Stolen Heart

by Sawyer Bennett

  Annika had been so thankful to have Kieran there. She was still angry with him for manipulating her to come on this trip, but some of it vanished when he punched Mason and soothed her afterwards, and a lot more vanished when he carried Mary through the palace to his apartment. He was a good man and he didn’t need to help her aunt, but he was doing so none the less.

  “Annika?

  She turned and saw Kieran walking out on the balcony. Before she could ask, Kieran said, “Ava is with her now. She should be fine.”

  Annika exhaled loudly. “I really can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done.”

  “It’s nothing. I’m just glad she’s going to be okay.”

  They stood side by side in silence for a while, both looking out over the gardens. Annika finally spoke up. “When will we leave for Balvraine?”

  “I thought we would take a day or so to make sure Mary is on her way to a good recovery, and also for us to formulate a plan. We’ve been flying by the seat of our pants. Plus, you needed some supplies from Myridian that we weren’t able to get, so we’ll need to handle that.”

  Annika nodded. “That would be good. It’s been a rough day today.”

  ***

  Kieran reached out and ran a knuckle over her cheek. She closed her eyes in response briefly then pulled away. She eyed him warily. Annika wasn’t the type that took to kindness well he’d bet. He couldn’t help himself. Kindness would push her away, but what about passion?

  Kieran grabbed Annika’s hand and pulled her to him hard. Their bodies collided and he framed her face with his hands. Looking down at her, he saw fiery response in her eyes. Her lips were parted and hell yeah, that was an invitation. His mouth swooped down on hers while one hand moved to the back of her head to hold her in place.

  Sliding his tongue to the inside of her mouth was ambrosia. Her tongue came out to play and he immediately felt her piercing massaging along his tongue. So nice. He pushed into her mouth further and they were soon moving against each other in a harmonious dance. Annika’s hands fisted in Kieran’s shirt and he heard a low moan vibrate in her throat. Shit, he wanted her so badly. But now was not the time or place. Pulling gently away, he completed the kiss with a soft graze across her lips and a light rub of his nose alongside hers. When he released her, he saw her eyes were glazed with the same passion he was feeling. It made him want to pound on his chest like Tarzan.

  “Come on. Let’s go see Mary. I’m sure Ava wants to say hello to you, then we will get you something to eat.”

  Annika released her hold on Kieran’s shirt and took a step back. Her eyes were wary again. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. He’d have to work on her. He turned on his heel and headed back inside. Annika followed.

  ***

  Walking into Mary’s room, Annika saw Ava sitting on the side of the bed talking to Mary. Her head turned when she heard them walk into the room. Ava stood up and crossed over to Annika. Grasping her hands, she leaned in and kissed Annika on the cheek. “Welcome back to Clairmont. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”

  Annika noted that Ava’s tone was warm and inviting but she wasn’t used to that from people. She accepted the kiss but then pulled away. “It’s good to see you too, Ava. I can’t thank you enough for helping my Aunt Mary.”

  “Think nothing of it. I remember Mary fondly and we are glad to help. It’s the least we can do since you are helping Kieran to recover The Scepter.”

  So that makes us even, Annika thought.

  “But we would have helped her even if you weren’t helping us. That’s the way things should be. I only wish we had known what Mason had been doing to her as I would have taken matters into my own hand long before now.” There was a hard edge to Ava’s words. Annika’s respect for the young queen ratcheted up quite a bit.

  Annika looked at Ava more closely. She had last seen her when they were both sixteen years old. Ava had not changed that much. She still had glorious chocolate brown hair and light green eyes. She may have filled out a bit, but it was in all the right places. She had heard through the grapevine that Ava had married Carrick Dunne and they had a child together. She was glad for her. It wasn’t the life Annika ever aspired to, but she could be happy for someone else if that is what floated their boat.

  Nope. Annika had never aspired to marriage. In her brief existence so far, she had learned that marriage could product heartache and misery. Children also were an unknown. Mason had proved that not all children were good beings. Just the thought of marriage and children made Annika a little nauseous. It was probably why she had shied away from anything that resembled a commitment or relationship. Her casual friendship to Marcus was about as close as she would let a man in, and he didn’t even know everything about her. Oh, Marcus knew the things she did were to help even out her bitter memories, but he didn’t know what the memories were that drove her to do those things. He just accepted her as she was.

  Annika’s thoughts were interrupted by Kieran. “Ava, why don’t we let Mary and Annika have a bit of time together.”

  Ava nodded and followed Kieran out the door. Annika gave them both a tiny smile of thanks.

  CHAPTER 13

  Ava sat at Kieran’s kitchen table while he put a noon meal together for Annika and Mary. He pulled a platter out and created a spread of grapes, sliced apples and cheeses. He sliced a heavy wheat bread and put some butter beside it. Finally, he added some dried and salted meats.

  “Aren’t you quite the domestic,” Ava teased.

  Kieran snorted. “Bachelorhood and the military teaches you how to feed yourself.”

  Ava reached out and snagged a handful of grapes. “Annika looks great, don’t you think? Just like I remembered her.”

  “I agree she looks great, but I don’t remember her at all from when we were younger.”

  “Really?!?! She always wore her hair long when she was younger but I like it short.” Ava had a sly smile on her face. “I always thought growing up that you and Annika would make a great match.”

  Kieran looked her dead in the eyes, no whimsy glittering this time. “Don’t even think it, Ava. You know I’m relationship averse, and Annika is the same way I bet. Just get rid of any little matchmaking ideas that are scheming in that head of yours.”

  Ava didn’t respond but kept that crafty smile on her face. That irritated Kieran. “I mean it Ava. Stay out of it.” His tone carried menace but Ava didn’t seem intimidated in the slightest. Kieran poured himself a mug of beer and took a sip, glaring at her over the top.

  “Fine. You won’t hear me say another word.”

  “Good.”

  “So, have you slept with her yet?”

  Kieran choked on his ale. Wiping the back of his mouth with his hand, he glared harder at Ava. “That is none of your business, my dear sister-in-law.”

  “Ahhhh. I see….” Ava sported a superior, secret look of knowledge on her face.

  “What do you see?” Kieran shouldn’t have asked but now he was too curious as to what Ava was implying.

  “It’s just…you never had a problem in the past bragging about your conquests in the bed. The fact that you are keeping it secret about your relationship with Annika I think is very telling indeed.”

  Kieran cursed silently. Ava was hitting too close to the mark for Kieran’s comfort. He needed to nip any misconceptions in the bud. “I promise you, there is nothing there. Well, there is attraction and I won’t expound further on that. But nothing more. There can’t be.”

  “Why not?” Ava looked sincerely curious and not trying to goad him this time.

  Oh, what the hell. “Because, besides the fact that neither one of us is ‘relationship material’, we both have already lied and manipulated the other person for our own benefit. I can’t trust Annika as far as I can throw her, and the things I’ve done to her already, she would be wise not to trust me either.”

  Ava didn’t say anything at first but chewed slowly on a few grapes. Kieran sat at the tab
le watching her. He was waiting for something else to bait him into deeper conversation. He didn’t get it this time.

  “I’m sorry that happened. Lies and manipulation are not a good way to build a foundation of trust. But just remember, I’m living proof that those things can be overcome.”

  Kieran knew that was all too true. Ava was now married to his brother, a man that had betrayed her trust once. Ava and Carrick had managed to overcome that. Still, it’s not something he was really interested in thinking about further. They had more pressing matters to worry about.

  “I would like to stay here for a day or two, mainly so Annika can spend some time with Mary. I don’t want her worrying about her while we are trying to recover The Scepter. I need her head fully in the game.”

  “She’s welcome to stay as long as necessary, you know that.”

  “Yes, but I’m worried about our time frames. How urgent is our need to recover The Scepter at this point?”

  “I can still feel its magical pull to me. It has not changed allegiance. In fact, I’m surprised that the pull has not wavered. It makes me wonder what they are even doing with The Scepter if they aren’t going to use it.”

  “Maybe it will be impossible for them to use it. Maybe it will never consider anyone else but you its owner.”

  “That’s possible but not probable. All magic can be manipulated. My guess is they just don’t have the knowledge to manipulate it to their benefit. But, it doesn’t mean they can’t get the knowledge. Or at the very least, trial and error produce the results they need. Still, I don’t believe a few days delay will hurt our cause.”

  Kieran nodded. “Good. Annika also needs some supplies for her glamour. We were supposed to get them from Mary’s but I’m hoping you have what she needs in our apothecary.”

  “I’ll make sure she gets access to what she needs.” Ava stood up to leave. Heading for the door, she paused and looked back at Kieran. “You’re a good man, Kieran. I love you. You know that, right?”

  Kieran smiled softly at Ava. “Of course I know that, sis. I love you too. Now get out of here so I can feed the women folk.”

  ***

  After the noon meal, Mary went to sleep with the help of a potion Ava gave her. She would be out for several hours. Kieran set Annika up in his other guest room and invited her to nap if she wanted, which she declined. She requested, instead, to visit the apothecary, as Kieran had told her the stores would be open for her use.

  Kieran accompanied Annika to the apothecary, not because he needed to, but because he really couldn’t think of anything better to do with his time. They made a quick stop at Carrick and Ava’s apartment so Kieran could peek in on Emma. She was just getting ready to go down for a nap and was a little fussy. Kieran only spent a few minutes with her but thought it was interesting how Annika stayed back just far enough so she wouldn’t have any interaction with the little tyke. She watched, with interest, but you could tell by the look on her face she was a little scared of Emma too.

  It was in Kieran’s nature to poke fun of people’s fears to bring laughter to a situation, and ordinarily he would have thrust Emma into Annika’s arms to see how she would deal with it. But after what Annika had been through already this day, he knew she didn’t need any undue stress. And there was no doubt in his mind that a fussy child in the midst of her terrible twos would be a stress to Annika.

  Walking toward the apothecary, Annika made an observation. “You’re really good with children.”

  Kieran let out a chuckle. “Not really. Just Emma. Put me around other kids and they all seem to cry.”

  “Really?”

  “Yup. I apparently only appeal to Emma.”

  “Kids terrify me.” It was a small concession that he didn’t think she would admit to most people. He wondered why she admitted it now.

  “They used to terrify me too. Until Emma came along. Then I was sort of forced to learn how to deal with babies, diapers and snotty noses. You sort of get used to it.”

  “So really, all you’re saying is that you need practice?”

  “Yes,” Kieran laughed, “and a whole lot of patience!”

  “Well, that’s something I don’t have at all.”

  “Patience is nothing more than a slow acceptance of something that is important to you. If something is essential enough, you’ll have patience with it.”

  Annika didn’t respond and was silent the rest of the trip to the apothecary. But once they arrived, she chattered like a squirrel that had just discovered a secret horde of nuts before winter. The store was lined with shelves upon shelves of every ingredient, herb, flower, fruit, vegetable, mineral and liquid that could possibly be used in an magical spell. Ava’s Uncle Heph had started building the apothecary years ago and as far as Kieran knew now, it was probably the best stocked house of magical supplies in all of Vyronas. In hindsight, they should have just come here for the ingredients, but he was grateful that they had not or else they wouldn’t have been able to rescue Mary.

  It didn’t take long for Annika to find what she needed. She didn’t need a potion to invoke a glamour. That was why she was so good at what she did. She could simply invoke a new look by mere thought. But the depth and length of a glamour could be enhanced with a potion. For example, she could use a potion to help enhance her voice or to hold a glamour through the night while she slept. Not knowing what circumstances they would face, Annika took everything that she could possibly use with the intent to return those items she didn’t when they were done.

  After their shopping excursion, Ava came along and offered to take Annika on a tour of Clairmont. It had been a long time since Annika had visited and there were many new things to see. Annika accepted and Kieran was left alone, feeling strangely odd out of Annika’s presence. Normally, Kieran didn’t hang around women much unless he was out to seduce one. However, in just the few days that he’d known Annika, he had to admit that she fascinated him so much, he actually enjoyed being in her company.

  And it’s not that Annika was a barrel of laughs. He found that she could be moody, distant and easy to anger. She was secretive and had weird nocturnal habits that he couldn’t explain. He was dying to know what she was doing in that Park Avenue apartment but there was no way to ask without admitting he had been following her. Which would do nothing to help build trust. But even though Annika had a boatload of unsavory characteristics, there was something vulnerable about her too that had him captivated.

  It was sort of like her eyebrow piercing. Looking at Annika’s face, she radiated innocence and purity. But that tiny metal bar through her eyebrow also said, I can be one tough bitch if I need to be.

  Ava had made him uneasy with her earlier observations that perhaps there could be a potential for a relationship with Annika. There was just no way. He didn’t want a relationship, she didn’t want a relationship, so what the hell was Ava seeing that he wasn’t?

  After Ava and Annika left, Kieran decided to go hang out with Carrick. He found his brother in the stable, grooming his stallion, Greta. Yes, Greta. It was a decidedly female name on a well hung male horse. It was Ava’s idea of a joke when Carrick had lost a bet to her, allowing Ava to name his horse. Carrick had not been happy about it, but boy did Kieran love it. That was just his brand of humor.

  Which made him think…what kind of humor, if any, did Annika possess? She clearly got a kick out of tricking him with her glamour. Did that make her a prankster? And when he first met her, the persona of Ashley was witty and intriguing. But he’d not really seen much of that since the real Annika appeared. It made him realize that he did not have an easy and joking banter with Annika.

  There had been a few moments where he’d gotten a smile out of her, but most of their conversations were serious. That was very unlike him. Yet, he didn’t mind it. It’s almost as if there was something about Annika that was making him realize a more mature side to his psyche. Maybe there was more to life than just fun and games. Kieran snickered to himself. Who was he kid
ding? He didn’t want to live in a world without fun and games!!!

  “What are you laughing about?” Carrick peeked his head out of Greta’s stall.

  “Oh nothing… inside joke.” Kieran walked in and leaned against the wall, watching Carrick brush the huge, black beast.

  “Ava said that Mary is going to be just fine with a little bit of rest and recuperation.”

  “So she says. But Carrick, you can’t let her go back to Myridian. This Mason is bad news and he’ll just use Mary again to try to get to Annika.”

  “Of course we’ll offer her permanent residence here in Kestevayne, but you know we can’t keep her here against her will.”

  “I know that. I’m hoping Annika will convince her to stay. I planned on talking to her about it before we leave.”

  “So, what’s the deal with Mason and Annika?” Carrick asked.

  “I don’t know but Annika was terrified of him. And Annika is not the type of woman that scares easily. I’ve never seen anything like it. His presence made her physical ill.” Kieran grimaced in sympathy thinking of how Annika had heaved and heaved her guts up after her confrontation with Mason.

  “Are you thinking abuse?”

  Kieran nodded his head grimly. That’s exactly what he’d been thinking ever since he observed the interplay between Annika and Mason. Add to that she championed a charity that helped abused women, he was pretty sure that was the deal. He wanted to know the truth but also knew Annika was an extremely private person. He hoped that she would open up to him about it.

  On the flip side, he didn’t know if he could handle the truth. If Mason had hurt Annika, Kieran thought he may have to kill the man. And even being related to the most powerful sorceress in their AltVeritas didn’t give him the right to kill someone in cold blood.

  As if sensing his thoughts, Carrick pointed out. “There’s nothing you can do about Mason now. You both need to concentrate on retrieving The Scepter.”