by J. L. Madore
He winced at the contact and blew out a breath. "Jade, might you examine my hand?"
I searched his expression, my heart picking up its pace. "Why now?"
He let out an irritated sigh. "That will be evident in a moment."
"Are you sure?"
A slow grin broke across his face. "My refusal was never a matter of trust." Galan's gaze burned me with its passion. I doubted a human man could ever manage such intensity. "Gods you are a vision when your eyes dance like that, neelan. Liquid emeralds."
I rubbed my palms together, slowly raising my hands, allowing my magic to touch his life. I wanted him to trust me, needed it. Soft as the brush of a feather, I dragged my fingertips across his palm. Desire. The intensity of his feelings jolted through me. As my ability took hold a sexual current arced between us. My knees weakened and the hair on my nape rose. Every nerve ending tingled. Not wanting it to end, I moved to heal his lip and eye.
Galan's raw emotion swirled in my head and coursed through my blood . . . attraction, sexual hunger, wanton, burning lust. My body's heat burst into flame. I looked into his wide, wild eyes and bit my bottom lip.
Breathe Jade. "This is why you didn't want me to heal you?"
"A futile effort to deny what I knew you would see in my soul." With his gaze locked, his lips began an excruciatingly slow trip to meet mine. He closed the distance, a look of absolute conviction glowing in his eyes. Cupping my face, he pulled me against his warm, firm mouth.
Sweet gods of the Veil!
He had a way with his lips that defied explanation. They were silk and satin, moving with a raw fierceness that set fire to my entire body. Everything around us receded and when I thought I might lose my mind, his tongue invaded my mouth. Penetrating with possessive sweeps, he moaned and my head spun.
Standing there, skin to skin, under the spray of the waterfall, all I wanted was him. I'd never felt anything like this desire before. It snapped through me like a lightning strike. It ignited every cell in one sudden white-hot awakening. It stole my breath.
Galan's kiss tasted like honeysuckle and sunshine. Sweet and sinful mixed with raw, masculine lust. The pounding of my heart in my ears, drowned out the crash of the falls and my body ignited. Of their own volition, my hands wrapped around his back and laced through his wet silver hair. My fingers twined deep and pulled him closer. With his mouth on mine, he backed us into the edge of the falling water. A cool rush cascaded over us as his lips, silk over steel, met mine. His eagerness verged on desperation, his body incredibly hard.
Moving my lips along his cheek, I gasped for air and then nipped the gentle peak of his ear. His throaty moan told me I was on to something. I exploited my discovery, nibbling, kissing and focusing my attentions first on one ear, then the other.
"Sweet mercies, Jade. How is a male to keep a logical mind when you are determined to seduce? Verily, we need to stop," he gasped, shaking his head. "You are far too tempting." When he tried to wrench away, I tightened my grip in his hair and held him in place. "Jade, please. Gods, I want to sheath myself inside you with a madness so uncontrollable I tremble. It is . . . animalistic and primal. We need to stop."
I don't know what had taken over me, but I knew what I needed. Destiny. I raked my nails down his back and cupped the globe of his ass beneath the surface of the water.
"By the love of all that is holy." His eyes rolled back. "Have you any idea what you are doing to me?"
I moaned as he spanned my ribs, strong fingers pulling me tight against his musculature. His arousal pressed against my navel, strained and ready. Blinding sensation burned through me. My hands slid up his back, across his shoulders, fisted into his silky hair. Dwinn.
"Gods help me, Blossom, I want you." My body arched under the flow of water as my core wept for his attention.
Galan stiffened. I didn't notice what he'd seen or smelled or heard. He pivoted toward the edge of the pool. In a blur, he shielded me from the curious gaze of Tham, Lexi and Aust. Mercifully, Reign wasn't with them.
"Well, we were wrong," Lexi giggled. "You're not trying to kill each other."
"No, not unless they were to suffocate," Tham said.
Aust, at least had the decency to look embarrassed. "Um, apologies. We were concerned when you failed to return and wished to ensure that you were well."
"I'd say they're well." Lexi smirked.
"Doing very well indeed," Tham said.
"How long have you been standing there?" I asked, peering around Galan's shoulder, struggling for breath.
"Since Galan wanted to mate you with a madness which was animalistic and primal." Tham rubbed his hand over his mouth as his shoulders shook.
Standing behind Galan, I watched the tips of his ears blush scarlet. "And privacy means so little to you that you could not have made your presence known?"
"We were stunned by the scene," Lexi said, barely containing her giggles. "Besides, we've suffered through the past week with you two at each other's throats. We deserved a little voyeurism. Damn Highborne, you've got game."
"Hmph." The muscle in the side of his jaw twitched wildly. "If you would be so kind as to give us a moment, we will join you on the path presently."
When they retreated into the trees, Galan and I swam back to our clothes.
"Great." I fought wet legs into my leathers. "They'll be impossible to live with now."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The next afternoon, Naith's massive body swayed beneath me as we made our way through the last of the journey back to the village. We could see the Highborne ruin site in the distance, set atop the plateau beneath the purple rumbling sky. If we were lucky, the storm which threatened to unfurl on us would hold off a little while longer. I tried to anticipate what our arrival would bring as I urged Naith to pull back a bit.
"What kind of response should Lexi, Reign and I expect from your Elders Council?"
The Elves chuckled.
Tham jogged up beside me. "Imagine a small holding pen with a dozen fat, lazy chickens scratching around, kicking up sand and looking down their beaks at the rest of the flock. Picture them all puffed up and cocksure. Now, imagine a hungry wolf suddenly dropped into the centre of that pen. Can you see the chickens squawking and scrambling as they flail around clucking madly? That is what awaits us."
"Really?"
All three Elves nodded, looking more amused by the moment.
I waited for a comment from my sister. When it didn't come, I glanced over— "Shit! Tham grab Lexi before she falls." I scissored my legs over Naith's head and dropped to my feet.
Thank the gods for Highborne reflexes.
Both Aust and Tham swooped to Puff's side, caught Lexi mid-fall and lowered her to the ground. I knelt beside her and placed her hands over mine. The deep violet pupils of her eyes had expanded and now they were swirling solid violet.
"Jade, what is it?" Tham asked. "What is happening?"
"She's having a vision," Reign explained.
Lexi's face blanked out and her eyes rolled back. When they blinked open, images shimmered in front of my eyes.
* * *
Clouds hung thick and lightning stitched across an angry sky. The village swarmed like a hornet's nest as Scourge raiders sliced their way through Highbornes. Rows of cottages glowed orange while plumes of ebony smoke billowed toward the stars. Attackers tossed torches into buildings and then grappled choking Elves as they staggered into the street.
In the main square, Highborne men were corralled and strung up, hands bound and hooked to posts, trees and maypoles. As women screamed, the barbed whips of a cat-o-nine descended upon the men. They ripped and mutilated the ivory flesh of those who fought back.
Behind a bench, a boy crumpled over the body of a lifeless woman. His small fingers gathered pink intestines where they spilled onto the cobblestone as he gently pressed them back into place. He knelt in a slick pool of blood, sobbing as his mother's life seeped between the cracks of the walk.
Movement in the
centre square hushed the chaos. Abaddon, a deceivingly handsome man with the charm of a viper, held up his hand. He pointed into the crowd and Bloodvine and another raider seized a young girl. She cried out, delicate hands extending for anchor in the crowd. Highbornes sprang to grab hold only to be beaten back by mace and flail.
"You know what I seek," Abaddon said, his voice seductive with persuasion. He waited. No one came forward. He loomed over the girl, raking his wand down her body. Wherever he touched, her frame twisted and a shrill scream pealed from her throat. "Where is the female? Anyone? No?"
No one responded.
A scarlet pulse launched from his wand, crushing her in a cocoon of light. Her delicate body arched, snapped and crumpled into a contorted heap.
In the echo of silence which followed, Abaddon turned back to the Highbornes. "If you give her to us, we will leave you in peace. You have my word. Now, where is the female?"
* * *
I yanked my hands back the moment the vision ended. This was my fault. Bloodvine had found a healer for his wound and gone straight to Abaddon. If I'd killed him when I had the chance—
"Jade? Are you well?" Tham asked.
It was Reign's firm grasp, lifting me to my feet that brought me to focus. "Tell me."
"Jade?" Lexi was blinking awake. "Did you see? I couldn't tell—"
"I saw." I ran a quick hand over Lexi's cheek, then strode to Naith and grabbed the M&M's from my backpack. "Aust, will you call in some friends and stay with Lexi until she's steady? The chocolate helps, but it takes a bit before she's ready to roll."
"Certainly, what—"
"Scourge are in your village." I mounted Naith and looked back on the horrified faces of the Highbornes.
"Are they after the book?" Reign slid his foot into the stirrup of his warhorse and vaulted himself into the saddle. "How bad is it?"
"It wasn't a scouting party. It was a raid." I pulled my hair back and tied it as Reign cursed. Aust helped Lexi sit up against his side.
"Princess," Reign growled, "you and Aust make your way as soon as you're steady and not a second before. If you can't plunge a dagger, you stay away, we clear?"
"Crystal." She nodded, laying her head against Aust's chest.
"We'll see you two in a few. Stay safe."
"And you as well," Aust said, as the four of us raced away.
"Jade, what are you not saying?" Galan hid the stress in his voice well, but I heard it.
"They aren't there for the book." On the fly I met his gaze. "They want the female with the silver hair. They want Lia."
Galan looked ill as he pushed forward, his sure strides and muscled legs eating up the distance. We moved with the force of a hurricane. I was thankful Lexi and I had studied the village intel for the mission. There were three points of entry into the village. Two bridges accessed the surrounding forests and a sandy path that snaked down from where I'd been told the ancient ruin site sat on a plateau above the village proper.
Fifty-six stone cottages radiated in a spoke and wheel pattern, clustered at the crux of two small rivers. Livestock, stables and barns were located downriver to the west. The watermill, blacksmith and altar house were along the east. Within half an hour we spread out, searching a shell-shocked little ghost town. The clouds hung in a wide heavy blanket overhead, rumbling and threatening. There was no rain though, and there was also no sign of the Scourge.
Reign and Tham raced toward the west river while Galan and I searched for Lia along the east. The streets were empty except for a couple dozen Highborne bodies scattered among fallen weapons and smoldering homes. Galan looked at the faces of the dead as we passed. A middle-aged man, his eyes clouded with death, caught his attention. He cursed.
"Who is it?"
"Aust's father, Cameron. He was an extraordinary male." He bent, closed his eyes and straightened his tunic. Shit. How much was Aust supposed to take? After a deep breath Galan led the way. We ran from one cottage, across the courtyard to another, then to a meadow by the river and back to the courtyard. He looked like he was about to explode. There was no sign of his sister. There was no sign of anyone.
"Where would they go if there was danger?" I asked.
"The altar building?" And we were off again.
"Galan!" Our heads whipped around at the call.
"Durian," he said, racing to where a teenaged boy had popped out from between two cottages. "Where is Lia? Durian, have you seen Lia?"
The momentary excitement of seeing us faded as his expression crumbled. "Galan, they took her. We tried to stop them. But they were many and we were unprepared."
"Which way did they take her?" he choked. "And how long ago?"
"Mayhap a quarter candle's burning . . . over the western bridge toward the forest."
"Tell Gisir we are in pursuit." Galan reached for my hand and headed west.
"Wait! Galan—"
Galan growled. "Durian, I must—"
He shook his head. "Lia was at Nyssa's when they found her. She and Iadon tried to fight the raiders off. They were no match."
"And?"
"They struck Nyssa to the ground." Durian's gaze dropped to his boots. "They kicked and beat her, Galan. She bleeds . . . inside. Iadon says the baby and she are lost to us."
Galan staggered. Track his sister or say goodbye to his best friend. I touched my index finger to my thumb, pressed them to my mouth and blew. Wherever Reign was, he would hear my whistle and come. In a matter of seconds, they were at our side and we filled them in.
Durian's eyes popped wide when Reign halted his horse and thudded heavily to the ground. In another situation, it would have been funny.
"We'll follow the trail," Reign said. "Talon are arriving now."
Tham squeezed Galan's shoulder. "You are needed here, brother mine."
Galan hesitated, but nodded. "Durian, where is she?"
"The council's inner chamber."
That's all he needed. He clasped my hand and ran the smoldering streets to a long, two story stone building. I sucked in a breath as the carved wooden door swung back and the fecund scents of fear and death hit us like a wall. This was the aftermath of battle: the tang of copper, mingled with the smoke of lamp and candles and the reek of spilled bowels.
Galan paused in the entry and scanned the room. Heads turned as we scuttled through the dozens of injured and their families. Muffled whispers rose like a misty fog. I supposed we were quite a sight, Galan back from his Ambar Lenn with a leather-clad, red-headed human in tow. Either he didn't hear them or didn't care. He was fixated on a cot at the back of the chamber.
"Nyssa!"
The man hovering over the cot pulled back, revealing the woman I'd seen in Lexi's vision. At a glance, it was obvious she was in a great deal of trouble. Aside from the bruising, her unfocused gaze followed the direction of Galan's voice, weak but warm. "Thank the Fates," she sighed. "The raiders spoke of you and I feared—"
"I am well." Galan fell to his knees. "Iadon, Nyssa, this is Jade." He pulled me to his side. "She is an emissary of the Fae and a powerful healer. I want you to let her heal you Nyssa, you and your young."
Iadon let out a strangled cry. "A healer?"
Galan turned to him, the muscle in his jaw twitching once again. "Trust me, Iadon. I love them as you do. If Nyssa and the young can be saved, Jade will do it. I have seen her gift."
"Gift? Galan, the elders will never—"
I turned to the confused faces of the Highborne crowd as they parted to make way for the host from Lexi's vision. The fair-haired gentleman, still dressed sharply despite the evidence of a harrowing day marring his pant legs and jacket with dust and blood, strode forward. "What is this, Galan? What say you?"
Galan steeled himself, folding his hands together and pressing his shoulders back. "Jade is going to heal Nyssa, Gisir. She works on Castian's behalf."
"Heal? Using magic?" Gisir's ears blotched pink in the span of a moment. "In a sennight, have you forgotten everything we stand for? Galan,
even you should know better."
Galan's jaw clenched as another well-tailored man strode into the showdown. He was an imposing man with hard, cold eyes and a cutting tone. Galan ignored his arrival and continued. "Jade will save Nyssa and her young. She healed Tham of magical burns in the cavern of the ancient High Ones and Aust when a Mahogany bear crushed his insides and tore his flesh."
A cry escaped from a woman with warm, wheat-colored curls, weeping in a circle of women. Galan bowed his head and smiled. "Fash not, Elora, I swear to you, Aust is well and will join us shortly. He stayed behind to help an ailing friend." When she nodded, he turned back to the argument at hand. "Jade deserves respect and Nyssa deserves a chance to meet her young."
Gisir turned to me. "No offense is meant to you as an individual. However, magic—"
"There is a vast difference between a natural affinity given by the gods and sorcery."
He does listen. I held back my smile as Galan recited a speech I'd given him almost a week ago. My heart sang to have him stand as my champion for once instead of my accuser.
While their argument continued, a warm hand took my wrist. Iadon's gaze almost broke my heart. Battle-worn and bloody, his red-rimmed eyes were pleading. "If it be within your power and Castian's will, save them. I beg of you."
"And how do we know what Castian's will is?" The second man snapped. "My son has never been one to follow rules. He spits in the face of our beliefs more oft than not. Surely his opinion cannot be given any merit."
Oh, so this is the colossal ass-wipe.
"Fighting for Nyssa is not spitting on anyone's beliefs." Galan growled. "I swear to you on Lia's safe return that Jade is not a witch or a sorceress. Her gift works the same way as Aust's affinity for wildlife. It is not magic."
"This argument is taking time Nyssa can't afford." I opened my hands and tilted my head back. "Castian? What would you have me do?"
The air in the chamber swirled as the fetid stench of death dissolved and was replaced by bergamot, mint and sage. The crowd shrieked and recoiled like frightened mice and even though I wanted to roll my eyes and tell them all to get a grip, I reminded myself that this was an unknown for them. Oh, and I was evil incarnate. Whatevs.
