Enchanted Addictions: A Reverse Harem Fairy Romance (The Twilight Court Book 11) Page 2

  I focused on the tangled mane while my phone continued to taunt me. After a frustratingly long time, I managed to get my hands free but when I looked up, the scenery had changed. I was still in Seelie—most likely—but not in its forest. Not exactly. There were trees but they were spaced further apart, had a slicker look to them, and bodies of water covered the ground between them. Bodies of water that were less like water and more like bodies insomuch as they kind of laid there without flowing. I couldn't tell their depths either; they were riddled with silt and their surfaces carried strange bits of blobby things that might have been algae or might have been tiny, carnivorous creatures. You can never tell in Fairy.

  In short, we had entered the marshes.

  That makes it sound as if I knew there were marshlands in Fairy. I did not. Which is why I was left gawking around me at the moonlit marshlands, wondering if it would be safer to jump before the each-uisge reached a puddle large enough to drown me in or to hold on and hope the marsh ended before that happened. Navigating an unknown fey landscape in daylight was one thing but trying to do so in the dark was tantamount to walking across a landmine field.

  Then I spotted the lake. Was it still called a lake when it was in a marsh? Was a better term “bog?” I guess it didn't matter; whatever it was called, it was about twenty feet ahead and the each-uisge was heading straight for it.

  “That decides it,” I muttered.

  I leapt off the horse, attempting to aim for the driest portion of road I could see—if you could even call the soggy path we were on a road or dry. I landed with a splat. The each-uisge swung his head back and neighed at me angrily before galloping on.

  I got to my feet and slashed off as much mud as I could as I muttered, “You're welcome for not extinguishing you, you rotten horse. I would have been within my rights to do so as soon as you threatened me. But I didn't because that would have made all of my effort pointless. And now, I'm lost in the dark, in a marsh.”

  Then I took a good look around. Or at least tried to. The night suddenly seemed more menacing and a shocking shiver trailed icy fingers down my spine. Night in Fairy isn't like night on Earth—at least not like most places on Earth. Fairy villages didn't cause as much light pollution as human ones, which is why swarms of moths had been migrating to Fairy for years. It's a good thing for the animals and insects but, at the moment, it wasn't such a good thing for me. I could see better in the dark than humans but I didn't have super-vision. Thankfully, the width of the path kept the trees back and allowed for a good amount of moonlight to illuminate it. But it wasn't so much the path that I was worried about; it was more the marsh to either side and the eerie splashing sounds that kept punctuating the night like stabs of an iron dagger.

  Speaking of which...

  I slid my iron dagger free of its sheath and then pulled my scry phone out of my jacket. Yes, it was harder to take out my phone one-handed, but the mere presence of iron was enough to scare most predators off. And yes, I know what I said about getting along with the animals of Fairy but my confidence had landed in the mud beside me and seemed to have stayed there.

  I flicked open my phone case with the tip of my dagger and softly said, “Killian Blair Firerain.”

  The slice of crystal lit with swirling, glowing mist and seconds later, Killian's relieved face filled it.

  “Seren! Thank Danu! I was getting worried,” Killian exclaimed.

  “Well, don't relax yet,” I whispered as I cast another glance around me.

  “Why are you whispering?” He narrowed his vivid green snake eyes at me. “Where are you?”

  “That's the thing.” I grimaced. “The each-uisge took me into a part of the Seelie Forest that I've never seen before. In fact, I don't think it's a forest at all; it looks like a swamp.”

  “Can't you just turn around and come back the way you were riding?”

  “I could.” I peered back down the path. It looked just as foreboding as the other direction but at least I knew there was regular forest back there somewhere. “But I don't know how far I've come. It could take awhile.”

  “Fuck,” Killian hissed. “That's it, I'm coming after you.”

  “On the motorcycle?” I asked in shock. “No! Do not bring that thing into Fairy!”

  Something splashed in a way that indicated a big body entering a little pond, and I cringed. Great, Seren, just call the predators of Fairy straight to you. I started walking back the way I'd come—at a brisk pace. The sound of squelching boots made a rapid and ridiculous beat. If any of my children—I have one with each of my husbands—had been there, they'd have laughed their little asses off.

  “I can't just sit here while you walk through a fairy swamp!” Killian wailed.

  “I'll be fine, Kill,” I said to assure us both. “I'm the Queen of Seelie; I'm safe in the Seelie Forest... or the Seelie Marsh.”

  “Yeah? Tell that to the each-uisge who just tried to drown you,” he snarled.

  “Fair enough,” I muttered. “Look, dawn isn't too far away. I'm walking back the way I came but if twilight arrives before I reach the rath, I'll just use it to return to you.”

  “Why don't you call Tiernan?” Kill suggested. “He might be able to figure out where you are. Then he can send his knights out to get you or something.”

  “I don't know how fast they could get here.”

  “You should be close to the Seelie Castle,” he reminded me.

  “Not really,” I argued. “Castle Seelie is closer to London than Edinburgh, and Tiernan would have to come by horseback.”

  “Right,” Killian muttered. “Fuckin' Fairy and its fuckin' lack of fuckin' cars.”

  “That's a lot of fuckin',” I noted dryly.

  “Yeah, well, the situation calls for it.” He grimaced. “I still think I should come and get you on the bike. It would only be an hour at the most.”

  “And what would that hour do to Fairy?” I countered.

  “Nothing, Seren,” Killian said firmly. “The realm is stronger than a few exhaust fumes. It would be fine.”

  “But the animals would be scared.”

  “The animals that are currently surrounding you and contemplating a late-night snack?”

  “Shut up,” I huffed. “I'll be fine.”

  A howl pierced the night. Except it wasn't a howl exactly. More like a hwamph-uuuhhh-weee-ahhh sound. Something I'd never heard before and yet my body instinctively knew to fear it. The howl-yip-cry had conveyed both a threat and delight. That sound had said: Yippee! A tasty treat just walked by! I'm coming to get you, tasty treat, and I can't wait to find out how tasty you really are. I froze and stared around me in horror.

  “What the fuck was that?” Killian growled.

  “I don't know.” I started walking again—faster.

  “Don't run, Seren! Running tells an animal that you are food.”

  “I know, Killian!” I snapped back. “And let's not forget that I can blast whatever it is with a fireball if I have to.” I stopped suddenly because I had indeed forgotten that. I grimaced as I sheathed my dagger and turned in the direction of the sound. “Hold on, babe.”

  I held up a hand, above the line of my eyes so I wouldn't blind myself, and used my mór—the Firethorn—to form a burning ball of thorns in my hand.

  And instantly choked back a scream.

  Something big and predatory had indeed emerged from the swamp. It had crept onto the path and started after me silently—damn impressive with my hearing and the exceptional squishiness of the path. The beast stood on four scaled legs and was easily my height if not taller. Its head was sleek—made for sliding through water—and had a short snout. Teeth suited for tearing flesh glinted in the moonlight and eyes full of anticipation glowed yellow. Its back had a length of armored plates going down it that continued over its long tail. It went still and focused on the fireball.

  “What is it?” Killian asked anxiously.

  “I have no idea,” I whispered. “It looks like a cross between a dragon
and a crocodile.”

  “A galanter?” Killian asked, referring to a fey creature that resembled a crocodile except for its longer legs and sleeker hide.

  “No, that's not a galanter. But it doesn't seem to like my firethorns. Hold on, I'm going to try to reason with it.”

  Killian snorted. “That didn't work so well with the each-uisge.”

  “Well, let's hope for a better result with this thing,” I muttered. Then I lifted my voice to say, “I am Queen Seren Firethorn, ruler of Seelie, and if you attack me, you will die.”

  The thing cocked its head at me.

  “I don't want to kill you,” I went on. “But I will if you force me to.”

  I lifted the fireball with my magic and sent it toward the creature slowly, hovering in the air between us. The beast drew back.

  “Go on,” I urged it. “Go back to your lake and find a nice fish to eat. Trust me, I'm more than you can handle.”

  I sent the ball a little closer. The beast made a disgruntled snort, turned, and headed back into the marsh. I let out a sigh of relief and summoned the burning ball of thorns back to me.

  “It left,” I said to Killian.

  “Maybe you should keep that fire going,” Killian suggested.

  “I think you're right. If nothing else, it gives me more light to see by.” I sent the ball higher above me and started walking again. “I'll see you soon, honey.”

  Killian snorted again. “You're high on swamp gas if you think I'm ending this scry before you reach the rath.” He moved as if settling onto his butt. “I'm staying on the line with you until I can touch you.”

  “I love you too, Blair.”

  Killian grinned, or smirked, rather. “Then move your ass, Twilight.”

  “On it,” I said crisply and started to run.

  Chapter Three

  A few hours later, I had slowed to a walk and had to admit defeat. The each-uisge must have veered off the road at some point without me noticing because I had followed the path and never reached the rath. I had, at least, found my way out of the marsh but, with twilight approaching, there was no point in going any further.

  “I think it's time to call it,” I said to Killian.

  “Yeah. At least you're in a better part of the forest.”

  “I think I'm going to twilight to Seelie Castle if that's all right with you. It's Tiernan's turn anyway.”

  I was on rotation with my husbands and children. My husbands, as I mentioned earlier, run kingdoms and my children live with their fathers, which meant that I had four homes. I obviously couldn't be in four places at once so we had to come up with a way for me to spend time with everyone. We'd developed a three-day system: I spent three days with each husband and child, then went to stay with the next. Any time I spent working wasn't counted and once finished, I would return to the schedule right where I'd left off. And I had left off at Tiernan and our son, Falcas.

  “What?” Killian whined. “I don't even get a hug?”

  “You could always twilight to Seelie too,” I suggested.

  Killian grimaced and grumbled, “Nah, I gotta take the bike back and make our report to the Human Council.”

  “You've had me for four days now, Kill,” I said gently. “And you're scheduled right after Tiernan anyway. It'll only be three days until I see you.”

  “I know,” he grumbled more. “I've just been worried about you for the last few hours and wanted to at least kiss you goodbye.”

  “I'll give you something better than a kiss the next time I see you,” I promised.

  “That goes without saying.” He grinned again. Then he glanced upward. “Twilight's coming. I'd better let you go.”

  “Okay. I love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  I closed my phone and then my eyes as I began to hover just above the forest path. In that in-between place, I was able to access the magic of Twilight—the magic that was mine by right of birth. We Twilight Fey get a power boost during the times of day that align with our kingdom—dusk and dawn. It seems a little unfair when you consider that the other kingdoms got hours while we only got minutes: Seelie had the day and Unseelie the night. But Twilight magic was condensed during dusk and dawn, making our power boost ten times stronger than those received by Seelie or Unseelie Fey, and we could also twilight—a term coined by Killian—freely during those times and travel from one place to another in mere seconds.

  Twilighting had a few rules. To travel in the manner that was exclusive to Twilight Fairies, you had to touch the magic of the In-Between and be in an in-between place. That is what we Twilight Fey rule—the in-between. The In-Between magic filled us during twilight and then all we had to do was put ourselves in an in-between place—such as hovering between earth and sky—to be able to travel. At all other times, the only way for us to touch the In-Between was to step off the path of a rath. Raths united realms and as such, they bisected the In-Between. This meant that the darkness to either side of the path within a rath was the In-Between and stepping into the In-Between not only put you in touch with the magic but also put you into an in-between place. So, for Twilight Fey, raths are portals not just to a specific place in another realm but to any place in any realm that we've been to before. The “been to before” thing is important. You have to visualize your destination when you twilight or you could wind up stuck in the In-Between.

  I visualized the royal bedroom suite in Castle Seelie and, with my body full of the magic of the In-Between, I was drawn to my destination in a heartbeat. One second, I was on a forest road and the next, I was standing at the foot of a grand, golden bed and staring at its stunningly handsome sleeping occupant.

  I sighed a little; I couldn't help it.

  Tiernan is the type of man who makes women sigh. At least on Earth, he would be. There, in Fairy, he was considered disfigured—a fact which both baffled and enraged me. Tiernan was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Muscles sculpted by sword training coated his entire body with hard curves and intriguing angles, but Tiernan still possessed the sleek grace of the Sidhe. That grace extended to his ethereally beautiful face, made masculine by the slash of his cheekbones and sharp jaw. His lower lip was fuller than the top—begging to be bitten—and his eyes, when open, were a silvery, metallic blue color that was rare even for fairies. And, on top of all of that, he had ombré hair. At the roots, his hair was the palest platinum, practically white, but as it descended in a glorious silken cape down his broad back, it darkened through the shades of blond, into those of brunette, and ended with raven black tips. Sublimely beautiful.

  But upon Tiernan's right cheek, was a silvery, swirling mark. I thought it was beautiful as well—not just because it curved around his eye as if it had been artfully arranged, but also because Tiernan had received the shimmering scar when he had defended his mother against my grandmother—the ex-Queen of Seelie. In my eyes, his scar was a badge of honor as well as a thing of beauty. But the other Seelie Fey saw it as the mark of a traitor and a hideous deformity. That it was their king who bore this mark only kept them from calling him a traitor to his face.

  Ah, the arrogance of my people. Thank the Gods I'm only half Fey.

  My mother had been an extinguisher and my father was the King of Twilight. So, I was technically a halfbreed with ties to all fairy kingdoms and Earth. This had made me the perfect candidate for Danu's plans to unite her people. Danu and Anu were the Gods of Fairy and Earth respectively. They were twins but after their birth—if you can call the spontaneous creation of divine beings a birth—Anu left Fairy for Earth. He wanted his own planet to rule. Once on Earth, Anu made the humans while back on Fairy, Danu created the Fey—because even gods get lonely. But the two realms were not entirely separated. Anu's journey to Earth had formed the first rath—a bridge from the Fairy Realm to the Human Realm. Fairies learned to travel these raths and then to make more of them. It wasn't long before the children of the Gods were intermingling.

  Speaking of intermingling, let's get back to m
y sleeping Seelie husband.

  I wanted to slide into bed beside Tiernan but I wasn't about to get swamp mud all over his silk sheets and perfect skin. So, I heaved another sigh and headed to the gilded bathroom—the Seelie love gold. It's kind of their thing, just as silver is preferred by the Unseelie. I don't know what type of precious metal the Twilight Fey prefer. Our crowns were silver since our symbol was a star but it wasn't as if we shied away from using gold. I suppose we got to use whatever metal we wanted.

  “It's good to be Twilight,” I whispered to myself as I closed the bathroom door.

  The room was a little much for me but then most royal rooms were. The royal bathroom was a round space just off the rectangular royal bedroom. The cool marble floor had plush purple rugs laid over it strategically—a color used in my honor (if Twilight didn't have a metal of choice, it did have a color)—but mostly, the bathroom was decorated in cream and gold. The counters curved around to either side of the massive space with dual sinks in both—yes, a total of four for just Tiernan and I to use—and were topped by slabs of creamy marble veined in gold.