by Kim Loraine
Even in the dim light, I can make out the circle of waist high stones surrounding me. I start toward one of the open spaces between two stones, determined to get away but freeze as a golden glow rises from my feet. The ball of light continues up until it hangs like a spotlight above me. Before I can take another step, a tall, gorgeous woman steps into the circle with me. Her hair flows behind her like she’s submerged in water, defying the laws of gravity. The same golden hued light that floated from my feet emanates from her body. I can’t speak. My heart is hammering against my chest and I honestly think I might pass out.
“Do not fear me, young one. I will not harm you.” Her voice is heavy, soothing, and I want to believe her.
“What … who are you?” I manage to push through the lump in my throat and feel the fear ebb out of me.
“I am Saskia, the lady of air and water.”
My mind whirls. Lady of air and water? What is that supposed to mean?
“Are you a … ghost?” I feel stupid as soon as the words leave my mouth. Her answering smile makes me sure I’m right to feel this way.
“No, child. I am of the fair folk. I am a faerie. As are you.”
Me? This lady is crazy. Without warning, she grasps my hand and a light envelops me. I shut my eyes as an intense tickling sensation takes hold in my belly.
“Open your eyes. We have arrived.”
Cautiously, I open my eyes. This just gets weirder and weirder. I’m standing in the middle of what can only be described as a throne room. Four grand chairs sit at the head of the room, all with the same intricate carvings on them.
“I’ve seen these before,” I say, reaching out to run my fingers along the wood. “I dreamed them.”
Saskia smiles and strokes a pale hand over my hair. “This is home, Maeve. This is where you belong.”
My stomach clenches. “No. I belong with my parents.”
She shakes her head, a pitying look on her face. “Child, your true parents are long dead. You are a child of the fae. A changeling, meant to live in the human world until your time came. The time is now.”
My breaths come fast as I begin to come to grips with the fact that I am not dreaming. “You’re insane. Faeries aren’t real.”
Her lips pull down into a frown, but only for a moment. “It’s proof you need, and proof you’ll get.” Closing her eyes, she exhales and flicks a hand at me.
That same tickling takes hold in my belly but this time, I am covered in a haze of gold dust that swirls the movement of her hands. As the dust settles, I see a deep green gown in place of the jeans and top I’d been wearing. The heavy fabric rustles under my fingers.
“How?” I ask.
“I will teach you. Welcome home, niece. Our people have been waiting for their queen to return these last twenty-one years.”
I vaguely recall the overwhelming feeling of my knees buckling and the sound of my heavy skirt as it crumpled along with my body to the floor. My head feels foggy, like I’m stuck in an old movie, everything slightly hazy around the edges.
Where am I? Everything smells of earth and something … else. Something faintly, other.
A warm hand grips mine as I shift and move to sit up, making me tense.
“There she is. Did you know you snore?” My heart jumps into my throat at the sound of Finn’s voice. I must be dreaming, hallucinating. There’s no way Finn could be here. “Come on, wake up.”
His voice soothes me and I hold on to the hope that this whole thing has been a dream. Finally, I pry my eyes open, sure he will be gone when I let go of the dream. Instead, I see his familiar face, tawny hair, bronzed skin, impossibly bright green eyes. For a moment I forget everything Saskia told me. I forget I’m some kind of faerie queen, that I’ve been taken from the only home I knew, that my parents aren’t my parents. I forget, until I look around the room.
Everything is illuminated somehow, although I see no light fixtures, no candles, nothing that would cast the golden glow around the room. I stare at the four walls surrounding me. Only an enormous gilt door adorns the room, no tapestries, pictures, paintings, decorate the room. Honestly, it doesn’t need decoration. The walls are made of tree roots, moss, and stone, a beautiful combination of shades of brown, gray, and green. No wonder it smells like this in here.
Finn coughs lightly and smiles at me, bringing my attention back to him. I’m not alone in this strange place. With a crushing weight, the gravity of his presence hits me. If he’s here, that means he’s been kidnapped too.
“Oh, God, Finn. They got you, too?”
A curious smile flits across his face. “It’s all right, Maeve. No one got me. You finally came home, so now we can, too.”
I stare at him, waiting for him to start laughing, tell me what a gullible sucker I am, anything to make things normal. When he just keeps staring at me with that gentle smile, I start to panic.
“Finn? Why are you so calm? We’ve been kidnapped by a crazy witch who thinks she’s my aunt. She is delusional. She thinks I’m a … a faerie.”
He nods. As I watch, his skin takes on a faint golden hue… no, not a hue, a glow. “You are a faerie. So am I.”
I close my eyes and start trying to slow my erratically beating heart. “What?” I manage to ask as I open my eyes again. He’s still glowing.
“I was assigned the position of your royal guard.”
My eyebrows pull together in the frown mom always said would give me wrinkles. “You’re not old enough to have known me when I was born.”
He lets out a small chuckle and shakes his head. “I’m the same physical age I was when we gave you to the white lady.”
I don’t understand what he’s saying. How can that be true? “You’re lying.”
Shaking his head, he takes my hand and that same spark that’s always been there between us reignites. “I was twenty-three human years old when Jensen and I took you to her. She stopped our age progression to ensure we’d stay strong and sharp.”
My stomach turns to stone and I pull away. “Wait. You and Jensen. You knew about this and didn't tell me?”
His gaze drops to the floor and I know I’m right. “She sent us to you when your powers started to…manifest in the human world.”
Jensen. My handsome protector. I’m drawn to him even though he keeps himself at a distance. But now I understand why. He was doing what he does best. Protecting me—protecting my heart.
This is too much. Finn is a glowing faerie who is actually twenty-three years older than me. Looking at him now, I see the faint lines, the maturity in his eyes, the broadness of his shoulders which is only cultivated by a man growing into his frame. He’s lost all traces of boyishness. This Finn is all man. Desire curls in me at the thought, but I push it away. He’s been my friend and nothing more for the last year—until last night.
“Maeve, please. You have to understand. Jensen and I…we weren’t allowed to share any of this with you. It would have put you at risk.”
“At risk? I’ve been kidnapped by faeries. I think this is a pretty big risk right here. I have no idea what I am, what I can do. God, Finn. I thought I was in love with you and instead, you were forced to be with me for the last year.”
My words hang in the air between us. Finn slides his fingers over mine and leans in. “You’re in love with me?”
Closing my eyes, I sigh. “I thought I was. There’s a big difference. You lied to me for a year. How can I be in love with someone who lied about who he was?”
“Technically I didn’t lie. I omitted.”
“Same difference.”
“But we’re the same. You, me, Jensen. You’ll never find another more devoted than I am.”
“Because you have to be.”
He threads our fingers again. “Because I want to be. Because I’m supposed to be.”
Our eyes lock and I see the man I’d fallen for, the man I’d been willing to give my virginity to just hours earlier. “Finn—“
He stops me, closing his mouth over
mine and sending a wave of need crashing into me. I can hold on to this. Right now, Finn is the one thing tethering me to my old life, he’s the man I’ve fallen for, my trusted friend, and apparently, my royal guard. He won’t let anything happen to me. His fingers slide over my arms and up into my hair, tangling in the mass of waves before he scoots closer and presses me back until I’m lying against the mattress.
“I’ve wanted you for too long, my queen.” His voice is husky and dark. A sexy rasp that sends tingles over my entire body.
“You could’ve had me. All you had to do was ask.” Cupping his jaw, I take in his features and all the love I’d been saving comes rushing to the surface.
With a roll of his hips, he shows me exactly how he feels. His hard length rubs between my legs and makes me gasp. God, he’s large. Not that I have anything to compare it to. “Can I have you, Queen Maeve? Can I be yours?”
My heart flutters at the thought.
Yes.
He can be mine.
He is mine.
6
Finn
I can’t believe after a year of wanting her, of waiting, I finally have Maeve in my arms. My cock is heavy and aching with desire, but I know she’s a virgin. I can’t take her like this, not on a day like today. Brushing my lips over hers, I turn my face until I’m kissing her cheek, her chin, her neck. When she moans and bucks her hips against mine, I have to back away. Now is not the time.
“My queen, we can’t. Not yet. Not now. There is so much more for you to learn.”
She grins. “I’m sure you can teach me.”
“If I teach you what I want, we’ll never leave this bed.”
The flare in her eyes makes me bite back a groan. Damn me and my oath to get her to the throne. I could be inside her right now if I were a more selfish man. “I’m ready for you. I don’t want to wait. I don’t know what’s going to happen after I walk through the door to this room and face my future, but I do know I want to have been with a man before that happens.”
My mouth runs dry. “I…” I have no words. How can I tell her no? I’m not fit for the queen, not until she’s had the chance to find love with someone of royal blood. Queens marry kings. They love their own kind. Not warriors sent to protect and serve.
Her hand runs down my chest and stomach until she reaches the fastening of my pants. My eyes roll back in my head at the sensation and the promise of what’s to come. Until the door bursts open with a loud crash and her gaze darts behind me.
“Jensen!” she cries, sending shame covering me like a weighted blanket.
Fuck.
I scramble backward, putting as much space between the queen and myself as possible without leaving her side. “Commander,” I say, avoiding his eyes.
“Commander?” Maeve’s voice is soft and laced with disbelief.
“He’s the leader of your army.”
Jensen scoffs. “Not anymore. Saskia and Imogen saw to that after the rebellion attack. Why would you think I’d be reinstated after we brought the queen back?”
I cock an eyebrow. “Because the white lady appointed us as her protectors. She said we were the queen’s. It seems only natural that we’d be given back our duties.”
His focus is turned to me, not Maeve, and from the dark look in his eyes, I know he’s disappointed in me. I don’t give a damn. Not about what he wants. The last thing I want to do is hurt Maeve, and if she desires me, maybe that’s what I should give her.
“Finn.” Jensen says. “I need to talk to you in the hall.”
Sighing, I get to my feet. I can’t ignore this problem. It won’t go away. Jensen won’t let it.
I take Maeve’s hand and bring it to my lips. Just a brush of warm skin against warm skin, but I see her shiver. “I’ll be back soon.” Jensen lets out an annoyed sound behind me.
As soon as we’re out of her range of hearing, Jensen rounds on me.
“What the hell was that? You can’t keep your hands to yourself, can you?”
I cross my arms over my chest and fight the urge to argue. “What’s the harm? She’s here, she knows the truth. I’ve wanted her for close to a year.”
“That doesn’t mean you can just take her. She’s meant for more than a warrior. If I thought there was any chance she could love someone like you…or me, don’t you think I’d have thrown my favor into the contest?”
“You’ve never given her reason to consider you.”
He runs a hand over his hair and sighs. “That’s because she’s destined for more. We’re here to see her safe, to keep her that way. Just as we tried and failed to do for Queen Astrid. You didn’t see me fucking her.”
“I wasn’t fucking Maeve.”
“Queen Maeve. You’d do well to remember that. She’s our queen, not your lover, not mine, not anyone’s.”
Anger burns in my heart at his words, but I know he’s right. I can’t claim her as mine. “Fine.”
“She needs us to help her through this. It’ll just confuse her more if she thinks she’s in love with you.”
“And what if she is?”
He scoffs. “She won’t be for much longer. Especially not if presented with a handsome prince, or possibly a king in the near future. Her aunts will want her to make a strong match with another court.”
The thought of her choosing to marry another man makes my blood run cold. “Not already.”
“I’m sure of it. Those two are desperate to secure the court. It has already deteriorated drastically in the year we’ve been gone.”
“She’s not ready for something so…serious. Maeve will balk at the idea. You know that as well as I do.”
“That’s up to her.”
A look colored by hope flashes across his face. He wants her too. He’s always wanted her. Damn. Who’s to say he’s not just telling me to back off so he can swoop in and claim her heart? “I’ll only be what my queen wants. Nothing more, but nothing less either.”
Nodding, he claps his hand on my shoulder. “Get her settled. We’ll figure out the next step.”
“All right. But I need you to know I’ll do anything and everything to keep her happy and safe.”
“As will I.”
7
Maeve
Finn has been outside with Jensen for way longer than I’d like. I don’t want to be alone here, especially not when Finn and I had been so close to finally crossing the friend barrier and diving headlong into the category of lovers.
The door opens to reveal Finn, his broad shoulders held strong and straight, like a soldier. I’m immediately hit with a current of longing for the moment we’d shared before Jensen interrupted us.
“Everything okay?” I ask through a throat tight with desire.
He nods but doesn’t lock eyes with me. “Fine. We just had a few things to get straight between us.”
My stomach rumbles, and a wave of embarrassment rushes through me. Here I’ve just learned my life is a lie, I’m basically the Superman of faeries, oh yeah, and I’m a freaking faerie. But I’m still hungry.
He grins and waves a hand. A bowl of fruit, ripe and delicious looking, appears on the bed in front of me. I reach for a pear, licking my lips, and bring it to my mouth. Before I take a bite, I remember the stories my dad used to tell me.
“Beware the offerings of the fae. Once accepted, you are theirs forever.”
“Will I be trapped here forever if I eat this?” I ask.
Finn laughs out loud. “You are the queen and a full blooded fae besides. You’re free to come and go as you please.”
I cast a dubious glance at the fruit in my hand and take a small bite. My mouth waters as soon as the sweet tang of the pear hits my tongue. “This is the best pear I’ve ever tasted.”
A look of pride fills his handsome face. “Thank you, my queen.”
Okay, that was just weird.
“Yeah, let’s stop all of this my queen business. Can we just go back to being Maeve and Finn?”
A guarded look crosses his face
and my heart sinks.
“I … I can’t do that. I am your guard. I’m sworn to you. Now that you know the truth, we can’t be the way we were. I shouldn’t have let things go so far earlier. No matter how much I wanted it.”
His whole demeanor has changed and it makes me angry. I don’t want him to be sworn to protect me. I want my friend. I want him to be more.
“That’s bullshit. If you’re sworn to me, then you need to do what I say. I say I want us to be Finn and Maeve. I want my friend. Protect me if you need to, but be my friend again, too.”
I can hear the tears in my voice and at any other time I’d be mad at myself for being so emotional.
He closes his eyes and takes a long, slow breath. “Lady Saskia won’t like it.”
“Too bad.” I kick my legs over the side of the bed and get to my feet, smiling. “I’m assuming you know your way around this…” I search for the word I want but come up empty.
“It’s the palace of the Shadow Court,” he answers for me.
“Right. This palace. Show me around?” I ask, as he opens the heavy door.
He nods, still holding onto a frustrating layer of formality.
I look up at him, his features still the same devastatingly handsome ones I’d held an unrequited love for. “So, you glow now?”
He laughs, eyes crinkling at the corners. “I’ve always been like this, you just couldn’t see it.”
“Is there a reason?”
“I’m an earth fae. My powers come from the ground. When I use them, my aura changes…becomes more visible.”
“Ah, so, that’s why the fruit?”
He stiffens when I link my fingers with his but doesn’t shrink away.
