He deposited her on the bottom step and she gripped Devin’s offered hand. Now she stood on the steps, they appeared as solid as white marble. She hitched up her leather skirt so she could see the low-heeled pumps Twister had found for her.
From behind, Nightshade lightly rested his hands on either side of her waist and leaned close, his head level with hers as she was on a higher step. “I won’t let you fall,” he whispered into her ear.
Ruby’s eyelids drifted down as she relished the warm brush of his lips and the silky sweep of his hair tickling her neck. She placed her hands over his and linked their fingers. She hoped he would come home with her, even if only for a little while, once she rid herself of the Mistress’s power. He’d told her he lived in the human world, so he might. The thought of never seeing him again left her hollow.
“You can’t do that when we reach the Emerald Tower,” Twister complained. “Ruby must stay with me.”
Ruby rolled her eyes. “Perhaps we should forget the fake engagement if you’re going to be a pain about it.”
Twister huffed and ran on up the stairs ahead.
Nightshade urged her forward, so Ruby took a step up and then another. With Nightshade’s steadying touch she climbed higher. Ignoring the misty blue nothingness on either side, she tried to forget they were climbing into the sky.
“How far up is the city?” she asked.
“You can’t really measure the height in earthly terms, because the Seelie Court exists in an alternate realm, but it’s about a thousand steps.”
“One thousand! Damn.” Ruby sucked in a breath. Her legs were already aching. When she got home, she would seriously have to start using the treadmill hidden in the corner of her studio behind a heap of canvases. “I need a rest.”
She stopped and leaned back against Nightshade while she caught her breath. Perhaps she should reconsider his offer to carry her. None of the men looked even slightly out of breath.
They tramped on for what felt like hours, and Ruby’s leg muscles were trembling with fatigue by the time Devin finally signaled them to stop. She was sweaty and probably had a face the color of beetroot.
Devin pushed open an invisible door, and they filed out onto a green marble terrace. The gleaming walls of the Emerald Palace towered above, framed by the perfect blue of a cerulean sky. Silver pennants fluttered atop an assortment of spires. Below the palace spread a metropolis of iridescent crystal buildings sparkling in the sun like a city of jewels.
“Strewth,” Ruby blurted in an awed whisper.
“Don’t be too impressed,” Devin replied. “Eighty percent is created by glamour, and the twenty percent that’s real is enhanced by it. The Seelie are all about appearances and bloodlines, surface crap like that. Seelie beauty is only skin-deep. They’re bigoted, narrow-minded . . .” His breath hissed out between his clenched teeth and he visibly reined back his anger.
“We get the point,” Nightshade said, putting a supportive hand on Devin’s arm. “Just remember we’re here for Ruby.”
Twister stepped up beside her. “We have company,” he said, pointing up at the diaphanous white form of a specter floating high above their heads. “Back off, stalker,” he whispered to Nightshade. “For Ruby’s safety, they must believe she’s the Unseelie queen.”
Nightshade and Twister exchanged antagonistic glares before Nightshade stepped back. Twister held out his arm. Ruby didn’t like being passed around like a package, but this had been her own choice so she couldn’t complain. With a regretful smile at Nightshade, she placed her hand on Twister’s forearm.
Seeing the Unseelie king’s face change, she felt her mouth drop open in surprise. She hardly recognized him. His scars were gone, his skin a smooth bronze, his eyes a pale golden brown. Her first assessment of him had been right: without the scars, he was incredibly easy on the eyes.
“He’s using glamour,” Nightshade accused.
Devin’s appearance had assumed a gloss as well. Ruby took a moment to identify the difference, because he normally looked gorgeous, but now his hair gleamed brighter, while the rich velvety brown of his eyes had a more compelling depth. She could lose herself in them. Ruby wished she had the ability to glam up; she needed it a lot more than Devin.
When she looked at Nightshade, the fine lines of his already handsome face looked unchanged.
“Glamour is not one of my gifts,” he said with a touch of resentment.
Ruby smiled at him. “You don’t need it.” Nightshade’s silver eyes gleamed, and his frown fell away.
“Remember you’re my queen,” Twister said as they started walking toward the palace. “Don’t go making eyes at the stalker when we’re inside or you’ll give the game away. The Seelie might be vain and shallow; they’re not stupid.”
“Although much of the Crystal City is an illusion, the Emerald Palace is real,” Devin said, leading them up the green marble steps and in through a small door beneath a portico. “But don’t believe most of what you see inside.”
A long corridor stretched before them; pillars of white marble shot through with silver flanked each side. A writhing mass of specters floated beneath the twenty-foot-high ceiling, a ghostly nightmare. Ruby shivered and gripped Twister’s arm. Her senses screamed in warning every time she saw a specter. Their energy just felt evil.
“The Seelie hunters know we’re here, so the court will be expecting us.” Devin paced off in front of them. Ruby almost had to jog to match his long strides.
“I’m here for you, Ruby.” Nightshade’s hand brushed fleetingly against her arm. “If you need my help at any time, just tell me.”
She wished she could pretend to be Nightshade’s wife. She trusted him. Twister only wanted her for her power. He’d sell her out to the highest bidder if it suited him.
Devin stopped at the end of the corridor, and they followed suit. A magnificent room lay before them. Green marble pillars supported a vaulted clear crystal roof through which sunlight flooded, spotlighting a matching pair of silver thrones at the far end occupied by a man and a woman. Tall blond Seelie hunters clothed in silver mail with crystal breastplates stood to attention around the room. The place looked like something at Disneyland.
“They sure like silver,” Ruby said.
“Not silver. Far too cheap,” Devin scoffed. “And gold’s too common. Everything you see here is platinum.”
A Seelie hunter glared with barely concealed contempt but signaled them to enter. “You are invited into the presence of the Blessed king and queen.”
Ruby wanted to deny that she was impressed, but the scale and beauty of the place left her breathless.
Devin motioned Twister and Ruby past him, his jaw clenched. “They’re egotistical perfectionists,” he whispered as he dropped back behind her with Nightshade.
“Reassure me, why don’t you,” she muttered under her breath.
Her heels clacked discordantly in the eerie silence as they started down the long room toward the thrones. Unnerved to have so many beautiful people staring at her, she concentrated on the wondrous decorations: Huge sprays of crystalline flowers filled woven platinum vases. Crystal globes bobbed in the air high above their heads, splitting the sunlight into rainbows of color. Massive pieces of abstract artwork lined the walls, yet their canvases seemed the air itself.
“People would pay good money to visit this place,” Ruby remarked. “All the Seelie need are a few roller coasters and a McDonald’s franchise and they’d have it made.”
“Shh,” Twister hissed.
They neared the Seelie king and queen. The delicate notes of a harp filled the air in a seeming angel cliché. Ruby swallowed an incredulous laugh.
They halted ten feet from the thrones. The king and queen were perfect in a false, airbrushed way that made Ruby squint to see through the soft focus. Eavan and Nairne sat bolt upright, as if they had platinum backbones. Nairne’s white satin dress glittered with shiny embroidery and pearls, while the golden hair piled on her head was speared with
a multitude of platinum spikes, each topped with an emerald that matched her eyes.
Twister bowed. “May I present the Unseelie queen?” He gripped Ruby’s hand, and she stepped forward half a stride, inclining her head.
Eavan’s blue gaze skated over her with a hint of distaste. “This is the Mistress of the Beasts? She’s not what I expected.”
Behind Ruby, a growl sounded. She didn’t like Eavan’s critical tone either, but she prayed Nightshade wouldn’t lose his temper.
“How convenient, that the new Mistress has consented to be the Unblessed queen,” Eavan added with a false smile.
Twister’s arm tensed beneath Ruby’s hand. “The Blackthorn Throne blossomed at her touch.”
“She’s the Mistress of the Beasts. What did you expect?” Eavan rolled his eyes. “Her grandmother’s touch would likely have brought forth blossom from your throne, but I doubt you’d have wanted to bond with her.”
The butterflies in Ruby’s stomach stomped around in hobnailed boots. This meeting didn’t seem to be going according to plan.
Nairne laid a gentling hand on her husband’s arm and gave Twister and Ruby a faint smile. “Are you bonded? I don’t sense the link between you.”
Nightshade stepped forward, his arm brushing Ruby’s. She didn’t need special powers to sense his edginess. Eavan’s gaze flicked to the nightstalker, and Ruby realized he was assessing their every move.
“Not yet, Blessed queen,” Twister said. “I wanted to wait until the Mistress learned to control her power.”
Nairne smiled and inclined her head, but Ruby wasn’t fooled by the politesse. The Seelie king and queen didn’t believe she was Twister’s queen.
“Before the Mistress consults with the Bride of Light, there’s someone who wants to meet her.”
Eavan glanced to his left, where a massive marble column obscured the corner of the room. A Seelie hunter with spiky blond hair and the same silver mail shirt and crystal breastplate as the other hunters stepped into view. Then he moved forward and pivoted to face them. Ruby’s breath shuddered in, and she held it trembling in her lungs. Large arched wings of pristine white feathers framed his body.
He strode forward, halting five feet from her. He scanned her from head to toe, then nodded once as if satisfied. “You look like your mother.”
“Mistress,” Nairne said in her silvery sweet voice, “I’d like to introduce your father.”
* * *
Chapter Six
At the sight of her father, Ruby couldn’t get a single word out of her mouth. Her mother hadn’t exaggerated his appearance. He was an angelic stereotype, with his good looks, blond hair, and white feathered wings. Trust her to inherit the short, plump, and redheaded genes rather than the tall, slim, and blonde ones. But at least she hadn’t ended up with wings.
“I’m glad you found me,” he said with a smile.
Why had she ever been angry with him? She longed to step forward into the circle of warm light surrounding him and feel his protective arms encircle her. Her feet started to carry her forward, but Nightshade’s hand closed on her arm, holding her fast.
“It’s fairy glamour.” His urgent whisper jolted her back to reality. Kade’s gaze transferred to Nightshade, and his expression hardened.
If there was one thing Ruby really hated it was being manipulated. “I was not looking for you,” she snapped. Even though she’d spent the first half of her life searching for him with her mother. “I’m here to see the Bride of Light.” Her heart stuttered under Kade’s dispassionate stare, and the words slipped out before she could stop them: “Why didn’t you ever come to visit me?”
“Actually, I did.”
Hot with embarrassment, Ruby wished she’d kept her mouth shut. “You’re a liar. I don’t remember you.”
“You were a baby.”
“Mother would have told me if you’d visited. She dragged me all over the bloody country trying to find you.”
He gave a careless shrug, rustling his feathers. “I didn’t want to see your mother. I only needed to check that you carried the Mistress’s power.”
So, she was nothing more than a commodity to him, the vessel of a power he needed in order to maintain his privileged position in the Seelie Court. What had her mother ever seen in him?
Ruby pressed closer to Nightshade. “I’m amazed you didn’t come and find me the moment the old Mistress died. To cash in on your investment.” She tried for ridicule, but a hint of hurt had crept into her voice.
“Why waste the effort when I knew you’d come to me?”
“You didn’t listen. I have not come to you.”
“But you’ll stay with me.” A self-satisfied smile curved his lips.
“No, she bloody well won’t.” Nightshade tensed beside her, his wings quivering. Ruby clutched his forearm to hold him back.
“Your bodyguard has a crush on you, I think.” Kade gave a condescending chuckle. “Set your sights a little lower, vampire. My daughter will bond with one of my choice. You will never be on the list.”
“He’s the only one on my list,” Ruby said under her breath.
Twister cast her a quelling look. “The Mistress is the Unseelie queen. She’ll bond with me.” His gaze flicked from the throne to Kade and back. “I’ve been patient while Kade had his say, Eavan, but this is unacceptable. Kade has no rights over her now that she’s my queen.”
“Oh, the joys of being popular,” Ruby whispered.
“How do you intend to bond?” Nairne asked in her annoyingly precious voice.
Confusion flashed across Twister’s face. “In the usual way, Blessed One. We’ll exchange Magic Knots.”
“I see a flaw in your plan, Unblessed king.” Kade opened his fist. Three pink linked stone rings hung from a silver chain wrapped around his fingers. “I have her Magic Knot.”
* * *
Next to Nightshade, Ruby whimpered in shock and went white as a ghost.
“Don’t worry, you can’t bond with your own father,” he whispered through gritted teeth, but his tenuous hold on his temper snapped. He lunged to grab her Magic Knot from Kade’s hand, but the Seelie hunter was ready. With a single sweep of his wings, he jumped back out of reach.
Devin gave Nightshade a supportive slap on the shoulder. “You’re in the right, my friend.”
“Give Ruby her Magic Knot!” Nightshade shouted, torn between moving to fight Kade for Ruby’s stones and staying where he was to protect her. “Depriving her of her Magic Knot is despicable.” He snapped his wings against his back and looked to Twister for support, but the fool beckoned him to stand down.
“Don’t forget why we’re here,” the Unseelie king said. “We’ll discuss Ruby’s stones once she’s seen the Bride of Light.”
Eavan rose to his feet, eyes narrowed. “She belongs in the Seelie Court. Kade is following my instructions.” The two exchanged a fleeting glare that suggested a less amicable state of affairs.
“You have no right to steal my Magic Knot,” Ruby said to the Seelie king. “Tell Kade to hand it back.”
Eavan responded with a fierce look. “You will show me proper respect, Mistress.”
“Ruby, my dear.” Nairne’s melodic voice chimed a soothing note through the hostilities. She smiled, extending a hand. “Let us be friends. You are one of us.”
The quality of light in the room grew brilliant and sharp, as though filtered through a diamond. Devin’s breath hissed in and then out in an anguished exhalation. With a rattle of mail, the Seelie hunters all went down on one knee and bowed their heads. Twister followed suit, and Devin lowered himself slowly, his gaze fixed on the wall behind the thrones.
Reluctantly, Nightshade took his eyes off Kade to see what had happened. A young woman with a sheet of gleaming flaxen hair draping the shoulders of a simple white dress stood in a narrow doorway. Unlike the rest of the Seelie Court, she was unadorned by jewelry and the false gloss of fairy glamour, yet she glowed with ethereal energy. It could only be Aila, the
Bride of Light.
Nightshade glanced at Ruby. The extraordinary crystal-clear light in the room glinted off the tiny gold rings and diamond studs in her ears and nose, and it turned her hair a glistening red-gold. She met his gaze, her cheeks flushed, her eyes alight with cautious anticipation.
He didn’t want to let this precious woman out of his sight, but at least she would be safe from Kade while she was with the Bride of Light. He touched the milky skin of her arm to reassure her.
“Good luck,” he whispered, and then he too sank down on one knee.
* * *
Although Devin knelt, he did not bow his head. He drank in the sight of Aila like a cursed man promised salvation. His heart raced, tripped, sang; pleasure and pain tangled inside him. His memories did not do her justice. Her hair was golden silk; her skin glowed with pale perfection. She was a goddess.
“The woman with the red hair is Kade’s daughter,” Eavan said, but Aila didn’t respond. She lifted a trembling hand to her heart, tears shimmering in her blue eyes. She stared at Devin.
“Aila,” Eavan snapped. “Do your duty.”
Devin’s fragile hold on his emotions splintered. He vaulted to his feet and strode forward. “Show her respect,” he bit out.
Eavan squared up to him, his mask of civility slipping into a glower. “You are not welcome here, djinn,” he spat. “Because of you, our daughter is lost to us.”
A murmur of distress broke from Aila’s lips and pierced Devin’s heart. He would have loved her and cared for her, but Eavan and Nairne would rather see their daughter bonded to a damn book than to him.
Eavan turned to Kade. “Take the Bride back to her sanctuary.”
As Kade approached her, Devin gritted his teeth with the effort of containing his fury. Aila gave him a desperate glance, raised her palms, and backed away from Kade. Her fear swelled, a dark smear dimming her light.
“Please, not him,” she said.
What in the Furies had Kade done to her to elicit such a reaction?
“Keep your hands off her.” Devin dissolved into the air and rematerialized beside the Seelie hunter. Kade wheeled to face him. Devin thrust out enough energy to push him away from Aila and send him crashing into a pillar.
The Ruby Kiss Page 9
