Eternal Bond (Edanholme Book 2)

by Catherine Fitzpatrick

  “I would not sing for her…” It was a simple statement of defiance. One that had cost him

  dearly in the naïve brashness of youth.

  “Her response was to remove my tongue. If I refused to sing for her, I would sing for none.”

  His skin shimmered blue reliving the torment of unrelenting torture.

  “I was thrown into a deep pit of stagnant water to ponder upon my failures as the Bard and

  a prospective mate.” A shiver of revulsion shook his whole body.

  “My predominant life force is air, the secondary water. I find any expanse of water repugnant,

  it holds glimpses of isolation and deprivation. The foul pit aided my recovery. Within a short

  time my tongue regrew.” His voice was harsh at the memories he related for his love.

  Alex nuzzled into a warm neck, to place a soft kiss on his throat.

  “Istirina does not like to be foiled, my tongue was removed once more. The next prison a barren

  cell, but some moisture seeped through the walls. Healing took longer I was growing weaker

  by the day.” Laying his cheek upon her hair he remembered how fierce his pride had been a

  hundred years ago. His body had been beaten, but insolence saved him from the Queen’s bed.

  “How many times did she do this to you?” Alex was weeping silently. What other horrors had

  his previous mistress employed to devastate the souls of the warriors who had been entrusted

  to a Court under siege.

  “I lost count Aingeal…” His whisper wrung her heart with pity for him and rage at a Queen

  who had taken all and given nothing.

  “Your voice…?” She knew what the answer would be, but had to ask. If Teague could unload

  some of the burden he carried, his soul had a chance to recover.

  “Endless screaming is not felicitous to the vocal chords.” He pronounced every word satirically,

  as though it meant nothing.

  “Your voice is still beautiful Teague. The first time you spoke to me I wanted to crawl up your

  body and drown you in kisses.” Alex rested her elbows on his chest, levering up to look into

  his eyes. “She made you suffer endlessly, but she didn’t destroy the essence of music.”

  Violet eyes creased at the corners as he pondered her words.

  “I repressed my calling for too long. When you asked me to sing for you, it was the least

  I could do for the mate I longed for.” Staring into eyes drenched in tears for him, the soulless

  desolation of a life filled with sorrow and debasement eased, Teague relinquished his heart

  into safe keeping.

  “I would deny thee nothing… I love thee.” Softly he gave Aingeal his life.

  “You denied her your body, because you didn’t want to be bound eternally?” Suddenly it all

  made sense to Alex. If he had mated with Istirina there was no walking away.

  “I would rather have ceased to exist than submit to an eternal bond with Hell…” Teague

  voiced his loathing of the former Queen. She had offered the young warriors a life at the

  Sovereign Court that bedazzled the eye and offered the chance to be the enforcers of the

  rightful ruler of all Sidhe in a war against the vampire invasion.

  It was an agreement with the lesser courts, to support a throne that was above reproach.

  He and his brothers had been tempted by glory, little realising the beacon of Sidhe hope

  was tainted by a she devil who had betrayed all her kin.

  “Do you want to know why I fell in love with you?” Skimming her fingers through the

  molten silver of his hair, Alex’s voice was a whisper of all the longing in her heart.

  “If it pleases thee to tell me, aye, I would gladly listen.” The rasp of a silken voice raised a

  wave of gooseflesh on her skin.

  “Just that… Your voice, your smile… The many times you diverted the nasty comments of

  the dispossessed. All the little things you did to make my life easier without asking for anything

  in return. Teague you are selfless and caring, all of which adds up to a male of worth.

  Don’t ever doubt the integrity of your soul, it’s solid and trustworthy.”

  Moving in to kiss a generous mouth, Teague was knocked back by both her hands covering

  the lips he wanted to taste. A giggle sneaked around her fingers.

  “I really need to brush my teeth and have a shower.” Eyes wide with mischievous laughter,

  Alex squirmed from his grasp.

  “Come and join me, water can be fun…” He beat her to the shower, transporting from the

  bed with a deeply resonant laugh.

  The shower cubicle was built to accommodate one and half bodies, Teague was up close

  and very personal as he helped her wash. A head massage was one of the delights he was

  proposing in a seductive whisper, as she gurgled at his repertoire.

  “Wait a minute…” Swiping soap suds from her eyes Alex fixed him with a stern gaze.

  “If you can only mate once, how come you are so good…?” She blushed unable to finish the

  question concerning his prowess in the bed, and out of it.

  Violet eyes twinkled wickedly as his he rinsed the suds from her face, running fingertips

  over the soft curve of a dimpled cheek.

  “The mating urge develops with maturity… In the heady days before the vampire wars

  there were many available females ready and willing to accommodate the adventurous

  saplings of High Fell.” His hands had dropped further south to sweep foam over every curve

  of the body he desired above all others. Lifting Aingeal to wrap her legs around his waist,

  avoiding the shower head, the Bard laid hungry kisses over the soft curves of each breast.

  “I would gladly show you all I learned…” Locked onto Sapphire eyes, he braced her back on

  the tiled wall.

  “Oh yes please….” Her voice descended into a throaty purr, quivering body encompassing

  a velvet shaft of pulsing arousal.

  “Will it be a long lesson?” Her question was held on a breath at the sensuous assault on

  her body.

  “Tis certain…” A fiendish laugh brushed her skin as Teague ravaged her mouth with tiny

  bites to echo the surge of his hips.

  “Fine…” Alex succumbed to a masterclass of sensual torment.

  Teague transported them both to Edanholme in a breath of crisp autumn air to set Alex

  at the entrance of her Yurt on the shores of the lake.

  She eyed the women gathered at the water’s edge with distaste. The laundry room was

  under construction in the grounds of the Queen’s residence. Not soon enough for the

  starchy matrons who made her days a nightmare of unceasing complaints. Slipping through

  the doorway of her own little haven in the Sidhe dimension, she cursed under her breath at

  an annoying intrusion on her day off.

  Sensing Aingeals animosity towards the females, the Bard shifted to prowl in endless circles

  around his mate. The white tiger growled his displeasure at his female’s evident distress.

  Dropping to sit cross legged, Alex held out a hand to stroke the fur between black tipped ears,

  lost in abstraction. She wasn’t vindictive but sometimes the idea of striking back at a bevy of

  beautiful females who made her life hell was hard to resist.

  Her job was to help these people assimilate into a world that offered freedom and peace.

  The barely concealed contempt for a human in their midst really pissed her off.

  Alex was blithely unaware that the needling she was subject to on a daily basis was the

  product of envy. The females were jeal
ous of a little human who held so much power.

  Her innate goodness shone around Alex in an aura of pure white light, emphasising the lush

  beauty that intrigued the unattached nobles of the new court. That she was close to the

  Queen only made the situation worse.

  Any problems or requests were redirected to the Angel of Edanholme to answer or solve.

  The females could not strike out at the cause of their envy. The Queen’s dictates against

  bigotry in any form, tied the hands that longed to dispose of a creature who breezed

  between two worlds with calm assurance.

  “Teague…” She whispered to him, forming a plan in her head.

  The tiger’s ears twitched in response. His presence offered her some comfort.

  “Let’s go for a swim.” A mischievous grin curved her lips.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Stripping off denim shorts and white t-shirt, Alex slipped into a bathing suit. A plain black

  second skin that revealed every luscious curve, whilst hiding the disfiguring scar across her

  stomach. Running from the yurt with a wild cry, Alex tore straight through a throng of

  startled females to make a clean dive into crystal depths, closely followed by an immense

  white tiger, growling ominously as he pounded in her wake.

  She surfaced just in time to witness her tormentors disappear in shimmering haste, laundry

  discarded to fall like confetti. The huge tiger entered the water in one long leap to splash

  down at her side, nearly drowning Alex under a tidal wave.

  Coughing and giggling at the same time, clinging to the fur at his neck she planted a wet

  kiss on his nose. “That felt good.”

  Violet eyes shining at the sound of mischievous giggles, Teague nudged her face with the

  side of his jaw.

  “I know… It was spiteful to startle them like that… But it was so worth it, to watch Sidhe

  females lose control of their snooty superiority.” Wrapping her arms round the neck of a

  huge beast, Alex stared him straight in the eyes.

  “Thank you for playing along. You do realise we will both be in trouble now?”

  A long tongue rasped her neck from collar bone to jaw.

  “I see that your limbs are still attached to your body Niña…” A deeply mellifluous voice

  floated across the water. Turi stood at the edge of the lake, Kynthelig and Phelan planted

  firmly at his back, broadswords drawn.

  “Oooops…” Alex grinned at the surprise on their faces, as she trod water clinging to the

  neck of a huge Tiger.

  “Ooops indeed…” Turi grinned back, revealing teeth as white and even as any dentist

  could dream of manufacturing.

  “If Fae were subject to heart attacks, the females would be prostrate by now. Well done.

  It is time they realised you are not to be trifled with.” With a bow so deep his hair swept

  the ground, the bear offered her the deepest respect.

  “Any female who could make my brother feel secure enough to reveal his alternate form

  is to be treasured. Do you wish me to take the matrons to the Queen? Cat will be a little

  angry to know how much they have abused your time.”

  One eyebrow quirked at his understatement of the treatment she had been subjected to.

  “No…” Shaking her head, Alex had to laugh at a semi-serious threat.

  “I think the ladies have learnt an important lesson today, don’t you?”

  “Aye… Not to mess with the Angel of Edanholme, or they do not get to have mechanised

  laundry facilities?” Sheathing immense bronze swords the warriors downgraded their

  stance to something less than red alert.

  “We all bear regret in our hearts that you chose to mate with the tiger. Myself more than

  you will ever know.” A low growl echoed across the still waters.

  “Be at peace my brother, our happiness at your mating overshadows those regrets.”

  Dropping to one knee Turi gave his blessing to a union he had wished for himself.

  “How long do I keep the ladies impounded?” A lazy smile wreathed his lips in eagerness

  to thwart an invasion of Aingeal’s privacy.

  Heart swelling with love for all the warriors who had made it their business to cushion the

  animosity aimed at her fragile skin, Alex felt the loss of a mate in their lives more keenly

  than ever before.

  “That won’t be necessary. We’re taking the horses to camp out and explore.”

  We are? The soft question seeped into her head with an echo of pain.

  “Give us an hour to pack. Then let the ladies loose.” Simple satisfaction eased her soul.

  She was no longer as alone as she thought. The enforcers had made it their business to

  deflect the worst of the attacks aimed in her direction. It was a debt of gratitude she was

  hell bent on repaying. If it took her the rest of her life she would track down any and all

  Sidhe females lost in the human world.

  With fingers to head and heart the three warriors disappeared in a rainbow of earth

  elements. Teague released his alter ego to shift back to stunning Sidhe male.

  “What do you plan Witch?”

  Wrapping strong arms around his mate, he kissed her until she cried out for breath.

  Hanging onto wide shoulders Alex inhaled the scent of cinnamon and cloves.

  “I want a place to make a home for us here, far from prying eyes.” Resting her forehead

  on Teague’s wide shoulder Alex soaked up the comfort of loving arms.

  “My apartment is open to too many of your brethren to be secure.”

  With long gliding strokes the Bard brought her to shore, lifting Alex easily onto the grassy

  bank. Floating on the surface of a tranquil lake, his heart down shifted to beat in counter

  point to lazy waves. Violet eyes devouring the delightful sight of Aingeal wringing water

  from shoulder length hair, his gaze dropped to graceful feminine curves revealed beneath

  clinging wet fabric. He had been witness to this scene so many times, unable to show his

  appreciation of the form he craved endlessly.

  “Aingeal, can we not stay here and play for a while?” His husky voiced throbbed with

  repressed desire.

  Kneeling at the water’s edge she leant forward to receive a kiss that promised heaven on

  earth.

  “Aye we could, if you want to beat off a crowd of eager Fae dying to catch sight of your

  alter ego.” Rocking back on her haunches, Alex sprang to her feet, muscles rippling the

  length of strong legs.

  “I for one want to put as much distance as possible between us and the inquisitive nature

  of your kin before the day gets older.” Backing away from the lake she turned in a run for

  the yurt. Teague was there before her.

  With a breathy laugh she bounced into his arms, wrapping her arms round his neck.

  “What’s your choice? A leisurely ride to seek out more wonders, or a siege in the distinctly

  porous walls of the yurt?” Cocking her head to one side she grinned, sure of the answer.

  “Let us run as far as we can…” Carrying Alex he ducked into the yurt.

  Within minutes they were both dressed, backpacks filled with camping equipment, sleeping

  bags rolled to sit across the backs of their mounts. The rolling gait of the mare Turi had

  tamed to suit the needs of a novice rider soothed the guilt she felt at throwing a scare into

  the Sidhe females.

  They had been riding for hours, occasional caresses and swift kisses fuelled the need to be

  alone, to find a secluded spot
to call home.

  Reining in his mount Teague edged in front of Alex’s mare.

  “We can go no further Aingeal. There is a steep drop before us.”

  Lifting her face into a gentle breeze she tasted salt in the air. Head filled with images of the

  Bard naked in bed, Alex had failed to notice the sparkle of waves on the horizon. Dropping to

  the grass she peered over the edge of an abyss. A wide bay filled the view, pale golden sands

  ran into smooth turquoise waters. Searching the cliff top, Alex spotted a path running in a

  steep curve to the beach. Grabbing the reins of her mount she began a slithering descent

  towards an idyllic scene.

  “Come on Teague, this is it, this where I want to spend all my free time with you.”

  Once the location was planted firmly in the Bard’s mind he could translocate to the beach

  without pausing for breath.

  The path was steep but easily navigated. Reaching the flat plains of a stunning cove, Alex

  released her death grip on the mare’s reins. A soft sigh left her lips, she was home.

  No-one would find her here except the one person she wanted to spend a lifetime with.

  Towering over his mate, Teague had to agree, the beach was isolated and incredibly

  beautiful. Running an arm round her waist he urged Aingeal to move towards the tempting

  ocean. “Go swim, commune with nature while I set up camp.”

  Reaching up to kiss his cheek, Alex wasted no time in stripping to pants and bra, running

  headlong to dive into balmy waters.

  Holding the reins of both horses, a wistful smile on his lips, the Bard watched his female at

  play. With economic strokes she glided through the water like a hawk through the air.

  Skirting the steep cliff face he travelled along the beach at a lazy stroll, Alex in the water

  kept pace with him.

  The cliff face suddenly opened into a deep canyon overflowing with lush green growth.

  At the apex of the valley a stunning waterfall gushed from the rocks, to fall into a deep pool

  that emptied into a meandering stream, splitting the valley in two. Breathless at a vision of

  lush oasis, Teague stood transfixed. He had found the place to build a home for his mate.