Spellbound with Sly

by Shelley Munro

  She lifted her hips, taking his digit deeper. She cried out again, and he curled his forefinger inside her, a deliberate, probing stroke.

  “Yes.” She made a dark sound as sexual hunger and pleasure claimed her. Her clit vibrated beneath his tongue while her sheath contracted around his finger.

  “Sly!”

  He grinned against her flesh. Yes, with her confidence in place, he’d need to fight off the single men at the resort. His brother. His cousins. His friends. They’d flirt with her, give him hell. He couldn’t wait to witness her bloom and shine as he introduced her to his world.

  When she quieted, he shifted up the bed, taking her mouth in a possessive kiss. The more he touched her and kissed her, the more he wanted her.

  While he intended to woo her and give her a chance to grow, he’d stand aside for no man.

  Cinnabar was his woman.

  His mate.

  * * * * *

  The next morning

  “Are you going to eat your fruit?” Sly asked Cinnabar.

  She shoved it away with a moue of distaste. “I’m nervous. My stomach is churning.”

  “You can stay in Seelie if you want,” Sly said, forcing out the words when everything inside him protested in a vicious haka. It seemed he retained some of his New Zealand roots if he wanted to do a war dance. “Liam will protect you.” He received a nod from his friend.

  “Or move to the winter court,” Calvin offered, leaning back in his chair.

  Sly snorted. If the man got any more comfortable, he’d need popcorn.

  “No.” Cinnabar lifted her chin. “I want to go with you.”

  “Good girl,” Calvin said. “Nerves are normal. Liam and I hold some anxiety when it comes to meeting Sly’s family.”

  Sly barely smothered his snort, turning it into a cough at the last second.

  Liam grinned. “It’s true. We’re worried about Scarlett.”

  “I’m worried Liam’s confidence is misplaced, and he won’t manage the portal,” Calvin said.

  Sly did snort this time, and Cinnabar giggled.

  “I think we’re ready,” Sly said. “Do you have our luggage?”

  “Yes, I had enough magic to shrink our belongings. Everything is inside my bag.” She pointed to a small bag on a long strap that she’d draped over one shoulder.

  “Nifty trick,” Sly said. They hadn’t discussed magic. He figured Cinnabar didn’t possess much and he’d gradually learn of her abilities. That trick would come in handy around the resort.

  As they stood, a servant approached. He bowed to Liam. “Your Majesty, a messenger has arrived from Dalcon for you.”

  “Ah,” Liam said. “I must speak with him. Why don’t the three of you meet me at the portal? I know roughly where it is, since Cinnabar has described the area to me.”

  “You can use a location spell,” Calvin suggested.

  “It seems strange, leaving Seelie,” Cinnabar said. “But the resort is pretty. I’d like to swim in the pool and try one of those fruity drinks.”

  “I can arrange that.” Sly contemplated her curves, highlighted in the pale blue gown she wore, and a rakish grin bloomed. “I can’t wait to see you in a bikini.”

  “Maybe I should cover my eyes and ears,” Calvin said as Liam departed with the servant.

  Sly grinned. “Let’s go.”

  The sun blazed overhead as they exited the castle. The season hovered at autumn, a combination of summer and winter. Sly found this fascinating and made a note to mention crop manipulation to Liam and Calvin. Right now, he was eager to leave Seelie.

  The portal wasn’t far from the castle, but in a wilderness area where not many ventured. Cinnabar led him and Calvin along a narrow path, sometimes turning sideways to squeeze between piles of rocks and scrubby pink trees.

  “It’s here,” Cinnabar said. “Right by the tree with the purple leaves.”

  Sly frowned. He’d imagined a shimmering circle, not an impenetrable wall of trees.

  “Ah, yes,” Calvin said. “I sense it. I wonder if it will open to me. Have you tried, Cinnabar?”

  “I couldn’t open it from the other side. I had to wait for Princess Iseabal to let me into Seelie.”

  Calvin stepped forward and held up his hand. For an instant, it appeared to Sly that he held his hand against nothing, then a golden glow appeared around his fingers, expanding until it grew outward into an oval.

  Beaming with satisfaction, Calvin stepped back. “Behold, a portal.”

  “Smart-arse,” Sly muttered.

  “That’s King Smart-arse to you,” Calvin said in a regal tone, his horns glinting in the light.

  Sly rolled his eyes, ignoring Cinnabar’s horrified gasp. “Someone needs to keep you and Liam humble. Can we go through?”

  “Sure. Liam will find us.” Calvin opened the portal fully and stood back with a flourish of his hand. “After you.”

  Sly indicated Cinnabar should precede him and stepped through after her.

  He staggered suddenly, his entire body jolting. Pain struck his head, his chest, his limbs, and he cried out, falling to his knees since his legs refused to bear his weight.

  Cinnabar screamed, scrambling to kneel beside him.

  “Sly,” Calvin said urgently. “Take shallow breaths. Somehow, I believe Iseabal split your personality. I know you’ve worried about your feline side. My theory is that he remained trapped here, and the two parts of you are colliding. Breathe, man. It must hurt like hell.”

  Sly closed his eyes and focused on filling his lungs, breathing through the crashing agony. After long moments, the discomfort eased to a low-level headache. His legs trembled like those of a newborn calf, and he pushed upright with Cinnabar’s aid.

  He opened his eyes to meet Calvin’s concerned gaze.

  “How do you feel?” Calvin asked.

  “Like I’ve fallen off my cambeest and got stomped on.” Sly sucked in a breath, the rise and fall of his chest coming more naturally now. He focused carefully, groping for his feline, despite the hammers beating in his head.

  Ah. There he was, snarling and testy and fighting for release.

  With regret, Sly beat him back. Soon. Soon we’ll go for a run.

  “Do you think Liam will be long? I—” He broke off to gawk at the portal and the curls of smoke creeping through. “What is that black smoke?”

  As Calvin turned, the smoke poured through the portal and darted around him. It formed in a stack, growing taller and bigger.

  Cinnabar whimpered and scuttled behind him. Sly blinked as the smoke shaped into a form.

  “How the feck did she manage that?” Calvin murmured a quick spell, the foreign sounds meaning little to Sly.

  Calvin cursed and a feminine laugh came from the midst of the smoky form. It took on more substance until even Sly recognized the threat.

  “You didn’t think I’d let a little thing like a locked room stop me, did you?” Princess Iseabal stood before them, hands planted on her hips, a gloating expression displaying her ugliness. She chortled, the sound tinged with amusement, a touch of madness, as Calvin attempted another spell. Then, her attention shifted to Sly and Cinnabar. “Nothing like a little revenge for motivation.”

  * * * * *

  Middlemarch Resort

  Joe blinked. Sly. He’d been there seconds before, lying on the bed. He’d spoken to him, told him about the seeds they’d brought from Earth and how some had failed but the ones that had germinated were doing better than he’d expected.

  Sly had vanished.

  Joe sprinted from the room and tore through the resort. He found Saber with Ma and Eva in the resort kitchen. He skidded to a halt. “Sly is gone.”

  “Someone is playing a trick on you, son,” Ma said.

  “Saber, I am not fucking around. Sly is gone. He was there. I was talking to him. I walked over to the window and when I turned around, he’d disappeared. I didn’t hear the door. Not a thing. He’s truly gone.”

  “We’ll organize a
search party,” Saber said. “Pass the word to the staff.”

  Joe sprinted out and started a systematic search of Sly’s favorite spots.

  “Any luck?” Leo appeared behind Joe as he scanned the beach.

  “No. I’ve searched everywhere I can think of.” Joe saw Saber striding toward him. “Have you found him?”

  “No,” Saber said, and this time worry lines bracketed his mouth. “We’ll have a meeting and widen the search.”

  Joe nodded. “I’ll check the implement and storage sheds.”

  “Right. I want to organize the rest of the searchers before I join you.”

  “I’ll go with Joe,” Leo offered.

  Saber waved them away and jogged toward the main meeting room. Joe and Leo strode through the resort to the private accommodations and followed the gravel path to Joe and Sly’s storage sheds and greenhouse.

  Joe darted into the greenhouse while Leo checked the first of the storage sheds.

  “Anything?” Joe asked when they met up again.

  “Not a sign. Do you think he would’ve gone farther than this?”

  Joe frowned at his older brother. “I don’t know anything anymore.”

  “Let’s check in with Saber first,” Leo suggested.

  Joe nodded, uneasiness leaving him faintly nauseous. His feline stretched beneath his skin and yowled a protest. Joe wanted to howl along with him. “Okay. I might check on the grapevines—just in case.”

  “Sly hasn’t eaten. He’ll be weak and his legs wouldn’t take him that far.” Leo squeezed Joe’s shoulder.

  The silent commiseration made Joe want to cry. Instead, he let his brother lead him back to the resort.

  At the last second, he halted. “You go on. I can’t explain it, but something is telling me to go to the vineyard.”

  “Let’s go then.”

  “You don’t have to come with me.”

  “I’m your brother. I’m going with you.”

  Joe swallowed. Hell, his thoughts darted around like a swarm of hyperactive bees. Where the devil was Sly? Where had he gone? Why had he left? Questions. All he had was questions.

  They retraced their steps and entered the grass paddocks he and Sly had developed after hacking down trees and ploughing the land until it was suitable to plant their precious grapevines.

  They scanned the land and walked up the hill, following the line of the vines. When they reached the brow of the hill, they paused to scan the landscape.

  “There’s someone down there,” Leo said.

  “Where did they come from?” Joe tried to make out faces, but they were too far away.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Iseabal,” Calvin warned. “Don’t make this worse. Sly and Cinnabar are leaving Seelie. Let them go. Neither have done anything to you.”

  “Nothing to me?” Iseabal spat, her voice rising. She poked her finger toward Cinnabar. “She stole him! Sly belongs to me.”

  “I do not belong to you,” Sly snapped. “You kidnapped me from my home and kept me drugged so I didn’t remember my family and my previous life. You made me a prisoner.”

  “As is my royal right.” Iseabal swiftly reached into her pocket and hurled a purple ball of energy at Cinnabar.

  Sly tried to shelter her, but the energy ball blasted him in the chest and struck Cinnabar in the face. She screamed and dropped, her hands covering her eyes. Sly saw double.

  At the same time, a shout came from the portal. Liam sprang through and let rip with a scarlet energy ball. A second energy ball, blue in color, zapped from Calvin’s fingertips. The two collided, strands of color twirling around Iseabal. She laughed, a maniacal sound that raised the hair at the back of Sly’s neck.

  His vision wavered in and out and he started to view everything through a white film.

  Iseabal teetered and Calvin caught her the instant the energy strands ceased glowing hot around her body. Although no longer bright in color, the strands remained in place, trapping her. Her eyes fluttered, her chest rising and falling in tiny increments.

  Sly crouched beside Cinnabar. “Sweetheart, are you okay? Can I check your eyes?” He pried her fingers from her eyes and sucked in a hasty breath. Whatever Iseabal had done to Cinnabar had changed her eyes, lightening the cornflower blue. He blinked twice. His vision wasn’t too flash either.

  A cunning, crafty laugh escaped Iseabal, jerking Sly’s attention back to her.

  “What did you do to her?” And to him.

  “I took her sight. My right,” Iseabal taunted. “She’ll never see you again.”

  Sly peered into Cinnabar’s eyes, concern filling him with each sharp, fear-tinged gasp. Hellfire, the white film was growing deeper, shrouding the stunning blue of her eyes. “Sweetheart, can you see me?”

  A full body tremor told him no. Her shaking head confirmed it.

  Sly lifted his head, tears filling his eyes at Iseabal’s casual cruelty. “Haven’t you made her suffer enough? She tripped over one of your friends and spilled a drink on your gown. It wasn’t even her fault.” He clenched his jaw, his fists. A pity they weren’t around Iseabal’s scrawny neck. The bitch. “Take pity.”

  “Why would I?” Iseabal demanded. “She must learn. I am a princess and have the right to punish those of lesser rank.”

  The woman had no heart.

  Sly swallowed his curses, his tears. Neither would help. “Liam?”

  Iseabal cackled. “He can’t undo my spell. No one can apart from me.”

  Sly turned to her brother. “Is that true?” God, this wasn’t fair.

  “Iseabal, reverse the spell,” Liam ordered.

  Calvin knelt beside Sly. “Look at me.”

  Sly thought Calvin frowned but didn’t trust what his brain was telling him. A hand gripped his chin, tilted his head. “Liam, she zapped Sly too.”

  “Gratafire. Reverse the spell now, Iseabal! Stop mucking around.”

  “Or what?” she scoffed. “You already intend to punish me. I can tell by your face.”

  Calvin stood, looking immense albeit fuzzy, with his head and horns thrust high. Fury spilled from him. Energy sizzled, snapping and popping. A sharp, acrid scent filled the air.

  The dry leaves beside Iseabal burned and smoked.

  Sly frowned, thought he saw Calvin yank on the lines of energy holding Iseabal prisoner. They burst with a brilliant cobalt blue.

  “Reverse the spell,” Calvin ordered.

  Iseabal laughed. “No.”

  Dispirited, Sly’s shoulders slumped. The woman was plain malicious and smug. Evil enough to fill a dozen fairy tales.

  “Can’t you make her?” Sly groped for Cinnabar and tugged her against his chest. Her shoulders heaved and dampness soaked through his shirt. Tears. He felt like crying himself.

  “Priceless,” Iseabal scoffed. “Tell you what. You let me go and I’ll restore vision to one.”

  “Iseabal!” Liam sounded shocked.

  “Choose who regains the use of their eyes and I’ll gift it back. In return, you let me go.”

  “And you give your word, you won’t attack either of them again?” Liam asked.

  “Don’t trust her,” Sly said.

  “Choose,” she taunted.

  Sly swallowed. From what he knew of Iseabal, she’d set her mind and wouldn’t shift. “Fine,” he said. “Give Cinnabar back her sight.”

  “So gallant,” Iseabal mocked. “Last chance to ch-ch-change your mind.”

  “Return Cinnabar’s vision,” Sly snapped.

  “Very well. Liam, do you promise to let me go?”

  Liam hesitated. “Yes.”

  “Very well. Turn her to face me,” Iseabal said, her tone imperious.

  Sly bit back the retort tingling for release. Don’t antagonize her. She has no honor. She’d renege at the slightest excuse. Gently, he turned Cinnabar in the direction of Iseabal’s voice.

  “Release the energy bonds, so I can return her vision,” Iseabal ordered.

  There was a moment’s p
ause. Sly saw nothing, the film screening his vision fully now. It was the strangest thing. The film reminded him of the night sky. A deep black-blue with pinpricks of stars.

  “Liam, do you want me to do this or not? Doesn’t matter either way to me.” Iseabal sounded amused.

  The silence bloomed again, and Sly imagined Liam and Calvin in silent communication.

  “Liam.” Iseabal’s tone grew sharp.

  Liam cursed. “Release the bonds, Calvin.”

  “There, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?” Iseabal derided.

  Sly felt rather than saw Iseabal’s magic, the prickle in the air as she tugged the ley lines.

  Cinnabar groaned, and his hands tightened on her shoulders. “Are you okay? Can you see?” He kept his voice low while he used his feline senses to gauge what was happening. He didn’t trust Iseabal not to attack in another way.

  “Cinnabar, can you see me?” Liam asked.

  “Y-yes.”

  “I’ll be going now,” Iseabal said.

  The air crackled and an acrid scent of burning bark with a hint of amber wafted to Sly. Every muscle in his body tensed, his instincts screaming danger.

  “No. No!” Iseabal screamed.

  “What’s happening?” Sly asked.

  Iseabal screeched in fury. “You promised!”

  “I didn’t.” Calvin’s voice held finality. “You’re out of control. You’ve abused your position, and Liam shouldn’t have to worry about your treachery. Neither should your sister wonder if you’ll murder her in her bed to ensure your victory.”

  “I wouldn’t. Tell him, Liam!”

  “You would,” Liam retorted. “We both know you’re hungry for power. That’s why you captured Sly.”

  Iseabal cursed, and Sly imagined madness flowing across her face.

  “If it weren’t for Calvin, I would have ousted you, brother! You are weak. Foolish.” She cackled, flaying her brother with a vicious tongue. “Concentrating on farming instead of practicing your magic. Foolishness! I will win. I will discover a way.”

  The pressure on the ley lines intensified. Iseabal screamed again, the shriek cutting off abruptly, the complete silence terrifying.

  Sly gripped Cinnabar’s shoulder. “Cinnabar, please. Tell me what’s happening.”

  “King Calvin used his magic to trap Princess Iseabal inside a bottle. Liam added his power, and she turned to smoke. The bottle…it sucked her up. Oh, frying fungus—he has affixed a stopper.”