by Anya Bast
“So, despite that she’s the only human around who could conceivably be dying for the love of a fae, she is not. That means she’s not the human who will pull the piece.” Aislinn smiled. “Or do you two want to spend a little more time together and see if you can tempt fate?”
“No.” Kieran’s voice came out low and dangerous sounding.
The queen’s gaze met Charlotte’s. “Anyway, you’re not entirely human, are you, Charlotte? Maybe not human enough for the spell.”
“Everyone seems to think I’m human enough to kill without consequence. I don’t see why I wouldn’t be human enough for the spell.”
The queen’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying you want to try?”
“Let her go home.” Kieran’s voice came out a harsh bark. He stood. “We’ve been waiting centuries to obtain the last piece of the bosca fadbh. Looks like we’ll be waiting a little longer.”
“But how will the fae get the final piece before the Phaendir are able to get their way with the government and hurt you all?” She couldn’t bring herself to say exterminate. Charlotte found that she cared very much about the answer to this question. What a change from the first day she’d walked through the gates of Piefferburg.
The queen smiled. “With a charm like this one, there’s no telling. The fae obtaining the book and first two pieces of the bosca fadbh feels a little like destiny. The stars aligned and those objects fell into our laps, though not without a significant amount of hardship.”
“You and Gabriel almost died. So did Emmaline.”
“And many fae did die when I took the Unseelie Throne and secured the Book of Bindings.” The queen glanced out the window of the room and Charlotte had the sense she was remembering that war. “Many died, but we got the book and the two first pieces. I think that means we’re meant to have all three pieces of the bosca fadbh, but I don’t know how it will happen yet or when.”
Kieran paced the room. “Even if we manage to get all three pieces that doesn’t mean we’ll have instant freedom. We will still need to determine how the book and pieces work and we’ll have the Summer Queen to deal with. She might put up a fight.”
“And the Phaendir,” Queen Aislinn added, her expression going grim. “If we somehow end up with the book and the entire bosca fadbh, they’ll want blood.”
Charlotte shivered, remembering the fervor she’d seen in Gideon’s eyes. She agreed with the queen’s assessment. “Obtaining the last piece of the bosca fabdh is just the beginning of the battle.”
“Yes.” Aislinn’s smile faded and her expression grew cold. “And there is an unknown element at work, as well. Fae, free and living among us, who apparently want to see us fail. That’s why we need to get every bit of information out of Risa that we can. But you, Charlotte, it’s time for you to go now. Your part in this is over.” Aislinn stood and crossed the room to a polished onyx box, opened it, and took something out. Then she crossed the room and put the object into Charlotte’s hand.
She looked down at the heavy piece of jewelry. It was an emerald and gold pendant in the shape of a gryphon.
“It’s a fae piece, non-magickal, but worth a fortune because of its origins. You can keep it as a memento or sell it if you need the money. You should get at least one million for it at a human auction. It should go mostly unnoted by Gideon Amberdoyal when you leave. He’s a long-lived Phaendir and will recognize it as an antique, but the pendant’s origins are obscure enough that he shouldn’t suspect anything.”
One million? She rubbed her thumb over the smooth emerald body of the gryphon. It was beautiful, but yet so unassuming.
She held the jewelry out toward the queen. “I can’t accept this.”
“We brought you to Piefferburg against your will and you’ve risked your life three times while here. Please, this is the only way we can repay you for the valuable information you’ve provided.”
Charlotte shook her head. “It’s gorgeous, but no.”
“Take it.” Kieran’s voice was a low, gruff lash. “You’ve earned more than that. Take the pendant and go home, Charlotte. Live your life. Be safe.” He wouldn’t look at her.
Okay, now she was really starting to feel hurt.
“He’s right. You should go now. Pack your things and tell them downstairs you need a car to the gates. I’ve already left instructions for someone to drive you. Salvage what you can of your former life. I hope we didn’t do too much damage.”
She stared down at the pendant lying in her hand. “This experience ripped it apart, but, strangely, it’s all right. I didn’t know it, but it needed to be ripped apart.”
The queen spoke in a warm voice, “I hope you have a good life, Charlotte.”
She raised her gaze to Aislinn’s. “I hope you get that piece.”
“Thank you.” She smiled. “Maybe we’ll meet again one day, next time in your world instead of ours.”
“I would love to see that. In fact, I’ll be praying for it.”
Silence descended. All that was left was the leaving. Odd how she’d thought she’d be jumping up and down in excitement when this moment came, but instead melancholy had taken her over. Melancholy and worry.
She walked toward the door, almost detouring to Kieran, but he wasn’t looking at her. Her pride pricked, she made that slight hesitation in his direction look natural and just continued out the door saying airily, “Good luck to you both.”
Fine, so she’d had her first one-night stand. Great. She was a big girl; she could do this. She could leave Kieran without saying good-bye or hoping he wanted to say good-bye to her. She had this.
Really.
Alone, she went straight to Kieran’s apartment and found the door unlocked. Maybe they didn’t care about guarding her anymore since she was of no further use to them. She opened the door slowly, not wanting any more surprises and definitely not wanting any more knives careening in her direction.
Someone pushed the door open forcibly from behind her, making her yelp in surprise. Kieran entered the room before she stepped in, obviously ready to handle anything that might be in there. His shoulders relaxed. “It’s okay.”
“Thank you.”
His expression went stormy. “What were you thinking coming back here all by yourself, anyway?”
Entering the room, she shrugged. “You didn’t look like you were going to follow me.”
He turned away from her. “I had to talk to Queen Aislinn for a moment. Go on, get your stuff. I’ll drive you to the gates myself.”
“That’s not nec—”
“Get your stuff.”
She glared at him, anger boiling through her veins. She did not deserve to be treated this way, considering all she’d gone through for them. Especially not by Kieran, in view of the intimate nights they’d shared.
Pushing past him, she stormed into the bedroom where she’d slept, grabbed her bag and started cramming in the few things she planned to take with her. Fuming she turned and came nose-to-chest with Kieran, who’d been standing in the doorway, apparently watching her. She looked up at him. “What the hell is your problem, anyway, Kieran? Why do you all of a sudden hate me so much? What the hell did I do?”
He looked as angry as she felt. His jaw locked, eyes narrowed, he took a step toward her, saying nothing.
She made a frustrated sound. “Whatever. I just want to get out of here.”
He caught her wrist almost painfully to stop her as she brushed past him.
She gritted her teeth. “Let me go, Kieran.”
“That’s the problem. I don’t want you to go.”
TWENTY-ONE
ELATION and panic raced through her veins like a rush of icy water. Stunned, she just stood there with his hand around her wrist, not knowing what to say or do. Her feelings for this man were so intense, more intense than anything she’d ever felt before . . . and they were poison. They could be the death of her.
“That’s exactly why you need to go.” He pulled her to the side, to face him, too
k her bag, and threw it to the floor. “You should leave right now. You should run as far as you can away from me, understand? If you were smart, you would do that.”
She swallowed. How was it possible that ever since Kieran had stepped into her life, she’d felt more alive than she ever had, yet loving him meant she’d die? “I guess I’m not very smart, then.”
He eased her hair away from her face, hooking it behind her ear. His mouth came down on hers and she returned the kiss with interest, her fingers finding and fisting in the material of his shirt, as if holding on to him this way meant he’d never leave her.
She allowed him to move her back toward the bed, her fingers undoing the buttons of his jeans as they went. Her arm still pained her a little, but that small hurt seemed to be drowned out in the flood of need she had for him. She wasn’t naïve. This was the last time she’d ever be able to touch him. They’d do this, then she’d leave. Forever.
She was going to make it count.
He helped her push his sweater up and over his head. She skated her lips over the curves of his chest, inhaling the scent of his skin and trying to soak in the feel of his warm body against hers. She wanted to memorize it for when she left this place, so she had something to keep her warm at night when she was back in Portland.
Then his hands were on her, undressing her and following the slow reveal of her bare skin with his lips. By the time they were both undressed and had hit the mattress, Charlotte had forgotten all about the third piece of the bosca fadbh, the spell, the car to take her to the gates, the gryphon jewelry that made her a millionaire. Her mind was filled only with Kieran, the feel of his body on hers and his mouth crushed against her lips.
She spread her thighs and he slipped his hand between them to stroke her aching clit. He knew exactly how to touch her, how to apply just the perfect amount of pressure to make her moan. Her body tightened with need and she clenched a fist in the blankets against the rising tide of pleasure.
“Your body was made to be loved,” he murmured roughly. “It drives me crazy to watch you get worked up, to hear you moan, to feel how wet you get when I touch you.”
She shuddered at the coarseness of his words, excitement skittering up her spine.
He slid a finger deep inside her, then added a second and thrust in and out very slowly. At the same time, his head came down, hot mouth closing on one nipple, then the other. He worked his sweet magick over her until she was mindless with desire for him, begging him softly to take her. Her breath came fast and shallow, her body primed for him.
He parted her thighs wider with his knee and settled himself against her pelvis. Then, holding her gaze, he hilted his cock inside her to the base. His girth stretched her muscles and she gasped, her eyes widening, at the sensation of being so filled.
This time he was above her, missionary position. So intimate—mouth to mouth, chest to chest, sex to sex. He never moved his eyes from hers as he began to thrust. He took her that way, bodies fused and minds and hearts somehow joined by their gazes. Pleasure rippled through her with every inward thrust and warmth blossomed in her chest at the look on his face and in his eyes.
Ah, so this is what it meant to make love. She finally understood.
His body on hers, he touched her everywhere it felt the best. His hand between their bodies, his thumb found her clit, gently stroking it and sending waves of pleasure rippling through her. Lost in a sexual haze, her hands roamed his shoulders, arms, and back—committing him to memory.
He knew how to move, how best to make her come, and her pleasure built and built until it finally burst sweet as a berry on her tongue, making her back arch, her toes curl, and her head bow back into the pillow on a cry of total ecstasy as it crashed over and through her, stealing her ability to think.
As the waves of pleasure ebbed away, he kissed her long and slow as he leisurely thrust in and out of her. Tears fell down to the pillow from the corners of her eyes. She held him to her, ignoring the pain of her arm, tangling her fingers through his hair and curling her thighs around his waist as if to keep him inside her forever.
But eventually he whispered her name, groaned, and she felt his cock jump deep within her. Spent, he stayed inside her anyway, clinging to her as he eventually went flaccid still buried inside her.
They stayed that way until twilight began to steal the light from the sky. Then he rolled away, sat up on the edge of the bed, and said in a hoarse whisper, “Go, Charlotte. Please. Go now before I don’t have the strength to tell you do it anymore.”
Silent tears running down her face, she got up, dressed, picked up her bag.
And left.
KIERAN stood in the corridor, looking out the window that showed the area of the front doors of the tower. Charlotte was there, waiting for her car. She looked at ease standing there, such a change from two weeks ago when she’d jumped at the slightest movement seen from the corner of her eye.
She’d started to see the humanity in them and he’d begun to see the fae in her.
That and so much more.
Emmaline came to stand beside him, looking out the window with her arms crossed over her chest. “You love her, don’t you?”
“I don’t know for sure.” He paused, watching the car pull up in front of the Black Tower. “But I think so. I just hope she doesn’t feel the same.”
If he fell in love with her and she didn’t return his feelings, he was doomed, but she’d be safe.
“I’m scared for her. Got no reason to feel like she’s in danger, yet I’m worried.” He paused, rubbing a hand over his mouth. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d feared so much for the welfare of another. “I didn’t want to let her go.”
Emmaline took a moment to reply. “Maybe her being gone will make you two grow apart. Maybe you’ll forget her.”
Kieran watched Charlotte get into the car and disappear down the road. “Haven’t you ever heard the saying, ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’?”
CHARLOTTE climbed into the car and Niall flashed his handsome, dimpled smile at her. “Are you leaving us?”
“It’s you! Oh, of course it’s you.” She sighed, staring up at the shining Black Tower through the back window. One last look before she left. “Yes, I’m headed up out of the rabbit hole.”
He pulled away from the curb. “What are you going to do once you get out of here, Alice?”
Glancing down, she fingered the zipper of her bag and considered the question. Go home. Confront her father. Quit her job. Maybe not in that order. “I’ve got lots to do on the other side, Niall.”
“You’ll have to get through Gideon first.”
Ah, so that’s why he was driving her. He’d been sent to prep her for her “exit interview.”
“I won’t tell the Phaendir anything. I might’ve, before. But not now. I hope you all find that piece. I hope you break the walls, beat the Phaendir, and are free. I won’t do anything to endanger that possibility. In fact, I’m praying you succeed.”
In the rearview mirror, he smiled. “Good, I’m glad to hear you’ve come over to the dark side.”
“The dark side isn’t all that dark, Niall.”
“Ah, come on.” He grinned at her. “Don’t break the illusion. That’s no fun.”
She settled back and watched the Boundary Lands go past. Closing her eyes, she said good-bye to them. Good-bye to the beautiful trees, the sprae, the lady in the lake, even the spriggan. She said good-bye to the Black Tower, to Emmaline and Aeric, to the king and the queen.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say good-bye to Kieran.
“And your bit of jewelry? You know they’ll search your person and your luggage when you leave.”
Niall’s voice startled her. She opened her eyes and found his gaze in the rearview mirror. “The gryphon? I have nowhere to hide it. I’ll just have to tell them I bought it.”
Niall mulled that over. “It might work. Your daddy is made of money, so it’s in the realm of believability.”
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Made of money. Heartache, too, as it turned out.
The car pulled up in front of the gates and a couple of the red cap guards approached the vehicle as she got out. This time she didn’t even glance at them. She leaned into Niall’s open window and kissed him on his cheek, feeling the rasp of the stubble on his skin.
“See you later, kid,” said Niall, putting the car into drive.
“See you.” She watched him drive away.
After going through all the protocol to verify her identity, they finally opened the gates and let her out. Gideon waited on the other side. Her bandaged arm was out of sight under her shirt, so she wouldn’t have to explain it, and, really, she had nothing to hide but a change of heart. Still, her pulse sped when she saw the archdirector of the Phaendir walking toward her. She would lie herself blue to protect the fae, but that didn’t mean she’d enjoy it.
She frowned as she drew closer to him on the gravel road leading away from the gates. It was now evening, and by the dim glow of the streetlamps, she could see that Gideon looked . . . thrashed. His forehead sported a big blue bruise, and someone had split his lower lip. Barely healed cuts marked his throat and all his exposed flesh, the thin, angry marks disappearing under his shirt. He looked like he’d been involved in a fight and had come out on the losing end.
“Are you all right?” she blurted when she came up to him.
Gideon’s face remained stony for a moment, then he cracked an insincere smile that she guess must’ve hurt. “I’m fine. More importantly, how are you?”
She hesitated for a moment, wanting very much to inquire further about what had happened to him. He really didn’t seem like the bar fight type and the curiosity was killing her. “The job went well, but I’m glad I’m out of Piefferburg.”
“I called the Piefferburg Business Council as soon as you contacted the gates to say you were leaving. They told me they’ve given your employer high praise for the work you did.” They began to walk toward the Phaendir Headquarters. “Your sacrifice will have some benefit in the end. I’m sure your superiors will be pleased and you will be rewarded.”
