“Seems almost impossible to have gone through so much,” she agreed. “I do believe you about the relics, and I do want to help you find them,” she said with an easy smile. Her eyes slid down his body, taking in his well-defined abs that the shirt failed to hide. “You know, if you have been around for as long as I think you’ve been, you are seriously robbing the cradle with this one,” she laughed as she pointed a thumb to herself and expelled a breath with a smile.
“Tell me, sweet girl, do I fuck like someone who needs to pop a little blue pill an hour before its go-time?” he asked cockily, his eyes smiling as he used magic to pull her body closer to his.
“No, and maybe it’s your age that makes you like me, so I shouldn’t argue with numbers,” she whispered as she looked up at him and felt her chest tighten. “You strip me bare, and see through everything. You see me in a way that lets me know that you know everything about me, my flaws and those imperfections that most guys run away from. You see the real me and yet you still want me, and maybe I’m a fool for questioning it, but why? Because my soul tastes sweet, or is it something else?”
“The taste of your soul has little to do with it. Unlike the others, Olivia, I can see the purity of your soul and I can look beyond it all because I know what’s really in here,” he said as he placed his hand on her heart. “Many people would have run out of the Guild, leaving those children to whatever fate the Gods had in store for them, but you ran to them. It shows on your soul. It gives it a gold tinge, which is normally reserved for those who give their lives for others, and yours glows with it. I didn’t want to see it before, and often the soul can reflect what the being feels, which, for a while there, was guilt. As a librarian you know that sometimes the most beautiful covers have the dullest story hidden in their pages, while the most used or plain cover can have the most beautiful world created within its pages. Don’t they teach you to never judge a book by what others think of it, and that only someone willing to take the time to read it for themselves will know what truly is inside of it? With you, there is a beautiful cover and a marvelous story inside that is still being written.”
Swoon! She barely contained the tears as her heart thumped against where his hand rested. She leaned to him and placed a soft kiss against his lips.
“You should have been born a poet,” she whispered as she pulled away.
“Screw that,” he laughed as he placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I’d rather be a porn star,” he said as he pulled away. Shit had just gotten a lot deeper than he was comfortable with, and he still needed to figure out how to keep her from being a target for Danu’s rage.
“So we’re going to Ireland together?” she asked as she watched him move away from her and return to the files.
“Yep,” he said in confirmation. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to go alone, though, so I’ll need some time to get a few others to join us.”
“A few of the Horde?” she asked with a slight tremor of unease in her voice.
“My brothers,” he confirmed, his eyes settling on her as she swallowed any argument she’d been about to voice.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ireland was freezing, but luckily Ristan had glamoured her into a warm black coat with a soft, knitted black scarf and a pair of Bear Paws that had matching fur trim on them; now she didn’t even notice the chill in the air.
After seeing the huge gatherings and crowds on a Sunday at the cathedral, they decided to play it safe and wait for Monday when the visitor volume would be much lighter. If that didn’t work, they would have to make a try on the cathedral at dark. In the meantime, they had decided to just blend in among the tourists and locals. Olivia was game for the adventure that Dublin offered and couldn’t wait to see the sights of the historical city.
Everything around this city was alive. Laughter filled the air as tourists milled through tours, or the many sites of history. Ristan had even set up a tour at Trinity College that she hadn’t expected since it was the weekend.
They toured the old library at Trinity College, and the glass displays that held some of the world’s oldest books. She couldn’t contain the smile that crossed her face or the excitement as they toured the exhibition of the ancient Book of Kells. It was the actual illuminated manuscript of the four gospels of the New Testament that was written in Latin by monks in Ireland in either the 8th or 9th century. Her fingers itched to touch the binding or any of the pages.
Next they’d gone to see Dublin castle, which was beautifully kept and even though it was completed almost eight centuries ago, it was still a magnificent sight. She was so enthralled with everything she was seeing, that she hardly even noticed the two Fae who trailed behind them as Ristan pointed out anything and everything that might interest her.
It wasn’t until they were on the cobblestones of the Temple Bar District that she actually watched them as they danced to the musicians that played along the streets and corners of the district. They’d been in Ireland for less than six hours at this point, and Olivia was really enjoying the perks of sifting and the three men accompanying her who were acting like any of the Human men sightseeing or hanging out in the area.
Aodhan danced with the girls, any girls, really. He smiled and accepted the hand of any maiden in the area who offered, like a bee moving quickly from flower to flower. Sinjinn was a bit more selective, but that didn’t make him any less active or charming. She watched them, laughing until Ristan pulled her to him and forced her to dance one of the traditional dances. She hadn’t laughed this hard in ages, and it felt good.
Folk music filled the area, and they danced to it with total strangers. Ristan kept his hand on the small of her back protectively, which she liked.
“Admit it,” Ristan shouted over the music.
“Admit what?” she asked with heated cheeks from overexerting herself dancing.
“You feel it,” he laughed, his hand tightening against her back as he used it to guide her away from the crowd.
“I love it,” she admitted. “I’ve never traveled, well, unless you include the trip from the Salem to Spokane when I was a babe. Most librarians get to do some travelling. I was never offered, though,” she said without any resentment at being stuck in one location.
“I couldn’t imagine it,” he said.
“Imagine what?” she asked as she accepted a cup of hot apple cider from one of the many vendors. She waited for Ristan to pay the man before she turned and continued down the cobblestones.
“Being unable to travel, to see the beauty of the world,” he admitted. “I love this world, even if I don’t understand the way they think sometimes. I mean, this world’s perception of beauty is mind-boggling at times,” he said and laughed when she gently slapped him on the bicep.
“That’s probably because you grew up with extreme beauty around you, People here are easily influenced by beauty and tend to judge a great deal based on looks. I guess it’s a flaw in our make-up, but oftentimes it is easier to believe someone who is pleasing to the eye than someone that isn’t. Example; the news anchors are always good-looking and pleasing to the eye. People here watch the news and take in what others say and are often easily tricked into thinking certain things that they really shouldn’t.”
“It just seems strange to me that so much emphasis is placed on beauty here, when I could give two shits about what they consider perfection. In my world, I’m marked and judged on sight because of the way I look, because my appearance identifies me as a Demon. However, Demons have a well-deserved reputation. Here, so much isn’t deserved based on looks, take you, for example; red hair in my world is considered variety. Danu detests boring and predictability. Here, red hair is considered a genetic mutation. Frankly, I have never seen such a lovelier mutation.” He smiled fondly and swept his hand behind her head, bunched her hair up, and let the stands slip slowly out of his f
ingers. “Those little freckles across your nose are also mutations. Fae don’t have freckles, so I think those little mutations make you more beautiful. I guess you will have to forgive me for not understanding cruel idiots here who use the idea that those are mutations to go out of their way to hurt redheaded people; I think the term is ‘ginger-bashing.’”
“People are easily influenced and go with what they know,” she said softly, as she mulled over his words and how they made her heart soar. “Most of them are influenced by how they were raised. Take me for example; I grew up being told that I should hate the Fae. I was fed a steady diet of it, and so I did.”
“To a certain extent, I understand what you are saying. There also comes a point where a person has to just say ‘fuck it’ and make decisions on their own that don’t involve hurting others.” He looked at her meaningfully. Since her eyes had been opened about what was really going on with the Guild, she was forming her own opinions and she had become even more beautiful to him. An ideal pairing that he never thought he would ever experience.
“Hey, you left us!” Aodhan’s voice interrupted his thoughts as he walked up beside Ristan and smiled briefly at Olivia. “Let’s go get a drink, I’m thirsty as hell,” he said and started up the road.
“Temple Bar Pub?” Ristan asked, his hand absently finding hers and heading in the direction before anyone had finished answering him.
“Shut the front door! Really? I can’t wait to see it!” she said eagerly. “I read about this place so many times; this whole area is a historical landmark,” she said as they continued to walk. “It used to be St. Andrews Parish, and before that, it was an honest-to-God Viking settlement.”
“Now those were some Humans who knew how to party,” Sinjinn said as he grabbed a felt leprechaun top hat from a stand and held it up to his head. “Is it me?” he asked, much to the amusement of the lady at the stand.
“For eight euro, it can be you all you like it to be,” she said as she held out her hand for the money.
“Four of them, please,” he said.
Olivia was excited by the history of this place and couldn’t get enough of it, but watching three grown men, or Fae, putting on leprechaun hats was a high point. They looked so normal, so human. It was hard to tell them apart from the tourists or even locals, except for the fact that the three tall males were inhumanly beautiful.
They entered the Temple Bar Pub after handing the hats off to a couple of kids, and took a seat in the back, away from the college aged kids that seemed to be filling the place up. They’d just ordered a round of Guinness pints when a gorgeous brown-haired woman with an ample bust approached them, looking directly at Ristan.
“Can I get you anything?” the waitress asked, flaunting her goods at him as she leaned over to show off her generous breasts.
“We’re good,” he said, and turned to look back at Olivia, but Miss No Dignity wasn’t finished.
“I bet you are,” she laughed. “I mean can I get you anything, even something off-menu?” she smiled.
“I think we’re good,” Ristan replied, his eyes slowly moving from the waitress to Olivia.
“Maybe you should have her go look for her dignity?” Olivia snapped, and then slapped her hand over her mouth in shock. She’d thought it, but she hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
“You can help me,” Aodhan said matter-of-factly as he winked at Olivia.
They watched as Aodhan scooted his stool away from the table they were seated at and made a smooth exit through the crowd and out the front doors of the pub with the waitress in tow.
“That wasn’t weird at all,” Olivia mumbled, her nose scrunched up as the knowledge of what was about to happen outside played in her mind.
“More?” Sinjinn asked as he lifted his hand to stop one of the other waitresses. “Another round, please,” he said with a charming smile to the younger waitress.
“That wasn’t normal,” Ristan said after a moment. Looking around the packed room, he noticed many inhuman creatures; some had been expected. However, the woman in the far corner with the beady eyes and sharp teeth, also known as a Hag, wasn’t.
“Fuckin’ hell,” he growled as he pushed from away from the table. “That wasn’t random, it was selection of the fittest,” he growled. “It’s a damn Hag. Olivia, don’t move until I come back for you.”
Ristan didn’t wait to see if she listened, but she did. She watched as he ran from the bar with Sinjinn close at his heels. The doors flew open just before they reached them, and closed the moment they were outside.
“Another drink?” he waitress asked as she offered a steaming cup of coffee with vanilla cream thickly piled on the top. Olivia’s nose wrinkled as she told herself that she’d had enough coffee already today, and sleeping would be a problem if she indulged, but those little flakes of chocolate on top of the cream seemed like a crime to waste.
“Thank you,” she said as she accepted it and used her finger to dip into the cream and pull out a few bits of the shaved chocolate to nibble on. Minutes went by, and people milled about as she waited for the men to come back.
She’d finished the drink a few moments before she felt the wooziness start. She must have reached her coffee limit, or perhaps it was the lack of sleep from Ristan’s sexual marathons that was kicking in. She leaned back against the wall and people-watched the crowded bar while enjoying the live music until a voice whispered against her ear.
“Make a sound and I will slit your throat like butter, bitch,” Cyrus growled.
“No,” she whispered silently.
“Come with me, or I’ll give the word to kill your Demon lover right now,” he warned.
“Cyrus, please don’t do this,” she begged, her lip trembling from anger and the idea that once again, this monster had Ristan in his custody.
“Get up and move or you’ll both die right here, right now.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks as she brought her hand up to wipe at them furiously for being caught again. The torque she still wore would prevent her from casting any spells, and a few choice ones came to mind that she would have loved to try on Cyrus. With another swipe at the tears, she did the only thing she could think of and used her teeth to tear at the skin near the palm of her hand, smearing her blood on the edge of the table and stool as she stood up.
If Cyrus was lying, she wanted Ristan to know that she hadn’t betrayed him again. She tried to make eye contact with several of the people around them, but, like most people at a bar, they were too busy on their phones or socializing with their friends to take notice of what was happening so close to them.
“That’s it, slut, move it,” he sneered hatefully.
“I am not a slut,” she hissed.
“You spread those thighs for him, have you not?” he countered as he moved her towards the back exit.
“Go to hell, Cyrus. You’re surely destined for it anyway. You killed innocent people, people who trusted you to keep them safe,” she said venomously as she turned a cold stare in his direction, only to feel the bite of a knife as she did.
“I’ll go to hell, Olivia, right after I send you there.”
Chapter Forty
Ristan and Sinjinn entered the dark alley close to the pub and found Aodhan pressed up against a wall, his eyes closed as the waitress worked his cock, looking as if he enjoyed it. Both he and Sinjinn winced as they realized what she was doing to their brother.
Aodhan moaned and Ristan growled as she turned to look at them, pulling Aodhan’s cock from her mouth; her serrated teeth dripped blood as she smiled. “You want a turn?” the Hag asked, her smile revealing her monstrous teeth even more.
“Nah, thanks, I like my cock with its skin on,” Sinjinn said as his armor appeared in place of his clothes and he pulled out blades. “But you? You’d look right pretty without skin;
don’t you think so, Ristan?”
Ristan remained silent as he materialized a long dual-bladed sword in each hand. His armor shimmered into place as he slipped into a battle stance. “Get the hell away from him,” he warned coldly, his words barely above a whisper, but holding enough warning to make a full grown monster stop cold—but not this bitch.
“He’s mine! I earned him. I got you away from her. I did my part, and now I get my reward!” the Hag sneered, her body contorting from the shapely, pretty waitress to her true form.
Her skin melted, revealing boils and rotted flesh, her fingers extended into razor sharp talons. Her hair changed from a glossy brown to dull gray until it matted, and fell from her scalp, exposing even more sores.
“Shit, get off me,” Aodhan muttered dazedly holding himself up against the wall as he tried to figure out what the hell had just been tasting his cock.
“Fuck,” Ristan said, sending out a call for help on the mental link he shared with his brothers. The thing about these ugly bitches was they went everywhere in packs, so somewhere close were others just waiting to weave their dirty magic on him and Sinjinn. Hags were deadly to Humans, but to a Fae caught in their web of seduction, they’d end up wishing to the Gods for death.
“Eyes,” Ristan warned, knowing his brothers could see and hear what he and Sinjinn were experiencing through the link. “This bitch has friends.”
“That she does,” Sinjinn agreed as he turned in a circle to check the area.
Ristan felt the air shift, and then overwhelming power that rippled around them as the Elite Guard entered through a portal close to the bloody scene. His mind was replaying the Hag’s words, and fear for Olivia was plaguing him as he faced the deadly bitch that was soon to die. He knew her sisters were here somewhere close, waiting for just the time to attack.
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