Casually Cursed (25 page)

He paused. “Are you all right?”

I nodded. “Don’t stop,” I said, clutching his hips and pulling him.

He smiled, kissed me, and we moved against each other again. Things became faster and more urgent, until we lost our breath and melted into the mattress.

“It felt different without the witch and wizard magic,” I said.

“Yes.”

I stroked his hair. “Did you miss it?”

“Some. I like when our magic mingles together. It’s incredible. But this . . . I could concentrate better. I felt things more clearly. It was just you and me, our bodies and emotions. There wasn’t a flood of magic to overshadow us. This felt incredible, too.”

I smiled. “Yeah, both ways are good. Like brownies, good with frosting and without.”

He chuckled. “It always comes back to food with you.”

I smiled. “Yep. Even in my sex fantasies.”

“You have sex fantasies? What are they?” he demanded.

“Um, different things, like covering you in chocolate sauce and cookie crumbles. And maybe some strawberries and whipped cream.”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t say no.”

“Maybe on our honeymoon, we should lie under the moon and cover each other with honey. Really make it live up to its name.”

“Mmm. That sounds amazing.”

I kissed his shoulder.

“If we don’t find the amber the Association wants, we’re going to run into all kinds of problems,” he said. “They’ll try to keep us from getting married.”

“They’re not the boss of us.”

“I know,” he said with a grim smile. “But might overcomes right some of the time. Underhill is one of the few places Conclave operatives can’t reach us.”

“Yeah, too bad the queen here is a nightmare.” I cocked my head. “There are probably some places in America where we’d be pretty hard to find. The Appalachians, maybe?”

Bryn threw his head back and barked out a laugh. “Nearly a decade studying in the Ivy League, only to end up playing a fiddle and living off the land. That would be an unexpected turn of events.” He shook his head. “There would be one upside to that, though.”

“What?”

“Edie would never visit.”

I slugged him in the arm. “Not nice.”

He continued to smile. “I’d go, you know.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere you were.”

I kissed him. “Yeah, you are romantic. Watch out—they might take away your lawyer card.”

“It’s not a card.”

“Well, whatever it is,” I said, sitting up. “Get dressed, Romeo Litigator.”

“Litigator. Good word.”

I winked at him. “Learned it from Edie. She’s good for some stuff.” When he didn’t move, I tapped his shoulder. “Come on, candylegger. Time to be brilliant instead of sexy.”

“Am I just one or the other at a time?” he asked with a smirk, watching me get dressed.

I tossed his clothes onto the bed. “Put those on.”

He winked at me, but followed orders.

Bryn, being prepared for trouble, had brought a Swiss army knife and a lighter. While he dressed, I snipped some pieces of fabric and put them into the receptacle in the corner. I lit them on fire and waved the smoke around the room, wrinkling my nose and coughing.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m escaping,” I said. “So are you.”

“FAERIES DON’T LIKE
smoke,” I said.

“How do you know?”

“Because I am one.” I pulled my shirt up to cover my mouth and nose. “If there are tiny fae spying on us, they’ll fly out of here to avoid the smoke.”

Bryn took a step back and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, that’s somewhat noxious. I’ve never had a problem at bonfires. The smell of smoke must be more potent here.”

“Yep. And underhill, we’re more our fae selves,” I commented.

I explained my escape plan, which we quickly put into motion.

I hid behind the door. When the guard opened it to investigate the source of the smoke, I stepped out from behind it and thumped him on the head. Bryn poured water into the garbage to put out the fire before we left, locking the guard inside.

We hurried down the stairs of the tower, but paused at the front entrance when we opened it a crack. I peered out, scanning the courtyard. There were dozens of fae hanging around, sitting on benches, eating fruit and it looked like . . . yes, those were the pastries I’d made. The queen had distributed them.

I couldn’t help but smile over the way the faeries seemed to be enjoying them. One of the knights even snatched his friend’s popover and darted away with it, laughing as he consumed it before he was caught. The other knight shoved him and complained, but the thieving knight only grinned and licked his lips.

“Zach may not be in the castle anymore, and we’re much more likely to get out of the Never if we avoid the queen,” Bryn said.

“I won’t leave without checking. What if she’s got him locked up in there?”

“He should’ve stayed at the original location. He’s not fae. There was nothing compelling him to go to the castle.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know what he was doing, but we’re not leaving the Never without him, so just accept that, and let’s make a plan.”

“He said he liked it here. Nice weather. Beautiful women. He could do worse.”

“He said that?” I said, my brows shooting up. Then I shook my head. “Whatever. I am not leaving Zach with the faeries,” I said.

“Why not? As soon as the tree keeper’s spell wears off, all the gates on this side will open for Zach. All he has to do is walk out.”

“Unless he’s chained to a wall.”

“I don’t think they chain people to walls here. Look how comfortable our prison cells were.”

I pinched Bryn’s arm to shut him up, and he blinked in surprise.

“Sorry,” I murmured. Impulsiveness was harder to resist in the Never. Not that impulse control was ever a strong suit with me. “But have you forgotten that Kismet was flogged?”

He rubbed the red spot on his arm. “I had forgotten, yes, which obviously isn’t like me.” He frowned. “This place has an opposite effect on each of us. I feel mellower, less sharp. You’re more violent.”

“Yeah, it’s Kis’s influence, I think. She’s a warrior girl.” I tapped my lips. “We need to distract the faeries.”

“I don’t want to encounter the fae queen again,” he said.

My brows rose as I realized what he wasn’t saying. Being under a spell that made him feeble-minded had shaken him. He was afraid of losing his smarts and his free will . . . those were the most important things that made him who he was.

“You don’t have to come with me.”

He scowled. “Yes, I do.”

“I will never let her have you. I promise.”

“There might not be anything you can do about it.”

I squeezed his hand. “Yeah, there will. She’ll kiss you again over my dead body.” I looked around. “We can’t outrun faeries. They’re too fast. But I don’t think any of these fae in the square were with the queen when we were arrested,” I whispered. “What do you think?”

Bryn studied the faeries. “I can’t be sure. It’s like a Nordic modeling competition. Everyone’s tall and blond. Hard to tell them apart.”

“Well, we can’t stand around forever. It’s only a matter of time before the guard in the tower wakes up and starts yelling out the window. Let’s just go.” I stood up straight and tried to look confident as we strolled across the courtyard. I didn’t make eye contact, but I saw heads turn, and eyes followed me. I reminded myself that I looked like Kismet, who’d been gone.

“Where’s your bow?” one of the knights called out.

“Safe,” I replied without slowing down. I held my breath the last few feet to the courtyard entrance of the castle. We opened it, and I glanced over my shoulder. The knights approached.

I swallowed and then called out in an accent that I hoped sounded like Kismet’s, “Did you like the pastries the queen shared? There are more of those at the booth next to Roseblade’s, but not many. As the queen’s knights, they’ll give you preference when they sell them, but you’ll have to hurry.”

The knights spoke quickly to one another. All but two of them turned and left for the festival, but one pair followed us into the castle.

“We heard you returned, but that you were in hiding.”

“Obviously I’m not,” I said, glancing around. “I’m going to meet with the queen.” I walked quickly, and when Bryn and I entered the sitting room, the knights stayed outside the door.

“There’s another door in this room. C’mon.”

“It’s insane to waltz in here with no plan. You do realize that?” Bryn murmured.

“Yep, but I gave up on doing the sane thing a couple of adventures ago. You know that.”

He sighed but said nothing, because obviously he did know it.

The ground floor was a maze of corridors and rooms. I didn’t find Zach in any of them.

“Here’s a door that leads outside,” Bryn said. “Let’s go. If we don’t find Zach at the gingerbread house, we’ll come back after we’ve had a chance to put together a better plan.”

I shook my head. “He’s still here,” I said when we reached the grand staircase that I’d climbed earlier in the day to see Momma.

“How do you know?”

I started up the stairs, pointing. Hanging from a loop at the top of the banister was Zach’s amulet. It wasn’t active in the Never, since it was forged with witch magic, but there was no way he would’ve willingly left it behind.

“What are you doing?” one of the knights called.

“She gave me permission to come upstairs,” I said, jogging up the steps with Bryn.

“No, she didn’t,” the one with more sharply pointed ears said. They mounted the stairs, too.

I didn’t break stride, but I snagged Zach’s amulet as I went by. My fingertips burned. When it was under his shirt it didn’t bother me, but there was iron mixed with the gold, so touching it wasn’t easy. Especially in the Never, where I was more sensitive to iron than ever.

“Smell that?”

“Yes. Honey and ale,” Bryn said.

“I didn’t smell beer up here earlier. Zach likes it, so maybe . . .” I trailed off as I raced down the hall. I yanked open a fancy door covered in jewels and crystals.

“Stop!” the knights yelled, but Bryn and I dashed inside and slammed the door behind us. I grabbed the gold rod for barring the door and dropped it into position.

“They can’t get in,” I said, exhaling in relief.

“And we can’t get out,” Bryn replied.

I shrugged. “One problem at a time.”

I hurried into the suite and spotted a silver tray sitting on a tufted ottoman. There was an empty crystal pitcher that had held beer. There were also sandwich crumbs in smeared dollops of honey and mustard. My stomach rumbled.

We passed through the sitting area and into the bedroom. The large bed was covered in white silk, and lying within the cloud of bedding were Zach and Ghislaine, both naked.

“Are you serious?” I snapped.

Ghislaine sat straight up. “You dare trespass here?”

“Hey, darlin’,” Zach murmured sleepily.

“You drugged him, too?” I asked. “That’s your specialty, huh? Date rape without the date part?” I demanded. I stalked to the end of the bed and stepped onto another tufted ottoman and then onto the mattress.

“Have you taken leave of your senses?” she asked.

“Nope,” I said, and then socked her in the nose.

Her head snapped back from the force of the punch, and she tumbled out of bed.

“Wow,” Bryn said. “No supernatural leader is safe when you’re around.”

“Get up, Zach,” I said, dropping the amulet onto the bed next to him.

Zach’s denim-blue eyes sparkled mischievously. “A little jealous, huh?” He nodded toward the edge of the bed, where the queen rose like a serpent. Golden-pink blood trickled from her nose.

“Aw, hell, Tammy Jo, you gave her a nosebleed. Here, darlin’,” Zach said, shaking his head. He held out his T-shirt to the queen. She ignored it, sliding a dressing gown on, tying it closed, and then taking a square of silk from a drawer. She held it to her face.

I still stood in the center of the bed. Zach pulled on his boxers and hung the amulet around his neck.

“Is that a bite mark on your chest?” I demanded of Zach, and then turned to Ghislaine. “Are you a faery or a vampire?”

Zach rolled to the side of the bed, but when he tried to stand, he wobbled and said, “Hell.” He dropped onto the mattress, sitting on the edge and gripping his head in his hands. “The ale here’s got a kick to it.”

“It’s not the beer that has you feeling loopy,” I said, climbing off the bed.

To Ghislaine, Zach said, “Come here, darlin’. Let me see your face. You all right?” Zach pulled Ghislaine to him to examine her injured nose.

“Hey!” I said. “Don’t worry about her. She’s a con woman. You go and wash your own face, especially your lips. And gargle while you’re at it. Then finish getting dressed, ’cause we’re leaving.”

Ghislaine’s eyes had a golden glow as she looked at Zach. Faery dust shimmered over his arms and chest, trailing down to the edge of his boxers. For Pete’s sake!

“She took advantage of you,” I said.

“Is that so?” Zach said skeptically. He ran a fingertip over her nose. “Not broken. It’s a little swollen, but it’ll go down. How about some ice?”

Ghislaine put a hand on the side of Zach’s face. “You’re lovely. Run a bath for us,” she whispered, pointing to a doorway.

“Don’t mind if I do,” he said, standing.

“Toss that amulet somewhere out of the way. I’m allergic to iron.”

Zach glanced at his amulet, the one that protected him from all kinds of magical creatures in the human world, the one he’d been wearing every day since coming home from his training. He took it off and swung it by the chain so that when he let go it sailed away from him and landed in the far corner of the room, like a used soda can.

I gestured furiously and pointed. “Did you see that?” I asked Bryn, who was checking the room for alternate exits.

“I saw,” Bryn said.

“You know he wouldn’t do that if he was thinking straight.”

“Probably not,” Bryn agreed. He opened a pair of doors that revealed a balcony. There was a waist-high metal grate. “There are hooks here for a ladder,” he said, stepping outside. He looked around and over the side.

Ghislaine watched Bryn for a moment before speaking. Then she said, “Stop casting about for temporary solutions to your problem. You need to think about your survival. Throw yourself upon my mercy.”

Bryn looked at her and raised a brow in question.

“I’m going to have her killed,” she said, nodding at me. “Whether you die with her depends upon your actions here and now.”

“Did you hear that, Zach?” I called out. “Your new girlfriend is planning to have me murdered.”

“How’s that?” Zach asked, leaning out the bathroom doorway.

“It’s not murder,” the queen said. “She attacked me. You saw. That’s a punishable offense. The sentence is at my pleasure. And since she’s even more reckless than Kismet, she can’t be of any use to me. Ergo, death sentence.”

“Nah. It was just a punch. You can’t go around executing people for throwing a punch. Let the punishment fit the crime, darlin’. Besides, there were some extenuating circumstances in this case. You slept with her ex. If punching the person who slept with your ex were punishable by death, I’d be dead myself.”

“Did you punch a royal?”

“I punched a royal pain in the ass,” Zach said, nodding at Bryn, who was searching the room.

The light in the room pulsed a silvery pink and for a moment we heard an echo of a knight’s voice. “My lady highness, I request permission to enter.”

Ghislaine smiled, pulling a cord lazily. Did it sound a signal in the hall? She didn’t seem worried, even with three of us in her room. She seemed to be enjoying the show of Bryn stalking around the room, looking for escape aids, and my trying to corral Zach.

“We can tie some sheets together,” I said to Bryn.

“Add the dried gardenia petals and silky salts to the water, lover. We can talk about it in the bath,” Ghislaine told Zach.

“No, you don’t,” I said, grabbing Zach’s arm to keep him from returning to the bathroom.

Ghislaine stepped toward us, reaching for Zach. My grip tightened. At the last moment, however, she clutched my face and planted a kiss on my lips.

“For the love of Hershey,” I snapped, shoving her away. I tasted earthy herbs, hazelnuts, and honey, and the faint metallic tang of blood. I wiped my lips with the back of my hand, but they tingled and my skin shimmered. My heartbeat slowed, the anxiousness of the moment draining away.

Hmmm
, I thought. I recognized this feeling. Humanside, when my witch magic was sucked out of me, I became a cool-hearted version of myself. A version of myself who couldn’t entirely be trusted.

Hang on
, I thought, trying to focus. I didn’t want to become more fae, and I definitely didn’t want to fall under a spell cast by the queen. A tremor of anger ran through me, but not the white-hot fury I’d felt at seeing Zach in Ghislaine’s bed.

I exhaled warm breath through soft lips. I licked them.

For a moment the world shifted with a sharp rocking sensation. I was outside myself, walking through the tall wildflowers. I bent down and examined footprints in the earth, my bow swinging forward, my earrings thumping against the corner of my jaw.

My bow? Earrings?

No, I’m not me.

I glanced at my feet. Kismet’s feet. Her tattoos had almost completely faded, but I saw their faint outlines.