by Eileen Wilks
She searched his face and found it… blank. Showing nothing at all. Happiness dawned slowly inside her at what she saw. "Yes, you would."
"Lupi don't—"
"Maybe not, but you would. You wouldn't hold it against me, but you'd mind."
Cullen didn't move or speak for a long, long moment. Then his smile cracked the blankness. "I damned sure would. I've been fighting my own mind for days, and fighting it worse once I knew… trying not to think about what he… I knew the glamour wouldn't stick, but you were in his power. And, uh, sometimes the glamour does stick for a little while."
Cynna laughed. "Stuck to you at first, didn't it? Well, don't worry. He didn't really want me, just wanted me dazzled. And the glamour didn't last long." Within an hour of being woken by her self-proclaimed Prince Charming, she'd gone from being desperate to jump his beautiful elf bones to thinking Aduello was a gorgeous, manipulative bastard.
Instinct had kept her quiet, warning her not to let him know she'd come unglammed. Instinct… and a lifetime's accumulation of cynicism. Or maybe that was a distinction without a difference.
"One thing I don't understand," Cullen said. "Why did Aduello keep you around? Just so you could send everyone off on a wild-goose chase for where the medallion was supposed to be?"
"Since he wasn't lusting after my body, you mean? That was the idea. I was supposed to tell you that the medallion's trail led back to the City. What I think, piecing together some of the stuff he said, was that he'd arranged for a group of would-be rebel humans to take the blame for a while by dying in a terrible fire or explosion or something. He wanted more time to solidify his control of the thing. He'd just have gotten crazier, of course. The hellhound guy was right about that. It didn't eat his brain the way it did the others', but it sure unbalanced him."
"Hmm." Cullen settled down the rest of the way, sliding one arm beneath her so he could rearrange her to suit him. That turned out to be laying her head and shoulder across his chest, which rose and fell with the slow ease of his breathing.
For a while Cynna lay there in silence, amazed by survival and the beauty of lying here with him.
"You going to miss Edge?"
She snorted softly. "I like cars a lot better than horses, and hardly anyone tries to kill me back home. I can't wait for them to get a gate up. But…"
"Your father."
"Yeah. Though maybe… Aduello kept me with him a lot. I think that was part of the whole glamour business, keeping me nearby to keep the effect strong. But I was able to talk to Dad sometimes. He thinks he might get to visit. The gnomes are going to need someone to handle their trade stuff, right? Someone with a trace of tact and maybe a bit of a charisma Gift. Unlike poor Bilbo." She sighed. "I didn't like him, but he had courage. And Tash…" She blinked quickly to get rid of the dampness.
"Tash is alive. She's on her way back to the City."
"What?" Cynna lifted her head to stare at him, "How do you know? How do you even know what happened to Bilbo, for that matter?"
"Kai and Nathan have been trailing us ever since we arrived. They came upon the inn and found… the remains of the battle. Tash was injured, but alive." He grinned. "She says she has her father to thank for that. Praised his skill. It seems he was one of the warriors Chulak led, and he mercifully slid his sword through her chest right where an Ahk heart would be—but hers is located higher, like her human mother's. Then he conked her on the head, knocking her out. She was unconscious, with a hole in her chest where they expected her heart to be. They assumed she was dead."
"Son of a bitch," Cynna said, amazed.
"She won't remember Hunter and Kai," he warned her, "so don't mention them. Hunter had to adjust her memories. No one except sidhe are allowed to know that the Winter Queen meddled here."
"I'm not sidhe. Last time I checked, you weren't, either."
"But I've got shields," he said smugly. "Even Nathan can't get through them. And we aren't staying here, so he's settling for us taking a vow of silence on the subject. But, ah, your father… I'm afraid he'll have to adjust Daniel's memories a bit. He's staying here, and his allegiance is to the gnomes."
Cynna didn't like that. She didn't like knowing anyone could do that. "So I'm not supposed to mention Kai or the hellhound guy to him?"
"You can mention them, but what he'll remember is that Rohen and Leerahan acted together to, ah, solve the problem of Leerahan's liege, who'd clearly been driven insane by the medallion. He'll remember Hunter vaguely as a wandering mercenary we brought with us, and Kai as his female companion."
"With a big cat. Who sometimes looks like a woman. I didn't imagine that part, did I?"
"Her cat is… well, they wouldn't tell me what she is," he admitted. "Whatever Dell's species, though, she's Kai's familiar."
"Kai's from Earth. How could she get a whatever-it-is for a familiar?"
"How did she get hooked up with a hellhound?" Cullen shrugged. "Apparently Hunter's spent a lot of time on Earth. He met Kai there. I don't know about Dell."
"She and Hunter are a team?"
"They're lovers, Cynna."
Something in his eyes made her heartbeat pick up. She licked her lips. "How did you know the glamour wouldn't stick?"
"It didn't stick to me." His eyes were intent. Telling her things. "I knew it wouldn't stick to you, either."
"But why?"
"I think you know," he said softly. His words, his voice, sounded certain. His eyes… wary, watchful. And open. Vulnerable.
"I've heard stories," she began. And had to stop and swallow. Her heart was going crazy. "Old stories about how the glamour can't stick if… if… oh, I can't." She punched him on the arm. "Why do I have to say it? You say it."
His eyes were very dark. His lips quirked up at one side, but his eyes stayed so dark. "I've been telling you all along. Since before we left Earth, I've been telling you in the only way I thought you could hear."
Cynna wondered if she'd start hyperventilating. "You saved my life. More than once. You didn't… didn't just save the baby, did you?"
His head moved once in a negative.
He'd done other things, not just the risky heroic stuff. He'd stayed away when she was still deep in denial about the baby, but called. Letting her know he wasn't going anywhere. He'd understood about her father and her need to come here and meet him. He'd come with her, stayed by her, promised her things. Understood her. Been there for her.
Like Cullen said, he'd been telling her. All along he'd been telling her with his acts, not his words. Maybe that was the only way she could hear it, like he claimed. It was also the only way he could say it.
Her voice sank into a whisper. "The stories say that a faerie glamour can't stick to someone who… who has found their true love. You love me."
Light slipped back into his eyes, easing itself around his face until it had formed a smile there—lazy, amused. Happy. "Yeah, I do. And you love me."
"But when… I mean, when did you know? Because I didn't. Not until—"
"The night we fucked each other's brains out in the baths?" This grin held a hint of smug. "Yeah, I knew I pushed your buttons then. Scared you pretty good, didn't I?"
"When did you know?" Cynna persisted.
He scowled. "This is one of those stupid questions that no man can answer without getting in deep—all right, all right. Don't hit. I liked you from the start. I wanted you. You got under my skin pretty quick, too. But… this probably isn't what you want to hear, but I don't lie to you, and you asked. It wasn't until I knew you carried my baby that I… I don't know." He flipped a hand as if demonstrating some kind of either-or thing. "I couldn't keep you out anymore. Becoming a father, that blew me open, and afterward, you were just there. Inside me. Everywhere I looked, everywhere I went, you were in my head. And now I guess you'll be back to thinking it's all about the baby—"
"No." Cynna kissed him. Just once, and softly, to shut him up and tell him some of the things that were hard to say. "No. I understand. The
baby made you see things inside you that you could have ignored otherwise. I think it's been doing that to me, too, only more slowly. I couldn't keep you out, either. And Cullen?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sticking. You won't get rid of me, so get used to it."
"Good." His breath sighed out and he gathered her close again, stroking her hair. "That's good. You're a hard woman to court, Cynna Weaver."
She grinned at his notion of courtship. And then just lay there, satisfied with the moment, with him… with herself. Happiness was a slippery thing, but sometimes, if you had the courage to reach for it… She yawned.
Oh, how romantic. But she hadn't slept well since Cullen got zapped away from her, and she was so very tired…
"Hey, I just remembered something."
"What's that?" she asked, drowsy.
"The dragon. Mika. Remember what he told us? That demons are composite beings. I'm guessing that's why Gan suited the medallion so well. She's used to organizing her various parts."
"Composite is too big a word when I'm asleep, but yeah, I remember. Only how could he… well, he couldn't know about the medallion or any of this. Could he?"
"I don't know. But he told me one more thing—just me, male to male, while you were asleep."
Another yawn cracked her jaw. "What?"
"He's never seen a human mating ceremony, and he's curious. He wants an invitation to the wedding."
"That's it?" Kai said, weary and disbelieving. "We just go? Right this minute?"
"She's calling me, Kai," Nathan stood close, his hands on her shoulders, one thumb stroking quietly along her collarbone. His face was quiet, but his eyes smiled. He'd draped one of their saddlebags over his shoulder. "Her summons is immediate, but not urgent. Still, we had better go now."
They stood beside their horses, poor tired beasts. Dell sat beside Kai, grooming herself complacently. She was very pleased with herself for her part in the battle, and her satisfaction blunted some of Kai's distress. "I… I thought we'd have a chance to see how things turned out. We should say goodbye, at least."
"We've followed the others so long we feel a connection to them. They just met us." Nathan shrugged. "They are grateful, but they don't know us well enough to miss us."
Kai swallowed. "I didn't do things the way your queen wanted."
"She'll be pleased. The medallion is with its holder, and the gnomes are unaware of Winter's interest in their affairs." He ducked his head to kiss her softly on the mouth. "You've learned much about your Gift, too."
"I used it to control someone." That's what a binder did. And the queen killed binders.
"For which an entire realm might be grateful, if they knew." His smile eased from his eyes to the rest of his face, giving it the shine of love, mingled with amusement. "Kai, do you still not know what you are?"
"No. And if you do and haven't said anything—"
"You feel no urge to tamper with minds that are healthy. When you see imbalance, disorder, madness—then you are compelled. You want to tidy wrongness when you see it. You're a mind-healer."
She blinked. A healer? Not a monstrous danger to others, but a healer? "I don't think I've healed any minds."
"Perhaps not. You've barely begun learning your Gift, but that's the direction it pulls you."
A healer. Kai took a deep breath, feeling his words settle inside. Feeling their Tightness. "So where are we going?"
"To one of my queeen's private places, away from court. You'll like it. Can you pull Dell closer now?"
Dell took that moment to cease grooming herself and rasp her tongue along the back of Kai's hand. Kai smiled and reached with her mind—with her love—as easily as she stretched out her hand to touch the big cat's head. "Ready."
He handed her the other saddlebag. "Let's go."
* * *
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Their route back to the City was different from the one that had brought them to Leerahan, thank God. Cynna never wanted to see Ahk territory again, and maybe not mountains.
Horses, though, were inevitable. They rode to a small port on the river where the chancellor's barge awaited them. A combination of sidhe mindspeech and the Ekiba hotline had arranged that, as well as passing on the basic events to those waiting back in the City.
Gan was full of herself at times, but she still enjoyed swimming in the river and eating the fishies.
Cynna caught up on her sleep on the barge. She and Cullen did their best to catch up on… well, sex and lovemaking both, she supposed. The two of them were good at sex. Making love was new.
She liked it.
Ruben and McCloskey met them at the dock. Ms. Wright was conscious and out of danger, but still tired very quickly. The healer didn't want her leaving the Chancellery until it was time for her to leave Edge entirely.
Ruben was walking.
"Hey!" Cynna forgot herself and hugged him. "Look at you! This is wonderful. You look wonderful."
Ruben smiled. "You look wonderful, too, if somewhat overstimulated. Mr. Seabourne looks extremely… rested, also."
She blushed, dammit. He wouldn't see it, though.
"I'm very interested in hearing your report."
"It will have to be ears-only, sir. There's a lot that can't be put in writing."
"That's true of most of your reports, or so you like to insist."
Cynna did not like writing reports. "Cullen, look how great Ruben's doing."
"So I see." Cullen's smile came easily these days. "You're moving well, too. Not limping. No splints."
"The arm and leg are still a bit tender. I'm afraid I'm showing off. The chancellor's healer sped the healing of my bones and in the process discovered the cause of my progressive weakness." Ruben gave Cynna a gentle smile. "I hadn't wanted to worry you, but back home, my prognosis was not good. Now, with care, I should be fine. I have a rare allergy to certain metals, you see. Particularly iron and steel."
Cullen nodded. "It's that trace of sidhe blood, no doubt. Most of them aren't troubled by cold iron—that's a myth—but a few are allergic to it."
"Wait a minute," Cynna said. "Trace of sidhe blood? Ruben?"
"I saw it in his magic," Cullen said, "after in-blooding the elements, when my vision was heightened. Traces of violet and black. The violet's uncommon, but it was the blend of it with an iridescent black, like flecks of mica, that clinched it. The only place I've ever seen that is in sidhe magic."
"A metal allergy," Cynna said slowly. "That's going to be hard. Steel is everywhere."
Ruben nodded. "Even being around large amounts of steel may be debilitating for me, which will prove a challenge. But primarily I must avoid touching it. The healer is unfamiliar with aluminum, so she can't say whether that's included on my 'do not touch' list, but I suspect it is."
"Aluminum? Your chair. Ruben, your chair has aluminum and steel!"
"Yes." He looked embarrassed. "I had a strong feeling I should be at that meeting with the gnome, if you remember, when we expected him to give Mr. Seaboume the shield spell. It turns out that was my first precognition utterly about myself. I wasn't needed for the mission, but I did need very much to come here. Being forcibly separated from my wheelchair has probably saved my life."
It took the gnomes another two weeks to build the gate. It was a small one, only large enough for two to go through at a time. But it was permanent. They left at the start of the Dawning.
They were escorted to the new gate by three of the councilors, a troop of the guard, and Tash. She wasn't recovered from her wound yet, but she'd informed the healer she could mend just as well sitting in a carriage as lolling around in bed.
Gan accompanied them, tricked out for the occasion in a new dress. This one was silk in an eye-popping combination of reddish orange, cinnamon, and fuchsia. The chancellor's medallion hung from a shortened chain around her neck.
She waved a lot at the people they passed—some of whom were waving or pointing at her. "Sometimes it's fun, being important," she c
onfided to Cynna. "Sometimes it's annoying. You'll remember about the chocolate? And to tell Lily Yu she can visit? And you and Steve Timms and Cullen Seabourne will come see me sometimes, too, right?"
"I'll remember," Cynna said, and kissed the top of her bald, orange head.
They went through the gate in pairs. Cynna and Cullen went last, at their request. The last thing Cynna saw of Edge was the sun rising over the river, making sky and water dance with color.
The first thing she noticed about being home was wet feet. The management of Fashion Center Mall had finally gotten around to fixing their fountain.
Turned out the gnomes were wrong about all the time slippage happening between the other realm and Earth. They'd left Earth at the very end of February, and their adventures in Edge had taken just under four weeks. When they returned, Cynna's breasts felt heavy and tender and she couldn't button her jeans anymore. And it was the middle of June.
"Missed the cherry blossoms," Cynna said, shaking her head.
"They were beautiful this year," Rule assured her.
The two of them sat at the big, round table in the kitchen at his house three days after the big return from Edge. Lily was working. Cynna had planned her visit to avoid Lily; told Rule that and that she needed to discuss clan business with him. That had surprised him.
He was drinking coffee. She had a tall glass of orange juice. It was a cloudless day, and while they exchanged the kind of nothing-talk friends do, she kept looking out the window at all the sunshine. She didn't think she'd ever take sunny days for granted again.
"I don't wish to rush you, but I do have an appointment in about an hour," Rule said at last.
"I'm having trouble jumping into this," she admitted.
"Is it about the Lady?"
"No! Well, not really. Not yet, anyway."
"The ashwa?"
Cullen had told him about ashwa and what it might mean for lupi—the possible increase in their fertility as the level of magic on Earth rose. She looked him in the eye and got it said. "Not really. I need to ask you about lupi who get married. What would Nokolai do if one of their members got married?"
