"I think he just wants to be friends with you," I told Korta.
She curled her lip at me, but flashed Fletcher a smile. "Very well human. It's your loss. Korta is a wonderful lover."
"I'm sure," he murmured. "But my name is Fletcher."
Now she seemed surprised. "You make arrows?"
He chuckled. "No, it's just my name. Us human sometimes name babies after occupations. Like Cooper or Hunter."
"Hunter." Korta nodded her approval. "Is it their wish for their child to become a warrior?"
"Maybe," he agreed. "Or maybe they just like the name."
She sniffed. "Hmmm, I think maybe humans are peculiar after all."
"We can be," he agreed. "Some boys are named Dick. That would be a lot to live up to."
I snorted. "Do humans also name their children breast?"
He grinned "Not that I know of. Dick is short for Richard. Like Sum is short for Summer."
I frowned. "How do you get Dick from Richard?"
"You be nice to him, I suppose." Fletcher wiggled his eyebrows at me.
For a moment I stared at him, then I laughed. "That is a terrible joke. You get no points for that."
Korta looked at us both like we were crazy. "You talk too much." She waved her fingers at me. "You should be resting. If you don't heal, Lun's honour will be in question."
Lun nodded and gave me a dark look as though I would be to blame if I died.
"Well, we wouldn't want that." I leaned against Fletcher, who put an arm around me and held me close. His touch was warm and gentle, familiar like we'd known each other for years. In some way, it reminded me of Huon. Comfortable, but without the bickering which kept our relationship exciting.
"Oh here you are." Khat's drawl interrupted my thoughts. "I should have known you'd already be prisoners. Did they sneak up while you were screwing?"
I blushed and sat back up straight. The trolls herded Huon, Saff and Ash through the trees. Khat walked beside Huon.
Huon's expression went from furious to relieved when he saw me. Saff grinned. Only Ash seemed unperturbed.
"We were eating," I told Khat. Not that I owed him an explanation of any kind.
I rose with Fletcher's help and moved to embrace all three of the fae men, Huon last of all. One of his arms lingered around me while he looked me in the face.
"Are you all right?"
"Why, were you worried?" I arched my eyebrows at him.
"Of course not." He rolled his eyes. "Although now I think about it, the trolls could have killed you once they learned how annoying you are."
I swatted him on the shoulder. "If that's the case, then your life expectancy will be much shorter than mine."
"Sounds about right," Saff said. "I've personally threatened him three times in the last hour."
"Four," Ash remarked.
Saff pointed toward him. "You're right. I said if this was a trap he'd led us into, I would stab him in the balls and let him bleed out."
"So," I said to Fletcher, "these are the guys I told you about."
Saff glanced around me. "Oh, hello Fletch."
"You two know each other?" I asked.
"I think we should sit down," Huon suggested. "We clearly have a lot to talk about."
15
"How is your arm feeling?" Ash asked softly.
I turned from the fire the trolls had built, to look at him. Flames flickered and danced in his eyes, but I saw his concern as well.
"Much better," I replied. "It's just a graze again now." I held it up for him to look.
He inspected it, then nodded. "You got lucky. If the arrow hit close to your heart, you wouldn't be here now."
I shuddered. "You're lucky too. If Korta hadn't sent her scouts to find you…" Saff and Huon had already told the tale of how they'd been surrounded by trolls and Khat had claimed to have caught them for the trolls. Of course the trolls hadn't bought a word the mimicat had said.
"We would have fought our way out," Ash assured me. He lowered his voice and added, "I was determined to find you."
I blushed, but my heart skipped. "I'm glad you did. I was worried you'd follow me through the portal."
He looked rueful. "I was tempted, but after I talked Saff and Huon out of touching the trapdoor, I couldn't do it myself. We had no way of knowing where you'd ended up, or if you were alive. I was willing to take the risk," he added in a whisper.
"Lesser magic comes first," I said firmly. I was pleased at his admission though, and that he'd stopped the others from doing something stupid.
"In my head, I know that," he said. "But my heart…" He swallowed audibly. "Maybe I shouldn't be saying this. I know you and the others—"
"They know I care about all of you," I assured him. "I understand if you don't want to get involved with someone who is kind of involved with two… or three other men. I mean, it is a little messy."
Ash put a hand on my shoulder and leaned in to kiss me on the mouth. His lips were soft and warm, gentle considering he was a burly fae.
I kissed him back, lightly at first, then with more heat. His tongue teased my lips apart.
"Not you too," Khat complained. He shoved himself between us and flopped down before he started to groom himself.
"Do you mind?" I asked him.
"No, not at all," the mimicat replied, unperturbed.
I shot Ash an apologetic look.
He shrugged and grimaced at the mimicat, but before he could reply, Huon spoke.
"So Saff, are you going to tell us how you and Fletcher know each other?"
Part of me wanted to sneak away from the fire with Ash, but I wanted to hear this too.
Fletcher looked uncomfortable with so many others around him, but at least the trolls sat at their own fire, a few metres away. Hospitality apparently only went so far.
"My sister, Tigerlily stole him and brought him here," Saff said.
"That makes sense." Huon nodded. "He wouldn't have followed you here." He grinned.
Saff picked up the closest thing to hand—one of his shoes— and threw it at Huon. The shoe struck him on the shoulder and bounced. It landed a centimetre from the fire.
"That would have served you right," Khat remarked.
"He's right, you know," I said.
"I regret nothing." Saff grabbed up his shoe and placed it beside the other, a safe distance from the fire. "Except that I didn't follow you. It might have been fun. Three of us in the dark like that."
"It wasn't fun," I said firmly.
"Anything but," Fletcher agreed. "And Tigerlily didn't steal me, I came willingly." He glanced at me, an eyebrow raised.
"Eight," I told him.
He pumped the air with his fist.
Saff and Huon exchanged glances and shrugged.
"Then, in typical Tigerlily fashion, she got bored," Saff guessed. "No offence, " he added quickly.
"None taken," Fletcher replied. "I was just as bad, looking for adventure in a strange land."
"You found it," I said as gently as I could.
"And then some," he agreed. "But I prefer this to being down in the—whatever that place was. Do any of you know?"
"Without getting a closer look—" Ash started.
"No," I interrupted. "You don't want to go in there."
"Why not?" Huon asked. "You found the way out easily enough."
"All we need is more light and we could have a good look around," Saff added.
Huon nodded his agreement.
"At the risk of concurring with those two jesters," Khat said, "they might be right."
"There's nothing to see," I argued. "Just a keyhole and no key."
"Did you say we need a key?" A troll moved closer to the fire and crouched just inside its glow. Her intense gaze caught my eyes and held them.
"We?" I asked.
She nodded and held out her hand. "Tavar," she said.
I assumed that was her name. I shook her hand and said, "Summer."
Her brow twitched. "That's not
a usual fae name."
"So everyone keeps reminding me," I said dryly. "I didn't want to be named after flora, all right?"
Tavar seemed amused. "Very well. You are the leader of this band of fae?"
Saff made a choking noise. "You hear that Huon?"
"I heard." Huon grinned. "I'm the leader. Summer just likes to think she is."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Let's just get back to the "we" part."
"And the key," Ash said. "What do you know of it?"
Tavar sat and crossed her legs. "It's a legend amongst the trolls. Since we are allies, I may speak of it to you. Korta has given her permission."
I nodded and gestured for her to go on.
"The ruins due west of here belonged to the Risi. The ancestors of both our people. They were folk of great magic and passion, but also great pride. They fought amongst themselves, especially when young began to be born without wings. They became known as the trullen. The winged ones, the devallan wanted to drive them out."
Her face showed little expression, but I suspected she was thinking we were still doing the same thing.
"Some claimed a faction of the devallan were doing magic to create the trullen because they wanted slaves. Called the nympha—"
I hissed.
Tavar stopped and regarded me blandly.
"That word is highly offensive to fae," I said around gritted teeth.
Tavar inclined her head. "Amongst the trolls as well. Although it's often used to describe the fae."
I bristled. Ash reached over Khat to put a hand on my arm.
"We should listen," he said.
"Oh, I am listening," I replied. This might be a short alliance if the trolls were going to use ugly words against us.
"The nympha," Tavar repeated firmly, "were a race apart from either trullen or devallan. Selfish, ruthless, lazy, they considered themselves above the others. They went too far and were eventually imprisoned and their dark magic was outlawed. Every book, every scroll, every potion was destroyed. Everything which could be, at least."
"What do you mean everything that could be?" Fletcher asked. He looked enraptured.
Tavar shrugged. "Some artefacts resisted everything: fire, magic, hammers. Eventually they were locked away. The key was hidden so no one could find it and open it."
"You think those artefacts have something to do with lesser magic?" Ash asked.
The blood drained from my face. "That door. You think they're down there? That would explain why there's only one way out."
"There should be no way out," Tavar said. "The dark magic has made a crack."
"And sucked lesser magic down into the vault storing the artefacts," Saff said.
All eyes turned to him.
He shrugged. "It makes sense, doesn't it?"
"Yes, it does," Ash said thoughtfully. "Perhaps if we can get in there, we can release lesser magic."
Silence fell for a moment as the enormity of his words sank in.
"Why didn't we know any of this?" I asked finally. "Risi, Trullen, Devallen?"
"We did," Huon said softly.
I swung my head to stare at him. "What do you mean?"
"Birch kept a library hidden in his room. Only he and I knew. And Mother. The books in there told the history of the fae. The real history."
I blinked. "What the fuck, Huon? Why would he keep that from us?"
From me.
"Fae trying enslave fae. Virtual genocide of our own people. It was a long time ago and it's ugly." He looked down toward the fire.
For the longest time, I had no words. Then I shook my head slowly and said, "The truth isn't always pretty, but we had a right to know."
Huon glanced up. "Birch didn't agree. Nor did his father, or his—"
"And what do you think?" I asked.
"I hadn't given it any thought." He sighed. "Summer, it was a thousand years ago. It has nothing to do with now."
"On the contrary," Ash said softly. "It has everything to do with it. Did the books mention artefacts or a key?"
"Keys," Tavar said.
Now I stared at her. "I beg your pardon, did you says keys? Plural?"
"Yes, three of them in fact. One in the fae part of the realm, one in troll territory—"
"If you say the last is in the human realm…" I rubbed my forehead with my fingertips.
"So the legend goes."
"Has anyone got a vat of wine?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to drink it or drown in it. Maybe both. "The last key is in a place we can't go and the whole realm will die without it?"
Tavar hesitated and looked over her shoulder toward her companions. "There may be a way to get to the human realm."
"How?" Saff asked.
"Same question," Fletcher said. He looked less eager than I might have expected for someone who had just learnt there might be a way home.
"Does it involve a cave full of screamspinners?" Khat asked.
"No, but the troll key is kept in such a cave," Tavar replied.
"Of course it is," I said.
"Korta wants me to show you," Tavar added. "And give you whatever help you need."
"The whole band isn't coming with us?" I asked. No one at the other fire was even looking in our direction.
"Screamspinners are sacred to trolls. Entering their territory is considered sacrilege."
"So they're scared," Khat asked dryly.
"Trolls prefer not to be eaten," Tavar said with some pique.
"Funny, mimicats feel the same way," Khat said in Tavar's voice.
Her hand went to the knife at her hip, but she didn't pull it out. Instead she narrowed her eyes at the mimicat.
"If you want to maintain this alliance, you would be better to show some respect to me and the rest of the trolls."
"Right back at you," Khat said, unperturbed. "If you're afraid of screamspinners, it seems you need us as much as we need you. More so, because we could find a cave by ourselves. Am I not right?"
"Both of you stop," Huon said. I had never heard him sound so forceful before. "For the good of all of us, we need to get along. No more antagonising each other. Understood?"
"Can I still tease you?" Saff asked.
Huon knitted his brows. "Yes, but no being a dick."
"It's a fine line." Saff shrugged.
"It is, but I'll tell you if you cross it."
"All right, deal."
I rolled my eyes. "We should get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow will be a long day." If I could sleep, with everything now swirling around in my head.
16
I managed to sleep for a few hours, but woke with the moon still high in the sky. I tossed and turned for a while. Wide awake, but not wanting to disturb the others who slept beside the fire, I rose and snuck off just outside the flame's light.
I lowered myself to sit on a flat rock and tugged my blanket around my shoulders. Even from here, I heard Saff snoring. The sound made me smile. At least he was getting some rest.
"You can't sleep either?"
Huon's voice made me jump so hard I thought my heart would burst out of my chest.
"Gods!" I managed to whisper, in spite of my fright. "What the hells, Huon?"
"Sorry." He flopped down beside me and put an arm around me. "I just thought you could use the company. My head is spinning, so I know yours must be in a whirl."
I leaned against him. He smelled of spices and warm earth.
"Why didn't you tell me about Birch's library?" I asked. "Why didn't he?" That cut me most of all. I thought he trusted and cared about me. Now I knew he had kept such a big secret from me, I wondered what else he'd held back.
"I didn't know it was important," Huon replied. "And…"
"Yes?" I prompted.
"I was being selfish. I figured I'd shared you with enough books. If you'd known about those, you would have spent months in there reading them all."
"I probably would," I agreed, "and we might have more answers than we do now."
"We might n
ot," he countered. "Birch had no more answers than we do, or he would have told us."
"That's true," I conceded. "Maybe he was just ashamed of the past."
"It seems like we all should be," Huon agreed.
"That begs one question," I mused. "Why not try to make amends with the trolls? He was as hateful about them as any of us. And as wrong." As strange as they were, they were not the animals I had assumed.
"I don't know," Huon replied. "Maybe all the hate was to keep the keys apart."
"Maybe. Or maybe we're just assholes."
"That is possible," he agreed. "That would mean trolls are too."
"They seem to be nicer than we are," I said.
"Are you planning to run off with one?" he asked, teasingly.
"I'll think about it." I straightened the blanket around my knees. "Maybe I'll run off with several."
He chuckled, then cupped my chin to turn my face toward him. When he pressed his mouth to mine, my lips were already apart, ready for his probing tongue. I sucked the tip gently and then gave it a nip.
He pulled back just far enough to say, "I was scared." He kissed me. "When you disappeared." Kiss. "I didn't think I would see you again." Kiss.
He pried the blanket apart and ran his hands lightly over the fabric of my shirt where it covered my breasts. When my nipples responded to his touch, he massaged them with his thumbs.
"And yet, here I am," I replied, a little breathless.
"With a human in tow." He tugged down the front of my shirt to expose one nipple, then leaned to run the tip of his tongue over it.
"Is that a problem?" I arched my back and pushed my breast forward.
"Not for me." He untied the front of my shirt and pushed it aside before slowly massaging my breasts. His palm rubbed against the hard buds my nipples had become under his touch. "Will I be sharing you with him as well?"
"It's possible. I like him too." I tried to gauge his reaction, but thinking was becoming more difficult.
"As long as you don't forget me." He kissed my cheek, then tickled his way down my cheek with his tongue. He ran it lightly over my neck, then gave me a little nip. "Something to remember me by."
Shimmer (Summer's Harem Book 1) Page 9
