by J. L. Madore
"Jade, I—" His ears flushed right to the tips, his eyes a brilliant, shimmering blue.
It was then I realized we had an audience. Reading the expressions of the peanut gallery, Lexi looked dazzled, Tham seemed amused and Galan was . . . flat-out pissed?
Aust dropped my hand and stepped away. "I, uh, shall finish tending the animals."
"What was that?" Lexi's eyebrows disappeared under her crown of spiky bangs.
I shook my hands trying to clear the residual tingle in them. "He's so strong. And with no training he's communicating with animals. Can you imagine?"
Lexi shrugged, skipped over to grab her bag and after rummaging through the disarray of her packing, straightened with the Victoria's Secret catalogue in hand.
"What have you there, little one?" Tham sidled close beside her on the wide log the men had laid close to the fire. Speaking Draconic made Tham's lilt thicker and even sexier.
Lexi giggled and looked across to me. "Hey Jade, could you bring me that torch? I want to enlighten Tham on a few other things he's been missing."
"Sure." I grabbed the wooden handle, realizing too late that the strapping was loose. As I raised the torch the burner tilted, slid off and landed on my bare forearm. I roared and threw the thing to the ground. "Ow, for fuck's sake!" The stench of singed flesh burned my nostrils. My arm screamed as an ugly welt appeared. A string of curses rolled off my tongue.
The Elves blinked and then Aust raced to the tree line saying something about yrma leaf.
Tham grabbed my elbow and thrust my hand to the sky. "Raise it. The receding blood will reduce the throb."
Galan pushed past Lexi with a bottle of unguent from his pouch.
Lexi did an oh-no-you-didn't double take then snatched my arm from his grasp. I hissed as she eyeballed the blister. "Ew, that's gross. Be more careful, Jade. Conjured or not, fire is hot."
I rolled my eyes as she giggled at her rhyming wisdom. "Thanks." Hovering my good hand over the damage, with one focused pass the pain was gone. Healed. I sighed as the pulsing pink blister was replaced by smooth, copper skin.
The Elven trio fell silent, their faces unreadable. "Oh, sorry for the swearing," I said, feeling the heat of my cheeks against the cooling night air. "Being raised by a warrior has given Lexi and me a rather descriptive vocabulary." The Elves didn't respond. "What?"
"You are a sorceress." Galan's tone sliced the air between us.
"No." I stared back, trying not to laugh. He glared at my arm. "That? No, I'm a healer."
"A very talented healer," Lexi said.
As they stared at me I had the urge to check to see if I'd suddenly grown a second head. "I told you I had an affinity for healing. Is there a problem?"
There was a long silence before Aust cleared his throat. "We simply. . ." He bent and began a gentle massage of Faolan's ebony ears. When he looked up the suspicion in his expression had softened. "Fash not, our conditioning regarding magic and its lures to evil are not easily discounted."
"Wha—I, uh, there's nothing evil about what I do. My power comes straight from Castian, like your ability to speak with animals. I am not a sorceress, I heal people."
Tham closed his mouth and nodded. Torn by the looks of bewilderment I picked up the discarded torch and turned to repair it. Over Lexi's shoulder I caught movement in the trees.
It couldn't be.
My heart stopped mid-beat the minute his face caught the firelight. "Oh shit."
CHAPTER SIX
Tham's eyes widened as the warrior approached. A fantastic, brindle mane of hair bounced with each long stride. The multi-colored combination of gold, black and browns were set off by the glow of the fire. In the dim light, his deep-set charcoal eyes and sharp-cut jaw cast imposing dark shadows. "Should we be concerned?" he asked.
"No," I said, breathing deep. "He's not here for you."
"Who is he here for?" Tham stepped behind Lexi, edging toward his sword.
"Us," Lexi and I both said in unison.
Who could blame the Highbornes for staring? Nothing like this man had ever been in their valley. Maximus Reign, our father, was intimidating, from his leather battle-vest sheathed with weapons to his blade-tipped shit-kickers. Scarred and chiseled from a lifetime of fighting, he was brutally striking. He stormed into our camp leaving a wake of branches and dust swirling in mini sandstorms behind him. When the firelight illuminated the vein pulsing beside his temple I knew we were in trouble.
"He stands head and shoulders above every male in our village," Aust whispered.
"And as broad as two," Tham said. "Shall we prepare to fight?"
Lexi barked a laugh. "You'd never walk again if you tried."
I shook my head. "No, as lethal as he is, he's our father. You just stay out of his way."
"I am surprisingly comfortable with that."
My father drew closer as Tham and the others dissolved into the shadows. Without acknowledging anyone else, he thrust his finger out. "You and you, over there."
Lexi and I hustled our butts behind him, jogging to keep up with his yard-long strides. Reign paced to the edge of the clearing, rebounded and wheeled on us. "Jade, I don't need a fucking audience. Veil us."
"Castian, come to me." I waited until my bard powers surged then circled my hand in a swooping arch. "Veil of Silence, surround us."
Within our bubble of privacy, Reign let loose. "What the hell is this? I get back to the castle and Julian says there was an attack at the Hearthstone and that Castian sent you out on a mission? Just the two of you? What if you get ambushed? What if Abaddon and his men descend on your party? I don't even have the fucking intel. You know the rules, girls. They're in place for your safety. What am I supposed to do about this?" He proceeded to curse a long, colorful rant of things which were crude and though I didn't point it out—anatomically impossible.
It was sooo not the time to assert our independence, so we settled in.
It took a bit to calm him down. Only after a dozen 'sorrys', two dozen 'yes sirs', and three dozen 'it won't happen agains', did he release us from the intensity of his glower and yank us into his arms. We said nothing about his crushing embrace or the scratchy, whiskery kiss we each got on our cheek. As the tension eased from his frame, the mottling drained from his face. "All right. I'm here now and I've sent for Cowboy, Sin and Savage to join us."
"No!" I said. "Castian trusted us to do this on our own."
Reign scowled. "It's not about trust. It's about safety."
"If it were Cowboy and Savage escorting the Elves, would you assign three more Talon?"
I had him by the balls on that one and we both knew it. He would never underestimate his men or undermine their authority in the field. Reign's hard, cold stare glared back at me. "Fine. I'll Flash you a few at a time to your destination and we'll polish off your mission."
I shook my head. "No. Part of our mission is to spend the week with these guys gaining their trust and learning about their lives before we go to their village. They hate magic. Flashing would set us back."
"Trust us, Reign," Lexi said. "We're good."
When he didn't argue, I lifted the veil and the sounds of the rainforest returned.
"Has everything been worked out?" Tham shot a sharp look from Lexi to Reign to me.
I nodded. "Reign was concerned when he returned to Haven and learned Castian had sent us on a mission without his approval." Understatement of the century.
"Without his approval?" Tham repeated, raising a brow. "Pardon my inquiring, would the God of Fae need approval to set you on a task?"
"Fucking right!" Reign snapped, lunging right up into Tham's grille. The elf paled and stumbled back. "The Talon is mine. These girls are mine. No one—not even the all mighty Castian—gets to put them in danger."
Lexi slipped between Reign and Tham and reached up to place a delicate hand on Reign's chest. The father-daughter dynamic of those two was a mountain-molehill kind of thing. However, the four-foot-seven molehill had always had
the advantage. Craning her head, Lexi's dark lashes batted over her eyes. "There's no problem here, Reign. We're fine."
Tham bowed his head and offered Reign his hand. "Apologies, sir, I meant no offense. I am Thamior, and these are my brethren, Galanodel and Aust."
Ignoring the proffered hand, he stepped to Lexi and me. His hand closed over the worn grip of his dagger and he turned a lethal glare on the Highborne trio. "Gentlemen, we need to have a convo on how my daughters are to be treated this week."
"What might a convo—" Tham choked, as Reign surged forward.
Lexi widened her eyes at me, but I let it play out.
As Reign laid down the law, the three Elves stood stock-still and silent, like children being schooled by a headmaster. Thank. The. Gods.
"Good. Glad we're crystal on what's what." Reign's obsidian gaze danced in the shadows of the campfire. They'd seem cold and dark to those who didn't know better. Hell, to me too at times. His knuckles cracked as his fists tightened and with no attempt at subtlety he assessed each of the Highbornes. His expression was a mask as his hand slid over the battle-axe hanging at his side. "These women are priceless treasures. If something happens to them, if they are injured, mistreated or even if you upset their delicate natures, you will learn why I am known as The Reign of Terror. You feel me?"
"Feel you?" Tham frowned. "Am I to lay hands on you?"
"Fuck NO." Reign growled, the get-the-hell-away-from-me burning in his eyes.
"Easy," I said, stepping in. "We're good, Reign. We've got this."
A shadow fell across his face before he could hide it. He took my arm in a firm grip and turned me to face him. "I meant to be back for you. Last night. I left you a message."
"I got it and one from Bruin too. Everyone's busy keeping all the balls in the air."
Reign frowned. "I'm not too busy for my kids. Never."
"I'm fine." I raised my fingers and smoothed the crease from his brow. "Lexi took good care of me. We went out and had a few drinks."
"Yeah, but Samuel was a dick," Lexi said. I tried to drill her into silence with my stare. She ignored me. "The SOB made her cry, Reign, on the solstice of all nights."
I'd seen men crazed with murderous intent in battle, the promise of violence in their eyes, the clenching of their jaw to the point you thought the bones would shatter. They had nothing on Reign. His frame stiffened until I thought he might break out of his own skin. A gust of cold air blasted me as he zoned in on Lexi. "What did he say to her, Princess?"
She shrugged. "I don't know exactly. I was outside by then—"
"Nothing," I said, stepping between them. "He was just talking trash. Our dust will settle and I'll make things right with him." My stomach flipped, seeing the resolve in my father's eyes. Oh no. No no no. "You will not kill or maim him in any way. Promise me."
Reign stroked the head of his battle-axe, a horrifying look of determination solidifying in his expression. "I'll promise you no such thing. Now, I need to get back."
"Reign. I mean it." I chased behind him as he stormed past the fire. "Do not fight my battles. Samuel is my problem. I'm a big girl."
Reign stroked a broad, calloused hand over my hair and tugged a lock. "I swore you'd never stand alone and you never will."
Thank the gods for Maximus Reign.
As he neared the edge of our camp Reign tipped his head to the starlit sky. "Castian, if you expect my girls to sleep in the dirt with snakes and spiders, think again."
A sizzle in the brisk night air built to a buzz, then crackled as a tent appeared in the clearing behind us. It was the size of a small shed from the outside, but would be a three-roomed royal suite on the interior. Reign pulled back a heavy brocade flap and leaned inside for a quick inspection. "That'll do." He turned a serious scowl to Lexi and me and clenched his jaw. "Okay, I'm leaving you to it. Got your phones?"
Lexi and I nodded, producing our sexy new phones Julian gave us.
"Heads on a swivel, right? Scourge are never far away and they love a good ambush. Don't let your guards down. I'll keep my phone with me. Check in every couple of hours or you'll have the entire Talon force here. Got it?" He waited until we nodded then strode off. Marching toward the thick of the forest, he faded into the ether, leaving us staring at the empty space.
"Again with the magic." Galan muttered.
"Don't start." I held up my hand and walked my backpack over to the tent. My patience was running thin and I was achy and sore from the ride. "I told you about Flashing earlier. It's a form of transportation, nothing more. I also told you that I had an affinity for healing."
"It is still magic."
Lexi spun a slow circle, her head dropping back to address the heavens. "Castian, babe, could you Martha Stewart us a few refreshments? A girl's gotta eat."
Castian babe? I raised my gaze. "You shouldn't encourage her, Sire."
When no buffet appeared, Lexi crossed her arms tight against her chest. "Would it hurt for you to back me up? Now we'll be sucking on tree bark and crunching grubs all week."
"Nonsense," Tham said. "Give the three of us a moment and we can surely fill your stomachs. There are fish in the stream, greens in the forest and berries and nuts abound."
"Yum, nuts and berries." Lexi stuck her tongue out at me. "And me without red wine."
Tham scratched his head. "It strikes me to wonder what our Ambar Lenn might have been had you females not dropped into our lives."
Lexi and I answered in stereo. "Boring."
It was four am when I woke, heated from a restless sleep of bold blue eyes and electric touches. I shook my head and punched my pillow, waiting for my pulse to slow and the mass of estrogen pumping through my body to settle the hell down. What was going on with me? Never had a man affected me the way this arrogant, coolly self-possessed Elf did. I couldn't fathom why I was responding to him, Tham and Aust were just as hot and waaay nicer.
The neeeeee of what I hoped was a simple mosquito singing in my ear, distracted me from insanity. Waving blindly through the frosty night air of the tent, male voices whispered outside. Eavesdropping wasn't really my thing, but snuggled within the warmth of my blankets with only a layer of canvas between me and the clearing outside, I couldn't help overhearing.
"—the father simply vanished. Are you saying we should accept magic?" Impressive. Galan's disdain was thick even in hushed tones. "And what will the release of exile mean to us?"
"I have no answers. Nonetheless—"
"Tham, I know you. You are dancing at the prospect of adventure and change."
"Are you not? Galan, we have lived a century of our lives, looking to the stars, dreaming of what lay beyond this valley. We can finally leave it behind, the formality, the pompous judgment and the narrow mindedness."
"I understand how alluring it seems. Be wary. We know nothing of these females and even less of the lives they lead."
"I know they are witty, passionate and stunningly beautiful. Tell me you can gaze into Jade's green, gemstone eyes or Lexi's purple and not become entranced. And their hair . . . not eleventy shades of gold, Galan, red, deep elderberry with sparks of copper or black as a starless night sky. It is incredible. Even their father's hair was a marvel, though I would never say so."
"Aesthetics notwithstanding, I find Jade very unsettling."
Tham's chuckle rumbled low. "You were unsettled before you knew she was magical."
The stirring of the trees behind the tent brought soft, almost silent footsteps. "I have seen her soul, Galan," Aust whispered. "Jade is the female she claims to be and more."
"And," Tham said, still chuckling, "you enjoyed yourself well enough, lying over her in the scrub. Utterly bewitched you were."
"And by what? Magic? Resplendent as she is, she wields magic."
"In Castian's service," Aust said.
There was a long pause before Tham broke the silence. "Imagine the village when we return with two human females and the compendium of the ancients."
Galan laug
hed. "The Council of Elders will be beside themselves: meetings held, prayers said, offerings lain. Utter chaos. Very undignified."
Tham was laughing now too. "And your sire's face when we saunter into the courtyard with Castian's envoys . . . and they are females . . . and they look like that!" A hollow clunk of wood-on-wood was followed by the crackle of sparks snapping and a whiff of bon-fire. "Galan, six days and you shall be back with Lia, head held high. Verily, before these females appeared we had no notion of the purpose of our quest. We may never have found our enlightened path."
"True, though how—"
"How do you suppose that man is their father?" Tham whispered over the croaking of frog songs. "There is no resemblance. Jade is voluptuous and copper skinned, Lexi, a pale little halfling with the insouciance of an imp and Reign, a beast of a male and those black eyes—"
"Mayhap humans do not share physical traits as we do," Aust said.
"I would wager the little one is a lightning strike in a skirmish," Galan whispered. "Did you see how her gaze flared in challenge this morn, how she handled her dagger?"
"Her name is Lexi," Tham said. "It would do you well to involve yourself in polite conversation. You have yet to speak one word of Draconic, while knowing Lexi cannot understand Elvish well. They are engaging females and you have been nothing short of rude."
"One of us needs to remain objective."
There was a heavy sigh before Tham spoke. "After seeing their father, do you suppose they are the warriors they claim themselves to be?"
"Irrelevant. They are female. To think themselves enough to best a male is ridiculous."
"Jade can curse as well as a male," Tham said.
"Did you understand what was said?"
"No, yet still, it was fascinating."
CHAPTER SEVEN
"If human females are like those of our village, we shall sit most of the day in wait. Females are far too delicate to be warriors and live rough. They need comforts."
What a pompous ass! I flipped back the flap of the tent and painted on a smile. "Now Galan, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bedroll and find yourself in the Middle Ages?" I captured the haphazard craziness of my morning scare-do and bound it with an elastic. "FYI, I told you yesterday not to make assumptions about modern women. We don't like it."
