Among the Unseen (4 page)

CHAPTER 4

J
ane rolled over and looked sleepily at the clock beside her bed. Ten a.m. She considered going back to sleep for an hour, but then she remembered that Felix was coming over today, and she didn’t want him to find her still in bed—though they’d likely end up back there, anyway. He came over most Saturdays, if he could tear Cedar away from her official duties long enough to make a sidh for him. Jane allowed herself a wide grin as she stretched and sat up, running her hand through her short hair. She’d decided she liked it super-short after losing it all in the fire and then growing it back with one of Brighid’s amazing spa potions. But she’d ditched the dirty blonde as soon as she came home from Cedar’s coronation, choosing instead an ink black—for the time being. Her tattoos had all been burned off in the fire, and she already had appointments booked to get them replaced. Felix had laughed and said she changed her appearance more than Finn, and
he
was a shape-shifter. But he also said it was one of the things he loved about her, and he couldn’t wait to see what she came up with next.

Jane’s grin grew even wider at the thought. No one else in her long history of convoluted relationships made her feel like Felix did. She’d dated some strange guys in her time, but an Irish god took the cake. And even if he hadn’t been a gorgeous, immortal being who could heal wounds with a single touch, she would have been just as smitten. Felix thought everything about her was amazing—not weird, not amusing, but fascinating. They could talk for hours, even though their conversations almost inevitably led to the bedroom…or the living room floor…or the kitchen table. It was as if she were the center of his universe. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this way, and hoped that—this time—the relationship would last.

She headed into the kitchen to make some coffee, and laughed when she saw the note from Cedar. She often worried about how her friend was handling the pressures of royalty, but whenever they got a chance to talk—which was far too rare, in Jane’s opinion—Cedar assured her that everything was fine. Which, of course, just made Jane worry more. She hadn’t been allowed back to Tír na nÓg since Cedar’s coronation. Cedar had made the sidhe off-limits, so she couldn’t exactly have her best friend popping in and out as she pleased. Even Felix’s regular visits to Earth had to be done in secret while Cedar struggled with the question of who should be able to use the sidhe, and for what purpose.

Jane stayed dressed in the negligee Felix had given her, a delicate lavender silk and black-lace number she would never have bought for herself. Still, she had to admit it looked damn good on her. She sipped her coffee and checked her email and social media, while at the same time keeping an eye on the starstone she and Felix used to communicate when he was in Tír na nÓg. She had it wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet so she’d notice right away when it started to glow. Usually he gave her some advance warning when he was on his way, but she liked being surprised once in a while.

Jane was wondering whether she should shower now or wait for Felix when a barely audible knock came from the direction of the door. She paused and cocked her head, wondering if it was maybe at a neighbor’s door down the hall. But then it came again—a slow thump that sounded more like the fall of heavy footsteps than the staccato beats she was used to hearing against her door. She set her coffee cup down and padded over, peering out of the peephole to see who could possibly be visiting on a Saturday morning. She knew it wouldn’t be Cedar or Felix—they both traveled by sidh and had a key as backup. At first, she saw nothing. Then she noticed a shadow on the hallway floor. From its shape, it looked as though a figure was crouched against her door, just out of sight of the peephole. Her breath caught in her throat and she paused, not sure what to do. She was about to head back to her room for a robe when she heard a plaintive voice from the hallway. “Please,” it said, and the voice—though it was weak and sad—sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine. She quickly undid the safety bolt and swung the door open.

A young man was lying in a heap on the floor. He was wearing strange, old-fashioned boots with block heels and shiny silver buckles, along with faded jeans and a simple black T-shirt that clung tightly to his body. He was crouched so that she could only see the back of his head, a mass of black curls. Her heart rate, already higher than normal, started racing. And then he lifted his head and looked at her, and she gasped, unable to tear her gaze away. Something in the back of her mind triggered a warning, but everything else started to fade away as she continued to stare at him. There was an unearthly look about him; his eyes were black and wide set, he had a pronounced cupid’s bow that drew her eyes immediately to his lips, and his skin glowed like moonlight reflecting off the ocean.

“Please, let me in,” he said. The sound of his lightly accented voice was like sinking into a warm bath. “But don’t touch me,” he continued. “You can’t…touch me.”

“Who are you?” Jane asked once she regained her facilities of speech. “Are you hurt?”

The man struggled to his feet, and Jane put out an arm to help him. He convulsed and moved away, almost falling over again. “You mustn’t!” he said, and she took a step back. He staggered forward into the apartment, and then turned around to face her. Standing up, he was even more arresting. He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and his black T-shirt emphasized the sculpted muscles of his arms and torso. He fixed his gaze on her, and she felt herself blushing. He looked away. “I need to talk to Queen Cedar,” he said. Jane took a step toward him, but he raised a hand to stop her. “Don’t come any closer,” he warned. “They told me you would know how to contact her.”

“Who are you?” Jane asked again. “How do you know about Cedar?”

“We need her help,” he said, then wavered and fell to his knees again. Jane rushed to his side, her eyes wide with alarm.

“Should I call an ambulance?” she said, but he shook his head. “Here, let me help you onto the sofa,” she said, and before he could move away, she took hold of his bare arm and tried to hoist him to his feet. He jerked away from her grasp, and she lost her balance, falling right on top of him. For a moment she just lay there, stunned. Then the most incredible feeling started to flood her veins. It was as if someone had injected a vial of pure sunlight into her brain. She could barely breathe through the pleasure of it. It distinctly reminded her of the one time she’d tried Ecstasy in university. She had liked the feeling too much, and had vowed never to do it again. But
this
feeling…She didn’t want it to stop. She wanted more. She wanted to disappear into the body of the man beneath her; she wanted to join their souls so that no one could separate them.

She felt him twitching under her weight, and sat up. “You,” she whispered. “You’re the one.”

“Oh no…” he moaned, staying on the floor.

“You’re the one I’ve been waiting for my whole life,” she exclaimed. She couldn’t explain the feelings coursing through her, but she knew they were real. Lying on the floor in front of her was the most perfect man in existence, and fate had sent him directly to her. There was no one else in the world, just the two of them.

He moaned again, uttering soft curses under his breath. With effort, he sat up. She reached out to help him, but he snarled at her, “Don’t. Touch. Me.” She stopped, stung.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” he muttered. “The queen. Please, I need to speak with her at once. How can I contact her?”

“Cedar?” Jane asked in a plaintive voice. Why was Cedar always the center of attention? “You want to talk to Cedar? She’s nothing special, you know. I mean, sure, they made her the queen, but it’s really just because her father was king. She’s not even really in charge over there; the Council does most of the work. I don’t think she can help you. Why you don’t tell
me
what’s wrong? I’ll do
anything
.”

He answered her through gritted teeth, as if speaking was causing him physical pain. “No. I need to speak to the queen and no one else. I’m sorry…I warned you not to touch me. I didn’t mean for this to happen. But…if you truly love me, you will take me to her.”

“I
do
love you!” Jane exclaimed. “But I don’t understand why you keep talking about
her
! She doesn’t have anything to do with us! And besides, I can’t take you to her. The sidhe are closed.”

“But they’ve been reopened—at least, that’s the rumor. Logheryman told me you are her best friend. You
must
have a way of contacting her.”

Jane felt hot tears pricking the corners of her eyes, and she began to sob. “Do you love her?” she wailed, her body convulsing.

He ignored her. “What is that?” he asked, his eyes on the starstone attached to Jane’s wrist. “Is that…a starstone?”

“This?” Jane said, tearing off the bracelet. “No, it’s nothing. Just a cheap trinket.”

“It’s glowing,” he said. “Is the queen trying to contact you? Answer it!”

Jane felt panic rising in her throat. She knew what the starstone meant—someone else was about to come between her and the man she loved. “I don’t want to answer it! I don’t want him to come here! He will just ruin everything!”

“He? Who? Another of the Tuatha Dé Danann?
Answer it!”

“No!” Jane wailed, whipping the starstone across the room. “No one will come between us!”

The man collapsed fully onto the ground and covered his face with his hands. “This isn’t happening,” he muttered. She flung herself onto him, wanting to feel that burst of sunlight again. He tried to fight her off, but she was stronger. She was about to bring her lips down to meet his when another person’s voice made her swivel around in surprise.

“Jane?”

Felix was standing in the living room, a bouquet of purple and yellow flowers in his hand, the shimmer of a sidh behind him. The look on his face was one of shock—and betrayal. But it had no impact on Jane, who shifted defensively in front of the man who was splayed across her floor.

“What’s going on?” Felix asked, looking past Jane, who was still in her negligee, to the man behind her. The man started to speak, but Jane cut him off.

“Get out,” she snarled at Felix, rising to her feet. “It’s over between us. I’ve found someone new, and we love each other very much. Now
go
.”

Felix’s face twisted with pain, and his cheeks turned bright red. He tossed the flowers to the ground and opened his mouth to speak, but then he took another look at the figure lying on the floor. He stared at him for a long moment, then walked around Jane and peered down at the man’s face. He let out a long, heavy sigh.

“Hello, Irial,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see
you
again.”

CHAPTER 5

C
edar paused outside the door that led to the common room of her home, where the guests were already gathering for Eden’s birthday party. She had gone from the dungeons to her room so that she could swap her jeans and T-shirt for a light blue gown. She took a deep breath, trying to switch gears from queen and interrogator to mother of the birthday girl.

“She’s telling the truth about Liam,” Rohan had pointed out as they left the dungeons, leaving a guard at Helen’s door. “She didn’t know what he was doing.”

“They’re druids,” Cedar had retorted. “We don’t know what they’re capable of. They managed to get inside Eden’s head, so how can you be sure they haven’t learned how to trick the goblet?” Besides, Helen was definitely hiding something, and she wasn’t going anywhere until Cedar learned what it was.

As she slipped in through the door, the chatter in the room died down and several of the guests took a step back and bowed.

“Stop bowing!” she said, a smile spreading across her face. “It’s a party, for goodness sake!” She wound her way through the room to Eden, who was sitting beside Finn at the head of a long table weighed down with pink and yellow flowers and several trays of food. Friends old and new surrounded them. Finn’s twelve-year-old sister Molly was the closest in age to Eden. The two got along well, and they shared the experience of having been born and brought up on Earth. But Cedar knew that if this party had been held back in Halifax, Eden would have been surrounded by a gaggle of little girls, not stuck in a room full of grown-ups.

“Happy birthday, baby!” she said, giving her daughter a big hug.

“Thanks,” Eden said, but she didn’t look at all pleased.

“Um…do you like the balloons?” Cedar asked her. “I got them from home; I didn’t think they’d have balloons here, and I know you like them.”

“They’re okay.”

Cedar stood up and clapped her hands. “Thank you for coming to celebrate Eden’s seventh birthday!” Everyone in the room cheered and clapped. “Please, sit down and enjoy the food!”

The guests found seats and turned their attention to the feast, loading up their plates. Cedar had asked Seisyll and Riona, who had volunteered to help, to prepare Eden’s favorite dishes. Some of the party guests had never been to Earth, and they were examining the offerings with interest—ham and pineapple pizza, spaghetti with meatballs, and macaroni and cheese. Finn filled a plate for Eden, but she just pushed the food around her plate with her fork.

“What’s the matter, Eden? Are you feeling sick?” Cedar asked, but Eden shook her head. “How were the ponds in the mountains?”

“They were great!” Eden said, brightening up for a moment. “I want to go there again!”

“I’m sure we can,” Cedar answered. “I’d love to see it.”

Eden’s face fell. “Well, it’s kind of me and Daddy’s special place. Would it be okay if just the two of us went there?”

“Oh,” Cedar said. “Of course. I’m sure he’d love to take you again.”

“So, Your Majesty!” boomed a voice to her left. Gorman was looking at her with an air of great amusement. “You skipped out on holding court today—again.”

She smiled back at him, trying to look relaxed. “I’m sorry. Something important came up.”

Rohan, who was seated next to Gorman, laughed. “Your father was the same way,” he said. “Constantly giving his guards the slip to go off hunting, which he greatly preferred to meetings. Used to drive them mad.”

“Not that you ever tried to stop him,” Riona said, giving her husband an affectionate look. “You were as bad as he was.”

“Well, he needed me to come with him so I could close the sidhe, that’s all!” Rohan blustered.

“Mum, where is Felix? He said he’d be back in time for my party,” Eden asked.

Cedar looked around—it was true, Felix wasn’t anywhere in sight. “I don’t know, baby,” she said. “Back from where? Where did he go?”

Eden suddenly looked guilty, and she wouldn’t meet her mother’s eyes. Cedar fixed her with a sharp gaze and lowered her voice to a whisper so that only Eden and Finn could hear her. “Wait a second. Did you open a sidh for him? You
know
you’re not supposed to do that.” She gave Finn an exasperated look. “Did you know?”

“No,” he said, frowning. “It must have been while I was setting up for the party. Eden, I’m surprised at you.”

“He said it was important,” Eden muttered. “I thought it would be okay.”

Cedar leaned close to her, still keeping her voice low. “It’s not okay, not even for Felix. I’m assuming he went to see Jane?” Eden nodded. “He should know better, and I’m going to talk to him. Lots of people are going to want you to open sidhe for them, honey, and you have to say no to them all—even people you know.”

“But he said you open sidhe for him all the time!” Eden protested. “And how else is he going to see Jane?”

“Shh! Felix and Jane are a very special exception to the rule, but you need to let Mummy deal with it, okay? I don’t want you to open any sidhe unless I’m with you. It’s for your own safety. Did you leave the sidh open for him?”

Eden nodded again. “It’s in his house,” she said with her head bowed. Cedar decided to drop the issue, but she planned to have some firm words with Felix later. The last thing she wanted was for people to think they could use Eden as their own personal travel agent.

The conversation around the table flowed easily, and as soon as dinner was finished, Seisyll floated a large pink frosted cake in front of Eden. Seven delicate white candles stood in a circle in its center. “Riona tells me that the custom on Ériu is to light the candles, and then have the child blow them out,” Seisyll said. “Would you like to do the honors, Your Majesty?”

Cedar hesitated for a moment, and then said, “Of course.” She tried to steady her racing pulse. She just needed to focus, to concentrate—and to avoid blowing up her daughter’s birthday party. Slowly, she raised a hand, keeping her eyes focused on the cluster of wicks in front of her. The power built up inside her before flowing through her fingers in a gentle, controlled stream. There was a whoosh and a short burst of flame, and then she dropped her hand and released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. All seven candles were lit, and she hadn’t burned anything down. Finn winked at her from across the table.

“And now we sing!” Riona said, getting to her feet. She led them all in a round of “Happy Birthday,” and the guests clapped as Eden took a deep breath and blew out the candles. As soon as she was done and Finn was serving the cake, Eden looked at her mother and asked, “Can I be excused?”

Cedar frowned. “Already? But don’t you want to have some cake?”

“Can I just take it to my room?” Eden asked.

“What’s going on? You’ve been acting very rude.”

Eden’s face grew dark, and she lowered her head. Cedar drew her chair closer to her daughter’s and leaned in. “What is it, baby?”

Raising her eyes to meet her mother’s for a moment, Eden quickly looked away. “It’s just…I mean, I know you planned this party and everything, but all it does is remind everyone that I’m different from them. The Tuatha Dé Danann don’t
have
birthday parties.”

“They don’t?” Cedar asked. She automatically looked at Finn for confirmation, but he was still passing out slices of cake to their guests. Eden shook her head.

“And all the human food, and the balloons, and everything. It’s not how it’s done here, and I want to be like them. I
am
like them!”

“Of course you are,” Cedar said. “I just thought you might be missing your friends and school and the way things were back home.”

“Maybe I should be, but I’m not. I don’t want to go back. I like it here. And I don’t want to feel like I stick out any more than I already do.”

“Well, what about Molly? She’s in the same situation as you. Maybe you guys can help each other out.”

“Yeah, but her parents lived here, like, forever before they went to Earth. They know
everything
about the Tuatha Dé Danann, and they’ve been teaching her since she was born. She already knows way more than I ever will. And no one looks at her and thinks, ‘Oh, there’s that human girl.
’
”

Cedar reached out to hug her daughter, but Eden pulled away. “Can I just…go now?” she asked. Mutely, Cedar nodded, watching as Eden slipped through the golden door, heading for her room.

Finn returned to his seat. “Where did Eden go?” he asked.

Cedar stared at him. “Why didn’t you tell me that people don’t have birthday parties here?”

He looked taken aback. “Well, I knew you really wanted to do this for her…and I thought she’d like it.”

“Well, she didn’t. And now I feel like an idiot for not picking up on it.”

Finn reached over and covered her hand with his own. “I’m sorry. I should have told you that we don’t really do birthday parties. It doesn’t make much sense when you live so long.”

“It’s okay,” Cedar replied. “I thought she’d like it too. We always used to have a party for her at home. My mum would make a big meal like this and a fancy cake—one that would take all day just to frost. But I should have asked about the customs here. I know how badly Eden wants to fit in.”

Seisyll, who had apparently overheard their exchange, patted Cedar’s arm and said, “Don’t worry too much about it. Eden’s just trying to figure out who she is. Eventually she’ll learn to celebrate her human upbringing
and
her identity as a Danann. She just needs to sort it out.”

Cedar gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks. Sometimes I feel like she’s seven going on fourteen. One second I’ll see her clutching one of her stuffed animals from home…the next she doesn’t want anything to do with Earth. I feel like I’m walking on eggshells trying to figure this out.”

“I’ll go talk to her,” Finn said, standing up. “I know for a fact that some of her presents are very unhuman—maybe that will convince her to come back to the party.”

Before he could leave, they were interrupted by the arrival of one of Cedar’s guards, who had been stationed outside the house. “Pardon, Your Majesty, but there is a boy at the door who says he must speak to you. I told him to leave, but he insists he has an urgent message.”

Cedar stood up, intrigued. “Of course,” she said. “Send him in.”

A moment later a thin boy with a shock of curly red hair stood nervously in the entranceway. He looked to be about ten years old, and Cedar wondered idly if Eden had met him. He was breathing heavily, as if he had just run a great distance.

“I have an urgent message from Toirdhealbhach, the healer,” the boy said once she reached him, his voice hushed. “He begs you to come to his house at once. He says your friend, the human, is in great danger.”

The room was silent, and Cedar wondered if anyone had overheard him. The boy looked around nervously. Cedar drew closer and knelt down. “Jane?” she whispered. “She’s here in Tír na nÓg?”

The boy nodded, then whispered back, “She’s at his house. He sent me to get you.”

Cedar stood up quickly, and then raised her voice to address their guests. “Sorry for the interruption, everyone, but it seems I have to step out for just a minute. Eden’s taking a little break, but she’ll be back to open her gifts. Please, stay and enjoy yourselves! I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“You’d better come with me,” she said to the boy. She motioned for Finn to join them and ducked through the doorway that led to the inner rooms.

“What’s going on?” he asked as soon as the door closed behind them, giving the messenger a curious look. Cedar told him what the boy had said.

“Can you come with me to close the sidh that Eden opened to Jane’s place?” she asked. “I still think it’s a good idea for you to talk to her after that. She shouldn’t be alone right now. I’ll stay with Felix for a while to see what’s up with Jane.”

Finn nodded. “Do you know what’s wrong with her?” he asked the boy.

“No, sir,” the boy replied. “Only that I was asked to come here and tell the queen that her friend was in danger.”

“It must be bad if Felix brought her back here,” Cedar said. She frowned as she opened a sidh that led just outside Felix’s house. “It’s okay,” she said to the boy, who was looking at the glimmering patch of air with alarm. He and Finn followed Cedar through the sidh to the cluster of boulders that concealed the entrance to Felix’s house. Cedar pressed on a round stone, and one of the boulders slid away to reveal a curving staircase. The air around them grew brighter as they descended, and she could hear the boulder sliding back into place at the top of the stairs. The first time she had visited Felix’s house, she had laughed and called it the “man cave,” although it was certainly more spectacular than any cave she had ever seen. The walls were smooth slate gray, and the rooms were all airy and expansive.

The still-open sidh to Earth was visible in the front room of his house, shimmering in the air. Finn walked over and closed it with a wave of his arm. Then he gave Cedar a tight hug. “Good luck,” he said. “You take care of Jane, and I’ll take care of Eden. Hopefully we can do something to salvage her birthday.”

“Okay,” Cedar said. “Keep me posted.” Finn headed back up the staircase to let himself out.

The messenger boy was still hovering nearby. “He’s back here,” he said, and Cedar followed him toward what Felix called his “halls of healing,” a labyrinth of small rooms connected by silver doors and glowing white hallways. According to Felix, it had been built by his grandfather, Dian Cecht, one of the Elders. Felix’s mother, also a healer, had added on several rooms, and Felix had been refining each of the rooms’ special abilities. Some rooms increased relaxation, others numbed pain, and still others lowered the body temperature or had anti-inflammatory properties.

The hallway was illuminated by floating orbs of light that drifted along the ceiling. The boy stopped so suddenly Cedar almost ran into him. “He’s just in there,” he said, pointing to a door on the left that was open a crack. He stayed in the hallway while she pushed it open.

The sight in front of her was pure chaos. Felix and Jane were in the center of the room. For a split second Cedar thought she’d walked in on a personal moment again, but then she realized that Felix was trying to restrain Jane. Her hair was plastered to her head, and her face was red and shining with sweat. She was fighting him as hard as she could, straining toward the bed in the corner, where a young man lay supine. “Let me go to him!” she was yelling in a shrill voice.