Touch (Touched by the Fae Book 3)

by Jessica Lynch

  I’ve never been so good with authority figures. Add it to the undeniable truth that the Light Fae is a stranger to me and Ash has me crossing my arms over my chest as he stares across the room at me, expecting my answer.

  Oh, he’ll get it all right.

  “It’s not like I went there on purpose. It happened and I faced the Fae Queen and, sure, Nine’s a statue now, but at least you two are okay. Right?”

  “I know Melisandre. There’s no way she would have let you escape from under her nose. Not with us, and not with someone she cursed.” He shutters his eyes, a look of relief flashing across his features as he comes to the absolutely wrong conclusion. “You finished the prophecy. The false queen is gone.”

  I shake my head. “Um. No.”

  His eyes open. “No?”

  “I didn’t fight her. I kinda just stole you guys away from her. She’s probably even more pissed off than before and, uh, she was pretty pissed to begin with.”

  “Then Melisandre will still be after you because you’re the Shadow,” Ash realizes. “This isn’t over.”

  I shrug helplessly.

  Callie gasps while Ash spits out a word, cursing in a language that isn’t like anything in this world. And it totally is a curse. I don’t need to understand what he’s saying to know the meaning behind it.

  Oops.

  I guess they really thought I had ended the Fae Queen already.

  Yeah, not quite.

  3

  Before Ash says anything in response to that, I try to take control of the conversation.

  I need some kind of control here.

  “Now that you know she’s still a threat, I have to ask. This place… do you think she’ll follow us here?”

  Because I’d been thinking about it while I did my quick tour around the building and the neighborhood. At first, I couldn’t understand why this empty apartment was… I don’t know… frozen in time or something. Callie tried to tell me it was magic and, okay, I got that.

  Then I saw that the building has probably been condemned for a while. Unless the fae have a way to trace me here—and they don’t, thanks to Nine’s touch—I think this might be our safest option for a place to stay while we figure out our next step.

  Which, whether Ash likes it or not, definitely involves fixing Nine.

  It takes him a moment to answer me. Finally, he says, “It’s possible. She has a long memory and her loyal guard. She prefers to surround herself with Seelie, but she has just as many Unseelie who follow her despite her glamour. They won’t be able to trace us here precisely, but if she sends out her full guard, she’ll be able to search around the clock.”

  Not the answer I wanted to hear, but at least that answers another of my biggie questions.

  “Because she’s one of them, right? She’s a Dark Fae.”

  He nods. “She hides it well. Even fooled Oberon in the beginning. But I used to be part of her guard. Only a few of us have ever seen her lose her glamour, but I can guarantee it. She’s a Cursed One.”

  That doesn’t change anything. At most, it just proves that Carolina was being honest when she told me that her mistress was a Dark Fae.

  “I don’t get why she hides it. Why the blonde hair? The yellow eyes? The act?”

  “Melisandre always wanted to rule Faerie. The Shadow Court is second to the Summer Court, the Seelie Court. She could’ve easily taken the Unseelie throne but she’d still owe her allegiance to Oberon. So, instead, she passed herself off as one of his subjects before stealing his throne. She’ll stop at nothing to keep it.”

  Don’t I know it.

  If it wasn’t for Rys reminding me about the power of the pockets and distracting the Fae Queen’s soldiers so I could escape, I might have learned that the hard way.

  No.

  Not might.

  Considering I was seconds away from accepting her bargain, sacrificing my life and my freedom in exchange for my parents and Nine, if it wasn’t for Rys’s help and some quick thinking, I’d be a statue in the Fae Queen’s garden somewhere.

  And that’s if she didn’t follow through with her unsaid threat to lop off my head the first chance she got.

  “Then it’s a good thing that this place is warded.” I turn to Callie. “That’s what you said, right? They don’t know that you guys are awake. How would they guess we’d come here?” I’m talking myself into believing that we’re… if not safe, then at least safer. “The shadows leading us here has gotta be a huge break.”

  It bought us some time, I’m sure of it. Time that I can use to focus on what I’m going to do next: fix Nine.

  I don’t know what happened with my parents. They were statues when we were in Faerie. Now they’re not. If I have to wrap Nine up in shadows and transport him there and back a hundred time, I will if only to have the chance to talk to him again and have him respond.

  We have a lot to discuss.

  I’m not even obsessing over the Fae Queen and her strange vendetta right now. Oh, I wasn’t kidding when I said she’s gonna be super pissed. In the back of my mind, I’m so freaking terrified about how she’ll retaliate for my skin of the teeth escape. But Melisandre is in Faerie and I’m here in Newport—at least, that’s what the address on the food receipt says—with my parents and my… mate?

  So, yeah.

  You can say that my priorities have shifted since this morning.

  And then Ash goes on to tell me, as if he can read my mind, “Don’t fret, Zella. You won’t have to fear the queen much longer. Now that I’m here again, I will ensure that Melisandre pays for what she’s done to our family.”

  Except to mumble, “It’s Riley,” I don’t argue with him.

  What can I say?

  All I’ve ever wanted was someone to step in front of me, to protect me, to tell me that everything will be okay and that I have nothing to worry about.

  I finally got that with Nine. My Shadow Man who spent my entire life teaching me, shielding me, making sure that I have enough information to protect myself. Then, when the Fae Queen used my parents as leverage against me, he made the ultimate sacrifice for me.

  He gave up his life for mine. So desperate to save me, he didn’t even think like a fae. Instead of looking two steps ahead, he fell right into Melisandre’s trap.

  Now he’s a statue and it’s all my fault. It’s my turn to save him.

  Not like I tell Ash that, either.

  I don’t have to.

  One look. That’s all it takes. A fleeting glance to where I propped Nine up in the corner of the destroyed apartment and my dad knows.

  He knows—and he doesn’t like it.

  Maybe he can read minds...

  If looks could kill, Nine would be going up in smoke. Ash’s golden gaze glimmers as he bores holes into the Dark Fae.

  “He shouldn’t be here. He was charged with watching over you, keeping you safe. Callie told me she allowed him one touch. But the brand on your skin… it’s far more recent than that.”

  Well, yeah. Because Nine touched me only hours ago when I gave him permission to kiss me—and then he claimed me.

  Can Ash tell that about me, too?

  His mouth goes tight and I’m thinking yes.

  “Ninetroir owed me a debt,” he says, glowering. “I didn’t give him my daughter.”

  Only, if everything I’ve learned so far is true, he kinda did. At least, Callie did, didn’t she? When she commanded him to save me right before the Light Fae captured her.

  Was that first touch my undoing or the only thing that kept me alive for as long as it did?

  It doesn’t matter. Nine might have claimed me, but I have no problem claiming him back.

  He’s my Shadow Man.

  Callie clears her throat, drawing my dad’s attention over to her. I look, too, because it’s better than watching him glare at Nine.

  “What about the prophecy, Ash?” she says softly.

  “The prophecy doesn’t mean a thing,” he replies. “How can it? There ar
e so many different versions. The only thing they agree is that a halfling is fated to face Melisandre. That’s all.”

  I’m not so sure what that has to do with Nine. Considering we only just managed to slip from the Fae Queen’s grasp, I really don’t want to be reminded how close I came to giving up my freedom when I finally did face Melisandre.

  Or what she cost me when I didn’t fall for her trap.

  And now another Light Fae thinks they’re going to keep me from the one person who was always there for me?

  Dad or no dad, that’s not gonna work for me.

  The words burst out of me. Even if I wanted to swallow them back, it’s impossible.

  “It doesn’t matter what the stupid prophecy says. Fated or not, I knew that I loved Nine long before I heard anything about the Shadow Prophecy. Now I know that I’m in love with him. You’re fae. You’ve been frozen into some kind of statue, just like him. You know how terrible it is. I lost you guys for my whole life. I don’t want to also lose my mate.”

  “No.”

  No?

  He shakes his head, wincing slightly at the motion before stopping. His jaw tightens as he announces, “I forbid this mating. He can stay like he is. I won’t let him have my daughter.”

  I almost don’t believe what I’m hearing. I’ve known this guy for… what? Like half an hour? And he thinks he’s going to separate me from Nine?

  Callie tries to interject. “Ash—”

  “I will not stand here and allow our daughter to bond herself to a Cursed One, fate or no fate. Ninetroir has always hated humans. He’d make her life miserable.”

  Is he fucking serious?

  For too many years, Nine was the only person in my life who cared about me. So he had a disdain for other humans. He never hid that. But he liked me. He loves me.

  I’m beginning to wonder if it was a mistake, taking this hard-headed fae male with me when I fled from Melisandre.

  Callie eases toward her mate, trying to calm him as if she can sense that he’s a walking timebomb and the fuse is already lit.

  And then there’s me. I’m seconds away from exploding myself.

  “Ash, sweetheart. You have to admit that that’s not the biggest problem we have at the moment. The queen’s soldiers came after our baby once before. Now that we’re home again, we have to focus on that.”

  “She’s a shade-walker, and a good one. She has to be. Zella is right. Discounting our wards, the shadows would cover our trail. I have no idea how she knew to bring us here, but Melisandre won’t be able to trace it unless she touched her.”

  Callie’s hand flies to her face, her fingers running nervously over her bottom lip. “Do you think she did?”

  Okay. I’ve had enough of this. “Hey! Can you not talk about me like I’m not here?”

  He goes on as if he didn’t hear me. “I can sense it on her skin. The possessive brand, the fae-touch… it belongs to Ninetroir. Zella is telling the truth. That’s the mark of a ffrindau.”

  “Soul mate,” whispers my mom.

  He jerks his head, an angry nod that has him wincing again a second later. He’s hiding it pretty well, but the shadows and the iron are still affecting him.

  But that doesn’t stop him from reacting when Callie lowers her hand, hugging herself.

  “So it’s done. Our baby is mated to the Dark Fae I gave her to. This is all my fault.”

  Ash surges forward, wrapping Callie up in a comforting hug that sends a rush of mixed emotions through me.

  “I swear to Oberon,” he vows solemnly, “I will end Ninetroir before I let him claim our child.”

  Yup. This has gone way too far now.

  Am I the only one who remembers that it’s the Fae Queen we should all be worrying about? Not the frozen Nine statue?

  “Oh my God. Really? I am literally right here. Nine, too. In case you haven’t realized it by now, I chose to take him with us because he’s mine. I love him. How would you like it if someone tried to separate you two? Ash? Callie? Huh?”

  Know what? I think I’ve finally got my point across.

  At my purposeful use of their names, my mother winces. Too bad. I’m still coming to grips that these two are my parents after believing for my entire life that I didn’t have any. Between my abandonment issues and my panic disorder, they’re lucky that I’m not running from this apartment, screaming at them to get away from me. In the heat of the moment, I’ve finally decided that I should just call them by their names because, shit, mom and dad… I can’t.

  Damn it.

  Callie seems to understand, even if she doesn’t like it. “Of course. We’re sorry.” She lays her hand on the side of Ash’s throat. “Aren’t we?”

  Ash, who was visibly bristling following my heated question, relaxes under Callie’s reassuring touch. He nods, then swallows roughly, his Adam’s apple rising and falling with the motion. He unscrews his jaw just enough to say, “Yes.”

  The word seems like it’s been dragged out of him. At least I know it’s the truth.

  I can’t believe I’m having this argument. This morning, when I woke up in the Acorn Falls cemetery, my only thought was where I was going to go next now that returning to the Wilkes House—and Carolina’s corpse—was abso-fucking-lutely impossible.

  I’ve been running on empty ever since Rys found me sleeping next to Madelaine’s grave. Between the way I attacked him with the shovel, then my flight into Acorn Falls’ downtown for a stupid cup of coffee, to running from Dr. Gillespie and jumping into a portal that plopped me out in the Fae Queen’s garden… and now this… I’ve been two steps ahead of actually processing everything that’s happened to me in such a short time.

  With Ash looming in front of me, Callie looking at me as if she still can’t come to grips with the truth that I’m their daughter… well, shit. It suddenly catches up.

  And I lose it.

  The edge of my vision goes dark, blackness creeping in. The room is spinning. I start gulping in great big mouthfuls of air. It feels shallow, like someone is squeezing my chest and I can’t fill my lungs up all the way. My ears are buzzing. My heart is thumping like mad.

  The wave of panic crashes over my head. When it comes to the fight or flight reflex, I’ve always defaulted to one response.

  I bolt.

  Throwing the front door open, I run out of the apartment. I might’ve mumbled another excuse, something like I forgot ketchup packets or some shit like that, before I hoof it toward the elevator.

  Anything to get out of there now.

  I hear Callie call her mate’s name, then say, “No, I’ve got this,” before she bursts into the hall, closing the door behind her.

  I’m not afraid of her. I’m not all that afraid of Ash, either—he’s my father and I’d like to believe that means something—but he’s fae. A Light Fae. A watered down version of the golden monster who haunted my dreams these last six years. When he starts making demands and decrees, his eyes lighting up like ember sparks in a dying fire, is it a surprise that he triggers my panic attacks?

  But Callie… as she hurries after me, murmuring my name, I come to a halt. The urge to hide out in the elevator isn’t so bad when it’s just the two of us out here.

  And then she says, “You have to forgive your father. I tried to explain to him everything you told me earlier. He’s used to time going by and humans growing in a blink of an eye. He’s Seelie… but you’re his daughter. He… we can’t believe that we missed you growing up.”

  The panic is terrible.

  The guilt? Even worse.

  “That’s not my fault!” I’m shouting. I can’t help it. “I didn’t ask for this!”

  “Sweetie, I know.”

  I throw my hand out, gesturing with my glove toward the closed door. “I didn’t sign up to be the stupid Shadow. It’s ruined my fucking life. I’ve spent twenty years with the threat of the fae hanging over my head. No parents. Everyone I ever cared about left me. The only one who seemed to was Nine and now he’s g
one.”

  Callie looks torn, like she doesn’t know what to say to that. I don’t blame her. Poor woman woke up from a twenty-year forced nap to find out that her precious baby is a wreck of an adult, that the world as she knows it is gone, and her mate is picking fights.

  If I were in her shoes, I’d be praying for a trip back to the asylum. It’s too much to ask of anyone. I'm seconds away from losing it and I lived through it. Callie got tossed from the frying pan into the fire—and she’s looking over at me as if all she wants to do is make it all right.

  It’s that look. That maternal look that I’ve been missing my whole life that shatters me.

  “Why did you leave me?” I ask. My voice breaks but I can’t bring myself to care. No one else is around to hear it. “Why did you have to go?”

  “Oh, sweetie.” Callie’s eyes glisten, the dark blue color—the same shade as mine—twinkling as she holds onto her tears. “That was the last thing I wanted to do. We knew that the Fae Queen would want to get to you sooner than later. We tried to be prepared. The iron in this building, keeping our home up high. The special wards. When they came, there was just enough time for two of us to get out. Me and my baby… me and you.”

  Just like it’s only the two of us in the hallway now. Well, my dad, too, ‘cause fae hearing is amazing. He’s listening in on us. Bet.

  I don’t care. I need to hear this.

  I need to know.

  “And… Aislinn?”

  Her head tilts a little, as if surprised that I know his true name. She lets it slip by, though, as she tells me, “My Ash stayed behind to give us the chance to get free. I’d say he’s not an easy man to love, but we both know he’s not a man. The fae are different. He doesn’t mean to be so hard. He loves you.”

  He doesn’t. He can’t.

  Ash doesn't know me. If he did, he’d know that I don’t respond all that well to being told what to do among a whole host of other issues.

  Callie nods assuringly. “Your father will do anything for his family. He sacrificed himself to buy us time. You’ve seen the apartment. They captured him, but he didn’t go down easy.”