by C. J. Anaya
Don’t get me wrong. My fists were bright red and pockmarked with oozing blisters, but nothing looked charred.
Always a good sign.
I closed my eyes again, not to hide away from the pain, but to hide away from Jareth’s agonized expression. It hurt me more than the pain I felt at the moment and that was saying something.
This is absolutely killing him.
There was no denying it.
This faerie prince definitely cared about my well-being.
Damn, damn, double damn.
I didn’t like putting him through this, but there was no way I was going to put him in the line of fire. If my magic accidentally killed him, I’d never forgive myself, and immortality was a long time to harbor mounds of guilt.
As the burning pain reached its crescendo, I focused on pulling my consciousness away from my own body. I wasn’t too certain how I knew how to mentally travel away from the pain, but I’d been doing it with each attack and having lots of success. Mental detachment seemed to be a skill of mine.
It made me wonder what on earth had happened to me in the human realm to give me that particular ability. Oh, wait. Hadn’t Jareth mentioned something about abuse?
My place of escape was pretty darn picturesque. Soft meadows filled with rolling green grass opened up to a light blue, two-story house with a white picket fence, a wrap-around porch and a porch swing in the front. As I neared my beautiful escape from reality, a kindly looking woman opened the screen door and hurried forward with her arms outstretched, eager to bring me in for a hug.
When her arms wrapped around me, more people rushed from the home. Brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts, everyone there to greet me and welcome me in.
The family I always wanted. The family who loved me unconditionally.
Hmmm.
How long had I been yearning for that? Because this escape from reality felt like it had been mentally visited by me several times over the course of my life.
“Crysta, it’s over now,” an urgent voice cut in. My sweet mother’s arms were swept away from me and the meadow sank into darkness.
My heart sank as the vision faded away. A pinprick of light grew in size and intensity and soon Jareth’s concerned face came into view. I blinked my eyes a few times and reached up to touch his cheeks in wonder.
They were wet with his tears.
“Jareth? Have you been crying? What’s happened?”
He let out a strangled laugh that sounded more like a sob and pulled me to his chest, rocking me back and forth in his arms.
My skin felt perfectly normal. Tingly in a whole and healthy kind of way. Most likely Jareth’s doing.
Then sweet tingles of a different sort began to course through my body.
Also Jareth’s doing.
He couldn’t stop caressing my skin, checking to make certain every inch of me was completely healed. Then he buried his face in my neck and breathed me in.
“I can’t…we can’t…not anymore. No more. I can’t take this anymore.”
“We’ll stop for the day and try again tomorrow,” I said in a soothing voice.
“No,” he growled though it came out a bit muffled since his lips were nearly plastered to my neck. A heady sensation. “I can’t do this again. There has to be another way to beat this because I can’t watch you nearly die another horrible death in another diabolical way again. Kheelan is a sadistic psychopath.”
I gently pushed against his chest so I could make eye contact.
“That’s not what we agreed to—”
“You’ve been burned to death, Crysta. You were frozen in a solid block of ice until you stopped breathing and your heart rate plummeted.”
Well, if he was going to go glass-half-empty on me…
“Right, but—”
“This will eventually kill you,” he shouted.
I bit back a retort, barely restraining my own heated comment, but knowing Jareth’s reaction came from a place of deep emotion.
Possibly love.
“The spell is designed to protect me from death,” I patiently said. “It’s a failsafe.”
“It’s taking it’s sweet time to save anything.”
His blue eyes blazed in fury as his hands bit into my waist, holding me tight as if that might prevent me from trying to find another false exit to walk through.
To his credit, I was very capable of jumping back into my brain, following that golden thread, and opening another door that may or may not have been the way out or even represented the beginning thread to the spell.
The starter thread.
It was as elusive as the real exit and any musical combination Kheelan had deemed worthy of incorporating within the spell.
He really was a diabolical piece of pixie dung.
“I’m not going to let you take the lead on this and get yourself killed,” I said.
I heard the faint edge to my voice and cursed myself just a bit. We didn’t need two hotheads vying for supremacy here.
“Oh, no. You’ll just continue to poke this beast until one of these counterattacks manages to stop your heart for good. I will not allow it, Crysta.”
“We had a deal,” I said through gritted teeth.
He narrowed his brows, his blue eyes flashing like lightning before a thunderous boom. “The deal is off. I can’t abide this. I won’t sit here helpless as you repeatedly allow your own magic to flay you alive.”
“Then leave.”
I shoved him away from me, but didn’t accomplish much more than a centimeter of space. I was extremely proud of that centimeter.
“Absolutely not. We’re doing things my way now.”
“Your way actually is suicidal. At least my way guarantees me an eventual reprieve from my own magic.”
“Ahem,” said a voice just above us.
“What?” Jareth and I both snapped.
Roderick stared at us with a knowing twinkle in his eye.
“If you two could stop trying to save and protect each other for one moment, we seem to have a situation that needs Crysta’s attention.” His eyes landed on me. “I believe you charged Lily with the task of finding someone dealing with symptoms of griesha?”
It took me a second to process his words, and then I was flying to my feet while Jareth remained seated, still trying to process the abrupt termination of our battle of wills.
Had it continued, though, I was pretty darn sure I would have won.
Yep. Pretty darn.
As I turned to greet Lily, my hand began to lift of its own accord and my fingers curled into a cupped position.
“What the…? What’s happening?” My body jerked and spun to face Jareth. Then my curled fingers went stiff and straight as blue, gold, brown, and green strands of magic shot from my fingers and wrapped themselves around Jareth’s wrists.
“Jareth what have you done?” I shouted.
“What had to be done.”
Chuck zoomed to Jareth’s side, frantically beating his paper thin wings while Graul rushed next to them both, looking a bit panicked even for him.
Jareth lifted his hand and sent thousands of golden threads through the magic surrounding his wrists, severing my own magic and freeing him in the process. My magic was already on the move, circling round his body as he dodged left and feigned right. Graul and Roderick threw a few counterspells while I fought to draw my hand back, to form a fist, or even call my magic back to me, but my traitorous body and magic didn’t do a single thing I demanded of them.
“You tried another exit without even warning me?” I screamed at him. What a stubborn, shortsighted, senseless, suicidal,…I was running out of adjectives starting with the letter S.
Wait a minute…
Stupid.
How do you forget that one?
“Did you think I was going to ask for permission?” He grunted and rolled to his left, barely dodging a mass of sharp objects woven entirely of magic. When the weird looking weapons hit the wall behind him, an elect
ric pulse scorched the walls, leaving jagged tracks that looked a lot like lightning.
“Did my magic just try to taser you?” I attempted bringing my body around so my fingertips pointed toward my middle and blocked a direct line of fire to Jareth.
It was super awkward. My arm was not meant to bend like that. What made it even more awkward was how my fingertips constantly moved to keep Jareth within the line of fire.
“Get out of the way, Crysta,” Jareth barked.
“Don’t you boss me around,” I grunted as my hand whipped me forward and back, jerking me in an ungraceful circle before lining up Jareth’s position and shooting more gnarly looking barbs that, thankfully, sailed just above him due to his graceful weaving and bobbing skills.
“Graul, Roderick, any chance you can knock me out?” I shouted. “Chuck, blast me with Winter magic.”
“Nobody fires on Crysta,” Jareth yelled.
Stupid, overprotective idiot.
“Hold still so I can get in front of my hand,” I screeched as my hand jerked again and flung me to the side. I let out a shriek of pain when the movement dislocated my shoulder with an agonizing pop.
“Crysta?”
My outburst distracted Jareth and my magic took full advantage. I wailed as it shot from my fingertips, aiming directly for Jareth’s heart. He dropped to his back at the last minute, but his hand hit the wall where the barbs made contact. The electricity running the length of the wall hit his hand and traveled through his body. I watched with my heart in my throat as he shook like he was having a full blown seizure, the kind that rattles your insides and turns your organs to liquid goo.
With the success of its attack, my magic went back to being dormant and I was free to lunge toward the ground. Using my good arm, I swiped my finger inside his mouth to prevent him from swallowing his tongue, all the while white foam formed around his lips.
“I swear to you, Jareth, if you die on me now I will find a way to bring you back to life and then I’ll kill you. Do you understand me? I’m actually starting to like you, you stupid faerie.”
His eyes remained shut tight and tiny tremors continued to rip through his body while Graul grabbed Jareth’s other arm and ripped open his shirt.
“Chuck?” he said motioning for my dragon to come closer.
To Chuck’s credit, he kept his cool far better than I did. Tears ran down my cheeks as I continued to berate Jareth while he trembled in pain on the floor. Chuck landed on Jareth’s abdomen and jabbed his claw into his chest so fast I didn’t even have time to voice a protest.
“It help Jareth,” Graul assured me. “Chuck channel out all Crysta’s magic. No longer hurt prince.”
I didn’t necessarily understand the logistics of that, but I wasn’t about to start asking questions since Jareth’s eyes fluttered open.
“Jareth, are you all right? Can you speak to me?”
He remained silent, staring up at me with an intense look on his face. I waited, but when he didn’t say anything, I wondered if he could understand me or even hear me. Had the electricity fried his brain cells?
I caressed his cheek, not being able to stop touching him and at the moment not caring in the slightest. He wasn’t saying anything. Just staring at me with that expression that conveyed so many things.
“Jareth, please say something. Are you in pain? Can you feel your arms or your legs? Can you sense any internal damage?”
I waited again as Jareth’s brows narrowed in thought for a moment before his face brightened into a satisfied expression.
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to see you so upset by this,” he said in a clear voice totally devoid of pain. “Admit it, Crysta. You’re madly in love with me.”
His teasing smile both thrilled and infuriated me, but since I was still operating under the strain and knowledge that I had almost killed him I really wasn’t in the mood for his shiz.
“I am engaged to the dumbest faerie prince ever,” I said to no one in particular.
I tried to move away, but his arms were suddenly holding me, keeping me pinned to his chest.
“Ah,” I groaned when his hand made contact with my dislocated shoulder.
His eyes widened in apology as he quickly set to work, healing the injury.
“If you had just let the magic run its course instead of fighting it, this never would have happened,” he said.
“Are you seriously berating me after the stunt you just pulled? You almost died.”
“Hey, calm down. You don’t think a two-hundred-year old faerie can handle a little lightning?”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“Is that supposed to be a rhetorical question? Are you trying to be funny?”
“Maybe,” he said with a snicker, eliciting an amused grunt from Graul and a weird snort from Chuck which resulted in a spark of fire that immediately puffed out of existence.
Imbeciles.
“You scared me to death. You could have died and you didn’t even run your plan by me before you recklessly attacked the spell.”
“Reckless,” he said. “And how is your plan any less reckless?”
“The result doesn’t end in my death,” I gritted out.
“But it could.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I think I’m being fairly level-headed, in all honesty.”
“I am not doing this,” I said pointing a finger at him and shoving it in his chest. “I am not going to sit here and watch you get hurt over and over again.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s horrible. It’s gut wrenching. I can’t bear to see you in pain and to know it’s my fault.”
Jareth remained silent for a moment as he let my words sink in…not for his benefit, but for mine.
Flaming hobgoblins, did I love this guy?
No effing way.
Jareth’s eyes sparkled with smug satisfaction as my face registered this epiphany.
I couldn’t begin to count how often I decided I hated this guy, but it didn’t matter.
I truly hated this guy right now.
“You know,” he said in a softer voice, using his hand to caress the curve of my back. “We could always end this madness now and get married. It would solve quite a few of our problems.”
I stared at him long and hard, surprising myself by actually considering his offer and momentarily entertaining the idea that it held some merit.
Considering the alternatives, it did.
I had no way of stopping Jareth from attacking the maze spell when the attacks on me became too much for him again, and I had no desire to see him hurt. I couldn’t stand to see him in pain and I was starting to understand where he was coming from as he protested my involvement in countering the maze spell.
It really sucked to watch people you loved…er…held deep admiration for suffer because of you.
Oh crap. Was I really contemplating marriage to a total stranger? Again?
I heard a throat clear, causing me to whip my head around and take in an amused Lily and a rather bemused looking faerie standing right next to her.
Saved. I so didn’t want to examine this problem right now.
“I hate to interrupt this important battle of wills, but Terise tires easily and will need to sit down soon.”
“Of course. Sorry you had to see…that…er…”
I jumped to my feet and hurried over to Lily and her friend, happy to leave Jareth on the floor for now. With any luck, we could avoid revisiting this topic until I had cooled down and he had come to his senses.
Soooooooo never.
I studied the faerie before me and realized I hadn’t seen this particular species of Fae before. Her skin was a deep gold color that shimmered just a bit, almost as if Terise had dipped herself in gold tanning spray and then rolled in a pile of silver glitter for good measure. Her hair lay blond and straight down her back exposing tipped ears similar to mine, but not quite so exaggerated. She wore a simple white frock that covered he
r thighs, tummy and chest but exposed her delicate shoulders. The effect had me a bit dazzled until I noticed a few open sores randomly cropping up on her arms and lower legs. Upon closer inspection her hair appeared to hang a bit limp and there were dark smudges under her light blue eyes.
Even with these symptoms, she still looked beautiful.
“Crysta, Terise is a Land Dweller who works as a designer and decorator for the castle,” Lily said.
“Land Dweller?” I asked as I greeted her with a smile and a hand shake.
Terise smiled, but looked a bit confused at my ignorance.
Right, because most people would assume the future queen of the Unseelie Court would recognize the various species who lived within her kingdom.
Red letter day for me.
“Yes. She is half mermaid, half human. The human side of her prevents her from making her home with full blooded mermaids within the Lake of Beatha.”
This definitely piqued my interest.
“Does that mean you aren’t able to change your form? And human? How many humans actually make their way to the Fae realm and mate with mermaids?” I asked.
“Enough for there to be an actual race of Land Dwellers here in the kingdom,” Jareth said as he came to stand next to me. He placed a hand at the small of my back. I gave him a mental curse. I could hardly call him out on the physical contact in front of Terise, especially since I had no idea how long she’d been standing there listening to our argument.
Kind of embarrassing now that I thought about it.
Terise looked a little amused at my questions. “As far as my transformation goes, there are limits as to how long I can remain in mermaid form before I have to return to land. For some reason, the blending of races impacts the magic required for me to hold my less dominant form for very long.”
“Your human form is more dominant?”
“Yes.”
“And how long have you had symptoms of griesha?”
“A few months now.”
