Prince of Air and Darkness

by Jenna Black

  “Come sit down,” her mother urged, leading her to the sofa in the living room.

  Kiera sat obediently, Phantom following her in and curling up on his dog bed. She felt like he was studiously not looking at her. She shook her head at herself; bad enough she was feeling so paranoid about Hunter, now she was suspicious of a damn dog.

  “I take it Phantom isn’t as fond of Alonso as you are?” Kiera asked.

  “He’s being a typical jealous male.” Phantom gave one sharp, loud bark. Kiera’s mom cut him a quick glance, then looked away. “But never mind that. Tell me what’s wrong. I’ve never seen your aura look so troubled before.”

  Kiera was sure her mother had picked up her mood from her facial expression, not from any mythical aura. But the fact that she’d picked up on it meant that Kiera couldn’t weasel out of talking about it, not unless she wanted to suffer an interrogation that she was sure would eventually break her down anyway. She let out a deep sigh and stared at the floor.

  “Let me start by saying that I think this is all ridiculous. But I promised Jackson I would talk to you about it, so I’m biting the bullet.” Or at least trying to. Her fight-or-flight instinct was screaming at her to get the hell out of here.

  “It’s so touching how you depend on my advice.”

  Kiera looked up sharply at the wry words, fearing for a moment she’d hurt her mom’s feelings. But her mom looked more amused than hurt. “Sorry, Mom, but I’m not going to pretend I believe in all this supernatural mumbo-jumbo when I don’t. Besides, I’d never be able to fool you.”

  She laughed. “Too true. Now, tell me what supernatural mumbo-jumbo you don’t believe in today.”

  Kiera squirmed on the couch. “Well, there’s this guy . . .”

  Once she got started, Kiera found it surprisingly easy to spill the whole story. Her mom was the perfect audience, not interrupting, not prodding when Kiera faltered. Somewhere along the way, she stopped feeling so silly and the words tumbled out faster, a confused jumble of thoughts and emotions.

  When she finished, she finally nerved herself up to look at her mother’s face. The troubled look she discerned sent a shiver up her spine. “What is it?” she asked.

  Phantom, sensing that his goddess was in distress, trotted over and rested his chin on her leg, looking up at her with soulful eyes. She scratched behind his ears and smiled at him.

  “Come on, Mom,” Kiera urged. “Tell me what you’re thinking that’s got you looking so worried.”

  Her mother started chewing on her lip, a nervous habit Kiera had thought she’d kicked long ago. “You’re going to scoff at me.”

  Kiera shrugged and managed a weak smile. “When has that ever stopped you?”

  That won her an answering smile from her mother and a doleful look from Phantom. “All right, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The smile quickly faded. “What happened in the elevator, the way you felt so inexplicably attracted to him . . .”

  “Yes?”

  Now her mother’s face had set into grim lines. “It sounds like glamour.”

  “Glamour?” Kiera couldn’t help wrinkling her nose, even though she’d asked for this. “You mean glamour, as in fairy-mind-control magic, right?”

  “Exactly. What you described feeling . . . it’s just like what I felt when your father seduced me.” She looked away. “I was a married woman, and while it wasn’t exactly a good marriage, I’m not the kind of woman who fools around on her husband.”

  “You said you were drunk,” Kiera reminded her gently.

  Her mom nodded. “A little tipsy, yes. But I believe in fidelity, believe in it far too much to fall into bed with some stranger just because I’d had a few drinks.”

  Kiera couldn’t help feeling skeptical. If her mom’s marriage hadn’t been going well, it certainly seemed possible that the combination of alcohol and a handsome man could suppress her inhibitions and make her do something she would later regret.

  Her mother smiled. “I can practically read your thoughts. I really wasn’t that drunk, not drunk enough to throw my marriage in the toilet when I still harbored hopes that it could work out. But the moment your father sat on the barstool beside me, my hormones started wreaking havoc with me. I had never before and have never since felt anything like that.” She shook her head. “He was absolutely beautiful. The kind of man who would have caught my eye across a crowded room.” She put her hand to her throat and grinned. “Even conjuring his image now makes my pulse race.”

  Kiera couldn’t help it; Hunter’s handsome face suddenly loomed in her mind’s eye, and her own pulse leapt.

  Her mother’s face scrunched up in intense thought. “But there’s a difference between the kind of attraction you feel for a handsome stranger and the kind you feel for someone you literally want to have sex with.” She sighed and looked exasperated. “Damn, this is hard to put into words. But then, maybe I don’t have to. Think about the way this Hunter Teague makes you feel. Have you ever felt anything like that for someone you know so little?”

  She had to admit her mom was right. That was why she was here, after all. Still . . . “I’ll admit it’s weird, but I have a hard time convincing myself it’s supernatural weird.”

  Her mom leaned forward and put a hand on her arm. The gesture startled Kiera, for her mom had never been real touchy-feely. “Can you stand it if your mother asks you an embarrassing question?”

  Kiera practically cringed. “Depends on the question.”

  “Remember, I’m trying to help, and to help I need to understand as best I can what’s happening. Okay?”

  Kiera didn’t like the sound of this at all, but morbid curiosity prompted her to nod cautiously.

  “If you think about him right now, when he can’t possibly be using glamour against you, do you want to sleep with him?”

  Kiera blushed like a teenager. She wasn’t what you’d call a prude, but discussing sex with her mother was not high on her list of favorite things.

  “You don’t have to answer out loud if you don’t want to,” her mother hastened to assure her. “I just want you to think about it.”

  Kiera shoved her prudery aside—she’d come too far into this conversation to chicken out now. So, she once again conjured Hunter’s face, adding his tantalizing scent to the mix. Her pulse kicked up and her cheeks heated. “He’s unbelievably sexy. I don’t think it’s impossible that it could happen, if only I could shake whatever it is that bothers me.”

  Her mom nodded. “But don’t you see? When he’s not near you, you say it’s not impossible. When you were in that elevator with him, you felt like it was imminent. There’s something unnatural about that.”

  “It’s just his charisma.”

  “If you thought that, you wouldn’t be so troubled about it. Believe me, honey, I know exactly what you’re feeling. Finvarra had me in such a daze I felt like I had no free will of my own. What he did to me was a form of rape, because he made me helpless to resist. If your attraction to Hunter were natural, it wouldn’t be making you feel helpless.”

  “Maybe I’ve just been alone too long.”

  Her mom grunted in disgust. “You are one of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met.”

  “I’m sorry, Mom,” she said, feeling terrible because she had asked for just this kind of answer and she was rejecting it.

  Her mom grinned. “Honey, I’ve known you all your life. Believe me, I’m used to it.” She gently nudged Phantom’s chin away from her leg and stood up. “What I need to do is help you gather more evidence, until eventually you have enough to convince even you. Wait here.”

  As if enforcing her mother’s command, Phantom moved to sit directly in front of Kiera, fixing her with his usual stare.

  “Quit that!” she snapped at him, and then wondered at herself for acting like he could understand her. Of course, even if he’d understood her, he undoubtedly would have ignored her command. She didn’t know what the dumb creature had against her. She tried to stand up, thinki
ng to turn her back on him to at least give herself the illusion he wasn’t staring like that. But Phantom moved in closer and put his front paws on her lap before she was able to move.

  Kiera gasped. With his paws on her thighs, he was able to stare into her eyes from an equal height, and the look in his eyes was almost as unnerving as Hunter. There was too much intelligence there, too much depth. Then, her mother came back into the room. Phantom got down and retreated to his mistress’s side, leaving Kiera thoroughly shaken. Flakiness must run in the family, she decided, and she was really letting her imagination run away with her.

  “You have the world’s weirdest dog,” she grumbled, and her mother laughed.

  “Quite a character, isn’t he?” she agreed, resuming her seat on the sofa.

  Not exactly the way Kiera would have put it, but she let it go, instead frowning at the horseshoe her mother held in her lap. “What’s with the horseshoe?”

  “Any number of supernatural creatures have an aversion to iron, and the fey are no exception. The tradition of hanging a horseshoe on the front door actually originated as a way to keep the fey, among other things, out.” She held out the horseshoe, and Kiera took it. “See if you can get Hunter to touch that. If he’s fey, he won’t do it.” A crooked grin stole over her lips. “It might be very entertaining to see what excuses he uses to avoid it.”

  Kiera noticed Phantom was no longer staring at her but had his eyes fixed on the horseshoe instead. Feeling silly once more, and yet unable to resist the impulse, she leaned forward and stretched the horseshoe out in Phantom’s direction. The wolfhound shied away, hackles bristling. She leaned back into the couch and met her mother’s eyes. Her mom made no comment, and Kiera tried to tell herself there was no significance whatsoever to Phantom’s dislike of the horseshoe.

  “I’ll give it a try,” she said, not at all sure she would. She let her mother see her to the door, Phantom hanging back instead of staying on his mistress’s heels as usual.

  Her mother was in the process of closing the door when a thought suddenly struck Kiera and she stuck her hand out. “Wait!”

  “Yes?”

  She hefted the horseshoe. “You keep claiming my father is the king of the fairies. If that’s so, why can I touch the horseshoe?”

  “He’s the King of the Seelie Court, not the king of the fairies. And though you’re at least half fey, you’re mortal, so the iron can’t hurt you. If you were ever to go to Faerie and partake of food or drink there, you’d lose your humanity, and then you wouldn’t be able to touch it anymore.”

  “Somehow I knew you’d have an explanation.”

  “See if your skepticism can survive when Hunter refuses to touch the horseshoe.”

  Kiera made a noncommittal sound and hurried away.

  ****

  Hunter woke in the morning with a headache that made him wish he were dead. He groaned and tried to will himself back to sleep, but it felt like someone had jabbed an icicle in his eye. His stomach churned, and he was poised to race for the bathroom. When the wave of nausea passed, he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. He’d only had that one swallow of whiskey last night, but it seemed that alcohol did not go well with the healing potion his mother had sent. Wincing, he dragged himself to the bathroom where he turned the shower to the hottest setting he could stand.

  The steamy air seemed to dull the pain, and when he emerged, Hunter felt much better. He suffered a brief chill when he went to the kitchen for his breakfast and saw the hook that still protruded from the ceiling. He quickly removed it and tossed it in the trash. Once he’d made himself a pot of strong coffee, he retreated to the living room to rethink his strategy.

  Yesterday’s torment, though terrible, had been nothing compared to what he would suffer if he failed in his mission. Yes, he liked Kiera. And no, he didn’t want to hurt her. But what he wanted would never, could never matter. He was a Prince of the Unseelie Court, and his life was not his own. Conscience be damned, he was going to have to find a way to get her into his bed.

  Despite the disastrous results of the interlude in the elevator, Hunter had learned an important lesson: even when Kiera succumbed to the glamour, it had an ill effect on her. As his mission required he sleep with her often enough to get her pregnant, he couldn’t afford to leave her riddled with morning-after regrets. It was time to dispense with glamour entirely and let his natural charm win her. He did have some, after all.

  Hunter’s conscience gave him another kick in the gut conjuring an image of his inevitable success. After he’d seduced and betrayed her in cold blood, Hunter would be forced to take her baby—his baby—and raise it amidst the brutality and cruelty of the Unseelie Court, under the Queen’s watchful eye. How many times had he cursed his own father for leaving him to his mother’s tender mercies?

  But of course, he wasn’t planning on leaving his child to the Queen. If he played his cards right, if he did an adequate job of acting the dutiful son, he could be a true father to his child. He could shield his child from the evils of the Unseelie Court, could maybe even mold him or her into a power that could rival the Queen’s. When he’d first been given this mission, the idea of turning the Queen’s intended pawn into a weapon against her had filled him with hope and purpose. Now, he just felt another layer of guilt at his resolve to manipulate his own son or daughter as his mother had manipulated him.

  For the thousandth time, he reminded himself that he had no choice. Even if he could withstand his mother’s “persuasions” indefinitely—which he wasn’t arrogant enough to believe he could—the moment he began actually resisting her, she would realize that Kiera had begun to matter to him. Woe unto the poor mortal if his mother came to suspect he cared about her! It was the absolute worst thing that could happen. And once he’d brought a child into the world, he would do anything necessary to prevent his mother from warping that child beyond repair.

  No, Hunter had no choice but to lock his conscience in a closet and throw away the key. Which meant it was time to up the ante in the game of seduction. He owed Kiera an apology after making a pass at her in the elevator. Perhaps he could offer a very special apology that would turn into a far more subtle, and far more effective, pass.

  Trying to feel pleased that he had come up with a clever seduction tool, Hunter poured himself another cup of coffee and told himself his conscience was fully under control.

  Chapter 6

  Kiera was staring at the horseshoe her mother had given her when the phone rang. Shaking her head at herself for even considering her mother’s crazy notions, she answered. When Hunter’s voice greeted her, her heart fluttered.

  “Oh. Hi,” she said, feeling like a nervous teenager. What did you say to a client who’d almost felt you up in an elevator? Especially when you didn’t know if you were more relieved or disappointed that you’d stopped him?

  “I feel like the world’s worst heel,” he told her.

  Somehow, that hadn’t been what she’d been expecting from him, and she became even more tongue-tied. She tried to force some words of forgiveness from her dry mouth, but he continued before she could manage it.

  “I can only claim temporary insanity. I’m really not the type to take advantage of someone like that, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said when she could find her voice. “It really wasn’t a big deal.” Pathetic lie, perhaps, but maybe if she said it enough times she’d convince herself.

  “It was to me. I’m ashamed of myself, and I’d like the chance to make it up to you.”

  “Really, Hunter, that isn’t necessary. Let’s just forget about it, okay? I should have your website done in three more days.”

  Her attempt to sidetrack him with talk of business failed miserably. “I’d like to offer you a free massage.”

  Kiera’s heart seemed to skip a beat as her mind filled with images of lying naked on a table with his hands on her. The thought sent a shiver from the top of her head all th
e way down to her toes.

  “I would, of course, promise to behave in a thoroughly professional manner. There would be no repeat of the elevator scene.”

  “That’s a very nice offer,” she began, “but—”

  “You’re probably reluctant to be alone with me after the way I acted, but Kiera this is my business. I’ve had some very beautiful women as clients, and I haven’t once made a pass at any of them. Aside from any professional ethics, I could very well ruin my business by acting in an inappropriate manner with a client. You’d be quite safe with me.”

  Kiera frowned; she couldn’t imagine feeling safe with Hunter. Even his name declared him a predator. But the idea of having his hands on her, of letting those strong, lithe fingers press into the tight muscles of her back, filled her with heat.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I have a feeling it might be tempting fate.”

  “It’s been weeks since I’ve given a massage. I’m out of practice.”

  She laughed. “If that’s the case, maybe I should wait until you’re at your best once more. You don’t want to make a bad impression, do you?”

  “I’ve never had a woman play hard-to-get over a massage before. Come on, what could it possibly hurt?”

  She was beginning to weaken. She’d only ever had a massage twice, both times because a friend had given her a gift certificate. She’d enjoyed it, but not enough to pay eighty dollars of her own money for another. And she’d already had a brief sample of Hunter’s wares when he’d rubbed her shoulders in the elevator.

  A sudden thought brought her up short just as she was about to accept his offer. “I just referred a friend of mine to you, and you told him you weren’t open for business.”

  “I wasn’t, at the time. My massage table only arrived yesterday.”

  He’d answered smoothly, but Kiera’s irritating instincts told her he was lying. She told her instincts to go to hell, but they didn’t listen. “I’m sure, um, Lee will be thrilled to hear that you’re open now.” Jackson had told her he’d used a fake name when he’d called Hunter, but she couldn’t help stumbling over it.