Chasing Princes

by ERIN BEDFORD

  He must have sensed me the moment I got closer like I had, and like with the hole, the closer we got the more strongly we felt the other’s feelings. So my nervousness ended up being amplified by his. God, I couldn’t imagine how this would affect our day to day lives, let alone if we had kids!

  I couldn’t help but smile a bit at that thought. While having little Chesses running around sounded like a good idea, it tickled me that for once Chess would be able to understand what childbirth was like — and cramps! God, I forgot about those.

  My thoughts made the nervous jitters lessen and mild curiosity came from Chess. He was probably wondering what the hell I was thinking about to be so amused.

  Seer walked beside me oblivious to the inner exchange of emotions between Chess and I. I had been walking slowly alongside her when all of a sudden; a sharp pang of need hit me. My feet sped up, and I found myself power walking, almost on the verge of running. It took all that I had to keep myself from sprinting toward where Chess was like a beacon in the night.

  My eyes finally landed on a group of Fae, like those I had seen through the mirror, but there were way more than I had initially thought. I scanned the crowd, even as my magic kept moving me toward my other half. Even through the pulsing need, I was able to make out a few new creatures I’d never seen before.

  Frog and fish like creatures stood on two legs with waistcoats. A turtle with an eyeglass and top hat stood beside a hound dog that was quieting his pups. As I made my way through the crowd, all eyes turned to me, and a rush of self-consciousness filled me.

  That aching need was only getting stronger the further I went, and I felt like there was a huge neon sign pointing at me. Letting everyone there know just how desperate I was to get to Chess. My face heated as I imagined exactly what they smelled.

  I thought about using my magic to mask my scent, but that would point an even bigger finger at me. So, instead, I kept my eyes forward and tried not to think about all the eyes on me. When Mop stepped out of the crowd to greet me, I even bypassed him and kept going. He was probably frowning at my back, but I couldn’t be forced to care, all thoughts were on fulfilling the want inside me.

  A movement in the crowd in front of me caught my attention. Fae were being pushed aside left and right, and I could catch a glimpse of pale pink hair and a twitching ear in between each movement. Eventually, the crowd took the hint and parted, revealing a ferocious feline that froze me in place.

  The curiosity in him had faded and his desire reached out and caressed mine and it caused it to flare even brighter. The intensity of it made me gasp and my insides clench. The world around us faded, and I couldn’t see anyone but him.

  I waited with desperate anticipation as he took one step after the other until he was standing in front of me. He didn’t say anything, and though we were both consumed with our need, I could feel his need to apologize in the back of my throat. I think I nodded, or maybe I just thought it, but the next thing I knew his mouth was on mine.

  If the crowd was watching us I wouldn’t have known, my hands buried in his hair and my front pressed tightly against his as we tried to meld ourselves together. His clawed hands gripped the sides of my arms, almost tight enough to break the skin. I heard a loud groan and realized with a start that it came from me. The haze that had been clouding my mind faded, and I quickly took the opportunity to get a grip on myself.

  My hands loosened in his silky tresses and moved to push against his steel chest still pressed against mine. Chess didn’t take the hint. He was too wrapped up in the desire to be closer to me. My magic built up, and I pressed it toward him, just to give him a little zap, but all that did was send a wave of pleasure between us. It was like he was inside me, caressing parts that should never be touched, and it almost caused me to lose my grip again.

  Thankfully, someone cleared their throat, reminding me once more that we weren’t alone. It was what I needed to finally rip myself away from Chess, and my eyes popped open. I kept my gaze on Chess’ face not daring to look at those around us. My face was already as red as a tomato. I didn’t think it could get any worse, but I didn’t want to take the chance.

  My reluctance to participate anymore caused the grip on my shoulders to lessen and Chess opened his green orbs. His eyes were still a bit clouded, but there was just a hint of him still in there that told me he was closer to himself than before.

  “Hi,” I breathed. He smiled until just a hint of fang was showing.

  “Hello, pet.” His hands smoothed down the sides of my arms, rubbing them in a comforting motion. My embarrassment lessened a bit at the movement and I returned his smile.

  “I’m glad you are okay.” I chewed on my lip and peered up at him with uncertainty. “I was worried he might have done something to you when I left.”

  Bitterness hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest and it made me stumble. Chess’ hands grabbed me before I could fall and the bitterness turned to concern.

  “We really need to get a hold on this or we are going to go crazy.” I shook my head at him, there was no need to explain what this was his agreement was clear enough.

  A throat cleared once again, this time with annoyance from its owner. We turned toward the sound to see Mop standing beside us, irritation on his brown face. His arms were crossed and his foot tapped, he was the only one out of all the Fae who had the audacity to be mad at us when the rest of them were either embarrassed, pretending not to watch, or had hunger in their eyes.

  “Sorry, Mop. I didn’t mean to ignore you, I was just…preoccupied.” My gaze slid to Chess who shot me an emotion so intense I had to close my eyes for a moment to catch my breath. I threw him an annoyed look that I knew he could feel as well but he replied with a cheeky grin.

  “That!” Mop shouted, his short pudgy finger pointing at us. “What ya’ll be doin’?”

  I shuffled my feet and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “It’s complicated.”

  Mop snorted and then leaned in close to sniff the air in front of him. “That complication be havin’ to do with why the cat be smellin’ like ye?”

  My eyebrows rose and I had a sudden urge to sniff Chess and then myself in return. Weirdly, Chess didn’t seem surprised that we smelled the same. Did our exchange of magic cause it? I wouldn’t have thought that it would change our scents, but with my limited knowledge of magic, I shouldn’t be surprised.

  “Lady!” an ecstatic voice called out and a familiar pair of floppy ears came into view followed by the rest of the hopping opalaught. “Lady, Trip missed Lady, Trip did!”

  A smile spread across my face, and I kneeled down until I was eye level with him. Holding my arms out to him for a hug, I couldn’t help but bury my face into his fur as we embraced. I might complain about the Underground, but one thing I couldn’t get enough of was this little fur ball and his forever innocent and cheerful nature.

  “I missed you too, Trip.” I squeezed him tight and then pulled him away. “But you shouldn’t be here. None of you should.” I let my eyes scan over the crowd.

  “But we wanted to help Lady, we did.” Trip frowned, his ears falling down around his face, his sadness tugging at my heart.

  Mop stepped forward, placing a hand on my shoulder. “We be wantin’ ye to know ye ain’t alone in this. We be willin’ to fight for ye since it be our home ye be fightin’ for. Ye don’ be havin’ to go at it alone.”

  My gaze softened at the brownie, not expecting such a speech from him. It was almost not grumpy at all. At the beginning of all this I would have been delighted to take him up on that offer but since then I’d learned the hard way what it meant to be up against the Shadows. If I took them into battle I wouldn’t just be gaining an army, I’d be giving Dorian targets to use against me. I had no doubt that he would stoop so low, the Shadows had.

  “While I appreciate the offer, Mop. This is really something I have to do alone.” I placed my hand on top of his, giving it a reassuring pat. “I would feel
more secure if I knew you were somewhere safe away from all of this.” I gave him a teasing smile. “Besides, I met your wife and that is not a woman who would stay a widow long, should you not come back.”

  “Well, I…uh…” Mop sputtered, his face turning red as he stared down at his shoes.

  Having mercy I turned my attention back to the creature in my arms. “And you…” I tapped Trip on the nose with a smile. “I need you to take care of Alice and my garden, in case I don’t come back.”

  “Don’t say that, Lady, don’t.” he shook his head sadly, his tail swaying behind him as he clung to me. “Lady’s carrots are the best, no way can Trip compare, no way.”

  “I’m sure you will get the hang of it, but that’s only if things go wrong. That doesn’t mean I won’t go down without a fight.” I put my fists up to show him I was ready for anything, but he didn’t smile, if anything, his expression fell further. Letting out a sigh, I patted him on the head before standing to my feet.

  Twisting around to where Seer was standing off to the side waiting I asked, “Are you ready?”

  Glancing around the area, and then to Chess who held his hand out to me. I clasped mine in his and turned back to her. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter 17

  Words and Blood

  THE MIRROR SEER brought us to was not the one that led to the Shadows Between. It was a smaller, square shaped one that was a little ways away from the crowd of Fae.

  They didn’t run and hide like I had tried to urge them. They seemed dead set on seeing this through, even if it was from afar. They wanted to be there together no matter what happened.

  I couldn’t fault them. If the fate of my world was narrowed down to one ex-librarian that didn’t really belong anywhere, I’d be a little nervous too. Hell, I was nervous because it was me. Dear God, don’t let me fuck this up.

  I reached my hand up to touch the frame of the mirror, my mother at the forefront of my mind, but my hand was stopped by Chess’. I turned to him with a questioning look. He gave my hand a small squeeze and smiled.

  “Let’s do it together.”

  My lips tipped up and I nodded. Chess drew my hand up until we touched the frame of the mirror. The surface rippled and churned longer than usual. At first, I thought it wouldn’t give us what we wanted. Did we think two different things? Was she not near a mirror? But then the mirror stopped and the image of my mother sitting at her vanity appeared.

  She was alone without her guards or servants. Her head was down and she was staring hard at something in her hands. I squinted to see what it was.

  It was a tiny cloth doll with blue hair and cream-colored skin. It wore a little red dress that didn’t go with her hair at all. She had a stitch on one arm where she had caught it on the thorn bush in the gardens. I knew because it was my doll she was holding.

  My nanny at the time had given it to me as a gift, and I had taken it everywhere. I loved that doll more than anything else and when she had gotten a tear, I had made the mistake of running to my mother begging her to fix it. She had scoffed at me looking at the doll with disgust.

  “Princesses should not play with silly toys such as this.” She had grabbed it from me and thrown it to one of the guards. “Get rid of it.”

  I had begged and pleaded with her to let me keep it, but she just sent me to my room. As I cried myself to sleep that night, I had learned a hard lesson about my mother. That was the day I vowed I’d never be like her, and I never asked her for anything ever again.

  Except for today. “Hello, Mother.”

  Her head jerked up from the doll, surprise filling her face before it smoothed into her usual icy stare. “Daughter, I wasn’t expecting you so soon. I see you got your cat back, well done.” She nodded her head toward Chess, who pressed the front of his body against my side.

  It was a comfort to have him so close, but it was also distracting. The magic in me that called out to his was getting restless. We had placated it when we kissed, but it wasn’t nearly enough. I shoved it back down like bile rising in my throat and fixated all my attention on the woman in the mirror.

  “Yes, the queen helped us out with that.” Let her think I had Mab on my side. It wasn’t a complete lie.

  “Oh?” Her eyebrows rose. “I didn’t know she was seeing visitors already. My visit must have cheered her up more than I thought. Well, good for her.” The words were meant to be kind but they were tinged with anger.

  What had happened between them? I didn’t ask. It would be a waste of time. I was lucky to get the answers to important questions, let alone those that were just for curiosity’s sake.

  “I’m not calling to chat about the family.”

  “Really? Then what, pray tell, are you bothering me in my private quarters for?” she sat up further in her chair, smoothing her hands over her gown. This one was not like her usual attire. It was a dark blue that was loose and floated down below the vanity top. Her hair wasn’t in a complicated do; it fell down around her shoulders. Had I caught her before she was going to bed?

  Ignoring the need to ask, I lifted my chin to meet her eyes. “I want the words.”

  For a moment she didn’t answer, she watched me with careful consideration before she asked, “What words?”

  Annoyance stabbed at me, and I gave Chess a look that said to calm down. It wouldn’t do for us to screw this up when we were so close.

  “No more games, Mother. You know what I want.” I chose my words carefully, happy that my voice came out steady and confident.

  Sniffing, she closed her eyes briefly before picking up her brush from the vanity. She slid the bristles over her hair in slow, precise movements. Each stroke a calculated movement. She was thinking so hard I swore I could almost hear her thoughts. She was considering not giving them to me, or at least not without a fight.

  The realization caused a rage in me that made my magic spark to life. The magic in Chess responded, in turn, brushing along my skin where his body pressed against mine. The combination caused a volatile reaction that caused the mirror to crackle and shake.

  It must have affected the mirror on her side, because her eyes snapped up and her brush paused mid-brush. There was a hint of fear in her eyes that made part of me smile. She was finally realizing that her fears of me were true.

  “The words, Mother,” I said slowly, with a hint of violence in my voice.

  Setting the brush down, her lips pressed firmly together like she wanted to say something but was holding back. She placed her hands on top of the vanity and drew her shoulders back as if prepping herself for a role.

  “You must say these words exactly or it will not work. It is a variation of a blood oath, and if you don’t get the wording right, then they might find a way to wiggle out of it, and then we’ll be right back where we started.”

  I didn’t have to ask who they were. If you gave them a chance to manipulate your words then they would do it in a heartbeat. If she said I had to say them exactly, then that was what I was going to do.

  “Understood.” I nodded, letting her know I was ready.

  “Blood of like blood, my heart to yours, return to the realm from which you came and dwell here no longer.” As she said the words a chill spread along my skin, causing goose bumps to rise.

  I held back the urge to rub them away, and instead, focused on remembering the words. Blood of like blood? Was it because I was a half-breed and that sort of made us the same? Neither of us belonged to one world, but the Shadows belonged more to the Shadow Realm than any other world anyways.

  The second part, my heart to yours, didn’t sit well. What did that mean? Could that be the part that Chess warned me about that could cause me to die? I hoped not.

  The last part was fairly obvious. It was demanding them to go back to where they came from. But what if what they thought they came from was this world and not the Shadow Realm? Would that be enough for them to change the deal?

  The words obviously
held power from just her saying them. So, would they be even more powerful when combined with blood? I couldn’t say I looked forward to that part.

  “Where did you get the spell from?” Chess spoke up beside me, his unease pressing onto me. At least I wasn’t the only one unsure about the words.

  My mother wasn’t surprised by the question and simply shrugged. “Oh, around.”

  “That’s likely.” The sarcasm dripped from my words as I frowned. “It’s a fair question. I don’t want to be saying something I don’t know for sure will work. How do I know you aren’t just sending me to my death?”

  It was her turn to frown. She made an audible noise in the back of her throat and then picked up the doll she had discarded.

  “I might not have been the best of mothers.” I snorted and she glared at me. “But, whether or not you believe it, I’ve always had your interest at heart. Maybe after this is all over we could start over and have the kind of relationship you always wanted?”

  I was taken aback by the hopefulness in her voice. She wanted a relationship with me? Her? The one who had spent my whole life shutting me out and then keeping me from anyone else that could possibly influence me to think the wrong way? I didn’t think so.

  “Yeah, maybe. If I don’t die in the process,” I said instead of what I was thinking.

  Dropping the doll to the vanity, she sighed. “You aren’t going to die, Lynne.” The sound of my name on her lips sounded more natural than I wanted to admit.

  Chess wasn’t fooled by her words, his hand tightened around me. “How do you know?”

  “Because, the spell is meant to suck them back into the Shadow Realm. The Reaper gave it to me himself. The only way you would die is if you aren’t strong enough to resist the pull.” Her condescending attitude was back in full force.

  “What pull?” I asked her.

  “Of the blood, of course. Saying the words are all fine and dandy but without the blood, it is practically useless. The blood is everything.” Her eyes glinted at the mention of blood, a kind of hunger reaching her eyes.