Breaking Out (26 page)

CHARLIE

CHAPTER FORTY

The sound of
a timer dinging woke me up.

“Lasagna!”

I rubbed my eyes and shot up off the couch. I
was starving. As I approached the kitchen, I heard a familiar
laugh, one that I shouldn’t have heard for a couple more hours.

“Uncle Aaron?”

“The kitten’s up. Now we can eat.” When I was
really small he used to tease me by calling me kitten. I hated it
then and I still hated it.

“How did you get here so…?”

“Hello, Charles.” Brina was leaning against
the far wall, giving me one of those smoldering looks that had my
knees going weak. Her blonde wavy hair was pulled back in a tail at
her nape, her lavender eyes shining with interest.

I kinda forgot about food for a minute. I
kinda forgot about everything for a minute.

With great effort, I yanked my gaze away,
forcing myself to snap out of the hormonal haze she always managed
to throw me into headfirst. This was definitely not the time to hit
on a female fae warrior. Nope. I had way too many things to do. I
gave her a brief smile. ”Hi Brina. It’s nice to see you.” I turned
back to Uncle Aaron, who was looking pretty smug at the moment.
“Where’s Franklin?”

“Coming with Kaera.” Oh good—another hot fae.
Didn’t these females understand we males needed to focus on
something other than sex? Why didn’t Farrell or Liam bring everyone
through the lines? “Ginamarie Wilton is traveling with Farrell.
She’s on the WPC Council with me.“

“I figured you’d bring backup.” I looked at
Brina. “You staying?” I thought frantically:
don’t stay. Don’t
stay. Please stay.
Even my brain was a traitor.

“I will remain. A fae warrior is also a most
impressive back-up.” I wasn’t going to argue with her. I was pretty
sure the Catalina Pack would be quivering in their boots the minute
they saw the six foot kick-ass female with access to more magic
than Gandalf.

“No kidding.” When my blood decided to desert
my brain, my ability to speak in sentences went with it.

Jay, busy dishing out food with Rylen,
laughed at my expression. I looked around the room for Ivy, but she
and Samson were nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Ivy?”

“When your Uncle Aaron arrived with the
lovely Fae lady, Ivonne took Samson for a run,” Rylen
explained.

“I frightened the minnow,” Brina chuckled. I
was surprised by how much her smug laugh pissed me off.

“Lay off Ivy. She’s been through a lot.”

“Protective instincts kicking in?”

“She’s new at this.” I tried to explain.

“How sweet.”

“She’s one of mine.” I meant my team, but it
came off sounding more personal.

“I will treat her with the respect she
deserves. Running away from an important guest is not a good
beginning.”

“Your ego is showing.”

“I was referring to your uncle.”

“My apologies.”

“Get a room or eat, just make up your mind.”
Jay and Aaron were practically choking on their food, they were
laughing so loudly. Rylen just looked confused.

I sat, not taking my eyes off the frustrating
female who’d rocked my world not too long ago. I’d changed a lot
since the night of my seventeenth birthday, taking responsibility
for a team, tackling a tough crime, allying myself with a species
of unseelie and going up against a dangerous pack of wolves. I was
a different guy now.

Brina took the seat across from mine, her
booted foot brushing against my ankle under the table. ‘Course some
things never changed. My body responded to her touch in the most
predictable way, making me want to scream at my uncle for bringing
her.

Instead I pretended that her presence didn’t
affect me. “When will the others arrive?”

“Perhaps two hours. They couldn’t get away as
quickly as I could,” Aaron said, swallowing an enormous bite of
garlic bread.

I played with my food, worrying about Ivy,
worrying about tomorrow’s meeting, worrying about how I was going
to get any sleep at all with Brina in the next room. Aaron caught
my glare. He shrugged and went back to his food, saying, “Eat.
We’ll be busy tomorrow and won’t be able to stop for meals.”

Brina began speaking to me in Fae. “How have
you been Charles? Is the trip all that you have hoped it would
be?”

“It’s nothing like I’ve expected.” I looked
at Rylen who was staring at Brina like she was an angel who’d just
hopped a sunbeam down from heaven. “Rylen understands Fae. So does
Ivy. Just a heads up.”

“
But he cannot hear us now, can
he?’”

“
No.”

“
I have missed you.”

“
I’m sure you have males lined up at your
door.”

“
Not the males that interest me.”

I’d known Brina my whole life. This flirting
banter was not the only thing on her mind.
“What do you really
want?”

She smiled.
“Always perceptive. I want a
challenge. Faerie is under King Finvarra’s capable yet very firm
hand, and some of our freedoms have been curtailed. I am not to
spend time in the mortal world unless I am asked by a blood ally to
assist them in some manner.”

“
Bored, huh? Is Kaera bored, too?”

“
My sister follows orders from her king
like a stream flows down a mountainside. She does not question his
directives and she does not complain. I am not of her
temperament.”

“
I’ll think about it. I already have Jay
and two kelpies.”

“
You know their magic and their skills do
not compare to mine.”

“
That’s true, but here I’m the boss. We
both know there’s not a rat’s chance in hell that you’ll follow my
orders. And if you don’t, you could put my friends’ lives at
risk.”

“
Finvarra will want to know of the
rediscovery of his steeds.”

“
They aren’t his steeds. They belong to
themselves.”

“
They worship us, did you know
this?”

“
If they do, they’re foolish. None of us
should be worshipped.”

“
In the past many humans worshipped
us.”

I laughed. “
And look where that got you?
Stuck with a witch like Fionna running the court and killing her
own people. If I were you, I’d be grateful Finvarra came
back.”

“
I am loyal to my king, however, I am not
fond of his edict.”

“
I guess I can understand that.”
For
too many years to mention my parents had kept me in lock down. In
my head I understood the reasons why, but inside there was an
animal trying to claw its way out, and I wasn’t talking about my
cheetah. My magic, my spirit, even my mental health was
suffocating.

“
I knew you would understand.”
Her
mental voice had grown quiet. I looked up, locking eyes with a
female warrior who’d practiced her magic and her fighting skills
for three hundred years longer than me. If we worked together, who
knows what we could accomplish.

“
I’ll think about it, okay? Meanwhile
you’re here and there’s an alpha to take down.”

“
Are you pleased?”
She smiled
.
“That I am here?”

“
What do you think?”

“
Char!”

“
What, Jay?”

“
Eat your freakin’ dinner. I’m going out
to find Ivy.”

“
Sure.”

An hour later, Jay was back with Samson.
“Ivy’s gone. Samson was sitting on a boulder and whining, then he
took me over to this log where I found these.” He held up Ivy’s
shoes and socks. “She must have jumped in. I waited around, but she
never came back.”

“We know she didn’t drown.” But that was
small comfort to Jay.

Rylen spoke. “She may have been taken. Lord
Tellek is not a forgiving male. If he has discovered that his room
has been searched, he might blame her. I believe he had petitioned
the chieftain for the honor of first mating.“

“First mating?”

Aaron winced. “It must be exactly what it
sounds like.”

“That guy? He’d crush her.” Jay was
pacing.

“This is custom…”

“I don’t want to hear it. How do we get to
her?” I asked.

Rylen straightened up. “I can bring one or
two, my prince. No more.”

I looked around the room, my gaze settling on
Brina. I nodded, hand over heart. “I humbly request your aid. Do we
need to share blood?”

“It is not necessary. Your father and mother
are our blood allies and you are the son of a fae lord.”

“Will you help me find Ivy?”

“Yes.”

“Will you follow my orders?”

Her gaze tightened. “If they are wise.”

“Advise me, but the final decision is
mine.”

“I will agree to that,
young prince
.”
The mischievous sparkle in her eyes made everything okay.

We walked to the beach with Rylen, who
promised to send back another of his people to bring Aaron and Jay
to the court. I told Aaron he might disturb the kelpies because of
his “werewolfiness”, but he just laughed.

“I’ll show them nothing but respect, unless
they try to hide the criminal who assisted the murderers of my
wolves.” Every wolf in his jurisdiction was considered “his” even
though they weren’t in one of his four packs.

Rylen turned to Aaron, his expression stern.
”You enter our realm as our guest, an outsider only welcome because
of Charles’ assurance that you are not an enemy. You must say that
you wish to help us regain the territory the Catalina wolves have
taken from us. We will assist you as much as we are able with the
murder of the wolves, but we will not tolerate falling under the
thumb of another lupine bully.”

Aaron and I exchanged glances. Did he want me
to smooth things over, or should I wait for him? “Uncle,” was all I
needed to say. He winked at me and faced the young male.

“Prince Rylen, I misspoke and I apologize. As
a representative of the WPC I will do everything in my power to
ensure the return of any territory taken unjustly by the Catalina
wolves or any other wolf pack in my jurisdiction. As an alpha, I
feel the loss of the two wolves deeply, even though they were not
from one of my packs. They will be mourned and their deaths will be
avenged and I will greatly appreciate any help that you, your
chieftain or your people can give me toward that end.”

Rylen held out his hand in friendship,
surprising for someone who hadn’t spent much time on land. “I
believe this gesture is appropriate, is it not?”

Aaron’s face remained solemn, although I was
sure a laugh was brewing. “Most appropriate. Thank you.” They shook
and that was that. I inwardly wished that all problems could be
solved so easily.

Brina stepped close, whispering in my ear
even though she knew everyone could hear her. “Wolves are generally
creatures without elegance or honor, however your uncle is a male
of worth.”

“Thank you Lady Brina.” Uncle Aaron bowed in
a cartoony way, knowing Brina hated to be addressed with her title.
She thought of herself as a warrior, not the typical fae lady.

She glared in his direction. “Perhaps I was
mistaken.”

“Don’t pay any attention. If he teases people
it means he likes them.”

“We will go now while the tides are in our
favor.” Rylen dove into the water. A heartbeat later a shiny silver
fin appeared on the other side of the waves. I took Brina’s hand
and we walked into the icy water, jumping over some waves and
diving under others. It was awkward, because we were fully clothed,
but I wouldn’t feel comfortable appearing at their court in a
bathing suit.

The slickness of the kelpie form beneath us
was startling, our legs straddling the creature and clenching to
hold on. Behind me, Brina gasped, grabbing my shoulders. We were
under the water and moving at a terrific speed, our bodies
protected from the cutting force of the water by Rylen’s magic.
Without it, air would be forced out of our bodies as water was
forced in, the cold consuming us.

There was no light this deep, no way to tell
what direction you were turning, no way to find the surface
.
“This is unsettling. Why do we not take the lines?”
Brina
asked, her hands tightening on my shoulders, probably leaving
marks. The fae were a people who gloried in the sunlight and fresh
air.

“
My waist might be a better
place
to hold on
.” She couldn’t see my smile, but it was there.

Brina scooted closer, wrapping her arms
around my waist and burying her face against my shoulder. “
Do
not imagine that I am afraid.”
There would be consequences if I
ever mentioned it.

“
Never
.” I held her hands against my
body and felt her relax. A guy could get used to this.

“
Where are we going
?
Where is this
place
?” she asked.

“
The location of our grottos will always
remain a secret to land roamers.”
Rylen said.

“
We can take the lines back?”
she
asked.

“
Of course
,” I reassured her.

We arrived in one piece, dry and feeling
perfectly normal. Brina, fully recovered, moved around the room,
fascinated by the wall hangings, portraits and sparse furnishings.
Many of the tapestries depicted the fae in battle, most of them
seated on steeds. Rylen excused himself, saying he’d inform
Chieftain Marea of our arrival and that he was sending someone back
for Jay and Aaron.

“The kelpie are a race well known in our
histories, but I have heard nothing about this realm, not even from
the elders,” Brina said.

A servant walked into the room carrying a
tray of beverages. After one glance at Brina and me, she dropped
the tray and knelt, speaking in fae, “How may I serve you Prince
and Lady of Faerie?”

There was shattered glass and a pool of dark
liquid on the floor by her head. Brina frowned and flicked her
wrist. The liquid was gone and the slivers of glass were back on
the tray. She spoke before I had a chance. “You may inform the
kitchen that your chieftain has four guests, all of whom will be
requiring food.” She glanced at me with a wry smile. “Three are
animals.”