent every waking moment together. The other few children were either much older or younger. Rhys and I were more than siblings. We were friends. Playmates. Confidants. We were inseparable.”

  “But that changed?” Malek guessed, sitting halfway on the edge of the desk.

  “It did,” she said quietly, running her fingers over the rim of her cup on the desk. “When our abilities began to emerge, the Elders began marking us in accordance with our budding powers. Each mark is created by infusing our blood with our magic below the skin. No matter what happens, we can draw upon the marks and the power locked within them.”

  Malek nodded. “I saw the markings when you lowered your glamour. It looked like it had taken a long time.”

  “Hours upon hours,” she said quietly, remembering the pain. It was a rite of passage, but the agony of each mark was a type of sacrifice that could fuel one’s magic to even greater heights. “A Fae’s markings are a sign of growing power and the complexity of the magic contained within their blood. My brother’s markings weren’t as extensive as mine. I gained power at a much faster rate. Almost as soon as one Elder finished a mark, another began. My father was convinced I’d stolen some of my brother’s magic while we shared a womb.”

  Malek shook his head, his confusion apparent. He placed his hand over hers in a comforting gesture. “I don’t understand. Magic can’t be stolen, only gifted. Why would your father blame you?”

  She studied his hand over hers. It was such a small thing, but it meant far more to her than it probably should. Turning over her hand, she interlaced her fingers with his. “How much do you know about the Fae and how we form family bonds?”

  He hesitated. “Not much. My grandmother was Fae, but she came to live with us later in life. She wasn’t a blood relative, but my grandfather cared for her deeply. She was the greatest love of his life, even though he’d met her toward the end of his.”

  Sabine blinked up at him in surprise. “That’s how you know the language of the Fae and the oath of no harm?”

  Malek nodded. “Even though I wasn’t related to her, she took a shine to me. Much of my childhood was spent at her home, and she’d frequently tell me stories while she gardened. That’s where I first met pixies.”

  Sabine smiled, envisioning an Elder telling fairytales to a dark-haired little boy. He was probably just as charming as a child as he was as an adult. She suspected she would have found it impossible to resist him. Children were always a fascination to the Fae, probably because they were so rare. Her people still occasionally spirited away an unwanted or partially magical child, bringing them to Faerie and raising them there. It didn’t occur as often now that their territory was so small, but it still happened.

  “My parents weren’t so fortunate. They had an arrangement between them. It wasn’t a love match, but rather a way to consolidate power.”

  He frowned. “Is that common?”

  Sabine shrugged. “It’s not uncommon. Ever since the Dragon War, my people have struggled to grow our numbers. Unlike humans, we simply don’t produce enough children. A couple may be fortunate to have one child in a century, but some go most of their lives without conceiving. Our Elders began arranging pairings based on what they believed would maximize the chances for a child.”

  “I’d heard something to that effect. But if children are precious to the Fae, why would your father have blamed you for being more powerful than your brother? You still share the same blood.”

  Sabine shook her head. “I shared more in common with my mother and her type of magic. I can draw upon the magic from my father’s line, but my mother’s magic has always been stronger for me. She claimed me as her heir, leaving my brother to follow my father. That would have been acceptable, but Rhys, my brother, could only tap into our father’s line. The shadows have never claimed him as one of theirs.”

  “You’re Unseelie,” Malek murmured, studying her thoughtfully.

  She sighed. So many outside the Fae had preconceived notions about the Unseelie and Seelie. They were essentially from the same fountain of power but had different facets and purposes. The Unseelie worked better in the darkness, while the sunlight was the dominion of the Seelie.

  “Not exactly. My mother was Unseelie, but my father was Seelie. I can draw upon the powers of the light and the dark. My father viewed it as a taint upon his magic, that his pure Seelie blood should be skewed by the dark.” She frowned, studying their entwined hands and the contrast of her pale skin with his more golden tones. “I don’t know why the Elders decided to pair my parents together. It may have resulted in two children, but my father always resented their edict.”

  Malek straightened, his hand tightening around hers. “That’s why you had to leave your home.”

  Sabine gave a half-hearted shrug. It wasn’t the whole truth, but she wasn’t willing to share everything—not yet, maybe not ever. “When I left, it was with the understanding my father wanted me dead. Since we’re twins, my brother should inherit my magic once I’m gone from this world.”

  “But you said your brother has never shown an affinity for it,” Malek pointed out with a frown.

  “No, not for my Unseelie magic. But he could take my Seelie magic and entwine it with his. At least, that’s what some Seelie Elders suggested to my father. It was enough for him to believe it.” She paused, staring at the closed port window that overlooked the ocea
n. All of this seemed like a lifetime ago, but she knew her father would never rest until she was dead. Even if Rhys never acquired her mother’s magic, Sabine’s existence was a shadow upon her father’s Seelie name.

  With a sigh, she said, “After my mother died, I didn’t have a choice except to leave. I wasn’t strong enough to fight my father and survive. A Beastman who swore a life oath to my mother’s line helped me escape from the Silver Forest. He was the one who brought me here.”

  “To a city of stone and metal, surrounded by humans, where the Fae would never consider looking,” Malek murmured.

  Sabine looked up at him. The compassion and understanding in his gaze were nearly her undoing. She swallowed, trying to bury her tumultuous emotions.

  Malek reached over and cupped her face in his hands. “You did what you needed to do to survive, Sabine. I can’t imagine how difficult living here must be for you. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined finding someone like you.”

  Her heart soared at his words, mirroring her own feelings for him. Placing her hands against his chest, she said, “I’m glad you decided to come to Akros, Malek. I never imagined meeting someone like you either.”

  Without another word, he lowered his head, claiming her with his mouth. His kiss took her breath away as barely restrained passion and need erupted between them. She whimpered, and he pulled her closer, consuming her with his heat. She wanted him, needed the understanding and compassion he offered like she needed her next breath. This is what she’d been missing, this feeling of connection.

  His power called to hers, and she desperately wanted to unleash her own. Running her hands under his shirt to touch his heated skin, she infused her touch with a trace of her magic. Through the mark she’d given him, the power between them flared to life.

  His kiss became even more demanding, and he lifted her into his arms. Wanting more and everything he promised, she wrapped her legs around him as he carried her to the bed. They fell onto it, and something jabbed into her side.

  She broke their kiss with a laugh. “Weapons.”

  Malek chuckled and tossed his sword aside, and then his clever fingers disarmed her in less time than she expected. His hand brushed against the edge of her shirt and slid underneath, caressing her bare skin. She wanted his hands everywhere, but there were too many clothes between them. Reaching down, she tugged his shirt up in a silent demand. He pulled it off, tossing it aside, and she ran her hands over his bare chest. His skin was warm, hotter than she expected, and she felt the power nestled within him flare to the surface. A medallion around his neck began to glow. Before she could touch it, he grabbed her wrists, breathing heavily as he stared down at her.

  She blinked up at him in surprise, and he took a ragged breath, his expression tormented. He was gentle, holding her in place, but it was obvious he struggled with an internal battle of some kind. With another curse, he pulled away and climbed off the bed. Sabine frowned and pushed herself up as he ran a hand over his head and paced the length of the cabin. The medallion around his neck began to dim, and she arched her brow, waiting expectantly.

  He continued pacing for another few minutes, and Sabine settled back, taking the opportunity to admire his muscular physique. He wasn’t wearing glamour. She’d thought maybe he possessed a form of it, but whatever Malek was hiding didn’t translate to that type of illusion magic. He was a delicious specimen all on his own, and Sabine swept her gaze over him again. If the top half was any indication of what she might expect from the rest, she looked forward to exploring every inch of him.

  Malek halted, his heated gaze perusing her as she watched him from his bed. He shook his head. “This wasn’t how I planned this, but I can’t seem to think clearly when you’re around.”

  She laughed and sat up. Reaching down, she started unlacing her shirt. “Thinking is overrated, Malek. What I want to do with you doesn’t require much… thought. Only sensation.”

  “I can’t,” he whispered, a trace of a growl in his voice as she slowly untied the bindings of her shirt. His medallion began to glow again, and he squeezed his eyes shut as though in pain.

  Sabine paused, tilting her head to study him. Lowering her hands to the bed, she asked, “All right. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

  “I want you,” he whispered, opening his eyes and taking a step in her direction. “Your taste, the smell of your skin, every inch of you. I see your face every time I close my eyes. I want you in every way imaginable. You’re all I’ve been thinking about lately.”

  Although his words made her stomach flutter, Sabine waited for him to finish. He was barely keeping hold of his inclinations, and while the thought of causing him to lose control was thrilling, she wasn’t willing to push too far until she knew what was affecting him.

  “I’m not human,” he admitted, gesturing to the medallion that had been hidden under his shirt. “I hired a witch to create a ward that would allow me to hide my magic.”

  She glanced at the disc around his neck and nodded. “I figured that out a while ago.”

  He paused, his frown deepening. “You did?”

  She gave him a small smile. “I realized you were wearing a ward when I had to keep refreshing your mark. I don’t know what you are, but we all have our secrets. I’m not asking for yours.”

  The conflicting emotions in Malek’s gaze tugged at her heart. She wouldn’t push him, but she wanted him to know how she felt. Keeping her voice soft, she said, “I want you, Malek. I wouldn’t be here with you if I didn’t think you wanted me too. But your secrets aren’t part of that, unless you want to share them.”

  Malek shook his head and wrapped his fist around the medallion. “You’re irresistible, Sabine. I’ve wanted to have you here like this, in my bed, since the moment we met. I’ve thought of a hundred different ways to tell you the truth, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to say the words.”

  “Why not?” Her first thought had been he might possess Fae magic, but the few traces of his power that had filtered through the mark were unlike anything she’d experienced before. It was a strong and complementary magic of a sort, but the overall flavor of it was different. It was closer to Bane and Dax’s power than hers.

  He sighed and crossed the room toward her. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he said, “I don’t think you’ll forgive me once you learn the truth.”

  Sabine frowned, surprised by the depth of concern she saw in his eyes. Malek didn’t strike her as someone who would worry for naught. Reaching up, she placed her hand against his cheek. “You’re worried this will change how I feel about you?”

  “Yes,” he admitted as though the words pained him. “I hope it doesn’t, but it will.”

  The concern in his gaze touched her, but it also reaffirmed her earlier belief Malek had a good heart. It was enough to make her willing to abandon caution, despite living a lifetime of it over the past several years. If things were about to change between them, she wasn’t in a hurry to speed it along.

  “Will your secret keep for a while longer?”

  Malek hesitated. He tucked her hair behind her ear, trailing his fingers over her skin. “Do you have any idea how tempting you are?”

  When she smiled, he leaned in closer and kissed her again. Her eyes fluttered closed, and he cupped her face, easing her back onto the bed. A pounding on the door interrupted them.

  Malek pulled back with a loud curse and threatened to tear the limbs off whomever was on the other side of the door. He stood, and Sabine sat up again with a sigh.

  Someone shouted, and the door crashed open. Sabine dove for her weapons. Twisting her body, she gripped the hilt of her knife and prepared to throw, halting at the sight of Bane standing in the doorway. Levin stood behind him with a weapon drawn and aimed in Bane’s direction.

  She blinked up at Bane. Ignoring Levin as though his threat was inconsequential, Bane glanced over at her and then turned to Malek with a thunderous expression.

  “You didn’t tell her,”
Bane said with a growl, his eyes flashing to silver.

  “I was about to tell her before you broke down the damn door,” Malek retorted, glaring at Bane. The medallion around his neck began to glow softly, and Sabine frowned.

  Pushing up from the bed, she stepped between the two men. “Why are you here, Bane?”

  His jaw clenched, and she waited, taking the opportunity to fasten the laces on her shirt. After a moment, Bane took a shuddering breath and his eyes reverted to their usual amber color. She could tell his anger simmered just below the surface. It wouldn’t take much to send him back to that jagged edge.

  “Your ship captain is a dragon. When I realized you’d gone with him, I knew he hadn’t told you the truth.”

  Sabine froze. She blinked, turning to stare at Malek with a combination of shock, horror, and underneath… fear. It couldn’t be possible. The dragons never descended this far south, preferring to remain closer to their Sky Cities. She studied Malek, her gaze gravitating toward the medallion and remembering his offer to travel with him. Had he wanted to bring her to his ship so he could take her back to the Sky Cities?

  “Take off the medallion,” she whispered, desperate for Bane to be wrong about this.

  Malek didn’t say anything, but his expression was pained. He reached up to unfasten the necklace and dropped it onto the bed. The moment it was removed, power, foreign and alien, filled the cabin. She took a half-step backward. By the gods. It was true. He really was a dragon in human form. She’d heard the stories about how they had two forms, but she’d never met a dragon before. There could only be one reason he was here.

  “Sabine,” Malek began and started to walk toward her. “I never—”

  Before he could finish that thought, she raised her hand and blasted him backward against the wall of the cabin. She couldn’t risk him getting close again. Not now. The books on the wall tumbled down, the wooden shelves broken beyond repair. Malek, however, was unharmed, likely protected by his own magic. Her hand trembled as she lowered it, and she curled it into a fist to stop it from shaking. In a match against a dragon, she wasn’t sure she’d survive. She’d never considered this to be in the realm of possibilities. In all the stories she’d heard, it had taken several Fae working together to bring down one dragon.