Fierce Enchantment (17 page)

The queen snorted. “Like I’d make it easy for you, wizard prince. I do not want to start a war with your realm, but we don’t like weaklings either.”

Levi held up his palm, a ball of light bouncing, ready to go off and kill anything in its path that Levi didn’t like.

The queen sucked in a breath.

“I am not your peon. I held back so I wouldn’t create a war, but I
will
fight for our lives. Do you understand me? Tell me where I can create a portal to go home, or I will make you very sorry you ever saw us.”

“There is a lake a mile outside the royal territory. It runs along the mermaid realm so you’ll have to be careful so as not to antagonize them. They own the lake, but we own the land around it on our side.”

“Fine.”

The mermaids liked his family, and he would have allies if he needed them. That didn’t mean this would be easy, however.

He pulled Faith with him as they left the chambers, aware that there would be people on their tail any moment.

“What the fuck, Levi?” Faith asked as he pulled her into a run.

“We need to get out of here before Veronica and her people come at us again.”

“I get that but…”

“We’ll talk about what your line means when we get home. I promise, my pixie.”

He felt her stiffen by his side, and he had a feeling he might need a new pet name for her. Her introduction to the pixies wasn’t doing him any favors.

He pulled her toward the heart of the pixie realm, keeping their heads down as they moved. The pixie realm wasn’t that much different than the wizard realm, except that things weren’t as modern. There were more horses, carriages, and stone buildings. The closer to the queen’s layers, the darker the buildings, the harder the people. When they got to the more rural areas, there were more flowers, hills and less pollution. The sky also wasn’t like that of the human or wizard realms. Instead, the stars here seemed brighter, as if reflecting the glitter of the pixies’ skin. Either way though, he didn’t want to stay there too long.

They made their way through the back alleys of the royal territory. Most people would be in their homes or at work, not paying attention to a wizard and pixie trying to find their way to a lake. By the time they made it to the lake, he was panting hard and knew that the others wouldn’t be far behind. For all he knew, they’d staked out the lake and were ready to ambush them.

“Now what do we do?” Faith asked, her attention on the lake and their surroundings rather than him. “Fuck. I wish I had a weapon. From now on, I’m not being stupid and not having one on me.”

“Fine with me,” he said then winced. “Not that you’re stupid.”

“Stop it. Just find us a way out of here, and then we can figure out what our next step is.”

Levi searched the lake and cursed a blue streak.

“What is it?”

“I can’t make a portal in the pixie realm at all it seems.”

“That bitch was lying?” Faith asked.

Levi cursed again. “Not technically. You see, I can make a portal, but it has to be
in
the lake.”

He looked down at his mate, whose wide eyes made him want to crush her to his body and tell her everything would be okay.

“Can you do that?” she asked.

“I think so, but I don’t know how deep we’ll have to go or if I can hold my breath that long.”

“Shit.”

“Shit.” He cupped her face and kissed her as hard as he could, putting every feeling he possibly could into his touch. “I’m going to get us out of here, Faith. I promise you.”

“I believe you, Levi. I’ll just have to hold my breath.”

He nodded then pulled her into the lake, hoping he was strong enough to do this. He could hear someone coming up behind them and knew they were out of time. He looked behind him to see Veronica snarling.

“Now!” he said then pulled Faith under the water with him. The lake was deep, deeper than he’d thought it would be. He was pretty sure from what the queen had said that the other pixies wouldn’t be able to venture into the waters, however, as this was mermaid territory.

He just hoped the tailed creatures didn’t attack him and Faith.

Once they entered the lake, he started his internal chants, working on the magic of the portal. However, until they got deep enough into the small part of the lake where his portal would open, it would all be for nothing.

He swam as hard as he could and knew Faith was doing the same. It had to be enough. There was no way he and Faith would go out like this.

Finally, they were at the right location, and he let out his magic. The swirling vortex began to open, but he knew it was too late. His lungs burned, and his vision started to darken. He pulled Faith to his side and looked into her wide eyes. Her pulse rose against his hand, and he prayed he could push her through the vortex quickly enough so they could survive. Since the portal had to open within water, it was sluggish and took longer than they had.

His throat burned, and he held Faith to his side. She blinked once at him then lowered her lids, her body going limp.

Fuck. No. This couldn’t be the end. This couldn’t be how they died.

He thought of his girls and the way they needed him and used his last bit of energy to push the portal along. Only it wasn’t enough.

It was never going to be enough.

His lungs seized, and he broke for his mate, for his family, for his life.

It was all over, and they never stood a chance.

Just as he was about to close his eyes and try to push Faith toward the mostly open portal, strong hands gripped his hips and pushed him.

Levi had one glimpse of a blue and green tail before he passed out, praying he’d wake again to thank the stranger—and tell Faith he loved her.

If only.

Seth Oceanus prayed he’d been quick enough to save the wizard and the pixie he found deep within the lake. He’d seen the two of them trying to swim deep down to the bottom of the lake where he knew any type of magic would be able to work. However, he wasn’t sure they would be able to survive on their own. That was why he followed them after he saw the pixie bitch Veronica scouting around his lake.

He wasn’t sure he’d been fast enough¸ considering he had to pull two unconscious bodies through the portal. And since he wasn’t sure how long it took to perform the kiss of life, he had to go with them through the damn thing. He had no idea where he was, other than a home in the human realm. He quickly shifted back to human form, his green and gold skin going back to a normal tan and his fin shimmering to jean-clad legs. Thank the gods he wasn’t like a wolf or other kind of shifter who lost his clothing during a shift. He didn’t want to scare these two with his dick hanging out while trying to save their lives.

Wherever they’d landed, it looked as if someone had fought a good fight before they got there. Windows were blown out, and photographs had been knocked off the walls. He couldn’t sense anyone around, and he had a feeling that whatever wards had been there had shielded the fight and noise from prying human ears. Thank the gods again because he didn’t want to have to deal with that.

He had more important things to worry about. He quickly turned over the two he’d saved and pressed his hands over their chests. He could sense the water in their lungs and drew it closer to him. As a merman, he had an affinity for water and would, hopefully, be able to push the liquid out of their lungs so they would wake.

He quickly pressed harder and let out a sigh as the woman and the man coughed up the water from their lungs, their eyes fluttering. The pixie had folded her wings back into her skin when they landed, and her skin looked human, so at least he didn’t have to worry about a potential broken wing from the harsh way they landed coming out of the portal. There had been no way to avoid that since he’d been focused on getting them out of the water, rather than on how to shield them from the landing.

The wizard sat up, gave a wide-eyed look at Seth, and then turned toward the pixie, crushing her body to his. He cupped her face, kissing her until they were both left breathless. Seth cleared his throat, forcing himself not to get turned on by the act. He couldn’t help it. The two of them were hot and clearly in love. It had been a while since he’d been with a woman—or a man—so he blamed his reaction on that.

When the wizard pulled back, he turned once more to Seth. “Thank you, whoever you are, thank you.”

Seth gave a half-grin and shrugged. Since his human legs were starting to hurt crouched as he was, he stood up and held out his hands. Surprisingly, both of them took his hands and let him help them stand.

“It was no problem.” And it really wasn’t. He wasn’t hurt, and he got to piss off the pixies. Win-win for him. “I’m Seth Oceanus, by the way. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself under the surface.”

The woman let out a dry laugh and shook her head. She had a fierce look about her that told him she took no prisoners. He could learn to like her. In fact, she reminded him of his sister.

“I’m Faith. This is Levi. Thank you for saving us.”

Levi. He knew that name. Seth snapped his fingers. “You’re the newer Conclave member. Right?”

The wizard narrowed his eyes and pulled Faith behind him. The pixie rolled her eyes then stood by his side. He liked this woman.

“How did you know that?”

“My sister is a member. Calypso?”

Levi smiled then. “I know her. She’s an ally. I wasn’t aware she spoke of Conclave members outside the walls.”

Seth shrugged. “She’s my big sister and makes sure I know what I’m getting into when I’m out on my patrols.”

Faith let out a small laugh. “You sound like you have her on your back often.”

“I’m only thirty-five, so I’m still pretty young compared to the rest of my school.”

“Either way, thank you for saving our lives,” Levi said, his voice low. “We are in your debt.”

Seth shook his head. “It’s what you would have done.”

“But not what everyone would have done,” Faith said softly. “So take the debt and know that we’ll do what we can to help.” She smiled ruefully. “Though Levi might be better at helping if you have something magical. I’m pretty new at this thing.”

Seth’s eyes widened. “You’re one of the lightning-struck. Welcome to the fold then, Faith.”

Faith grimaced. “At least you’re welcoming. That queen bitch tried to kill us, even if she said she was letting us go.”

Seth shook his head, even as Levi spoke. “It’s not that she wanted to kill us. It’s that she wanted to see if you could make it.”

“That sounds petty.”

“Not really,” Seth said softly. “It’s the way of the pixies. They are cunning, mischievous, and love to play games.”

“Great, just what I want to be,” Faith mumbled.

Levi tucked her closer to his side and murmured into her ear so low Seth couldn’t hear it. From the way the woman blushed, though, he figured it was something just for the two of them and for…later.

Faith cleared her throat. “So, um, Seth, we were going to have a couple friends over to eat, and they need to know what happened. I was also going to invite you as a way to say thanks but…” She looked over her shoulder at the mess the pixies must have made and sighed. “I think we’ll have to postpone.”

“I’ll take care of the mess and the wards,” Levi said softly. “I’ll make them stronger.” A flash of anger passed over his eyes and made Seth pause.

Faith must have seen it too. “What’s wrong?”

“For them to get through the wards as quickly as they did, I’m afraid they might have had a wizard with them. Or at least had help from them in some way.”

Seth cursed. “If you need help, I’m here. I’m a warrior and have some magic, but I’m no wizard.”

Levi nodded. “Thank you, Seth. We’ll figure it out. I could use your help keeping an eye on things outside and ensuring my wards cover everything, if you can. Faith isn’t good at sensing magic yet.”

“But I’m going to be standing right beside you as you work so I can learn.”

“No better way.” Levi rolled his shoulders. “Let’s get to it.”

Seth nodded then made his way outside. He had a feeling his life had changed. He didn’t know why, but he suspected things were about to get a little more exciting.

It took over an hour for the wards to settle. To the humans, it would look as if nothing was going on, and Seth had cloaked himself so only those of magical blood would be able to see him. He didn’t want to attract any special attention for loitering.

“Excuse me? Who are you, and why are you standing right outside my friend’s home?”

Well, maybe he was wrong about the whole cloaking thing. Seth turned on his heel and sucked in a breath.

A goddess.

She was a fucking goddess.

His.

His to have.

His to hold.

His to mate.

She blinked at him, her long red hair blowing in the wind.

“Who. Are. You?” she repeated.

It didn’t look as if she felt what he did, didn’t have the blinding shock of finding her one true half. Why was that? Maybe she just didn’t know. It didn’t matter though. He’d find out who she was and take her as his own.

Because he’d just found his mate, and there was no way he’d let her out of his sight.

****

Tristan Archer didn’t bother with knocking on the front door to Faith’s home. Levi had called him and told him to come early, and allowed him through the wards. His need to ensure his best friend was safe and sound outweighed any form of pleasantries. Considering this was his first time meeting Faith, however, he probably should have thought twice about that.

“What the fuck?” a dark-haired pixie growled at him. “Who the hell are you, and why do you think you can just storm through my house? What the hell is going on with all of you? I need a fucking drink.”

She stormed off, and Tristan fell in love with his best friend’s mate.

Okay, not full in love, but enough that he knew she would have to be his best friend, too.

“That would be Faith,” Levi said as he walked out from the kitchen area. Faith passed him, and he smacked her ass. She turned and hissed at him before heading into the kitchen.