Betrayal (11 page)

Pike stop fighting back.  “You want to kill me, go ahead.  I can’t stop it no matter what you do to me.  She is who and what she is and I am who I am.  That doesn’t change no matter what you do to me.”

What he is?  He is not just Pike.  What else is he?

Ian jumped off him and jerked my hand across the garden taking two steps at a time.  Blood flew from his busted knuckles as we flew through the court with every single eye watching every single step we took.                I looked back only to see Pike spitting blood on the ground and smearing it accidentally across his chin, his glare itching for another go at it. When Pike was hit, it was like he was raging for more.  But when Ian was hit, he just wanted to stop it before it escalated.  They were two kinds of fighters.  I never fully got this notion until now.   We were in his room and the door was locked before I could think to say one word. I had no idea what just happened.

“I’m sorry I followed him into the woods. I just wanted to know he was safe too.”

He didn’t answer, just walked into the bathroom and washed his hands.

No more stinking emotional bumper cars for me.  I was officially closed in that department.  Never again would I open my mind and search others for their feelings unless detrimental for our people.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” I said low and sad.  Whatever
this
is!

He dried off and wiped the blood with the towel that remained, pinching the bridge of his nose.  He really was that out of sorts.

“I had Rion with me.”  I was searching for the words that would soothe him.

He bent over the sink with his face down, his hair covering his eyes and hiding his face from me.  Both fists where white knuckled and tinged with cuts and blood.  He still wouldn’t speak and it was making me desperate.

“Talk to me Ian.  You’re killing me.”  G.I. Ian was not playing nice. He was so angry.

He pushed off the sink and clambered over to me in a hurry.  He folded around me and pushed me back against the wall where we’d been before caging my body in the possessive manner he always did as he leaned his forehead against mine.  He didn’t speak.  Didn’t move at that point.

I took a different angle and let my hanging arms wrap around him.  Eau de Ian came in with the breath I took.  I cinched my fingers into the back of his neck and twisted his hair into them feeling the wetness of blood or water, I didn’t care.  My other hand reached downward offering,
needing
something more.  I tugged his shirt up and in went my hand to his searing hot skin like hot coals of fire.  He melted at that, pointedly pinning me to the wall like the picture frame beside me.  Crushed and losing my breath, I held him tighter and waited.  He was so upset about me going with Pike.  I didn’t understand it.  It’s the whole AM and FM signals I used to label him with.  Just when I had guys figured out, they stumped me once again!

“Why are you upset I followed him?  I just wanted to know where he was going and I took Rion with me and no one was around when I caught sight of him—“

He lifted his head a little and sealed his mouth on mine.  Guessing my words were apology enough I gave in.  The urgency in his kisses felt like he was trying to stake a claim or something.   He needed me, that much I knew.

He let my lips go leaving them swollen and numb, but stayed too close to my face for me to see him. “I need you more than even that Grace.  I am staking my claim.  And I am severely angry, but not at you in particular.  You will not follow any more men into the woods even with a guard. That much I can make you fairly certain of.  I don’t want you near Pike
ever
again.”

“Ian, that is ridiculous.  What did he do that was so bad?”  He hugged me, yes.   How did he know?  Did Pike show him in his creepy mind control way?  That would be just rude?

“Grace, just do this for me for now.  I need this.”

Okay.  “Alright.  For now.  But he is my friend.  I don’t have many of those.”  I sounded childish again for the second time today.

“Grace, he is not your friend,” his low deep voice was on the edge of bursting with something else.  I had a revelation.  If I’d been a wall, he might have hit it.  He crossed his own lines when it came to me.  He needed to curse and hit things and I was the one exception to that rule.  I could live with that power.  I could be used by Ian. 
No problem!

“I will avoid him for now.  He promised to not be suggestive and inappropriate with me again.  He said he’d be good.” 
              A laugh emerged from Ian so thunderously scary I scooted away from him.  His jaw flexed.  “Oh, Grace.  You think you understand men and then you come out with something like that.  I can read you when you think you have me figured out and sometimes you are right.  But this time, you are not.”

I guess I should probably take him at his word
this time
.  He just reminded me that he could hear my thoughts for the last few minutes since my high amount of emotions were making me an open book. His anger was for something else?   I never once thought to block him. 
Oops!

“Fine.  Done.”  For now.  I wanted to move on from this.  We were going in circles.

I waited for more talk or arguing or demands.  The men around me demand a lot yet I was the dang queen.  Maybe I should make a list of demands. 
Yeah!

Ian took my mouth again and shut my thoughts off.  He might have done it on purpose but care, I did not. 

I let him get what he needed and then he asked me to stay inside the court for the remainder of the day.  I complied before I thought about what I was saying yes too.  Where would he be and what would he be doing to Pike?  I knew this wouldn’t be good.

I captured Sarah and made her walk the court with me in search of either of them.  If I saw Pike, I’d just duck behind her and leave.  I was already skipping my hour in the records room to do this.  Neglecting everything expected of me for the day, I was determined to find either one of them.

NO GO!

I searched for hours.  Sarah whined.  Finally I relented my earlier claim to have no reason why I wanted to find them and sat her down at the end of the table to tell her everything.  She cooed at the Ian lovefest parts.  She was the only one I could trust with my intimate details concerning Ian and me.  I would blush to think others could read her so I put it out of my mind and made her swear to block when she let her mind wander down those paths.

I left out most of the details and just made sure she knew just how heated his kisses were since that was the ultimate part of what she would ask for.  I added the part where Pike hugged me but assured her it was meant in a friendly gesture.  When I thought to mention the glowing eyes she stiffened in her seat beside me.

“What?” I asked.

“Pike’s eyes glowed?” she asked back like a question.

“Yeah, so?  All the Fey do right?  You just can't always see it.”  Why did I get the feeling Pike knew more and didn’t share.

“Um, Grace.  This is bad.”

“Bad?  How?” I swallowed silently but the lump it left was hard and hurt.

“Only the eyes of the one you’re destined to can glow, Grace.  Ian should be the only one you see glowing.”

Oh!
  But I’d seen Lazyra’s glow, didn’t I?  “But what about when I met Lazyra?”  I asked her though she’d not been there.

“She has very yellow eyes. You probably only thought they were glowing.  Her eyes have always been creepy like that.”

Oh!  Crap!
  “What does it mean then?” I feared the worst.

“I haven’t the vaguest idea, but it can’t be good if Ian was that mad about it.”

I rubbed my eyes.

“I know your thinking the worst.”

You know it.

“The eyes,” I mumbled.  That was what he was angry for, not anything else I said.  And he was gone.  And Pike too.  Was he killing Pike right now?  I had the worst thoughts go through my brain. 

Reading me well, Sarah crooned, “Grace, don’t fret.  Ian will figure this out.  Pike is a prince after all and the first one before Ian.  You should give them a break.”

“You’re taking their side?” I balked.

“No, I’m on your side chick.”

“Not if you think I should give
them
a break.”

“Forget it.  I’m neutral ground and not taking sides.  I don’t want either of them to win.  Neither one is good enough for you anyway, prince or not.”

I smiled at her true friendship and loyalty.  At least she was honest. 

“That’s it!” I jumped up.   “That’s it.  Pike is a prince too.  It doesn’t mean anything that it didn’t already except what we already knew.  He just....” What?  Hid it that he could have some of the same pull over me.  Ian often hinted that Pike was an equal to him.  And Pike often suggested that he was first in line.  Something supernatural made Ian think Pike should have a chance. 

“He’s just what?” Sarah squealed as if in pain.

“He is just a prince and equal to Ian but that doesn’t make him able to steal me or anything.  I need to see Ian,” I slammed my fist into the table very uncharacteristically for me.

Sarah followed my foolishness with a thump to the table.  I laughed so loud we drew a crowd.  Several gathered around the table in front and beside us.  Sarah took heart to putting on a show and sang and laughed and goofed some more to settle me down.  I joined in her chorus of singsong since the words she chose were none other from the book she and I both loved so much.  Who would ever have thought to put it to song other than than a playful, always silly a Few girl.  We sang the words of my favorite characters from Pride and Prejudice with such vigor that the room was full and the cheers were loud. 

Standing on the chairs, we swayed to our own tune.  Off key maybe, but we had fun.  I was having so much fun that I nearly forgot that Ian was off dying inside thinking he would lose me somehow to Pike the overbearing heckler.  When Sarah took my hand to stop me from swaying to and fro, I didn’t even seem to notice that the crowd went quiet.

They parted like the Red Sea and there at the other end of the room, stood Ian.  And Pike.

I cracked my voice in a wobbly pattern and felt the tug of Sarah pulling me down from the table at the same time.  Before I was pulled backwards though, I saw the solid gaze in Ian’s eyes that held me in check. 

When the crowd moved away merging into the runway they’d created between us, Sarah poked me from behind.  What’s with the Fey women and their poking me in the back obsession?

I force walked toward the man I knew who at the moment was every bit of showing me mixed emotions he was feeling.  He wanted this—he didn’t want this.  I wanted this—I didn’t want this. Heck, I couldn't even read myself.  To hear him try to convince himself to pick him over Pike was just a silly conversation to ever have, and already been done.

Close lipped and tight fisted as Ian had probably been all day away from me, he said nothing.  Within three or four feet from him he shifted his eyes to the greedy for drama ones around us,mischief suddenly in his eyes.

Pike stepped forward, bowed down to me, and lowered his head. What the holy heck?

Ian stepped adjacent to him, bowed down to me, and lowered his head.

I froze.  I knew in that second what he’d done. 

I opened my thoughts up in the millisecond of time between my two steps that were awkwardly still the midstep that would land me straight between the two. 
Please don’t make me do this?
I begged.

It needs to be done, love.  Choose.

This was the single worst day—no it wasn’t.  What was I thinking?  This was the test of tests.  Pike had to be willing to do this or he wouldn’t be here.  He was allowing me to break his heart in front of hundreds.  I felt for him so much at that point of time.  A single set of minutes that could decide the fate of one.  It wasn’t fair.

What of the betrothing and ceremonies?  Didn’t they count for something?  I could change my mind and choose the other one?  This was ludicrous. 

Done already.  But let it show that I hate breaking his heart.

I didn’t know if they wanted me to grab a sword and place knightly shoulder blade taps or pull Ian up into a mad kissing rage and express my undying love for him in a PDA fashion.  I chose neither and lowered myself to Ian’s front, took his hand sitting on his knee, and pulled him up to me.  He stood staring and waited.

What are you waiting for?

You to decide.

I did.  Long ago.

You have to say it.

I did.

Out loud
.  His faced paled with exasperation and frustration.  Really, he was laughing too, but he hid it.  He was the one chosen, after all.

A little flare for the dramatic side, I stretched the following words long and wispy-like to make my point.

“I, Grace, queen of the Seelie summer court hereby choose Ian, son of Lazyra and son of Ikan as my king and betrothed and long term boyfriend until the day we can marry and not have to worry about such little things as prophecies and court drama to stand in our way.”

Ian coughed at such an outburst but I wasn’t near through.  A show he wants, a show he gets.