Bound to His Redemption

by Lisa Kumar

  Eamon all but bristled. “I’ve done no wrong.”

  “Yet. In Eria, I suspect that was another matter.”

  “Which doesn’t concern you.”

  The blond elf lifted a brow. “Oh, but it does when Eria sends us its garbage and castoffs.”

  A growl rumbled in Eamon’s chest. “Watch your tongue, driade.”

  There was that word “driade” again. What did it mean?

  “The truth stings, doesn’t it?” asked the stranger.

  “What will sting is my fist wiping that smirk off your face.”

  Caralyn watched helplessly as the rapid-fire insults veiled as discussion became increasingly nasty. They were like two dogs staking their turf. She had to do something but what?

  The other elf was barely paying her any attention, and she didn’t get the feeling he wanted to smite her from the Earth. So why should she risk her neck for Eamon? He didn’t even like her, and she shouldn’t like him, but ... Though she hated it, he fascinated and drew her. Which was pure craziness.

  She took a tentative step around Eamon, and both males broke off their haranguing of each other.

  “Caralyn, stay behind me,” hissed Eamon.

  She ignored him, only to have the too insightful gaze of the other elf pierce her. Sucking in a deep breath, she tried to calm her riotous nerves. Why had she thought this such a good idea? Oh yeah, because she felt some kind of insane loyalty to Eamon. Now if it just wouldn’t get her killed, that would be great.

  The blond held up a commanding hand. “Let your human companion speak for herself.”

  Caralyn’s mind went blank. Speak? As in words?

  Eamon saved her. “She’s none of your concern and has no bearing on this conversation.”

  “I beg to differ. Since you’ve involved her, a human, in your affairs, it also affects us. I would like to hear what she has to say.”

  She now knew how a deer felt when facing an oncoming car. “I know Eamon’s serving his banishment here, but he hasn’t caused any trouble, at least not since he’s been staying with me.” Which has been for shy of twenty-four hours, but hopefully, he wouldn’t ask about the length of Eamon’s stay.

  “And how long has been that?”

  Damn it. “Um, a few days.”

  “Such a long time to form an opinion of him. Are you sure you want him staying with you?”

  Eamon sputtered behind her, but she was too busy considering the question she’d been asked to pay him much mind. How could she answer the other elf? She still wasn’t comfortable with Eamon around, but she couldn’t imagine him anywhere else at the moment. Not knowing what else to do, she settled for a snippet of truth. “I owe it to him. He saved me.”

  Stepping around her, Eamon said, “You heard it from her own mouth.”

  The other male cocked his head to the side and sent Eamon an assessing look. “I just want to ensure she’s not being forced to do anything she shouldn’t have to.”

  Chapter 14

  Behind Eamon, Caralyn inhaled sharply, and he almost cursed the perceptive tree elf in front of him. He didn’t care who or what the blond was. To be questioned in this way was unacceptable, especially by a driade.

  Eamon clenched his hands so he didn’t smash one of them into the elf’s maw. “I have not hurt her.”

  The blond driade snorted. “Yet.”

  Wrath settled like a cloak around Eamon, and he made a threatening move toward the blond. Caralyn placed a staying hand on his arm. Flicking his gaze from her, he took in her frightened, wide eyes before she removed her hand. The sight pushed a bit of sense into his head. Though he didn’t fear a fight with the holdout, Caralyn was innocent in all of this. Plus, if the other elf held any clout, it would not be wise to outright battle with him.

  He turned back to the male and narrowed his eyes, hoping for a menacing air. “And what would you know of me?”

  The blond smirked and shook his head as if in disbelief. “You think we don’t know who or what is sent here from Eria?”

  “The king doesn’t banish many of his subjects to Earth, so why would you?”

  A dark look crossed the other elf’s face. “He may not, but I can’t say the same for some of his councilors who dispose of their opponents here.”

  How preposterous. In all his time in Eria, Eamon had only heard unsupported rumors of his people drifting over to Earth. True, some vanished within Eria — or out of it in neighboring realms. But war could account for their disappearance, especially if they had social or military standing. Some had also joined the ranks of his darkindred through forcible conversion.

  Eamon ripped himself from those thoughts. “Talion’s councilors can’t act without his approval, so I doubt this claim of elves being dumped here.”

  “If you believe that, then you’re far less intelligent than I’m giving you credit for. Some of your people, whether banished or not, come to this dimension, son of Baltor.”

  Tension coiled within Eamon. “How do you know who my father is?”

  “As I’ve said, it behooves us to know who comes and goes on Earth. When the father repeatedly appears on our doorstep and then the son happens to be banished here, we have reason for concern.”

  Fear and worry slashed through Eamon, and his knees went weak. His father on Earth? The mere thought was enough to send ice down his spine. Would he never be free of the cold, manipulative elf? On his fright’s heels, denial followed. There was no reason for his father to be on Earth. He hated humanity even more than Eamon did.

  Trying to convince himself he had nothing to be concerned about, Eamon glared with narrowed eyes at the holdout. “It’s one thing to know who my family is, but another to say that my father has been here on Earth. He hasn’t set foot on this plane since he left it many millennia ago.”

  “Are you so sure about that? There’s a rotten Erian who stirs trouble wherever he goes. Except for the brown hair, he looks unsettlingly like you and goes by the name of Baltor. Does that description sound familiar, hmm?”

  Uncertainty gripped Eamon, and his anxiety spiked until it was nearly full-blown panic. His breath quickened, and only with effort could he keep himself from hyperventilating. Why in the Green Mountains would his father visit Earth? His heart and soul belonged to Eria — or more like they were consumed with the thought of gaining more power and prestige there.

  “Do you have any proof of this?” he asked, his voice tight. “And I’d have your name so I know whom I’m talking to.”

  The man gave him a mocking bow. “Kaiden West, captain of the Faerin Midwestern Clans and councilmember of the North American Clans at your service.”

  Caralyn gasped behind him, but he couldn’t allow himself to become further distracted by her.

  Eamon felt his lip curl. “You no longer call yourselves elves?”

  “I thought your kind would be glad we no longer affiliate ourselves with you.”

  Normally, he would be happy about such a happening, but for some reason, it felt like a slap in the face that the spirit changers didn’t want to call themselves elves. “You may be a lesser branch, but you’re still elvin.”

  “So kind of you to remember. Rest assured, we remember our beginnings.”

  “It was the beginning of the end for your immortality.”

  “But we gained something much more wondrous, didn’t we? And you ‘pure’” — Kaiden curled his fingers into air quotes — “elvin folk can’t stand that, can’t stand that we can do something you can’t.”

  The other elf’s words sent Eamon’s fine control careening over the precipice. He’d done so much, sacrificed so much, for his people, and to hear them mocked this way ... With fury propelling him, he flung himself at the smug bastard, but Kaiden was ready.

  They grappled for a moment until Eamon landed a hit to the driade’s cheek. The satisfying thud of his fist against skin and bone made him smile. He ignored Caralyn’s cry of horror. But when Kaiden decked him in the stomach, that grin fled, along with his ab
ility to breath.

  Rage boiled in his blood that he’d allowed the cretin to touch him. While he wasn’t Eria’s top fighter, there were still few others who were better. Only Andrian, Relian, the prince, and the prince’s friend, Kenhel, the commander of the king’s guard, could claim that honor.

  Renewing his plan of attack, Eamon whirled around before Kaiden could punch him again. Once he was behind the other elf, he swept his leg out and knocked the holdout’s feet from underneath him. Kaiden growled as he hit the ground, and green flashed over his skin. But the holdout didn’t transform into his spirit form. If he did, it would make him nearly twice as strong as he was right now. That he stayed in his elvin body was a small blessing because Caralyn would panic even more than she was likely already doing. Though Eamon had fought enough spirit changers to know their tricks, a human would probably be terrified of someone who could adopt some of the attributes of a tree.

  He spared her a brief glance. She huddled against one of the brick walls, face pale even in the dimness of the alley. That glance cost him, though. Kaiden rallied and seized by the ankle to yank him down.

  Caught off-guard, he fell on top of the other elf, knocking the breath out of them both. Kaiden’s hands went for his neck, undoubtedly to render him unconscious. At the first touch, Eamon couldn’t contain the cringe that stole through him. Panic held him paralyzed. That was one place no one touched, ever. Except for Caralyn, some treacherous voice whispered. Even that thought wasn’t enough to stop memories of pain and degradation from burning through his body like a physical fire. Of hands clutching at his throat, always demanding, and a mouth that was always taunting and loved to inflict pain whether through words or sharp teeth.

  The feel of Serrina’s hands on him crawled over his skin and sparked his fury. He’d escaped her and her physical, mental, and sexual torture. He’d never go back.

  Snarling, he pried open the fingers squeezing his neck and then head-butted the bitch. A low groan sounded from the whore. Raw satisfaction flowed like water over him. The hellcat needed to die again, and this time he’d get the pleasure of doing it. Hands attempted to push him off, but he would have none of that. She’d never control him again.

  He slammed her head against the pavement. The crack of her skull hitting the ground bought a cruel smile to his lips. A feminine voice called out to him to stop. Up through the recesses of his mind floated the knowledge that it wasn’t Serrina’s musical yet grating voice. He cocked his head to the side, trying to place why this voice brought a sense of warmth and security to his shriveled heart. A name rose to the surface. Caralyn.

  That name, plus another deep moan — this one decidedly masculine sounding, ripped Eamon from the past and dropped him into the present.

  Blinking, he stared at the person beneath him. Serrina’s features faded away in his mind and only left the pain- and anger- filled face of Kaiden, who was bucking to get him off. A large part of Eamon’s rage died, and Kaiden managed to pin him down. That brought Eamon back enough for him to get his bearings.

  Gritting his teeth, Eamon sought to force the other elf away from him. By the Mystics, the holdout was strong. But not more so than he was. Soon, Kaiden was lying on his back. Eamon rolled onto his side. Muck and wetness leached into his clothes, causing more fury to crash through him.

  He jumped on the holdout. A blow sliced across his cheek, ripping a snarl from his throat. That had left a cut, courtesy of a ring flashing on Kaiden’s finger. The holdout would pay dearly for that.

  Eamon reared up and smashed his fist into the elf’s nose. The holdout groaned. Blood sprayed against Eamon’s face, and he grimaced. Though long accustomed to gore upon his person, it still was vaguely disgusting.

  One of Kaiden’s hands came up to cup his nose. He pushed himself up to sitting. “You bastard, you broke my nose,” he said, his voice nasally.

  “You were trying to choke me, and you sliced my cheek,” Eamon spat out.

  “I wasn’t going to strangle you, though I should’ve. And the cut was a lucky byproduct of the hit.”

  “I should’ve broken your whole face.”

  Still holding a hand to his face, Kaiden fished in one of his pockets with the other until he withdrew a handkerchief. The holdout flinched as he pressed the material over his crooked nose. Then he pinned Eamon with a scowl. “The nose was quite enough. My girlfriend is going to freak, thanks a lot.”

  “So you’re whipped by a female? Why am I not surprised?” Eamon rose, wincing. That blow to the stomach still smarted, as did his cheek.

  “And you aren’t?” asked Kaiden, sending a significant glance at Caralyn, who was staring at them as if they were insane.

  “She’s helping me, nothing more.” The lie felt sour upon his tongue, but he wouldn’t give the holdout any information, any perceived weakness, to use against him.

  Kaiden snorted. “I can smell you all over her. That kind of scent only comes from sexual activity.”

  A dismayed gasp came from Caralyn. “Wha..what? You can smell that?”

  Caralyn sounded so vulnerable, it twisted something in his chest. He sent Kaiden a keep-quiet-or-die look. “We can. Our senses are sharper than a human’s.”

  “Oh,” she said flatly.

  The ringtone of a cell rent the silence, and even Eamon jumped. Kaiden fished his phone out of his coat pocket and, when he looked at the screen, groaned.

  “So busted,” he muttered. After jabbing a finger at the cell, he lifted it to his ear. “Hi, love. No, no, I’m okay, though I know I sound funny. Yes, I know I’m late, Ashlee. I’m attending to Clan business, but I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  The voice on the other end talked for a length of time before the holdout said, “Love you. Gotta go, bye, honey.”

  Kaiden clicked off the call and sighed, pocketing the phone. He threw a glare at Eamon. “Help me up, will you? I’m a bit dizzy, thanks to you.” Holding out a hand, he stared expectantly at Eamon.

  Eamon rolled his eyes. “You’re such an imbecile.” But he leaned down and helped the driade to stand. After all, the holdout was in worse shape than he was. He couldn’t help smiling at that.

  Caralyn made a choking sound, and both he and Kaiden looked at her. If possible, her eyes were wider than before, and she clasped a hand to her mouth.

  An unfamiliar surge of concern assailed him. He didn’t like the sensation at all, but he couldn’t stop the question from popping out. “What is it, Caralyn?” As if his feet had their own free will, they moved him toward her.

  “Y-you two, do you know each other or something?”

  Eamon frowned and stopped a few inches from her. “No, why?”

  Kaiden’s response was the same. “Never saw him before tonight.”

  “The way you two are acting doesn’t make any sense,” she said, shaking her head, dismay clear on her pretty features.

  Eamon wasn’t sure how to answer that, so he glanced at the holdout, who was futilely brushing at his blood-stained coat. Then Kaiden shrugged in a sheepish manner. “After the tense introductions, we were just letting off some steam.”

  That sounded about right. Eamon nodded. “He’s correct.”

  She glanced back and forth between them. “You two are insane. You were pulverizing each other in order to release a little steam, as you call it?”

  Well, put that way, it did sound ridiculous. Even though he was sore, he did feel more rejuvenated, however. Sex and a good fight would do that. Eamon sent Caralyn a grin. “It’s a male thing, I guess.”

  “Apparently,” she muttered.

  Kaiden gave them both a curious look before he turned to Caralyn. “So how did you two meet? You said something about him rescuing you. That doesn’t seem like something he’d do.”

  Really, he was standing right here. “Thank you for your kind character analysis,” Eamon said drily.

  “I call it as I see it.”

  Caralyn blew out a breath. “Okay, why not? I’m already in Crazy Land. I found h
im flat on his back on a patch of ice in a local park. He threatened. I ran. But I met someone creepier than he was, and he saved me.”

  Eamon almost cringed at her little tale. Did she have to describe him in such unflattering terms? The holdout’s brows kept rising higher and higher.

  “Interesting,” Kaiden said.

  Eamon couldn’t allow her to only give her side. “Hardly. She discovered me at a weak moment. Being a stranger is this land has been ... difficult. But I couldn’t allow harm to come to her.”

  Kaiden grinned. “The whole reason for banishment is to ensure discomfort. It wouldn’t be much of a punishment if it were easy.”

  Good point. “Be that as it may, I couldn’t dismiss my good fortune by turning away from it.”

  Caralyn shot him a cross look. “Now I’m an ‘it?’”

  “Only in the sense you were part of my good fortune.”

  “Part? I think I’ve been all of it so far.”

  Kaiden’s chuckle practically reverberated off the alley’s walls. Then he recoiled at the pain that laughing apparently caused to his nose. “You two argue as if you’ve been together for some time.” He shook his head. “While I hate to hit and run, my girlfriend is expecting me, and I need to try to clean up a bit first.” He aimed a warning finger at Eamon. “I’ll be watching you.”

  “I’m quaking.”

  “You should be. And remember what I said about your father. It’s not mere idle talk. I think if you do some rooting around, you’ll find he’s involved in things no Erian should be.”

  The warning rekindled Eamon’s doubts — and fears. With steely control he shoved the apprehension away to a distant part of his brain, where it could be dealt with later, if at all. “If you are correct and he’s been here on Earth, then I know he’s been up to no good. Like father, like son, as the humans say.” He smiled thinly at Kaiden and Caralyn, the latter who watched him with anxiety in her eyes.

  Kaiden’s mouth compressed into a thin line. “That’s reassuring. And he hasn’t merely been to Earth. He’s here right now. And I have the video footage to prove it.”