Behind the Veil: 3 (Temptation Unveiled)

by Alexander, R. G.

  For the first time, Sheridan allowed herself to really see the wonders around her. The long tables that filled the main hall, lined with the breathtaking Tuatha. The living and flowering plants that decorated the impressive columns seemed to sway with the music that filled the hall. The glowing veins of light that emanated from the walls, pulsing with life.

  There was a grand staircase that led from the hall up to the throne and a small but elegant table where the beautiful queen—with her long golden curls, just kissed with a strawberry sheen, and her glittering crown—held court. And of course, the Guardian Mother and her twin Viking lovers who both still bore an uncanny resemblance to one particular movie star, sitting quietly beside her.

  She was living in a freaking fairy tale, filled with the kind of stories and characters she hadn’t believed in since she was old enough to argue with her mother. She’d been roommates with a dragon, cousin-in-law to a Werewolf and possibly soon—perish the thought—she would be the stepdaughter of an alien/god/professor who thought he knew what was best for everyone.

  And she might be falling a little bit in love with a fairy.

  The cynical, cool Sheridan inwardly scoffed at that, but the younger, more innocent version of herself wasn’t scared away by the ridicule. She was ready to believe. Almost.

  Focus, Sheridan scolded herself, inching her chair subtly away from Finn’s. Focus on the queen.

  Luck was on her side. Queen Morrigan leaned over to murmur something in Linnea’s ear before standing, her head held in a particularly regal manner. It was the signal the crowd had obviously been waiting for and a hush fell over the hall.

  “Children of Danu,” she began, her musical voice echoing off the walls. “In two days the veil will thin, winter will begin its surrender to spring and we will see the true joining of the Guardian Mother and the chosen men of the sword.”

  She moved around the table and glided slowly down the stairs. Sheridan was mesmerized. She had met this queen before, but she was only now seeing the power she wielded in her presence. With her voice. Maybe it was a gift that came with the crown. “We gather to acknowledge the celebration of Imbolg. Knowing the future is ripe with possibilities.”

  Her smile turned mischievous as she scanned the faces of her people. “Many a Fae child has been conceived during this celebration and, I am sure, we will see many more arrive ’ere too long.”

  Soft, scattered chuckles traveled around the tables, quickly subsiding as she continued. “For now, we lit the fire and it will burn, bringing us closer to each other and also to those from outside our community who wish to share our joy. I know I speak for all of us when I say we welcome the Fianna, friends of our swordsmen and protectors of humankind, to our festivities.”

  Her delicate clap was echoed by some, but not all. The queen noticed and raised one regal, perfectly sculpted brow. “Not only have they offered us their selfless service, they also found and returned to me my grandchild, Crystal. The new light of this Realm and your future queen.”

  The applause grew.

  “That is more than enough reason to officially sanction their participation in our celebration. Including the games. I’ve been told that since they belong to no Fae family, it is within my powers as queen to grant them use of mine. My family warriors will step aside and a champion will be chosen from among the Fianna ranks to represent the royal house. The greatest honor I can bestow, along with my eternal gratitude.”

  Kyle leaned forward toward Finn and whispered, “What just happened?”

  “Looks like I’ll be participating in the games,” Finn whispered back. “Be silent until she is done.”

  Sheridan frowned. He would be participating? Why did he instantly assume—

  The queen drew everyone’s attention once again, interrupting Sheridan’s thoughts. “We will remember what brings us together. How far we have traveled to arrive safely home. To find a place where we could thrive. And why we continue to reach for each other, need each other and love each other freely and without reservation. We will remember that, together, we are protected and safe under Danu’s care.”

  A tall male Fae with white-blond hair approached the queen, holding a box. He stopped a few feet away, his head bowed respectfully when she closed the distance and caressed his cheek. Sheridan watched as she methodically undid the latches, wishing every movement she made could be as graceful.

  When the box opened, Sheridan’s brow furrowed. How could a spear fit in there? The queen, looking down as her hands reached inside, spoke again. “The symbol of our protection. No battle waged could be won against it. No one who held it could fail to seize the day. It is the remover of obstacles, the slayer of enemies and the protector of Danu’s children.”

  A ball. It was a ball that was—admittedly—glowing with a purplish kind of hue, but still. A ball. Sheridan nudged Finn with her elbow, but he refused to look away from his queen.

  Queen Morrigan held the glowy ball thing over her head and raised her voice. “Danu is with us always and Lugh will return.”

  Sheridan jumped when the entire room shouted as one. “Danu is with us always and Lugh will return.”

  “Together we will not fail.”

  “Together we will not fail.”

  The queen lowered her arms and placed the replica carefully back inside the box while the crowd cheered, but Sheridan felt a shiver of dread trace its way along her spine. Why?

  She searched the room for something, some reason for the foreboding rising like a tide inside her. But she saw nothing. No one acting suspiciously. No sneering as the crowd roared.

  Lugh will return. Was that it?

  She was suddenly thinking of the Dark and of the one monster who must never return. Enlil.

  Somewhere nearby, she knew there were those who wanted to make that happen. Wanted Enlil free from his prison. Wanted to break the peace and wreak havoc on her world.

  But who and how many?

  And how was she supposed to stop them with a glowing fucking ball?

  She caught Kyle’s attention. “You getting that feeling?”

  His expression was sober. “I am now.”

  She turned to Finn. “The three of us need to go to Ceri’s. Now. We can talk there.”

  Finn looked confused, but he didn’t hesitate. Without turning to Damon for approval, without asking her a single question, he placed one hand over hers and reached for Kyle with the other.

  Sheridan blinked. She was actually starting to get used to traveling like that. Airplane rides would never have the same appeal. She looked around the empty living area. “Where are they?”

  Kyle ran a hand through his hair. “Dian sensed something. He argued with Ceri about it. Said they needed to get involved. That Danu wanted them to help. She sent me ahead, saying they would meet me there as soon as she convinced him to calm down. That’s all I know.”

  Sheridan began to pace, cursing at the flimsy dress as it got in the way.

  “I can’t think.” She reached down to the edge of the long hem and tore it until she had a slit to her knees. There. Now she could move. “He sensed something? Or heard something? That’s what he does. Dian listens.”

  Finn stood still, alert as he watched her walk swiftly back and forth across the room. “Yes. With alarming frequency and no regard for privacy, he listens.”

  The wheels were turning in her head. “It must have been something big. He would have been in telepathic heaven at the gathering, but he missed it because Danu wanted…”

  Kyle grabbed her elbow, halting her mid-step. “What? I saw it, you just had an idea.”

  “She can tell you just as easily without you touching her,” Finn informed him through gritted teeth.

  Sheridan rolled her eyes. “No time for that, Neander-Fae. Actual investigating going on. He said Danu wanted them to help? Did he say it exactly like that, Kyle?”

  Finn stepped toward her, incredulous, but then shook his head. “Oh. Actual investigating. So my skills—my thousand
s of years of tracking skills that can find them both in minutes—are of no use here, I suppose. I should just return to the after-dinner Fae orgy and leave you two upstanding officers to search the area for clues.”

  Sheridan wasn’t blushing. She refused. “Did I mention I’m feeling a kind of Druidy vibe that I need to talk to Dian? A strong one.”

  His lips twitched. “A Druidy vibe?”

  “What can I say?” She shrugged helplessly. “I’m not the easiest partner. Ask Kyle.”

  Kyle held up his hands. “Seriously, Harridan, are you trying to get me killed? I know nothing, okay, Finn? I touch nothing and I know nothing.”

  Sheridan blew out a frustrated breath. “The pool of water. The cave in my dream. When Kyle said—”

  “I know.”

  Sheridan knew she was glaring again. “You know? You can’t know what I was going to say.”

  “I know where they are now. See how easy that was?” He tapped his fingers against his leg. Waiting.

  “Oh. Good.”

  Finn’s violet gaze turned toward Kyle. “You’ll be safer here. You should stay. We’ll get in, get them and come back.”

  Sheridan could see Kyle’s ire rising. “I’ve been inside those caves before. Earlier today, in fact, when you were trying to get rid of us for some quality in-bed-with-my-partner time.”

  Like a predator stalking a meal, Finn crossed the room until he was towering over the posturing cop. “She isn’t your partner anymore, is she, Kyle? And what we do together, in bed or out, is none of your business. You will not be going with us because I can’t guarantee your protection or theirs. I sense them below, very near the other Dwellers.”

  “So?” Kyle stared him down, not giving an inch, despite his earlier behavior. Her partner always played the hapless hobo, but there wasn’t much he was actually afraid of.

  Finn glared. “Imagine a group of ascetics who’ve abstained from all worldly things for millennia. Imagine the kind of patience and control it would take for them to achieve peace. You saw how my people reacted to you?” He waited until Kyle acknowledged his words. “How foreign and strange might you be to a Dweller? How disturbing would you be to their peace, do you think?”

  “Dian is—”

  Finn cut him off. “Different. Dian is different. He has decided to indulge. Not all of his kind would appreciate him taking his gifts away from their collective. Taking attention away from their primary focus.”

  Sheridan interrupted them. Curious. “What is their primary focus? Enlightenment?”

  Finn held out his hands and flexed them impatiently. “In a way. They seek Danu. To commune with her. To join her. To follow her into that dimension between all others where she seems to dwell.”

  “Danu came to Sheridan in her dream,” Kyle reasoned. “Won’t they know? Be interested in her?”

  Finn looked down a moment before nodding. “They would know if you were going. They’d read you in a way they can’t read her. Humans have no mental defenses against that.”

  “Dian can read you, Finn.” Sheridan shifted, feeling that sense of foreboding again. “Why am I safer with you?”

  He turned swiftly and gripped her arms. “You still don’t trust me, do you? Dian is different. Truly gifted. If I’m ready, my defenses should last long enough to get you to your pool and see why Ceri and her Dweller haven’t returned. Get some damn answers to a few of our bloody questions. If anyone can get beyond that, I can have you out of there in an instant.”

  She did. She trusted him more than she was willing to admit. But she’d be a fool to ever put her fate completely in someone else’s hands. Especially someone who had the kind of power Finn did to hurt her.

  But she trusted him enough. She took a breath. “Kyle? Stay here, okay? We’ll be right back.” She thought about the dinner and turned to look into his eyes. “I mean it. Stay. And don’t let anyone in. If this place has a lock, use—”

  The light dissipated to a soft blue glow. “—it,” she whispered, her gaze following the wall of the cave up. And up. And up some more. “Finn?”

  His tone was subdued, almost reverent in reaction to their new location. “Yes?”

  “Don’t ever flash me away in the middle of a sentence again.”

  Silence.

  She lowered her eyes and stared at him. “I’m serious. Promise me you won’t do that again.”

  Finn hesitated. “Can I promise I won’t do it unless there’s a good reason?”

  “What was the reason?”

  Now he looked sheepish. And sexy. How did he do that? Damn Fae. “I didn’t want to hear you coddling your human anymore?”

  “Seriously?” She pulled herself out of his grip and started to pace again. “You and I— Well I don’t know what we are, but even if we were something, we wouldn’t be for long if you ever tried to keep me away from the people I love.”

  “Sher—”

  “I mean it.” She turned and pointed at him, stumbling on the rocky ground in her heels and swearing under her breath. “We may have almost had sex a few times and it may have been fantastic, so now you think I find you irresistible, but Kyle and I have always been friends. Not fuck buddies, not acquaintances who happen to work together—friends. He’s like my brother. Heck, until that ménage claiming session, I hardly remembered the man had a penis. I certainly didn’t know he had a jaw line.”

  Finn was standing in front of her now. “Sheridan Margery Kelly.”

  Her full name stopped her in her tracks. “What?”

  He looked meaningfully over her shoulder. “We are not alone.”

  Well, hell. “We’re not?”

  He shook his head.

  “Just tell me. I can take it.” She set her spine and stood ready to slip out of her heels and run. “Are there spiders? Are we not alone because there are giant spiders living in this dark, dank cavern of the damned?”

  Finn bit his lip and shook his head again, though his eyes had widened a little at her words. What? Everyone had a phobia. It was perfectly normal. But she knew she wasn’t that lucky. Giant spiders might be terrifying, but they wouldn’t be offended by her talk of ménages, almost-sex and her friend’s anatomy.

  She reached out with her senses. Feeling her new ability rise to the occasion. And knew.

  It was a Dweller. Surprised. Fascinated by all the noise she’d been making and by her words.

  Amazed and frightened that he couldn’t read anything from her mind or emotions.

  Sheridan turned around slowly, trying not to startle him. He was thinner than Dian. Paler, if that was possible. And completely naked. “Oh my.”

  The Dweller tilted his head, his clear eyes never leaving hers. “Oh my.”

  Finn took her hand and pulled her behind him, his head lowered. “Dweller, we mean you no disrespect. We seek a friend. She has long curling hair, red as ruby fire. I sensed her very near to here. Have you seen her?”

  “Oh my,” the Dweller repeated, ignoring Finn and craning his neck to continue his study of Sheridan.

  Oh brother. Sheridan peered over Finn’s broad shoulder. “I think we should leave this guy alone with his private…with his thoughts. We can find her.”

  Within the space of a heartbeat, she was caught in the Dweller’s grip. His face was so close to hers she could almost make out the faint outline of his light pupils. How had he done that? Moved that fast and taken her with him? And his grip. She struggled, but to no avail. For a skinny Fae, he had power.

  Finn was snarling, a strange almost-growl beginning to rumble in his chest. But Sheridan sensed that wouldn’t be helpful. “Finn, stop role-playing. You are not Damon.”

  Her words startled him into silence, giving her a minute to think. Maybe she could use her gift to settle this peacefully. She was no Meru either, but she could be loving and compassionate. She could be a giver. She didn’t have to knee the Dweller in his unprotected groin and pin him to the ground just because she wanted to.

  She focused on knowing him. Fe
eling what he might be going through. He was frightened, she could easily see that. Reacting to stimuli that he wasn’t used to. But there was more.

  He was alone for a reason. He was…slow to learn. It was harder for him to join the others in their efforts to communicate with Danu. Harder for him to hear the song.

  She sent him a soft, understanding smile. “It’s okay. I feel out of step all the time. My family always understood this life, but I never did. You don’t have to be like the others to be loved. Unique is not wrong. Danu is unique, isn’t she?”

  His pale forehead wrinkled and she understood. “I’m not reading your mind. And no one can read mine, so don’t even try. Just trust me.” She took a breath and crossed a few mental fingers. “And let me go.”

  He loosened his grip, but before he let go, she felt something else. He knew. He’d seen Ceri.

  She lifted one hand to cover his, no longer afraid he would hurt her. “Please. She’s our friend. We only want to make sure she’s safe.”

  He nodded and let her go, lifting one spindly arm and pointing. “Oh my.”

  Relief nearly brought her to tears. “Thank you.”

  He disappeared into the darkness and Finn was instantly at her side, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her hair. “I shouldn’t have brought you. Shouldn’t have put you in danger again. I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m fine.” She closed her eyes at the intensity of emotion in his voice. The sheer pleasure of being this close to him again. She needed to stay clear-headed. “Finn, he thought Ceri looked sad. That she was crying. We should find her.”

  He lifted his head, staring silently into her eyes for a long, charged moment. “Then we go.”

  “Yes, then we go.” At least she knew she could do it now. Without losing herself. Without taking that sad creature in. “Apparently, Dwellers aren’t that enlightened. If they were, they wouldn’t leave one of their own feeling abandoned and outcast.”

  Finn shortened his steps, reaching for her hand and kissing her palm. She shivered. “What was that for?”