Dragon Rage Page 18

  Marcus dropped his head to the floor and was silent for a moment. “I do not know. Only that I did not wish this enslavement and need your help to free myself,” he replied.

  I glanced at the three men surrounding Marcus and considered each of them. “Then your life is forfeit… unless.”

  Marcus glanced up at me with a glimmer of hope. “Unless?” he breathed.

  “It seems to me that Valentine is the crux to our problem here. He threatens me and mine and has managed to lessen you significantly. Eliminate Valentine and you eliminate all of our problems,” I replied casually. “Freed from him, your life takes on new meaning and possibilities.” And then I leaned forward and cracked open my red door again. And this time my desire was a gentle caress that whispered against his skin and through his body, luring him to me. I wasn’t good enough yet to miss those standing next to him. But I was confident their discipline would prevent them from falling on me like wild dogs.

  Marcus, however, didn’t seem to have their fortitude and he lunged at me from the floor, his eyes wild. I merely smiled and turned my back on him, going to seat myself on the edge of the bed while behind me sounds of struggle erupted. Out of the corner of my eye I caught Cursed’s angry look and once again I ignored him. When next I glanced at Marcus he was being held on the floor by one of the guards who had his knee in his back and his arms lifted nearly even with his shoulders. “Prove yourself worthy, Marcus. Do not disappoint me,” I told him; and then to Kit I said, “Send him back to them.” Kit nodded his head and Marcus was suddenly gone. The guard rose gracefully and glanced at me. When they were certain I was looking at them, they all went to a knee and bowed their heads.

  “Messengers? Or have you somehow managed to annoy the Queen and been thrown out of the Sidhe?” I asked dryly.

  “Princess, we have been sent here to serve you upon the Queen’s request,” the one who had been holding Marcus replied.

  “So it’s the latter, eh?” I asked. “Kit could you come down please. It seems they will be here for a while.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You seem not yourself,” he replied softly.

  “Get off.”

  “Yes, Mistress.” He soon materialized on the floor standing on the other side of Cursed. I sighed and brushed my hair back from my face.

  “Come here, Kit,” I told him, ignoring the furtive glances from the three still kneeling on the floor. His face looked raw, the claw marks red and angry. “Are you aware that you are injured?” I asked him, then sighed again when he nodded. “How did you allow this to happen?”

  “Demon and large cat is a potent combination,” he remarked. “But he looks worse than me.” I shook my head and lifted my hand to his neck, closing my eyes and thinking of his perfect dusky skin and the power I required to push my will down my arm out my hand and fingers. When I opened my eyes he was once again whole. That’s nice; though I wasn’t sure I could heal Demon.

  “Leave the alley cat alone for a now. We have more important things to worry about,” I told him. “Is the room back to normal?”

  “It is, except we seem to have increased by three.”

  “I suppose it’s not polite to return a gift from the Queen?”

  “I wouldn’t know, but I would advise against it.”

  “Cursed won’t speak to me,” I told him, ignoring for the moment both Cursed and the other Elves in the room. “He seeks to protect me by acting cold. He hopes that by doing so the others won’t realize I’ve taken him into my bed,” I told Kit calmly and watched as he struggled to hide his smile when Cursed choked and growled. And the buzzing started up again in my head from the three across the room. “What he doesn’t realize is that I’m not ashamed, and as I’m neither mated nor committed, I will damn well take whomever I please to my bed. And anyone that has a problem with that can go right back where he came from,” I finished as Kit moved out of my way and my eyes focused on the three still kneeling on the floor. “Do I make myself perfectly clear?” I asked sweetly. “Shall I have Kit send any of you home?”

  Three heads shook abruptly and I let out the breath I was holding. “Cursed, come here.” Kit moved to the other side of me as I turned toward Cursed. He looked tense and wary but held his ground. “Do not disobey me,” I told him softly and he narrowed his eyes, flashing his pointed teeth at me. “Here!” I told him sharply, my finger pointed at the floor in front of me. And when he held his ground I did to him what I’d done to the box holding Bodark’s key. He jerked, but couldn’t prevent his feet from skidding across the floor toward me until he was standing right where I’d indicated. Quickly muffled gasps erupted from the three still keeling.

  “My Lady, do not do this.” he implored.

  “Do what, Cursed?” I responded, reaching up to brush a lock of hair from his cheek. My palm cupped his jaw and my fingers whispered over the sensitive skin behind his ear. “Care for you? Too late for that,” I assured him. His eyes were nearly frantic and his fists clenched at his sides. “I cannot lose you both,” I told him. And he growled and reached for me, his arms pulling me against his body while his lips crashed down upon mine. I tasted blood and he groaned and held me tighter.

  Several minutes, or perhaps it was hours - it’s difficult to say, later he pulled back from me and rested his forehead against mine. “You should allow them to introduce themselves… the floor is hard, My Lady,” he told me, his voice sounding a little sad.

  I gave him a nod, then leaned into his body and sighed when he slipped behind me and wrapped his arm about my waist. “I am sorry. I did not mean to leave you there so long. Please,” I said, waving them to their feet. My admission clearly disconcerted them because their faces went slack as they stood.

  “I don’t think you’re supposed to apologize,” Kit offered. He’d moved onto the bed and was lying on his side with his head propped in his hand.

  “Hmmm… note to self,” I muttered and Cursed gave me a gentle squeeze.

  “Ah… Mistress,” Kit muttered, pushing himself up to a cross legged position on the bed. “We’re about to have company.”

  “Do not harm them,” Cursed spoke and the three flicked their eyes at him, then at me.

  The door slammed open and Jace stood there with an annoyed look on his face. Gareth pushed in past him and stared first at me and then at the three who were standing, hands on their hilt, their bodies tense. “What did you do to the hall? And where is Amras?” Gareth demanded as he crossed the room and looked at Cursed and then Kit.

  Kit pursed his lips for a second and replied, “Shielded somehow. And he and Owen are in the upper caverns.”

  Gareth sighed and held out his hand for me. Cursed’s arm slipped away and he stepped back. “We need to talk about your attire, and then perhaps about your flute playing,” he muttered as I went into the shelter of his body. Unlike Cursed, he pressed me against his side, effectively blocking the view of my front. “But first, perhaps you should introduce our newest additions,” he urged.

  “I’d love to Gareth, but I have no idea who they are. They appeared at the same time as Marcus, and came from the Queen.”

  “Marcus?” Jace demanded as he came to stand next to me. His fingers caressed my cheek and his eyes searched mine for a moment before he laced our fingers together and turned back to the newcomers.

  “She sent him on his way with a reason for living,” Kit commented, then grinned when Gareth and Jace both widened their eyes while they glanced down at me in question.

  “Kit….!” I growled.

  His laugh was pure evil as he added, “And incentive for knocking off Valentine. Make me proud?” Kit scoffed, and then flopped back on the bed laughing. “Oh that was rich! Should you tire of entertaining us, Mistress, you can always consider a career on the stage.”

  “What is he blabbering about?” Jace growled.

  I winced and leaned my cheek against Gareth’s chest. “I might have laid it on a little thick,” I muttered.

  “Laid what on
whom?” Gareth demanded.

  “Marcus arrived with the others… he started off acting all high and mighty. It might have irritated me a bit so I told him he was a disappointment and that I should kill him myself for the shame he’d caused to us all.”

  “And he bought that?” Jace asked, his eyebrows nearly at his hairline.

  “Well I might have mentioned something about these guys being Elves and them not being partial to fools. I introduced Cursed as the Prince of the Unseelie. It kind of went downhill from there. I may have cheated a little and cracked open my red door… once or twice.”

  “And what were your new friends doing at the time?” Gareth asked softly and I knew I was skating on thin ice.

  “Oh well they were… you know… holding him back and being stoic. Much what you’d expect from the Queen’s hand picked bodyguards,” I told them confidently. “I was never in any danger. Cursed was here and I called Kit to make sure Valentine wasn’t listening in before I suggested Marcus might save himself by doing a little eliminating of his own. It was that or send him to the Unseelie court,” I told them all. “I figure in the Sidhe he’d be free of Valentine but that wouldn’t be any guarantee he’d survive. We couldn’t very well let him stay here and if it hadn’t been for the strange shielding my flute apparently provided him, Valentine would have probably heard every word we said.”

  “So you convinced him he needed to kill Valentine to save his honor?” Jace asked.

  “Something like that,” I agreed.

  “Pardon me,” one of the guards interrupted, and we swung toward him having nearly forgotten they were there. “Princess, did you not mean what you said earlier?”

  “And you are?”

  “Roral,” he replied and bowed his head. He was just a little more muscular than the other two and had chestnut brown hair and pale green eyes. He, like the others, had his hair wrapped and was wearing standard guard black. He was about five eleven or so. There didn’t seem to be anything extraordinary about him aside from the fact that he was as fair as any Elf and seemed to handle his sword well. Oh, and he’d managed to restrain a young hybrid Dragon.

  “And the others?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.

  The man on the left stepped forward and tilted his head. “Lira,” he replied in a deep voice and I took a moment to study him. He had dark auburn hair which had a thin shaved swath over his ears. With his hair pulled back you could see the tattoos that ringed his head, crossing his brow in a several fine lines near the top of his hairline and widening as they went over his ears and around his neck. I did not recognize the symbols. His eyes were two-toned with a ring of brown encircling the outer ring of green and seemed friendly enough. He was taller than Roral by at least an inch and nearly as muscular as Cursed.

  I nodded and glanced at the last man, who stood his ground and barely dipped his head. Uh oh, I thought… this one’s attitude reminded me of my first meeting with Amras. Sighing, I waited patiently for him to introduce himself. “Nolls,” he finally spoke and my eyes took in his light brown hair, icy blue eyes, and pierced ear. Over his cheek was a scar which looked like it would have blinded him had it been just a half inch higher. He was the same height as Roral and more slender, like Amras. On his person I counted at least six knives. There were probably more, I just couldn’t find them without asking him to turn around.

  “Nolls, you seem annoyed to be here? Is it myself or Cursed you find offense with?” Nolls seemed to pale slightly but stood straight, his eyes focused somewhere just over my right shoulder. He pressed his lips together and after several minutes of silence I finally shook my head and added, “You may speak freely.”

  “Nolls and I served together previously,” Cursed finally responded. “He was not on duty the night the Princess fled the Sidhe.”

  I sighed. “Why is it that men cannot place blame where it belongs? Had my Mother stayed where she was told, none of this would have happened! And yet there he stands consumed with bitterness either at himself or blame for you. It is most irritating.”

  “Had the Princess remained where she was bid… you would not be here.” Cursed replied calmly, “Perhaps once Nolls has spent time with us he will come to see that keeping the Princess within the Sidhe would have been a great tragedy. If I myself had known I would be standing here with you now, I would have shoved her out of the door and locked it behind her myself all those years ago.” It was one of the most enlightening conversations I’d ever heard from Cursed and it nearly caused my jaw to drop. Cursed looked chagrined when I glanced at him and he held out his hands palm up.

  We had been sidetracked and I gave myself a mental shake, it was going to take some time to absorb Cursed’s words. I’d have to think that over later, right then I had other things I needed to concern myself with. “Roral, to answer your question… I believe I meant every word I said,” I told him, then sighed when he looked at me as if he was confused. “It is my delivery that is in question. I was… a bit harsh.”

  “And who is this Valentine?” Lira asked, his two tone eyes swinging amongst us.

  “Wait please,” I replied, holding up the hand Jace wasn’t attached to. “Areth? A little help here?” No one spoke while I waited; the three new guards looked curious but said nothing. When she arrived it was in a swirl of black smoke and hair. “Hi there, Areth… it appears we’ve grown by three. Could you add new rooms across the hall?”

  “We heard you play, Princess, and took the liberty of doing so already,” she told me with a twinkle in her eye. “And may I add… I am sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you,” I told her in a choked voice. It took me a moment, but I pulled myself together enough to say softly, “They were sent by the Queen. I did not call them.”

  Areth tilted her head and looked at me from where she hovered about three feet off the ground before me. “It is the music that brings them. Or perhaps it is the emotion behind the music?” She advised, “To lose one you care for is never easy. It seems the Queen offers a token.”

  I bit my lip and struggled to keep the tears from my eyes. “It is hardly a fair exchange,” I whispered, to which she floated closer and laid her delicate hand upon my cheek.

  Areth’s dark eyes were full of compassion and they nearly undid me as she replied, “All is not lost yet. Perhaps it is not reason that will win the day… but your heart?”

  I nodded. “Or I could continue to play until we are overrun by Fey,” I added with a small smile. Her high clear laugh filled the room and she took a moment to glance about it and lifted an eyebrow at me while she smiled and said, “I think you are right, we pretty much were already!”

  Kit leaned over and said, “By the way, love the nightgown.” Areth grinned mischievously then disappeared. Everyone in the room looked at me and I shifted restlessly and felt my cheeks heat up. Gareth made an annoyed sound and the three new men did their best to look anywhere but at me.

  “Ah… who is in charge?” I finally asked, my gaze going naturally to Roral, who was now looking at Cursed. Cursed stood just a little straighter and glanced at Lira and Nolls.

  “We were ordered to report to Cursed,” Roral replied

  My lips turned up in a slow smile as I glanced toward my Goblin and noticed he looked as if he was in shock. He recovered quickly, but about him there was an air of confusion. “Why?” Perhaps my yelling at Mom had made her feel guilty enough to admit the truth and this was the Queen’s way of apologizing. It would be nice to think Mom had wiped his slate clean by admitting he’d never touched her.

  “Princess?” Roral replied, his eyes widening slightly and I remembered I didn’t even have my lower shield in place.

  “Why are you here, why were you ordered to report at all? Your timing is ahead of schedule,” I told them. We had expected Grandma to send them, but not this soon. I was hoping Mi was entertaining her and that she would hold off shipping me more men. Obviously I was wrong. “Was there some message or particular reason you are here?”

&
nbsp; Roral looked at the other two then shook his head. “If there is, I am not aware of it, Princess. Our Captain called for volunteers when the music filled the Sidhe and the Keeper of Knowledge sent us here.”

  “Mi sent you?” I asked, worrying at my lower lip. All three of them nodded. Well at least the music hadn’t rent any holes in space or time. Well actually, that might not be true… after all it had also brought us Marcus, and I was certain Mi hadn’t sent him. “You volunteered?” I asked as my eyes flicked toward Nolls in surprise. Again all three of them nodded. “And what did they tell you that you were volunteering for exactly?”

  “The honor of escorting the Queen’s Granddaughter back to the Sidhe,” Lira replied. Everyone in the room tensed and Gareth’s arm tightened.

  “Really?” I replied, my voice sounding tight. “And did they tell you when that is supposed to occur? I have received no summons, no invitation at all. I was not aware I was expected.”

  “How can that be, Princess?” Roral replied, a slight frown marring his brow.

  “Maybe your invitation got lost in the mail,” Kit replied skeptically. Roral turned to look at him and frowned some more.

  “We obviously won’t resolve this tonight,” Gareth offered. “Perhaps a discussion tomorrow with your Mother will clear things up.”

  The three guards looked surprised. “Is Princess Shaylee here?” Lira breathed, his voice sounding awe-filled. He didn’t quite gush or anything, but it was clear that the possibility was a real threat.

  “Yes, she and my Father are sleeping together just down the hall,” I replied softly and watched as all three of them stood just a bit straighter. Obviously dear old Mom had more than a few admirers and I fought not to roll my eyes. Good thing Dad could take care of himself.

  “Perhaps Cursed can get you settled in and let you know how things work around here,” Jace suggested.

  I glanced in Cursed’s direction and our eyes met for a heartbeat. He was soon striding across the room while the other three went to a knee before following him out of the door. I suppose since Cursed is a Prince he didn’t need to kneel. I wondered if I started letting everyone exit the room like he did would it cause problems. Oh well, tomorrow was soon enough to deal with that.