by Elle Lincoln
“If that’s the case, you can just overpower them, why not just take the courts, all of them?” Perhaps the Fae would return to the creatures they were instead of the manipulative bunch they are now.
“I don’t want the courts. I just want to live. I want to find love.” Her words choke off. It is sadly something I understand all too well.
“I can crack the land at the Mississippi up to the Great Lakes, pulling the saltwater forward. But the distance might be the same toward the East Coast.”
“It’s probably further.” Doubt presses me down. The task is impossible.
“Otherwise, I crack it across, straight to Asheville, breaking the South apart from the North. But it isn’t going to be easy, Mac.” Her voice holds the tone that I’m going to owe her, but I keep quiet, waiting on her to tell me exactly what she wants. “I’m going to set this building on fire and you’re going to realize something. You cannot tell her. Do you understand?”
Dread spirals up my spine. “You burned the house down. Why?”
She just shakes her head at me, refusing to answer. “My story is for another day. Today, is your story. Today you can live. If only you make sure your crew takes on my father. I’m not asking you to kill him. Wound him. Distract him. The energy release to crack the earth isn’t just to help you, it’s to help me. I can go back into hiding. No one will find me.”
“Your father?”
“The power release will break our ties. I need this Mac. Help me live,” she pleads.
I can’t say no, even if I wanted to. I already accepted the contract. Instead, I just nod. “You are playing a game just like your brethren. It’s a fine line to walk, Kelsie. One slip and you will lose yourself.”
“I fear I may already be lost.” One lone tear falls down her cheek. “Help me.”
“The witches?”
She huffs, standing in annoyance to pace the small room. “They will be able to track me, eventually. Mac, we need to get this rolling. Now.” Her eyes light up with a fierce determination, a glow only the Fae have when they want something bad enough to kill for it. She isn’t wrong, she may already be lost.
“What do you want me to do?”
“A magical fire must burn, you cannot quell it without a magical fire hydrant so to speak. They will ask you to put it out because you are Manannan Mac Lir. You will call to the sea, put the fire out, and then you will declare war on the Fae.” Insanity flickers in her eyes.
“No one gets hurt?”
“What does it matter? You will live.” She rolls her hand where a flicker of flame sparks, as she manipulates the orange fire to dance between her fingers before flinging it at the rotting wall.
“No one gets hurt,” I repeat, sitting up to roll out of the claw foot tub.
She looks at me in annoyance once more. “Fine. But I’ll be watching before I leave. You will uphold your end.”
That noose tightens around my neck, and I swallow thickly, struggling to get my saliva to slide down my throat. “Yes,” I grind out.
“If you can, destroy them all.” She flings another flame at the wall, her eyes bright as she watches it burn. “You should probably leave now.”
I stand, my muscles aching, burning. I absorb every drop of water, drying myself. Stepping from the room, I look back at the once bubbly woman. I didn’t know her well, but Bette did. This woman is no longer the one I met. Her eyes sparkle with danger and the insanity of an older Fae over a century old. Not this young woman. Her power will destroy her.
“Go, Manannan Mac Lir. The sea will come to you soon.” She flicks her hands at the door, slamming it in my face. I stumble down the stairs, laughter ringing in my ears. I step to the back door before ducking out. If anyone asks, I’ll tell them I was only relieving myself behind the house. Crude sure, but effective.
Where are you? Casseus asks in my skull, igniting the headache that had just gone.
Here. My eyes seek him out. I shut away the last twenty minutes, hiding the memory in the deepest pits of my thought stream. There, I lock and seal it.
They can never know what I’ve done. The entire thought behind tonight is to get the Fae to back off without bloodshed. Now I have no choice. Now my hands are already dirty with the blood of innocents going against everything I am and fucking stand for.
“What’s wrong with you?” Cas grips my waist, tugging me close. His hand on my neck tilts my head left and right as he studies my face with those coal black eyes.
“Just tired.”
He snorts, leaning close. “You smell like salt.”
“That’s an odd thing?” I counter.
“No.” But he isn’t fooled. He leans in to kiss me, gentle at first, but something breaks inside me. What if he finds out? What if he leaves me, what if they leave me? I tug him closer, kissing him with a passion fueled by fear and desire.
“Fire!” someone shouts.
It has begun.
Cas pulls away, his eye’s heavy-lidded with lust. “We are coming back to this later.”
I nod, knowing I’ll need him. He materializes his cape before turning to nothing more than smoky mist and darting to the front of the building.
I take my time, swallow my pride, and all the actions that just happened.
What have I done?
The fire rages with intensity, sucking the last of the water from my body. I roll my shoulders back, fighting through the fatigue and the pain. I stand in the crowd, watching as Bette and Casseus speak.
Her violet eyes find me in the throng of people. Can you call on the sea? her voice whispers through our link.
A moment of panic almost overrides me, until she sends her power to course through me, invigorating me. I glance up at the burning building. Kelsie stand there amongst the flames, and with one nod, she disappears.
I stare into the flames, my hands spread as I struggle to call upon the sea. To the magic that lives in her depths. I strain, sweat beads upon my forehead. For a moment, I worry Kelsie has broken her word.
Then the ground rumbles as saltwater rises like a geyser through the burning house. The sea sprinkles me with her delicious magic, and my skin absorbs the droplets repeatedly. I shudder as it sinks into my soul, restoring all my power.
But it doesn’t stop there. The world rumbles and cracks as giant fissures open down the alley. I watch in horror as home after home falls and the crack spreads through the valley, between the mountain. And with it, the sea rises.
I race toward the edge, diving into the water as my name is called over and over behind me. But I need to see this. I need to make sure no one has died by my actions. As the sea engulfs me, coating my skin and washing over me like a lover, I dive deeper. My magic rising to aid me as I swim faster than any human. Creatures rise from the depth, joining me in my hunt, many lending me their strength. I race the crack, following it and watching as homes, industrial buildings, and more fall. Finally, the rumbling stops, and still I continue.
Like this, I can cross miles, and I intend to until I reach the shoreline. I push back the euphoria I feel, I can’t allow myself to be happy over this. We created a new land, a new island. Everywhere I look, no one is caught up in the crack. True to her word. No one is hurt.
Only me.
Chapter 16
Bette
A Moment of Peace
I watch as Mac leaps into the fissure, his body not making a single splash as the water swallows him whole. Casseus runs to the ledge, teetering there, his eyes wide and torn.
I walk to him calmly, yanking his cape back, and his arms wrap around my body. His worry is evident. All around us the crowd roars Mac’s name repeatedly.
My eyes find Patrick, Logan, and then Balor. All of us wear equally concerned expressions.
Something isn’t fucking right.
It’s a feeling that seeps into my bones, creating a chill that resides there like a parasite. Mac is powerful in his own right. But this? He was too far from the ocean. And right now, I’m convinced that the wat
er is pure saltwater, the ocean herself is hundreds of miles inland. Impossible. That isn’t even considering the altitude.
Magic is at hand. And not Mac’s. He has been drained for a while now. I’m no fool, I see the strain on him. I even think he lied about the deep underground rivulets. But this?
“Bette.” Casseus looks down at me, questions dancing in his eyes.
“I don’t know. I don’t know if this was him.” Nausea churns in my stomach.
After the Realm and Earth merged into a new world, fissures opened, allowing bits of our world to fall while the Realm’s trees and more shot upward. This goes beyond science, falling into a grey area where magic lies.
Patrick yells, “Moonshine for all!” distracting the crowd from our internal struggles. Balor and Logan join us, watching as the new crack slowly widens from the east to the south. Water laps at us, already eroding the asphalt.
“I can’t believe no one was hurt.” I glance around, nothing everyone still drinks and dances.
“Here,” Logan states dryly, unimpressed with Mac’s show of power.
“Balor, is he that strong?” I question.
“Don’t you smell it?” Logan interrupts. We look at him, unsure of what he’s talking about, since we don’t have his senses. “Nothing, again. That fire was created by the same individual who set your house on fire.” He crosses his arms and I swear he looks bigger than yesterday, how quickly do werewolves grow?
I’m so distracted by Logan that I completely miss what was said next.
“Focus, Bette.” Cas snaps his fingers in my face.
“I’ll bite your finger off if you do that again.” I snap my jaws for show.
“Oh, kinky.”
“Focus,” Balor growls, keeping us in line. I try to hide my smirk. “Until he comes back, we won’t know what happened, and all we can do is speculate.” His frown deepens.
“You expect us just to party?” We don’t even know where Mac went!
“I expect you to put on a show,” Balor states. “Mac will come back. He isn’t the type to run off, if he fled it is for a good reason.” He turns away, stalking through the crowd, assuring everyone all is well.
But I hear them, the whispers that all is not well. That perhaps the courts are behind this. It’s the first time I realize there are Fae in the crowd.
Casseus stalks off, angry and following the crack. Patrick pours drinks for everyone, leaving Logan and I alone.
“What do you think?” I walk toward him, caution in every step.
“I think there is a player we aren’t considering, and I cannot smell them.” He rips at his hair, growling.
“Let’s walk.”
“Here.” Patrick sneaks up behind us, handing me a mason jar full of moonshine. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He winks and backs away.
“Tricky leprechaun.” I laugh as Logan snatches the jar from my hands.
He takes a quick swig, coughing as the liquid hits his throat. “Burns like hell every time, until my throat goes numb.”
“Still not used to it yet?” It’s adorable how innocent he is sometimes.
“No, it’s like turpentine.” He gazes at the glass before taking another drink. This time with less of a shudder.
“Yeah, but it’s potent.” I hook my arm through his, leading him around where the house used to be to another street. “So, another player?”
I hope he isn’t going to say who I think he is. Trepidation slides up my spine.
Instead, he just shrugs keeping his thoughts to himself.
“There are Fae here tonight.” I glance back over my shoulder, watching as the crowd disappears.
“They want a better life too, Bee. Fuck, we all do.” He shakes his head. “I’m used to the forest, the grass, and the hills. The call of the moon. I lived in this world, but I didn’t participate in it. That’s the way of wolves. We are solitary, even though we are a pack.”
“How does that work?”
“We just don’t usually associate with any other creatures.”
“So even though you exist in a pack, it is just that pack and nothing else?” I understand in a way, yet I feel as though that would get boring after a while.
“Yes, it’s not as bad as you think. We enjoy it. Prefer it, usually.” He smiles down at me, dimples and all. “But the Fae? They like to party, to mingle with all creatures. They like to collect debts. To show off. Think of them as that crazy drunk friend.”
I frown, knowing I used to be that crazy drunk friend who was the worst attention whore.
“Exactly that,” Logan answers, listening to my thoughts. I’m not even mad about it. “I hear you are helping Aeden tomorrow.”
I frown once again. “You guys gossip.” I swear when I’m not around, they hang out and chatter about me. They probably do, the more I think about it.
“Do you miss the pack?” I question, changing the subject, knowing we’ve talked about this before, but I’m curious about his feelings now.
“I have a pack.” Oh, isn’t he fucking cute? “I was always on the outside looking in, my brother and I both. I suppose that’s why he fell in love with a Fae.” He pulls me toward the tree line, now broken by the shoreline.
“Do you have mates?” I always wanted to ask this. It’s the one thing I remember from my human life, mostly due to smutty romance novels.
He laughs at me. “There are those who smell good to us. Like candy, it’s irresistible. For some, it’s stronger than others. They smell another and everything inside of them is drawn to that person. It becomes a need they cannot ignore.”
“So, yes.” To me it sounds involuntary.
“I guess so. You can deny it, walk away. But another may never smell like that again. It’s the risk a wolf takes.” He stares off into the night.
“Logan?” He hums, glancing down at me. “What do I smell like to you?”
“I guess I had that coming, didn’t I?” Yet he still doesn’t answer me.
“You did, now what do I smell like to you?” I spin in his arms, facing him, staring up into his deep brown eyes.
I’m almost afraid to know now.
“Years ago, when I was just a pup, I came across this little setup in the woods. I remember a tree stump with little chairs and teacups. There was this girl, with long brown hair and chestnut eyes.” His thumb runs under my violet eyes at that. “She smelled like oranges drizzled with honey and vanilla.”
I smile, remembering that tea set. Kelsie and I would play for hours there every night. We never feared the forest. Perhaps it was a premonition to where our lives would lead us.
“What do I smell like now?” I press myself against him, running my palms up the fabric of his shirt.
He leans down, inhaling slow and deep. His nose brushes against my neck, sending little electric shocks through my system. When he speaks, it’s a low rumble I feel in my very core. “You still smell the same, only stronger the closer I get to you.”
My pulse hammers as he slowly turns his head to find my lips. His eyes watch me while his lips explore and tease my own. I move against him with a natural ease, my lips fitting his as though they were always meant to be there.
Lips gliding against mine, he pushes me to the ground, following me down to the forest floor. Leaves and grass cushion my back as I lie down.
Logan pulls away, looking down on me. “I’ve been waiting over twenty years for this. To touch you, to feel you beneath my fingertips.” His hand teases the hem of my pants before skimming the skin beneath with his fingertips. “To kiss you.”
He leans over me, his lips brushing mine as he exhales on a moan. The need he holds for me overwhelms my senses. His lips begin to devour mine with a hunger and passion he kept buried too deep. He unleashes all of it on me as his kiss deepens, his tongue sliding against mine in a motion that drives me higher.
Too soon he pulls away, sitting up to rest on his knees above me. “If you don’t take that shirt off, I’m going to rip it off you.”
Smiling, I sit up and wonder if he will let me tease him by taking it off slowly or not. I grip the hem, drawing it over my head, yet as I go to pull it off me, he yanks the ends, twisting it until he has my hands trapped. The hem of the shirt blinding me.
“I could keep you like this. Take away your senses.” I breathe deeper as his breath flutters over my bralette. His teeth bite the fabric and I feel a snap, then the cool night air as he exposes my breasts. “This way all you can do is feel.” Warmth settles over my nipple as his teeth graze the sensitive bud. I nearly shoot out of my skin with the pleasure. His scruffy beard teasing the flesh beside it.
My breathing turns to a pant and desire coils inside of me. “Logan,” I mumble into the fabric.
He hums against my nipple as he begins to pinch the other with his fingers. I can feel my body flooding with heat, and I squirm, needing that friction. “This, right here, is only the beginning of the edge. That precipice you walk until you can no longer take it then walk some more.”
“Logan,” I hiss once more, as his mouth and fingers tease me to a writhing ball of need and want.
He rips the shirt from my arms, and the remaining pieces of the bralette soon follow. He takes the edges of his shirt, pulling it from his body. Moonlight glistens on his abdomen where dark hairs trail down beneath his jeans. I reach up, unbuttoning one button then another as I watch his eyes darken and begin to glow in the moonlight.
The zipper echoes around us as I release him. Without a word, I kneel and run my nails on one hand up his length, while the other grips him at the base. I squeeze tightly before running my hand down, watching as that little pearl of fluid forms.
I smile coyly up at Logan before leaning down to taste him. Salt and musk explode on my tongue. His growl at that single taste spurs me on for another. My tongue laps and licks as I explore every ridged inch of him. With each moan, my own body heats with the knowledge that I am doing this to him. Me, and I want more. My lips wrap around his cock and slide down, taking every fucking inch into my mouth and throat. Groaning, I let the vibration tease him further as I bob up and down, driving him higher and higher with need.
Until one second, I’m still exploring him, and the next, he’s ripping me away, his lips on mine. Greedy for more, I pull him to me, digging my nails into his back, scratching as our tongues duel. He gently pushes me back to the forest floor, ripping my pants off.
