by Donna Grant
Her mouth watered as she watched the muscles in his arms strain and bunch as he worked the metal with his hammer. His back and shoulders were dusted with a fine sheen of sweat from being near the heat of the kiln, and the firelight blazed across his skin, setting him afire in a red-orange glow.
She jerked her gaze away and turned back to the leather. She had just finished cutting out the strips, but she wasn’t ready to leave the chamber. She knew he didn’t wish to be disturbed, so she grabbed a few strips of discarded leather and lifted the dagger.
~ ~ ~
Lugus rotated his head to help work out the kinks in his neck. He yawned and set aside the metal. He had come farther than he had anticipated with the sword this day, but it was time he rested or he would make a mistake.
Thunder continued to roar outside as the rain beat a steady rhythm on the roof and walls of the cottage. His stomach growled, and he realized he had missed not only his morning meal, but most likely that of the noon as well.
It wasn’t until he turned to go into the kitchen and spotted Ahryn that he realized she was there. She had her head pillowed on her arm as she slept. He was loath to wake her, but he knew she was most likely as famished as he. He quickly washed away the grime and reached for his tunic.
He moved is hand to touch her shoulder, and that’s when he saw them. Small strips of leather that had been in a pile to throw out. She had used a dagger to carve out intricate designs, designs only found in the Realm of the Fae.
Lugus blinked, amazed at her ability. For a half a moment he considered keeping her there with him and having her design a few of the sheaths. Then he remembered who and what she was and who and what he was.
“Ahryn,” he called softly.
She jerked upright so fast she nearly came off the stool. It was only Lugus’ quick hands that caught her before she toppled off. He righted her as she yawned and wiped her hair from her face.
“Is it as late as it feels?” she asked sleepily.
For the first time in centuries, Lugus felt like smiling. “Hard to tell with the storm, though I suspect we worked clear through the noon meal.” “That would explain why I am so hungry.”
Lugus left her to venture into the kitchen where he set about making their meal. Cooking had always been woman’s work even in his realm, but it was another chore he hadn’t minded learning. It had taken some time before he had learned enough to make an edible meal. For a time he had thought he might starve to death his meals had been so dreadful.
With the storm he hadn’t been able to catch any fish, so he heated the soup he had fixed the day before. They ate in silence, yet Lugus could feel her anxiety of the storm ending. For with the end of the storm came Marcus.
Lugus had kept himself detached from everyone and nearly everything since he had become mortal. To be honest, he hadn’t expected to live as long as he had. Many times he would pray for death, and a few times he even demanded it. But the heavens had been silent. Until today he had lived each day on its own, never expecting or hoping for anything.
And now, a Fae sat at his table asking for his help. At one time he would have jumped to aid her, thinking it might gain his entrance into the Realm of the Fae.
He wasn’t that same foolish man.
Despite telling himself that he wouldn’t and couldn’t help her, she was in dire need of assistance. He knew firsthand how it was to live on a realm he had no desire to be on and unable to return to his own. He had lost count of the millennia he had spent in the Realm of Shadows. It hadn’t been a pleasant place. Even now nightmares would plague him.
He glanced up to see her gaze lowered to the table and her shoulders hunched. She knew her time was short, and she was living each heartbeat with all her hope. Lugus then understood what he had to do.
“It is good,” she said.
He gave her a nod and watched as she finished her bowl. “I’m sorry I couldn’t provide more.”
“Don’t apologize. It was a very nice meal. I thank you for sharing it with me,” she said with a smile.
Lugus rose and took her bowl. “You may take my bed,” he said as he pointed to the left. “I plan to spend more time working on the sword.”
“Thank you,” she said and turned toward the bed.
He waited until she had pulled the cloth closed over the doorway before he walked into his back chamber. For long moments he stared into the kiln. When he had gathered as much courage as he could, he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.
Though he was mortal and considered a human, the Fae ways had not left him. He called to his brother, Theron, using the Fae language. When Theron didn’t answer or appear, Lugus then called more urgently, letting Theron know that there was a Fae trapped on Earth.
Still Theron didn’t answer.
Lugus sank onto his stool. He had been afraid Theron would ignore any correspondence from him, which was why Lugus hadn’t told Ahryn what he had planned. He didn’t want her hopes dashed if he had failed. It was better if she thought he didn’t care enough to try.
He stared at the metal he had started to form into the shape of the sword. His work helped keep the ugly thoughts out of his mind. He rose and grasped the metal and hammer as he began to pound.
~ ~ ~
“You aren’t going to answer him?” Rufina asked.
Theron squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head as Lugus’ voice reverberated around their bedchamber like a tolling bell. He leaned forward in the chair and with his elbows braced on his legs, dropped his head into his hands. “You know I cannot.”
“He hasn’t called to you or any other Fae in the five years he has been on the Earth realm. He wouldn’t be calling to you if it wasn’t important,” his wife said earnestly.
“I cannot,” he repeated.
She rose and backed away from him. “Regardless of where he is, he is still your brother and part of this family.”
Theron sighed as he sat up and looked at his beautiful queen. She had been intended for Lugus, who, as eldest, had been in line for the throne. Theron thanked the heavens each day that he had Rufina by his side.
“You know what he did,” Theron shouted over the din of Lugus’ voice.
And just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped.
Theron looked around his chamber. “Why did he stop?”
“Because he is a proud man who has suffered more than any man, Fae or human, should. He has endured the greatest of trials and conquered power that would have killed me or you.”
“And nearly destroyed our realm and Earth,” Theron pointed out.
Rufina sighed and shook her head sadly, her long white blonde hair gently moving around her. “I think you have made a mistake, my love.”
“I don’t think I have,” he said and prayed he was correct. “If he hadn’t closed his mind off to us, we would be able to decipher if his call was genuine or not.”
Rufina cocked up a perfectly arched brow. “I’ve never known you to take the easy road, Theron. Why is it you always do that with Lugus?”
“I don’t trust him.”
“Then go have a look in the village he lives near. You will be able to find out all you need very quickly.”
Theron considered her suggestion but wasn’t comfortable spying on his brother. Lugus had made him swear that he would not interfere in his life on Earth even the smallest bit. He had wanted to make it on his own, and as far as Theron knew, he had.
But why the sudden call? Could he be in trouble? If Theron knew his brother at all, he knew Lugus would rather die than ask for help for himself. But if it involved someone else, he just might send the call.
“Stop your worrying,” Rufina said as she came to stand in front of him. “I’ve other things I would like to occupy your mind with.”
Theron smiled. “And what might that be?”
“This,” she said and dropped her silver robe to display her naked body.
He reached out and pulled her against him, her breasts even with his face. “Ah,
a feast,” he mumbled just before he took a hard nipple into his mouth.
Chapter Four
No matter how Ahryn tried, she couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t the banging of Lugus in his forge. It was the knowledge that her last thread of hope had slipped through her fingers. Because of her curiosity, she would be enslaved on Earth. Forever.
She knew without trying that she would never convince Lugus to take her to a gateway between the worlds. She didn’t even know if there was one close by. It was something all Fae were taught to discover before ever visiting a realm, yet she had let her own confidence hinder her.
With an arm slung across her forehead and the other creasing her skirt, Ahryn found her mind wandering to Lugus. She had bluffed her way into his cottage. All she remembered was the whispers that he had been expelled from the Realm of the Fae again. Again. That still baffled her. Once a Fae was expelled, he was never allowed to return. So, how had he managed to return? And just what had he done to be expelled from the realm a second time?
Could he have something to do with the entire imprisonment of the Fae realm?
She had seen his face as she spoke of the destruction of the Death Dragons. Was it the pain of knowing the city he had been born and raised in had nearly been destroyed? Or was it the pain of someone who had been responsible?
Her mind raced with possibilities. Lugus might be a man who liked his privacy, but he hadn’t turned her out. Her instincts had never led her astray before, and she refused to believe they had done so now.
She closed her eyes and envisioned Lugus as he had been earlier--shirtless and sweaty as he pounded his hammer into the metal, working it into a shape only he himself saw as his muscles flexed and glistened in the fire’s glow.
Had it been any other situation, she would have laughed at finally finding a man that interested her.
She sat up and ran her finger over the hated bracelet. Lugus had tried every tool he had to unlock the bracelet and nothing short of cutting her hand off would free her. If she wasn’t such a coward, she would cut it off.
The rhythmic pounding of Lugus’ hammer lulled her. She laid down and soon found her lids growing heavy.
~ ~ ~
His body was on fire. His need was so fierce it consumed him. He needed to taste her, feel her silken flesh beneath his hands. Her pale hair cascaded around him as she moved to straddle his hips.
Lugus nearly spilled his seed right then. How many nights had he dreamed of having her as she was now? How many days had he plotted to have her as his own? Now she was finally his.
And he would claim her.
He fisted his hands in her long hair and brought her face closer to his. He wanted to look into her eyes as he plunged his rod deep inside of her.
Her soft breasts pressed against his chest and she moaned softly as she moved her hips against his hardness. Lugus silently cursed. He had waited too long and planned too well for anything to go wrong now. He had to stay in control.
He raised his eyes and stared into her Druid green eyes as he moved his hips until the tip of him entered her. She was hot and slick and he easily slid into her tight sheath.
Elation poured through him to finally claim Moira as his own. He closed his eyes and reveled in the feel of her around him. He began to move inside of her, pumping faster, harder. He felt her clench around him as she screamed his name. Still he thrust within her until he felt his own climax building.
His hands roamed down her sleek back to her narrow waist. He opened his eyes for he wanted to stare into her beautiful green eyes as he reached his own orgasm. Just as he was about to spill his seed he found himself staring into mystical blue eyes.
Fae eyes.
Lugus came awake with a start. With his heart racing and his breathing ragged, he glanced around his forge. The dream had been so real he could still feel and taste Moira. And it had been Moira, at least to start with, but there was no denying the face at the end had been Ahryn.
It had to be because she was in his home and he had tried to contact Theron. At least that’s what he told himself.
The fire still blazed in the forge, which meant he had slept for only moments instead of hours. He rose and walked to the small window in the forge and opened the shutters. The rain still came down in a vicious pour, but the lightening had moved on, though he could still hear the rumble of thunder over the rain.
It was only hours from dawn. Lugus knew he would get precious little work done on the sword, so he decided to make his way to the cliff and wait out the sunrise in the rain. As he turned away from the window, something on the water caught his attention. He leaned forward and peered through the rain to see four large boats coming toward his isle.
“Marcus,” he whispered as he closed the shutters and hurried to his room to wake Ahryn.
Only she wasn’t there.
Lugus stared at the empty bed before he walked to it and felt the covers. It was still warm, so she hadn’t gone far. He ran back to his forge and grabbed his favorite sword and several daggers as he raced from the back of the cottage. She had told him she had come to the island with a boat of her own. Since it wasn’t docked with his, she must have landed at the back of the isle behind the cliff where the water was the most dangerous.
He lengthened his strides as he raced from the cottage to the small, nearly hidden, path that led around the cliff all the while placing the daggers and sword on his body. The rain had already plastered his clothes to his body and his hair to his face, but he never slowed.
His foot slipped on the small rocks that lined the isle as he worked his way around the cliff. The rocks bit and cut into his hands as he walked around the tight corner. And then he saw her.
The wind hampered her ability to move as it pulled and yanked at her thick, heavy skirts. But it was just the advantage he needed to catch up with her.
To his utter shock, he saw her trying in vain to push her small skiff out into the turbulent waters. She was trying to leave without Marcus finding her, which meant she must have seen the boats just as he had. Since she hadn’t bothered to tell him, he knew she was leaving to protect him.
Which left him with one choice.
“What are you doing?” he asked as he stopped beside her.
She jerked around, and the wind whipped her hair into her eyes. She clawed at the long length and stared aghast at him. “How did you know where I was?”
“It’s my isle. Now answer me,” he demanded over the rain and wind.
She glanced away. “I saw them coming. There is nothing more you can do for me. I had already decided to leave this morning anyway. Marcus arriving earlier just spurred me to move more quickly.”
“Where do you think you will go?”
She shrugged. “I have to find a gateway. I can’t do that if Marcus has me chained to him.”
Lugus looked over his shoulder. They had a little time before Marcus and his men found the trail around the cliff. He turned back to Ahryn. “We have to move quickly.”
“We?” she asked, trying to hide the hope in her eyes.
“Aye, now come on.”
He waded out into the water and then turned to find her still pushing the skiff. “Ahryn,” he called.
She raised her gaze to him. “Aren’t we using the skiff?”
“They’ll catch us. We need to go undetected.”
She looked at the turbulent sea and slowly made her way to him. “I won’t make it with this heavy gown.”
Lugus pulled a dagger from his waist and reached for the neck of her gown. He heard her gasp as he sliced open her gown and pulled it from her body. Without looking at her, he turned and hid the ruined gown between two rocks before sheathing the dagger. When he turned back around Ahryn was already neck deep in the water.
He dove into the water and quickly caught up with her. The current was swift and strong, and Lugus knew they would have to swim hard and fast to get to the shores of Scotland without Marcus finding them.
They were half way to the mai
nland when he turned to look over his shoulder to check on Ahryn. She had gotten farther and farther behind him, and he could see that she was fast losing what little strength she had. With a curse, Lugus turned around and swam to her. He had just reached her when she went under the water.
He dove under after her and brought her to the surface. He held her back against his chest as he swam backwards to the shore.
“Lugus,” he heard her say over the rain.
And then he saw it. His home, all his belongings and everything he had called his, was ablaze. He quickly looked away and swam even harder to the shore. His time there had ended. He would have to find another place to make his home. If he survived the swim to the mainland.
Ahryn began to shake in his arms. The cold sea water had finally penetrated her Fae skin. He had to get her out of the water soon. He had no idea how long they had been swimming, but it seemed the mainland had not gotten any closer. His worry then grew that he wouldn’t be able to make it to shore. He had only swum the distance three times, and those times had not been in the middle of a storm.
When his feet finally struck the bottom he got a surge of renewed strength that managed to get them both to shore. He pulled Ahryn out of the water onto the rocky shore and collapsed on top of her to give her some of his heat.
“So cold,” she said, her teeth chattering.
His chest burned and his arms ached, but Lugus climbed to his feet and lifted Ahryn in his arms. They had to get out of their wet clothing and find a place to hide before Marcus spotted them.
The first rays of sunlight filtered over the horizon as Lugus made his way to Jonathon’s cottage. He was the only person who would help him, but Lugus hated to put him and his family in danger. Instead of waking them, he sat Ahryn down at the back of the cottage and slowly made his way to the front.
