When they sat together, she glanced over at her father who sat next to her mother. Alicia’s grandfather didn’t seem pleased, but Viviana did.
They talked in whispered secrets and laughed and touched with fond remembrances. Good thing his Venician wife didn’t see him flirting with his former dragon fae wife.
Deveron handed Alicia a slice of bread. “You won’t forget me during the year, will you?”
“How could I ever forget you, Deveron?”
“Time has a way of making memories fade,” he said glumly.
She smiled. “Somehow I can’t see how it would be possible. Do you fear I might find someone else more appealing in that time?”
“No.” He couldn’t look her in the eyes or she’d see he was lying.
“Liar. You do, too. Do you think I’m that fickle?”
“I worry your grandfather may use this as a time to find someone more of his choosing to court you.”
“I won’t see anyone.”
He smiled. “But me.”
“Not even you, so my grandfather says.” She reached over and touched his hand.
He wrapped his fingers around hers. “To think I thought you were half human.”
“You couldn’t have been more surprised than me.”
“You know a cousin of mine saw you turn invisible.”
“I did?”
He nodded, then smiled. “As soon as you can fae transport we can secretly rendezvous,” he whispered.
“You may disobey your mother all of the time, but I don’t mine.”
He buttered a slice of bread, totally amused with Alicia. “When you have not had my kisses for so long, you will find a way to see me.”
“I will obey my grandfather. What if he said I couldn’t marry you, if I saw you behind his back? No,” she said lifting her goblet off the table, “it wouldn’t do to anger him.”
She glanced at her father. “He looks just like I remember him, only a little grayer. And he loves my mother still. I don’t want us to have to steal moments like that, if my grandfather should say no to my marrying you in the end.”
“I would pine away for a year if I could not see you for all of that time.”
She twisted her mouth in thought. “I could see Ritasia.”
“What?”
“Sure, I could visit Ritasia, and then if you happen to be with her at the time—”
“That’s my faery princess.
“If my grandfather will permit it.”
“You promised you’d teach Ritasia how to practice with a bow.”
“Ah, I did.”
“And I want a rematch.”
“You’ll never beat me.” She grinned at him.
He wanted to kiss her smiling lips again, but caught her grandfather’s concerned eye. “We will just have to find a place to make it happen. Neutral grounds, so to speak.”
“To neutral grounds,” she said raising her goblet to his.
But when the feast was done, the king ensured Deveron was smartly escorted out of the hall after barely giving Alicia a quick peck on the lips.
Alicia gave her father a warm hug. “I would come visit you at Venicia, but Lorelei tried to poison me and had me imprisoned in the sphinx’s dungeon.”
“You may visit me anytime, Alicia. I will let your sister and brother know how displeased I was with their actions toward you. And they will also know what would become of them should they try anything more when you visit.”
Queen Irenis gave Alicia a strange little smile. “You know my son I believe almost as well as I do. And I approve.”
Alicia wasn’t sure what the cryptic message meant, but she thought it might have something to do with her son disobeying orders, only this time it benefited Queen Irenis. In fact, the last time it had, too.
Queen Irenis kissed her cheeks, then hurried after Deveron.
“We must get together to practice archery,” Alicia said to Ritasia next.
“Oh, yes.” She glanced back in the direction of her disappearing mother. “You know what my mother meant, don’t you?”
Alicia took Ritasia’s hands and leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Deveron wishes to see me despite my grandfather’s orders.”
Ritasia’s broad smile indicated Alicia had guessed right. “Archery, yes. And I will help you in anyway that I can.”
She hugged Alicia, then hurried after her mother.
King Persenus said to Alicia, “I’m your father’s brother, and therefore your uncle. Do not be a stranger to our kingdom. You are always welcome.”
Prince Raglan chimed in, “And I’m your cousin, disappointedly.”
When the rest of the royal guests had taken their leave, Alicia met with her grandfather and mother in his solar.
“Are you happy about the arrangements with Prince Deveron?” the king said, taking a seat on a well-cushioned golden chair.
Alicia knelt before him. “Very. It will be all right with you if I visit with Princess Ritasia to help her to improve her archery skills? She is most awful at it.”
He smiled. “Yes, but she will never be as good at it as a female dragon fae archer.”
“No, but anything would be an improvement.” She took a deep breath, thinking about how she’d never return to her human world again. But she couldn’t leave things as she had done without saying goodbye to Cassie. “One other thing, if it pleases you. Can I return to finish my vacation on South Padre Island with my friend, Cassie?”
“The human girl?” Her grandfather wrinkled his brow. “I don’t want you to see any more of the humans. For now you need to learn of our own kind. And make friends with those who are here.”
“But I left without saying goodbye. I want to tell her I’ll be moving away. And maybe, with your permission, I could see her from time to time.”
She could tell the way his frown lessened he was giving in to her wishes. Inwardly, she smiled. For whatever reason, he seemed to love her despite the fact she was the product of a fae he didn’t approve of. Though her father had become a king as well.
“All right, Alicia. You will have three days to spend on South Padre Island with your human friend. But then you must return here.”
She hugged him warmly. “I will...oh, thank you. I will.”
Her unbridled enthusiasm seemed to please him, and he smiled back. “Three days,” he warned, “or the dragon fae will descend on the human world with a vengeance.”
“I will return,” she promised.
For two hours, she tried to convince someone to take her to South Padre Island, but either the king ordered no one to agree, or they just didn’t want to. Her mother couldn’t because of the retaining collar she still wore. And even the countess refused her, three times.
Was it because they had lost her to the human world before and if something happened to her, her grandfather would have them killed?
For an hour, she concentrated on trying to transport herself. And then it happened. She nearly fainted. Blackness swirled around her, and she envisioned being home in her bedroom, on her bed. As soon as she arrived, she lay still, trying to orient herself to the spinning room. Once her stomach and gray matter settled, she bolted out of her house and dashed down the street to her friend’s.
When she reached Cassie’s home, she wiped the memories from Cassie’s parent’s minds that Viviana had returned Cassie home. Afterward, Alicia transported Cassie to their hotel in South Padre Island.
The hotel staff graciously accommodated them with a new room after Alicia used a minimum of fae mind magic. And Cassie never knew she’d ever left the island.
The day was more glorious than before. The strong sun beat down on the beach as Cassie lay out on her seal beach towel. Alicia jumped up from her lion towel. “Sodas, Cassie?”
“Yeah, sure would be nice.”
Alicia slipped a couple of dollars out of a money pouch. She stifled groans as she ran across the hot sand, burning her feet.
As soon as she reached the refreshment s
tand, she asked for two drinks.
The young man grinned at her. Tall, blond, beautiful tan, and the most gorgeous blue eyes studied her. “Looks like your friend just picked up a date. I’m working until two this afternoon. Want to go out for a burger then?”
Alicia turned to see who Cassie had reeled in this time.
Deveron, wearing only a pair of blue swimming trunks, his tanned skin glistening with water droplets, towered over Cassie. He spoke to her, his cheeks dimpled as he smiled broadly, seemingly oblivious to Alicia even being nearby.
“Some other time,” Alicia said quickly to the refreshment stand guy. She dropped the money on the counter. Not even waiting for her change, she grabbed the sodas and stormed across the beach to where Cassie flirted with Deveron.
He grinned at Alicia as he caught her eye. His gaze shifted to the sodas, then back to her eyes again. “Good to see you again, Alicia. But you may have been out in the sun a little too long. Your cheeks are positively rosy.”
She pursed her lips, wanting to sock him hard.
He cocked a brow. “You weren’t thinking of doing anything with those drinks other than drinking them, were you?” He grinned, the same old devilish dark fae smile.
“You know each other?” Cassie asked, sounding disappointed.
“Yeah,” Alicia said. “Maybe too well.”
Deveron arched a brow.
Then Alicia caught sight of Micala jogging up the beach. He winked at Alicia.
“My friend and cousin, Micala,” Deveron said to Cassie as Micala joined them. “Come swimming with me, Alicia, before you do something you regret and I have to get even.” He pulled the drinks out of her hands and passed them to Cassie and Micala.
Alicia couldn’t help smiling at him.
“There’s my faery princess.”
“Just you remember it, dark fae.” She grabbed his hand and dashed for the water. “Hot, hot, the sand is burning hot.”
He grabbed her up in his arms, and she squealed out in surprise. “I’ll protect you from the sand.”
“But who will protect you from me?” Alicia asked, grinning at him.
“I will beg for mercy.”
“Right.”
“Okay, so I won’t. You’re right. It’s not a dark fae quality.”
She laughed. “I didn’t think your mother would have allowed you to visit the human world again so soon after what happened the last time.”
“So what happened the last time?” He ran into the water, but still didn’t release her when the Gulf rose to his waist. “I found the perfect mate who released me from a marriage to Lorelei.”
“Well?”
“She said just this once.”
Alicia stared at him not believing a word he said.
He laughed. “I will never be able to get away with anything with you, will I?”
She shook her head.
“Okay, so she doesn’t know.”
“Oh, Deveron. If your mother finds you’ve disobeyed her again—”
“Not to worry.” He glanced at the beach where three Denkar fae trackers stood talking to Micala. “Or maybe just a little bit.” He kissed her lips. “A year will be a lifetime.”
“If you flirt with any more female humans or fae, it will go much more quickly for you.”
He chuckled. “Your dragon fae personality draws me to you like a parched fae is drawn to a source of water.”
The trackers looked in their direction, but instantly blackness swallowed Alicia and Deveron whole.
He was the worst sort of dark fae, all right, and every bit hers for all eternity—well, in another year.And truthfully, it wouldn’t be soon enough.
~*~
About the Author:
Bestselling and award-winning author Terry Spear has written over fifty paranormal romance novels and four medieval Highland historical romances. Her first werewolf romance, Heart of the Wolf, was named a 2008 Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year, and her subsequent titles have garnered high praise and hit the USA Today bestseller list. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry lives in Crawford, Texas, where she is working on her next werewolf romance, continuing her new series about shapeshifting jaguars, and having fun with her young adult novels. For more information, please visit www.terryspear.com, or follow her on Twitter, @TerrySpear. She is also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/terry.spear. And on Wordpress at:
Terry Spear's Shifters
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EHRIAD
Ehriad
A Novella of the Otherworld
by
Jenna Elizabeth Johnson
Copyrighted Material
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. All material in connection with Celtic myth has been borrowed and interpreted for use in the plot of the story only. Cover image is the sole property of the author. The Faelorehn font on the cover image and interior of this book was created by P.A. Vannucci (www.alphabetype.it) to be used in the Otherworld Series. Any resemblance to actual persons is entirely coincidental.
Ehriad
Copyright © 2012 by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson
All rights reserved.
No part of this book or its cover may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from its creator.
For more information and to contact the author, visit:
www.jennaelizabethjohnson.com
Contents
A Single Thread of Magic
The Morrigan’s Game
Broken Geis
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Books by this Author
Connect with me Online
Sneak Peek at Faelorehn, Book One of the Otherworld Trilogy
Ehriad
A Single Thread of Magic
The sharp snap of a twig and a low, almost imperceptible growl informed me that the creature I hunted was now only a few yards away. I assumed his snarl of frustration was aimed towards the branch he’d broken, giving away his presence, and not by any means meant to intimidate me. No matter. I had planned it this way. I had known he’d been following me for a good fifteen minutes now. It helped when you had another pair of eyes, and a good nose, to lend a hand.
How close? I sent to my spirit guide.
Ten feet, to the right, Fergus answered.
His mind was sharp; focused on the hunt. Even better.
I let my body ease out of the tense stance it had taken at hearing the sound of the snapped twig. One more minute Fergus. I’d let the creature stalk me for sixty seconds more.
The thing about faelah is despite their vicious, blood-thirsty tendencies, they aren’t very smart. I was only a few feet from the dolmarehn now, boxed in on most sides by the steep walls of the culvert, and the faelah was somewhere above me, close to the edge but remaining out of sight.
What exactly are we dealing with? I asked my spirit guide.
About my size, dark, no hair. Small eyes, big teeth, sharp, thin claws and a tail like a rat.
I nodded to myself. This particular monster resembled most other faelah: the grotesque, zombie-like imitations of animals created from the long-dead body parts of many others. If the people of the mortal world could see it, they would be cursed with a lifetime of nightmares to disrupt their sleep.
Fortunately for them, the faelah’s glamour kept it invisible from sight. No, only my people, the Faelorehn, could see the faelah. At least until they were destroyed and a small window between the time their glamour faded from their bodies and their flesh
turned to ash did the mere mortals get a chance to catch a glimpse. This was one of the main reasons I lured as many as I could back into the Otherworld, or at least deep enough into the woods to kill them where they wouldn’t be seen by anyone.
The crunch of dead leaves met my ears again, along with Fergus’s words: Get ready.
I slipped my hand into my boot, pulling out a long knife, pressing the dull side against my forearm so that I could stab if necessary.
In the next breath, the faelah leapt from the edge of the ravine and used the trunks of dead trees crisscrossing my path like ladder rungs to make its way down. The faelah came to rest only fifteen feet in front of me, a monster looking very much like a partially decomposed mountain lion. It growled at me, showing several long teeth, and twitched its reedy tail. Just as I had suspected, this one wasn’t going to let me lead it back into the Otherworld. Looks like it would have to be a kill. Not that I regretted it much. Most of the faelah had been alive at one time, but not anymore, not really. I bared my teeth in a grimace, hoping to intimidate the beast.
A flash of white caught the corner of my eye and a giant wolfhound joined us, using the same method the faelah had to reach the gully floor. He landed behind the creature, bearing his teeth and laying his rusty ears flat against his skull.
Kill? he sent to me.
Yes, this one will have to be a kill.
The beast howled and snapped its jaws before hunkering down on its hindquarters.
Here goes . . .
With preternatural speed the faelah leapt, mouth gaping open, massive paws tipped with needle-thin claws outstretched. I froze for a fraction of a second, then with one swift movement, jerked my hand diagonally across my body, swiping the sharp edge of my blade against leathery skin.
The yowl in the monster’s throat died and I quickly sidestepped, letting the body hurtle past me. It landed in a tangled heap in the dirt, the head nearly severed from the rest of the body. Its limbs twitched a few times as black, putrid blood spilled from the open wound. I wrinkled my nose at the smell, but didn’t gag. I was used to the stench.
Faery Realms: Ten Magical Titles: Multi-Author Bundle of Novels & Novellas Page 93
