Hearts & Wishes

by Shiloh Walker

  Naturally, that hadn’t stopped Nikolai. Nothing stopped the Claus.

  When he had used his master code and entered her rooms without her permission, she had walked past him without speaking and gone into the bathroom.

  He’d lied to her. Had broken his promise.

  And Holly wasn’t just humiliated, she was hurt.

  She was done with this. Completely done.

  * * * * *

  When the alarm sounded, Rhys felt a cold chill race down his spine that had nothing to do with the arctic temperatures outside the environome. Inside the dome, it was a balmy sixty-five degrees. Elves and elf-kin were far more warm-blooded than mortals and the air felt like silk on his bare arms as he left the workroom.

  He’d gone in early to make sure things would be ready for their lesson that night and to prepare his own quarters. After four weeks away from Holly, Rhys wasn’t going to have her the first time in a locker room. No. It would be at his home, situated on the farthest reaches of the elves’ land.

  Silken sheets scattered with rose petals from the hothouses, a meal fit for a queen— most of it finger foods that he could feed to her—wine from France, chocolate-covered strawberries. Everything he could think of that would tempt and tease her.

  All day he had worked and then evening came and Holly had not arrived on his doorstep. He’d sent a message that the lesson would be in his personal workroom that day. It wasn’t a common thing but not totally unheard of, and that way he could be assured of their privacy.

  But, she hadn’t shown and putting in a call to the manor had rubbed him the wrong way so he went to seek her out himself.

  Cool with the scents of spice and wind in the air, it was lovely outside and for just a few minutes, he had enjoyed simply being home. But then the idyllic moments were ruined as the alarm sounded.

  That alarm meant bad things and deep in his gut, he knew it had to do with Holly. His gut clenched with fear. For a brief moment he worried that perhaps they hadn’t eliminated the threat as completely as he’d thought. One or two key members remained to be hunted down but already Rhys had men on that and full security measures had been raised, meaning none could enter the Reach without his knowledge, without his consent. Not by magical means nor by more mundane transportation.

  It was safe here at last.

  Or had he been wrong?

  He all but flew down the paved path, his worn tennis shoes pounding on the pavement and his heart beating a wild tattoo in his chest. His chest ached and it wasn’t until that moment that he realized he had all but forgotten to breathe. Blowing out a harsh breath, he sucked air in and came to a halt in front of Security.

  It was across the way from the huge sprawling building where Rhys and Holly had held their lessons for the past four years and when Rhys wasn’t in the workroom or at home, he was usually found here in Security. He knew this building as well as he knew his own name. His fingerprints were all over this building, starting from the ground up. All the security measures had been designed either by him or he had worked hand in hand with Nik’s best men to design them.

  Some were the sort of security measures mortal men might recognize, or at least they would when their technology caught up. Mantraps, automated security drones, fingerprint, DNA and retinal scans.

  Others, no mortal eye could even detect. Magics had been put into place that effectively turned Security into a void. Their very presence kept others from working magic within these walls and any attempt to do so resulted in a backlash on the magic worker that could send him into a coma. It also triggered an alarm that would be heard throughout the Reach.

  Security took up an entire building that was roughly the size of a city block. It was a tough job for those inside these walls. Maintaining the dome’s cloaking technology that hid the Northern Reach from the mortal realm, as well as all the monitoring they did down in the mortal world to make sure their presence continued to go unnoticed, it was top priority in the Northern Reach.

  As befitting such an important responsibility, it boasted the utmost in defenses. It was, next to Rhys’ workroom and the manor, the most secure building in the Reach and the very magics that Rhys had implemented here, he now cursed. Because they kept him from teleporting to Nik’s side to find out what was going on.

  Traveling on his own two feet ate up precious seconds and by the time he arrived at the inner offices, his gut was afire with fear.

  The door slid open silently as the scanner recognized and acknowledged his molecular imprint. As Nik’s second-in-command and the designer of all the security measures in the Reach, he had a free pass—everything here was programmed to respond to his unique makeup. Nik and Rhys were the only ones who could walk through these halls without stopping at the regular checkpoints for DNA, retinal and molecular scans.

  As the Claus’ second, there were very, very few places or things in the Reach that were denied him. Entrance into the most secure facility in the world came to him as easily as breathing. As he strode into the main boardroom and saw Nik and Chelly standing by a huge video display, Rhys knew that he’d been right.

  Holly, once more, was going to tie him into knots.

  The video bank was going through a series of stills, showing every nook and cranny of public property within the Reach. The only thing that couldn’t be called into display on those screens were the private homes of the residents. A bitter smile curved his lips as he recognized one series of stills. Holly’s private quarters, the ones she’d been forced to abandon when Nikolai ordered her moved back into the main wing of the manor.

  Then another oddly familiar series flashed across the bank. It was Holly’s room from when she’d been a girl. Different though. Her bedroom had once been on the outer walls, opening onto the balcony.

  “What’s going on?” he demanded without preamble as Nik turned to face him.

  The fear in his friend’s dark blue eyes turned Rhys’ gut to ice.

  “She is gone, my friend.”

  “Gone?” Rhys repeated dumbly.

  Gone? His brain didn’t want to process that bit of information. He almost couldn’t process it. How? But the answer to that came as quickly as the question formed. She’d teleported.

  The protective measures had been designed to keep elves out but unless he called in the higher magics of the Council, he couldn’t completely lock the barrier against those who wished to travel outside. He hadn’t thought it was necessary because the rebels had been identified and those within the Reach, already captured.

  A complete lockdown hadn’t seemed necessary.

  Damn it, he never should have let her learn those magics, yet even as he thought that, he wanted to kick himself for it. Was he any better than her father? Holding her back, so desperate to protect her that he’d willingly smother her?

  No. She didn’t need that from him. Turning away from Nik, he swore in a low, furious voice. It had been years since he had spoken in the language of his youth— centuries—but in times of fury and fear, the old Nordic oaths came instinctively. He spun around to look at Nik and Chelly. “How long?”

  Chelly, her eyes dark and worried, shook her head. “We’re not sure. We saw her last two days ago…” Her voice trailed off and then she blew out a breath. “Holly was angry—furious. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so pissed off.”

  She gave Nik a dirty look and something about that look sent a shiver racing down Rhys’ spine. “Apparently my husband has an even poorer grasp of the female mind than most men.” Her voice was chilled with anger.

  Narrowing his eyes, Rhys asked, “Do I even want to know?”

  Nik slashed a hand through the air, ignoring Rhys as he faced his wife. “I do what I must to protect her.”

  Chelly planted her hands on her hips and glared at Nik. “Since when did protecting her require that you bug her damn bedroom? After you’d promised you’d give her that little bit of privacy.” Her lip curled and she added, “Hell, I’m surprised you didn’t try to put some kind
of camera behind the mirror in her bathroom.”

  Before Nik could say anything else, Rhys forced his way between husband and wife. “Enough,” he growled, though he was so fucking pissed he could barely see straight. Holly had precious little privacy as it was. Guilt gnawed at him because Rhys had known about the cameras—known and hadn’t even thought to warn her.

  Having what little privacy she could claim invaded, after Nik had apparently promised not to violate it—hell, no wonder she had taken off.

  But damn the timing. She’d left the Reach and the protection of North Hall at the worst possible moment. Within the borders of the Northern Reach, it was safe. But outside…

  One of the ranking elves who had been discovered to be a traitor was Bordelain. In the echelon, he ranked right under Rhys and as far as magical skills, the man had no equal. When the task force had gone to apprehend Bordelain, he hadn’t been there.

  He was nowhere in the Reach.

  And now Holly was out there, in the mortal world. Unprotected.

  Worry darkened Chelly’s face, as though she knew each and every thought that went through Rhys’ head. She wasn’t gifted—as elf-mate, she had acquired the longevity of the elves and some of their strength though she’d never have their magic. But she didn’t need to be gifted to see his worry.

  “She’s gone into the mortal world.”

  Shaking his head, Nik said, “She would not. It is forbidden to her, she knows this.” Like Rhys, Nik’s accent was more pronounced when he was upset. Right now, English words didn’t want to come easily and his voice was harsh and stilted.

  Rhys, irrationally furious, turned on his friend and bellowed, “That is precisely why she is gone, Nikolai. You smother her to the point that she is dying inside and you cannot see it. You see she is unhappy and what do you do? You buy her more clothes, more trinkets when she needs freedom, not another houseful of clothes.”

  Nik’s blue eyes narrowed. “I beg your pardon?” he demanded, his voice icy.

  Unfazed, Rhys slashed a hand through the air. “‘Holly would like to go to Paris with us, Nik.’ ‘I know, but it is too dangerous for her’,” Rhys said, mimicking Nik’s voice. “‘Holly would like to make a run with you sometime, Nik.’ ‘No. It is too dangerous’.” He mimicked Chelly now. “‘Holly would like to see something besides the Northern Reach where she has spent her entire life’.”

  Rhys had mimicked both Chelly and Nik’s voices with amazing accuracy, not just the rhythm and the tone of their words but even the sounds of their voices. Curling his lip in a sneer, he advanced on Nik and said, “I warned you, my friend. You cannot forever keep her in a cage.”

  His back went ramrod straight and Nik glared at Rhys. “She is but a child. As her father, I must keep her safe.”

  “From life?” Rhys asked, shaking his head. “You’ve smothered her, Nik. And she’s not a child.” Rhys was acutely aware of how “not a child” Holly was. She was a lovely—incredibly lovely—woman who had been keeping him awake at night for the past few years. A woman who turned to fire in his arms. A woman who had the saddest eyes he’d seen in a long, long while.

  Gentling his voice, he said quietly, “You are killing her, Nik. She’s dying inside and you don’t even see it. It’s almost like you can’t see it and those who do…” Rhys glanced at Chelly and then back at his friend. “They try to tell you and you ignore them. She’s no longer a child. It’s time to let her go before you lose her.”

  Nik’s face took on a haughty expression, as though he were some ancient Russian czar, and he glared down his nose at Rhys. “You who have no mate, no offspring, would dare to tell me how I must raise mine?” Then he waved a hand dismissively. “You are neither her parent nor an acting member of the Council. You serve only in an advisory capacity. Your advice is foolishly given.”

  “You arrogant bastard.” Shaking his head in disbelief, Rhys said, “Damn it, Nik. You’re destroying her. You are smothering her.”

  But his words might as well have fallen on stone ears. Nothing he did or said would reach Nik right now.

  The Northern Reach wasn’t a monarchy. It was governed by the Council and by Nik, but in the end, Nik did more or less have the power of veto. Nik wasn’t elected, his predecessor had chosen him, but Rhys knew that Alistair, the former Claus, had chosen well when he had selected Nik over Rhys.

  Nikolai was fair. Under that icy demeanor, he was compassionate. He was also headstrong and fiercely protective of his family. If Nik knew that Rhys was having hot and sweaty dreams about his child, Rhys would be lucky if he was allowed to work as a controller, his every movement supervised by elves centuries younger. And if Nik knew that Rhys had slept with his precious daughter, he would most likely stake Rhys out on the tundra and leave him to die. Rhys was pure elf. He was made of stronger stuff than mortals and elf-kin. But he could freeze to death. It would just take a little longer.

  But Rhys would face that happily if he thought Holly would be better off for it. As she died inside, little by little, so did he.

  “It isn’t smothering her to keep her in the Reach until she can care for herself.” Nik folded his arms over his broad chest and met Rhys’ glare with one of his own.

  If Rhys had ever met a more capable woman than Holly, he couldn’t recall. She was smart, levelheaded and, unlike her father, she wasn’t so overblown with arrogance that she was convinced that every decision she made was the right one. He shook his head and said, “She’s twenty-five years old, Nik. By mortal standards, she has been a woman grown for quite some time. Twenty-five. If she is not ready now to care for herself, then when?”

  His voice stiff, Nik said, “Age means nothing. It is—”

  “Nik. Rhys.”

  Both men turned as one to look at Chelly. Her voice soft, she said, “This isn’t helping.” Then she focused her gaze on Rhys. “Can you find her?”

  Rhys’ brows arched and he blinked. Once. Twice. “Find her?”

  Chelly nodded. “Nik said that you were the best man for the job. Even he…” she glanced at her husband with a frown. “He said you’re a tracker.”

  Scowling, Rhys turned away.

  Nik didn’t speak at first. When he did, his words came reluctantly, almost as though he resented having to speak with Rhys at all. “You will find my daughter, Rhys. Find her and bring her home.”

  Oh, Rhys would find her, all right. He already had that very intention. But bring her home?

  Rhys wasn’t so sure that was the best idea. She needed protection until the rest of the rebels were dealt with but Rhys could protect her in the mortal world.

  “And if she doesn’t want to come home?” he asked quietly.

  Nik replied, “It isn’t her choice.”

  Rhys glanced at Chelly and hoped he could find some sort of support there. She stood there, her face worried, her mouth drawn tight. “Rhys, I just want to know that she is safe and that she will remain that way.”

  “It isn’t your decision.”

  Nik’s tone was the same dismissive one that he’d used with Rhys and as he stood there facing the husband and wife, Rhys could swear that he actually heard the threads of Chelly’s control snap.

  “Ex-cuse me?” she demanded, rounding on her husband. “Correct me if I’m wrong but I am her mother. I did give birth to her, so I’d say that gives me equal say in this.”

  “You coddle her. You indulge her. You—”

  Chelly approached her husband and jammed her finger into his chest. “I don’t send a skilled, long-eared version of the FBI out into the world to find her and drag her back home like she’s some kind of criminal. Damn it, Nik, I was her age when I married you, you stupid son of bitch! She’s not a baby anymore, she’s not a little kid. She’s a woman and damn it, if you don’t quit this protective, macho, territorial bullshit, she’s going to start resenting you. If she doesn’t already.”

  Nik, startled into momentary silence, stood watching as Chelly turned to Rhys. “Find her, Rhys. That is all I
ask. Let us know she is safe.”

  Rhys nodded and then he glanced at Nik and drawled, “And then should I report back to you, my lord?” His tone was deliberately scathing but Nik made no response.

  He simply stood there, staring at his wife, angry…and perhaps a little worried.

  * * * * *

  “You dare to intrude when I am giving one of my men a direct order.”

  His voice was low and furious but Chelly was so damn pissed herself that she didn’t even blink. Waiting until the doors has slid closed behind Rhys before she turned to face her husband. Coolly, she said, “I don’t recall agreeing to any medieval lord and servant crap when I married you, Nik. Nor do I recall giving you absolute authority over matters concerning our daughter.”

  “Here, I am absolute authority.”

  It felt as though he’d taken a huge shard of ice and jabbed it into her heart—fierce pain, followed by an unrelenting cold.

  “You do not have authority over me,” she said, her voice shaking. “You can’t control me.”

  His lids flickered. Some sign of reaction, finally. Some sign of the Nik she knew and not the arrogant, superior bastard who roused his ugly head every time Chelly tried to talk to him about Holly. “I would never try to control you, Chelly.”

  “No. Just our daughter.”

  Slashing a hand through the air—an angry, impatient gesture—Nik turned on his heel and started to pace the room. “You do not understand the dangers—”

  “Oh don’t give me that shit,” Chelly snapped. “I’m not a child and I wasn’t raised in a bubble. I know damn well that there are dangerous people in the world, dangerous places. I also know that we raised a smart, capable woman. You can’t protect her forever.”

  His brows dropped low over his eyes and, though he said nothing, she heard his words loud and clear. Oh I most certainly can.

  “You’re losing her, Nik,” Chelly said sadly. “I’ve seen it for a while now. She rarely wants to spend time with either of us and when you are near, she retreats. She never tells me anything, never goes shopping, hardly even reads. All she does is sit in her rooms and go to her lessons with Rhys. She’s lost weight. She rarely sleeps.” With a deep sigh, she murmured, “To be honest, I’m surprised she waited this long before running away.”