Destiny United (30 page)

She wrapped her arms around Marcelo’s waist. “And I won’t
be alone. You’ll be there to protect me. And I happen to know you’re the best
bodyguard there ever was.”

He sighed again and she smiled inside. He was weakening.

“Aila, I –”

She unwound her arms and stepped back, looking him in the
eye. “I trusted you. Now it’s your turn. Show me you trust me too.”

He kept her pinned with his steady glare for a long
moment. She tried not to crumble under the intensity. “Go get your weapons,” he
finally said in a defeated tone.

She smiled and threw her arms around his neck. “Good. I
really didn’t want to have to shoot you in the throat again.”

His brows darted up at the subtle threat and he looked at
Kieran. “Do you see what you’ve done?”

She laughed and went to kiss his cheek but he shifted at
the last moment. He pressed a firm, possessive kiss on her lips while one hand
reached down and gripped her ass. Kieran chuckled and shuffled his feet behind
them.

When he released her she gave him a dry look. “Was that
really necessary?”

“Completely.” The smirk he was clearly repressing made
her smile. He gave her backside a swat when she turned for the stairs. “And put
some goddamn clothes on!”

***

Marcelo stared awkwardly at Kieran. He remained perfectly
still, like a statue, a mysterious smile on his face that set Marcelo on edge.
Weird bloody fae
.

“She loves you,” Kieran said. “You’re very lucky.”

Damn straight. And if you ever touch her again –

“
Traverse
with me.”
Marcelo spun around in the direction of Aila’s voice. “I think I can lower my
defenses. I’ve been practicing.”

 She handed him his t-shirt and boots and he pulled them
on. She must have found Sage’s closet. He was happy to see her dressed in a
pair of sturdy leather pants. Less happy with the low cut white tank top.

“Where are they?” he asked Kieran.

“Here in the Underworld. The Demon Lands.”

Just perfect.

Marcelo nodded towards Kieran. “You ready?”

“Yes.”

He turned to Aila. “I can only travel with one passenger
at a time. I’ll take the prince first then come back for you.”

While he deposited Kieran, he would assess the situation
for himself. If there was any sign of danger, he would break his promise to
Aila and follow his original plan – a chain and Antarctica. As far as the
prophecy; he’d be damned if he let her slip away because a stranger decided,
years ago, that Aila would perform some mysterious miracle to end almost a
millennium’s worth of hatred.

Marcelo kissed her forehead then turned to Kieran.
Placing one hand on his shoulder, the castle around them disappeared and they were
thrown into the middle of a tent camp.

“The big one in the middle,” Kieran said, gesturing with his
head toward a tent taller than the others. “I’ll meet you there.”

Marcelo lowered his voice to a threatening whisper. “If
this is a trap,
fae
, I swear to you I will not
rest until I have your heart clenched in my fist while I watch the life drain
from your eyes.”

Kieran gave him a curt nod, placed a hand on the hilt of
his sword then strode across the camp. Marcelo spared a moment to study the scene.
Rust colored tents dotted one side of the wide field. Deep forest – where
dangerous demons lived – surrounded the valley. Even the fae warriors took care
to stay far from the edges of the woods. Swords clashed where fae men practiced
combat. Archers sat on boulders and logs, stringing bows and sharpening arrows.
Rage filled their blackened eyes, though they murmured in muted whispers. Their
muscles twitched, itching for a fight.

On the other side of the flat, grassy field, ivory tents
were spread across the terrain. The fae stirred on the Seelie side as well. Tension
was thick in the air. Both sides were on the edge of a bloody, violent
disaster. This was last fucking place he’d ever choose to bring his female.

I can’t believe I’m doing this.

He
traversed
back to Aila.
“Are you sure you have to – ”

“Yes.”

“It’s not pretty, Aila. I fear –”

“Take me or I’ll take myself.”

He sighed in resignation. “All right. Let’s go.”

She slipped her small hand in his and looked up at him
with such innocent joy it almost stopped his heart.

“What?” he asked, humbled by her affection.

“Nothing.” She grinned. “I just love you.”

“And I love you.” He kissed her knuckles. “Ready?”

She closed her eyes and nodded. “Shields down.”

He gripped her hand as the castle around them faded, the
familiar chill rippling through him. Seconds later they appeared on the
outskirts of the dusty tent camp.

“You did it,” Marcelo said.

She nodded but her eyes were fixed on the scene before
her. Her gaze darted from dirt-covered faces to the gleaming weapons sharpened
for combat.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, shielding her
from the curious stares, and hurried them toward the biggest tent. The thought
of her lingering among adrenaline pumped males on the edge of war filled him
with dread. As they weaved in and out of the chaotic settlement, whispers
echoed behind them, which did nothing for his growing apprehension. His arm
tightened around her tiny body. He filched a sword from a stash of weapons
leaned up against the side of the large tent.

Around the corner from the entrance he stopped and held
Aila in front of him with hands on her shoulders. “Here is what’s going to
happen. You will go in there and help Kieran work out a peace treaty. If I get
the slightest indication of a threat to your safety, you will do as I tell you
until I get you out of here. Do we have an agreement?”

She smiled. He had used his most grievous tone and she
smiled as if he’d just told her an amusing story. “You worry too much.”

No such thing.

Standing on tiptoes she pressed a soft kiss on his lips.
He ached for more. Maybe there was still a chance he could lure her back to bed
and out of this mess. She pulled away then stepped toward the entrance of the
tent, determination in her long strides. He sighed. There was no stopping a
willful woman on a mission. He supposed he should be thankful the mission
didn’t involve shoe shopping. Perhaps not as dangerous for Aila, but there
were
ways for vampires to kill themselves.

Marcelo and Aila entered the meeting place together.
Anxiety made his muscles twitch. He had no control of what awaited them. If
vampires could have heart attacks, he’d have been writhing on the ground.

“Aila!” Kieran’s voice sounded far too eager to Marcelo’s
ears. She held out her arms to embrace him, glanced at Marcelo then quickly
dropped them. Smart girl.

“Kieran.” She acknowledged him with a diplomatic head
nod. “How can I help?”

Four fae men stood on opposites sides of a wooden table,
casting watchful looks.

“You are Aila the Foretold?” a man with warm eyes, a soft
smile, and an Irish accent asked from behind the table. “The one prophesized to
unite the fae?”

Aila flashed a wary glance toward Kieran, who nodded.
“Yes,” she answered.

A taller fae, dressed in a silver and black modern military
uniform, with dark hair and sharp features stepped around the table. His
advancing pace and clenched teeth made Marcelo pull Aila behind him.

“A vampire protector,” the man sneered, also with an
Irish accent. “Is she your intended?” When Marcelo didn’t answer he looked at
his companions. “And this is where we place our hope? A slip of a girl and her
vampire pet?”

Marcelo tensed to spring but small hands grasped his arm.
Aila’s sweet voice was at his ear. “Let me handle it.”

Aila stepped out from behind him, her head held high. “I
have no proof, only my word. But why would I be here if I wasn’t her?”

In answer he snapped his fingers and a second man,
dressed in the same colors, scurried from behind the table. Both men looked no
older than thirty five though that didn’t fool Marcelo. To hold such high
military positions, they must have been hundreds of years old at the very
least. “Fetch the seer,” he ordered the smaller man, clearly lower in rank.

He obeyed and left through a second entrance in the back
of the tent. He returned moments later escorting a slightly disheveled elderly
black woman in handcuffs.

Aila gasped and rushed to her side. “What have you done
to this poor woman?”

Ignoring her, the sneering man spoke to the oracle.
“Well? Is this the prophesied one?”

She gave Aila a once over before nodding her head.

“There,” Aila snapped. “You have your proof. Now release
her.”

“We have other needs for –”

“Release her,” Marcelo growled.

The fae captor laughed and addressed Marcelo. “Oy.
Vampire, I have hundreds of Seelie fae warriors at my disposal. What do you
think to –”

“General Byrne,” Kieran boldly interrupted. “Is she worth
going to war over?”

The general looked at the oracle. Her chin jutted out
though her hands shook. “Dunne,” the general said, addressing his second. “Take
her back to the portal.”

“No.” Kieran put a finger on the handcuff lock and it
popped open. He tucked the woman’s hand under his arm. “My men will return her
safely home.”

Aila exhaled a sigh and thanked Kieran. The oracle finally
came alive. With her eyes twinkling she leaned in and whispered, “Tell your
sister, Ruby sends her best.”

Aila’s jaw dropped. Ruby was hustled out of the tent and
into the care of one of Kieran’s men before Aila could respond. She looked at
Marcelo.

“James’ friend,” he explained. He recognized her name.
“She worked with him for years to defeat the Dark King.”

Kieran returned empty handed and smiled at Aila. “Now
that we have that out of the way, let me introduce you to my second, O’Ryan.”
He gestured toward the man with the warm eyes who then gave a salute. “Dunne is
second to General Byrne from the Seelie fae court.” Both men gave a curt nod,
more toward Marcelo than Aila. The fae hadn’t caught up to twenty first century
views on feminism. Aila wouldn’t be pleased about that.

“Is it true then lass? That there be Seelie and Unseelie
blood runnin’ through your veins?” O’Ryan asked, warmth flaring to curiosity.

She shrugged. “That’s what I was told.”

“It’s true,” Marcelo interjected. “I’ve seen gifts from both
sides. And she has no alliance with either court.”

The general gestured to Kieran. “She is friends with the
prince, is she no’?”

Aila stepped toward the general. Marcelo didn’t like her
so close to the malicious man but showing a willing partnership was a wise
move. “I’m a neutral party. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Sincerity rang true in her voice. The Seelie must have
heard it too because they moved back to the table, nodding gravely at the
papers that lay there.

“We are negotiatin’ our terms for peace between the
courts,” the general told her. “As you ken, the Seelie were chosen by the gods
to uphold the values of righteousness and expel all that is evil. The Unseelie
practice the dark arts –”

“
Some
of the Unseelie,”
Kieran asserted with a stiff spine.

“We demand for those who have practiced such atrocity to
be executed, their souls damned to hell.”

“We will do no such thing.”

“Then this war is far from over.”

“Wait.” Aila placed herself between the two rising
tempers. Marcelo fought the urge to draw her back. “If you engage in battle,
you
know
you’ll have mass casualties. I’ve felt
the power from both sides. There will be no winner. Only lives lost.”

The general shot her a sharp look. “‘Tis a risk we are
willin’ to take for the good of the world.”

The general lied. The fae didn’t care for the world, only
their own rising empires.

“That’s not all,” she replied. “You’ve heard the
sorcerers are rallying supernaturals to aid them in fighting the Underworld,
right?” Everyone grunted in a shared displeasure. “Then you know they will take
advantage of any weakness. With more than half your military injured or worse,
you have no protection for your kingdom. Your king and queen would be in danger
–”

The general’s face turned a strange shade of crimson. “We
are more than capable of takin’ care of our –”

“From sorcerers, maybe, but what about from vampires? And
werewolves? And even worse, demons? I hear they speak into your mind. Make you
obey their command with a simple thought. Could you protect your royalty, your
women and children, from all of these threats?”

Marcelo gaped.
Where the hell did
she hear about the demons
?
Kieran looked equally surprised. The
general and his second exchanged a meaningful glance.

Kieran shifted then clasped his hands together. “Look. We
can promise to arrange a fair trial for anyone caught using black magic. I
cannot guarantee an execution for the guilty parties, but I do vow retribution.
They will be punished.”

“I want a task force designated to flush these criminals
out,” the general demanded.

Kieran nodded. “Done. And I want justice for the Seelie
that seek their own means of retaliation on our people. You must stop hunting
us.”

“Done.”

Aila beamed. The general looked down at her and one side
of his mouth almost lifted into an unfamiliar smile.

A ruckus outside the tent caught their attention.

A voice boomed across the encampment. “Feck the Seelie!
Lig an cat a itheann tú, agus ithe an diabhal an cat!
”

Kieran let out a low curse. The Seelie leader’s eyes
gleamed with anticipation.

“I do no’ see this as an act of faith,” Byrne hissed.

Aila’s eyes widened. “What is it? What happened?”