Finding Faerie (4 page)

L
eo and Takk were mulling over their plans and making calls in the sitting room, so I decided to go into my bedroom and read through the book some more. Several hours into it, I came across a fascinating passage.

Elemental Fae have the ability to channel energy from the air, water, earth, or fire depending on the house in which they are born. They are known to have one or more of the following abilities:

House of Air

Aerokinesis - The ability to manipulate the air, wind, and gas

House of Water

Hydrokinesis - The ability to manipulate and control liquid and mold it into any desired shape or form

House of Earth

Geokinesis - The ability to control, manipulate, and reshape the earth at will

House of Fire

Pyrokinesis - The ability to create, control, and manipulate fire, flame, and heat

Heliokinesis - The ability to create, control, and manipulate sunlight

Elemental Fae derive power from their specific element and nowhere else. They are unable to conjure fairy dust as the non-Elementals can. For this reason, Elemental Fae are encouraged to breed outside of their house to strengthen their bloodline. Arranged marriages are not uncommon. Basic genetics would dictate that with each new house added, the power would be diluted. That is not the case with elemental magic. An Elemental’s power is strengthened exponentially with each added element.

Wow, I didn’t even know such a thing existed. I thought all members of the Fae race held the same magic. Once again, I was reminded how truly ignorant I was. The only thing I knew for certain was that ignorance was
not
bliss. Determined to learn as much as possible, I continued reading until I could no longer keep my eyes open.

I was awoken sometime later when the bed dipped. I rolled over to find Leo sitting next to me, looking perfectly coifed as always. “Hey,” I croaked. “What time is it?”

“It’s shortly after nine. I need to leave for a while. We received a call earlier from someone that may be linked to the abbey. She refused to discuss anything over the phone, so I’m heading out to meet with her. Takk will stay here with you.”

“Yippee,” I deadpanned. “Can I come with you instead?”

He shook his head. “I’m not comfortable with that until I can validate that she does not pose a threat. You’ll be safe here with Takk.”

It wasn’t my safety I was worried about. I just wasn’t looking forward to spending the evening with the big, bad, grumpy-ass wolf. “Where are you meeting her?”

“About an hour from here, in County Meath. We’re meeting near some old church ruins.”

“Are you sure that’s safe?”

He smiled. “Don’t worry about me, my love. I’ll be fine. Her choice of location tells me she lacks confidence in her own safety.”

“Because witches can use hallowed ground to strengthen their powers?”

“Correct.” He looked at his watch. “It would be easy to deduce that if she felt the need to draw power from the land, this particular witch does not carry much on her own.” He leaned down to kiss me on the cheek. “I really must be going. Order some dinner and relax. I’ll see you soon.”

“Be careful, Leo.”

He smiled. “Always, my dear.”

After he left, I went into the sitting room to grab the room service menu. Unfortunately for me, Takk was out there hogging the couch. “I’m ordering dinner. Do you want anything?”

“No, thanks. Unlike you, I don’t live to spend Leo’s money.”

Who did this guy think he was? “What the hell is your problem?” 

He shrugged. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I rolled my eyes. “Bullshit! You’ve had an attitude with me since day one. I think it’s only fair you tell me why.”

“I prefer to keep my job, thank you very much.”

“Oh, please,” I scoffed. “Like I have any control over that? Do you really think Leo would even listen if I tried getting you fired?”

He turned off the TV and stood to face me. “Honestly? I think he would do
any
thing you asked him to.”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

He shook his head. “Hardly. I barely recognize the man anymore. I’ve worked with him for
decades,
and he has always been the most controlled man I know. Business comes first, women second. And when I say women, I mean
women
, as in many.”

I winced at that last part. “I still don’t see how I’m involved.”

“Are you really that dense?”

“Excuse me?” I countered.

He rolled his eyes. “You’re not just a fuck to him. That man is completely in love with you. No matter how poorly you treat him, he sits there and takes it. And not only does he take it, he drops everything he’s doing the second you feel the need to use him or his resources. And how do you repay him? You don’t even give him your blood, for fuck’s sake! Something he needs to
survive,
and you withhold. You make him go to a blood bank!”

My cheeks flushed. “I don’t
make
him go anywhere!”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “You really are clueless, aren’t you? Leo is loyal if nothing else. He would
never
take blood from someone else. I see the way he looks at you. The way
you
look at
him
. You don’t want him with anyone else and he knows it. He’s going to continue holding out hope until you decide to stop stringing him along.”

“I don’t string him along,” I argued.

“Don’t you?” he countered. “Then why do I see you traipsing around with that detective? I’ve been keeping an eye on you. You bounce back and forth with no regard to anyone else, and quite frankly, it pisses me off. It’d be different if you were just fucking around, but that’s not the case here. Do you really think he doesn’t know that you’re cheating on him?”

I clenched my fists, highly tempted to punch him in the throat. This bastard actually followed me? “First of all, I’m not cheating on anyone. Leo and I aren’t together like
that
. I’m no longer in a relationship with
anyone.
” He scoffed. “Secondly, even if I was, it’d be none of your damn business.”

Appetite forgotten, I closed myself in the bedroom, trying desperately not to admit to myself that he had a point.

“M
y sweet, are you awake?”

I am now
, I thought as light sliced through the crack in the door. “Yep, come in.”

Leo sat on the bed. “I’m sorry if I woke you. I knocked but you didn’t answer.”

I yawned, turning onto my side to face him. “It’s fine. How was your meeting?”

“Not horrible,” he began, “but not well either.”

“What does that mean?” I was too tired to decode anything.

“Well, it turns out they
are
actually from the abbey, which is a good thing.”

“They?”

He nodded. “Yes, there were two of them.”

“Okay, so we have the right people. What’s the bad news?”

He sighed. “They refused to speak with me once they figured out what I am.”

I sat up. “Ah, I see the problem. Their primary concern is protecting the Fae. Associating with a vampire is in direct conflict of that.”

“Correct.”

“So what do we do now?”

“I managed to convince them to give me a chance to prove that I only had the purest intent.”

“Leo, don’t take this the wrong way, but how did you manage that? You’re pretty and all but I can’t imagine that would be enough for them.”

He smirked. “Pretty?”

“Oh, please,” I laughed. “You don’t need me to stroke your ego.”

“Maybe not my ego…” His fangs came out a little, punctuating his intent.

I blushed. “Okay…back on topic! How did you convince them?”

He shrugged. “I told them the truth; that I was representing a full-blooded fairy that was left behind when the portals were sealed. I explained your predicament…how you’re nearly immortal and are struggling to control your powers. They’re skeptical, but they see the danger in ignoring the possibility that you do, in fact, exist. They want to meet you.”

“And what? I conjure a little dust for them to prove what I am?”

“They may test you…but that might not be necessary. They told me their enhanced powers allow them to sense Fae blood. I believe they were testing
me
while telling me that, calling my bluff maybe, but I believe they speak the truth. One of the witches mentioned that
all
Fae can sense their brethren.”
Was that why I was so drawn to Vance
?
Because I could sense the Fae in him?

“Okay, so when do we go back? Right now?”

He shook his head. “No, they’re returning to the abbey to consult the High Priestess. They’ve agreed to meet us here in Dublin next Saturday.”

“Why Saturday? That’s almost a week away!”

“They wouldn’t say. I’m guessing they want to make some sort of preparations. They really didn’t leave it up for negotiations, and I wasn’t going to push since they’re so wary already.”

“Makes sense,” I mumbled. “So, more waiting?”

He grabbed my hand, turning it over so he could place a kiss on the inside of my wrist. There was no way he didn’t catch the resulting shiver. “During the day, you can review your book and I’ll take care of some necessary business. That should help pass the time.”

“And at night?”

His smile revealed fangs a little longer than they were a few minutes ago. “At night, I’m sure we can find some way to…
entertain
ourselves.”

Just like that, I was flattened with visions of stroking something that definitely wasn’t related to his ego. “Uh…”

He laughed. “Relax, my love. Go back to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Right, like I could sleep after he planted sweaty, naked thoughts in my head. Instead of sharing my thoughts with him, I simply said, “Night.”

“What’s that?” It was Monday evening and Leo was holding up the garment bag that had just been delivered.

“It’s for you.”

I walked over and unzipped the bag. Inside was what appeared to be a black dress. “A dress?”

He removed it from the hanger and placed it in my arms. “We’re going out. I thought this would be suitable for the evening I have planned.”

Upon further inspection, it resembled a handkerchief much more so than a dress. I enjoyed rocking a little black dress when the occasion was right, but this had a much lower neckline than I was used to, and it was practically backless. “Um…where are we going that would deem
this
appropriate?”

He chuckled. “It’s a surprise. Get dressed; we’ll leave in an hour.”

“Okay, Mr. Bossy Pants.”

Before I could close my bedroom door, he added, “My love, wear the red heels.” The strappy sandals in question were my incredibly impractical, red velvet and metallic stilettos. Or as Erica called them, my
fuck me
hard
and dirty
shoes. I didn’t even know why I brought them other than the fact that I enjoyed looking at them. I
do,
however, know why Leo wanted me to wear them. He was quite partial to sky-high heels or anything red. The one and only time he saw me wearing them, he got an instant fang boner.  It may have been the immortal hormones talking, but I couldn’t say the thought of getting
that
reaction again wasn’t enticing.

I slipped the dress over my head in front of the full length mirror. It hugged every one of my curves as if it were tailored to my exact measurements. Knowing Leo, that wasn’t such a farfetched idea. “Holy boobs, Batman!” I muttered.

The cowl neckline plunged deep,
exposing a helluva lot more cleavage than I was comfortable with. There was no way I could wear a bra in this thing. Where the heck were we going? The dress was long sleeved and hit me about two inches above the knees, so it wasn’t entirely indecent. Still, it was definitely far too sexy for an evening out at a pub. I fluffed my hair a little, touched up my red lipstick and slipped on my heels. I took one last glance in the mirror before stepping into the living area.

Leo turned towards me as I came out, unabashedly checking out every inch of my body. My skin warmed under his close scrutiny. “You look even better than I imagined.”

“Thank you,” I smiled. “
Now
will you tell me where we’re going?” Leo was wearing his signature designer apparel, a black dress shirt with black slacks. The top button was undone and his sleeves were rolled up, revealing his thickly-muscled forearms.

“Like what you see, my dear?” Crap, I must’ve been staring a little too long.

I cleared my throat. “Uh, of course. You look nice, Leo.”

He walked up to me, placed his hand on my exposed back and leaned down to kiss my cheek. Hovering over my ear he whispered, “You look
much
better than nice. You look downright edible.” Damn these immortal hormones! My brain was too scrambled to formulate a response. He chuckled as he stepped back. “To answer your question, I thought I’d take you dancing. It would be nice to get you out of this room and let loose. Don’t you agree?”

Dancing? Wow, that was the last thing I would’ve expected. Dancing was one of my favorite ways to let off steam, but I usually went with my girlfriends. I must have mentioned it at some point. “Really? Is there a club or something around here?”

He nodded. “There’s one close by, yes.” He offered his elbow. “Shall we?”

I looped my arm through his. “Absolutely!”