Authors: Penelope Fletcher
With Breandan beside me, it was a tad
overwhelming. The bond was a pulsing that had settled over my skin,
content for the time being since I had skin-to-skin contact with
Breandan. Couple that with my sense of his aura and just him being
there … next to me … it was a troublesome thing in itself … he was
distracting.
Pursing my lips, I stopped; rocked
back on one heel and smiled when he turned to question the hold
up.
I let my gaze drift over his face.
He’d not pulled his glamour on, not now I was used to seeing him in
his true form. I myself had not glamoured myself human since
Breandan had been injured. His hair was short and I wondered what
it would be like long, as dark as his eyebrows, perhaps. Then there
was his strong jaw and firm lips. And always his eyes, captivating
silver-blue irises. They shone like stars under his heavy brow,
which cast a shadow that stopped at the tip of his bold nose. His
skin –lustrous cream to my dusky hue – was covered with black ink
tattoos. I still caught myself being shocked when I glanced at him
or took my time to study their meaning. His arms and chest were
covered in swirling intricate designs and incantations, some in
languages I had never seen before. Creatures and flowers were
sprawled across his chest and ancient patterns seemed to shimmer
and shift the longer I stared. I had never seen the like. Would
they truly protect him from witchcraft and darker
magics?
My eyes slipped down, taking all of
him in. It was so easy to get hung up on his face or the presence
of him that I forgot to appreciate his body. He was solid, and
radiated heat, and life. His legs were long and strong. His posture
faultless, but instead of looking stoic and uncomfortable, he
looked infallible and mighty.
Belonging to him felt easier by the
moment.
I flushed and bit my lip, ignoring his
quirked eyebrow and knowing gaze. His thumb rubbed small circles on
my wrist as he waited. He never seemed to mind when I ogled him,
which was often a lengthy and meticulous practice I thoroughly
enjoyed.
I cleared my throat and asked, “Where
are we going?”
“
Oh, there is a lake
nearby. I want to share it with you.”
This caught my attention. “A lake?
I’ve seen the river and a few ponds, but I’ve never seen a lake …
or the sea.” However, I had seen pictures.
“
One day I will take you.
You would love the open water. It is soothing and smells like salt.
The waves crash into the beach and makes soft foam about your toes.
The water is cold, but refreshing. Cleansing.”
“
You’d really take me
wouldn’t you?” I marveled at how so simple a promise could make me
feel so warm inside. “I mean, you’re not just saying that to be
nice.”
He did not answer, but I was filled
with warmth and affection, an impression of positivity. My ears
strained to hear the ‘yes’ I expected after the feeling. How
strange. I shook the feeling off and blinked when I took in
Breandan’s expectant gaze.
It was the way he stood, waiting,
watching, and almost on the verge of asking me to react.
“
Did you just say yes?” I
asked slowly. My eyes widened as I thought on the odd reactions or
feelings I had been having. “Have you been telling me things like
that for a while?”
He swept me up into a crushing hug and
swung me around, beaming a huge smile that had me feeling dizzy.
“Only since the first time I knew you belonged to me. At last you
can feel it.” He set me down still smiling broadly. “Our bond
grows.”
He seemed so completely happy there
was no way for me to get prissy about this or think up a reason to
be upset.
“
You can send me messages
through the bond?”
“
Faint ones. Never will we
be able to say more than a few words, maybe if we are deep in
meditation. We will be able to sense each other’s moods and
feelings, be able to send each other impressions of what we desire
or need.”
My fairy-boy was not one for gushing
sentences so listening to him rhapsodize over this new aspect to
our connection had me as excited as he was.
“
Can I try?”
“
Oh yes.” He nodded so
sharply it bordered on enthusiastic. “Try.”
Shrugging out my shoulders, I gripped
his hand tighter and focused on the idea for a kiss. Sending him a
thought was like trying to hiccup and speak at the same time. My
tummy was clenched so tight and my face so squished I couldn’t see
anymore.
There was a faint pressure on my lips.
My face relaxed and my eyes widened. I flung my arms around his
neck and pressed myself into him.
“
It worked,” I crowed,
delighted.
He frowned then chuckled; face
strained as he tried to hide his disappointment. “No.”
Crestfallen, I released him and rubbed
my nose, unhappy that I could not tap into the bond for something
so simple when Breandan could send me waves of love and an answer
to a question clear enough for me to understand it.
“
Give it time,” he soothed
and stroked a fingertip down the bridge of my nose, across my lips.
My heart fluttered. “You may find you can only use it in time of
great need, not that I will never be so far that you need to rely
on the bond.” He paused but then shook off whatever dark thought
had cast a brief shadow across his face. “Alright?”
Mollified, I let him tug me on, but
kept trying to send him messages until my head hurt from trying to
push thoughts through nothing but bloody air.
I saw a flicker of light ahead and
noticed the air changed. A musty tang saturated the atmosphere,
rotting wood, and leaves. A wispy mist crept along the ground and
rose higher the further we moved until minuscule water droplets
speckled my face and cooled my cheeks. The grass got lower, moving
from our waists to our knees until it was a flat and chunky carpet
of blunted blades the colour of ash. The grass became lumps of
rock, pastel colored pebbles then abruptly murky water. It seemed
to go on forever, a big puddle in the middle of nowhere surrounded
by ferns and other plant life that liked the wet. I squinted. Were
those dark, darting shadows under the placid surface schools of
fish? At the edges I could see the pebbles continued down, curving
into a steep slope that disappeared into a sapphire mirror
overshadowed by fog.
I took a conscious step back. The last
time I had looked into water, I had seen my reflection. I was used
to my fairy form now. I had no choice. No amount of hard thought
was going to make the end of my spine drop off, or my wings shrivel
up. Maybe I would not feel so different, so alien if I could see
others who looked more like me. Breandan said there were many
variations in fairy coloring and form. Maeve was one extreme and I
was the other. I guess I should be glad I was not green.
I swallowed, still not wanting to see
myself and said, “It looks cold.”
He looked at me oddly before his
expression creased with amusement. “You have magic.” He said this
as if it was some big thing I had forgotten.
He kicked off his boots and unbuckled
the leather strap across his chest.
“
And….”
“
You have the power to tear
the sky asunder and shake the earth into a tumult yet you are
bested by some chilly water?”
He threw his head back and laughed. It
was not the usual chuckle or mirthless snort of delight that he
usually reserved for me, but a loud boisterous hoot of glee. I was
too ensnared by the sound to be upset that he was laughing at me
rather than with me. Wanting to share in the joke, I giggled, but
it soon became a strangled squawk as he undid his pant laces and
pulled them down. He chucked the garment onto his boots. I looked
away; blushing furiously.
My fingers curled under into fists as
I fought the urge to jump him. I would not shame myself by
succumbing to such a base instinct.
“
Would you look at
me?”
I choked on my own breath. “I
can’t.”
He grasped my chin and deliberately
turned my face to his. “Look at me.”
My eyes wandered down, over his broad
shoulders, hard pectorals, and well defined abdominals. Lower, over
his hip and hovering at his navel. I wavered, enjoying how much the
strong strip of muscle that tapered inward from his outer hip to
groin … my eyes bugled. Ah, yes, he was naked. My breath quickened
and my hands trembled. Gods help me I could not help but stare. Was
it meant to be so alluring? Should I not be frightened, feel all
shy and retiring?
Swallowing loudly, I made a point of
studying an interesting moss covered rock that rested on the edge
of the riverbank by his foot. Moss, what an interesting …
plant-like-thing?
Chuckling softly, he let me go and his
foot slipped from view. I heard him enter the water. Rubbing my
hands on my hips, I struggled to bring my ferocious lust under
control. He seemed to be managing just fine, and so would
I.
In a dream world, I would have been
fiercely proud of my body. Reveled in how perfect my limbs were
shaped and how they affected him. I would have swept the dress of
in one smooth, leisurely move, slowly shaking out my hair as I did,
watching him with slumberous eyes. Then I would gracefully step
into the pool, running my fingers through the water that warmed to
my touch until I was immersed waist deep, confidently and proudly
waiting for him.
With that completely unrealistic and
unachievable scenario firmly in place, sucking it up, I whipped the
dress off in one toss, chucking it somewhere behind me. I stomped
over to the pool edge, the lapping water sliding over my toes
confirming the temperature was a few degrees shy of freezing. My
control over magic was so temperamental I was afraid if I tried to
warm it up, I would turn the pool into a bubbling cauldron. Acutely
aware Breandan was seated comfortably in the centre I decided the
risk was not worth it.
Cursing my foolish pride, I splashed
my way into the frigid water, shrieking mentally as each move
caused the icy water to lap higher over my naked skin before
dunking down till only my neck, head, and wing tips showed. My tail
coiled into a tight ball at the base of my spine, trying to
conserve heat.
Shivering, sending large ripples
across the pool, I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him
defiantly.
“
I am not prudish nor
afraid,” I said through chattering teeth, lifting my
chin.
“
No,” he replied. “You have
courage.” He was quiet. “We could stay a while.”
I turned my head, tilted it up to
watch him. His jaw was relaxed and from this angle, I could only
see a glimmer from his silver eyes as he watched me. Though the
turn in conversation was abrupt, I knew exactly what he
meant.
I clutched my arms tighter around me.
“But … what about Devlin and the grimoire?”
We watched each other in the water.
Somehow, a huge distance had sprung up between us though we stood a
few paces away. Something broke the water’s surface drawing my
gaze. I missed what it was, but watched the ripples fan out and
disturb the placid water. It was just jumping fish, right? It
wouldn’t be anything slimy or a small beast with many
teeth….
A sloshing noise had me swallowing
loudly. Breandan stood waited for me to look at him. I did, and he
shrugged. “It can wait,” he said simply. He motioned to me then
himself. “This is more important.”
“
Uh, I don’t think Conall
will agree with you.”
He stroked my hair, wound a thick lock
around his palm, and rubbed it absentmindedly. “We need to think of
a plan to retrieve the Alpha’s daughters from the Temple without
being seen, without creating uproar. This needs to be handled with
care. Should the humans catch us they would use it as an excuse to
declare war.”
“
We can do it easily
enough. You know we can.”
“
Oh?”
I counted off the reasons why this
would be straightforward on my fingers. Awkward, since I was still
keeping my chest covered. “We can pass the Wall without detection.
We can move fast enough that they wouldn’t see us; I’ve seen that
freaky ‘blending into the shadows’ thing Conall pulls, and I know
you could do it too, even with all your glowing and pulsing.’ I
pointed to myself with my thumb. “I’ve been trained in Subterfuge.
I can manage a rescue mission, and with you at my side there’s no
way we would be seen. We just need to find where they’re being
held.”
I looked back to gage his reaction. He
pursed his lips. “You seem to have become quiet
invincible.”
I glowered at him, slapped him on the
back with my tail. The tap I’d planned landed on his upper thigh.
Wet skin hit wet skin and made a sharp thwacking noise. He hissed
in my ear and I squirmed, the tip of my tail tingling.
“
Sorry,” I mumbled,
blushing.
Letting out a long, protracted breath
he placed his hands on my shoulders, and pulled me closer. I did so
reluctantly and focused on the pointed tip of his left ear. My
wings flexed and rustled behind me restlessly, and rather than have
my arms trapped uselessly between us, I unwound them to have them
dither in the air. I had no choice but to place them at his sides,
at the bottom of his ribcage. My head just reached his shoulder. He
bent his knees, and with this half seated position my inner thighs
slid over his outer legs until I sat on his lap. I stopped
breathing and held still. Not sure what to do or what this meant I
decided the best course of action was none. I waited, still staring
at his shoulder as if the silvery skin had all the answers to every
unanswered question in the universe locked in the pores. His hands
slid down from my upper arms to lace together on my lower
back.