by Sin
Sin & Magik
By
Mandy M. Roth
© copyright, Mandy M. Roth
Cover art by Eliza Black, © copyright May 2008
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.
Book One
PEACE OFFERINGS
© copyright July 2004, Mandy M. Roth
Chapter One
“Get the thought out of your head, girl. He’ll bring you naught but worry and pain. It’s nae worth a moment of bliss for an eternity of bein’ damned.”
Dina’s voice rang in my ear. It was coated with old world accents and heady mix of sass. Just like Dina.
“Did you hear me?” she asked.
Dina made it difficult not to hear her. She seemed more than capable of projecting her abnormally loud voice out so all the world could listen in. I often wondered why my mother hadn’t employed her to be the announcer at the faerie games. She could easily make herself heard over the roar of thousands of immortals without the use of magik.
I grinned. “You should really petition for town crier.”
She made a hissing noise and I felt certain that the residents of the neighboring village knew Dina was not pleased with me at the moment.
“Quiet … he’ll hear you,” I whispered, glancing towards the center of the courtyard to make sure the object of my desire wasn’t looking in our direction. I was safe. His attentions were on the two men he had arrived with. Both were visions to behold but they paled in comparison to the one I’d spent the greater part of the morning spying on. He was perfect. Tall. Dark. Handsome. Unblessed. Deadly.
I shivered as I licked my lips.
Thick vines of ivy wrapped through the iron of the decorative gate. Red, climbing roses wrapped through almost any openings they could find, making visibility difficult. I wanted a better view and was entertaining using my magik to get one. The only problem was, I’d already caused the roses to attack the castle once before. Doing so again would not only lead to a rather lengthy lecture about the proper use of power but the added embarrassment of everyone knowing I’d done it again. Though, in my defense, when it originally happened it wasn’t really my fault. How was I to know at age ten, I could wield enough power to turn an otherwise docile plant into a man eater? Really, it’s not as though that was marked in the How to Be a Faerie Princess Manual. Nor did one ever assume a rose bush could be carnivorous.
Come to think of it, there wasn’t a manual or such a thing as a normal flower in my world. Perhaps if there was, I wouldn’t be left in awkward situations.
Straining, I tried to listen as the strangers talked quietly amongst themselves, never once noticing the weight of my stare. Unusual for warriors such as themselves. They were either deeply engrossed in conversation or felt me to be no threat. Somehow, I think it was the latter of the two. Not many feared me. My petite size was misleading. I could pack a wallop when need be.
Rumor had it that the attractive newcomers arrived, seeking a private audience with Moya, the Queen of the Blessed Court, about faerie matters. Since they were not of our court but from the Unblessed, I was a bit shocked to see they had arrived in such small numbers. The war between the Blessed and the Unblessed Courts had ended a little over a year ago. Since the end of the war, peace negotiations had been underway. Peace was a relative term. Reports of violence against each side by the other were still widespread among the lands. The tension was thick in the air, as it was any time an Unblessed dared to enter the Blessed Court. After a hundred years of fighting, peace had come so suddenly that adapting to the change was more difficult than fighting the war.
My dear, “loving” mother had decided the best way to ensure peace between the courts was to promise my hand in marriage to a member of the royal Unblessed Court. Needless to say, I was less than pleased with her raison d'être. Her approach to politics was simple—do as I say, not as I do.
When I had rounded on my mother, Queen Moya, with my anger over her decision, she simply laughed. “Oh, my dear Mackenzie, do not fear,” she had said. “I have heard Prince Elwyn is quite the catch. Many a Fae female has tried to win his heart, but none has succeeded until now.”
I didn’t have the energy to point out the obvious, which was I had not succeeded in winning his heart either. Rather my heart was bargained off to him as honey to sweeten the deal between the courts. I’d been informed I was to be his wife. I was never asked. Even for the faerie courts, it was archaic. We’d been allowed to marry on our own terms for close to a hundred years now. It felt as if I’d taken a step back in time, to a place when women had no rights and I didn’t care for it too much.
I’d been sick with dread over meeting my soon-to-be husband for weeks now. After all, it was common knowledge members of the Unblessed Court were fond of torture, bondage, multiple sex partners and dark magik, all of which I found to be unsavory. Well all, that is, except for the multiple partners one.
A girl’s got to have her releases, you know.
“Mackenzie, let’s go before one of them gets a notion to come this way. Yer about to be a married woman. Someday soon you’ll be their Queen and they do nae need to be gettin’ ideas about you.” Dina’s accent was heavily laced with old Gaelic. Mine wasn’t free of the old language either, but I’d been raised with tutors who’d tried their best to break me of old habits.
I frowned and wished, just this once, she wasn’t my best friend. Her long, curly red hair was pulled back into a braid. That was the norm with her nowadays--the uptight look. I feared she’d lost her ability to let herself go and have a good time. She’d been more than willing to lose her inhabitations the night before last when we’d run naked through the stables trying to catch the eyes of the stable hands. We’d succeeded and the night had ended with pleasures that were much needed for the both of us. Oh, yes, Dina had no problems with shyness when she and I were together.
My gaze wandered back over to the dangerous stranger who had paid us a visit. He was spectacularly stunning with his long, dark brown hair so close to black that I wasn’t sure what to call it. It was sleek, straight and hung to his mid-back. I wondered what it would be like to have him above me with that glorious crown of silk flowing all around me.
I knew the touch of a man well. Being a faerie naturally made me sexually charged. What I’d rarely known was the touch of a man I desired. Don’t get me wrong, the men who graced my bed were admirable bedmates, but none possessed my heart, my soul, my mind. None that is to say, except for one, but he had passed away over a year ago. Since then I had been searching for the one who would make my inner thighs tighten again with just the thought of being near him. I was pretty sure I’d finally found him. The only problem I could see was that my mother would lose her mind if she found out I had bedded a low level-messenger of the Unblessed Court.
A slow smile moved over my face as I toyed with the idea in my mind. Risking her wrath would be worth the pleasure I was sure the stranger could offer. Besides, it would be so very like me to push my mother’s limits. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree in terms of the need to get under one another’s skin. She’d arranged a marriage I’d surely hate and I’d bed a man she’d loath.
I headed straight for the tall, dark-haired stranger. I heard Dina’s cries for me to stop, and blocked them out. She wasn’t the one being auctioned off for the sake of peace. She had her freedom to select a husband of her choosing. I didn’t. When I was within two feet of him, he stopped speaking to his friends and looked at me. His dark chocolate
gaze scanned me slowly, heating every spot it landed. It stopped to linger over my thin white gown and to stare at my more than ample chest. I blushed slightly. This caught me off guard. I was never embarrassed or ashamed.
What power was it this man possessed?
Yes, he was a gift from the Goddess herself, but still that shouldn’t cause me to turn into a silly fledgling at the very sight of him. I was better than that. A noble. A princess.
Staring at his chiseled face, I couldn’t remember a time when I had seen a faerie with skin as bronzed as his. More often than not, we faeries ran a bit on the pale side. Some of us did, however, break the mold. He clearly was one of these exceptions to the rule.
“I’m Mackenzie. And you are?”
He stopped staring at my chest and directed his attention towards my face. He looked as though he wanted to ravish me. “I am Rowan. So, you are the lovely Princess Mackenzie. I have heard much about you. I fear my informants have understated just how magnificent you truly are.”
“What, may I ask, have you heard of me?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but the thought of not hearing that deep rich voice again made me shudder.
He held out his hand to me. I took it. His fingers were rough. He was most certainly a warrior. Men of wealth and honor rarely had coarse hands. I’d found that most of the men I’d bedded were as silky smooth as myself. Rowan was a refreshing change.
“My dear, Princess, your beauty is known throughout the lands. Lesser beings talk of your hair, as gold as the sun with streaks as white as snow, of your eyes, as green as newly formed leaves, and of your body, which is rivaled only by the goddesses themselves.”
My pulse quickened. Many men had made futile attempts at flattery with me, but this one was different. This man called Rowan made me want to prove him right. He made me want to show him how much more I could really be.
“I dare say you flatter me so with your kind remarks.” I gave a small curtsy. “Am I to assume what you’ve heard about me is true?”
His dark eyes lit. “Oh no, I think that words cannot possibly do you justice.”
“Then how do plan on telling Prince Elwyn of me? It would have been so much easier for him to come personally to see me. I requested this, but of course, he never responded. Just like an Unblessed, thinking they don’t have to answer to anyone but themselves…. Are you to house an image of me in an orb?”
My obsession with human culture almost caused me to slip and say photograph, I was pleased that I caught myself. Orb images were livelier than a two dimensional photograph, but dated all the same. I’d not yet received one of the Prince. I was flying blind as to what he looked like. I’d impressed my image into an orb on the off chance he’d request it, but he had not.
Rowan looked amused by my comments. “I take it from your tone you’re not pleased with the current arrangement.”
I tossed my hand in the air and laughed, sounding anything but content. “Oh, please. Don’t tell me for a minute if you were me you’d be pleased marrying that barbaric beast!”
Rowan and his two friends burst into laughter. The blond one actually clutched his gut as he leaned over, snorting like a rutting beast. I wanted to smack him square in the back of his head, but resisted.
“Barbaric beast? What makes you think the Prince is a barbarian?”
“Oh, that’s simple. He is to be King of the Unblessed Court one day, what else could he be? I hardly think they have kind gentleman roaming about to lead an army of demons. No thanks, I’d rather marry a Goblin and that’s not saying much, is it?”
Rowan’s grip on my hand tightened. I had offended him. I didn’t care. I’d spoken the truth and that’s all that mattered. His loyalty to his Prince was respectable but even he had to admit that someone who would one day rule the Unblessed Court had to be a scoundrel.
His dark gaze raked over me, appearing even more heated than it had been prior to me upsetting him. My body burned and my breathing hitched at the idea of being taken by a man possessing so much passion. It was clear he wanted me and I wanted him so there was no point in pussyfooting around matters.
“The Prince is not who I want to be focused on at the moment,” I said, as I took a step towards him.
He leaned closer. “And, who exactly is it you are interested in focusing on?”
I stood on my tiptoes to be near his ear and whispered. “Why you, of course.”
His laughter bellowed out and around me. I felt as though I could wrap his deep voice around me, and it alone would be enough to bring me pleasure. He turned and looked at the men who had accompanied him on his journey. Without question, they walked away, leaving the two of us standing near one another.
“So tell me, Mackenzie, now that you have my undivided attention, what do you plan to do with it?”
I smiled before pressing my lips to his. It was a bold move but I was known for nothing less. I pushed my tongue into his receptive mouth and inched it around. We explored the deep recesses of the other feverishly. A tiny moan escaped him. All would have been perfect if it wasn’t for a minute tingling sensation that started on my arm. Someone’s negative energy pressed down on me. Reluctantly, I pulled away from Rowan, and turned to find Dina glaring at me.
“Dina?”
She stomped her foot on the ground and crossed her arms over her chest. It was her way of taking a stance. Ignoring her, I turned back to Rowan. There was no way I’d let my chance with him be spoiled. I grabbed hold of his hand. “Come.”
Without question, he followed me as I pulled him through the courtyard gates and down the winding stone path towards the river. Halfway down, I veered off the path and pulled him through a seemingly endless tangle of vines. He never complained, he simply held tight to my hand and let me lead him. I knew every inch of the Blessed Court’s grounds. I’d never been allowed off of them growing up, so this gave me plenty of time to explore every nook and cranny. My destination was within sight. A moment later, we broke through the tangled mess and stood in a small clearing on the edge of the river.
“I’m impressed,” Rowan said from behind me.
I reached down and began pulling my long gown over my head. I lifted it slowly up my body, knowing he would watch me and wanting to put on a good show. I pulled it over my waistline, exposing the thin patch of blonde curls that lay nestled between my thighs. He drew in a deep breath and I continued.
Rowan’s hands slid up my waist, and to my arms, to help ease the garment completely off. My long hair spilled out and over my breasts. The sun-kissed strands acted as a veil and left most of my body covered. He brushed the stray strands out of the way, and in the process grazed my erect nipples. I let out a small cry of joy, causing him to yank his hand away.
“You know the Prince will not be pleased you let another man touch you.”
“I could care less what Prince Elwyn thinks of me. When I marry, I wish it to be for the sake of love and passion, not to maintain peace. Furthermore, the Prince and I are not married yet, so what I do is of no concern to him. If he was truly worried, he’d have come himself and not sent you in his place. Let that be a lesson to him.”
“I see. So, you do not care about the repercussions this could bring upon us?”
I tipped my head back and laughed. “Why in the world would I care what he thinks? It is written plainly in my marriage contract with him that I shall be allowed to bed whomever I choose, so long as it remains strictly for sexual pleasure.”
I had made my mother put that revision in after I’d read the first draft and found it completely unacceptable. After much debate, she had finally given in to my demand, and sent the contract off for approval. It, to my surprise, arrived back within two days signed by the Prince and bearing his seal.
“Ah, yes. The marriage contract,” he said, tilting his head to the side as he smiled with only one side of his mouth. “I must say, the Prince has caught much backlash for allowing you to have such freedoms.”
I was on the verge of being angry, bu
t his beautiful brown eyes helped me hold my temper. “Backlash. He’s caught backlash? I’ve never even laid eyes on the man I’m to marry and he’s concerned with negative feedback! Oh, that is truly rich! Suppose he is as ugly as a troll, what then, am I expected to spend the rest of my days lying next to him? I shall have to consume my food in another end of the castle for fear I won’t be able to digest it.”
I knew what I said was harsh and untrue. I had no problem with unattractive beings in my bed, and had even been known to lay with some unsavory characters, but that wasn’t the point. I only had problems with being forced to do something I did not wish to do. I latched onto any reason not to wed him even if it was an insanely untrue one.
“Are looks really that important to you?”
I didn’t know how to answer him. I knew I came off as a spoiled little princess, and I had reason to be. Being forced to marry a man I had never even met was beyond wrong. It was cruel. I searched deep within myself to see if I could honestly love something as ugly as a troll. My initial reaction had been no, but as I looked into Rowan’s eyes, I knew I was attracted to him in a way that physical beauty could not contain. Sure, he was perfect in every way, but he had something else about him. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but he felt right. There was something about him that made me not care what he looked like. It had been that way with only one other, but now that he had passed it did not matter. “No, I suppose one’s beauty is not all that matters to me.”
He seized hold of my bare shoulders, yanking me close to him, and kissing me heavy and hard. I didn’t protest, instead, I welcomed it. Dampness lined my inner thighs as each swipe of his tongue drove my body into more of a frenzy.
I let my fingers dance along the buttons on Rowan’s shirt. With my eyes closed and mouth preoccupied with his, I freed him from the cloth that restrained him. I slid my hands in and felt his warm skin against my cool hands. I inched my way down to the top of his pants, fumbling around for a moment with the tie holding them up. He moved his hands down to aid me in his release.
