by S. K. Falls
“One hundred and eleven,” Dax replied, after a pause.
I tilted my head back to look at him, taking in the uncertainty in his bright copper gaze. “Doesn’t weird me out.”
He smiled and pressed his feverish lips to my forehead, instantly igniting the hunger, that fire, inside my blood. I could almost feel my body responding physically—my pupils dilating with lust, my lips parting slightly, my breathing getting faster as my pulse began to race. I tried to reel in my ragged panting.
Dax got still. He pulled his arm out from behind me and sat up straighter. “Sorry.”
I sighed and shook my head. There was no point in him apologizing. If anyone or anything was to be blamed, it was fate.
The pilot hung up the phone and blew out a breath, looking at us with a big, cheery smile on his face. “Sorry about that, folks!”
Oscar turned from where he’d been studying a wall map of Ellesmere Island. “It’s quite all right,” he said, his French accent lilting. “You seem to be a busy man.”
“It never stops,” the pilot answered. He got off the chair and extended his hand to Oscar. “Freddy Watkins. I’ll be your host to the beautiful Ellesmere Island.”
Oscar shook his hand and withdrew it quickly. Even though he wore thick gloves, I was sure if he held on to Freddy’s hand long enough the immense heat would seep through. “Oscar Dubois. This is my son, Dax Allard, and his fiancée, Cara Beaumont.”
I blushed at the title, even though it was the best option. “Girlfriend” was too ridiculous for what Dax and I shared, and “betrothed” would definitely cause the good pilot to wonder about us, so “fiancée” was perfectly acceptable. Still, some human girly-girl part of me couldn’t stop from conjuring up visions of me in a frothy white wedding dress and Dax in a tuxedo.
Dax leaned in close to me and planted a feather-light kiss at my temple. “I like the sound of that.” His voice was amused, musical in my ears.
I turned to him, still blushing. “Me, too.”
All of a sudden, I noticed the silence in the room and turned back to Freddy. Both he and Oscar were watching us, amused smiles on their faces. It was obvious they’d asked us a question or were waiting on something that we’d completely missed while we were having our moment.
Dax only chuckled easily. I, of course, blushed even brighter.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his accent lilting sweetly. “I was a little distracted.”
Freddy laughed heartily. “Yeah, I remember when the wife and I were newly engaged. That honeymoon phase is something else. Enjoy it as long as you can.”
Dax looked at me, his face serious, his eyes shining. “I intend to.”
Oscar cleared his throat delicately, directing our attention back to him. “Shall we leave? Freddy says the skies look clear enough for takeoff.”
My stomach rolled. The idea of flying in a little bush plane to remote Canada was more than a little unnerving. The thought of what awaited me on Ellesmere Island—a tête-à-tête with the Astaroth—had been the source of my nightmares since I’d learned they’d requested a meeting with me. Still, I didn’t have a choice. I was the guest of honor at this party.
Tucking my head back into the fake fur-lined hood of my parka, I stuffed my mittened hands into my pockets as Freddy opened the door to his office so we could all step outside.
The gusting wind brought a flurry of snow that crystallized on my eyelashes and turned my skin to ice. The winter clothing I wore was what I’d used at college in Chicago. There hadn’t been time to order anything on the internet that would be more suitable for the Canadian tundra. Now, actually experiencing the frigid temperatures, I found it incredibly stupid that I’d thought normal cold weather gear would work here. This kind of cold went right through layers and layers of clothes and thermal underwear like they weren’t even there. I was sure if I grabbed a handful of my hair, it’d just break off. And I’d only been out in the cold for about three seconds.
I felt a brief touch on the bare skin of my shoulder and then heat trickled through me, wrapping around my muscles and bones. I began to thaw out, one internal organ at a time, as Dax kept his arm firmly around my shoulders while we walked to the plane. One of his hands was pushed inside the collar of my shirt so I could feel his scorching heat.
“Th-thank you.” I hadn’t even realized my teeth were chattering until I tried to speak.
He frowned down at me and picked up the pace so I had to run to keep up. The exertion helped raise my body temperature, and when we stepped up to the waiting bush plane, my heart was working hard.
Freddy had parked the plane only a few yards from his office, but the frigid, ungodly cold made it feel like an eternity before I was stepping up and into the warm interior. Dax slid into the seat beside me and took my mittened hand in his gloved ones.
His eyes bore into mine, and he didn’t return my wan smile. “Are you all right?”
A spike of pain stabbed through my fingers as feeling returned. I winced. “I’m fine.” Once the pain receded, heat began to pulse through, turning my blood into liquid again. I smiled, with more feeling this time. “That feels better.”
“Here we go,” Freddy said from the front seat. Oscar sat beside him, looking with interest at the instrument panel.
As we flew over the Canadian tundra, I couldn’t help but be distracted from my discomfort. It was absolutely beautiful, like a magical crystal kingdom in some kids’ movie. It was white as far as I could see, and even at this height, I could make out the coolest glaciers, snow caves, and other cold weather things I hadn’t ever seen in real life.
“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” Freddy’s voice was tinny over the plane’s microphone. “It’s crazy what Mother Nature can do.”
He finally landed on a long stretch of snowy land much like all the others we’d flown over. “You sure you don’t want me to call you a guide?” he asked, his brow furrowed.
“We’re sure, thank you,” Oscar smiled. “Dax here used to be an outdoorsman. He’s hiked the Alaskan tundra, not much different from this.”
“Right. Well…if you’re sure. Listen, you need anything, you just give me a shout. You have the satellite phones?”
Dax nodded and gestured to the pack on his back. “Yes. Thank you. We’ll be in touch when we’re ready to head back.”
We stood and watched as Freddy waved to us once and then took off, the plane gliding off into the soft gray sky. I was already shivering inside my coat, in spite of Dax’s arm firmly around my shoulders and his hand on my skin. I began to walk, but Dax clamped his hand down on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks.
“Wait a moment,” he murmured in my ear. In that icy air, his sweet, tantalizing breath was like a warm drink steaming in my face. I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes without realizing it.
He chuckled and I opened them again and tried to smile. My face was frozen solid. “I can’t really feel my lips.”
Dax looked grim when he spoke again. “Stand with Oscar, please.”
I looked from him to Oscar, confused. Oscar smiled and held out his hand. “Let’s go to a safe distance, my dear.”
I complied without knowing what was going on. We tromped off a few yards and then turned around to watch. Dax was still standing in the same spot, but even at this distance, I could see the smoke shimmering and rising from his entire body.
Gradually, almost imperceptibly, the snow around him began to melt. It turned to water and almost instantaneously evaporated into steam, the environment around undulating with waves of heat, lending Dax even more of a god-like aura.
In a minute or two, the wall of heat hit me and, instantly, I began to sweat. Rivulets of it streamed down my back and face. I’d have to strip down to my bra and panties if Dax didn’t stop soon. As if he sensed my thoughts, the heat began to recede until it was down to a comfortable, balmy temperature.
“It’s safe to go forward now,” Oscar said, walking toward Dax. I followed, marveling at the snow that was now turni
ng to rain—warm rain—before it hit me.
I threw my arms around Dax. He was much hotter than normal, and I had to pull away much too quickly. “Thanks.”
He smiled and stroked my hair gently. “You’re welcome. I’m just sorry I had to wait until Freddy was gone. You can take that parka off now.”
I did, and was instantly comfortable. The weather felt more like spring in Chicago than dead of winter in the Canadian tundra, and I relaxed as Dax kept his arm draped around me while we walked.
“Will this upset the earth’s environment on a global scale?” I asked, after we’d been walking about ten minutes. “I mean, with you evaporating and melting the snow.”
Dax and Oscar both chuckled, and Dax gently tightened his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. “No. It wasn’t a big enough or long enough change for that to have happened.”
Relieved, I nodded. “So…how much farther?”
“We’re here.” Dax guided me left.
After a few moments, we walked past some snow-bowed trees and around a large snow cave. And then, suddenly, it was right there, as if it had sprouted out of the ground: a gigantic house that looked every bit the quintessential American farmhouse. But this one was four stories high with an imposing front porch and enormous white columns. The wide stone steps had been swept clean of snow, and at the base sat two giant stone gargoyles. Someone had cleared their faces of snow, but their bodies remained covered. The result was two giant, eerie snowballs with leering, grinning faces.
I swallowed.
“Here we are,” Oscar said softly, laying a hand on Dax. I couldn’t quite decipher the look that passed between the two of them.
We climbed up the stairs, but before we could knock, the double front doors swung open.
I found myself face-to-face with three of the tallest, most regal people I’d ever seen. They were beautiful in an ethereal sense, as if they belonged in a Photoshopped magazine spread about fairy kings and queens.
There was a woman in the center with long, straight blonde hair that fell straight to her hips. She was almost seven feet tall, and rail thin. Her cheekbones were high and sharp, her pale green eyes like sea glass. She wore a long, white dress that appeared to be made of chiffon.
The men on either side of her were just a smidge shorter, and packed with muscle. Where she was lean and thin, all sharp angles and lines, they were squat—if there was such a thing as “squat” at almost seven feet tall. They wore white tunics and white pants. I wondered if they were her bodyguards, though from the vibe I was getting off her, I’d say she could probably handle herself very well.
She studied me for a long moment with those sea glass eyes before turning to Dax and Oscar. “You’ve arrived.”
As if on cue, the three of them turned and walked inside. Dax kept a hand at my back as we followed.
The interior of their house was made to match the outside, the farmhouse décor keeping everything coordinated. I wondered if the whimsical décor was meant to be some sort of sardonic statement. There were cheerful roosters on the yellow curtains, and the wall had wooden signs with sayings like, “Good Day, Sunshine!” What could be more discordant in what was, for all intents and purposes, a demonic courthouse? But then a more chilling thought occurred to me: Maybe they’d just left the décor in place after they’d done away with the previous, human inhabitants.
The woman took a seat on a plaid couch and the two men followed. Dax gestured to a chair and I sat. He and Oscar took their seats so they were flanking me.
“I’ve brought Cara as you asked, Althea,” Dax said. “Now could we please commence with the meeting? I’m anxious to have her safely back home, as you might imagine.”
Althea smoothed down her light blonde hair, giving me a serene smile. She reminded me of a light-skinned Cleopatra—she had the same dignified, long-necked grace. “Of course. I’m Althea, and these are Maximus and Augustine.” She didn’t indicate who was who. “You are Dax’s betrothed. Do you know what that means?”
I glanced at Dax, and he nodded slightly. I wasn’t sure what she was getting at—of course I knew what it meant, and she must know that—but I decided to just answer her question. But when I opened my mouth to answer, nothing came out save for a quiet, frightened squeak.
Embarrassed, I cleared my throat and tried again. Dax squeezed my hand gently. “Dax has explained it to me, yes. It means that he and I are…we’re destined to be together.” My cheeks flushed a brighter red as I clarified. “…To mate.”
Althea nodded. The men just stared straight ahead, not at me but not at Oscar or Dax either. Their alert expressions made it clear that they were listening; they just refused to engage us in eye contact. It was unnerving. “And do you know what would happen were you to mate?”
“I could die and Dax might take my soul.”
Dax’s hand heated up and tightened around mine.
“That’s correct. For this reason, we don’t encourage an emotional bond between demons and humans. Unfortunately, Beleth demons like Dax often get too wrapped up and…it doesn’t end well for the humans. Do you understand?” Her eyes shone in the dim light coming from the windows.
I knew what she was saying; Dax had explained it to me before. Demons were more likely to prey on a betrothed because they thought our souls were especially delicious. Or Dax might change his mind about taking my soul once I got pregnant with his halfling child and died an excruciating death in childbirth, dooming me to an entire existence in hell. Actually, I wasn’t quite sure what happened to a person whose soul was taken by a demon. We hadn’t talked about that because I didn’t see it happening to me. I didn’t believe Dax would ever do that, no matter how afraid he might be of giving in to his demonic side.
“Yes, I do.”
“And yet it appears you’ve made an emotional bond with Dax.” She looked pointedly at our hands, clasped tightly together. “And it has already caused trouble in our world, has it not? With the clan in Louisiana.”
“That was not Cara’s fault in the least,” Dax countered. Oscar tossed a restraining look his way, but he ignored it. “I was much too brash in—”
“I’m not concerned with fault. What matters is the consequence. And the consequence here seems to be an upcoming dispute amongst your clan and theirs.” Althea stared Dax down. The room began to heat up, and the men beside her moved their steely, cold gazes to him.
Finally, I felt the fight go out of Dax. His hand returned to a much more normal—for him—temperature and his shoulders relaxed. “You’re correct. And we’d very much like your assistance if the clan should decide to come to Eden.”
“Yes, we would.” Oscar’s voice was calm. “It would be in your best interest as well, Althea, to put a stop to their plans. As we’ve said, the Louisiana clan appears to be under the impression that it can overthrow you and claim your position.”
As if Dax and Oscar hadn’t spoken, Althea’s eyes returned back to mine. “How do you see your relationship with Dax progressing, Cara?”
I swallowed. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“You humans, you have customs to celebrate your love. We mate, but you have many other rituals. Cohabiting, exchanging rings, uttering vows, yes?”
I nodded.
“Do you understand that engaging in any of those activities with Dax means you will both be killed?”
She asked the question in an utterly nonchalant way, as if she was asking if I liked sugar in my tea. Dax moved my hand from his and balled his fists on his lap. They began to steam.
I swallowed again. “I do now.”
Althea nodded and looked at Oscar. “I would like some more time to think about what you’ve asked of me. Why don’t you stay the night as our guests?”
Alarmed, I darted a glance at Dax. I didn’t want to spend another minute here, let alone the night.
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Oscar replied, his tone as polite as ever. “We’ve arranged for our pilot to transport us ba
ck to Resolute.”
“You’d better let him know your plans have changed, in that case.” Althea smiled serenely. “I insist.” Her eyes flashed to a deep bottle green.
Oscar and Dax exchanged a brief look and then Oscar nodded. “Yes, of course.”
We were shown to our rooms by one of the men—Maximus or Augustine—the shorter and more muscular of the two. He strode before us in quick, long steps, and I had to jog to keep up. I could smell him even from a few yards away. His fragrance was like ice and mint combined; something frigid and particularly suited for a place like Ellesmere Island.
Finally, he stopped and opened a door at the far end of the hallway. “This is to be Miss Beaumont’s chamber,” he said. He walked back down the way we’d just come and opened two doors located adjacent to each other. “And these will be yours, Messrs. Allard.”
“I’d rather she was here, by me,” Dax said. “You wouldn’t mind switching with Cara, would you, Oscar?”
But before Oscar could reply, the man said, “Althea’s orders were that the room on the far end was to be Miss Beaumont’s.”
“That is not acceptable.” Dax stood up straight so he and the man appeared to be at eye level, even though I knew that wasn’t the case. “Please tell Althea I said so. We will wait here until new provisions are made.”
The man’s eyes flashed to silver, the color of shiny nickels. Smoke began to ooze from his body. “Do you dare disagree with our Judge?”
“It’s okay,” I said quickly, my heart racing. I didn’t want to provoke the Astaroth because I knew Dax and Oscar didn’t have a chance against them here on their own turf. And the thought of something happening to Dax because of me…I couldn’t bear even the thought of it. It was best to just agree to anything they wanted so we could get this over with. “It’s really okay. Dax, I know you’ll keep an eye out for me. Right?”
