by C. J. Anaya
My eyebrows hit my hairline.
“You’re delusional if you think I’d ever marry you.”
Jareth’s eyes narrowed in anger.
“We’ve been through this a million times, Crysta. Our union will not destroy the Fae realm.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Your brother said you couldn’t handle my rejection, but this story you’ve created is really messing with your mind. I’m not sure what the destruction of the Fae realm has to do with whether or not you and I get married, but my heart belongs to Kheelan and he’s the one I’m going to marry.”
Jareth’s eyes blazed with fury.
“The hell he is,” he snarled.
Before I could summon one single defensive spell, he was already in front of me. I braced myself for his attack, but couldn’t have been more caught off guard when he wrapped his arms around me and took my lips with his own. His mouth hungrily probed mine as his tongue forced its way past my lips. I gasped in surprise and he took advantage, plunging his tongue through and tangling it with mine. Heat spread like a fire through my veins and my body responded before my mind could think it through. Just like it had the first time he’d kissed me, and this time, I wasn’t so sure it was caused by a spell.
I kissed him back with a ferocity that astonished me. I was supposed to be terrified of this man, and in all honesty I was terrified, completely horrified that I could barely control the fire building within me as my assassin took me rough and demanding, drinking me in as if he’d been deprived of my lips for centuries. I felt boneless in his arms, unable to push him away or fight him off as my traitorous lips responded to his with more passion and heat than I’d ever shown Kheelan.
Kheelan’s face flashed through my thoughts, giving me enough strength to pull back even though it was impossible to break free of Jareth’s grasp.
“Why are you doing this?” I cried out. “Just kill me, if that’s what your end game is.”
Jareth’s bewildered gaze met mine.
He lifted a hand and tilted my chin.
“I don’t understand why you’re acting like this. Roderick said you seemed confused, but this is beyond anything I can wrap my brain around. Why are you afraid of me? I would never in a million years kill you, Crysta. I love you. Killing you would be like killing myself. I can’t live without you.”
I studied him intently, shaking my head at his confusing words. I had to give his words some credence. If he wanted me dead, I would be dead by now. There was no reason for him to hesitate because there was nowhere for me to run. So why hadn’t he killed me yet?
“But Kheelan said you hated me. He said you wanted me dead because I was a threat to your reign.”
Jareth’s genuine expression of absolute astonishment was the only thing that kept me from drawing forth my power and attempting another defensive maneuver.
“Why would Kheelan say that, and why would you ever believe him when you only met him recently?”
I shook my head.
“No. I’ve known Kheelan my entire life. We’ve loved each other for years…” I trailed off, remembering what my father had confessed just minutes before. How could I have known Kheelan if I’d been living in the human realm all my life?
Jareth looked beyond perplexed. He appeared absolutely stymied. He studied me intently for a moment and then his eyes widened as some thought took hold. He lifted my chin to stare at me, giving me the kind of look you might give to someone who has quite possibly lost her mind.
“He’s spelled you,” he said.
“What are you talking about?”
“Kheelan has woven several layers of compulsion around you and masked it with your energy signature instead of his. You firmly believe everything he has told you. Every thought, suggestion, and emotion you feel toward me or him has been conditioned.” He shook his head in dismay. “It’s a terrible violation. It goes against so many of our laws.”
My mind whispered he was lying. The compulsion to flee took over, but Jareth must have realized my intent because my limbs were frozen once again.
He gave me an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry. I know the feeling of being immobile is awful, but you won’t listen to reason until I untangle these threads and give you back to yourself.”
I waited. There wasn’t anything else I could do. Jareth uttered several words that failed to hold any meaning for me. He moved his fingers around my face, never touching me exactly, more like brushing away cobwebs from the air, invisible cobwebs surrounding my head. The more he did this, the more my need to flee slowly dissipated until it was gone. That didn’t mean my fear and distrust of him no longer existed. Not by a long shot, but the logical half of my brain seemed to be functioning for the first time in weeks.
“Better?” he asked.
I nodded, unable to voice the millions of questions I had for him.
“I’m going to allow you to move once again. Please don’t run from me. I don’t enjoy using restraining spells on you. It seems…it just feels very wrong.”
“I’m listening,” I said. But I promised nothing as far as getting the hell away from him.
Hot tingles spread across my limbs as my arms gave way. I took a step back, but Jareth’s hands shot out and grabbed my shoulders.
“I wasn’t going to run,” I said, tamping down my panic. The compulsion to get the hell out of there was gone, but his physical strength was freaking me out.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But I need to be touching you right now. I don’t want you disapparating again.”
“Fine,” I snapped. Bossy much?
“Referring to your earlier statement about my brother and whatever asinine relationship you both believe yourselves to be in, you’ve only known Kheelan for a little over a month, and you and I have known each other a little longer than that. Up until a few months ago, you lived in the human realm and believed yourself to be human. I was sent to kill you because the monarchy assumed you were a threat to our race. When I met you, I knew you couldn’t be a threat to anyone, and I swore to protect you from whatever conspiracy was circulating amongst the Seelie Court.” He paused for a moment as he watched the way this information registered with me.
I tried to keep my face an impassive mask, but what he was telling me, and the beliefs I’d been operating under ever since I’d woken up with Kheelan sitting next to me didn’t jibe.
“Then I fell in love with you,” he continued. I raised shocked eyes to his. “I fell in love with you, and you fell in love with me. We discovered you were actually a faerie, a princess my world had assumed had been murdered eighteen years ago. Don’t you remember any of this?
NO.
I shook my head to indicate I had no idea what he was talking about.
“Tell me what you remember,” he said.
“Six weeks ago I woke up next to Kheelan with no memory of my life. Everything before six weeks ago is gone.”
Jareth’s face blanched at that, his complexion becoming pale at my pronouncement.
“I thought, maybe, Kheelan had used spells to confuse you…but this? You don’t remember me at all?” he choked out.
“No.”
“Then how did you recognize me in the cavern? What made you run?”
“I have nightmares of you chasing me and killing me. And when I woke up six weeks ago, Kheelan said you had tried to kill me with magic and I barely survived. I lost my memories while recuperating from your attack.”
“By King Moridan’s crown,” Jareth exhaled crushing me to him, holding me against his chest as he ran his fingers through my hair. I was absolutely terrified of him and our proximity, but my body was responding to his touch in a way that made me hate myself. “I’d sooner cut off my own hand than hurt you in any way. Please,” he pulled back to look at me, his eyes tortured and filled with pain. “You’re my fated mate.”
My eyes narrowed in confusion.
“Fated mate? I keep hearing that term. I…have no idea what that is.”
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His sad eyes held mine for a moment, making me wish I had given him a different response. I tried to shake those thoughts away. This could all be a trick. A trap. I never should have told him my memory was gone. Now he could fabricate a past that worked in his favor to convince me to marry him. And if that didn’t work he would just kill me.
He touched my temple and then pulled back his long silver hair to reveal a mark that matched mine. I gasped in surprise.
“Why do you have the same birthmark I do?”
Jareth’s eyes flashed anger and I shrank back in fear. He noticed my fear and tried to comfort me as he rubbed my arms with his hands.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m just disgusted with all the lies Kheelan has fed you, and I’m struggling to come to terms with the fact that he would betray me like this. The marks on our temples signify our fated mate status. We’re soul mates, Crysta. You’re mine. You belong to me.”
I shook my head in denial.
“No. I’m supposed to marry Kheelan. I care for Kheelan. He has the same mark on his temple too. So how am I supposed to believe this?”
He let out a low growl in the back of his throat that filled me with terror. I stiffened in his arms and he noticed immediately.
“I’m sorry,” he said choking down his anger. “I’m sorry. I keep reinforcing your fear, I don’t mean to. Crysta, if I meant you any harm I would have easily taken you out. I’m a trained assassin, a prince of the Seelie Court, and one hundred percent lethal.”
“I know you are,” I said in a squeaky voice. I hated how weak I sounded.
“Look at me,” he said, lifting my chin so my eyes had nothing else to focus on but his crystal clear blue ones. “I may be all those things, but I’m also the one who loves you, the prince who would do anything in his power to protect you. I love you. I will never harm you. Ever.”
I was about to throw out more denials, but the color of his eyes caught my attention and held it.
I’d seen them when Kheelan kissed me, and every time Kheelan tried to show affection toward me. In those moments when I wanted to care more for Kheelan than I did, those blue eyes would flash within my mind causing me the most horrific headaches I’d ever experienced. Blue eyes.
His eyes.
Jareth’s eyes.
Why?
“As far as the mark that Kheelan claims to bear, it’s a fabrication. With magic it will easily come off.”
“I… don’t believe this. I don’t believe you.”
Jareth’s sad eyes hurt my heart a little, but it couldn’t be helped. I needed to hear the whole story before I made any decisions.
“Well, there is one thing I can do that Kheelan most definitely has never done with you.” He held out his hand, indicating I should take it. I hesitated for a moment, but then my curiosity got the best of me. Slowly, I slid my hand into his and watched in fascination as the interlocking of our fingers produced a soft luminescent glow.
“What…what is that?”
“It’s the reaction royal fated mates have when touching one another. The way our bodies respond to each other furthers our fated mate claim. Was Kheelan ever able to do this with you?”
“No,” I said in a hoarse whisper, never taking my eyes off our joined hands and the warm glow from the physical contact. “Does this always happen when our skin touches?” I raised my eyes to his, swallowing down a ball of emotion at the desire etched across his features.
“Always,” he said.
I didn’t know what to say, how to feel, how to cope with this new version of reality. Jareth let out a sad sigh as I pulled my hand from his grasp.
“Let me take you back to the group. It’s obvious there is much to talk about.”
“That’s fine, but once we’re there, I would appreciate it if you stayed across the room next to my uncle. No matter what you say, you’re a stranger to me, and I would feel more comfortable with a little space.”
Jareth’s hurt was palpable, but his expression smoothed into a blank mask after that.
“As you wish,” he said.
I did wish.
Pretty sure I did, anyway.
Ah, hell.
No one had moved from their spots in the dining hall.
I guess my father, my uncle, and even King Vargis never once doubted that Jareth would catch me and bring me back. Which, I’ll be honest, was a tad insulting. The only one who showed any emotion whatsoever was Kheelan, his anger at my return twisting his features.
“If you hurt her in any way,” he snarled, stepping toward us, but one of the guards restrained him while Jareth pulled me closer to his side.
“You can stop the charade,” my father said in a tired voice. “You can’t keep them from one another.”
Well, crap. My father’s approval of Jareth only proved Kheelan’s lies. I blinked back a few sneaky tears rising to the surface and stared at the bright red and gold coat of arms hanging on the stone wall above the Saytr King’s ornate chair. Maybe if I focused on the intricate detailing of the crest and crossed swords I’d forget to pay attention to how badly my heart was breaking.
“Stop these games, brother,” Jareth said. “You’ve done enough damage with your lies.”
He moved to guide me with him to where my uncle still stood near the doors of the Keep, but I halted between my father and Kheelan.
“You said you would give me some space,” I choked out. “Remember?”
I waited for him to get high-handed, yell at me, or quite possibly behave like the Jareth of my nightmares. He was definitely angry if the slight tick in his jaw and the gritting of his teeth were any indication, but to his credit he merely grunted and let me go, striding forward to King Roderick’s side.
My uncle and Graul studied me, glancing at Jareth in puzzlement as he reached their side.
“That must have hurt like hell,” my uncle said under his breath even though his voice carried across the room.
Nice acoustics in here.
“You have no idea,” Jareth muttered.
Graul shook his head.
“This wrong. Fated mates not separate.”
“Her memories are gone, Graul. The only thing she knows is whatever Kheelan and her father have been telling her.”
King Roderick shook his head. “This is unbelievable.”
“Don’t pretend that you two care about her,” Kheelan said.
“Enough, Kheelan,” my father shouted.
Jareth glared at his brother. It looked like it took a lot of restraint not to walk over and clock Kheelan in the face. He needed to shut up before Jareth really lost his temper.
Graul must have noticed the same thing since he offered up what he must have assumed to be a helpful solution.
“I kill him.”
He made to move toward Kheelan, but Roderick placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, although the amusement dancing at the corners of his mouth was unmistakable.
Which was confusing. It didn’t look like my uncle had a problem with the Stargis race. On the contrary, Graul seemed to be quite comfortable standing between Jareth and the current Unseelie King.
Jareth still vibrated with rage, barely taking note of Graul’s attempts at providing a suitable solution.
“We’ve had our differences in the past, Kheelan, but I cannot believe you would ever take this sibling rivalry to the level you have by involving Crysta. How could you ever think to take her from me? How could you take advantage of the loss of her memories like that?”
“I love her.”
“You wanted to use her,” Jareth snorted.
“You have no idea what I want. You never have.”
I glanced from Jareth who was glaring at Kheelan to my uncle Roderick who couldn’t take his eyes off my father. The range of emotions flashing across his face went from anger to remorse.
“Rodri,” he said, “why didn’t you tell me you were alive? I thought you were dead. I found your body. I buried it, damn you. Do you
have any idea how difficult that was for me?”
Another thing that didn’t make sense. All this time my father claimed King Roderick had tried to kill him, yet my uncle behaved as if he was truly hurt somehow. He acted like he loved him. I waited for my father to dispute it just like I’d waited for Kheelan to give me some sign that Jareth was lying. I waited for my father to keep with the story he told me, and even though his eyes glittered a smoldering hatred, the words that left his mouth shot my confidence in him to hell.
“It was a palace guard, damaged beyond recognition. I covered him in my magical signature so you would think I perished.”
There was silence as everyone in the room processed this.
Roderick shook his head, refusing to believe the implications.
“Are you saying you are the one responsible for Insley’s death?” he asked.
My father’s ire was provoked as he pointed his finger at Roderick.
“You’re the murderer. You are the entire reason my wife was even at the palace when she shouldn’t have been.”
“What are you talking about, Rodri? You summoned me there. I came for a visit and for a chance to discuss some threat against Crysta’s life, and when I arrived it was to find a vampire was in your quarters slaughtering all of you, and everyone in the palace was clueless. How could that happen?”
“You were meant to die that night. I’d taken Insley on the pretense of meeting with some neighboring royals. King Moridan knew of the fated mate bond and threatened to have Crysta killed if we didn’t kill her ourselves.”
A fated mate bond warranted death? I was really beginning to hate this mark on my temple.
“I knew he would never leave us be if we didn’t do something, so I left the human babe posing as our daughter with one of the hand maidens and commanded Insley to accompany me. I knew King Moridan had planted spies within the castle, waiting to make his move, and I intended to make it easy for him. I let slip the information of our departure. Neither Insley nor I would be present, which would be the perfect opportunity for King Moridan to murder the babe, never knowing Crysta resided in the human realm. I made sure there was plenty of time for King Moridan’s spies to discover our plans and leak them to their king. As an added measure, I lowered the wards once we left.”