Sea Fae Trilogy

by C. N. Crawford

  Now, at last, I knew why Salem had destroyed Ys. It was punishment for drowning this woman who wanted to burn the world down. Ironic, I guess, that in trying to keep Ys safe, we’d brought on its demise. Still, at least the people had survived. No one turned to hot dust in the wind.

  I let the water stream over my face.

  What I wanted to do was another what if spell. I needed my magic back for that. Then I needed to be alone.

  What if I failed to stop Salem? I had a feeling it would look as fiery and destructive as the first time.

  I’d turned the water up so hot that it turned my skin pink. I grabbed the soap, which smelled faintly of lemons, and lathered myself up, washing off the dried sea salt. Steam billowed around me.

  Who was this woman I’d drowned?

  Salem was desperate to get her back. He didn’t seem like the type of person who would care about anyone but himself, so I had to wonder.

  Was she his mate, perhaps?

  I turned off the shower, and water streamed down my body as I stepped out. Fragrant air skimmed in through the open window onto my bare skin.

  As I toweled off my hair, I stared down across the wide courtyard. Salem lived in what I’d call a palace. Where I stood now, I was two stories above the garden. Beneath me, fig and apple trees lined a dirt path.

  Was it just me, or did the worst people have the best lives?

  I watched as Salem crossed out into his garden, bathed in the moonlight. He moved smoothly in the darkness, his cat hurrying after him on the garden path. I could see my magic glowing around his body.

  Euphoria rose in my chest at the thought of how my magic would feel reunited with my body.

  With a sense of building excitement, I crossed naked out of the bathroom into a bedroom. The guest room looked ancient—rough stone walls, a metal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Statues stood in arched alcoves—mostly depicting women in obscene positions, but the stonework was masterful.

  Someone had laid out a clean set of clothes on the silky duvet—a simple black miniskirt and a button-down shirt. I dressed myself, singing Elvis’s “Suspicious Minds” to myself quietly as I did.

  I’d lost my shoes in the swim, but someone had left another pair by the bed—exactly my size. I slid into them. Cleaned and fully dressed, I crossed out of the bedroom.

  I rushed down the stairs. But on the landing, I paused. A painting hung on the wall, flanked by torches. Except a silk cloth covered the frame.

  A sharp pull of curiosity compelled me to peer under the cloth, holding my breath. Under it, I found an image in oils of a beautiful woman. An eight-pointed star gleamed in her forehead, and wings swept down her back. Silver hair tumbled over a pale gold gown. Lavender and peach light lit up a sky behind her. My breath caught in my throat.

  This was her, I was certain. This was the woman in the driftwood soul cage.

  For a moment, confronted with her face, I felt something like guilt.

  Then my jaw tightened. Like I’d said to Salem, I did what I had to do to protect the seas.

  I trusted my vision, even if Salem didn’t.

  I covered the image again and rushed down the rest of the stairs. At the bottom, a set of glass doors opened to the garden.

  I pulled open the doors. Fig and apple trees grew on either side of a path, and grapevines clung to the outer stone walls. Mushrooms circled some of the tree trunks, and blood-red flowers carpeted the floor. This whole place was beautiful.

  As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I caught sight of Salem down the path, my blue-green magic shimmering around his muscled body.

  The alluring scent of the garden washed over me. Salem leaned back against a tree, sipping his wine. His eyes burned with fiery hues as he watched me. The breeze ruffled his hair a little. He really looked like he had not a care in the world. Strange that he should be so at ease when the smoky magic spooling off him made my chest ache with fear.

  And then there was the music of his magic.

  For some creatures, the sound of their magic was as melodious and sweet as cherubs playing harps.

  In Salem’s case? It sounded like primal drums echoing off cave walls. And underneath the drums, distant screams. That was his magic.

  Everything about him unsettled me, and his heartbreaking beauty only enhanced the effect. No wonder the Lucifer stories he’d inspired were ones of temptation and despair, of seduced women and lost souls.

  As I drew closer, I realized I could smell something else on him—my sea magic. The air tasted of salt, and I felt a charge of watery magic skimming my skin.

  As I moved closer, the magnetic pull between us felt overwhelming. Something tugged me to him, and I closed the distance until I was standing only inches from him. I just wanted to bask in the feel of my magic, and it tingled over my skin.

  Already, the moonlight seemed a little brighter, silvery on his dark hair.

  He lowered his wineglass, his gaze meeting mine for a long time. He towered over me, and I realized his face was a perfect study of contrasts—fiery eyes and dark lashes, masculine jaw and sensual lips.

  But the real question was—how the hells could he look so relaxed while channeling magic that powerful? My own magic made me half insane.

  “I’m ready for my magic,” I said.

  Without a word, he reached for my waist. As soon as he made contact with me, his hand channeled electrifying magic into my body. A rush of power coiled into my body from his, and I felt my back arch. Power swept into my body from the points of his fingers, from his palm—a rushing charge that flooded me from that one point of contact and vibrated through my belly. It rolled into my thighs, my legs, my chest and arms, and I gasped.

  As my body filled with magic, my mind blazed with images of an ocean’s surface, pierced with golden rays of light—a cathedral of life.

  Life. The ocean was life, and its power was washing into me. Already, I could feel my body growing stronger. I possessed the strength of a fae goddess.

  My senses started to heighten, and I could hear the blackbirds’ song around me. Not just their song but their heartbeats, their breaths. I could hear Salem’s heart, too, pounding loud as a drum. And his sensual magic was like tongues licking over my skin. He smelled like sin…

  Oh gods, I could hear the plants growing slowly around me. The rich scent of the soil curled around me, and with it, figs and apples, their smell heavy with sweet sensuality.

  A warm breeze skimmed my skin like a caress. Yes.

  I opened my eyes, staring up at the starry sky. The stars were no longer distant points. They pulsed above me, living and dying creatures—some of them red with old age, some mere clouds of beaming dust. Life and beauty everywhere around me.

  Venus blazed blue in the sky, so stunning I could hardly breathe. The cold, dusky beauty of its light was like a million pieces of glass shattering in my heart. It was the beauty of Salem…

  Humans once called that the evening star—a god of twilight, like Salem himself. I turned to look into his eyes and found the same silver-blue as the evening star above us. His face was masculine perfection, carved by the gods. Would he look at me that way when I shoved the sea glass into his heart?

  There was no one else but us, so close our breath mingled… His powerful energy was like a force of nature around me.

  It took me a moment to realize that I’d pressed myself against his body, hips crushed against his. In my delirium, I’d draped one of my arms around his neck. He smelled of smoke and pomegranates, and a faint light gleamed on his forehead.

  His heart beat against me, and his eyes burned brightly. He wrapped an arm around me, and I leaned into its power. He moved one of his fingertips over my hipbone, the touch light. Such a subtle touch, but deeply sexual. I was so transfixed that I couldn’t remember how to pull away from him.

  One corner of his lip curled in a wicked smile. “I see we’re getting to know each other better.” His voice skimmed over my skin, velvet soft. “Though I imagine you have some
half-baked plan to kill me.”

  Slowly, I pulled myself away from him, my limbs humming. I wanted to eat everything in the garden. I reached up to pull an apple from the tree above him and bit into it. Its sweet tang exploded on my tongue.

  “The ocean is the source of all life,” I said, then realized my mouth was full of apple. I swallowed. “And I’m alive again. And I’m going to keep it safe.”

  “Well, good luck with that, Aenor. But for now, we’re going home. Back to the British Isles.”

  Waves of magic crashed through my blood. I felt like I could destroy worlds. Gods, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to kiss someone or rip a person’s heart out. Maybe both?

  “Home.” I’d be heading back toward the cold Atlantic waters where I was born.

  A star beneath the sea… Driftwood to keep her trapped…

  I touched my temples, struggling to form coherent thoughts. My old magic would take some getting used to.

  Salem prowled closer, eyes locked on me. “Use the feel of the earth beneath you to ground your magic. Channel it so it moves in and out through your feet.”

  I did as he asked, envisioning the magic like flowing water, moving up and down my legs. It helped me settle the surge of power a little, though it still trembled though my body.

  “Once we get to the sea,” he said, “I’ll make sure you’re in control. I can’t have you drowning all of Europe while we’re trying to find the driftwood cage. It’s not on my agenda.”

  Truly, I’d never fully mastered sea magic. I’d experimented, though. I could make steam from my fingertips. I could lure the sea to me like a gravitational force, and command the waves to drown Europe, like Salem had suggested. I could form blades and weapons of ice from my hands. I could suck all the water from a person’s body, leaving them a desiccated husk that could blow away in the wind.

  I stared at Salem, wondering if I should just try doing that to him. I cocked my head, letting the sea magic crackle over my body.

  But as soon as I lifted my hand, he began to glow with sunset colors. He was protecting himself against my magic. Or maybe he was just naturally immune to it.

  Whatever the case, it wasn’t working.

  “Well, that must be disappointing.” A cruel smile ghosted over his lips.

  I shrugged. “I was just testing it out.”

  “You can’t kill me, Aenor. Only one person can kill me, and it’s not you.”

  Hmmm. Not what the Winter Witch said, but I wasn’t about to out myself.

  Another wave of power crashed through me, and my teeth chattered at its force. “Fine. How are we getting to the British Isles?”

  “Follow me.” He brushed past me, his magic mingling with mine.

  As I walked behind him, my thoughts swarmed, beauty and terror intermingling. I felt like the wind was singing to me.

  I was, perhaps, tripping out. But godsdamn, it felt good to trip out on my magic.

  I sighed, and an image blazed in my mind—sea glass carving out Salem’s heart.

  But the vision didn’t feel as victorious as I’d imagined. It felt wrong.

  All the magic coursing through my veins abhorred death. I wanted life now.

  Still, when the time came, I would do what I needed to do. I’d end his life for good.

  Salem

  I led Aenor into the stone tunnel below ground. When she turned to look at me, I saw that her pupils had gone wide and dark, her cheeks rosy. She looked so alive that it almost made my pulse race.

  Holding her magic in my body had felt like an illicit thrill. I was merely a channeler of her magic—a vessel—so I couldn’t wield it like she could. But I still felt it charge my veins. There was an intimacy to it.

  It was a magic more intense than anything I’d experienced. Now, it ran through the veins of the beautiful body of the woman before me. A miniskirt, heels, and magic as powerful as a thousand suns.

  I nearly forgot Ossian was with us, until one of his birds circled around my head. He bit into an apple, slouching as he walked.

  Ossian’s sea magic wasn’t nearly as impressive as Aenor’s, but at least he was fully in control of it. Who knew what she would do? She was a complete wild card, and she seemed half delirious.

  Why did she interest me so much? Maybe it was because her entire demeanor had changed. Now that her body glowed with sea magic, her movements were languid. Sensual, almost. My gaze lingered on her bare legs.

  If I were the man I used to be, I’d think of pulling her into a shadowy offshoot of this tunnel. I’d imagine myself sliding my hand up her thigh, kissing her deeply. The Salem of years ago would think of her naked, splayed out before him.

  But those thoughts belonged to the person I used to be. Back when humans drew on cave walls. That part of my soul was now as lifeless as the rocky walls around us. Ever since I’d been banished from Mag Mell tens of thousands of years ago.

  I watched as she trailed her fingertips along the wall, humming quietly to herself. Her hips swayed, like she was trying to entice me.

  I breathed in the air, heavy with moss and dirt. A thousand years ago, a cabal of bloodthirsty crusaders had created this enchanted tunnel—a secret passage that magically shortened the distance between England and Jerusalem. Quite convenient for me, really.

  Aenor’s footfalls echoed off the cave walls.

  Silver moonlight filtered in through the end of the tunnel, and the salty air floated in on the breeze.

  The tunnel was leading us to Brighton, on the south coast of England. There, the Atlantic waters flowed into the English Channel.

  Aenor turned to me, her wide green eyes bright in the darkness. “Tell me something, Mr. Lucifer. How did you end up all the way in Jerusalem? You’re from the British Isles. All fae come from the British Isles originally.”

  “I wandered.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “And you’re really the Lucifer? The one that humans talk about? The light-bringer? The root of all evil?” Her tone was light, like it was all a joke to her. “The vilest creature in the history of the world?”

  I stared at her, wishing I’d brought more brandy. “I’m not a chronicler of human culture. You’d have to ask one of them.”

  “Were you in some kind of hell?”

  You naive little thing. You really have no idea. “You could say that.”

  She turned away from me, no longer interested in her line of questioning.

  “I can feel the ocean calling to me,” she said quietly to herself, but I picked up the sound. Hope lit up her voice, and a new sensation stirred in my heart.

  Aenor

  My sea magic surged through my veins.

  I bit my lip, trying to think clearly as the tunnel opened up into a wooden arcade hall. Dark in the dead of night, pinball machines and video games crowded the Victorian building. When I turned, I saw that the tunnel opening had disappeared behind us.

  We were so close to the sea now that I could taste it…

  This would be an amazing time to enchant Salem with my morgen powers, except that he was impervious to them now.

  I’d have to use subtler methods. Except it was hard to be subtle when you were drowning in sensations.

  Even in the darkness, the moonlight streaming through the windows seemed too bright, and our quiet footfalls boomed in my ears. I was quickly remembering how it felt to be overwhelmed by magic—and why I used to drink so much to quiet the world down.

  Even inside the arcade hall, the scent of the sea hit me hard, seaweed and brine curling around me. I wanted to plunge into the ocean’s cool depths. I craved its darkness, the quiet under the water.

  I flashed Salem a dark smile, thrilled at how my body felt—like the sea was crashing through my muscles.

  Salem pushed through a door onto a wooden pier, and at that point, I knew just where we were. Brighton.

  Along with the brine, I caught the sugary scent of donuts in the air. I turned, my body wild.

  Below the pier, waves crashed against the pebbled sho
re. The sound was like my own heartbeat.

  As I walked along the pier, I kicked off my heels, walking over the boards barefoot. The sea spray dampened my face. Screw high heels. Why did I wear those things? I didn’t need to be taller.

  Ossian lifted his arms in the air. He still wasn’t wearing a shirt. What was it with fae males and not wearing shirts?

  “We’re home!” he shouted at the sea.

  I glanced at the ocean to the left of the pier, and the force of it hit me like a fist. All that power, all that life, glittering bright under the moonlight. I felt in tune with the distant sea turtles, sharks, tiny mollusks in shells drifting through the shadowy quiet… ice floes in the north… For a moment, dizziness whirled in my mind, and I had to steady myself, gripping the wooden railing. I took a deep breath, pulse racing.

  It’s too much… I was going to lose my damn mind.

  I closed my eyes, trying to ground myself by thinking of the steadiness of the wood beneath my feet. Slowly, I got some control again.

  But what I really wanted was something familiar. Someone familiar. A friend.

  I imagined myself sitting at home in the ol’ dirt hole with Gina, eating a cheap pizza. She’d demand pineapples on it, the maniac.

  Shit… Gina. I hadn’t thought about it until now, but Lyr was the one who’d arranged for her to stay at the Savoy. What if—what if he used her as leverage to get to me?

  I bit my lip. He wouldn’t do that, would he? I didn’t think he would…

  Suddenly, I had a desperate urge to talk to her.

  “Why do you look like you’re about to lose your lunch, Aenor of Meriadoc?” asked Salem.

  I turned to Ossian. “Do you have a mobile phone?”

  He stared at me. “You want to use a mobile phone now?”

  “I just need to call someone. One minute, tops. Just, like, a check-in.”

  “Who and why?” he asked.

  For crying out loud, I hated having to explain myself to him. “A human friend, and I just want to say hi and see how she is. And make sure she’s okay.”