A Taste for Blood (The Godhunter, Book 6) (19 page)

“
He's fey,” Odin grimaced, “he
is
magic, he never took it from humans.”

“
Right,” I nodded, “I couldn't get anything from him but then I felt the earth call me and I was able to pull huge amounts of energy from it, more than I've ever been able to pull from the earth of the Human Realm.”

“
Yes,” Odin was frowning deeply, “because you were in Faerie, at the source of your own magic. You accessed the fountainhead and it's obviously changed you, awakened your dormant sidhe side.”

“
Oh, that doesn't sound good,” I groaned. “You know, I remember feeling as if something had burst inside me, like a dam had been broken and something was released. That must have been my fey magic waking up.”

“
This is who you are, how can it be bad?” Everyone looked at Azrael like he'd gone crazy but he just shrugged. “I love her, no matter what, don't all of you?”

“
Well, maybe not in the same way some of you do,” Teharon grinned, “but yes.”

“
Good,” Trevor rolled his eyes. “Her bed's full enough.”

“
This is a part of who she is,” Azrael continued patiently. He was good at that, being patient, which was a huge plus when dealing with me and mine. “It may be what's best for her to know it and accept it. It may complete her in ways we can't even conceive of. She's had to live a half life, part of her basic nature submerged and denied, without ever knowing it. Maybe it will be good for her to truly know herself. It sounds like she's inherited some powerful magic and I don't see the negative in that.”

“
You,” I shook my head, speechless, “you are so amazing.”

“
Yes, the wonder and wisdom of the angels,” Odin said, sarcasm dripping. “The negatives you don't see, are that a dragon-sidhe, a male who claims she's the only female of his kind in existence, may be able to sense this change and use it to not only find her but take her from us. He seemed rather intent to begin with but I have a feeling this coming into power or whatever it is, may intensify his desires.”

“
But he's in the Faerie Realm,” Azrael wasn't bothered in the least by Odin's criticism and I think that bothered Odin even more. “He has no access to her.”

“
Maybe not yet,” Odin grimaced, “but now their wards have been weakened twice, once by Vervain and once by myself when I went to bring her back. This Arach may be able to find a way to weaken it further and if he can break the barrier, the fey will be able to return to the Human Realm.”

“
Chyort voz'mi,” Kirill swore.

“
Indeed,” Odin nodded grimly.

“
Huh?” I looked up at Kirill.

“
It means
oh shit,
basically,” Trevor answered instead.

“
Oh,” I huffed. “In that case, chyort voz'mi.”

I conveniently forgot to tell them about Arach and the mirror.

Chapter Twenty-Six

I didn't want to cut the evening short over my little episode, so we all went back to the party and acted like everything was fine. Yep, no problem here, I just had a little faint, everything's all right, no dragon-sidhe magic rearranging my insides, and there's definitely not a randy male dragon-sidhe possibly breaking through a barrier into the Aether to come and get me and make me his lizard love slave. Oh yeah, everything's dandy.

I did manage to have a good time though. I ate a lot, drank even more, and danced with all of my men, over and over. Also, I got to see Fallon and Samantha enter the room in a glow of happiness and unity. They looked different, I'm not sure what it was exactly, something in their faces, their muscles more relaxed, or maybe just a confidence in their manners. They looked wonderful and it made everything seem a lot better just to see them that way.

The evening finally did wind down though, and we all headed home, Trevor, Kirill, the Intare, and I to Pride Palace while Odin, Azrael, and everyone else returned to their own homes. Fallon and Samantha were staying in a special bridal suite Fenrir had made up for them. Then they'd be coming home to Pride Palace to live with us. I was kind of excited to have another woman in the house. I mean, even my cat's a boy. I was in serious need of some estrogen.

I was exhausted as I walked through the halls to my bedroom, I wanted to sleep for a week. So I wasn't really paying attention to my surroundings when I entered the master suite where we slept. I passed by the King sized bed that fit really well into the safari theme, with it's polished wood posters and mosquito netting. I was pleased that it didn't look out of place since it was in fact a replacement of the original bed which had belonged to Nyavirezi and held way too much bad memories for Kirill. We kept adding to it, at first it was just a double-tiered, mahogany platform and then we'd added the posters, and then finally the netting. I was pretty happy with it now, and evidently so was Nick, who was curled up in the center of it.

I just kept walking, heading into the bathroom. I had no idea anything was wrong until I heard Trevor and Kirill growling. I stumbled back into the bedroom to find my two lovers facing off with a hissing black cat who sported a white spot in the center of his chest. The cat's eyes were glowing green and his fur was standing on end, making him look like a pissed off, black cloud. Okay, that was definitely not Nick.

“
No fucking way,” I marched into the room, taking up a position between the cat and my men. “Back down guys, I know him.”

“
You know him?” Trevor gaped.

The cat shifted, turning into Roarke, who looked delicious in tight leather pants and a loose blue tunic. He leaned casually against one of the bed posts, boy he liked to lean on things, and gave me a knowing grin. I wanted to punch it off his face but I restrained myself because I thought it better to keep him clear headed enough to answer all of my questions. Besides, I could always punch him later.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I narrowed my eyes on him and then grabbed a handful of his tunic and pulled him up, “and get off my bed.”

“
My apologies,” he bowed to the men, “I am Roarke of House Earth, Prince of the Cat-Sidhe and general ne'er-do-well. Oh, and I'm currently an emissary for High King Cian.”

“
This is Trevor,” I waved a hand at him. “Wolf Prince of the Froekn and First-Born of Fenrir, and this is Kirill, Ganza of the Intare and hot Russian werelion. Both are my boyfriends and both are bad ass motherfuckers. Now I suggest you tell me how you got through the faerie barrier before I let them have at you.”

“
That, my dear,” he grinned wider, “is entirely your fault.”

“
Pardon me?”

“
Have a little faerie experience earlier?” A black eyebrow quirked up over Roarke's green eye. “Some tingly, fiery, body-changing excitement?”

“
Obviously you know the answer to that already,” I took a deep breath. This couldn't be good.

“
Yes, well,” Roarke pouted, probably because I wasn't willing to play his game. “Your little entrance and then subsequent exit from Faerie caused a teeny tiny break in the ward. When you had your little faerie explosion, the aftershocks ripped it wider. About big enough for a cat to get through. King Cian thought it best that I make use of the opening and come warn you. The tear will most likely widen and he's unsure whether he wants to repair it or not.”

“
Why wouldn't he repair it?” I glanced over at my silent men but they just continued to stare grimly at Roarke.

“
He's being petitioned by several representatives of the fey Houses to keep it open,” Roarke gave me a sly look. “King Arach in particular is making a convincing case.”

“
Uh huh,” I grimaced. “I fail to see why a booty call should be the reason to open a gate that's been sealed for centuries.”

“
A what?” Roarke's eyes gleamed. “A
booty
call? Oh that's fantastic. Does it mean what I think it means? Lasciviousness of some kind, yes? Oh
please
say yes.”

“
It means a base sexual encounter,” I confirmed.

“
Oh, you have brought me such joy,” he sighed and clasped his hands together over his chest. “I can't wait to use it back home.”

“
Yeah, yeah, you're a randy tom cat, we get it,” I rolled my eyes. “Now an answer would be nice. Why would King Cian listen to Arach?”

“
King
Arach, my lady lioness,” Roarke smirked. “The High King must listen to the lower rulers, it's part of his duty. Now as to why he would do as asked, King Arach has declared you to be the last remaining female dragon-sidhe in existence. The fey take extinction of races very seriously. If you had been brought up in Faerie, you'd already be getting your booty called from King Arach, probably numerous callings of booties,” he winked at me for added effect. “Your belly would most likely be swelling with King Arach's bootiness already.”

“
Okay, enough with the booty thing,” I groaned. “There's not going to be any booty calls or bootiness or swelling of my belly.”

“
Extinction or not,” Trevor growled. “She's not giving birth to some dragon faerie's baby.”

“
Da,” Kirill agreed, “no fire-breathing babies allowed.”

“
Thank you, Siskel and Ebert, for the two thumbs down,” I grimaced, “but I got this.” I returned my attention to the cat. “Tell King Cian it's not going to happen and tell King Arach to go fuck himself because I'm not going to do it.”

“
Oh, another lovely human colloquialism,” he rubbed his hands gleefully, “and how appropriate, bravo. I can't go back yet though. King Cian bade me stay and see to your safety.”

“
What?”

“
He wants the last female dragon-sidhe to be protected,” Roarke shrugged. “So where can I sleep?”

“
In the Faerie Realm,” I growled. “How did you even get through my wards?”

“
Ah, Tima,” Kirill cleared his throat. “You have no vards here, I've been meaning to talk to you about zat. Ven Nyavirezi died, her vards died vith her. It just recently came to my attention. You need to make new vards to protect Palace.”

“
Oh, great,” I rubbed at my head.

“
I can't go back,” Roarke looked rather green. “I have a direct order from my King
and
the High King. I must stay and watch you. They,” he swallowed hard, “will not be pleased if I return now.”

“
Oh fine,” I threw my hands up in the air. “Kirill can help you find an empty bedroom, we have enough of them.”

“
Thank you,” he gave me a quick bow.

“
You're welcome,” I sighed. “Can you send messages to the King?”

“
Yes, of course,” he frowned. “King Arach said he'd already...”

“
Yes, yes,” I cut him off. “That's right, he told me about the mirrors.” Roarke frowned but held his tongue.

“
Mirrors?” Trevor asked.

“
They can be used to contact other realms,” Roarke shrugged. “Surely the gods know this.”

“
Yes but we also have other means of contacting each other,” Trevor ground out. “It hadn't occurred to me that they could be used to access the Faerie Realm.”

“
Huh,” Roarke shrugged. “No matter, I can use any mirror here to send word to King Cian and King Arach too if you'd like me to relay your colorful message. Or you could contact him yourself. I can show you how.”

“
Really?” I raised a brow. “Yeah, okay, I'd like to say a few things to that bastard.”

“
Oh, King Arach is most assuredly not a bastard,” Roarke explained seriously, as if this status might affect my decision about sleeping with him. “His parents were King and Queen of the House of Fire, before him. They were killed tragically though,” he dropped his voice to a whisper, “by humans. He doesn't hold your kind in very high regard because of it. In fact, most of the dragon-sidhe were killed by humans. It was one of the reasons the High King chose to withdraw Faerie from the Human Realm.”

“
Oh,” I frowned, not liking the twinge of sympathy I felt for Arach.

“
It's also a big part of why King Arach enjoys leading the Wild Hunt,” Roarke continued, “and why you caught his attention so quickly.”

“
Until he discovered the type of fey blood I had mixed in with my human,” I huffed.

“
Yes, I expect that was a shock for him,” Roarke chuckled. “It's rather enjoyable to see the Fire King all puffed up over a human witch.”

“
She's a goddess,” Trevor corrected.

“
Thank you, baby,” I smiled at him, “but I'm not insulted to be called a human either.”

“
I meant no disrespect,” Roarke held up a hand. “We fey find humans to be fascinating.”