Shatter - Sins of the Sidhe (7 page)

Then the world went black.

Rowan woke up staring at a summer sky. Was she outside or was that the ceiling? It was a ceiling. She was in a big, soft bed. Ro sat up and heard a small thump and skitter across the wood floor. The door was cracked open and she could hear murmuring on the other side of it. A shout and gruff had her sitting up, startled. Ouch, her head was pounding. What the hell happened?

Devlin knocked on the door and poked his head in. “May I come in, lass?”

He stepped inside, carrying a tray with tea, water, a sandwich, apple slices, and something with chocolate drizzle. Following behind him was a big, orange,
what the hell was it, a fox?
Yup, it was a confirmed fox as the animal jumped into the bed with her and promptly settled at her feet, tail curling around his body and over his face.

“He likes you.” Devlin smiled, laying the tray down on the small bedside table.

Rowan was confused. Last thing she remembered, she was running for her life from a snarling mad man. Now, she’s all snuggled up in a four poster bed, pet fox at her feet and getting room service. She’s had some strange days, but this one’s at the top.

“What happened?” she asked. Ro felt sick to her stomach and the apple slices rang in her head as a good thing to try and eat. Her body felt weak and her head groggy.

“Twas a spell, lass. Forgive me, I had to get ye calm enough to escort ye back to the house. ‘Tis no longer safe for ye to be alone and Adam was in no place to calm ye himself.” He looked sincere and guilty while he said it.

A spell. That was not the answer she was expecting, but one she could accept. Ro had an open mind and spells were something she always marveled at when reading books. She’ll be the first to admit she wished she knew how to cast some herself. Glancing over, Ro saw her knife resting on the bedside table. At least they’d not taken it from her. She breathed in a couple steadying breaths and reached for a piece of the apple. Ro took a small bite of the juicy red slice. Crunchy and sweet, it was one of her favorite fruits. Then she took a good look at the fox all nuzzled up against her.

“Can I pet him?”

With a nod from Devlin, Rowan reached over slowly and stroked the fox’s head. His fur was soft and coarse all at the same time. Thick and plush, she gave him a good long scratch at the head and then went “boop” on his nose. She laughed a little and then offered him a slice of apple.

“Och, he’ll be a spoiled baby after this. There’ll be no end to his begging.” Devlin smiled at the scene in the bed. He was touched by her tenderness with the wee beastie.

Rowan returned his smiled with one of her own, and then popped another slice into her mouth. “Begging isn’t always a bad thing.”

Their eyes locked and his breath caught. Blood surged to his cock like it was the only vessel left in his body. A tingling sensation crawled its way up his thighs and his balls all but ached.
This woman was something the likes of which he’d never seen before. Resilient, kind, and strong, the lass was beautiful.
And wicked. On a growl, he quickly got up and excused himself, leaving her and the fox to finish the forbidden fruit alone.

Boy, what was that about?
Rowan blushed at her boldness of what she’d said, but it couldn’t be taken back now. She seemed to have zero filtering when it came to that guy. He was all big and serious, and she wanted to break down those walls and get inside his head… and his bed. Shaking the thought from her mind, Rowan realized she was actually starving. She shared the rest of her apple and part of her sandwich with the fox, but kept the chocolate dessert for herself. Rowan wasn’t sure if the same chocolate rule applied to foxes as it did to dogs, but she didn’t want to risk it. Pouring a cup of tea, she sipped the steamy goodness while she thought of a plan.

Fight or flight? Well, seeing how fighting got her laid out into this damn bed, she had to believe they’d just work another spell on her to make her stay. And there was no denying it, the darkness is getting worse. She admitted that much to herself while she thought of how many more sinister looking creatures came to her now and how often they showed up. Talk about your past haunting you. These men may be the answer she’s needed, plus Ro had no other place to go for help.

If she was going to be honest with herself, she knew there would be a day of reckoning on some level for what she had done. Maybe she just didn’t want to admit it until now. Perhaps that’s why she spent so much of her time alone or staying busy creating her fragile masterpieces. Friends had come and gone throughout the years, except for Brinley and Christine, and even if they knew the full truth of what she’d done, maybe they would run away too. Waking up in the middle of the night to a black silhouette inches from her face meant that Ro slept fitfully most nights, always paranoid or frustrated. Love was not in the cards for her, at least not in the long term. You can’t keep such a big secret all to yourself when you’re in a “till death do us part” relationship, and let’s face it, if she were to tell a guy what she sees, he’s going to run for the hills or have her committed.

Maybe this is why. Maybe the Fates knew she couldn’t have a bunch of strings attached to her, no baggage to carry around, because she was going to have to go where no one else would dare follow and she needed to travel light.

One last scratch on the fox’s head, Rowan pulled the covers free and hopped out of bed. Fuck it. She was going to do this. When the going got tough, Rowan got tougher. The fox hopped down and scurried out the door with Rowan following behind. Back in the living room, fire crackling, the two men were standing close together in conversation, which quickly ended the second she came into view.

“Alright boys, if there’s a way to fix what I have done I’m all for hearing it. Whatever it takes, I’ll do it.” She walked up to Adam and held out her hand, “I’m sorry I didn’t have enough respect for such magic when I was younger. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to fix the damage I’ve done. I was young and foolish, and I am neither of those things now.” She could admit when she was wrong, but it wasn’t always easy. She tried to not make a habit of it either.

Devlin couldn’t believe his ears. Truly, the lass shocked him fully.

“I too apologize for my behavior earlier; I was wrong in lashing out at you as I did. In the future I will strive for better control.” Adam held his own hand out and they shook on their apologies.

“So boys, what do we do now?” Rowan walked around the coffee table carved from an old tree that had been shellacked and sat back down on the huge couch. Rowan was a planning girl. She liked making lists, having control and order, and creating a battle plan – whether it’s for baking a three-tiered chocolate cake, or in this case, killing a monster she accidently set loose.

“We need to go back to Ireland as soon as possible and you need training, my dear.” Adam pinched the bridge of his nose, already in deep thought.

Rowan bobbed her head in agreement while she stared at him. His hair looked blacker than before, probably the light of day, and his eyes were swirling shades of teal, green, violet and amber. They reminded Rowan of peacock feathers. Why hadn’t she noticed them before now? They were remarkable, stunning actually. Mesmerized with their beauty, Ro thought,
why was she just now seeing this?
Her brows crunched together in concentration as she stared unwaveringly at Adam for several heartbeats trying to figure out what she was looking at.

Devlin didn’t like it. Why was she staring at Adam like he was the most glorious thing she had ever seen? As if reading the Druid’s mind and trying to diffuse the situation himself, the fox jumped into Rowan’s lap, startling her and sending her gaze down to him.

“Oh hello!” Rowan instantly started running her fingers through the fox’s hair, starting from his head and swooping all the way down to the white tip of his tail. “What’s his name?”

“What?” Adam was getting irritated.

“The name of the fox. He has a name right?”

“Fintan,” answered Devlin striding over to sit beside her on the couch. “His name is Fintan
.
”

“Oh! That’s a great name! Well hello, Fintan.” Rowan never stopped the steady stream of petting and cooing at the animal.

Adam got annoyed. By Danu, they will be getting nowhere at this rate. Adam’s powers are growing weaker and his glamour keeps faltering the longer he is away from his homeland. Being in America where everything is new, loud, dirty, and filled with iron has taken a toll on the Sidhe. He refused to feed on the blood of humans if he could help it. The ancient ones, such as himself, can generally last years without feeding on living blood. It had been a long time for Adam and it was starting to show. All Fae feed on something to give them power. Sidhe Warriors, like Adam, fed on blood. It’s an easy feast when you’re in battle. When you’re not spilling blood in the fields, however, one may have to resort to bargaining.

Back in the good old days, it was nothing for Adam to feed on the humans who so willingly offered their veins. In return, he’d help their harvests be plentiful and grow enough food to feed whole villages. But now, everything was farmed with GMO seeds, it was blasphemous and revolting. Most humans didn’t care about the lands anymore and were too lazy to grow their own food to feed their family. Grocery stores, happy meals and pizza joints had taken over. Disgusting. Adam chose to opt out of feeding from humans for as long as possible now; it was just too sickening to the Sidhe, and feeding of another Fae was out of the question.

Adam had houses situated all over the human world for business and sometimes for pleasure. Human women weren’t as skilled in arts of love making as the Fae, but they also were not as cunning and deadly. Adam liked the “hit it and split it” approach to women. That was one lifestyle he did adopt rather quickly while living outside of the Faelands. But he longed to be back in Ireland, to his home away from home, where he could at least drop all his glamour and go about the secluded moors as the gorgeous powerful Sidhe he was.

Adam was one of the first Fae the Gods had created. One of the original seven, he was a Sidhe and a Warrior. Charged with overseeing the lands and inhabitants of the Faeworlds, a noble was he, and that meant attending court and putting up with the politics and schemes that the Sidhe were so skilled with. He was a fighter and protector of his lands, charged with the duty by the Goddess Morrigan herself. He answered to no one but the Gods, although he still had to put up with the Fae courts and whoever was sitting on the thrones.

Adam was partly relieved when he was sent to the human world to be a liaison between the Gods and mortals. He was in charge of ensuring that the blessed Druids did not falter in their duties. Well, one Druid in particular. All was simple in the beginning. Keep the balance. Keep the peace. Keep the secrets.

The Sidhe let out a sigh of frustration and looked up at the ceiling. “Morrigan, you better be right about this one.”

First thing on the To Do list: Rowan needed a lesson about the two men standing before her. It was a lot to soak in, but she managed. The lass had an open mind and a joyful heart. It made the telling of their backgrounds easier when she wasn’t dismissing their claims and arguing like most others would have done. The Sidhe are the strongest of the Fae and once roamed the earth freely. They worked side-by-side with humans and the harmony lasted for a diminutive space of time. But as years passed, humans and Fae alike began to grow selfish. Eventually, jealousy and malice overshadowed their union, ties were broken and friends became enemies.

Humans who wanted to live like immortals started capturing Sidhe and other lesser Fae to try and extract their energies to use for themselves. The Sidhe held deep magic and were able to change the tides, grow nature, and had the gift of everlasting life. Well, that was not entirely true, but the humans didn’t know any better. For there were plenty of ways a Fae could be killed, although it was much harder to kill them out in the human world. Certain weapons could do damage and badly wound a Fae, but those weapons were mostly found in other worlds, and few remained among the humans. Adam himself had an arsenal of Sidhe weaponry, he was a warrior after all, but he was one of the very few who did. Now, a weapon that could actually kill a Fae with one strike, that is a rare and coveted thing indeed.

Humans grew jealous that they did not have immortality, and Fae grew selfish with the powers of the earth. They began to trick, capture, and kill one another in an effort to gain something they all wanted: Power. Thus began the Battle of the Worlds. The Gods chose a handful of Sidhe to stay hidden among the humans and the rest were sent back to the Faelands for safety. To balance the scales, some of the humans were bestowed a gift of eternal life, so long as they worked together with the remaining Sidhe to keep the peace among the worlds. That was how Adam the Sidhe, and Devlin the Druid, came to be.

Rowan took all this information in stride. It was an amazing story really. Beautiful and sad, it was not at all surprising that greed was the cause of the world being split. People didn’t learn. She thought back to the newscast she’d watched the night before. People will
never
learn. Greedy, selfish fools, the lot of them.

The history lesson lasted a couple of hours and after much deliberation, the three of them had finally agreed (with much persuasion from the men and huffing and puffing on Ro’s part) that Rowan was to pack a bag of necessities and stay at the large manor house with them. They didn’t want her alone anymore, it just wasn’t safe, and training was going to be hard and the days and nights long. She wasn’t crazy about the idea of staying in a house with two men she had just met, but also knew that her options were limited. Reluctantly, she had to admit that it didn’t make much sense to do anything else. Adam drove her back to her house so she could gather up some things and make arrangements. They didn’t know when she was coming back so there were certain responsibilities (like bills, mail, and mom) that she had to make sure were covered during her absence.