Breaking Out (32 page)

“It might be your dirty demon blood.”

“Whatever it is, we have fish. Here.” I
tossed her a trout. “Clean it.” I started cleaning mine, a skill
I’d learned camping out with Jay in the Sierras.

“I don’t know how.” She was planning on
tossing it back, but I gave her the look that Isaiah used to give
me when I started to whine about something. She frowned and smacked
the fish back on the counter, picking up a knife. Huh. I’d have to
file that look away.

“Watch me.”

We cooked and chopped and stirred, creating
the best meal we could manage on short notice. There was a
vegetable garden outside the back door, one Celine swore had never
existed before, and plenty of spices in the cupboard and cheeses in
the refrigerator—something else she insisted had just materialized
a few minutes ago.

The queen was quite pleased when I presented
our small feast. “You have done well. I may keep you on as a
servant for a few days.“

Aine and Celine drank wine but I stuck to
water, keeping my head clear. I also ate only the food I’d put
aside for myself. I needed information, but it could be difficult
to ask Aine questions without pissing her off. Maybe a compliment
would be a good conversation starter.

“You look lovely, Queen Aine.”

My comment drew her attention. “Are you
blind, child?”

I smiled, giving her the strongest wash of
charisma I could manage. “I speak the truth. You shine with the
magic of Faerie.”

She laughed, a lovely, musical sound. “You
wish to flatter me and therefore survive.”

“You are powerful beyond my imagining, Queen
Aine. I cannot lie to you.”

“This is so.” She nodded, still amused.

“I speak of your beauty because you dazzle
me.” And she did dazzle me. That was totally true.

Several moments passed. We ate our meal
quietly. “You are not your father’s son, that is certain.”

I grinned from ear to ear. “Thank you.”

Celine sneered, “Oh I don’t know. I think
there’s a real resem…” The queen’s angry look shut her up fast.

Her gaze softened when it returned to me.
“Kennet hurt you?”

“He hurt my mother.”

She didn’t respond, maybe thinking about the
mothers she’d murdered. “Is there more food?” she asked. I jumped
up to take her plate, giving her the last fish. “Thank you.”

Aine dug in with relish and it suddenly
occurred to me that it might have been decades since she’d had an
actual meal. But hadn’t Fin lived here with her? He enjoyed his
elaborate feasts and ate quite a lot. I thought about the other
rooms of the cottage. They were small, not really suitable for
someone with so large a presence as Fin.

And then it hit me. This house was for her
alone. He might have been in Tir na NOg, but Fin hadn’t lived here.
Aine was lonely.

She seemed to know my thoughts. “My sweet
Finvarra used to visit me. He would bring me meats and cheeses and
breads, but he would not stay for long. He lives over the hills and
has important matters to see to. I love him so. I wish he would
visit me again.”

Finally, she put her fork and knife down.
“Dinner was most satisfactory. I may not kill you for at least
another cycle of the moon.” Aine sighed and stretched her arms over
her head. “I feel that I can rest now.” She rose and left the room,
her face peaceful, her walk even more graceful. The herbs seemed to
have had the planned effect.

“She never sleeps,” Celine was shaking her
head, yawning. “You’ll see. She’ll be back in a minute.”

The weather had taken a downturn, temp-wise,
so I looked out the window at the night sky. Jewel tones moved
around in patterns like a kaleidoscope. It made me nauseous to look
at it for long, so instead I added wood to the fire and sat
cross-legged in front of it, wondering how long I’d been here. Time
was never quite the same between realms, and this was a realm I
hadn’t known existed.

I’d wait until they were in a deep sleep and
then I’d cut out. Look for the landing spot with the evil flowers
and the fuzzy limms.

While I waited, I thought about my parents
and Jay and Ivy, but mostly I thought about Brina. Weird how
someone can see you inside and out, and still accept you, still
like you. Sure she got mad at me, and I felt awful about burning
her, but she brought me back from that place.

She’d been my first and only lover, making it
tough to be around her and not want to pick up where we’d left off.
She was strong and beautiful and smart and I was…just another
guy.

The fae weren’t shy or possessive about sex,
the way some of the other races were, mostly because it was hard
for them to conceive. A werewolf or a vampire would kill you if you
even looked at his mate or his girlfriend the wrong way. Shifters
mated for life. What I’d brought to the sheets that night was
probably nothing special for someone as experienced as Brina. Maybe
her wanting me at all had been some kind of experiment since my
heritage was such a strange mix. She was always up for an
adventure.

Celine had fallen asleep on the comfy couch,
so I stood and headed toward the door, only to run head-on into an
invisible barrier. I checked every exit but it was all the same. We
were in lock-down, like any jail. I tried everything I could think
of, but no go. Frustrated, I curled up on the soft rug in front of
the fire and drifted off. Maybe I could think of some other plan
tomorrow.

“Charles.” I was dreaming that Brina was
touching my face. Oh, this was nice. Do it again. “Charles!” I
opened my eyes and sat up. Wow. The flesh and blood Brina had been
touching my face. Even better. I reached out to her face, but she
batted my hand away. “Now is not the time. Are you injured?”

“What?” I was all fuzzy headed.

“Wake up. Are you injured?”

“No.”

“She has not threatened you?”

“I wouldn’t say that. Both of them have
threatened to do all sorts of nasty things to my body.” Maybe she’d
stroke my face again in sympathy.

“Both?”

I heard the familiar sound of a rifle being
primed. “Who are you, Blondie?”

Brina rose to her full height, relaxing into
her warrior’s stance. “I am Brina.”

Celine looked at me. “Wow. Zena’s in the
building.”

“She’s ten times more awesome.”

I actually saw the corners of Brina’s mouth
curl up. “Thank you, Charles.”

Celine “She’s pretty, but is she faster than
a bullet?”

“Perhaps not, but I am.” The gun was snatched
from her hand, bent in half and tossed aside. “Who are you?” Fin
asked, furious.

Instead of kneeling like any other fae would
have, Celine put her hands on her hips and scowled. “Who the heck
are you? Some badass fae lord who thinks he owns the world?”

Fin was shocked into silence. I’d guess that
no fae had ever spoken to him like that. Brina jumped up and drew
her sword. “Kneel. Or I will relieve you of the large rock perched
on your neck.”

“Why? Who is this guy?”

“The King of Faerie.” Brina answered,
emphasizing each word.

“This is the creep who left his wife here
alone, without food or anyone to keep her company? I should chop
off
his
head.”

“What the king does is none of your concern.
I will give you one more chance to kneel before I skewer you.”

“Hold.” Finvarra walked closer to Celine. He
had that look that made the hair stand up on your arms.

“Stay away from me.” She backed up.

“You are pureblood, yet you do not know
me?”

“I’ve never lived in Faerie.”

“Who is your mother?”

“It doesn’t matter. She died.”

“Her name.”

“I’m not telling you anything about my
family.”

“You are.” He reached for her, his eyes going
gold. I knew right away what he was doing.

“Stop.” I’d jumped up. “You can’t go into her
head without her permission.”

“She is one of mine.”

“No. She’s a free being. You have to
ask.”

“I did. Do you know of another way?”

“Yes.”

I took her hand and led her to the couch, not
releasing it when we sat. Contact was important. “This is King
Finvarra. He’s upset because I was kidnapped by those wolves you
hired. Giving him a hard time isn’t helping his mood and you don’t
want to see him when he’s really pissed off. He doesn’t understand
how you could have grown up outside of Faerie without any of his
people knowing. He cares about all his subjects. He’s really not
usually this uptight.”

“Yeah? How do you know?”

“He’s my grandfather. He’s cool.” When he
wasn’t acting like a bully, but I left that part out.

She scanned me, then him. “My mom died when I
was five. Her name was Willow and she was pureblood. A lord at
Fionna’s court raped her. That’s how she got pregnant with me. She
told me never to go to Faerie because the same thing would happen
to me.

“The people she worked for took me in and
raised me. They owned a ranch father east and I grew up taking care
of horses. When I graduated college I got a job as a park ranger. I
only work part time now, because of…” She looked at the doorway
that led to the bedrooms. “She likes having me around.”

“Would you really have killed me?” I
asked.

“Probably not, but I didn’t want her to send
me away either.” Truth.

“Aine is sleeping?” Finvarra asked.

“Yeah, only she never sleeps. It’s weird. As
soon as Charles showed up, things started to change.”

His full attention was on me now. Sometimes
that wasn’t such a great thing. I’d seen him force a room full of
three thousand year old fae lords to their knees.

“Why did you leave her here like this? She’s
so sad and lonely.” Celine asked.

“You cannot understand what she has
done.”

I felt I had to add my two cents. “But two
thousand years? Don’t you think that’s a long enough
punishment?”

“I was here until recently.” His voice had
grown lower, colder.

“No. She told me you lived in another part of
this realm and that you hardly came to visit.” Celine was getting
braver.

He shrugged. “When you are here, every day is
new. Time is meaningless and the past is forgotten.”

I stepped closer. “That isn’t true. She
remembers and misses you. She told me she loves you.”

“Aine does not understand love. She has no
feeling for others.”

His eyes were slits, a sign I should’ve kept
my mouth shut. “But two thousand years. That’s a little harsh, even
for you.”

The room grew cold, so cold steam was coming
out of my mouth. “Do you imagine that because we are kin I will not
punish you for your disrespect?”

I warmed myself and straightened up, paying
no attention to the fact that I was able to use magic again. Okay,
so he wants to go there now. Fine. “You have no right to punish me.
I don’t belong to you or Naberia or the Shifter Council. I’m not
your subject or even your official ally. I offered you friendship
but it wasn’t enough for you.

“However, don’t tell me I don’t respect you,
because it isn’t true. I respect you because of the good you’ve
done for your people and I appreciate the times you’ve helped me
out, especially showing up today.” I put my hand on my heart and
bowed. “I want to understand. That’s all.”

He watched my face, waiting for evidence of
insincerity. I saw the change when respect became mutual. “Aine
killed four females who bore me children, females I loved with
every beat of my heart. And still do.” The stark pain in that
simple statement struck me down. “Having grown in a world where
males and females choose but one love, you may feel it unlikely,
but it’s true. I loved them all. Dinestri’s mother was dark and
fiery. Argon’s fair and sweet. Jorrenn’s was playful, teasing me
and urging me to relax my rules and have some fun. Kennet’s and
Korwyn’s was serious and brilliant, an angel in scholar’s robes.
Aine murdered each one, then looked to kill my children.”

“And did you love Aine?”

“More than the air I breathed. She was upset
that she could not give me more children, so she sent me off to
find other fertile females. My people were averaging one child born
for every two hundred human years. It wasn’t enough. I did what she
asked, but I always returned to my Aine. She was the light in my
life, until her light turned dark.”

“I could not bear it, Fin. To see you look at
them and their children with such love.” She’d come in behind him,
placing her hand on his shoulder.

“I could not choose females to bear my
children whom I could not also love.”

“I had not expected to share your love with
so many others.”

“Love is without limit. I looked at you and
our children with the same amount of affection.” Fin finally turned
to survey his mate for the first time in years. He frowned. “You do
not look well, my sweet Aine.”

“I fade. I have been alone.” There was no
anger or accusation in her tone.

He held out his arms and she stepped into
them. “I have been gone for less than two decades in human
years.”

“Celine brought me this young male. I would
have killed him to rid the world of one of yours, to hurt you, to
bring you here to end this. But he has...he has fed me and helped
me sleep and spoken to me with kindness although he is my prisoner.
He shows respect and knowledge of our ways. How is this
possible?”

“He was guarded by our kind from infancy,
calls many of them friend, I believe, including my own
grandchildren. He knows our ways, but also the ways of the demon
realm. Do you trust him?”

“I do. He will not hurt me and he brings
magic back into my life. If you will not stay, please allow him to
stay. I wish to have company, Fin. Do not leave me alone.”

I spoke up. “I have to go back. They need
me…” Pathetic pleading wouldn’t work with these two ancients. I had
to come up with something better. “Grandfather, can we try
again?”