by Angel Lawson
I considered it. I wanted to run, but where would I go? To Solar or Ravenwood? Before Liam stopped me I’d almost walked straight to my death with Grace. For once in my life, I realized, I needed to think rationally. I eyed Liam, handsome as ever, staring at me expectantly. I needed to get back home and Liam’s transport was probably the only way back. “Yes, I’ll be good.”
A smirk tugged at his mouth. “I didn’t request that. Just that you wouldn’t run.”
Even as my world crashed down he couldn’t help but flirt a little. At least some things in my life were consistent.
“So they both want to kill me?” I asked, as he untied the rope. Released, I moved my hands forward. Liam caught them between his own and kissed the insides of each wrist. The painful red marks disappeared.
“I’m not exactly sure if they want to kill you, Nadya, but they do want you.”
“Why?”
“You’re family,” he said. “Something that’s hard to come by over here. Despite the political situation, Fiona and Eleanor are your aunts. And they aren’t bad people. Fiona is gentle and kind. Eleanor is strong-willed and powerful. But they rule opposing kingdoms and it never hurts to have an ally on their side.”
“Then why approach me with violence and lies?”
He shrugged. “You’re the unknown, and your mother was very powerful. They do not understand that you were raised unaware of your true nature. In their mind you could be planning an attack on them to take back your rightful throne.”
I considered the training and everything Liam and the other Guards had taught me over the last couple of months. The shared moments between Liam and me—the feeling of power that surged between us when we were together. How that power made both of us stronger. Was this his ultimate motivation? To use me to take over the kingdom?
“What?” he asked, eyes narrowed in concern.
“I’m just really confused. I have no idea who to trust and what anyone wants from me.”
“You can trust me.”
I tilted my head. “Can I?”
Hurt flashed behind his ice blue eyes. In a swift motion he pulled me from my seat so we were standing, face to face. His hands cupped my face. “I’ll tell you for the last time, Nadya, I will support, protect and fight for you until my death. That is the oath I took the day I became a Guard. You and the portal are my only concerns. Never doubt that.”
“Okay, I get it,” I said. “I’m your job.”
He lowered his face toward mine and I felt his breath on my cheek. “Three months ago you were my job. Now? Gods, Nadya, you’re my everything.”
His lips pressed against mine and the room burst with blue light. My knees buckled but he caught me, pulling me closer. My skin prickled with heat and the intense desire to be touched. To touch him. I fumbled with the hem of his shirt, reaching beneath the fabric to feel his stomach before moving to his chest. Quickly he removed his shirt and I ran my hands over the hard muscles bathed in the bluish tint of our shared energy.
I kissed the sensitive skin on his collarbone and then the runes marked on his shoulder. Liam shuddered and pulled back, catching both of my hands in one of his own. In a husky voice he said, “You’re not going to try to kill me again, are you?”
“Sorry about that.”
A small smile ghosted over his lips. “I love your strength, but in the future let’s fight together—not against one another.”
I nodded, aching from the distance he’d placed between us. “It won’t happen again.”
“I doubt that.” Liam laughed, releasing my hands. His upbeat demeanor quickly disappeared when I used my newfound freedom to unbutton my shirt. The fabric dropped to the floor and I took another step backward, toward the bed. “Don’t play games with me, Nadya. Not now.”
I saw the struggle on his face and it was more than obvious that his body wanted the same thing I did. He ran a finger between my breasts, down to my waist. “It’s not a game, Liam. There’s something about this place, the way the magic flows that…” I took his hand so we were both next to the edge of the bed. In a wave of blue, I fell back and sank into the thick, feathered mattress. Liam stood over me—the final traces hesitation disappearing as his eyes roamed my body.
“I’m ready. I trust you. I want you.”
A low rumble sounded in his chest, beneath the hard muscle and protective runes. He joined me on the bed and I waited, eager for him to make the first move—this experience was entirely new to me. I was left in his hands. His capable, powerful hands.
He kissed my lips, the spot just below my ears and a hot trail between my breasts. The pace surprised me—slow and thoughtful. Every other encounter between us had been fast—filled with intensity and need. Not this time. The way his fingers and mouth roamed my body, lingering in each spot long enough to wind me tighter and tighter, made it clear he was determined to make it last. Heat spurred between us, spreading across my body, eliciting a reaction I’d never quite felt before.
He moved lower, spreading my thighs. His tongue flicked against the inside flesh of my legs, inching so close…I clutched his shoulders, nerves warring in my belly. He stilled and looked up, eyes darkened with hunger. With that touch a vision or rather a word washed over me. Not the past or the future, but now. The endless chant running through Liam’s mind and heart.
Mine.
The word, repeated endlessly between his brain and mine, wasn’t filled with simple possession. The emotion behind the word was relentless. Consuming.
Mine.
I opened my mouth to speak but no words formed, just the sigh of his name. My cheeks burned hot with awkward embarrassment, which got even more humiliating when a wicked grin lifted the edges of his mouth and I saw a flash of his tongue, pink and wet. I could fight him. I could turn this around, but I knew with certainty I did not want to. I arched my back for him and braced myself when his mouth met my flesh.
Bless the Gods, indeed.
Chapter 30
Liam
Rolled on my side, I faced Nadya, taking in her flushed cheeks and the whisper of a grin on her lips. Beneath the thin linen sheet her chest rose and fell as she steadied her breathing with shallow, satisfied inhalations. With her eyes firmly glued to the ceiling she said in a quiet voice, “That was unexpected.”
“Was it? I’ve waited patiently to get my hands,” I reached for her and kissed her palm, “and mouth on you. I hope it was worth the wait.”
Her eyes cut in my direction. “I just thought…you know.”
“That we’d make love?” She shrugged, eyes back on the low ceiling. The beams were solid oak, built by my grandfather many centuries before. “When you trust me fully is when we’ll combine our bodies and unite our strength.”
“I do trust you.”
“More than before, but I understand better now that I have to earn your trust.” I glanced to the precious area below her stomach. “That was an act of good faith as well as affection.”
She turned to face me, sheet tight around her chest. I could see the dip between her breasts and longed to devour them, but the serious expression on her face stopped me. “Thank you,” she said. “For being careful with me. I do trust you, but yeah, it’s going to take a while for me to really get my bearings here. I have no idea what to do. Should I leave? Should I try to talk to Eleanor or Fiona?”
I considered the question. “I think you should meet them on some sort of level ground. Protected if possible.” An idea lit up in my head. “Your kingdom. That is where you should meet them.”
“My, uh, what?”
“Kingdom. Celeste’s castle has been empty since her death.”
“You mean neither Fiona or Eleanor took her castle?”
“No, the land will only accept its rightful heir. Typically it will accept the person that the Queen names, or the rightful owner upon her death. When Celeste passed, followed by Claudia leaving Otherworld, the land did not accept either of the remaining sisters as its ruler. The assumption was that C
laudia was the rightful heir and the castle was abandoned. “
“Just because my mother had this power doesn’t mean that I do, too.”
I took her chin in my hand and kissed her soft on the lips. “You may not, but I would be willing to bet my finest sword that you do.”
She frowned. “You’d bet a weapon? Like, not your life or home or something?”
“A Guard is only as good as his best weapon, Nadya.” We both glanced at the bronze blade leaning against the fireplace. My father gave me that sword and his father before him. It had killed many men in many battles. I wouldn’t give it up lightly. Nadya may not have faith in herself but I had a feeling—no more than that, that she was destined for greatness. “Would you like to test the theory? See how the land reacts to you.”
“Now?” An eagerness spread across her face. I was crazy to let her out of this bed without taking her first. Gods knew when she’d give me another try.
“Get dressed,” I said, already reaching for my trousers. She hopped from the bed and picking up her discarded clothes. I kept an eye on her, half aroused and a hundred percent smitten. Little did she know how much I cared for her, equal to the way my body craved her. So much that, at times, the flame between us burned so hot I could see no outcome but getting scalded. Buttoning my shirt, I considered how to my knowledge there were no runes to protect a heart, not from the kind of damage Nadya would inflict on me.
A glutton, bound by fate, I hung my sword from my belt and handed Nadya her own blades. Whatever the outcome, whatever the pain, she would be worth it.
Nadya followed me out the door and around the back of the cottage to the small, hidden shelter, enclosed in a hillside. “The best way to live peacefully in Otherworld is to do it quietly. There are many cottages hidden throughout the kingdoms. Some people prefer the larger towns and many want the glamour of court life, but not everyone. My family always lived on the fringes, even after we swore our lives to the Guard.”
I opened the barn door and found my beast waiting. I lured her out by her harness.
Nadya stood back and eyed it warily. “What the hell is that, anyway?”
“My horse, Camelot.”
“That is not a horse,” Nadya declared with a look of displeasure and fear. “I rode a horse yesterday with Grace.”
“Yes, and look how easily I caught up with you.” I patted the head of my beast. “There are variations of animals here. This one a hybrid of sorts—a horse bred with a dragon, but for lack of better term it still performs the function of horse. She’s stronger, faster and incredibly loyal.”
She stared at the horse’s feet, which instead of standard hooves had sharp talons. “Will it hurt me?”
“Not if you don’t hurt her.”
“Her? You named your female dragon-horse thing Camelot?” She looked as though she was having second thoughts about me.
“I like the name.” I shrugged.
“And she lives in that cavern?”
“It’s not a cavern. It’s a safe shelter and I generally keep her at the stable near the portal when I am not here,” I said. Catching Nadya’s hand, I brought her closer. “You’re afraid of a horse but not a soldier with a claw for a hand?”
“I’m not afraid, it’s just…different. And for the record, I am afraid of those soldiers. Terrified.” Tentatively she reached out and stroked the horse’s head.
“She’ll get us there quickly; I estimate by tomorrow afternoon.”
“It’s that far away?”
“We’re deep in the Ravenwood forest. We must pass through a portion of Solar before we get to Celeste’s kingdom.” I lifted a bag I had stashed in the barn and strapped it to Camelot’s back. “We’ll camp overnight.”
“I had no idea Otherworld was so large.”
“It’s the same size as your world. This is just part of it. Travel here isn’t as easy and people are more likely to stick close to their homes. If we were traveling by car we would be there by twilight. On beast it will take a bit longer.”
I mounted the horse and assisted Nadya to a sitting position behind me. She pressed close, automatically wrapping her arms around my waist. Our bond tingled, sending energy through my body, and the horse shivered, feeling the charge.
“She feels the power between us,” I explained, using my heels to get her moving.
We hadn’t gone far when Nadya said, “I can’t find your cottage.”
I glanced back. “No, it’s well hidden. There are times I have a hard time locating it. Luckily, my mother placed wards around the house that allows it to recognize me.”
“Clever. Like a security system.”
“Yes, and only I hold the code.” She chuckled softly in my ear and tightened her grip around my waist. I could think of worse ways to spend the day.
We traveled down a well-used road, dusty with dark sand. I explained to Nadya that the landscape was typical for this part of Otherworld. Ravenwood was surrounded by dense forests filled with beasts. The people that lived here were strong. Many were hunters who aligned with dark magic, which was evident by the slight chill in the air.
“So magic has different feelings?” she asked.
“Eventually you’ll be able to recognize it. Darker magic brings cool air and a metallic scent. Lighter relies on warmth and the earth.”
“And using dark magic is bad?”
“No, not exactly. As I’ve said, it’s best to carry a balance of both kinds. Dark magic is more parasitic. Feeding from the land and its inhabitants. Eleanor lives in constant paranoia and fear which requires a large army and focus on the military. She requires her subjects to be unwaveringly loyal. She gains this through fear.”
“Like Grace.” I feel Nadya’s breath on my cheek. “In a vision I saw terrible marks down her back.”
“Eleanor can be a harsh queen, there is no doubt about that.”
“What about Fiona? Is she a wimp or something?”
I snort. “Hardly. Although Fiona is quite the opposite of her sister, she is still very strong. She lives for beauty and passion. She doesn’t demand loyalty, but her subjects are bewitched by her. They feel complete in her presence. She can charm almost anyone she meets with a spell or gift.”
“Actually, that sounds more like Grace. She was really nice to me.” I said nothing more, keeping my suspicions to myself. Camelot moved at a quick pace and the landscape changed from the stark, wintery forest to a more moderate environment. “We’re nearing the border; things are a little more weather friendly around here.”
Nadya lifted a hand in the air and waved her fingers. “What are you doing?” I asked.
“I can feel it. The magic. The oppressive weight of darkness is lifting and there’s more of the light.” I turned and saw her bright smile. “This is amazing.”
“The longer you’re here the more you’ll sense it.” And the stronger she’d become, I wanted to add. This was all moving faster than I wanted. I had hoped she’d have more time to train in the human world, but we were here now and there wasn’t much I could do about it.
“We’re almost to Solar, right?”
We were very close to the border. “Yes.”
She let out a relieved sigh. “That’s good, we’ll be safer there.”
“Don’t underestimate Fiona,” I warned, feeling the change in magic myself. We’d managed to get through Ravenwood unchallenged but I suspected that was intentional. Eleanor already knew we were here. She was probably trying to figure out why the castle closed itself on Nadya and was waiting to make her next move. Fiona? Only the Gods knew what she had planned.
Chapter 31
Nadya
Other than Liam’s information about Otherworld, our travels through Ravenwood and into Solar were uneventful. I was happy to enter Solar though, as the cool, oppressive magic I felt in Ravenwood wove around me like the arms of an octopus. Frightening, yet bearing the promise of immense power. My own thirst for magic prickled at the opportunity, but I had no control over anythi
ng like this. Not yet, at least.
As Camelot swiftly ran down the road, I listened closely to the stories Liam told and tried to glean what he was keeping from me. I did trust him more, but he had an unrelenting habit of keeping secrets from me. It was all for my safety, he would’ve argued, but they were still secrets, or at the very best “omissions”, and I needed to know everything about this crazy land my mother came from.
Liam’s tale about the three princesses was eye opening, and none of it aligned with the woman I grew up with. She was kind and fun. She worked hard and doted on her family. My father worshipped her, and her death had caused a gaping hole in our home. At no point did I get the idea that she was royalty and possibly the most powerful queen in Otherworld. I never knew she was on the run. I couldn’t help but wonder if my father knew all of her secrets.
Secrets. It seemed to be the Sidhe way.
Solar had an expected brighter feel. Green trees, warm air. Wildflowers grew on the side of the road, this time made of hard, red clay. From the woods that grew up around the road I heard the twittering of birds and other animals. A fox slunk into the brush just before we passed by. “What’s with all the wildlife?”
“It’s part of the landscape here. Both light and dark can manipulate animals, but over here it’s more likely to be Snow White stuff, like birds and squirrels.”
“What about in Ravenwood?”
“Cold weather animals. Bears, elk, moose. Birds too, but not the ones that like warmth.”
It was all starting to make a little more sense. I leaned forward and said, “I could get used to living somewhere like this.”
“That’s Fiona’s plan, you know, make it so appealing you’ll never leave.”
“And Eleanor’s?”
“Make you so scared you never will.”
Camelot pushed forward and I inhaled the sweet scent of flowers. The sun baked on my cheeks and I laid my cheek against Liam’s back. “It’s hard to feel scared here. In fact, it’s making me feel a lot of things.” Liam’s back straightened and he replied with a grunt. I ran my fingers through the fringe of hair on his neck and pressed my lips against his skin. “Scared isn’t one of them.”
