by KJ Baker
We came down hard, Raven rolling so that I ended up on top of him. The smell of grass and pine needles suddenly filled my nostrils and a breeze tugged at my hair. I looked up, expecting to see bullets flying straight at me.
But we weren’t in the museum anymore. Instead, we were lying on the bank of an oval-shaped lake with pine trees reaching almost to the water’s edge. Of the cops, there was no sign.
I sucked in deep breaths until the nausea abated. Only then did I register the fact that I was lying on top of Raven. His strong arms were tight around me, holding me close, and my palms rested on his hard, muscular chest.
Memories came crashing in: Blond’s body lying on the floor, cops pointing a gun right at me. I scrambled up and backed away.
“Where...where are we?” I stammered.
Raven rose. “Several miles from where we were. They won’t find us here.”
The lake filled a depression at the summit of a hill. Below our position, the wooded slopes of the valley spread out and the town glinted in the sunlight in the valley bottom several miles away. I swallowed. Somewhere down there, the cops were probably already out searching for us.
“Asha,” Raven said. “We need to talk.”
When I didn’t answer he took a step towards me, although he kept a good distance between us. “Asha. Look at me.”
I turned, but I didn’t look at him, staring resolutely at the ground. A host of emotions churned through me. A host of thoughts all tumbling one over the other. Do you trust me? Raven had asked those words and I’d said yes. But now I wasn’t so sure.
Blond’s words echoed in my mind. The mighty King Arion, Lord of the Shadow Court.
Could it be true?
Raven stepped closer, but I held out a hand to stop him. He halted. “Asha?” He said my name softly, like a caress.
I shook my head. “No. Don’t say anything.” I needed a moment to get my thoughts together.
Finally, I looked up at him. “Raven, why did Blond call you king?”
Chapter 9
RAVEN
I knew the question was coming. I’d known it since the moment Shezl had spoken my true name back at the museum, but it still hit me like a punch to the stomach. Asha watched me with a mixture of hurt and anger in her beautiful eyes. She was withdrawing from me. I could see her pulling back, forming a shell around herself.
I couldn’t blame her. She had every right to feel hurt and angry. After all, I’d lied to her from the start.
Yet what choice did I have? I had never intended to drag her into my mess of a life. Fates help me, I never intended to feel this way about her—
I ran a hand through my hair. Sucked in a deep breath. Met her gaze.
“All right. You want the truth? My name is Arion Storm, Lord of the Ravenhold, king of the Shadow Court of the Seelie Fae.”
She stared at me, her mouth dropping open. “King Arion?” she whispered, shaking her head as if to deny my words. “But you said you were called Raven.”
“I am. I am a soldier as well as a ruler. Raven is my combat name when I’m in the field.”
She said nothing, processing my words. Emotions flashed through her eyes in quick succession: disbelief, fear, hurt.
“You’re a king?” she breathed at last. “As in a ruler? Leader? With palaces and courtiers and carriages and all that?”
I nodded reluctantly. “Yes. All of that. My father passed into the Twilight Land seven hundred and sixty-two years ago. Since that time I have ruled the Shadow Court.” I dragged a hand through my hair, frustration bubbling inside. “What does it matter, anyway?”
Asha stared at me incredulously. “What does it matter? Are you kidding me? It matters because you’re a damned liar! It matters because you’ve wrecked my life!”
Her fists clenched and tears gathered in her eyes, tears of anger or distress. I couldn’t tell. Maybe both.
“When this is all over you’ll go back to your life, to your homeland with your palaces and your courtiers and god-alone-knows what else. But me?” she said. “Thanks to you I’m wanted by the cops—probably for murder. What do I have left? Nothing, that’s what! So yeah, it matters, Raven!”
She fell silent, her chest heaving with emotion. I said nothing but her words slashed at me like shards of glass. She was right. Fates help me, she was right. How could I have been so callous? Had I seen her as an insignificant mortal whose life was worth nothing compared to my mission? Was I as bad as the Unseelie after all?
No. Never that. And she was not insignificant. Not to me.
The expression of half-fury, half-anguish on her face twisted me up inside. My fingers itched to touch her skin, my arms ached to reach out and fold her into an embrace. But that was me being selfish again, listening only to my own desires.
You’ve wrecked my life.
“Okay,” I breathed. “You’re right.” I spread my hands to either side. “I’m sorry. I should have told you the truth from the start. But I will fix all of this, I give you my word.”
“Fix it? How?”
By taking you with me, the thought flared in my mind. By never leaving your side.
But I knew that was impossible.
“I’ll repair your shop,” I said at last. “Give you enough money to start again. Once I’ve caught the remaining Galadri, you can go back to your life. And I’ll sort it with the cops so they don’t come after you.”
Her nostrils flared. “That’s your answer? You’d dump me and then disappear? Jeez, Raven, you’re an asshole!”
My own anger flared. “I can’t win!” I growled. “You accuse me of wrecking your life so I offer to fix it! What more do you want from me?”
She stared at me for a long moment. “You really don’t get it do you?” She turned and began walking away. I went after her, grabbing her arm.
“Asha, wait—”
She whirled, eyes blazing, hand raised, and I caught her wrist just before she slapped me. As my skin touched hers, her emotions exploded right through me: anger, fear, hurt and yes, buried beneath all the rest, desire.
We both froze. Asha’s eyes found mine. They were so deep I was sure I would drown in them. Did she have any idea of her beauty? How the sight of her stirred my blood like no other had in all my long years of life? Was this how it was supposed to be? Was this how it was supposed to feel when you found your—
I stopped the thought. In truth, I had no idea. This was all new to me. All I knew was that this was dangerous. I should not be feeling this way, especially not about a mortal. I had responsibilities to my people, my kingdom. I should do what I’d promised her: take her back to her shop and then walk away, try to forget that I had ever met Asha Grant.
But I could not. I knew that now. In this moment, with Asha staring at me with her gold-flecked eyes, her body only inches from my own, only one thing mattered.
Her.
ASHA
I could barely breathe. Some deep part of me was aware that my heart was still beating, that blood still pumped through my veins, but the rest of me seemed frozen, as if I was suspended in time. All I could see was Raven watching me. All I could feel was his grip around my wrist.
I was still furious. God, I was furious! But not for the reasons he suspected. Not because he’d lied to me, although that still stung. No, I was furious because he dared to suggest that he could take me back to my old life. That he could leave me behind and I would return to what I was before I’d met him, to a life of antiques and TV dinners and an empty apartment. Already that life seemed like it had happened to someone else. It had faded like an old black-and-white photograph.
Raven wanted me to go back to that? Seriously? So yes, I was furious. Furious and terrified. But right now, the dominant sensation I felt was desire.
I cleared my throat, forcing out words. “Are you using your glamor on me?” What other explanation could there be for how I reacted to this man? This man who I’d only known for a few days and who’d torn my life into pieces? This man who wasn
’t even human?
Hurt flashed in his eyes. “No,” he said softly. “I’m not using glamor on you. I would never, will never, use any of my powers against you.”
I wanted to believe him, I really did. But after everything that had happened...
“Do you swear?”
“I swear.”
He took a step closer. His hand slid up my arm to my shoulder. His other hand came up to cup my face. He was so close I could smell him, that scent of sandalwood that was so uniquely him.
Then he bent down and kissed me.
The touch of his lips brought my senses roaring to life. With a moan, I found myself kissing him back, my lips sliding across his, my arms slipping around his neck. His hands swept down to the small of my back and he yanked me against him, my breasts crushed between us. His kiss became hard and insistent, his tongue forcing my lips apart and slipping into my mouth.
A hot ache lit between my legs, coiling up through my stomach, and I realized I wanted him. God, I wanted this man! I wanted him like I’d never wanted anything in my life.
And I knew he wanted me too.
That tingling awareness I had of him told me as much, but if I needed confirmation, the hard bulge that pressed against my stomach gave me that. My knees went weak at the feel of it and I forgot everything else: my anger at him, the danger we were in, the urgency of our mission.
But Raven did not forget.
He broke the kiss much sooner than I wanted. He gazed down at me, panting slightly, his eyes gone dark with lust.
“This is not a good idea,” he breathed. “They could be tracking us right now.”
I took a deep breath, running a hand through my hair. It took several breaths before my heartbeat calmed enough to let me speak.
“You’re right.”
I stalked off a few paces and turned to gaze down at the town. Were the cops down there searching for us right now? We had to get out of here. Anger at Raven still boiled through my veins. Desire for Raven still swirled through my blood. I could make no sense of any of these conflicting emotions. Wrapping my arms around myself, I breathed deeply, trying to get a hold of myself.
“Asha?” he said softly behind me. “We have to go. It’s not safe here.”
I turned to face him. “We?” I said, bitterness in my voice. “I thought you wanted to get rid of me. To send me back to my shop.”
“That is not what I said!” he growled. “You’re twisting my words.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Ah! Damn it! Can we talk about this later? When we’re safely away from here?”
I nodded. That was fine by me. I didn’t want to think about any of this shit just now. Keep moving, Asha. One thing at a time. “Fine. Where do we go?”
“That’s the problem,” he replied. “We’ve lost the map, and the Galadri’s trail.”
I cocked my head. “Actually, that’s not entirely true.”
I dug into my pocket, pulling out my cell phone. I selected the picture gallery and held the screen up for him to see. “We haven’t lost the map. I took pictures of it whilst you and Blond were fighting. We might not have the original but we have a copy. I reckon that’s just as good, don’t you? So how about we get on and find this thing?”
I turned around and walked away, cutting off his reply.
It took an hour to hike down the hill. All that time we walked in uncomfortable silence. Raven went ahead of me, scouting the route, eyes constantly scanning for signs of danger. He left barely a sign of his passing, not a broken branch nor a footprint nor any trace that he’d been there. He moved as swiftly and silently as a shadow.
I, on the other hand, blundered along behind him as best I could, trying to keep up, determined not to fall behind or ask for help. After what had happened on the hilltop I’d be damned if I’d ask for anything from him ever again.
I still didn’t know what to make of it. I was angry that he’d lied to me. I was hurt that he’d thought of leaving me behind. But beneath all that was the seething desire I had for him, bubbling just below the surface. I knew that if he touched me again, it would come racing to the surface. That scared me more than anything.
So I said nothing, grateful his attention was elsewhere, as we hiked downhill and eventually met the road leading into town. At its edge, we hunkered down behind some bushes, keeping out of sight.
“Wait here,” Raven said. “I’ll go get the car. I won’t be long.”
He made to leave and I automatically grabbed his wrist to stop him. It was the wrong thing to do. As I touched him, my skin tingled with something like electricity and I snatched my hand away as though I’d been burned. Raven glanced at me sharply, something smouldering deep within his eyes.
The moment on the hilltop came back to me: Raven’s lips on mine, sizzling heat rushing through me as his hands touched my body...
“Right,” I said quickly, dousing the memory before it could destroy my resolve. “I’ll wait here.”
He looked as if he wanted to say something. His lips parted but then he merely nodded and disappeared through the screen of bushes.
I counted to a hundred before I moved. Then I got up from my hiding place, pushed through the bushes, and came out at the roadside. A quick glance in both directions showed no sign of Raven.
My heart began to pound. I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit there, waiting. Restless energy filled me, demanding I take action, demanding I make a choice. If I turned right, back towards town, I could follow Raven. But if I turned left I would be walking away from him, leaving behind this mad quest and everything it had cost me and returning to some semblance of normal life.
I bit my lip, looking first right, then left. I instinctively knew that this was my last chance. My last chance to go home. To go back to my shop. To go back to what I was before.
Indecision warred within me. Anger and desire pulled me in two different directions. In the end, anger—and the few shreds of common sense I had left—won. I turned left and began hurrying along the road away from town.
Away from him.
I would thumb a lift, go home and see Gracie. I doubted she would believe me when I told her everything that had happened but she was my best friend and always had a way of making things better.
I’d gone perhaps half a mile when I heard a vehicle approaching from behind. I turned and waited, holding out my hand to thumb a lift. The vehicle slowed and then came to a stop by my side. I recognised the E-Type jaguar instantly, the driver a second later.
Of course it was him. Somehow I had known it would be.
I hated the way my heart leapt as he pulled up and got out of the car. I hated the way heat rushed into my face as he fixed me with those lilac eyes of his. Hated and loved it at the same time.
“Asha?” Raven said. “What are you doing?”
I hugged my arms around myself. “What’s it look like? I’m going home.”
The expression that crossed his face was utterly unexpected. It looked like anguish. He winced as if in sudden pain and then looked away, pressing the heel of one hand against his forehead.
“Is this about what happened on the hilltop?”
“No. Yes. Oh, I don’t know! This is just crazy, Raven!”
He studied me in silence. A tiny vein throbbed in his temple and he seemed to be struggling with himself. “I know,” he said at last. “You shouldn’t have been pulled into this. I’m sorry, Asha.” He drew in a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. “If you want me to, I’ll take you home right now. Just say the word.”
I don’t want to go home, the thought bloomed in my head. I want you. I want you to kiss me like you did earlier. I want to feel your arms around me, I want to—
I spun away from him, unable to bear the intensity of his gaze or the strength of the emotions running through me. I squeezed my eyes closed, willing my racing heart to slow.
“Any problems getting the car back?” I asked, changing the subject.
“No,” he said. “I used my glamor. The
y didn’t even see me although the place is crawling with cops. Asha, we need to get going. They could come this way any moment. You need to make your choice.”
Your choice. Just like that. As if it was that easy. As if anything had been easy since the moment I met him.
I turned back to face him. Go home, a voice whispered in my head. Go with Raven, whispered another.
“What do you want me to do?” I asked.
That look flashed across his face again, a mixture of anguish and longing. He looked quickly away, staring down the road towards town, his eyes unfocussed.
“Damn it,” he breathed. “Don’t do this to me.”
“Do what?”
“Make me say it.”
“Say what, Raven? What is it you don’t want me to know?”
His eyes snapped to mine and they burned with such ferocity that I found myself backing off a step. “That I want you with me! That the thought of leaving you behind makes me sick to my stomach! Fates take it, Asha, I’m a soldier! I’m supposed to be cold, logical dispassionate. I’m supposed to assess the most efficient way of completing my mission and keep emotion out of it. But curse me if I can do any of that when it comes to you! So what do I want you to do? I want you to stay with me, Asha. Don’t you understand that you’re my—”
He stopped abruptly, as if he’d said more than he intended, but it was enough. I want you with me. Those words blazed through my mind. I want you to stay with me.
My anger, my hurt, my resolve to leave him behind, evaporated. My heart surged with joy so strong that for a moment I felt giddy. I leaned on the car to steady myself and took a deep breath to clear my head. In that instant, my choice was made.
“Well then,” I said, raising my head to look at him and making my voice as steady as I could manage. “I guess we’d better get going then, hadn’t we? We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. We need to decipher that Atlas so we need to find a library. Come on, before the cops figure out where we are.”
Before I could change my mind, I climbed into the car.
