Breaking Out (27 page)

The girl smiled, picking up the tray and
nodding. “Yes lady, thank you.” She left quickly to follow Brina’s
orders.

“Animal, huh?” I laughed.

“You usually eat enough to feed a dragon,
although, you only picked at the meal Jay prepared,” she teased.
She had her back to me, running her long fingers over a nicely
carved chair. She knew her arrival had thrown me for a loop, and
she was enjoying every minute of my discomfort.

I could tease her back. “You sounded like a
real lady of faerie when you gave those orders to the servant.”

“The tone of command is something I learned
at a very early age, but not often practiced. My mother is a lady
in our family home but Kaera and I live simply, separately, without
servants.”

“You cook?”

She turned at the surprise in my voice. “Why
do you look aghast? I am an excellent cook, as is Kaera. But to be
honest, I rarely bother. The lines provide us with all we
require.”

Brina returned to her curious inspection of
the room while my gaze was drawn to her elegant movements. Grace
was natural to seelie fae and demons alike, their bodies flowing
through time like honey off a spoon, languid and thick with sweet
promise. Brina’s training on the field only made her more so.

Should I include her in our team, or was that
asking for all kinds of messed up trouble? Maybe a trial period
would be the answer.

For fun, I decided to keep a running score of
positives and negatives, see how she tallied up. Obvious negatives:
stubborn, not a rule follower. Positives: amazing fighter,
reliable, loyal, cool under pressure, beautiful. I mentally crossed
off the last item, wondering whether I should list that one under
negatives. She’d be distracting for me to have around. Mucho
distracting. Worrying about her safety might cause me to lose
focus.

She smiled, probably feeling my gaze on her,
but still continuing to scrutinize every article in the room. Her
arms were bare, the muscles well defined but not bulky. Who was I
kidding? She could fight her way out of a walled-in stadium full of
orcs. She needed my protection about as much as a bear needs
protection from a raccoon. The only reason having her around during
a fight would be distracting was because of the way I liked
watching her.

Her hair was undone in places, shining like
golden fire even in the dim light of the grotto. Oh yeah, she was
distracting, but if I was a true leader I’d put aside my personal
misgivings and think about the team. Garrett had pulled her in
whenever a task the Rogues team was facing was particularly
dangerous and my mom had asked for Brina’s help to rescue Dad from
Fionna. I’d trained with her and faced danger beside her. It would
be ridiculous for me to turn my back on her incredible offer, and
if I did, she’d lose face. And that would make me feel like the
lowest slime ball on the planet.

I shook my head in disgust. And here I was
making fun of Jay and Ivy’s
friendship
. My dad would
probably look me in the eye and tell me not to stress out, that it
was normal and Brina was a terrific female. And she was, and would
be a tremendous asset to our team. He’d say everyone had first
loves—crushes—experiences you looked back on and laughed about.

Somehow I thought I’d never laugh about my
time with Brina.

“Charles.” Her tone was demanding.

“What?”

“I asked you a question.”

“Sorry.”

“Did the journey distress you? You look
flushed.”

“No, I’m good.”

Brina and I turned at the sound of many
hooves in the corridors surrounding the central grotto. A group of
six steeds marched in first, followed by Rylen and Tellek, then
Chieftain Marea. Others in human form followed behind the chieftain
then a few more steeds brought up the rear. Brina had moved to my
side, her hand on the hilt of her sword.

The chieftain spoke first. “Young Prince, I
greet you. You honor us by appearing in your true form. May we be
introduced to your mate?” I almost choked on my own saliva. The
only thing that stopped me from laughing was the look of horror on
Brina’s face.

“Chieftain Marea, may I present Brina of the
Cascade Sidhe, daughter of Lord Argon and Lady Tereza and
granddaughter of Finvarra, the king of Faerie.”

“We are not mates,” she clarified. “We are
soldiers who protect the innocent.” Jeez, I would have at least
said we were friends.

A steed nickered in the second row, its hide
the shade of soft sand, with a mane of rich auburn. Brina stepped
toward it, entranced.

“What’s happening?” I asked Rylen.

“We choose our own riders as I have chosen
you, a fitting match between royal houses. This female steed, a
cousin of mine, has reached out instinctively to your fae warrior,
and now they will be matched. It is as it always has been between
our races. We serve the people of Faerie and they allow us to share
in their glory and their magic.”

Tellek grunted. “We cannot allow our female
steeds to run off to battle. They are needed to bear
offspring.”

“Is this female pregnant?’ Rylen asked.

“No, but she is scheduled for mating in a few
days.”

Brina walked back, leading the steed with a
hand in her mane, her smile warming my insides. “This is Somma. She
and I are now joined in mind and spirit.” She hopped up without a
trace of effort, leaning over the steed’s neck and stroking her.
“You are magnificent, my Somma, and we will bathe together in the
blood of our enemies.”

That was some crazy visual.

Brina hopped down again, turning toward
Tellek. “She has had two offspring. That is her limit.”

“We’ve had to make adjustments.” The
chieftain began to explain, looking guilty.

“I have read the histories, the agreements.
My people struggle with conception, yet the females of Faerie are
not locked away until they are impregnated.” Brina’s eyes sparkled
with the gold dots of her anger.

Time to rein in my favorite faerie feminist
and change the subject. As much as I might agree with her, now was
not the time. I took Brina’s hand and squeezed hard. “
Remember
why we’re here
.” After locking gazes for a moment, her anger
cooled and she allowed me the slightest of nods. Miracles do
happen.

Pasting on a friendly smile I spoke to
Chieftain Marea. “Thank you for your continued hospitality. My
uncle Aaron Green and my friend Jay will be arriving soon.

“We are expecting them.” Aaron Green is known
to us as a werewolf with honor.”

“He is that, and he has sworn to be
respectful of your court.” The chieftain nodded. “We are here
because Ivy’s missing. Do you know anything about her
disappearance?” I focused on Tellek.

“Why do you assume she came here?” Tellek
asked.

“I know nothing of this.” The chieftain
looked concerned. “Tellek, why did you not inform me?”

Tellek moved toward his sire, placing a hand
on his shoulder. “She’s an irresponsible girl, probably off
wandering around.” Marea nodded.

He was using glamour on the chieftain. “She
went into the sea and didn’t return.” I wasn’t falling for Tellek’s
BS.

The fat liar shrugged. “Were there witnesses
to her disappearance?”

“No.” We’d asked around, but because it was a
gloomy day, the beach had been almost deserted.

“In kelpie form, she can swim for hours
before returning,” Tellek added. “She’s probably enjoying the fact
that she has everyone searching for her.”

“
This fat one is lying, but the chieftain
is telling the truth,”
Brina sent.

“
You’re sure? The flux is subtle.”
I
thought she might get pissed off that I was questioning her
opinion, but Brina only nodded.

“We believe she’s here. Possibly kidnapped,”
I stated this fact as calmly as I could, hoping Marea wouldn’t take
it as an insult.

“No one here would detain her,” Tellek
replied.

“That was a lie.” I said, straightening my
back and making sure my gaze was focused only on him.

“I beg your pardon.”

“Are you keeping her prisoner, Lord
Tellek?”

“Why would I do that?” He took two steps
back. He knew we had him.

“You want your females here, where you have
access to them, correct?” I stepped closer.

“It is their duty to service the males.” He
looked around the room, hoping for support. None of the kelpie in
human form would meet his gaze.

“Where is she?”

“Long gone, I’m sure.” His smug smile had my
fists clenching.

He drew his sword, a curved, wicked looking
blade. Brina drew hers, shining and strong like she was. She
preferred a battle fought with traditional weapons, leaving magic
out of the equation. But if Tellek pulled anything magical out of
his hat, I’d be ready.

Jay and Aaron arrived at that very minute,
transported by a kelpie introduced to me on my last visit as
Flint.

“What’s going on?” Aaron asked

“Have you found Ivy?” Seeing the drawn
swords, Jay’s expression grew panicked.

“I believe Tellek has Ivy somewhere. He keeps
lying about it.”

“Tellek!” The chieftain’s voice echoed around
the tall ceiling, bouncing off the pillars. “You must tell us where
the female is. She has pledged to serve the young prince.” He’d
moved closer to Tellek, too close. I pulled in line magic.

“An old fool obsessed with past glories—you
will destroy our race if more females are not forced to bear
young.”

“Then that is the will of our gods. Your
cruel plan will not work.”

“You are weak.” The curved blade sliced
through the air with incredible speed, Chieftain Marea’s head fell
to the ground at Tellek’s feet. His body collapsed immediately
after, blood spraying across the floor.

“No, Brina.” She’d stepped forward and begun
her swing, the motion of the blade seeming to drift into slo-mo. I
dove for her, grabbing her arm to stop the sword’s progression,
loosening her grip with a surge of hot magic.

“Charlie!” Jay called out. The sword hit the
floor and skidded away. I twisted my body to cushion Brina’s fall
and hit the ground hard.

Aaron and Jay had Tellek pinned to the floor,
Aaron’s clawed paw at Tellek’s throat. Rylen was crouched over his
father’s corpse, moaning and clutching at his father’s blood soaked
tunic. The rest of the court had moved away from the scene, all
them shocked.

And me? I was sprawled on my back with a
furious fae female straddling my stomach and holding a dagger to my
throat.

“You burned me with magic.” She pushed the
dagger in, breaking the skin.

“I couldn’t let you kill him. I’m sorry. We
need him to find Ivy.”

“My sword hand is burned.” She held her palm
in front of my face, her anger and pain making her hand tremble. It
was red and blistered, charred in some places. Brina had been
burned badly when a house she was sleeping in exploded. The
experience had left scars that weren’t only physical.

What I’d done was unforgivable. I covered her
wrist with my hand. “Let me heal…”

She yanked her hand away and stood, surveying
the chaos around us and picking up her sword. I sat up, meaning to
go to her, but the sudden motion made my head pound and my stomach
do a corkscrew roll.

Aaron steadied me, grasping my shoulder.
“Don’t move. You head’s bleeding and you might have a
concussion.”

“From a fall?”

“You’re a tall guy, Charlie, when you fall,
you fall. Someone should teach you how to tackle a fae without
hitting your head.

“I burned her hand, I have to...”

“I know, but you need to heal yourself
first.”

“No…”

“It’s a damn deep cut. These floors are
stone. Heal yourself, that’s an order.” Aaron the alpha had
emerged, so I didn’t argue. It took a few minutes.

Aaron helped me stand, my legs still shaky,
but I was able to walk to Brina. She wouldn’t look at me. “Please.
Let me help. I’m so sorry.”

“You used your demon magic,” she hissed, more
angry than I’d ever seen her. “It is more difficult to heal a wound
caused by this magic.”

“I used what came to mind first. I didn’t
mean to hurt you. You know that.”

“You dishonored me by disarming me in that
way.”

“You can beat the crap out of me when this is
all over. I won’t even fight back. Just let me heal you.”

“That is a dangerous promise, but the fight
would not be satisfying if you did not at least try to win.” She
offered me her hand, wincing from pain as I took it gently in mine.
“I accept your apology, although I reserve the right to ask for a
boon at a later date.”

“As long as it doesn’t put anyone in danger.”
I led her to a nearby chair, encouraging her to sit, then kneeling
beside her. Her hand was blistered and red, oozing pus. “I was an
idiot to use that magic on you.”

As the green waves of my energy began to
relieve her she lifted my chin with her other hand. “A leader must
be willing to sacrifice his soldiers.”

“Not through his own carelessness.” I didn’t
want to talk about me leading people into a situation where they’d
be killed. My small band helping people out, that was enough for
now.

My healing magic wrapped around her arm, her
hand, her fingers, soothing the bone deep pain, drying the oozing
blisters and repairing the skin. Skin smooth and pale once more, I
released her hand and stood. There was much more to be dealt with
tonight.

“Can I grovel more later?”

“I look forward to it.”

Jay was pacing around Tellek. “You okay?”

“I can smell her on this disgusting slime
ball.” He looked at me, pleading. “Use your magic, find out where
he’s taken her.”

I looked at Brina. “I will see to Rylen and
the Chieftain,” she offered.

I crouched beside the arrogant asshole who’d
killed Marea, a peaceful ruler who’d wanted the best for his
people. “I’ll give you one chance to tell us where she is.”