Ascent

by Bethany Adams

  Dria stumbled to a halt, and even Fen had to pause at that. Fen glanced over his shoulder as Dria spun around, angry red rushing up her face. “What?”

  If Fen hadn’t been so near panic, the stunned look on his uncle’s face would have made him laugh. As it was, he could barely summon a grin as Aris spoke again. “Life magic can be difficult to handle during sex. Especially…especially when there is love involved. Selia and I have learned how to deal with it, but I thought it prudent to warn you that you’ll need to devise your own methods.”

  “I swear, Vek, if you’ve gotten me pregnant through my current enchantment, I will lightning bolt your balls,” Dria said, and somehow, Fen’s uncle went even paler than his normal white-as-fuck. “I don’t want children for another decade at the earliest. Possibly a couple of centuries.”

  Vek shook his head. “If a life mage can do that, why are fertility rates so low among Moranaians? We Unseelie are far more fertile, especially the Felshreh. Though in this case, it might not be to my advantage to be so…”

  “Lightning. To. The. Balls.”

  Dria’s glare was so fierce that Fen took a step to the side. He would hate to be his uncle right now, that was for sure. And it seemed that Aris agreed. “I detected no sign of pregnancy,” the mage said quickly. “Which is why I thought it prudent to tell you now. As to fertility rates… There are few with my talent, and we aren’t exactly eager to spend our time with couples having sex. The magic must be used immediately to be effective, and—”

  “As interesting is this is…” Fen dared to interrupt now that Dria no longer looked like she was going to incinerate anyone. “I have to go. You can discuss this without me.”

  “You’re right that we’ll be discussing this later,” Dria muttered, but she spun around and started back toward the door, a hint of a stomp to her step.

  They made good time to the magical lift Dria and Vek had installed to connect the floors that branched off the massive staircase circling the entire cavern. Fen gripped the stone railing as Dria activated the spell to carry them to the top and tried not to look over the side. It wasn’t that he was afraid of heights, exactly. It was just that he didn’t care to experience them. Especially not atop a stone platform held aloft by nothing but magic.

  Magic had a habit of blowing up in your face when you least expected it. Literally, as he had reason to know. When the Moranaians had interrupted the web of poisoned energy—part of Kien’s initial plan—the spell had backlashed into the last remaining crystal, and Fen had struggled to contain it. He’d wanted to destroy the damned thing, but by that point, he’d barely been able to control the surge of energy. Then Delbin had hurled a rock at Fen’s hand, pushing it against the crystal and shattering the spell in a massive explosion.

  Fen had never been that drained of energy, not even when he’d had to scrounge as a child.

  And in that moment, he’d known he was done. With Kien and the whole idiotic plan to rule humans. With foolish childhood rebellions and the subsequent bad choices. Too bad Kien hadn’t quite been done with him. Fen might have managed to escape after Delbin and Inona had captured the prince, but once Kien had freed himself and found his way back, he’d been more than happy to manipulate Fen into a position where he had no choice but to help the prince return through the portal to Moranaia. Maddy would have died otherwise, and Fen would never allow that.

  “Do you truly believe the situation with Anna is dire, Fen?” Dria asked as they stepped off the platform.

  Her words snapped him back to the present. Damn, she was even giving him that concerned grown-up look, the one meant to inspire teenagers to confess their every fear. He ground his teeth together, though he knew she intended no offense. “Maybe. Hopefully, I’m just overreacting.”

  Dria shrugged. “It will do no harm to leave now, especially if you text the information Vek needs to check on the human girl.”

  “Woman,” Fen said sharply.

  Opening the door to the portal room, Dria frowned over her shoulder. “What?”

  “We might seem like children to you at your age, but on this world, we are adults in our own right. God knows I haven’t been a kid for a long time.” Fen followed her in, barely able to resist slamming the door behind them. “Try to remember it.”

  Dria studied him. “I’ve done something to upset you. You’ve been strange around me lately, and this only proves what I’ve suspected. Perhaps you would prefer your uncle had not—”

  “I don’t give a damn that you’ve mated.” Fen glanced at his phone, and his heart leapt at the glaring lack of response from Anna. “And I like you fine. Look, can we talk about this later?”

  “So long as we do talk about it.”

  Fortunately, Dria didn’t wait for a response. Not that he had any illusions that she would forget about the conversation. No, his uncle’s mate was one of the most tenacious people Fen had ever met, and that was saying something. As she began the spell to open the portal back to Vek’s house, her forehead was still furrowed with a thoughtful frown.

  Ah, well. One problem at a time.

  A couple of steps and she would be in.

  Laughter echoed from the restaurant parking lot, but the sound barely registered over the slap of the waves against the stones edging the riverbank. Anna glanced back the way she’d come. The sidewalk was empty, and a few bordering trees blocked her view of the restaurant. She’d thought the trees on each side of the path would prevent her from seeing the river—instead, she’d found a break in the fence where a couple of boulders made a decorative seating area. An even clearer shot to the water.

  Dammit, where was Fen? Anna’s phone vibrated in her pocket, but she couldn’t make her hand take hold of it. Maybe he’d sent a message saying he wasn’t coming. Maybe he couldn’t. God knew she couldn’t force her eyes away from the river rippling such a short distance away.

  Enter now, Anna, and find your true heart.

  If she’d been able, she would have snorted. She was pretty sure her heart was that thing beating frantically inside her chest each time she eased closer to the water. The poor, confused organ obviously didn’t know what was going on any better than she did, either, because it tugged her in the most dangerous directions of late. What would the water do to clarify her feelings for Fen? Her uncertainty about her heritage? Her magic might rest in water, but liquid was hardly sentient.

  Was it?

  God, she had to know.

  Had. To. Know.

  Before she could stop herself, Anna stumbled down the slight incline and straight into the water. Cold. The shock of it soaked through her tennis shoes and wrapped around her feet, impeding movement until she found herself slipping the shoes off and chunking them back toward the shore where they splatted against the side of a boulder and rolled. She thought she heard a voice, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the bliss lapping around her legs, caressing her like a lover.

  Anna almost tugged off her shirt, but the call of the water was too strong to take the time. Instead, she plunged head first into the maelstrom and began to swim. Down. Ever down. She held her breath, afraid to test her lungs, but there was no way she could stop herself from heading toward the bottom.

  Something good was down there.

  Yes, the voice called. Come to me, and I will take you in. You will be mine.

  What?

  Anna slowed, peering through the murky water for the source of the words. She’d read what she could find about the fae Vek had claimed she descended from, and they had lived in lakes in Wales. Could some of her long-lost family have a home in the vast Tennessee River? Was such a thing possible? If so, there had to be more than one. This voice was male, but a female had called for her yesterday.

  Her lungs burned, and she swam harder toward…something.

  We shall be together forever, little love.

  Wait, forever?

  Fear surged through her, overriding even the call of the water. She had a mate—possibly two mates. Now th
ere was someone claiming they’d be together for eternity?

  Hell, no.

  The urge to suck in a breath filled her, and she began to claw toward the surface. She tried, at least.

  Take a breath. The water will not harm you.

  No. She couldn’t.

  But instinct overrode thought, and though she flailed against the action, she couldn’t stop herself from pulling in a mouthful of the muddy water. Anna’s hands went to her throat, and the river’s current tossed her helpless form closer toward the bottom as she resigned herself to drowning.

  Light glimmered, and pale kelp drifted in the murk.

  Kelp? Couldn’t be. No, it was hair.

  Anna blinked, trying to separate delusion from reality. But whatever it was drifted away. Maybe she was near death. Except… Her chest moved. She was breathing.

  Breathing water.

  Fen didn’t stop to plan—he kicked off his shoes and jumped in.

  Why hadn’t she turned when he called her name? He sucked in a breath, dove, and swam as though his life depended on it. Maybe it did. If he failed to protect Anna, he would let Maddy flay him at the first opportunity. There had to be torture equipment somewhere in the world.

  Fuck, the current was strong, and it was impossible to see in this mess. Too much damned mud.

  Mud?

  With a burst of power, Fen connected to the particles of earth filling the water around him and forced them aside. The water sloshed harder until he almost lost focus, but the sudden visibility was exactly what he’d needed. As fish darted away from the unusual disturbance, he saw hope.

  There—kicking feet. Anna.

  Fen swam harder despite the brutal river current and the pain in his lungs, and sure enough, he drew up next to the figure until Anna’s startled face came into view. Spots of darkness clouded his vision, and he began to lose his hold on the mud around them. Not much time to spare.

  In one desperate, quick motion, he tugged her close, said a prayer to any listening deity, and swam upward with all his might.

  There was nothing technically wrong with the little room at the top of the healer’s tower. In fact, Maddy had a feeling she could stare out the window at the beautiful forest for hours, watching the last of the gorgeous, vibrant leaves fall from the trees that surrounded the building. The bed was small but comfortable, and the chair beside the window cradled her delightfully. She no longer questioned her safety, not after Lial had taught her to control the magical lock that barred the door to anyone, including him.

  But she still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

  Any minute, Cora would return to show her the way to dinner. And while Maddy was undeniably nervous about dining with elven nobility—and even royalty—that wasn’t quite what twisted within her, either. This was different. Distant but somehow personal. Too bad she couldn’t use her phone. Then she could call both Anna and Fen to ensure they were well. She could check with Jase to see if there were problems at the shop. Or what if it was her parents?

  No, probably not. Her mother might be human, but her father was Sidhe. Maddy had made sure to tell him exactly where she’d gone, so if her mother was ill or injured, he would be able to find her. Unless he was hurt? It was far less likely but not impossible. But in that case, her mother would have contacted Anna, and Anna would have called Fen. She wasn’t totally cut off. Plenty of people knew how to find her.

  At the knock on the door, she flinched, then let out a nervous laugh. She’d worked herself right up, hadn’t she? It was only being in a new place. Everyone at home was fine. She would go have dinner with Cora, and everything would be okay.

  No worries here.

  Chapter 13

  Emerging from the depths of the river was a shock after she’d acclimated to being underwater.

  Anna flailed against Fen as her body resisted the sudden change, but his arms tightened as he tried to fight the river’s current. Too bad she was more hinderance than help. Her lungs burned as they had within the river, but for an opposite reason this time. Instinct drove her to bend over Fen’s arm as the water expelled from her lungs in a rush. Well, then. At least she hadn’t essentially vomited murky river water all over him. Small mercies.

  Now that she could breathe air again, her panic subsided, and she let herself drift with Fen as he treaded water. But before they could get far, a downed tree that hadn’t quite breached the surface blocked their path. The current shoved them into the vee between two branches. Instead of fighting, Anna sighed with relief. The obstruction would keep them from washing away before she got her bearings.

  She pulled back from Fen enough to tread water, one hand gripping the river-smoothed wood anchoring her side.

  “Anna?” Fen said.

  She glanced up into his worried face. “Fen.”

  “Are you okay?” He let out a snort. “Of course you’re not okay. You almost drowned. We need to get you to the hospital.”

  Anna smiled. “No.”

  “You spit out enough water to fill the damned aquarium.” Fen tugged her close enough for their lower bodies to brush and their kicking legs to tangle, though he didn’t seem to notice. “What were you thinking? I called your name, but you still jumped in like it was a fucking swim meet. I can’t believe—”

  “Fen.” She settled her free hand against his cheek, and he snapped his mouth shut. “I’m really okay. I…I guess I can breathe water.”

  His jaw muscle flexed beneath her hand. “You guess?”

  “Fine.” Anna pulled air into her lungs, almost like a dare. Smooth and easy, no hint of the burning pain she’d half-expected. “I can definitely breathe water. Then after we surfaced, it just…expelled itself. As you clearly saw. I don’t even feel a hint of it now.”

  Fen’s eyes narrowed, his gaze darting down to her chest as though he could see through to her lungs. Then his grip on her tightened, and she couldn’t help a small shriek as he lifted her slightly until he could press his ear against her sternum. If it hadn’t been so sweet, Anna would have laughed. He truly was worried about her health.

  He struggled to stay afloat, but he didn’t release her. Instead, he let her body slide back down along his, and a new awareness hit—one that bore little similarity to the refreshing cool of the water. Fen was no weightlifter, but his leanly muscled body was as hard as mountain stone. In more ways than one, she discovered as their lower bodies connected again.

  Heat flared within her, and she didn’t pull away. Was it the water that loosened her natural reserve? Anna wasn’t prudish, but it usually took her ages to get physically close to someone. She hadn’t even kissed Maddy until after their second official date.

  Then again, Anna had been the one who’d suggested the three of them attempt a relationship. What better time to test her chemistry with Fen than now, when they were both so close? Anna released the downed tree limb so she could slide her arms around Fen’s neck and then pressed herself more firmly against him. His breath caught, and the look he turned her way was amusingly surprised.

  “I’m really not sure you’re okay,” he said.

  Anna chuckled. God, he was adorable. “Why?”

  “The way you’re holding me.” His hands slid from her waist to her ribcage, but the touch didn’t feel more innocent. “Maybe you’re delirious.”

  If she was, she suddenly didn’t care.

  “Are you delirious, too?” Anna asked, wiggling her hips slightly against his.

  His cheeks reddened. “Sorry. I’m holding a wet, beautiful woman, so my body has its own ideas.”

  Unlike her, Fen wasn’t the quiet type. Why had he turned shy now? And how had a guy so easily flustered by an erection managed to get involved with some kind of weird magical gang? Both questions she would have to ask him when she didn’t have other things to think about. Like whether this spark between them had promise. Maybe Fen was a terrible kisser. Maybe they simply wouldn’t be good together regardless.

  “I really don’t mind
,” she whispered.

  Before she could second-guess herself, Anna brushed her mouth against his. Softly at first, prepared for him to pull away. But he didn’t. Instead, Fen crushed her close, one hand gripping her T-shirt between her shoulder blades and the other slipping down to grip her ass.

  He devoured her, and she let him.

  Fen forgot he was supposed to be treading water until he sank enough for the water to tap against the bottom of his jaw. He resumed kicking, but Anna broke away with a chuckle. “I guess I should have kissed you on land.”

  He anchored his arm around the tree limb so he wouldn’t sink again. “Not your fault I couldn’t remember what I was doing. Mostly not your fault, anyway.”

  “So have you kissed Maddy like that yet?” Anna asked. Though she smiled at him, panic had his feet kicking harder. “I’m guessing not, since she hasn’t mentioned it, but I’m curious.”

  Fen released her shirt and smoothed the fabric as best he could in the water. “Umm. No. Shit, is she going to be mad about this? I don’t want her to think we waited for her to leave.”

  Anna tapped her finger playfully against his chest. “Then we’ll both have to give her a kiss when she returns.”

  Honestly, he didn’t know what to say to that. He wanted to do that very thing, of course, but the entire situation felt so tenuous. How could he trust that two people would find him worthy of love? Not even his family believed in him that much. But what if it could work? He stared into Anna’s eyes, their kiss still heating her gaze, and for the first time, he let himself hope.

  Fen brushed a scraggly, wet strand of hair off Anna’s cheek and smiled. “Maybe we’ll do that.”

  Though her grin widened, Anna released her hold on him and drifted back. “Well, come on. Let’s get out of this water. Now that I know I can breathe in the river, it isn’t nearly as scary.”

  “You don’t think you’ll be tempted to disappear beneath the waves?”