Beguiled

by Maureen Child

  “This is why we’re sisters! That’s exactly how I felt!” Maggie slapped one hand on the table and her coffee cup jumped in its saucer. “He didn’t even ask me, Nora. Just said the magic words and made me a wife. Just boom. Like he was ordering Thai takeout. I’m telling you, I was so mad I could hardly see straight. He didn’t get it, of course. Idiot. What kind of person just marries somebody without even mentioning it? That’s what totally pisses me off. Well, that and all the ‘Gee-I-forgot-I-used-to-be-married-and-did-I-mention-I- have-a-son?’ ”

  “And completely understandable,” Nora said.

  “No proposal. No ceremony. No priest, or white—er, beige—dress, no cake. I’m still pissed.”

  “Who could blame you?” Nora commiserated.

  “So let me ask you something now.”

  “What?”

  Maggie watched her sister and asked, “In all your time together, has Quinn ever said something like, ‘With this mating I claim you’?”

  Nora actually blushed, squirmed uncomfortably in her chair and answered, “A little personal, don’t you think?”

  “Please. So, has he?”

  Nora smiled a little. “If you must know, yes. But how did you know?”

  “Mazel tov,” Maggie said, lifting her coffee cup in a toast. “You’re as married as I am.”

  As Nora spewed her sip of tea and sputtered a list of curses that were both inventive and colorful, Maggie sat back in her chair and smiled to herself.

  Turned out, misery really does love company.

  Mab felt the rush of new power filling her as she walked into the main room of the tavern and sent her gaze searching over the faces of those clustered there. She’d killed another rogue Fae just outside and the raw flood of Fae energy sizzled inside her. Heat from the fire and the closely packed bodies of the ostracized Fae made the temperature nearly unbearable.

  But she forbore.

  All was coming together now.

  Soon, she would be back in her rightful place as Queen and the mortal world would be crushed beneath the invading hooves of the rogue Fae. There would never be another human trying to take from Mab what was hers alone.

  She spotted Corran standing to one side of the multitude. A part of the crowd and yet separate. Even the other rogue Fae chose to distance themselves from him. And who could blame them?

  The dark emptiness of his eyes worried even Mab, but she was willing to strike a deal with the darkest of her brethren.

  She moved through the crowd, silently pleased as those in her way melted back, making way for her. As it should be. Even most of those she’d sentenced to this dismal prison still held enough innate fear of her to leave her alone.

  The others? Those who sneered at her, or worse, cursed her to her face and threatened revenge at some future date? They would be dealt with when she was once again on the throne. She would burn this world of ice and everyone in it. She would turn it into ash and laugh at the spectacle.

  Corran’s gaze locked on her as she neared him and even from a distance, Mab felt a chill snake along her spine. But she refused to allow him to see her reaction to him. Instead, she straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin and gave him the small, regal smile she’d perfected centuries ago.

  When no more than a foot or two of space separated them, he inclined his head ever so slightly. A smirk curved his delectable mouth. “My Queen.”

  Mab stifled the spurt of insult she felt at his words. He was taunting her, she knew. He had no real regard for her. But he was willing, as was she, to use whatever weapon lay at hand to help him take what it was he wanted.

  All around them, raucous voices rose into a wild chorus of untamed gratification. Liquor flowed like water, clashing music tried to drown out the crowd and the harsh light threw nightmarish shadows on the walls. It was a hideous place and Mab resented every moment she was trapped there. But at least she knew she could speak in this crowd without being overheard.

  She moved in next to Corran until they were standing side by side. Cold seeped from his body into hers and Mab fought the resulting tremors that rattled through her.

  “I have news,” she said, smiling through the cold and the misery. At least something was working well. Her spies had kept her informed of everything that was happening in the great city. At her palace.

  “I am listening.” He tipped his head and looked down at her. Those black eyes watched. Waited.

  “The human queen,” she said with a sneer, “has taken up residence in the castle.”

  He snorted and dismissed her plan without even hearing the entirety of it. “The magical wards around the palace will keep us out.”

  “But only the palace itself is warded, my friend.” Mab smiled and the eager glint in her eyes must have caught his attention. He looked directly at her as she added, “There is a child. . . .”

  Eileen told herself she wasn’t breaking any rules.

  After all, the palace gardens were still pretty much the palace, right? Sighing, she walked along a silver bricked path that wound through acres of flowers and bushes and small fruit-bearing trees.

  She looked around. No one was there, so she reached out, pulled what looked like a tiny, yellow apple from the closest tree and looked at it. Not so long ago, she’d looked up Faery on the computer and she remembered telling her aunt Maggie that if she went to Otherworld, she shouldn’t eat anything. Because if she did, she would be trapped there for like a hundred years or something.

  Of course, Bezel said that was a big lie, just like mostly everything else the human world thought they knew about the Fae. But still . . .

  “Guess it doesn’t matter if I eat it now, anyway,” she told herself. “Since we live in Otherworld, it doesn’t matter if I’m trapped or not.”

  She took a big bite and the flavor of the fruit exploded in her mouth. A mix of apple and pear and weirdly, almost a banana taste, the fruit was soft and juicy and totally good. Grinning to herself, she kept walking, munching on the fruit as she went.

  Eileen thought she could get used to being here all the time. The palace was great and Quinn had used magic to make her room exactly the way she wanted it to be. Which was completely awesome. And there were so many Fae wandering around asking her all the time if she wanted anything or needed anything, she could get totally spoiled. Except that Mom and Aunt Maggie would probably still make her do things like make her bed and go to school—

  She stopped. “Do they even have schools in Otherworld?”

  Was it weird that she hoped so? She’d always liked school. She and her best friend, Amber, always had a great time in English class because the teacher was completely clueless and didn’t pay any attention to what they were really reading, so Amber and Eileen read whatever they wanted to and—

  “No more Amber,” she whispered, looking around again at the lush garden, the twin suns shining overhead and the incredible crystal palace behind her. “Who am I supposed to talk to?”

  A twist of sadness wrung at her insides and she felt . . . alone. Bezel was off visiting his friends, so she didn’t even have him to hang out with. She hadn’t had time to meet any Fae her age yet and the only one she did know, nobody would let her see.

  “Which is completely unfair,” she muttered, and wandered over to a bench tucked behind a low hedge bursting with violet flowers. There was a fountain with a waterfall flowing into a huge tub that had red fish swimming in it.

  She wished she could see Devon. He never treated her like a kid. He would understand how mad she was at being told that she couldn’t explore the new world her mom and Aunt Maggie had dropped her into. “But no, can’t have Eileen making friends. Talking to boys. Don’t want her to be normal or anything.”

  Disgusted, she walked on, nearing the edge of the palace gardens. Beyond them, the Fae city stretched out in front of her, crystal towers sparkling in the sunlight. Ancient trees with windows cut into their trunks stood like soldiers, lining the streets. And she knew that way beyond the city, there
was an ocean kind of like the one at home. She wondered if there was a lighthouse. Or a pier. She wondered what people did here for fun. And wondered when she’d get to have some.

  “Eileen!”

  Her head whipped around at the sound of that hushed, but familiar voice. A smile broke out on her face as she scanned the surrounding flowers and bushes; then she laughed in delight when Devon stepped out from behind a tree and waved to her.

  “How did you get in here?” she asked, already hurrying toward him. She hadn’t seen him since the day he’d shifted into Bezel’s tree house to surprise her.

  He shrugged as if it had been no big deal, and Eileen’s heart did a funny little spin and drop. He always made her feel strange. Her tummy would jump like there were thousands of butterflies inside and her throat got all tight like if she tried to talk, she’d sound like a frog or something.

  But she was so glad to see him, she didn’t even mind the weird factor.

  When she was close enough, he spoke again. “It was not difficult. Only the palace itself is warded. The gardens are for all Fae. Well, not the rogues. They can’t get in at all.”

  Eileen laughed again and it felt so good. Suddenly she wasn’t alone. She did have one friend in this strange new world and she wasn’t going to let her mom or Aunt Maggie stop her from talking to him.

  “So cool. At least we know you’re not a rogue.”

  He frowned briefly, then shrugged again. “I am a warrior. We are not rogue. We serve the Queen.”

  “I know,” she said. “I was just kidding.”

  Devon smiled and Eileen’s heart did that funny, squeezy thing again. “You make me smile. It’s good that you’ve come to live here now, Eileen. That your aunt has accepted being our Queen.”

  “Yeah, I think so too. . . .”

  “But you are not happy,” he said, bending his head a bit to look into her eyes. “Tell me why this is.”

  “It’s just, I don’t know anyone and I don’t really have any friends here yet. . . .”

  “You have me,” he said quietly. “I will protect you. Let no harm come to you.”

  “That’s so sweet.” Eileen sighed a little dreamily. He was way cuter than Jensen Ackles.

  Devon straightened to his full height and squared his shoulders proudly. “My father says it is the privilege of all warriors to defend the Queen and her family.”

  “Your dad? Is he a warrior, too?”

  “Yes. He is Chieftain. Culhane.”

  Surprised and excited, Eileen grinned. “Seriously? Culhane’s your dad? I know him really well.”

  “I know,” he said softly.

  “You’re lucky, you know,” she said as they started walking along the silver path toward the city that lay in front of them. “I never see my dad.”

  She didn’t really think of him much anymore, either. She used to, back when she was a little kid. Eileen used to dream that he’d come and move back in with her and her mom and they’d be happy. But then as she got older, she remembered that they’d never really been a happy family to begin with. Her dad had always been mad about something and her mom had cried a lot back when they were together. So slowly, she’d just accepted things the way they were and really, she didn’t miss having a dad so much most of the time.

  Especially lately, since Bezel and Culhane were always around. And Quinn was really nice, too, and he was sort of like a dad since he was married to her mom and stuff—even though her mom didn’t think so . . . but she didn’t want to be sad right now, anyway. Or even to think complicated things. She just wanted to walk with Devon and have him tell her all about Otherworld.

  Devon took her hand in his and Eileen’s heart started beating so hard, she was sort of afraid he might hear it. But his hand was big and warm and it felt . . . special to be with him. Where no one could see them. Where no one could make her feel like a little girl.

  “My father,” he was saying, “is not around much, either. I live with the training warriors, so I do not get to see him very often. He is very important to our people.”

  “What about your mom?” she asked.

  “She does not see me anymore,” he said with another shrug, as if it didn’t matter to him at all, but Eileen could tell it did.

  “Bummer.”

  He looked at her and smiled a question. “What does that mean?”

  “It means, that’s too bad.”

  “Ah.” He nodded and smiled again. “Yes. It is. But I am happy. You are here in Otherworld now and that makes me glad.”

  Oh my God. If only she could tell Amber about this!

  “Me, too,” Eileen said, then asked, “So, where are we going?”

  “My father says I am to stay away from you. That the Queen would not be pleased to have me here.”

  Frowning, Eileen threw a glance over her shoulder to the palace, glittering in the light of twin suns. “They don’t have to know.”

  “We will ‘sneak’?”

  “Sure.”

  He smiled. “Shall I take you to the city?”

  She wanted to really bad, but . . . Eileen turned and looked back at the castle. If anyone in there found out she’d sneaked out with Devon again, they’d lock her up until she was dead. But if she went back right now, she’d still be in trouble for leaving, she told herself. So, as long as she was already in trouble, she might as well really enjoy herself, right?

  “Okay,” she said, and was rewarded with another of his great smiles.

  “There is much I want to show you,” he said, walking faster now, as if eager to get where they were going.

  Eileen laughed out loud because it just felt so good to be there. With him.

  Then everything changed.

  A creature, dressed all in black, with long, snaking arms and dark gray skin, shifted into place directly in front of them. One moment he wasn’t there. The next, he was.

  Devon jumped in front of Eileen to protect her, but the thing picked up the young warrior and threw him as if he weighed nothing at all. Devon’s body slammed into the trunk of a tree and then dropped to the forest floor without a sound.

  Terrified, Eileen tried to run.

  Tried to scream.

  But in the blink of an eye, the thing grabbed her, covering her mouth with a scaly hand. Eileen looked up at the castle and realized that no one there would even know she was missing.

  Then the creature holding her shifted and they were gone.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Don’t tell me to be calm!” Nora shrieked when Quinn patted her shoulder. “That bitch has my baby!”

  Maggie totally understood. Quinn was trying to be supportive, but it was wasted. Nora wasn’t the fainting or swooning type. She wasn’t going to melt into his big chest and cry oceans of tears. If she wasn’t stopped, she was going to storm out of the palace, hunt Mab down personally and tear her—and anyone else standing between Nora and her daughter—limb from limb.

  Still, at least Nora was now focused on killing Mab instead of Quinn, for marrying her without bothering to mention it.

  The palace guards had already disbursed the crowd of Fae who’d lined up for an audience with the Queen, and Maggie was grateful. She couldn’t think about anything but Eileen right now.

  Where was she?

  Was she hurt? Scared? Of course she was scared. God, looking at Devon’s face was enough to make Maggie want to shriek right alongside Nora. Half of the young warrior’s face was bruised and swollen and his eyes were filled with fear.

  Culhane’s son had shifted to the Warriors’ Conclave as soon as he’d regained consciousness. Terrified, he’d reported to his father, who had then gathered his five top warriors and come to the palace to break the news to Maggie and Nora.

  Mab had somehow known just how to get to Eileen. How? Did she have help here inside the palace? Was someone spying on them and reporting to the former queen? How else could she have guessed that Eileen might be off wandering in the gardens? How else would the Bog Sprites have known
about the Warriors’ alcove?

  And why in the hell hadn’t she had Claire ward the damn gardens as well as the palace? Idiot. Stupid. But no, she’d gone along with Fae tradition of the palace grounds being open to all Fae. She should have bucked all of them and done whatever she had to, to protect her family.

  Now Eileen was paying for her mistakes.

  And that just didn’t fly with Maggie.

  She glanced at Culhane’s son, standing off to one side of the small crowd clustered together in the throne room. He looked just what he was. A scared kid. No matter that he was four hundred years old. Culhane and Bezel had been right about that. He was young and scared and despite his fear and his own injuries, like the purplish bump on his forehead, he’d gone for help immediately, so she loved him for that.

  Nora was practically vibrating with rage and an eagerness to get moving. Quinn looked murderous. Muldoon, O’Hara and Riley had the cold, set features of men ready for battle. And McCulloch was standing beside Claire, aligning himself with her, whether she wanted his protection or not. Ailish and Audra, of the palace guard, were in the mix, too, and the warriors didn’t look happy about it, but tough shit, Maggie thought firmly. She’d use whomever and whatever she had to get Eileen back. Bezel stomped his big feet in a circle around them all, muttering curses under his breath and Culhane . . .

  Maggie slid a sideways glance at him. Her own personal hero/nemesis stood shoulder to shoulder with her, listening as suggestions, ideas and plans were tossed out and then dismissed. She was glad he was there. Yes, she was still royally pissed off at him, but she wasn’t stupid.

  She needed help. And she knew that if nothing else, she could count on Culhane to provide that help. Just having him there made her feel stronger. But for her own peace of mind, she’d keep him close while maintaining a safe personal distance between them. She needed him too much and didn’t quite trust herself to keep from falling into his arms if he made even the slightest move in her direction.