by Amy Sumida
“No; I'm not going to push him.” I sighed. “You can't force love, Cer, and that's what this has to be. If Gage gave it a go with me simply out of pity, I'd die anyway.”
“You're not going to fucking die,” Cerberus snarled. “Forget the griffin; I'm going to have a word with that fairy fucker.”
“Cer, let it be,” I said tiredly.
“El,” he suddenly sounded worried, “girl, don't you give up on me; we just started looking. You're smart, strong, and smokin' hot; they're going to be lining up for a chance at you.”
“Yeah; it'll be all right,” I lacked his enthusiasm.
“Elaria!” Cerberus snarled. “You fucking snap out of it right now. Get your head in the game; this is just another battle to win, and who's better than us?”
“No one,” I whispered.
“Nope; try that again,” he persisted. “Who is better than us?”
“No one,” I said with a smile.
“There's my girl,” Cerberus said smugly.
“Did you say that Odin was trying to reach me?”
“Oh, yeah.” He laughed. “Totally forgot with all the life coaching I was doing—maybe I should start charging, I'm obviously good at it.”
“Cerberus!”
“Odin wants to speak with you,” he said quickly.
“That's it?” I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see me. “You didn't get any deets?”
“Nope, he wouldn't tell me,” Cerberus huffed. “He acted like I was the one who couldn't keep a secret. As if! Everyone knows it's telegraph, telephone, and teleOdin. That man is like one of those horny housewives.”
“Desperate housewives,” I corrected.
“That's what I said.”
“Okay, I'll head over to the Cay,” I cut off the rest of that line of conversation. “Hey, how did Odin know what happened with Gage?”
“Vivian heard the whole thing,” Cer said. “Odin's not the only witch who loves to gossip. And you had it out with the griffin right in front of her door.”
“And then she told Odin.” I groaned.
“And TeleOdin got right to spreading the word,” Cerberus confirmed. “But it's better for them to know anyway. They can help you, El; let them.”
“That hasn't worked out so good thus far.”
“No, not yet, but it will,” Cerberus said confidently. “This is only the first round, and the Last Lullaby doesn't give up that easily.”
“Cerberus, I told you not to call me that.”
“But it's awesome,” he whined. “Come on.”
“No.”
“Double-L?”
“Hell no.”
“The El-inator?”
“You're just trying to make me laugh... and that sounds too close to 'elevator' to ever be intimidating.”
“The El-iminator?”
“That's nearly the same word,” I said dryly.
“El-iberator?”
I said nothing.
“Yeah, that went bad really fast,” he huffed. “And kind of south of the border. Anyway, I'm done now.”
“Thank you.” I chuckled. “Tell Odin that I'm on my way.”
“Okay. I'm going to stick around here,” Cer said. “Find me when you're done with ol' One-Eye.”
“It's Left-Eye,” I corrected him.
“Whatever.”
“And Cer, what the hell is a fuckshit?”
“It's when shit is totally fucked,” he said proudly. “Freya taught it to me.”
“I'm stealing it.”
“Have at it. See you soon, El-iterate,” Cer's voice faded and the charm cooled.
“So, now you're off to Coven Cay?” Declan asked.
“Odin wants to see me.” I nodded.
“Should we go with you?” Banning asked.
“No; I'll be fine.” I waved him down. “Go home, and I'll call you two later. You have the contact charm I gave you, right?”
“Of course.” Banning pulled the charm from his pocket.
“Okay then; I love you both.” I held out my arms to them, and they came forward to hug me together.
“We love you too,” Declan answered for them. “Contact us as soon as you have news.”
“I will.” I kissed them and then used my stone to travel to Coven Cay.
I reformed in the library again, and just like before, Odin was sitting at the table before me. Except this time, he was expecting me and didn't flinch. He stood and smiled, softening his harsh features into an expression I wasn't familiar with; at least not on him. I frowned; something felt different. Odin looked nice. I mean, the witch elder always looked good—like a Viking turned scholar—but he was particularly handsome today; as if he'd put some effort into it. Similar to how he'd appeared at the Witch's Ball.
I looked over Odin's silk tunic, dress sword, and polished, leather eye-patch, then narrowed my stare at him.
“You have perfect timing!” He declared.
“What are you up to, troublemaker?”
“It's 'Oathbreaker,' not 'Troublemaker,'” he corrected gleefully. “But you may call me 'Matchmaker' today.”
“What the hell are you up to?”
The sound of footsteps interrupted us, and as they drew closer, Odin's eye widened.
“Just act natural,” he whispered before he rushed forward and dropped to his knees.
“What the hell?” I gaped at him.
“Elaria,” Odin groaned my name as he snatched up my hand and kissed it. “I've hidden my love for long enough. I know you don't think of me in this way, but the griffin gave you up, and I can't let you die, sweetheart. Take me instead!”
“What? Odin... I—”
“No, don't speak yet.” He jumped to his feet and pulled me into an embrace. “Just feel for a moment.” He took my hand and held it over his chest. “Feel how my heart beats for you. I would do anything for you, Elaria.”
“Odin, I think you're an amazing man—”
“Then take me as your third,” he cut me off. “Together, we'll be a force no one could oppose; a spellsinger, a blooder gheara, a shining one king, and a witch elder. Think of the power we'd share.”
“You don't love her!” Gage shouted and yanked Odin away from me. “You just want her magic. That's not what she needs; she needs love.”
The footsteps... of course. I stared in shock from Gage to Odin. Gage had thrown the witch roughly into a bookshelf, and Odin's head had dropped forward. Odin peered up at me through the fall of his hair, and I saw the twinkle in his eye. He set this up! Sure enough, Odin winked at me before he jumped to his feet and defended himself dramatically.
“I do love Elaria!” Odin snarled. “You're the one who doesn't care about her! How dare you attempt to stop her from having someone who is willing to do anything to be with her. You don't want her and yet you don't want me to have her. You're a selfish, childish bastard!”
“I do care about her!” Gage shouted.
More footsteps echoed around us; witches were rushing out of the library.
“You've got some way of showing it, boy.” Odin lifted himself to his full height and stared Gage down.
“I just met her,” Gage protested. “I don't want to love her, okay? I can't be that man.”
“Fool,” Odin hissed. “You walk away from a soul mate because of pride. But if you want to be foolish, then I will happily benefit from it. Elaria”—Odin turned to me—“you don't need this idiot. Be with me instead. I'm twice the man he is.”
I pretended to consider Odin's offer.
“He's ancient!” Gage waved an angry hand toward Odin.
“So is Declan.” I shrugged. “We're immortals; age hardly matters.”
“You want this man over your true mate?” Gage asked angrily.
“No, Gage,” I said softly. “I don't. I want you, but you want a woman who can be only yours. I don't hold that against you, but I can't just sit around and pine for you either. I need to find someone to take your place.”
Gage's ches
t was heaving, his eyes gone vibrant green, and his hands clenched into fists. He started to reach for me, one fist opening, but then stopped. Suddenly, he turned on his heels and stomped away. My heart sank.
“Stupid fucker,” Odin hissed. “What the hell is wrong with that boy?”
“I don't know,” I whispered.
“Well, it nearly worked.” Odin gave me a sympathetic look. “We'll try again. You saw his reaction; he wants you—bad. He'll come around.”
“Thank you for trying.” I hugged him impulsively.
“Elaria,” Odin whispered, “I do love you, you know. It's just not in that way.”
“I love you too, Odin.” I stood back. “And I appreciate the help. But next time, give me some warning. You shocked the hell out of me.”
“If I had warned you, you wouldn't have reacted naturally.” Odin laughed. “I needed you to be believable.”
“I could have pulled it off,” I huffed.
Odin looked at me skeptically. “We'll see how you do on round two.”
“Round two?”
“Our first date.” Odin beamed.
“Oh, fuck me.” I groaned.
“Thank you for the offer, darling”—Odin smirked—“but I told you; I just don't love you in that way.”
Chapter Twenty
I contacted Banning with my charm, updated him on what was happening, and then went back to Alexandrite to spend the night with Declan. I would return to Coven Cay the next evening for my sham date with Odin. Both Declan and Banning were ecstatic that Odin was helping us and they were also encouraged by Gage's response. It was so strange to have them rooting for another man and me, but everything had changed when we had made love for the first time together—as in all three of us. No, the guys hadn't gone bisexual—which is just plain greedy in my opinion (being bisexual, not their staying straight)—they had bonded through the Rooster Spell; we all had.
The bond had actually begun before we consummated the relationship. It had first connected us when we were fighting Banning's old gura, which happened to be just moments after the men had agreed to the union. So, I'm fairly certain that their agreement was what had forged the link. But when we had sex, the spell had fed and made our bond complete. Now, the men were at ease with each other. That didn't mean they didn't fight; they just didn't fight over being with me. And they wanted what was best for all of us.
At the moment, Declan thought that what was best for us was for me to take a dip in the Sgàthan with him. I was less certain. The last time I had gone into the fairy sea with Declan, I had been grabbed by an asrai and nearly molested. It worked out in the end—okay, that didn't sound right. What I meant to say was that meeting the asrai ended up being a good thing. I had taken some of his essence to the Human Realm in exchange for him convincing the asrai of Earth to help me find Thomas.
Declan said it was nearly impossible for us to run into that particular asrai again; the odds were simply against it. Plus, a swim did sound good. I may have an affinity for fire inherited from my father, but I was also part siren, and sirens—despite their wings—loved the sea. My mother told me once that it stemmed from back in the day when the sirens had first gotten cursed, and they needed to find men to sing to. If they took a victim on land, they ran the risk of infecting numerous men and then having the survivors chase them. In the middle of the sea, a siren could pluck a sailor off a ship and sing to him as she flew away. Only one man would die, and the ships couldn't follow her fast enough. Maybe it wasn't the best way to form an affinity with the ocean, but it's the truth.
I contemplated my vicious inheritance as I stood on the moonlit shore of the Sgàthan, holding Declan's hand. The night that I'd met the asrai, Declan had held me so sweetly. I could use some of that tenderness again. But I could also use a little more than tenderness.
As if Declan knew just what I was thinking, or simply sensed what I needed through our link, Declan led me into the water. When the water level reached our bare chests, he turned to me and pulled me against him. I lifted my face for his kiss, and he obliged, but he also dropped us beneath the surface so that we were floating in the ocean's embrace. Tongues and bodies twining, we stayed in that blissful cocoon until we could stand it no longer and had to surface for air.
Gasping out of the water, we laughed and clung to each other. Declan's mouth immediately found mine again, and his hands slid over, and then under, my ass to lift me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and did what I had so desperately wanted to do that first night; I reached between us and slid Declan inside me. We groaned together and started making some waves with our passion. I laid back, luxuriating in the feel of Declan and the saltwater, and Declan set his mouth to my breast. As he sucked expertly, I rolled on him, and we spiraled into ecstasy together. Then we came; Declan lifted his mouth to mine again, and we sank below the waves we'd made, to mingle our satisfied cries within our mouths.
After that, we swam and relaxed on the beach between rounds of lovemaking, lounging on the shores of the Sgàthan for hours. I will never forget the taste of salt on Declan's skin or the way his body looked beneath the fairy moon. Declan had been right; this was just what we needed.
Chapter Twenty-One
I arrived early at Coven Cay and spent a few hours with Vivian before my sham-date. She offered me another spell to help Gage come around, but I couldn't do that to him. Manipulating him into confronting his feelings was bad enough; I wasn't going to break his will. Vivian nodded her approval, but then made sure that I knew the offer would remain open if I changed my mind in the future. In other words; if I became desperate enough to throw morality out the window. Which she apparently thought I would do.
So, Vivian was grim-faced when Odin showed up at her door. When she saw his optimism, though, she brightened and gave him an encouraging nod.
“Have a good time on your date,” Vivian wished us with a smug smile.
“Admitting that I'm the better witch for the job, Viv?” Odin waggled his brows at her.
“The better man for the job,” she corrected. “You have a penis; that's the only thing that makes you a better choice for this particular instance. And that's only because our Elaria is strickly-dickly.”
“She's what?” Odin's eye widened until it was nearly circular.
“She only likes men,” Vivian explained smugly as she sent me a wink; she loved knowing things her fellow witches didn't. “And don't forget that I am the one who brought Gage here, to begin with.”
“And I shall be the one to lead him to love.” Odin offered me his arm. “I've had my minion witches roaming the halls in search of your lost griffin. He was spotted twenty minutes ago, and the group who came across him made sure to be talking excitedly of our picnic tonight as they passed by.”
“You sly dog.” I chuckled as I took his arm.
“Don't hurt him, Odin,” Vivian called after us.
“He will be fine,” Odin huffed. Then he muttered to me, “The boy's a griffin for fuck's sake.”
“You're not planning on getting into a fight with him, are you?” I asked, suddenly concerned and uncertain who I was concerned for.
“I'm not planning it, no,” he said. “But it's a possibility. Love makes men act irrationally, and the griffin has already proven himself to be volatile.”
“What have I gotten myself into?” I groaned.
“It will be fine, Elaria,” Odin assured me as we headed outside the fortress.
The moon was just starting to brighten the night, casting silver slivers across the channel that separated us from the Canadian shoreline. Electric lights added sparkling spots to the softer glow on the water, painting a wavering picture of the heavens. A sharp scent of salt wafted off the water, melding with that of earth and evergreen. I started to relax; I felt most at home on an island, but this was a different variety than that which I was accustomed to.
Odin had a line of torches set beside our path, lighting our way to the water and leaving a fiery trail that blazed in
the night. He couldn't have made it easier for Gage to find us. At the end of the path a thick, wool blanket was stretched across a grassy promontory. We had made our way around to the ocean-facing side of the island, and there was a peaceful view of a gently rolling horizon. The shushing sound of waves sliding across the shore below us became soothing background music. On the blanket, a lit lantern waited beside an old-fashioned picnic basket.
“This is lovely,” I whispered.
“I don't woo a woman often,” Odin smiled fondly at me. “I wanted to have a little fun with it. How about we sit down and have a drink?”
“That also sounds lovely,” I said as I sat.
Odin popped the cork on a bottle of champagne and filled my glass before he brought out the rest of the basket's offerings; spreading our dinner out before us. Just because it came in a basket, it didn't mean it was simple fare. Odin had fine china plates for us, and he ladled delicate pieces of fish on them, then removed the lid from little containers of sauce and poured it over the fish. There were buttery vegetables, mashed potatoes whipped lighter than cream, and freshly baked bread to go with the fish. Finally, he poured himself a glass and clicked it to mine.
He leaned forward to say, “I hear your suitor approaching. Are you ready to put on a show for him?”
“How far are we taking this?” I lifted my brow in challenge and smirked.
“Just far enough.” Odin sipped his champagne and nodded to the food. “We have the meal to postpone us.”
“Gods forbid you had to kiss me,” I teased.
“Elaria”—Odin sighed—“honestly, it would be like kissing a beloved niece. Please don't make me do it. It would probably give me nightmares.”
I laughed loudly; my merriment echoing out across the water.
“If I didn't feel similarly, I would be horribly insulted,” I whispered.
“How's the fish?” Odin asked in a louder tone. “I know it's your favorite.”
“It's amazing,” I said with genuine appreciation. “But I don't recall mentioning to you that this was my favorite.”
“You didn't,” he said smugly. “I've been watching you for years, sweetheart. I know everything about you. I've seen you grow from a child in pigtails into a beautiful woman, and I've followed your escapades across the world. I know of every job you've ever done, Elaria; the dragon factions, the harpies... I even know about the manticores.”
