by Conn, Claudy
“Not quite,” she answered cautiously, wondering when Trevor would appear and hoping to get the wizard to reveal more in the meantime. “Why are you here? What do you want?”
“What I want is to make a deal. My brother has beaten me at every turn. I loathe him. I want his woman, I want Charm, and I want him dead, but—” He put up his palms. “—thus far, I have been unsuccessful. So I need more power. I have traced the disturbance in time to this region and discovered three beings from the future. A Dark Prince has established a habitat not far from here. And then here you are with a Royal Fae, in the home of yet another Royal, and one who has not been here in quite some time—all very interesting.” He eyed her speculatively.
“What do you think we can do for you?” she asked, stalling. She wasn’t going to be a part of anything that would hurt the Wizard Rysdale, and she was fairly certain her prince would not make such a deal either. Trevor was not about deal making, and this made her smile and feel a swelling of pride. Why should she feel pride in Trevor? How very odd.
“As I said, I want more power, and only your Royal Prince, or the Dark One, can give it to me. I have always believed that the Seelie Fae Royals have far more might than the Dark Ones, so I came to you first.”
Jazz felt the prince, with Frankie in tow, shift in beside her.
He immediately shoved her and Frankie to his back and stepped up closer to Baudali.
She heard the derision in his voice as he spoke. “What do you want, Baudali?”
“Ah, you have the advantage—you know who I am, but I haven’t the slightest idea who you might be. Have we ever met?”
“No, but I know that Rysdale has an evil twin. You seem to fit the part,” Trevor said with contempt.
“A sharp tongue. This does not bode well for our future,” Baudali said, pointing a finger. “Be warned. I have Dark Magic enough to do what you fear most.”
“What I fear most? Right then, so have at me, wizard—here I am,” Trevor snapped as he took a step towards the warded and invisible line.
Baudali’s smile was twisted. “Oh no. I don’t mean to try and match my magic against yours. I am not a fool. That is not how I mean to win. You see, I play dirty.” So saying, his wormhole opened, and he was gone as quickly as he had appeared, taking his blue lightning, bloody snakes, and fire daggers with him.
“By wind, earth, and fire, this is a nuisance,” Trevor said with a low growl. He turned to Jazz. “Stay with the little one. I mean to track him.”
She pulled on his arm. “No … please don’t go.”
He snorted. “You can’t fear for me against such as that?”
“I am afraid of anything unexpected. This was unexpected, and he is on his way to make a pact with the devil. I don’t like it,” Jazz said.
He touched her face gently. “I shall be back soon. A wizard has never been a match for a Seelie Royal.” He started to leave and turned back to grin boyishly. “Nor has a Dark Fae, for that matter.”
And he was gone.
* * *
Jazz stood for a moment looking at the place he had just been. What did she feel? She was going to have to face what she felt because it was slowly eating her up. She couldn’t go on like this.
From the moment she had first come in contact with Trevor, she had seen him as larger than life. Well, yeah, she told herself, he is a Royal Seelie Fae. He was larger than life. But even so, those were words, an old cliché—larger than life—ha, but now she actually knew what it meant. Who, in her human world, swooped in and took charge of evil without fear, without hesitation? Her Trevor did.
When he stood back to watch her with Frankie, he seemed to eat up more space than he actually occupied. He seemed to glow …
He exuded energy beyond his physical form. His every movement displayed strength of body, character, warrior determination, and courage. She had found even his Fae aloofness endearing and quite in contrast to the kindness he’d exhibited.
She was so darn attracted to him, in every single way. No, that wasn’t the right way of putting it. She wanted to lie down on a sheet of clover and offer herself up to him. She wanted to see him naked and touch his body, from his beautiful locks of white-gold hair to his … oh yeah, she had looked at that bulge in his leather pants more than she should, and he seemed to have a perpetual hard-on forever ready. The memory it presented, even now made her lick her lips and yearn for him.
She wanted to feel his hands on her body, to look into his golden eyes, and—stop!
This would get her nowhere but hurt. It wasn’t happening—it couldn’t, for she knew once she gave herself to him it would be forever. Even if he cared for her, and she did think he cared for her, he would eventually move on while she aged …
Yeah, but in the meantime, Jazzy girl, Tammy whispered, think of the fun you could have.
But, Tammy, you know me, she answered with a sigh. I am not about fun. Well, I am, but I need more than that.
She thought about his luscious lips, his shoulders so very broad, and his muscular arms around her and realized she was nearly panting. Right. Maybe a little fun couldn’t hurt, she argued with herself.
But it could hurt—it could hurt for a lifetime. She would want him forever. For her forever, and he would leave …
He was such a prominent being, in control of every situation. He was clear-sighted, dominant, and yet his smile held a touch of innocence at times that captivated her.
He was not the type to take what he wanted and leave a female hurting. He wouldn’t do that, but time … human time would take her away from him. There was just no getting away from the fact that she would age. He would not. In the end, he wouldn’t have a choice. His world was Faery, and there was also no getting away from the fact that, as a Royal, he would be needed in that world. And he was immortal, would always be strong and beautiful and virle; she would wither, no longer be desirable. She would die alone if she gave herself to him. This was all so impossible.
If she gave herself to him, she would never take another lover. How could she? No other would do; even now, now before she had given herself to him, she could not imagine ever giving herself to anyone else.
She was doomed. No matter how she looked at this, a bright future up ahead did not seem a possibility.
The truth hammered at her: she could never really have him, and that realization was nearly overwhelming.
Why not? If you are going to end up always wanting him anyway, why not have him now, while you are young?
She could not deny that his glittering gold eyes drove her into a passion she had never known she could feel. And there was more—all in his eyes. Who was it that ever said Fae did not have souls? They were so wrong. Trevor’s eyes allowed her to see the soul housed in his body.
If all that weren’t complicating her life enough, she was stuck in the past, with a Dark Fae Prince trying to take over the universe!
How were they ever going to defeat Hordly? And now, if horrible Hordly wasn’t enough, they had to contend with a Dark Wizard as well.
Holy cow, this was so not good.
Evidently Frankie, who had been gazing up at her, sensed Jazz was unhappy. She slipped her hand into Jazz’s and tugged at it.
Jazz gave the child a reassuring smile and said, “Not to worry. Trevor has this one under control.”
“Aye, I know that, Miss Jazz … but do ye?”
Jazz squeezed Frankie’s fingers gently. “Do you doubt it? Of course I do, my little Fios. You are in the company of a Fios extraordinaire.” She began tickling Frankie, who yelped with laughter.
Trevor reappeared at that moment some twenty feet away.
Jazz couldn’t stop herself. She ran to him, only controlling herself at the last moment, managing to stop and stand stiffly when all she wanted to do was throw her arms around him and hold on for dear life.
Instead, she asked, “Well, what did you find?”
“I followed Baudali to the Dark Prince’s habitat. Hordly has constructed a l
iving area out of what appears to be an old barn.” He sneered and added, “He has it warded, but his wards cannot keep me out—the wards will merely warn him of my arrival.”
“Do you think they are making a deal?” Jazz frowned and absorbed what he had just told her.
“They have indeed already made their pact.” He touched her cheek with the back of his hand and rubbed it gently. “Royal Fae hearing can be adjusted, and I did hear a great deal of their conversation. However, they only have each other—dangerous companions who do not trust one another. I, on the other hand, have my two girls on my side,” he said, reaching out to ruffle Frankie’s hair as she stepped up close and looked up at the two of them, her hazel eyes wide with concern.
The girl’s face had gone white with fear. Jazz realized they had to drop the subject and get onto another.
“Trevor,” Jazz said, tongue in cheek, “Frankie has shown me that she has a special Fios gift, but she has never seen it in action, and I was thinking—”
“Oh, and what would this gift be?” He interrupted, smiling at Frankie.
Frankie shuffled her feet, shyly intent on studying the ground, so Jazz answered him, “She can create a fireball, and her mother told her it would attach itself to its target and usurp the magic of the Fae it is attached to. We are not sure how much power it will steal or for how long, and it is something we need to know, as it might come in handy—sooo, the only way to do that is to practice.”
A frown descended over his face, and he backed away while wagging a finger. “Oh no—oh no! You are not going to find out by using me as a shooting gallery—I am not a guinea pig, but a Royal. One does not test things out on a Royal.” He had already backed quite a distance away towards the mansion.
“Frankie, do your thing,” Jazz said, ignoring his protest.
“Oh, but I couldn’t do that to himself,” Frankie objected. “I just couldn’t …”
“Now, before he shifts,” Jazz demanded.
She was surprised when Trevor stood his ground and said softly, “Go ahead, little Fios—do your worst.”
Frankie hesitated, and Jazz encouraged her. “Hesitation can get you and those you love killed. Never hesitate.”
Frankie put out her hand. The sparks started making their circle over her palm, and she concentrated on those sparks. This time the ball the sparks created was much larger than the one she had shown Jazz.
Trevor grinned and produced a low whistle, obviously impressed. Then he said, “Very well then, you have a Fae in your sights, Frankie, but he has seen you create your ball of fire. Perhaps you have intrigued the Fae enough to study it for a moment, but only for a moment. Perceiving an unknown threat, this Fae will most definitely shift away. What then do you do? You must know that when he reappears, it will be at your back. Remember that, little Fios.”
Frankie threw the ball, and it headed directly for Trevor. It appeared that he waited for as long as he could, trying to choose the last possible moment an unknown Fae would wait, and then he shifted off.
The ball of fire vanished with him!
When he reappeared, it was attached to his chest. He growled with his discomfort, and then the ball of fire exploded, shooting flame all around him before vanishing.
He stood and looked himself over, putting a hand to his chest, but no burn marks had been left behind. Trevor pulled a face and said, “That was not pleasant.”
Jazz and Frankie went to him and hugged him before Jazz stepped away and said, “Do you feel different?”
“No,” he answered doubtfully, “but then, I haven’t tried to use magic.”
“Go ahead—try,” Jazz encouraged.
He blinked, calling out loud for his death weapon. They waited and watched his open hand, but the death weapon did not appear.
He called on an old Danu spell, directing the stone bench in the distance to transport to him. Nothing.
He said darkly, “Evidently my ability to use my Fae magic has been suspended. However, we must remember, Fae have many abilities beyond their magic.”
“Like what?” Jazz asked curiously.
“Like this,” he said. Taking both her hand and Frankie’s, he shifted them back inside the house.
“Right. Magic gone, shifting ability still present,” Jazz said thoughtfully. “Which means we still cannot outrun a Fae should one choose to follow.”
“Yes, but there may be a difference on how it works on Dark Fae. A Seelie’s resistance is greater than an Unseelie’s.”
“What about an Unseelie prince’s resistance?” Jazz asked.
“Ah, we shall have to wait and see,” Trevor said and turned to Frankie. He and Jazz had been taking turns giving her a couple of hours schooling, picking up where her mother had left off on her lessons.
“Frankie, time for you to finish your writing assignment.”
She pouted and objected, “But I want to stay with you and Miss Jazz.”
“Indeed, and we shall see you in an hour’s time, but for now, I wish to speak to your Miss Jazz privately—adult matters.”
She eyed them for a moment and smiled. “All right, then.” She started off, turned halfway around, eyed them once more with a wider smile, and then skipped off.
* * *
“How long do you think you will be without magic?” Jazz asked him curiously when Frankie had left them alone.
“I was without it a full five minutes. It has, however, returned,” Trevor said as he took Jazz into his arms. “Stay in my arms, Jazz … this time, stay,” he said softly.
She did, and he continued to chat her up as though they were simply conversing on the sofa. “The effects of Frankie’s fireball lasts five minutes.” He stared hard at her as he bent and kissed her cheek.
“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.
“I don’t know. I have told myself I shouldn’t, I can’t, I won’t, but here I am doing what I have forbidden myself. Jazmine Decker, everything you are touches something inside me … you are in my head, you are …” His kisses traveled to her neck, and then he nibbled up to her ear, where his tongue tickled her senses in a way that made her knees turn to mush.
“I … you … this …” she squeaked incoherently.
“When you came rushing at me—just before, when I returned from tracking the wizard—there was a look in your eyes, sweet Fios, such a look. I want to see that in your eyes again.” He locked gazes with her and then visibly sucked in air as he murmured with great satisfaction, “There—that look.”
He resumed nibbling and kissing her neck and earlobe and seemed in no rush to move towards her lips.
More than one part of her wanted him to get to her lips. She whispered hoarsely, “But this is … will complicate—”
He cut her off. “Not complicated at all. I am attempting to show you that I am at full potential already,” he answered, crushing her into his embrace.
His deep accent always swept through her senses. She loved his voice and the way he had of putting things.
His nibbling, kissing, licking scorched her flesh and made her want more, so much more, but this wasn’t meant to be. It just wasn’t. She had to find the strength to stop him. She simply had to stop him.
Why? Tammy asked in her head.
Well, because, she answered her friend.
Idiot, didn’t I tell you to just let yourself enjoy the moment? Jazz, here is your moment, Tammy clucked at her.
“Okie dokie,” she answered her friend right out loud.
“Okie dokie?” Trevor repeated with a boyish grin. “I like that … it has a promise in the sound.
She said, hearing the huskiness in her own voice, “Full potential, yes, yes, I see that. I believe you are at full potential.” Something inside her still resisted, and she added, “But we have other matters to attend to … now.”
“None like to this,” he answered in that Old World style that drove her libido into overdrive.
She groaned, and her lips parted. She so wanted his nibbling
to find her lips, and then his mouth covered hers, and his tongue dove inside with an intensity that made her toes curl. Yes, she thought. Her toes were curling, and she wanted out of her shoes, out of her clothes.
It was as though he read her mind.
He scarcely blinked, and her clothes were gone.
She was fully naked and still in his arms, her flesh pressed up against—oh yeah, she thought. Now his clothes were gone, and he was pushing her back against the wainscoting of the library wall, pressing his naked body into hers.
Fire—her body was on fire, itching uncontrollably for his touch, but she was also stunned at the suddenness of it all. Who was this woman responding to him with such abandon? She was always slow and steady. She didn’t just jump into bed with—holy shit, his hands moved just right.
She tried to find her voice, but it came out as a croak. “Clothes … put on my clothes.”
“But they will be in our way,” he answered reasonably.
He stood at full attention just a bit apart from her, and her eyes swept over him, lingered on his huge dancing shaft, and then snapped up to his face. She swallowed and repeated with a moan, “Clothes … yours, mine … on.”
He immediately complied but ran a frenzied hand through his flaxen locks. His gold eyes held confusion as he said, “I am sorry … I misread you …”
He hadn’t. He simply hadn’t misread her. She had been dreaming about him, wanting him, imagining him on her, in her, and when he had so generously allowed Frankie to practice her magic on him, she realized all in one thought that he was the one.
She had finally found her hero, and he could never really be hers.
~ Eight ~
PRINCE TREVOR DIDN’T need much sleep. After Jazz’s rejection, he couldn’t have slept even if he had tried.
He spent the night, instead, trying to devise different scenarios and various plans to deal with the threats at hand. He had made light of Hordly’s and Baudali’s union, but theirs would be a formidable power.
