Behind the Veil: 3 (Temptation Unveiled)

by Alexander, R. G.

  Finn was still looking at her instead of the others. Intently. And he’d mentioned interrogations as if he knew… But how could he? She took her plate and followed the others to the dining table on the other side of the room. Floor-to-ceiling windows revealed an awe-inspiring view of the mountains. The same view she’d had for months. It was only fascinating now because she refused to fall for whatever the Fae was trying to pull.

  It kind of ruined your appetite when the man you were pretending to loathe because everyone expected you to—and because you secretly wanted to rip his clothes off—was nice to you.

  Nice wasn’t part of the agreement. Snarky banter, unspoken tension and little to no eye contact was how the game was played. How it had always been between them.

  You’d think he’d know that by now.

  He does know something. He’s behaving this way because he doesn’t trust you. Don’t be fooled. He’s trying to trip you up. Throw you off so you’ll give us away. Then the trap will close.

  She glanced up through her eyelashes in time to see him push his steak out of the way and reach for the turmeric rice and mixed salad. She didn’t trust him either. How could she trust someone who was basically a vegetarian? She cut a large piece out of her steak and, waiting until he looked up, placed it defiantly into her mouth.

  Meru wasn’t focused on eating anymore as she grilled Finn. “Aunt Lily was celebrating Lugh’s wedding, Lughnasada, on my birthday. And now you say it was Lugh who spoke to Sheridan in her dream. He’s Tuatha, right? Wasn’t he the king before Queen Morrigan’s line took the throne?”

  “He was king, for a time. But he was not a full-blooded member of the Fae. His mother was one of us, but his father was Archon. After she was murdered by his father’s people, he came to us for sanctuary.” Finn was still looking directly at her when he answered her cousin. She squirmed in her chair, feeling naked beneath his penetrating gaze. It was beyond disconcerting, but his words still got through to her.

  “He’s from the ‘we’re better than you’ dimension? That’s who I saw? Great.” Sheridan shoved another piece of meat in her mouth, ignoring the fact that it tasted like sawdust on her tongue. That must have been why his eyes had a silvery tint, reminding her of Nyctimus and Myrddin.

  Finn made a soft sound of disapproval. But no glaring. No defensive barb. What was wrong with him? Was he sick? “Lugh is a hero to my people, Sheridan. Heart and soul, he was a true child of Danu. He proved himself in some of our most important battles, always risking his life for us against his father’s warriors, despite our initial prejudice against him. He also aided Danu in the invention of our greatest defensive weapon. It was named for him, to honor his efforts.”

  Raj joined the conversation, sounding once again like the quiet scholar instead of the warrior Sheridan knew him to be. “The texts I’ve read say Lugh was a great comfort to his people as Danu became more and more incorporeal, but when she finally stopped appearing altogether, he was the one who could not be consoled. He married and had children, ruled as king for a time, but he grew bitter that he could not evolve as Danu had, that he would never be able to because of his bloodline. They say one day he just disappeared into the wilderness with his family and a few of his most loyal followers, his spear going missing at the same time.”

  Sheridan noticed Finn’s temple twitch. Finally, a normal reaction. “That is what our texts say. His Archon blood kept him trapped inside his skin and, despite all of his accomplishments, it was said he would find no peace until the spear was restored to Danu’s people. But most believe he will return, that he merely keeps it safe to protect us from ourselves. There is a replica used in all our ceremonies and it holds a place of honor in the queen’s palace…waiting to be replaced by the real artifact.”

  “He was right, wasn’t he?” Meru interjected, using her fork to punctuate her sentence. “Lugh, I mean. If your people knew where the spear was, the sect of Dark followers would know too. They would have taken it by now.”

  Sheridan’s spirits suddenly lifted. “So my dream means I’m supposed to find Lugh, the guy who left the Fae realm? I’m okay with that. Kyle and I will just follow his bread crumbs while the rest of you enjoy orgy central without us.”

  Meru snorted. “Nice try, Harridan. The dream specifically said you needed to leave the Eastern Portal and head North. That is where the clues have led, for all of us. Whatever you need to do, it has to be there.”

  Kyle set down his fork with a clatter. “Wait, the Eastern Portal? Is that where we are? I know Myrddin told us there were four of them, but I keep forgetting. The Fae are at the Northern Portal to protect us from the bad guys…so Raj, do your people do the same here? Is that why we can’t go there?”

  Sheridan’s gaze flew to Raj, who refused to look at her. Sharp as bees, betrayal stung her skin, swarming around her when his expression darkened with guilty knowledge.

  He glared at Kyle. “What my people do will never be a topic of discussion, Detective. The East is not a risk and is no one’s concern but mine. That path and this line of questioning is closed.”

  He’d never said. She knew Shambhala existed, that no human had ever found evidence of it and that Raj was born there—but she’d never put the pieces together. Man, how stupid could she be? But why hadn’t Raj told her it was a portal? Didn’t he think that was something she needed to know?

  Her brain suddenly clicked into high gear. She stared down the dragon. “The tapestry in my room?”

  Raj shook his head once, so forcefully his long, dark braid slid over his shoulder. “That is not the entrance. It is connected to Shambhala—woven ages ago along with many others as windows to watch the world and guard against danger. It was only there to ensure your safety.”

  Sheridan had asked to be taken far from danger, far from all things Fianna and Other. And this was where he’d brought her? Here, to one of the four places on the planet where she could be in the most danger from the Dark? Accessible to them? And she’d been spied on as well?

  Evil. I told you. They are all evil. Even Raj, whom you defended, is a liar. Put you in harm’s way. Laughed at you.

  Sheridan stood abruptly. “I’ve lost my appetite. I think I’ll call it a night. Tomorrow will be a busy day, what with the start of the fairy sex parade and all. You’ll understand, my gracious host, why I’m throwing that carpet art out of my bedroom.”

  Raj and Finn both made sounds of protest.

  “Sheridan, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you—”

  “Sheridan, wait. I need to tell you—”

  Don’t listen to any of them. Not a word. They lie.

  She wasn’t listening. She was leaving this room as fast as her shocked body could move her and hiding in the relative safety of her bedroom suite. She’d spend the night reminding herself why she was doing this. Family. Meru. The baby. And when it was over? She never wanted to see any of them again. As much as she loved them, for her own sanity she had to disappear for good. She’d just be the long-distance Auntie Sheridan who sent the best Christmas presents.

  She’d get a pet hamster and move to Nebraska. Hamsters made better pets than dragons, and there couldn’t possibly be a dimensional portal in Nebraska. Tornadoes, sure, but no dimensional portals.

  At the entrance to the kitchen, two ethereal-looking beings stood in the way of her escape, a female with wild, waist-length ruby curls and a beautiful bald man with skin the color of pearls. Both obviously Fae.

  Sheridan reacted instinctively. Even in this room, the walls were decorated with elegantly carved wooden staffs, made by artisans for the royal family, Raj had told her. She grabbed the nearest one, tearing it from its display hooks and wielding it in front of her in a defensive posture. “Who the hell are you?”

  The pale man’s strange eyes widened, but the redhead grinned. “Jumpy, aren’t you? And just as physical as he claimed. You must be Sheridan Kelly, descendent of Áine. You look just like her, did you know? The resemblance is quite striking.”

 
; “Ceri, I can’t hear her.” The pale man spoke in a low, calming voice behind her. “Not a word, feeling or a single image. And if I can’t, they won’t be able to either. None of them. It will drive them all insane, especially the sect these Fianna are so concerned about.” He paused and smiled in delight. “How marvelous.”

  She really didn’t have the patience for one more supernatural riddle. She only wanted to know one thing. “Who. The hell. Are you?”

  The woman he’d called Ceri looked over Sheridan’s shoulder and raised her eyebrow, her expression chiding. “You haven’t told her yet, Finn? Typical.” She shook her head before turning her violet gaze back to Sheridan. “You’ll have to forgive us for this intrusion. We thought you’d be expecting us, but our timing is obviously a bit off. I’m Ceri the exile and my handsome companion here is called Dian.”

  She waited until the others had come close enough to hear her words, seeming to relish the attention.

  “We’ve come for your human.”

  Chapter Five

  “I can’t believe this is happening. How could that bastard not tell me?”

  Sheridan was pacing in her room, every normal human instinct inside her demanding she run down the hall and rescue Kyle from the clutches of those two immortal kinksters. Both of them? Both of them had to “claim” him in order for him to survive a trip to Fae land?

  And Kyle. She was still in shock from his reaction. He’d hesitated for less than sixty seconds before he’d agreed to join the strange Fae couple. Had his food been drugged? Was he hypnotized? He hadn’t listened to Sheridan’s protests. Hadn’t made eye contact with the other men. He’d just followed them upstairs as if he were already their mindless sex slave.

  It wasn’t like him at all.

  The others, her cousin included, had obviously decided that absence was the best policy. They must have good survival instincts because she felt like kicking some Fianna ass right now. One in particular.

  A soft male voice sent her whirling around to face the open door. Dian. He’d been introduced as Dian. “The ‘bastard’in question wanted to tell you, but we didn’t give him a chance. The celebration begins tomorrow and Ceri and I were, I admit, impatient to get started.”

  “I bet,” Sheridan snarled, too upset to hold her tongue. “No time like the present to tag team a guy against his will, right? Sure. I understand. It makes perfect sense that a species of oversexed Tinker Twits would make this rule. You don’t need a password to get in. Just get naked.”

  Dian tilted his head, his pale eyes smiling. “It is good that you are so outspokenly honest, sinceyour thoughts elude me. The rest of the household, however, is an open book. And they are filled with anxiety. Not about Kyle or even about the Dark.” He took a step forward when she opened her mouth, silencing her with a gesture. “What to do about Sheridan Kelly, they wonder. How to make her accept her destiny? How to ease her mind and heal her after all she suffered at the hands of the Horde?”

  His lips curved in a way Sheridan found oddly fascinating. “The most interesting thoughts, as you may have guessed, come from the fair prince of Aisling.”

  Finn? “You can hear his thoughts? I didn’t think you did that to each other without an invitation.”

  Why was she listening to him? His companion could be enchanting Kyle at this very moment. He was the one she should be thinking about. Her partner. Not the Fianna warrior who, if she were careful, would never have any idea how she felt.

  Dian’s laugh was a tinkling of soft bells. Beautiful. “I knew you’d find that irresistible. As do I. Shall I tell you more? Finn’s thoughts are open to me, though there are many things about you thatare a mystery to everyone. Why you can’t be read, for example. Not even by me.”

  He smiled modestly. “I’ve been raised to make my way past any barrier. Trained to listen. And as a Dweller, our entire existence was study, so you can imagine how good I am. I can read your body and the tone of your voice, but I can’t hear you. Because I can’t, I don’t know why you fight your true cravings and instincts. Why you bottle up all your passion and emotion. Your body vibrates with it, yet you ignore its demands. It is a trait I normally find suspicious, but you are a special case. Danu favors you and your family, and as her servant in all things, I am bound to follow her will.”

  His hand swept behind him toward the door. “Finn is fortifying himself to face you as we speak. To explain in a way you will understand why our arrival and his request for our help was the highest honor he could bestow upon you. The only way to keep this human you care for safe from others of our kind so he may accompany you.”

  “Shit.” She should have known he’d think he could explain this crazy plan. Finn was coming here to her room. Alone. With no one there to act as a buffer, she might humiliate herself by melting into a puddle at his feet and begging him to reenact last night’s fantasy.

  It struck her suddenly that she was already alone in her room with a Fae. This one a complete stranger. Why hadn’t she kicked him out or called for help? She wasn’t afraid of him. He was Fae, he wasn’t Finn and she wasn’t afraid.

  It could be his looks. He was one of the most unusual Tuatha she’d seen yet. Still enchanting but so…alien. Not coated with the dark mist of the Horde, but with the opalescent gleam of an abalone shell. There was something about him that made her feel at ease. Her instincts were admittedly rusty, but she trusted him.

  More fool you. He might be the most dangerous of them all. You heard him. He listens. He will hear me.

  “Did you say something?” His eyes narrowed on her and he hummed when she shook her head, her heart missing a beat. “Interesting. ‘Shit’, indeed. I love the colorful language your group uses. The way they think. I’ve heard stories about this world, but I’ve never seen it for myself.” He raised an eyebrow. “Sadly, we don’t have time to explore it further, but for this brief glimpse I find myself inclined to give you and your prince a gift. For you, it will be a reprieve from the private meeting you seem unready to have. For Finn, I will begin his explanation for him, in an undeniably pleasurable way.”

  He held out his hand and, for reasons she couldn’t begin to explain, she took it. Her actions startled her enough that she snapped at him, some small belligerent part of her determined to retake her righteous, angry ground. “Before she ran for the hills, Meru explained it well enough. That all Fae, not just the Horde, are into human cocktails. No wonder I haven’t heard about vampires since my journey into the world of weird began. You’re the vampires.”

  Dian’s hand tightened almost imperceptibly, his smile still firmly in place. “As a Dweller I was raised to understand that all species, all dimensions, are connected, still I must disagree. Fae are nothing like the Horde, Druid. You, of all people, should know that. Neither are we technically related to the other species you’re referring to, though I’ll admit some of the legends came from those of my kind who had yet to learn control.”

  His voice softened and his grip relaxed. “When the people of Danu first encountered humanity, we did not know it was even possible—that something as personal as a being’s life force, something not willingly given, could be taken. We weren’t aware our abilities here would include affecting that life force during intimate encounters. By the time we realized the truth, the taste for it had already been developed. From what I’ve learned from Ceri and those who come to her for aid with the addiction, it is indescribable.”

  “You mean stealing. Fae don’t affect life. They steal life. And the Horde steal it all with intent, which is murder.” Her frown deepened. “Did Finn do that when he kissed me? Take something without asking? Or was that not intimate enough? Does it have to be sex?”

  She swallowed hard when she recalled the light beneath Finn’s skin as she rode him. Had she subconsciously sensed what he was, even then? Was it a message to be careful?

  The pale Fae shook his head. “Your bloodline ensures your safety. You’re not human, so it is impossible for a Fae, should they dare attem
pt it, to take what belongs to you. But even if you were, you should know that he would never do that. Not to you. Not to anyone. Finn’s restraint is irritatingly admirable from what I’ve heard. He carries the weight of all our rules, those of the Fianna and most of the human laws as well, on his broad shoulders. Even more so after… Well, his story is his own to tell. Personally, I find that sad. Too many rules. Too few shoulders. Guilt is a pointless emotion, born from the womb of should-haves and have-tos, feeding on freedom and joy until it starves the soul.”

  “Pretty words, but I’m a cop. I happen to like rules.” Still, Dian’s assessment of Finn was interesting. She’d always respected the law, but she obviously had nothing on Sheriff Faery Finn. If she were in a better mood, she’d be imagining all the ways she could rub that in his face the next time she saw him.

  Without another word or warning, a blinding white light surrounded her. She closed her eyes tightly, feeling the unsettling sensation of the world spinning out of control.

  She knew they were moving—this wasn’t the first time she’d traveled this way, and it wasn’t exactly her favorite mode of transportation. It was too alien and…it tickled.

  Where was he taking her?

  “You can open your eyes now, Druid warrior,” Dian whispered, sounding closer than he had been only moments before. “Though I’ll caution you not to make too much noise. You won’t want to interrupt this.”

  Interrupt what? But she knew. She could already hear the low murmuring of the Fae woman, Ceri. And the soft replies of the man she’d known for so long.

  Kyle’s voice was husky and held a trace of uncertainty. “What are you going to do now?”

  “Now I see what you look like underneath all that camouflage while we wait for Dian. Are you ready?”

  “I am.”