Midnight Enchantment (14 page)

Niall sighed. “You’ll be gone before dawn comes.”

“Oh, sooner…I hope.”

“Elizabeth, just tell me where the pieces are. I can heal you. You don’t have to do this.”

She sighed, resigned and surrendering. “Yes, I do.”

He stayed with her throughout the night, offering her water until she couldn’t swallow any longer. He pleaded with her to tell him the location of the pieces so he could take the cuff off, nurse her back to health, but he didn’t plunge her into any more illusions.

Finally, she let her eyes drift closed for what she knew would be the last time.

A light feeling entered her body and she floated upward. Somewhere below her, in the dark, Niall said her name over
and over, more and more urgently, trying to call her back from the edge of death. Still, she drifted upward, away, the pain, the aches, and the exhaustion falling away like a heavy winter coat.

She was free. A million times lighter…happy…everything was perfect.…

“ELIZABETH?”

Niall’s voice pulled her up from what felt like layers of deep sleep. She woke sprawled on a hard surface of metal. A small camping lamp lit the area. Niall’s face loomed in front of hers, dark stubble marking his cheeks and chin. His hair was mussed and lines of exhaustion marked his face. He was dressed in the clothes he’d been wearing the night he’d captured her and he looked like he needed a shower. She was naked, but he’d put a blanket over her.

She glanced around. They were in the big trap he’d set for her.

What was going on? Where was the cabin?
She’d died.
Why was she here?

Throwing the blanket off, she scrambled to a sitting position and crab-walked back to hit the charmed iron wall behind her. The wall was cold and very real.

Breathing in short, panicked little spurts, she took stock, trying to gain a handle on the moment. Her body felt fine. A little tired, a little achy, but no advanced iron sickness plagued her.

Looking down she saw that no iron cuff banded her ankle.
Her lip still hurt from where she’d smacked it running into the wall of the trap, but that was strange since the cut had healed days ago. Her stomach hurt from hunger, and she’d never been this thirsty in her life.

Her hair fell across her face and she stared at Niall through it. Suspicion and confusion played a symphony within her. “What’s going on?”

He sat back and pushed a hand through his hair. He looked defeated. “You died.” Pause. “At least, in the illusion. You went the whole way with the ruse, died, and woke up out of my control.”

“Illusion?” She glanced around the box.

“The cabin. None of it was real.”

“The cabin,” she echoed dully, “wasn’t real?”

He waved a hand as though it was nothing. “Everything from the time you hit that wall and I came in here and touched your arm. You reached out toward the open door, that’s when I put you under. You’ve been unconscious ever since. All of it was illusion. All in your head.”

“What?” She put a hand to her temple. She felt sluggish, stupid. “That’s not possible.”

“That fog in your head will clear. You’ll see that what I’m saying is true. My magick has a certain aftertaste, especially when I create more than one layer. For you I had to create about ten layers, since you’re the princess and the pea.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It felt like you were in the cabin for more than a week, but we’ve only been in this charmed iron box for a little over twenty-four hours. We need to get out of here, by the way. The charmed iron is starting to affect both of us.”

“Twenty-four hours,” she echoed, her mind working lethargically. “No, it’s been days and days.”

“I
told
you. You’re not listening. That was all illusion.” He paused, his eyes narrowing. “You let yourself
die
, Elizabeth, rather than tell me where the pieces are.”

“I told you I would.” She spat the words at him, pressing the heel of her palm to her eye socket.

His full lips twisted, but there was no hint of amusement there. “Lots of people say that, but when the time really comes
they go weak. They give in.” He trailed off, studying her with fascination. “Not you, though.”

“How do I know
this
is real? How do I know this isn’t just another layer of illusion?”

“Wait for the fog to clear.” He stood and walked toward the door of the trap, stumbling a little. “We need to get out of here. The Blacksmith made this place with only enough charmed iron to prevent you from dissolving, but it’s still too much for us to handle for long.”

Realizing suddenly that she was naked, she snatched the nearby blanket back and covered herself with it. Dumb, since he’d seen her naked already, come close to having sex with her. Of course, none of that had been real.

Supposedly.

This could just be another mind fuck for all she knew.

The door to the trap opened with a screeching whine of metal. Niall stumbled out into the twilight and didn’t even look back at her.

Was he that confident she wasn’t going to run?

She pushed to her feet, needing to get out of this charmed iron box just as much as he did—whether the box was in her head or not—and gingerly forced her sore muscles to work. Her bare foot touched the soil outside and she closed her eyes, savoring the sensation. The fog was clearing. Drawing deep lungfuls of air in, she took a few more steps into the woods, holding the blanket around her.

This was real.
Now she could feel the difference.

Under Niall’s magick everything had felt not as tactile as this, though she hadn’t noticed it while she’d been under. Now, here in the woods, she felt the realness of life and knew she wasn’t under Niall’s spell anymore.

Unless he’d designed it to feel that way.

She rounded on him. “Is this just another layer, another trick? Did you do all that and then bring me here, upping the tactile sensations of my environment to make me think it’s all over?”

He turned to study her, a grin playing along his full lips. She knew those lips very well now.… “I don’t have that kind of power, baby. I’m done with you. You won.” He motioned to the woods. “This is all real.”

“I don’t believe you would up give that easily.”

“Easy?” He laughed, shaking his head and pushing a hand through his hair. “That was not easy. You drained my power to the dregs, and you still let yourself die.” His voice lowered a degree, to a dangerous level that made the hair on her nape rise. “But don’t think I’m giving up, woman. I don’t do that.”

She turned in a circle, making a sound of frustration. “How do I know for sure this is real? How will I know
anything
is ever real again?”

He shrugged, unapologetic. “You’ll figure it out eventually.”

She stared at him, a million thoughts running through her head in a jumble, mixed with emotions that ranged the spectrum. “So you’re just letting me go.”

“What else am I supposed to do with you? You’ve just proved you’d die before giving up the location of the pieces, and you’re no good to me dead.”

“I haven’t seen the last of you yet, though, have I?”

He tipped his head to the side and grinned. “Awww, have I grown on you?”

“Like a wart.” She paused. “Bye, Niall.”

“Bye, Elizabeth. I’ll be seeing you soon.”

She needed to rest, to eat and drink. “Not if I have any say in it.” She dissolved, the blanket fluttering to the ground as she sought her water self.

NIALL stared at the blanket she’d left in the leaves, then scooped it up. It was still warm and smelled like her.

“Fuck.” None of that had been real, yet it was still as though they’d spent all that time together. He’d gotten to know her, grown close to her, begun to like her…
a lot
.

Too much.

Around him the birds and bugs whistled and chirped and a low breeze rustled the leaves of the trees. Storm brewing. He could feel it. He needed to get back to the Black Tower and tell the Shadow Queen what had happened—let her know he’d failed. Again.

It was time to bring the others in on this. He needed a new plan of action.

*   *   *

LIAM burrowed his hands into the soft, giving earth of the Boundary Lands and focused his magick on finding Elizabeth. He sought the pieces in this area as well, hoping to get lucky. Maybe he if could happen upon the pieces, they’d be able to leave the asrai alone.

He wasn’t hopeful.

This was the fifth area he’d searched in the last twenty-four hours. He was staying close to the woman’s home and the gardens she kept just because he had no other criteria to search by.

Near him stood Gideon. His band of Phaendir, robed, silent, and creepy as hell, were housed somewhere in Piefferburg City. Gideon had brought them because they were loyal to his cause and could create the hive magick he needed in here. Every night more Phaendir crept in, focused their power on Gideon, making his strength grow.

Gideon was so full of evil Phaendir juice he could just look at things and blow them up now. The fact Liam was helping them made him want to smash his fist into a tree.

Trying his best to tune out the nasty presence of the archdirector and tune into the lush beauty of the woods around him, Liam spread his mental fingers and sifted through his immediate surroundings.

The Summer Queen had provided them with the location of Elizabeth’s house and where she kept her gardens. They didn’t know much else. It was unlikely Niall Quinn, the Unseelie sent to capture Elizabeth, had been successful, but it was possible. If Niall hadn’t succeeded in gaining the location of the pieces, they would.

They just had to find her first.

The scent of richly turned dirt and loam filled his senses, the rough feel of tree roots tripped over his thoughts. His magick traveled through the bustling, burrowing insects, to the tender roots of plants and grass, up to the air of the forest, redolent with a mixture of rot and growing things. Outward, he expanded his consciousness, searching for the woman or the two silvery chunks of preciousness all of them sought.

Elizabeth, the water fae, was protecting her mother, according to the Summer Queen. Her goal wasn’t unlike his.
Elizabeth’s mother would die when the walls fell because the sprae keeping her alive would disperse. His wife, Aideen, would die because long ago she’d killed a fae man. For that crime she would be reaped by the Wild Hunt and added to the sluagh when the walls fell. If they could find Elizabeth and get her to hand over the pieces, they could save both their loved ones.

But he didn’t have a lot of confidence that Gideon would just let Elizabeth go after she turned them over. Gideon never missed a chance to kill a fae, if that fae wasn’t of use to him.

“Find anything yet?” Gideon’s whiny, impatient voice cut through the syrupy overlay of consciousness his magick always provided.

He didn’t respond. Instead, he kept sifting, searching through tree limbs, the prickly arms of bushes, the soft padding of a bird’s nest. Careful. Patient. Leave no stone unexamined.

There.
The woman was just
there
.

Surprise rippled through him. He double- and triple-checked to make sure it was really her. Days of searching and nothing. Now, all of sudden…

“Got her.” Liam made note of the location of the cottage where he’d located the water fae’s presence and pulled his hands out of the earth. “She’s gone back to her house.”

“Labrai be praised. Now we can stop camping and maybe even get out of this Labrai-cursed shithole of a place.”

Liam only stared stonily at him. Part of him wanted to stay in Piefferburg forever, even though he’d be trapped. If only Aideen could live here with him.

“Let’s go get the woman. Once we obtain the pieces from her, we can get rid of her, too.” Gideon stomped off toward the main road, where they’d parked the Jeep, pushing at tree branches and cursing nature every step of the way.

After a moment, Liam followed. He just wanted to do what needed to be done to protect Aideen.

“I’M not used to seeing you engrossed in a book, Niall.” Aeric O’Malley entered the room where Niall sat slumped over a pile of dusty tomes. “It’s just not like you.”

Bella Quinn, Charlotte Bennett, and Bran, a nature fae who was part of the Wild Hunt, were also in the tower library sitting in various nooks and crannies, thumbing through their own volumes. All of them were looking for tidbits of knowledge about the asrai or anything about Elizabeth’s family.

The queen had ordered that anyone not preparing for the coming war should help him sift through the massive amounts of information the fae had collected since Piefferburg had been created. If they could find out who Elizabeth was protecting, and why, he’d have leverage over her. At this point, Niall thought it was their only hope, but they weren’t getting very far.

He slammed his book closed and glanced around the library, stretching. “A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.”

Aeric tossed a leather-bound book onto the table in front of him. “Emmaline found that in my forge, tucked away on a shelf. It’s a book about various kinds of nature fae. She thought you’d want it.”