Seduced by Magic (8 page)

Urien's shoulders shook despite his bravado. “She is allowed to seek her pleasure with a man from a Pleasure House, but she chooses me.”

“It is not allowed and she is my betrothed,” Tiernan said. “And what if you were to impregnate her?”

Sweat rolled freely down Urien's forehead. “We have gone by the moon cycles. We have been very careful.”

Tiernan let out a low, menacing growl. “This is something you have done many times?”

At that Urien's face went from red to a paler shade. “We are in love,” he repeated.

“You do not have the means to raise your house high enough in the court to be allowed to wed her,” Tiernan said. “The House of Brend would need much gold.”

Urien lowered his eyes and his voice cracked as he said, “True. I will never have the means to marry Airell.”

“Look at me,” Tiernan demanded, and Urien's gaze snapped back to meet Tiernan's. “You will no longer have relations with my betrothed—unless you intend to lower your status altogether and become a Pleasure Partner.”

Urien's jaw clenched and unclenched, but he said nothing.

Tiernan lowered his brows. “Return to your manor.”

Urien gave a bow from his shoulders. “Yes,
my lord
,” he said before walking past Tiernan and into the forest.

Tiernan raised his face to the sky, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, trying to relax the tension from his shoulders and neck. He opened his eyes and leveled his gaze on the trunk of an ancient tree near him. He raised his fist to slam it into the tree but jerked his arm back when a face, then a body melted from the aged wood.

“Hit me or any tree and pay the consequences,” the Dryad said as she stepped fully from the tree. “As you know, the consequences are dear, indeed.”

Tiernan lowered his fist and gave a low bow from the shoulders. “My apologies, Simone.”

The Dryad cocked her head, her chestnut-brown hair flowing around her shoulders with the movement. Her bare skin was the color of dark brown silk, and her eyes were a shade of warm oak. “You choose to keep these lovers separated.”

He ground his teeth. “There are no choices. These decisions were made long ago. It is up to Airell and me to carry on the honor and tradition of our houses.”

“Honor and tradition.” Simone's voice had a mocking edge to it. “Is that all that matters to you?”

“Is there anything else?” Tiernan said.

“Love.” The Dryad's word carried on the wind like a single sweet chime from a bell.

“Love has nothing to do with such matters.” He kept the scowl from his face and bowed at the shoulders again. “I must leave to discuss this matter with my betrothed.”

Simone smiled. “Of course. But remember, there are always choices. Destiny is what we make of it.”

Tiernan ignored her last comment. He gave a brief nod, strode away from the clearing, and headed back to the House of Torin to confront Airell.

When he reached Airell's family manor, he barely took in its beauty. The House of Torin was reminiscent of the palaces of ancient Roman times, yet it still managed to blend in with the other great manors of the court.

The same servant who had given Tiernan the whereabouts of Airell earlier opened the great doors. When he asked for her, the young servant led him through the enormous mansion with its great columns and sheer, colorful drapes that gently billowed as a breeze swept through. Tiernan and the servant reached the open doors that led to the gardens. In the distance he saw Airell from the back, and she was perched on a marble bench by a fountain. The servant bowed and retreated as Tiernan walked outside and into the gardens.

Airell had changed clothing, and now wore a pink gown. Her shimmering blond hair had been pinned in a conservative knot at the base of her slender neck.

He finally reached her and looked down at the young woman, who refused to look at him. Beside them the fountain made of marble Faeries bubbled musically and the smell of fresh cut grass and flowers drifted in the balmy air from the enormous gardens surrounding them.

Without waiting for an invitation, Tiernan sat next to Airell on the marble bench. Her rose-pink gown shifted with a light wind and a tendril of her hair escaped.

“Look at me.” His tone was commanding. This was no
time for gentleness. He must deal with the situation and be done with it.

Airell shifted on the bench to meet his gaze. Her blue eyes looked glossy, almost as if she were ready to burst into tears again.

Not tears. Not the godsdamn tears again
.

He kept his gaze focused on hers. With their blue eyes and blond hair, they were sure to have children of the same looks. Yet he could not imagine having a child with Airell. She was too young, too frail-looking.

But definitely not too innocent.

At that thought he ground his teeth. Finally he said, “Your dallying with Urien needs to be dealt with at once.”

Airell's lower lip trembled and he saw the tears threaten to trickle from her eyes.

Shit
.

He wanted to look away from the tears that were surely about to fall, but he needed to keep his features stern so that she would be clear on his intentions and on his words. “If you do not wish to engage in sex with me at this time, then you can choose a Pleasure Partner from the village or you may abstain. I will not risk your getting with a babe with Urien.”

The tears started rolling down Airell's cheeks, but he did his best to ignore them. “When we are handfasted, we will attempt to produce an heir, no matter how many times we must join. After that you may have sex with any Pleasure Partner you wish to, but you will
not
dally with Urien or any other man of the court for that matter.”

“I am with child.” The words came so softly from Airell's lips that at first he thought he had misheard her. When it sank in, his body went rigid with shock. Her tears continued to run in rivers and all Tiernan could do was stare. A babe? Urien's child?

Airell looked away from Tiernan and down to her belly where her hands were now clenched. “I have not told him.”

“A child.” He spoke harshly as his temper flared. He had always wanted children, yes, but he did not want to raise another man's child, knowing that he was not the true father. “Godsdamn, Airell.”

He pushed himself from the bench and began pacing.

“What will happen to me?” Airell looked up at him, her eyes red and swollen, her voice cracking with every word. “To Urien?”

Tiernan shoved his fingers through his hair. His mind raced. He could not allow Airell to face the humiliation of being marked and the horror of being cast out of the Fae realm. But neither could he marry a woman who carried another man's child. He could do many things for duty, for honor, but raising another man's child when all he longed for were his own? Must all his dreams be set aside for the sake of others?

“Urien and I could run away,” she said, a hopeful tone to her voice. “We could be together then.”

“You would be found within hours, if not minutes.” Tiernan stopped his pacing and rested his hands on the hilt of his sword. “The forests are filled with Fae. You could never escape, Airell.”

She hiccupped and lowered her head. “There is nothing I can do, then. I will be marked and cast out.”

Tiernan's body was so tense he felt as though he was being stretched between two bars. He sank back down on the bench beside Airell. He released a sigh that came deep from his belly and leaned forward, his forearms braced on his leather-clad thighs.

He looked away from her and stared into the trees at the foot of the gardens. “I would never want to humiliate you, Airell. As I would not want Urien to face a more serious fate.”

When he looked at her again, she was dabbing at her eyes with a kerchief she must have drawn out from a pocket in the folds of her skirt. “You would marry me still?”

Tiernan slowly shook his head. “I cannot be joined with you knowing you carry another man's child.”

Airell's features crumpled once again, and the tears came harder and faster as she stared at her hands in her lap.

He reached over to her and laid his large tanned hand on her pale and dainty one. She was so small, so fragile.

Tiernan squeezed her hand and she looked up at him. “What happens now?” she whispered.

“I will find a solution.” He took her fingers in his hand and brought them to his lips and gently kissed them before releasing her. “Give me time. I will tell our parents we are postponing our handfasting for six weeks. In that time I will find a way.” Though he had no idea what way there could possibly be. He swallowed hard. “I will not allow you to be humiliated. Rest assured of that.”

“Thank you,” Airell said as she met his eyes. “You are more than kind, Lord Tiernan.”

He stood and gave her a low bow. “My lady.” He turned away and strode back along the path to the manor.

She was in the tunnel again. The air smelled of sulfur, rotten fish, and earth, and the ground looked like it had been freshly dug. She squinted. Shapes ahead, moving through the unlit tunnels. Copper raised her wand, but the light was absorbed by the darkness, sucked up until she could barely see.

Her heart started pounding as she continued through the tunnel.

The ground dropped from beneath her feet.

She screamed as she tumbled through brilliant light so white it was like falling through a star. Wind rushed against her face and her heart felt as if it were on fire, that it would burn a hole through her chest.

With a thud she landed so hard on her feet she jarred her teeth.

Shaking, she blinked to regain her vision. Her wand light glittered off damp stone walls. When her heart didn't feel like it was going to explode, she realized she was on another dark pathway—a tunnel even farther belowground.

She was alone.

No—no. There were the shapes ahead. Familiar? She couldn't be sure.

She shivered in the damp air that smelled of ancient dirt and heard the steady
plunk, plunk, plunk
of water coming from somewhere ahead. And rotten fish again. Yes, she definitely smelled rotten fish.

Copper woke late with a strange feeling in her belly. It was gloomy outside, the air cool and moist with an oncoming storm.

For some reason the dreariness of the day and her dream didn't dampen her mood. She felt as though something special were going to happen.

“Maybe today's the day,” she said aloud. A spell had been churning in her mind. Perhaps it was a spell that would set them all free. Something inside her told her she
had
to return home. These dreams, this feeling—they had never been so intense before.

Fully awake, she scrambled out of her shelter, got to her feet, and finger-combed her hair so that it lay in a wavy mass over her shoulders. She placed her hands on her hips and looked around the meadow. Ladybugs moved up the branches of the flowers and a grasshopper bounded across the clearing. The Faerie children were doing their chores and gathering fresh grass and seeds. The Pixies were playing their version of tag around the rock outcropping, and the Brownies were nowhere to be seen. That fact gave her little comfort. Where were those nasty little goons?

The Fae hadn't left Copper anything for breakfast—which meant they were in a fickle mood—so she headed for the apple tree, reached up, and plucked the reddest one she could find. The tree always had plenty of apples. It was as if any that were taken were replaced overnight, and it had fruit year round. She especially enjoyed the times when the perfume of the tree's blossoms mingled with the scent of apples.

When she'd perched on the rock at the foot of the tree, she took a big bite of the apple with a loud crunch. Sounds of Pixie laughter made her grin as she chewed. They were mischievous as hell, but they were fun to watch and listen to—if she wasn't on the receiving end of their mischief.

The Faerie Queen Riona appeared from around the tree and landed on her butt on Copper's shoulder. The tiny being braced her hands on either side of her and tilted her face to the sky.

“Good morning,” Copper said between apple crunches. “What's going on with you today?”

Riona's lips twitched, whether with concern or amusement, Copper couldn't tell. “The Drow,” Riona said. “They are up to something.”

Copper raised her brows and stopped right before biting the apple again. “What do you mean?”

The queen gave a shrug of her tiny shoulders as she leaned forward to clasp her arms around her knees. “I have heard rumors. The Brownies say they dig deep, perhaps too deep . . . and are up to something else I cannot determine.” Her mouth twisted into a frown. “I do not like it when I know not what they are doing.”

“From what I remember of their history, the Drow are always up to something.” Copper settled her hand in her lap, her partially eaten apple still in her grasp.

Riona nodded. “That is true. However, I cannot help but feel this is somehow different. And that they have been engaging in activities that I am not aware of.”

Copper was surprised that the queen was actually confiding in her. “How can we find out?”

The Faerie queen's tiny lavender eyes met Copper's. “Perhaps you can go below and visit Garran. I cannot. Other than the D'Danann, Fae cannot tolerate being deep within the earth. It would kill us.”

Copper's eyes widened. “Me? What if they don't let me go?”

With a smile, Riona said, “I have confidence in you.”

A groan rose up inside Copper. “I can't believe I'm even considering this.”

Riona pushed from Copper's shoulder to hover beside her. “Stomp on the Drow door five times. No doubt they will know it is you. They have strong magic.”

Before Copper had a chance to discuss it further, to refuse even, Riona fluttered away. Copper sighed and shook her head. Even though she'd never been in the Drow realm, she knew this wasn't going to be easy.