Betrayal (4 page)

I walked slowly pouting my lip out and biting it in a pattern as I padded heavily towards my room.  I was inside the door and bending to sit on the bed and close my eyes for a measly solid second to release tension when the door creaked open.  Ian closed it and stepped just inside but didn’t come to sit beside me.

He seemed to offer only silence, so I set about sorting the velvety pillows across my bed to appear busy.  Futile, but it kept me from returning to the burning eyeful he was giving me.  I gave up and opted for starting the conversation with my own needs.  Trying to de-stress him before my reservations were voiced, I told him about my persuasive mojo moment with the Nyms.  I expected him to be complimentary but it came back as a warning towards
using my magic
.  I questioned it and also asked why I never see any of them use the fabulous gift as defense.  Interesting enough, his warning was an unspoken rule among the courts and other groups that one refrained from forced magic if understood that the other refrained also.  An agree to disagree kind of thing where both parties acknowledged their strengths and leave them at home.  Like knowing karate and not having to use it, it's there if needed but not used I'll-manneredly  I wasn’t sure I was ready for that kind of agreement just yet, but I didn’t want to test my theories if it was a possibility that I might end up a Fey queen shish-kabob. 

“What is your purpose in meeting with him?”

His solution would always be to run and hide me from the world.  His world.  All worlds, I think.  Me safe equaled his peace.  I got that.  It’s just, I wasn’t always a sit and wait kind of girl.

I suddenly
got
his mind.  I knew what he was afraid of.  “Ian, I only want to know his involvement.  If the Nyms acted without him, he will retaliate against them also.  He doesn’t trust them either.”

This was a revelation for him.  He didn’t know that Kin didn’t even trust his own neighborly companions to bath and dress me. 

“And this is all?”

He was still fishing.  “Ian, I have no secrets with you.  You choose to keep things from me and therefore I choose to leave out details to keep you from destroying any creature who dares speak to me.  I get your  “Protect Grace” mentality and even cherish it, but I do not want any communication with Kin or his court without you heading it or representing me as a team.  If Kin wants anything from me, it’s within reason that he includes you in the deal.  I made this clear to him.”

He exhaled loudly, tightened his fists. 

“Why do you still doubt?”  I wanted to know.  I
had
to know.

“Because I still don’t know what happened while you were with him?”

Ding-dong!  We have a winner folks.  That is a sticky story for the lost records of Grace.  I didn’t want to upset him with
those
stories.  I’d been stupid to let Kin take me in the first place though I learned a great deal about Kin, his court, the Nyms, and the Fey world in general.

“What do you want to know?”  I had no super powers to blink my dumbstruck eyes and have this over with even if I still felt like there was something behind his words that had him torn.  It didn’t feel like the jealous boyfriend anymore.  It was something more...prophecy-like.

“I’d rather you just tell me everything now and get it all out there so I can move on and know my girl is safe with me and will never be taken.  Not knowing the details allows me to think he has the ability to take you again.”

I tried to tell him once.  He shut me up. My girl minded self-thought he might have thought that he was letting his mind meander down alleys of “what if” with Kin, but really he was thinking about me being whisked away
again
.  Or both.

“Sit down,” I asked him.  He didn’t sit completely close to me, but near enough I could feel his warmth.  “Kin was all but nice.  He had breakfast made for me, omelets.  We talked a lot about his life before and why he suddenly had a fast change in lifestyle that didn’t involve evil villain plotted twisty stuff.”

Ian interrupted, “And that was?”

I rolled my eyes to hide the affect it had originally made on me, “That I was the reason.”

Ian tiffed in the air.  I continued before he could say anymore.  “He sent me to dress in private with a key to his room.”

He raised his eyebrows.  Both of them.  I took the opportunity to pull out the key that was tucked neatly in my jeans pocket yesterday and today hung low in my neckline for safe keeping.  No need anymore.  “You can take it.  I saved it in case it might come in handy one day.  Having the key to the enemy’s lair seemed a possible advantage.”

He pressed it tightly into his shirt pocket and narrowed his eyes at me.  His lips were pressed firmly in, and I wanted so badly to kiss them and pucker them out.

“We danced outside by the bonfire and talked more.  Then we went inside to sit and drink champagne.  I fell asleep and returned the next morning.”

“And nothing else?”  Ahhh!  He did have harboring feelings towards what else might have happened. 

“Nothing in a way that considered him too close to me other than the dancing if that is what you mean.”

“Yes, that is exactly what I mean,” he punctuated every word carefully. 

His eyes almost felt like they separated the air with the same rage he showed me in the meeting room sending out chilling waves of a dark fear.  I feared the wrath of ever making him truly angry.  His irritated gaze circled my face for more answers, “And the second time you went with him?”

Attempting to sound dispassionate as ever and failing miserably I said, “We went to his court and met the king, danced, and I slept.  I went as his female slave covering my face and guarding my thoughts.  I wasn’t happy with the choice.” My heart stammered along with my words revealing my denial in believing it myself.  His even darker stare turned to fire squeezing my insides with his pain.

“What kind of slave?”

He knew there were different kinds?  Is he insinuating that there are still some and that they would be represented?  “One who stays with him all the time is what I gathered?”

“Like a concubine?  Really, Grace.  How could you let him do that?”

Who says words like that?

“What?  Like I had a choice Ian.  He took me.  I was suddenly standing before the King of Insane himself when he announced this.  Could I deny it and give myself away?”  The way Kin just switched his character status to make the person he was with happy disgusted me.  Like his transmogrification would make him appealing one day and not the next.  Maybe to his father, but not me.

Ian scoffed and crossed his arms in manly—fire breathing dragon—mode. 

“I was cornered.  He put me on the spot with the enemy of enemies standing before me.  I went with it.  Besides, it was the only way he could keep me safe.”

“KEEP YOU SAFE!  Is that what you think he does?”  Ian stood and paced letting his body hide the silent screaming match he really wanted to befall on me.  It was his trademark move.   That’s just what he does.

“Yes!  I was there.  I couldn’t just walk out.  And any other slave duties would have warranted me to be in the kitchens or elsewhere.”  He breathed so rapid I thought I might need to get him a little brown bag to blow breathes into. 

“And hulling up in his private rooms I’m guessing was a better alternative that allowed those trash to think my girl freaking shacked up with that as—“

“Ian.  STOP!  Listen to yourself.  I didn’t shack up with him.  He stayed on his side of the room only covering me with a blanket and keeping watch the entire night.  He—“

“Grace!”  He was breathing hard enough his face had turned solid red and his Frankenstein bolts were steaming.  He grabbed his head as if I’d forced him to, but I know I wasn’t the cause of this.  Well, magically that is.

I stayed still till he looked at me. 

“Grace, don’t ever leave me again.”  I forgot how to breathe again and again, each and every time he said my name in that unraveling meant for only me way.  No one said my name like he did.  He caressed each letter of the word with his lips like they had a message all their own.  With that one word, all thoughts of rectifying the situation fell away.  They didn’t matter.  He didn’t try the usual placating me into submission, he was angry and scared.

Oh, yes my beautiful gorgeous hot man in my world.  Never!  I nodded.  The worst was over.  He knew everything else.  His pent up release finally came when his chest moved up and down in one final deep pull, making him shudder into my arms with a sadness I didn’t like seeing on him. 

I would never leave him.  Like a roaring river never to be tamed, his beast could push the limits and come back down in a single moment and I’d be there.

He looked down at the empty bed and told me to pack.  I asked him for something else instead.  He avidly complied and allowed Danella to move around us while she packed.  Danella was a rock in my foundation.  She gave us more than she gave herself.  

As I sat there with his arms completely wrapped around me in a state of temporary utopia, I thought back to Kin and his actual itinerary for the two days I’d been with him.  He’d been nice, but he’d hoped to woo me into leaving Ian.  Wouldn’t happen!

“Where has Pike been going every night?”  I overheard the two of them in the meeting room discussing Kin and some of his recent questionable quests.  Kin has been secretly going to the edge of his own court and obtaining information pertinent to the court from the Unseelie guards.  Pike hadn’t figured the reasons why yet according to his response. 

Ian walked beside me and only paused a second before unflappably saying, “You’ll have to ask him.”

And he wanted me to actually do that?   Fine! 

I stopped at the tree in passing and held my hand out to the bark.  When Pike was a step away I fell in with him.  Ian’s tight fisted stride stayed three feet ahead of us.  They both made my nose itch with their scents taking up too much space in the air.  Sometimes I wish I could rub myself in flower dust to hide their gloriousness.

“Where are you going at night?” I smoothed out the front of my traveling skirt to have something to fidget with.

“Away.” 

Okay!  We haven’t talked since the time with Lorah.  The funeral was postponed till three nights from now.  How can they wait that long?  Didn’t know!  Didn’t ask!  Didn’t want to think about it.

“Away as in went to your neck of the woods, went to Disneyland, what?”

He leaned into me, focused his eyes evenly while walking and then just as fast averted his eyes to my neck.  I first thought to slap him, then I realized what he wanted me to do.

What Pike?
  I blocked and talked and opened the lines of communication to him while ushering him in the right direction.

Are you sure it’s blocked?

Debatable.  I turned sideways to Danella and Ian’s direction keeping a steady pace in front of us. 
Pike, stop kissing me!

No one jerked around in any kind of sudden crazy frenzied way so I told him,
sure as sure can be
.

He rolled his eyes and smiled at me, genuine and sweet.  Wow!

You need to do that smiling stuff more. 

We’ve been over this, Beautiful.

Fine.  Where were you?
  He wanted to evade the question most important to me.  For all I knew, he was off foraging in the woods for a girl to
mate
with.

I found my mother.

When I thumped against the tree stump with a thud and landed on top of Pike, I knew before my eyes opened the outcome wouldn’t be good.  Utter shock always seemed to bring out my klutzy side. Ian was there to pick me up faster than the speed of light off of Pike’s rock hard chest and outstretched arms that he forcibly held above his head.  Pike had taken the brunt of yet another fall for me.  Both of these men had.

Did I mention the Fey men were very fast?  Really, super fast.

When I stood again feeling disheveled and frustrated at my own clumsiness, yet registered that only I breathed heavily among the rest.   I used the old finger in the air trick to hold them off a little while longer.

Mother, Pike.  But she’s dead.

I thought so too.
  He stood on the other side of Ian now looking off into the woods.  Ian knew what I was doing, I just knew it.

Where is she?
I was sure the color had drained from my already too pale face.

Not good, but I will avenge where is needed.

And you’re not going to tell me where?

Not yet. 
Pike faced me somehow from the side where he stood, the muscle in his jaw worked silently under his skin.

But you will?

When the time is needed.

You were never so full of riddles before.

You were never so very far away from talking to me as you have lately.

I unexpectedly laughed out loud.  I couldn’t help it. Ian caught on to what I was doing or at least acknowledged it.  My dang traitorous mouth always gave me away.

Does Ian know?

Yes!

“Pike told me.”  I was bitter that he knew and I didn’t, but at the same time it made a little pride swell up inside because just maybe they could be friends again. Ian nodded solemnly and took my arm forcing me beside him for the rest of the way.  He let me talk to Pike in “private” but he didn’t like it.  Why did he let me?

We arrived and settled for the drizzly night.  With the moon hanging low in the sky like a sleeping kitten on its back, I turned to the sounds of the soft patterned rain.  The waterfall looked as it always had with friendly singsong from the water and chattering Fey crowds working endlessly around the camp.  I enjoyed the vortex of creatures that made up its jovial illustration even under rainfall.  Pike was welcomed with cheers and arm salutes.  Ian nodded to a few warm smiles and salutes, but kept beside me more than anything.  We stayed in a larger tent than a year ago when Pike left us with accommodations of less than adequate space for a non-married couple. 

The inelegantly laden tent allowed for the two of us to sleep and have a storage area.  Of course, I didn’t complain on the sleeping arrangements, but did however glance at Ian when the guards led us to one tent only.  The furtive lack of expression from the guard who didn’t hesitate as he sent us into the darkness with one candle to burn irked me, but I let it go.

All prudence and innocence aside, the night was restful and sleep captured us both instantly.  Our guards stood at post and Ian’s arms held me safe till daybreak.  I woke early opening just one eye to see if he was still sleeping.  His arms were stretched out beside me, void of any clothing and pulled behind his neck.  He scent was everywhere, earthy and tantalizing strong.  Concentration on getting the extra hour of sleep I could steal was a lost cause.

“Morning, my love,” his voice smoothed over the moving air between us with his choice of words.  They would ever addle my brain with fuzziness.

I closed my eyes again to keep from acting on my relatively recent impulsive nature when it came to Ian.  “Were you watching me?” I said sleepily.

“Always.”  A promise or a threat?  Maybe, both.

“And you slept some, right?”

“Enough,” he smirked with a definite glint in his eye.

“Will you keep the amount of sleep you had to yourself though you have in your head other secrets from me?”  I admonished myself the second the last word left my tongue.

Ian’s face stilled, “Everything I do, I do to keep you safe.”

“Safe for me.  Safe for you.  Safe is relative Ian unless—“

“And you do nothing to ensure your own safety,” he said demandingly dropping his arms from behind his head.

“It’s not as important to me as it seems to you,” I rolled my eyes to hide the fear because really I wanted to stay safe just so I would never lose him.  Lord knows I need him more than I want to admit.  No, I knew it too well and it scared me.

“Your safety is everything to me, Grace,” his voice shook with a husky sound, “If you would consider that I need you to try to be careful a little more, it would ease the pain you cause me daily.  Giving the world we live in a free pass to take the girl I love is not okay in the least.”  He puffed out hot air and it hit my forehead making me ache.

I caused him pain? “Ian, I hate that you worry over me so much.  I mean, I like that you think of me, but really I am fine.”

“No Grace, you don’t see.” Ian turned his face from me so I pitched my hand upward to wing it back to mine. 

“See what?” I didn’t get why he thought I was in such possible danger on a daily basis.  Welcome to the early morning fight for control. A fine wake up.this was.  And I caused it.

“You are the queen of the Seelie court, Grace.  There are those who would not have good intentions…or take you from me,” he said through his teeth.  He hated telling me this.

“Is this because we haven’t,” I paused feeling the fiery skin burn around my cheeks, “been together?”

“Partly,” The dark desire burned in his eyes as they darted to mine.  Oh, I could feel
that
emotion coming in loud and clear.

“So in a matter of safety speaking, we should um, should um, solve the worries of the future king of this court tonight.  Ease his pain!” My words were not eloquent in the least but he followed my line of thinking.

“Grace,” his voice deeper still, “you are not losing the one thing that means more to me than anything a man treasures more.  I will have you, no doubting that, but it will be on the day you marry me and say you’ll be mine forever.”

Whoa!  A very honest, romantic softer version of my Ian was talking.  Why does he make my knees shake?

“I already am,” I un-prudishly mumbled in the other direction as I tried to entice him when I folded backward for a kiss.  No, I loved that he wanted to wait and make it special.  I loved that on the outside Ian was this bad boy imaged hottie and total swoon worthy poetic softie on the inside that only I would ever know.  I think somewhere deep inside there was an inner fire that lived for the idea that I could be so daring and know that the man I teased was in absolute torture from my whimsical ways, yet would still keep my virtue at the top of his listed demands.  What girl wouldn’t think he was perfection with a few stubborn man issues?  Well, they would never find out!

“You are impossible, Grace,” he moved away from me.

“Oh, but you would be bored without my impossibleness.”  I made humor lessen the moment,
for him
.

“Now we are inventing words,” he rolled back into me and his warmth washed over me heating up parts of the unknown.  The heated moment had passed with our playfulness so I forced it down and away.  Very.hard.to.do! 

“Had you listening so intently to my words, didn't it?”  And distracted him from the previous safety conversation too.  I nipped his chin with my teeth.  He shuddered and pressed into me.  

“Grace—“

I hushed his mouth with my finger and whispered, “I will watch my back better and stay safer if that is what you need.  I am learning.  Just be patient.”

His body relaxed into mine.  He nuzzled his mouth into my neck and breathed deeply.  “A man can only be so patient, human or not.”  

***

Ready and standing in the clearing now, I counted the men around me.  Five, six...ten, eleven...fifteen men and little ole’ me!  I wished myself luck and let go of Ian’s hand.

Three of them were Pike’s men.  The rest were from our court.  Well, essentially all were from our court, but I’d learned that the majority of his men had lived at his domain since I came into existence.  Funny how one little detail can make you feel guilty for something you had no hand in, but were every bit apart of. 

“All powerful Grace skills of the mind ready to go to work?”  Ian asked and even mustered a goading smile in my direction and practically singing my name.  The words just hung in the air around it.

“Yes,” I smiled back embellishing the high it put me on.  Needed that!  My Supergirl was screaming to break free.

“Spread some of those skills around.  Let the rest
feel
your power,” Pike smirked sexily right here in front of Ian.

Ian was predictable by now.  He rushed at him just as I spread my hand across Ian’s chest and curled my fingers up on his neck.  “You have a certain affinity for the worst moments to share your witticisms, Pike.”  I popped his name out like it was a bad taste in my mouth returning the opposite favor of using the inflection in one’s voice as ammo.  Dangerous games, these are.  Dangerous men.

“And you have the same affinity for reminding me how I will never level up to what you want.”

Why was he like this right now?  And so blunt?  I still think men mood swing as much as women.  Maybe more.

I started to say something.  Anything to get him focused, but Pike announced with a dry tone like he was unconcerned with the coming company or anything at all, “He’s here.”