“You know I am.” Fane hugged him back. “Where the hell have you been, anyway?”
“Oh, here and there.” Arne slapped him on the back. “I hear you're having dinner with the king.”
“You’ve been talking to Roald.”
Arne waved his bottle noncommittally and settled back into the easy chair. “Why don’t you get dressed and we’ll have ourselves a chat?”
“I’d like that.” Fane headed into his closet, emerging a few minutes later in clothes fit for a dinner with the king: black leather pants and a collarless shirt in a fae material that changed from navy to light blue when he moved. Clasping a gold bracelet around his wrist, he turned the wood chair to face Arne and sat down.
“So. Let me guess.” He leaned back in the chair, fingers interlaced behind his head. “Roald ordered you to bring me to my goddamned senses. Give up the fada female, and stop embarrassing the family.”
His dad chuckled. “Something like that.”
“Consider it done. And the answer is no.”
The skin around Arne’s blue eyes crinkled in amusement. “Fair enough. Roald is breathing fire, though. Something about how you owe him and the Morningstar name. Oh, and he threw in something about diluting a bloodline that can be traced back to the first fae warriors.”
“Like hell. I’ve been at the court for sixty turns of the sun, and in all that time, he’s spoken to me less than a dozen times. I don’t owe the man a bloody thing.”
Arne’s good-looking face turned serious. “Forget Roald. He’s always growling about something or other. And he’s a fine one to be talking about diluting bloodlines—he mated with my mother, after all. No, it’s the king you should be worrying about. He makes a powerful enemy.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Fane sat up and leaned forward, hands on his thighs. “I love her, Dad.”
“Lovers come and go. Life’s too short—”
“And time goes by,” Fane finished for him. “Yeah, I know. But…” He stared unseeingly down at his bare feet. “I think she’s my mate, Dad.”
“I see.” Arne took a thoughtful sip of beer. “That changes things.”
“No kidding.”
“You can’t hide from the king. It might take a decade, but he’ll hunt you down.”
Fane dragged a hand over his wet hair. “So we’ll bargain with him.”
“What can you offer that he doesn’t already have?”
Fane’s stomach sank. “I don’t know, but I’ll think of something. I have to.”
A knock sounded on the door. Fane opened it to find three tall, stern-faced warriors—a woman and two men. The woman informed Fane that they’d been sent to escort him to the north tower.
Fane nodded. It was unnecessary, and the king knew it. He’d sent the warriors as a warning. “I’ll be right out.” They tried to object but he repeated, “I’ll be right out,” and shut the door in their faces.
He sat on the chair and put on his shoes and socks.
Arne rose to his feet. “I’m coming, too.”
“Yeah?” Fane glanced up, surprised. He’d expected his dad to make some excuse and then get the hell out of there. “You sure?”
Arne shrugged. “I’ve known the king a lot longer than you. Who knows? I might be able to help. And besides, he always sets a good table.”
31
Jewel led Marjani to a staircase of brushed steel and sparkling white granite that wound around the outside of Sindre’s tower. When they reached the second floor, they crossed a glass skyway to a three-story wing and then continued up to the top floor.
“Here we are.” Jewel ushered her into a large, airy apartment with sky-colored walls and long, narrow windows with a view of the windswept tundra.
The living room alone was three times the size of Fane’s apartment. A couch and three chairs in an embroidered silver fabric were grouped around a glass-and-wood coffee table. Hanging from the ceiling were three ethereal silver chandeliers lit with flickering fae lights, and several thick, fleecy white rugs were scattered across the polished parquet floors.
Marjani’s mouth slackened. She’d never been in a place half so gorgeous. “So this is how the other half lives.”
Jewel gave a small smile and indicated a bedroom. “The bath’s in here.” She directed Marjani past a round pedestal bed into a bathroom with a pink marble bathtub the size of a small pool. Lush ferns, English ivy, and other green plants spilled from niches in the pink-and-beige tile, and the fixtures appeared to be solid gold.
Marjani’s brows climbed. “I thought I was supposed to be the king’s prisoner.”
Their eyes met. “Oh, you are,” the other woman said. “Don’t mistake it for a moment. Would you like help with your clothes?”
It took Marjani a second to understand that the other woman was offering to help her undress. She gave a firm shake of her head. “No, thanks. I’ve got it.”
“As you wish.” Jewel crossed to the pink marble tub and turned on the faucets before sprinkling a sweet-smelling bath salt into the steaming water. “There are the towels.” She indicated the thick white towels draped over a heated rack. “Help yourself to anything else you see. I’ll be back in a few minutes with your tea.”
“No tea for me. But I’d like a glass of water if you have it.”
“As you wish.” Going to a small cooling unit in the wall, Jewel removed a bottle of a fancy Icelandic water and poured it into a crystal glass before handing it to Marjani.
“Thank you.” She took a sip and then inhaled slowly.
Even this close, the woman didn’t have a scent. And there was that big, black-haired bodyguard who looked so familiar. Now that Marjani thought about it, he reminded her of Dion do Rio, the Rock Run River Fada alpha.
She narrowed her eyes. “Who are you, really?”
The other woman busied herself shutting the taps. “The fae call me Jewel.”
“Which tells me nothing. You know I’m a fada, right?”
“I do.” Jewel straightened. “From the Baltimore clan, I’m thinking.”
Their eyes met. Marjani knew she should mind her own business, but something niggled at her. “You’re a fada, too, aren’t you?” And some kind of water fada, since she didn’t wear a quartz.
Jewel tilted her head in assent.
“And that big bodyguard, he’s your mate?”
The other woman’s cobalt eyes flickered, telling Marjani she’d guessed correctly. But all Jewel said was, “Your bath is ready. Will you be wanting anything more?”
When Marjani said no, the other woman inclined her head. “I’ll be in the living room. Call me if you need anything.”
As soon as the door closed behind her, Marjani stripped off her ripped, bloody clothes. She hid the switchblade and her quartz beneath a towel on a ledge next to the tub where she could easily reach them, and then climbed into the bathtub.
The first thing she did was soap up a washcloth and scrub herself. Hard. When you shifted, the dirt and other stuff—like blood—got left behind. So she wasn’t that dirty, but she still felt the need to clean herself.
It had been that kind of a day.
Maybe she was weak. She could just hear Leron sneering about her taking a mixed-blood lover. And mate with Fane? Her uncle would've run her out of the clan.
But it didn’t feel weak, this thing she had with Fane. It felt like something that could make her stronger.
She finished scrubbing and reached for her quartz. Its song was barely audible, the crystals drained of energy. She closed her fingers around it and then sank beneath the hot water with a little sigh. The water was just the right temperature, and it smelled like a flower garden.
There was no hurry. Her internal clock told her she still had about a half an hour before she had to meet Sindre.
Above her, fae lights floated near the ceiling, their colors changing from pink to gold and back again. Her clenched muscles loosened. She set her quartz on her solar plexus, leaned back against the sm
ooth marble and let her eyes drift shut.
She’d had time to come up with a plan while nursing Fane. She was starting to intuit the basic, underlying structure of the maze. She was pretty sure that with the help of her quartz, she could find her way to the portal Fane had taken her through the other day.
She couldn’t open it herself, but a portal was like a fae ward, only instead of keeping people out, a portal allowed you to pass each way. And fae wards often had a fatal weakness—they couldn’t detect the fada when they were in their animal forms. The wards simply didn’t “see” the fada as people, but as animals.
So the plan had been to spring Luc, make their way to the portal, and then shift and go so deep into their animals that the portal allowed them to pass out of the castle—and back into the human world. It would have been a risk, since Marjani would’ve had to cede complete control to the cat. Still, for Luc, she would've done it.
But now Luc had accepted Blaer’s geas. That fae bitch would make a pet of him, maybe even keep him in a cage.
Tears stung her eyes. Damn wolf fada. Who asked you to sacrifice yourself for me?
Luc tried to give her an out by removing himself from the equation so that Sindre couldn’t use him to force his geas on her. But she was afraid the king would think of something else. The man was old and scary smart.
Her fingers tightened around her quartz. If only she could call Adric. Because she was fresh out of ideas.
Either she accepted Sindre’s geas—or she got him alone and slit his throat. The tricky part would be escaping his bodyguards afterward and finding her way back to the human world. The only possible way would be to shift to her cougar and slip through the portal, but she wasn’t all that eager to tangle with the cougar again.
Her breath sucked in as she relived those terrifying moments when she’d been sure she wouldn’t make it through the shift. The cougar had almost won. Without Fane’s help, she’d be dead—or feral.
Life was fucking strange. She’d come to Iceland prepared to die, as long as she took Corban with her. At least she’d go out with some honor.
Now Corban was dead, but she’d changed. She very much wanted to live, see where this thing with Fane went.
It won’t be hard to get Sindre alone. All you have to do is flirt with him. Let him touch you.
A tremor raced over her skin.
To shift afterward, though, she’d need her quartz. She smoothed a thumb over the triangular amethyst conglomerate at the top. The crystals would take hours to recharge. Right now, they were only at ten percent of their normal energy levels, but she’d shifted twice in just a few hours. For her to safely shift a third time, they had to reach at least fifty percent.
She’d have only one opportunity to escape. So she’d have to stall Sindre until the quartz had recharged. Hopefully, the dinner would last several hours.
The bathwater had cooled. Marjani pulled the plug and stood up. She was drying off when Jewel knocked on the door.
Marjani palmed the quartz before calling, “Come in.”
Jewel entered with an aqua-green dress draped over one arm. “The king sends this to you with his compliments.”
Marjani fingered the flirty little skirt. She’d never owned anything so beautiful. Clearly fae-made, the aqua fabric was tissue-fine and shot with gold thread.
Releasing the skirt, she resolutely shook her head. “Tell Sindre thank you, but I’ll wear my own clothes. I left a backpack when I was here before.”
“I have it. But he won’t like it.”
“Just get me the backpack, please. Unless he’ll be angry at you.”
“He will.” Jewel shrugged. “But it won’t be the first time.”
“Fine.” Marjani stuck out her hand. “I’ll wear the damned thing.”
“You’ll need this, too.” The other woman produced a bra-and-panty set of gossamer gold.
Marjani couldn’t help a purr of pleasure as she put them on. The silky material felt so good against her skin.
Next came the dress. It was simple but elegant, with spaghetti straps and a scooped neck. As she dropped it over her head, it fit itself to her curves as if it had been sewn just for her.
“I’ll be right back with the shoes,” Jewel said.
While the other woman was out of the room, Marjani stashed the switchblade and quartz in her bra. It wasn’t easy finding a place where they didn’t show under the dress, but she managed.
Jewel returned with a pair of gold satin pumps with tiny crystals scattered across the toes and a big bow on each heel. Marjani eyed them skeptically.
“Do I look like a high-heels-and-bows kind of female?”
“You don’t. But you do look like one who knows that camouflage can be a good thing. Do you want them to see you as you are—or as a high-heels-and-bows kind of female?”
Marjani sighed. “Hand them over.” She stepped into the heels and turned to look at herself in the floor-length mirror.
A stranger stared back at her. A classy stranger with long, toned legs and surprise in her dark eyes. The aqua-green was a pretty contrast to her skin, and when she moved, the gold thread caught the light so that she seemed to shimmer.
Yeah, she still had a few bruises, but she barely recognized herself. “Damn,” she whispered.
“Don’t you look beautiful?” Jewel’s eyes swam with tears.
Marjani bit her lip. “You okay?”
“Don’t mind me. It’s just that my daughter is around your age. It’s been so long since I last saw her. She was a little girl when—” She pressed her lips into a line and shook her head.
“I’m so sorry. Is there something I could do—take her a message, maybe?”
Jewel clutched Marjani’s hand. “Could you?”
At a rap on the door, they sprang apart. A golden-skinned elf with big green eyes stuck her head inside. “The king requests your presence at dinner.”
“She’ll be right there,” Jewel replied, and the elf nodded and shut the door again.
“Here goes nothing,” Marjani muttered.
Jewel squeezed her shoulder. Suddenly, her blue eyes deepened to a navy that was almost black, and her face went dead white, so it looked like those scary midnight eyes peered through a mask.
“Jewel?” Marjani gulped. “You all right?”
The other woman seemed not to hear. “Make the wrong choice,” she replied in a toneless voice, “and you’ll never get home.”
Marjani’s nape prickled. Jewel was a Seer. Suddenly, the pieces snapped into place.
This must be Ula Gallagan, and the black-haired guard her mate, Nisio do Rio. Nisio and Ula were Dion’s parents, and Nisio had been alpha until the couple disappeared about fifteen turns of the sun ago.
“What is it?” she whispered. “What do you See?”
Jewel/Ula looked right through her. “The end of the game is the beginning,” she said in that low, eerie voice, “and the heart wins over strategy every time.”
Marjani’s hand went to her chest and the quartz she’d stowed in her bra. “I don’t understand.”
The other woman’s breath whooshed out, and her eyes returned to their normal blue.
“Please.” Marjani grabbed her. “Tell me what you See. What do I need to do?”
The river fada’s expression was troubled. “I didn’t See anything else. That came to me as a prophecy—words, nothing more. Every Sight is different. All you can do is think on it, and perhaps it will help. Then again, it might not make sense until it’s too late.”
“But…”
“I’m sorry, love.” Ula moved a shoulder in a small shrug. “You’re on your own. If I could help you, I would. When we first got here, I tried a couple of times. But the king always finds out. And it’s not me he punishes, but my mate.”
Marjani’s heart constricted. “I understand. And it’s okay.”
The river fada gripped Marjani’s arms. “You’re a warrior,” she said in a voice pitched for her ears alone. “But that switchblad
e you have in your bra won’t do you any good here. You’ll have to find another way to fight him I can tell you one thing—he’ll try to use your greatest weakness against you.”
Marjani swallowed. “My greatest weakness?”
“A person. A thing. Even an idea. You may not even know what it is, but trust me, the king will find it.”
“But how can I fight that?”
“With us, he used the fact that we're mates. He hurts one to bend the other to his will. But he also promised us that if we accepted his geas, the clan would prosper, and he made it happen.”
Marjani nodded. Even though Rock Run’s territory was just thirty-five miles from Baltimore, the two clans had bad blood between them, so she didn’t know much about them. All she knew was that less than two decades ago, the Rock Run River Fada had been in trouble, and then Dion had somehow turned things around—after his parents had disappeared.
“That’s the king’s weakness,” Ula added. “He’s never broken a promise. I think he can’t—his fae blood is too powerful.”
Marjani’s gut tingled. “So if I can get him to promise the right thing…” She trailed off. Because she had to get Sindre to promise—what? Hopelessness welled up in her.
You've got a plan, remember?
But her plan had been admittedly crude, a last-ditch attempt to save herself. If she could somehow use this information to craft a better strategy…
Another tap on the door.
“Be right there,” Ula called. She pressed her cheek to Marjani’s. “You know who I am?” she whispered.
“I think so. The Rock Run alpha’s mom.”
Ula dipped her chin in assent. “If you do escape, all I ask is that you inform my children that we’re alive and well. That’s the hardest thing, knowing they believe we’re dead.” Her throat worked. “And tell them not to come to Iceland again. They’re just putting themselves in danger for no reason. We're serving out a geas. Even if we wanted to leave, we couldn’t.”
She released Marjani. “You mustn’t keep the king waiting,” she said in a normal tone.
Charming Marjani Page 21
