Charming Marjani

by Rebecca Rivard

  “For Goddess’s sake,” Marjani burst out. “Like you haven’t slept with half of the women in the clan, Ric. What would you do if you got a cub on one of them? Evie’s mom wasn’t his mate.”

  “I know one thing,” her brother snarled. “I wouldn’t leave the mother of my cub alone for years at a time.”

  “She took another partner,” Marjani shot back. “Remember Evie told us that her mom remarried? Kyler’s her half-brother. And later, after Kyler’s dad died, Fane helped out when he could. He wasn’t a free man—he was under the ice fae king’s geas, and he didn’t want the fae to know about Evie. Hell, I might’ve done the same thing if she was my kid. Those ice fae are cold bastards.”

  Adric turned back to Fane. “Exactly what did you do for the king?”

  “I was an envoy.”

  “A spy, then.”

  “I was a messenger—a negotiator. But yeah, at times I spied for him.”

  Marjani bristled. “Look, Ric. Either you accept him, or I’m resigning as your second.”

  Adric’s mouth hardened. Then he expelled a breath. “You know I don’t want that.”

  She folded her arms over her chest. “Then stop the inquisition.”

  “Jani?” Fane gave her nape a light squeeze. “Let me talk to your brother. Alone.”

  “What?” Her look would’ve fried a lesser man. “You’re going to send me out of the room so the men can settle this?”

  He shrugged. That was it exactly, but he wasn’t stupid enough to admit it. Instead, he brushed his mouth over hers. “Please, love?”

  “Fine. See if I care if you ream each other a new one. I’ll be at Suha’s.” She stomped out of the den.

  Adric shook his head. “Hell, I guess you are mates. She wouldn’t have left for me.”

  Then the alpha had him by the throat. Fane blinked. Damn, the man moved fast.

  “If you hurt her,” Adric grated in a voice that raised fine hairs all over his body, “I’ll rip off your fucking balls and stuff them down your throat. I can’t kill you—that would hurt Jani, too. But I can make you wish you were dead.”

  “Hey.” Fane held up his hands, palms out. “I love her. I’ll rip off my own balls if I hurt her.”

  He used his Gift to slip out of Adric’s grip, because the alpha needed to know Fane wasn’t powerless. He reappeared on the other side of the room.

  Adric was right there. “Why? What could a man like you want with Marjani?”

  His scornful gaze took in Fane’s expensive rayon shirt and close-fitting jeans. All his old clothes had been left behind in Iceland, of course, but he and Marjani had done some shopping in Toronto during the layover between flights.

  Fane’s jaw clenched. “That’s an insult to your sister. The better question is, Why not? She’s smart, loyal. Beautiful, inside and out. And so brave she makes me ashamed. The woman faced down the ice fae king for me.” Fane shook his head. “She struck a bargain with him, do you believe it? The man could crush her with the magic in his little finger, but she made him agree to her terms. I’m a wayfarer, but when I broke the geas, he didn’t just take everything I earned while I was an envoy. He took my Gift, too. But she made him agree to a bargain that officially released me from the geas—and returned my Gift.”

  “Cat’s balls.” Adric looked a little sick. “I told her not to go to Iceland. But you can’t stop my sister when she gets an idea in her head.”

  “I noticed.” They exchanged a very male look of commiseration.

  The younger man dropped onto the couch. Resting his forearms on his thighs, he interlaced his fingers and stared down at them. “I scented the mate bond. I know it’s real.”

  “Yeah.” Fane took a chance and sat on the other end of the couch.

  Adric shot him a glance but allowed him to remain. “I thought I’d lost her,” he said lowly. “She was going feral on me.”

  “I know. But I saw her shift multiple times. She was always in control.”

  “Yeah? That’s good. And her scent has changed. It’s not just the mate bond. She’s calmer, more in control.” He shook his head. “If that’s due to you, then I owe you one.”

  “You don’t owe me a thing. Maybe I can take a little credit, but she did most of it on her own. She killed your cousin Corban, you know. A mercy killing. Poor bastard was half-dead and locked in an iron cage.”

  Adric nodded. “She told me he’d died, but not the details.”

  “He was going to die anyway. She didn’t have to kill him—she could’ve let him suffer.”

  “The prick deserved whatever he got.”

  “Yeah. Anyway, he begged her to do it. And when it was done, she cried her heart out.”

  The alpha’s throat worked. “Jani never cries.”

  “I think,” Fane said softly, “that was when she began to find her human side again.”

  “Tell me.”

  And so Fane sketched out the story of what had happened in the ice fae court.

  When he was done, Adric shook his head. “Holy mother. I had no fucking idea.”

  “I’ll tell you one thing. The ice fae are going to think twice before messing with the earth fada again.”

  “Because of Jani.”

  “Yeah.”

  Adric’s lips curved. “That’s my sister.” He was silent for a few seconds, and then he sighed. “This mating. It comes at a bad time. The clan—I’m trying to bring us into the current century, but we were raised not to trust outsiders. Told that earth fada should stick with earth fada. When Jace mated with your daughter, there was grumbling, but Evie is hard not to like. And on top of that, she has a Gift that’s useful to our healers, and that makes her an asset. You, though.” The alpha shook his head. “A male, and one of the ice fae king’s envoys? You’re going to be a hard sell.”

  “Former envoy,” Fane corrected. “And I may have more to offer than you think. I know details about every fae court, and most of the fada clans. I can give you a run-down on the people, who has the power, what their pressure points are…that sort of thing.”

  “Yeah?” Adric pursed his lips. “You’re right, maybe we could use you. But you’ll have to lay low for a while. The clan knew Marjani was struggling to stay in control of her animal. This could help—or be the final straw.”

  “Say the word and we’ll leave.”

  “But Jani will go with you.” The younger man scraped his hands down his face. “Fuck. I don’t want that.”

  “You’ll have to ask her, but—” Fane moved a single shoulder.

  “You’re mated. I know.”

  “It would tear her up to leave the clan—and you. I can tell you that much.”

  Adric jerked his chin in acknowledgment. “Then they’ll just have to accept you.”

  He rose to his feet, and suddenly, Fane saw why Adric had won alpha at such a young age. His face was steely, his body language that of a man used to command.

  “Marjani isn’t just my sister, she’s my second. With Luc gone, I only have three lieutenants. I need her. And if that means we have to accept you, we will.” Adric stuck out a hand. “Welcome to the clan.”

  It wasn’t the warmest welcome, but it was honest. After six decades at the ice fae court, Fane appreciated that more than the other man could know.

  He gripped Adric’s hand. “Thank you.”

  The alpha brought his left hand up to lightly clasp Fane’s throat. When he stiffened, Adric said, “I’m marking you with my scent. The clan will know you’re one of us now.”

  “Okay,” Fane managed to say, although instinct urged him to knock the other man’s hand away from such a vulnerable place.

  Claws pricked his throat. A delicate touch, not enough to break the skin. Fane held steady. Something like approval shone in the alpha’s metallic eyes. He raked the claws across Fane’s skin, leaving a thin mark, and then clapped him on the back.

  “Let’s go give Jani the good news.”

  39

  “Your Marjani mated with Fane Mor
ningstar.” Blaer dropped her little bombshell at breakfast.

  Luc continued chewing his toast, even though it suddenly tasted like sawdust.

  Jani had gotten free, then.

  “It’s true,” Blaer said when he didn’t reply. “I heard it from a member of the ice fae court itself.”

  So she still had spies at the court. Not that Luc was surprised. The woman had her fingers in pies all around the world.

  He chased the toast with a gulp of coffee and then smiled at the fae lady. “Good.”

  Surprise flared in her midnight eyes. “But you want her for yourself.”

  “I did. But here’s the thing about love, my lady. I want her to be happy. And if he”—he couldn’t bring himself to say Morningstar’s name—”makes her happy, then I’m happy.”

  Blaer scowled. “I don’t understand you fada.”

  “No,” he agreed. “You don’t.”

  It was mid-September, almost two weeks since Luc had accepted her geas. He’d stubbornly refused her offers—power, money. She’d even tried to tempt him with sex.

  “I’ll stay in the cage,” he’d told her coldly.

  But that asshole Corban Savonett had told her too much. She knew the secret words that gave a fae power over an earth fada, as long as the fae was also touching the fada’s quartz.

  She’d let Luc out of his cage and told him if he made one wrong move, Marjani was dead. Then she’d ordered him to remain still—like a fucking dog—and watch as her goblin horde attacked Marjani.

  Just having her cold fingers wrapped around his quartz was painful enough. But he’d believed Marjani was going to die right before his eyes.

  “Accept my geas,” Blaer had said. “And I’ll call the goblins off.”

  Luc had dropped to his knees there on the mossy black rocks and agreed. He just hoped Marjani knew he’d done it for her, not for anything Blaer could give him.

  Blaer had kept her word. She’d called the goblins off—and then thrown Marjani into a fucking cage.

  Luc had cursed himself for being an ass. If a fae could twist things to their advantage, they would. Now he was bound to serve Blaer for a fae year-and-a-day.

  Still, he’d endure that and more, as long as Marjani was safe.

  And the cages were gone, destroyed at Sindre’s order—and Blaer had been banished from the court.

  Now they were in Paris, along with a few of Blaer’s closest allies—Jon and Krysten, and a golden-haired male named Jagger—and several fada who, like Luc, had accepted Blaer’s geas.

  He knew from Blaer’s scent that she was a mixed-blood—half night fae, half ice fae. According to one of the other fada, her mother was a night fae priestess. The others suspected Sindre was her lover.

  But Luc had scented something interesting; there was a blood connection between Blaer and the ice fae king. He’d bet good money that Sindre was her father, not her lover. It explained why the king had given her so much rope, until she’d apparently gone too far even for him.

  Not that Luc had minded leaving Iceland and the ice fae. If he had to serve Blaer for ten years, he’d as soon not spend it at that cold, isolated castle. Just being surrounded by that many fae made his skin itch.

  Jon entered the breakfast room and murmured in Blaer’s ear. She rose to her feet. “We’re leaving.”

  “Where?” Luc refused to act submissive. He responded like the lieutenant he was.

  “Ireland. I’ve had word of something interesting. A water fada with something I want.”

  And Luc would probably be forced to help her ensnare the poor fool. He shoved back his chair and stood up. “Why?” he demanded.

  “Why what?”

  “Why trap fada? Put them in cages?”

  “Because.” She stalked around the table to him.

  He stilled, keeping his face expressionless.

  A cool finger traced his jawline, slid down to the hollow at the base of his throat. He couldn’t help a hard swallow.

  “I get off on your energy.” She touched her lips to the side of his neck. “It’s so…raw.”

  And then she bit him, just hard enough. His cock jerked.

  He fisted his hands at his sides. “Get. Away,” he said between clenched teeth. “Nothing in the geas says I’m your fuck-toy.”

  “Agreed.”

  Dark tendrils slid over his skin. Sucking on his helpless anger and humiliation.

  Her smile froze him to the marrow. “I’m a night fae, darling. Yes, I want to fuck you, but this is almost as good.” She patted him on the ass. “Now get ready. We leave in an hour. And Luc? That’s an order.”

  The geas bit into him. “I understand,” he gritted.

  She took a step back. Her gaze dropped to the erection straining against the zipper of his fatigue pants.

  A slow smile spread across her face, but she didn’t say anything, just turned and strolled out of the room, hips swaying.

  Smile all you want, bitch. It doesn’t mean anything.

  He’d use this opportunity to study Blaer. Learn her weaknesses. And the instant the geas was met, he’d have his revenge.

  40

  The evening of Marjani and Fane’s mate ritual dawned clear and cool. They’d chosen to have the ceremony on the first day of fall—the equinox, when night and day are in balance. That seemed perfect to Marjani. Balance was what she’d found in Iceland, the balance between her dark side and her light side.

  She’d been so angry for so long. With Corban and the river fada. With her uncle Leron, who’d made a young girl feel like less than dirt. Even with her brother, who hadn’t realized she’d been kidnapped until it was too late—and she knew that wasn’t fair, but rage isn’t always rational.

  She’d aimed herself like an arrow at one goal—avenging herself upon Corban. Yes, she’d done it for Adric, but also for herself. To gain back some self-respect. But Corban was dead and she had to discover who she was today, this woman without that anger fueling her.

  She was never going to be the same as before the kidnapping. She’d been broken and although she’d put the pieces back together, there’d always be cracks. But the cracks didn’t have to make her weaker. Maybe they made her stronger, sturdier; like pottery pieces that had been cemented into place.

  She and Fane had talked about it late one night. She’d cried a little, but they’d been good, cleansing tears. She’d finally been ready to share the darkest things with someone. Fane had listened without judgment—and then held her close as he crooned a sad song in his low rasp.

  Fane’s mate gift to her had been a gold heart with two jagged halves that fit together. When she’d opened the box, her throat seized up. He really did understand.

  She wore one half of the heart next to her quartz, and he had the other on a leather cord around his neck.

  “It’s time,” Suha murmured now. The two of them were alone in Adric’s den, dressing for the ceremony.

  Marjani examined herself in the bathroom mirror. For the ceremony, she’d chosen a fire-engine red dress with a form-fitting bodice and a skirt that flared around her legs. On her feet she wore caged heels the same red as her dress.

  She ran a hand over her cropped hair and smiled at herself. It felt good to be wearing a bright color, like a flower that had been deep underground and had once again emerged into the sunlight.

  “You look amazing.” Suha gave Marjani’s bare upper arms a squeeze. “That man of yours is going to swallow his tongue.”

  Their eyes met in the mirror. “So do you.” She smiled at Suha, who wore a matching lime green dress.

  “Thanks.” Suha smoothed a hand down her skirt. “Beau likes me in this color.” Beau was a big, laid-back bear whom Suha had been dating for the past few months.

  Marjani turned to face her friend. “You really do like Fane, don’t you?”

  “Yeah. The man’s a charmer.”

  Marjani chuckled. “He is, isn’t he?”

  “And he worships the ground you walk on, which gives him m
ajor points in my book. You’re a lucky woman—but I think you already know that.”

  Marjani nodded. “I do.” Her hand went to the gold half-heart next to her quartz.

  Suha handed her a bouquet of bright, late-summer flowers, and together, they walked up the steps to the backyard.

  Adric had closed off their street for the party and told the drug dealers to get lost for the evening. Evie and some of the other women had created a flowered arch of sunflowers, lavender, cosmos, zinnia and other flowers in the backyard.

  As Suha and Marjani emerged from the den, the clan drummers beat out a slow, complicated rhythm. The small yard was full, the entire clan present.

  Nerves jumped in her stomach. She knew some of them hadn’t come willingly. The old prejudices weren’t going to be swept aside that easily. But Adric had made it clear that she was going to remain his second, and they’d better support her and her mate—or else leave.

  Dusk had fallen. A few fae lights wafted in air currents above the yard. All around her, earth fada eyes glowed in the fading light as an almost full moon rose above the rooftops. The five drummers sped up the rhythm.

  Marjani bit her lower lip. If only her mom and dad could’ve been here—and Luc. But maybe her parents were here—in spirit, anyway—and she knew she had to let go of her guilt about Luc. He’d be okay. Adric would make sure of that.

  The clan had formed a spiral for her to follow to the center of the yard where Fane waited along with Adric, who as clan alpha would perform the ritual, and Jace, who’d agreed to stand as Fane’s best man.

  With a last hug and a whispered, “You got this, girl,” Suha started into the human labyrinth.

  Stomach still tense, Marjani squared her shoulders and followed. Because even though Adric had laid down the law, that didn’t mean people had to do more than tolerate her mating. And this was the first time she’d seen most of them since leaving for Iceland six weeks ago. She felt like everyone was looking at her extra hard, wondering if she’d really recovered.

  But nearly everyone was smiling—real, genuine smiles. Voices thanked her for all she’d done for the clan and murmured congratulations. “Blessings on you both.”