by Sumida, Amy
“Oh,” Trevor's eyes went wide. “I bet there is. That's a great idea.”
“Good, I'm glad we're on the same page,” I got up and he followed suit. “Tell Fenrir I'm going to try my best to make things right.”
“Don't worry,” he kissed me, “we'll think of something.”
The same words I'd said to Samantha, except now they sounded somehow ominous.
Chapter Fifteen
I walked back into the bedroom a few minutes later, with conflicting emotions and a new problem. There was no fey fertility spell. In fact, Faerie was suffering from infertility herself. I'd completely forgotten that the High King had already told me about the fey and their trouble conceiving. Several lines had even come close to dying out. It was one of the reasons he'd decided to open the path to the Human Realm again. He thought an infusion of human blood might help the fey become more fertile.
What King Cian hadn't told me was that it was becoming even more difficult for the fey to conceive. Fey birth rate had been declining ever since the way to the Human Realm had been closed, over five hundred years ago in human time, which translated to fifteen thousand years for the fey. Fifteen thousand!
It had never occurred to me that Arach had been alive for so long. He always spoke to me with references to time in the Human Realm so I could understand. I never did the math, never realized that a century in the Human Realm equaled to three thousand years in Faerie... give or take a few hundred years. Time wasn't ever exact there. So basically Arach was older than dirt.
The only fey who still managed to procreate every once in awhile were what the sidhe referred to as lesser fey, or pretty much non-sidhe(elitist bastards, kind of serves them right that the lessers are the only ones making babies). The birthrate for the sidhe steadily declined until it stopped all together. There hadn't been a sidhe birth for over two thousand years.
So no, I didn't find anything to help Samantha. On top of that, Arach pointed out to me that if I did, by some miracle, find a way to help Samantha conceive, I'd be forcing the Froekn magic to find another way to conserve its resources. If a new life was made, a life would have to be taken in order to provide it with the magic needed to be a werewolf. That was an unacceptable risk which I had no idea how to circumvent.
Unfortunately, even though I'd been in Faerie for over two months this time, I hadn't had the time to focus on Sam's problem long enough to come up with a solution. Instead, I'd been drawn into a crime that had been perpetrated against the fey, playing the part of detective to the best of my abilities. By abilities, I mean things I learned from watching Criminal Minds, Law & Order, and CSI. I'm not a detective, I only watch them on TV. Amazingly enough, it kind of worked. I got further than the fey did at least.
But my investigations had only sent me back to where I'd started, mainly here, Pride Palace. The evidence I'd found had pointed an accusing finger at a god. The magic remnant left at the scene of the crime and the hints given to me by Faerie herself indicated that the culprit was not only a god but a god affiliated with darkness. There happened to be a god who fit the bill exactly. He was a god of darkness and he'd been granted entrance to Faerie at least twice. Kanaloa.
He'd helped me and Trevor catch a kelpie named Kael who had tried to murder me... twice. Kael had escaped into the ocean and I was loathe to follow him. Kanaloa had walked out of the water just as we were trying to figure out what to do. He'd offered to go in and apprehend Kael for us if we in turn got him into Faerie. It was all rather convenient and now, in light of the fey abductions, a little suspicious.
So I was back in my bedroom at Pride Palace and there was no one else there except my gray tabby cat, Nick, who stared apathetically at me from the bed.
“Don't you even miss me anymore?” I gave him a suffering look but he just huffed at me and started grooming himself.
It made me reminisce about the days that I'd hunted the gods alone, leaving Nick with an automatic cat feeder and a kitty door so he could go outside. I had an agreement with my friend Jackson that he would come over and check on Nick when I “went out of town for a few days”. I hated leaving Nick alone, not knowing if I'd even make it home again, but now I didn't have to worry anymore. If I didn't make it home, the Intare would feed and look after Nick, in fact, he was getting fat from all the treats they liked to give him. He was also getting less and less concerned with my absences. I used to get a kitty lecture every time I came home from a particularly long run. Now, he barely noticed. At least he still slept in my bed. I smiled and went over to give him some scratches, it was just me and him for the longest time and often Nick was the only thing that kept me sane. He was like a little furry child.
“I'll love you forever, fur face,” I kissed the top of his head when he started purring. I used to cart him back and forth between the Human and God Realms but now I just left him at Pride Palace. He was safer there and could hunt small critters while his new buddies brought down the larger game. It really was a cat paradise and he seemed really happy there. I gave him one last scratch and then looked around the empty room again.
I recalled that Trevor had said he was going to speak to Fenrir about the problems with the Froekn's fertility, so he was understandably absent and Kirill hadn't been in the room when I'd left. I wondered if Trevor even told him I was going. I went out looking for him.
It actually took awhile to find him, he was downstairs in the fitness room, lifting weights. I walked in ready to tell him all about what had happened in Faerie but when I saw him laid out across a bench, his long hair in a braid dangling on the floor, I was struck speechless.
All he had on was a loose pair of workout shorts and the expanse of skin on display had a sheen of sweat coating it. His muscles were straining as he lifted a bar holding a ridiculous amount of weight and the way they tightened and then released was fascinating for me.
His face was all hard lines, eyes set on the bar as he lowered and raised it, and I watched avidly as a bead of sweat dripped down the side of his face and into his hair. His stomach tightened with every move, the muscles along its sides coming into sharp relief. I had to hold onto the doorway so I didn't fall over.
“I'm never going to finish zis set if you keep staring at me like zat,” he growled, startling me out of my reverie.
“I, uh,” I cleared my throat. “I just came to tell you- when did you start lifting weights?”
“You came down here to ask when I started working out?” He replaced the weight bar and sat up on the bench.
“No,” I laughed. “I came to tell you about my trip to Faerie but your weight lifting distracted me.”
“It's not really necessary,” he shrugged, “but sometimes it just feels good.”
“You can say that again,” I sighed as I watched him towel off.
“Tima,” he laughed, “just come here already.”
I smiled and hurried over to run my hands across his wide shoulders as I stood before him. His hands went around my waist and he lifted his face to mine. I was happy to oblige him, setting my lips to his and giving in to the arousal that was building. His hands swept down and under the short dress I was wearing, lifting up the material so he could pull down my panties.
“What are you doing?” I pulled back to look around us. The room was empty besides us but the door was wide open and anyone could walk in.
“It vill be more exciting,” he grinned and laid back down on the bench, pulling me across his lap.
I spared one last look for the door and then gave in. What the hell? This was my home, if one of my lions walked in he'd get an eyeful but he'd hardly find offense in it. I pulled the shorts off Kirill and settled back over him. I was about to get right down to business but he stopped me, lifted the weight bar, and lowered it to the ground behind his head in a dextrous maneuver that had me concerned for his triceps.
He pulled me forward, I had to climb around the vertical bars the weight bar rested on but it was so worth it. He set his mouth to me immediately and began w
orking such magic on me that I had to lean back against the bars for support. His hands slid up my sides, pushing up my dress until I got the hint and pulled it off, then they were coasting over the lace of my bra, rubbing my nipples to hard points beneath the thin fabric as I started shaking through my first climax. I slid back over him but again he stopped me from taking him inside me.
“Not like zis,” he sat up and put me on my feet so he could stand. “Kneel on the bench, you can brace yourself on the bars.”
I blinked at the command in his tone, Kirill had never been like this, he let Trevor take the alpha role. It was kind of exciting to see him behaving more confidently, so I did as he said and knelt on the bench. I wasn't sure how well it was going to work since the narrow bench meant I had to keep my thighs pressed together but when he pushed me forward a little and had me brace myself on the bars, it opened me enough that he could slide right in.
I sighed with delight and he groaned, the pressure of my thighs was actually adding to the pleasure, pushing him up deeper into me. His hands went to my hips and I was soon glad that I had the bars to hold onto. He began slamming into me wildly and the thought of someone walking in the door and catching us like that threw me over into another violent orgasm.
He pulled me up after I crested and laid me back on the bench to start yet another round. He lifted my legs up, feet at his shoulders and gripped me firmly around the waist. It was a new version of Kirill and I was enjoying it entirely.
We had sex in several more positions and somewhere in the middle of it all I realized that the Intare didn't have to catch us in the act, as soon as they scented the air down here, they'd know what we'd been up to. I couldn't bring myself to care though, it was just too wonderful. By the time the screaming stopped, I was just as sweaty as he was and we were laid out across each other on the floor.
“You vanted to tell me somezing?” He smirked at me and trailed his hand up my hip.
“Oh,” I huffed a laugh. “Right.”
I told him about what was going on in Faerie and how Kanaloa was our main suspect. He was shocked, he'd met Kanaloa and liked him. Kirill couldn't believe that he'd be capable of murdering faeries.
“But vhy vould he do zat?” Kirill sat up and handed me my dress before he pulled on his shorts. “It makes no sense.”
“Why does anyone do evil things?” I shrugged and put on the dress, then gathered my underwear. “He may have his own reasons or he may be innocent. I don't know but I need to find out.”
“Ve can set some Intare on it,” Kirill stood and helped me up. “I'll get Darius to put together a team and ve vill have Kanaloa tracked.”
“What about when he goes underwater?” I frowned, wondering if it was even possible to keep tabs on an ocean god.
“It's Hawaii,” Kirill laughed, “and ve have about a dozen lions who look like surfers. Zey can hang out at beach all day and it von't even be like vork for zem. Zey can even snorkel or scuba dive if zey have to.”
“Oh,” I blinked and then laughed in relief. “I hadn't thought about that. Now there's only one thing left to do.”
“Vat's zat?”
“Take a shower.”
“Da,” he grinned and threw me over his shoulder. “Or maybe bath.”
Chapter Sixteen
After we took a long bath in our gigantic tub, we had Darius assemble a team of Intare he trusted to do spy work and who also could pass for surfers. Then we went into the dining room to have some lunch and talk things over.
Mid-conversation, Trevor returned and we had to explain the situation all over again to him. He agreed that it would be best to set some lions on him to investigate, we needed some proof before we could do anything more.
“But how did it go with Fenrir?” I asked before we could get too involved with the Kanaloa matter.
“As well as it could have,” Trevor sighed. “He's upset of course but he's not surprised. He knew where the energy came from and he suspected there might be some complications at some point.”
“Is he mad at me?” I gave him my worried face.
“No,” Trevor waved away my concern. “Why would he be mad at you?”
“Because you opened the club for me,” I used my duh voice. “I'm the reason we're having this problem.”
“Vervain,” Trevor shook his head, “every one of the Froekn we employ are adults, way older than you by the way, and they are responsible for their own choices. They have also been notified of the issue and if they so choose, they can quit working at Moonshine and go back to the old way.”
“Did any of them quit?” I wondered if we'd have to replace all the wolves with lions.
“Not yet,” he shrugged. “They're going to think about it but they seemed hesitant to return to their old lives.”
“They did?”
“Assassinating people isn't the easiest job,” Trevor grimaced, “no matter what Fenrir says. “Most of the Froekn were happy to make the switch. I don't think any of them will go back to killing for a living, no matter what the cost. And before you ask, no of them are mad at you either.”
“Oh,” I sighed, deflating with relief. “Good. Thank you.”
“They're your family, Minn Elska,” he leaned over and kissed my cheek. “They love you.”
“I love them too,” I took a deep breath. “Okay, now let's move on to helping my other family. What should we do about Kanaloa?”
“Don't worry, Tima,” Darius flipped back his shoulder length blond hair in a very surfer way and smiled. “We got this.”
Chapter Seventeen
I was looking over the collection of video surveillance equipment with Trevor, Kirill, and the Intare chosen for the mission, when Darius walked into the common room. I glanced up to nod hello and then did a double take.
He was wearing a beige trench coat and a fedora, very Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade. He struck a pose at the end of the table and smirked at me.
“I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble,” he quoted Sam Spade perfectly.
“That's cute, Bogie,” I smirked back, “but you're not after the Maltese Falcon, you're after the Hawaiian God of the Sea. You need to look more beach and less black and white film star.”
“No problem,” he threw open the trench to reveal the board shorts he was wearing beneath. “I'll save the trench for later.”
“You better put some pants on if you wear it later,” I looked him up and down, “or you'll have people thinking you want to show them your privates, not be a private eye.”
“It does look a little pervy without the long pants,” Aidan, one of my lions, observed.
“Even with the hat?” Darius looked distraught.
“Especially with the hat,” Aidan rolled his eyes.
“Alright, you spoilers of sport,” Darius pouted. “You ruiners of fun, you poopers of parties-”
“Enough!” I held up my hand before he could go any further. “The annoying ramble is my schtick and I will not stand by and watch you defile it.”
“Funny you should use the word defile,” Aidan was shaking his head at Darius, “because that's one of the first words that popped into my head when Dare started opening that trench. I paired it with the word innocence though.”
“Yeah,” Trevor looked like he'd tasted something sour, “I'm right there with ya, buddy.” He fist bumped Aidan.
“Hey,” Darius looked affronted. “This is a very cool look.”
“Ven you have pants,” Kirill gave Darius a bland look. “Not so much vith shorts no one can see.”
“I give up,” Darius yanked off the trench and threw it over the back of one of the couches. “Just give me my damn camera.”
“Here, you can have one of the waterproof ones,” Trevor divvied out the spy loot as the lions went over their plan of attack.
Kanaloa was known to prefer Kailua Beach, leaning more toward the Lanikai section which was in front of a very posh residential area. We suspected that he had a house in the area but hadn't been abl
e to confirm it yet. It was one of the things the boys were going to try and ascertain.
They were going to trace into Moonshine and use the van Trevor kept for when we had to do anything in Hawaii in a group. They'd drive out to Kailua and basically hang out at the beach all day, stalking the Hawaiian god.
So the four of them headed out and Trevor, Kirill, and I got to stay home for once. It was a strange feeling, sitting back and waiting for someone else to get the job done but this was one time I just plain couldn't go along, Kanaloa would recognize me in a heartbeat. Plus, I hated the beach.
I know, I know, who could possibly hate the beach? Especially when I was born and raised in Hawaii. Well, I've ranted about this before so I'll save you the tirade and just sum it up by saying that I don't like the sticky feeling of salt on my skin or the burning blast of the sun, and I really hate that evil sand that gets in places you didn't even know you had until the motivated sand discovered it. The SSS I called it, salt, sun, and sand. Okay, I'm done.
“So what do you guys wanna do?”
“Actually,” Trevor got serious. “I wanted to talk to you about that crazy guy we have staying with us.”
“Oh,” my face fell, “you mean Griffin.”
“Yeah, Griffin,” Trevor gave me a sympathetic look.
“I understand, Tima,” Kirill said and he did, he would understand better than anyone because he was Griffin at one point. The only difference was, I was able to save Kirill through the lioness magic. I didn't have that bond with Griffin.
“I understand too,” Trevor took my hand and led me over to one of the couches while Kirill followed. “I know you you think if you just wait long enough the answer will come but you can't save everyone, Minn Elska.”
“I know I can't save everyone,” I sighed, “but that doesn't mean I just give up either. He's still alive, that counts for something.”
“Barely,” Trevor's lips thinned out. “He tried to kill himself the other day.”
