by E. A. Weston
“No, Reagan. Don’t,” he yells in my head. Pulling back, I frown. “I’ll explain later.”
We part and he lets my hands go. Avery looks at me, smiling.
“I fear Reagan needs some training gear.” He laughs, nodding at one of the guys.
“Oh, I don’t fight,” I say, my head shaking back and forth. Killian takes my hand and leads me away from the group. We enter the tree line, walking into the forest a little. Turning, he grabs my waist, planting his lips on mine; his kiss is electric. His hands hold me close and roam over my back and hair.
“I missed you last night,” he says, kissing along my jaw. My hands find his hair. Pulling his lips back to mine, we devour each other. I can’t seem to get enough of him. My hands slide under his leather top. The feel of his skin makes me want to rip off his clothes and have my way with him right now.
“Slow down, princess.” He laughs, pulling away from me. “I will have Samiel take you to get some new clothes and a bath. I have to train if I am to protect you.”
“I don’t need protecting. I need you. And for the life of me, I don’t know why, but I want to rip your clothes off right now.”
I smile, leaning into him. Our lips meet again, but he breaks the kiss before I get too worked up.
“I like this Reagan,” he mumbles against my collarbone.
“My skin is on fire,” I pant, leaning my head against the tree. Killian lifts up to look at me, his eyes checking mine.
“You look flushed. Are you feeling ill?” He looks concerned.
“Just my stomach … maybe I need a while to get used to the food, or perhaps it’s caffeine withdrawals.” He laughs at me, running his fingers through my hair.
“Perhaps … or maybe I am turning you on.”
We both laugh out loud because yes, we are both very turned on. Killian walks me to a fallen log, and we take a seat.
“I have to tell you something. Here in Avalon, fairies do not sleep together until a formal proposal has been made. It is to keep the females virtue intact.” My jaw drops as I look at him.
“What? You mean we can’t stay together?” Shaking his head, he tells me no, that I have to stay with the women for now. “That is so backward, Killian,” I complain.
“I know, princess, but we must follow the rules while we stay here.” His voice is sad but unwavering.
“Killian, is this where you live?”
“No, it is the warrior training camp I belong to.”
“Why didn’t you bring me to your house? Do you not want people knowing you are with a human?” I swallow, waiting for his answer, but Avery interrupts us.
“I’m sorry, brother, but we must go now.” He nods then leaves.
“Go? Go where, Killian? What’s going on?” I can feel panic rising as I stare at him. Taking my hands, he kisses them.
“I have to leave for a night, but I promise I will be back in the morning …” Interrupting him, I pull away.
“You’re just going to leave me? Jesus, we only got here, and it’s a whole other world. What am I meant to do? I don’t know anyone!” Panic takes over, and my hands start shaking again.
“Princess, please calm down. I will not be far, and Samiel is sworn to protect you in my absence.”
Grabbing his top, I latch onto him. An unreasonable amount of panic floods my system and tears spill down my face.
“Reagan, what is going on with you?” Killian grabs me in a hug, holding me close.
“Don’t leave me,” I beg. Even to my own ears, I sound like a weak, feeble, Savannah-esque chick, but I don’t care. Fear and panic are doing very strange things to me. Killian kisses my head and gently extracts himself from my death grip.
“I will be back as soon as I can, princess.”
Nodding, I wipe my eyes on my sleeve and watch him walk away. Samiel appears from behind a tree, staring at me. I feel like a tool. Dropping to the ground, I cry again. Alex’s voice rings in my ears, telling me to get a grip and snap out of it. I’m trying, but it’s like I am two different people: a blubbering idiot on the outside and me on the inside. I don’t know how long I lay there mourning my boyfriend, but eventually, I drag my sorry ass up. Turning to Samiel, I take a deep breath.
“I need a bath and clothes,” I announce without my voice cracking. He nods and begins to walk away. He just takes me back to the building I was in last night. He speaks with Elvia then leaves. She takes me by the shoulders, leading me inside. I watch as she gathers strips of cloth and leather gear.
“Come, Reagan.” Standing, I follow her outside and into another building. I am exhausted; I just want to sleep. We enter through a set of wooden doors. Finding a deep pool of water in front of me, she smiles.
“Now this is where we bathe. It is heated with magic, and you will emerge clean and refreshed.” She smiles. “What is your fragrance?” she asks.
“I don’t know,” I whisper, keeping my eyes on the water.
I feel her arms around my shoulders as she slowly brings me to the water’s edge. She helps remove my clothes, and I feel embarrassed standing naked before a stranger. I can feel the heat on my cheeks as I cover my lady bits. Elvia smiles at me as if I were a child.
“Come now, Reagan. Enter the pool and I can try different fragrances for you.”
She smiles, nodding her head. I don’t see any steps, so I sit on the cold stone and lower myself into the hot water. It feels like a hot tub. The water makes me relax a little, and Elvia says some words and pours a small amount of liquid into the water. The smell hits my nose, and I choke. Tears stream from my eyes. It’s like walking into an onion factory.
Quickly, she pours another into the water, the sweet scent filling the air.
“Better.” I sigh, wiping my eyes. Elvia laughs.
“I fear I have made you dislike my magic.”
“No, you haven’t, but I like this smell better,” I reply, smiling at her.
“Yes, it is the scent of the fire bush—a very delicate flower, but poison runs through its veins.” She smiles. Wow, says a lot about me, then.
After I wash my body and hair with some sweet-smelling products, I climb out of the water. My skin is dry as if I had never even been inside. It’s crazy; Elvia helps me dress in a blue dress with floaty material. We return to the building to eat. I take small tastes of everything, but really don’t want to eat—my thoughts are on Killian. The fairies are speaking in their own language, so I pull out my phone to look through the pictures. It has very little battery, so I just want to check for a minute. Once they see it, they all gather around me. I show them pictures of Alex—they love her hair—and Ryder. Coming to the ones of Killian and me, I smile. He looks so hot in his suit. All the fairies gasp as they see us hugging, holding hands, kissing. Tatiana stands from the chair and paces the room. She speaks in Fairy, and all the others frown at her.
Putting my phone away, I look to Elvia. She just waves me off and rolls her eyes.
“Why are you upset, Tatiana?” I ask, looking at her. She turns back to me, pointing at my phone and lets a string of fairy words fly at me.
“I don’t understand you,” I tell her, then she leaves. Looking around, the other fairies just smile at me. Fayette comes to sit beside me.
“So you and this boy.” She taps my phone screen and smiles.
“Oh, yes. Killian.” I can’t help the big grin on my face. “We are together.” Fayette nods at me.
“You are most lucky, Reagan,” she says, popping some fruit into her mouth; we sit in silence for a while. I have no idea what to say to them; usually, Alex is the talker. I learn after a while that Elvia is the oldest. Although she looks about twenty, she is much older and comes from a place called the Valley of Oaks. Fayette refuses to tell me her age, but she is from the same place as Elvia. Nerida is from Fire Island, and Tatiana is from Bonfire Hills.
Once she returns, she ignores me, but I don’t care. I don’t get what’s up with her, anyway. When the moon rises, I take a walk around the are
a where the fairies were training. I feel better in the moonlight. Samiel is a few paces behind me. I can see some of the warrior fairies look my way as I pass, but I keep walking. The blue dress blows in the breeze as I move. Stopping, I sit at the trunk of a tree and watch the moon.
I wonder where that castle is that was in the photograph. How on earth did my parents and I even get here all those years ago? Why don’t I remember? Closing my eyes, I sigh and think of Killian. His smile, his lips … I really miss sleeping in bed with him.
“We must return now,” Samiel says, causing me to open my eyes.
“Why? I just got here.” All these hot fairies are starting to grate on me.
“Please, we must return you to your chamber.”
Holding out his hand, he smiles. Reaching out, I take hold of him, and he pulls me up. He walks back to my building fast. I can just about keep up with him, and I am sweating by the time I get back. I fall straight into bed. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear they are trying to keep me asleep.
Chapter 25
Waking up, I smell a sweet aroma. Turning my head, I find a beautiful flower laying beside me on my pillow with a note. The scent fills my head, and a smile stretches across my face. Opening the note my smile grows bigger.
A beautiful flower for my beautiful princess. Missed you.
Climbing out of bed, I rush into the kitchen to find Elvia making breakfast.
“Hi, Elvia. Did you see Killian?” She shakes her head and offers me some food. “No, thanks.” Running back into my room, I pull on the leather training gear.
“Wow.” It feels so soft, I have no idea about shoes, so I pull on my boots and grab the hairbrush from the nightstand, pulling it through my hair a few times. Walking out of my room, I get glances from all the other fairies.
“Where are you going?” Fayette asks as I reach for the door. Her blue eyes shine at me.
“Oh. Killian is home. I’m going to find him.”
I smile, pulling open the door and stepping outside. Samiel is standing there, waiting for me.
“Morning!” I sing as I rush past him, skipping down the path. Rounding the corner, I hear the clash of wood on wood as the fairies beat each other with staffs like Killian has. Seeing him across the green, I cut through the guys, not caring at all. I am about ten feet away, and my smile grows as he turns, seeing me.
In a blur of black and pink, something crashes into Killian, and they fall to the ground. All I see is pink hair and lips. Lips on my boyfriend. I come to a stop, receiving a whack on the arm by one of the guys practicing, but I don’t feel it really. My eyes are glued on the spectacle in front of me. Avery is laughing, along with some other fairies, as Killian gets assaulted by a pink-haired fairy. Her pink wings beat against her back.
Arriving beside them, I find Tatiana on top of Killian, making out. Every part of me wants to rip them apart and beat them to death, but I don’t I stand there watching while the laughter dies down. Avery grips Tatiana’s top, pulling her up off of Killian. She tries to fight back but quickly stops when Killian stands. They speak in Fairy back and forth, sounding like an argument. Killian turns, walking towards me. His arm wraps around my waist, and we shoot up into the air. He flies for a few minutes, landing by a small lake.
“I’m sorry, Reagan,” he says when our feet hit the grass.
“Maybe you left more behind than you thought,” I say, sitting on the grass. Killian sighs and sits beside me.
“It was so long ago, and it was only one summer.” He frowns.
“How long ago?” I ask out of curiosity, slipping my hand into his.
“I have been in the human realm for a hundred years. Before that, I was here at the training camp for ten winters, so about a hundred and ten human years.”
“Dude,” I say, laughing as I fall back onto the soft grass. Killian looks at me.
“Dude?” he repeats, laughing with me. Reaching up, I pull him down to meet my lips. We take our time exploring each other. Hands roam freely as our kiss deepens.
“Are there any fairies around here?” I ask.
“No. Why, Princess, it’s just us.”
My smile grows as my hand reaches down his pants. A low rumble emits from his chest, and his lips find mine again. Our clothes are quickly discarded and our bodies writhe together, the soft grass feeling like a luxurious bed beneath me. Killian takes his time exploring my body before our hips meet in a rhythmic dance, pushing both our bodies to come apart together.
“I have missed you, princess,” he pants in my ear.
“I miss you, too. Why can’t we move into a hut together?” I tease, laughing with him.
“I can not treat you that way, princess. I must propose to you first.” He smiles. “And you must accept. Otherwise, we cannot be together. If you say no, then we are never allowed to be together.”
“What?” I sputter. I don’t believe what I’m hearing. Rejection means exile? “Killian, I have no intention of being exiled, but proposing …” I chew my lip.
“That is why I have not yet proposed, princess, but that does not mean I won’t. I am yours, and you are mine. Forever.”
Wrapping my legs around his waist, he laughs at me. “We must go,” he says. Shaking my head no, I wrap my arms around his neck.
“If we are not allowed to stay together, then I want to make up for lost time.” Smiling, he brushes his lips on mine.
We fly back to the camp, laughing all the way with my legs wrapped around his waist and my lips kissing along his jaw and neck. I feel so much better now that we have been together. Maybe I was just having some kind of freak out from no sex. Killian lands softly, and I hop off of him. We walk back hand-in-hand, much to the confusion of some of the fairies. They look at us funny, and some shake their heads. Avery greets us, stepping between us as he does.
“My brother, I trust you have taken care of things,” he says to Killian in a whisper, but I can hear him. Killian nods. Avery turns to me. “How would you like to train, Reagan?” I nod in agreement, and I am quickly lead towards a group by the far side of the grounds. Nerida greets me by way of throwing one of those staff things at me. Catching it stings my palm, making me wince.
Without warning, she swings at me. My first instinct is to run, but I don’t. I stay, lifting my staff to block her blows. The vibrations from wood hitting wood reverberate up my arms. She swings again, and I block her. I swing, trying to hit her, but she is too fast, twirling behind me and chopping me on the legs, sending me to the ground in a heap.
“Shit.” I moan as I climb back up. We start again, swinging and swiping—banging and clashing. The longer I do it, the better I feel at it. We keep practicing for the rest of the day. As the sun settles, my arms ache and my hands are raw. Dropping the staff, I shake my hands, trying to relieve some of the pain.
Nerida laughs as she approaches me. “You are a good fighter, Reagan. Where did you learn this?” she asks, holding up her staff.
“Oh, that was my first time.” I grimace, blowing on my hands again. She looks at me shaking her head.
“I fear I may have underestimated you, my friend.”
“Do you have any medicine?” I ask, really needing this stinging to go away.
“For what purpose?” she asks, and I lift up my hands palms out. She gasps, grabbing me by the wrist and running us through the crowd to our little house. Once inside, she keeps apologizing. Elvia rushes through the door, wondering what is going on. When she sees my hands, she freaks out too. Both of them fly around the place, looking for something. I stare at my now red, swollen palms and the pain is taking my breath away. Tatiana strolls through the door. I haven’t seen her since this morning when she was locking lips with my boyfriend.
“What is this chaos?” she asks, waving her hand toward Elvia and Nerida, but I ignore her. Nerida apologizes again, stopping to look at my hands, which are now blistering.
“Fuck…” I moan when she presses on one of them. Tatiana bends over to see and smirks.
“I fear our human girl is no match for our prince. I fail to see what could ever draw our prince to a lower form such as a human.”
She spits at me, her eyes glow pink, and it really is weird. Fayette pulls her away from me, and they both argue in Fairy. Elvia is saying something about stinging, and I nod. My mind is repeating Tatiana’s words: Our prince. Lower human. Our prince.
Pain so incredible pulls me back to reality. My hands are on fire. A scream rings out in the house over and over. Realizing it’s me, I fall to my knees, crying. Elvia rushes me to a basin of water, forcing my hands inside, but it only makes it worse. My vision is blurry with tears as voices carry through the house.
“Reagan.” I hear Killian call me as he runs through the door, grabbing me to him. Holding my shaking hands, he curses then starts shouting at the women.
“No, leave them alone. They were helping me.”
“Princess, your hands … we must find a healer.” His voice is full of panic.
“Princess. Why do you call me that?” I mumble. Fresh tears fall as the pain burns up my arms.
“Stay awake, Reagan.” Killian’s voice sounds so far away.
“You’re the prince, and you never told me. You made me love you yet you lied to me.”
“No! Reagan, I never lied. I promise I was going to tell you. I promise, Princess. Please open your eyes.” The sound of his voice begging begins to fade as the pain washes over my body.
“Well aren’t you a sight.” Claudia smiles at me.
“I don’t know what you mean. Where are we anyway?” I ask, looking around. All I see is white.
“Never mind, Reagan. Just listen,” she says. Her voice is so soothing to me. “You must wake up, Reagan. It is your birthday tomorrow, and you must wake up.”
“I am awake, Claudia. I’m standing here talking to you. I think you’ve lost it.” Shaking her head, she laughs that tinkle at me.
“I fear you may be right, my friend, but for now, please believe that you must wake.” Her pale eyes shine as she takes my hand in hers. It’s so good to see her again. Wrapping my arms around her neck, I hug her close.
