A Taste for Blood (The Godhunter, Book 6) (38 page)

“
Whoa,” I whispered in awe. The little fluttering had risen at her words and assured me that this too, was love. She was right and I shouldn't have judged her so quickly. “Thank you, I think I can begin to understand now.”

“
You're most welcome,” her lips spread wide in a toothy grin. “I was honored to be consulted and I must say, you asked the right fey about it because we leanan-sidhe are the most loving of all faeries.”

“
Yes, I imagine you are.”

Chapter Fifty-Six

I flipped through the leather book Arach had given me. I'd had an urge to draw, maybe even paint, but I decided to try the drawing first so he'd obligingly brought me some art supplies. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't the book filled with rough, blank pages and a silver stylus. He'd had to show me how the texture of the paper scraped the silver off the stylus and created lines. It was actually very beautiful. The silver made delicate tones that could be darkened to whatever degree you wished and when the silver tarnished, it became a beautiful brown.

I'd become kind of obsessed with it, taking the book with me everywhere and stopping to draw whenever the mood struck. I had several pages filled already, drawings of red caps at sword play, goblins at work, and leanan-sidhe doing what they do best, looking absolutely stunning. My favorite one so far though, was of a little goblin named Breck.

I'd caught her staring at herself in a shield. She'd been watching the red caps train and one had tossed his shield aside. She'd caught it like a love token and had settled it on her lap, so she could admire herself. I'd drawn her at the perfect angle, so you could see half her face from the front and the rest as a reflection in the shield. One of her chubby hands was holding back a length of stringy hair so she could see all three of her bulbous eyes.

I'd been repulsed by the goblins at first but then I'd slowly become accustomed to their different appearances and realized that my initial opinion of them, just like with the Hidden Ones, had been unjust. They did not perceive themselves to be hideous or even different. Their appearances were absolutely normal to each other and they had their own ideas of beauty. Once I let go of my prejudices, I was able to see it too and Breck had been my breakthrough.

I sketched her in as much detail as I could, trying to catch the flaking scales on her hands and the shiny patches of slime on her face, but the most important thing, the detail that finally spoke to me, was her smile. Her lips were leathery and very full but when they spread with an almost child-like delight over her own appearance, her joy showed through and she became beautiful to me as well. Every little girl wants to look in the mirror and see something pretty, to know that nature decided she was special and gifted her with a lovely appearance. It's just human nature... and goblin evidently.

I had to show her the drawing since it became obvious I was studying her and she immediately wanted to know why the Queen would scribble, scribble, scribble while looking at her dribble, dribble, dribble. She'd been delighted that I wanted to sketch her and had swiftly returned to her pose, graciously sitting over half an hour for me. When I was done, a crowd of goblins gathered round to admire my work and Breck had left hand-in-hand with a proud looking green fellow.

With the Hidden Ones, I'd admired their spirits, the beauty beneath the surface but honestly, I hadn't found them to be beautiful. Caring about them hadn't changed my idea of attractiveness, it had simply made their looks irrelevant. Breck had taken it further for me, she'd changed what beauty was to me, shown me a different perspective.

I rubbed my hand over the drawing, wondering how I'd come to care about these fey so much in such a short time. Even the red caps didn't scare me anymore. Nothing was as it seemed in Faerie.

“
What are you smiling at?” Arach came through our bedroom door.

“
A goblin girl,” I showed him the drawing.

“
Lovely,” he took the book and flipped through. “These are very good.”

“
Well it is what I do for a living,” I smirked and then frowned. “Do I?”

“
I...” he laid the book back on the table. “I don't recall you ever drawing before.”

“
Oh,” I tried to laugh it off but it came out sounding forced. “Must have just been a fantasy of mine.”

“
You need not fantasize about it ever again,” he stroked the hair off my face. “Maybe you don't need to work but you've achieved a level of mastery that would allow for it. You're a wonderful artist.”

“
Thank you,” I felt better about forgetting my past every time he looked at me like that. “Will you sit for me?”

“
You wish to draw me?” His smile went wicked. “Would you like me to strip?”

“
No,” I nudged him into the chair across from mine, “at least not yet.”

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Three weeks later, I was searching for a lost slipper beneath the bed. I swear the goblins snuck into our bedroom to put things out of order just to irritate the fire fey maids. It had the unfortunate side effect of annoying me as well.

“There you are,” I said triumphantly as I pulled both the slipper and myself out from beneath the bed.

“
And there
you
are,” a male voice startled me into dropping the slipper.

Leaning against the window, holding his arms like they were about to do something stupid without his knowledge, was a gorgeous man. He had black hair falling down to his collar in soft waves, eyes the color of warm honey, and a body layered with enough muscles to make me take a second look. He was definitely not fey, he smelled all wrong for it, although very familiar.

“How did you get into my bedroom?” Out of all the questions I could have asked, it seemed the safest.

“
I climbed,” his arms fell to his sides and he took a step forward. “It's true then, you have no idea who I am?”

“
No, I'm sorry, I...” I had a flash of his face above me, set in passionate lines. I blinked rapidly to clear the image. “Do I know you?”

“
Minn Elska,” his voice broke on a sob. “I'm your mate, I love you. You love me. That dragon put a spell on you that made you forget me and everyone else you love. He brought you here and we've been trying to find a way to bring you back ever since.”

“
We?”

“
Your other lovers and I.”

“
Other
lovers?” I sat back heavily on the bed. “I don't...I wouldn't...”

“
Maybe you should have waited on the other lovers bit,” Roarke appeared in the window beside the first man. “Hello, Queen Vervain.”

“
Hello, Roarke,” I was pleased with myself for remembering his name, even though my heart was trying to pound its way out of my chest. “How are you?”

“
Oh, fine, fine,” he nodded, “remember anything yet? Like maybe this guy here? His name's Trevor. Ring a bell? Or how about Odin, Kirill, or Azrael? Then there's the Froekn and Intare. There's a whole lot of people who want you back.”

I just stared back and forth between them with a dazed expression.

“Fuck this,” the man Roarke had called Trevor came toward me and I cringed back. He stopped abruptly, staring at me in shock. “Vervain,” he grabbed my arm and pulled me up against him. We stared at each other for a second and then his lips were on mine.

Something shimmered through me and shattered like a mirror. It was like I'd been living in a fog and it had suddenly solidified and exploded apart. I could breathe again, I could see clearly, and I could remember. Like a curse in a fairy tale, the spell had been broken with a kiss. I wrapped my arms around Trevor and returned the kiss, feeling my wolf rise up to meet him as I started to shake. I finally realized what had been done to me and what I'd unknowingly done to those I loved.

“Care to remove yourself from my wife?” Arach stood framed in the open doorway, his eyes glowing in anger.

“
Your wife?” Trevor pulled back from me and scoffed. “I don't think she's going to be taking those vows too seriously anymore.”

“
Arach,” I gently pushed Trevor aside and walked over to confront my husband. “I can't even... you... why?”

“
Because you wouldn't have me any other way,” his shoulders sagged, his whole demeanor deflating.

“
Arach,” my throat worked convulsively. “You betrayed me, made me an unknowing fool. Raped my mind and body and now you stand there calling me your
wife?
” I huffed an amazed sound. “You're not even the first to have done this to me. Do you know that? The last guy took control of my body and left me my mind, it was more fun for him that way. You though, you took my mind and left me my body. I'm not even sure which was worse, being unable to control my body while remaining fully aware of what was being done with it or being completely unaware of who I am while giving you my body because of it. You made me love you and made me think that you loved me, when it was all a lie.”

“
I do love you,” he held up a pleading hand.

“
You know what's so horrifyingly hilarious about that statement?” I was on the verge of going medieval on his ass, as in
slay the dragon
. “You really do. I've tasted your blood, seen you for exactly who you are, and I've felt your love for me but the way you love is so far removed from the way I do, it's like they're two separate things entirely. You love like a dragon and I love like a woman. There's no place for our love to find common ground.”

“
There's the blood,” his eyes had lost their glow, everything about him seemed extinguished.

“
I am more than blood. I am more than bones and flesh and breath. I am more than magic and fire. I am more than all of these things because of
whom
and
how
I love.”

“
Then I've helped make you more,” he took a small step forward but it was enough to bring him within touching distance. “For I know that you love me.”

“
Yes, you've made me more,” I backed up and took a deep breath, tamping down the fire he was lighting and not in a good way. “After taking everything away and giving me no choice but to cling to you. But you're right,” I gave him a grim grin, “you've changed me, added to the layers of who I am. You've made me more cold and much more hot. You've made me more cynical, more wary, and more broken. Oh, and you've made me more powerful. Best you remember that the next time you think about making me forget. Because if you ever fuck with me or mine again, I will make you more miserable than you have ever been.” I turned toward Trevor and reached for his hand.

“
You can't leave me, you're my wife!”

I turned back to Arach slowly. “And now you've made me more bitter. I disavow you, the vows I spoke were in my heart waiting to be said to another. You stole them along with my mind,” I yanked the gold band and sparkling ring off my finger and dropped them at his feet.

“I'm so sorry,” Arach hung his head, staring at the rings at his feet, and I felt a momentary surge of pity.

“
I'm sorry too,” I let out a shuddering breath and picked up my leather journal. It was the only thing I wanted to keep. “I'm sorry you made me want something I can't have and then made it traitorous to even want it anymore. Goodbye, Arach, last of the dragon-sidhe.”

I took the hand of my werewolf Prince and left my dragon King to his regrets.

Chapter Fifty-Eight

“How are we going to get through?” I walked between Trevor and Roarke, constantly glancing over my shoulder to see if we were being followed.

“
The King has lowered the wards,” Trevor grimaced. “I'm glad because it means we can get you out but worried about the fey returning to the Human Realm.”

“
Let's worry about that later, shall we?” Roarke was quickening his pace. “We have more pressing matters, like not getting roasted alive.”

“
I don't think he'll come after me,” I bit my lip to keep it from quivering. My heart hurt, maybe because it was being torn in two.