Fire and Ice (13 page)

I rolled my eyes, and sat down across from him, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Good girl,” he snickered. “That was, in fact, easier than I thought it would be.” He didn't genuinely seem surprised by my acquiescence.

I let his comment slide this time, but if he called me a good girl again… “I didn't know Adrius had a brother,” I mentioned coolly. The intense way he fixated on me made my hands tremble, and I kept them hidden under the table.

“He likes to keep me a secret,” he whispered, with a wink. “He figures if he pretends long enough, I might disappear.” Two fingers snapped. “Hasn't worked yet, though my brother is nothing if not determined. But we aren't here to talk about
me
. I was told you might have some questions you'd like answered?”

He lifted the silver carafe and he poured some tea into my cup before filling his own. Then he offered a plate of chocolate drizzled croissants, cream puffs, and pastel-colored cookies that looked like macaroons. I declined, and he helped himself to an assortment. I watched him while picking up my cup and swallowing a mouthful of tea; it was too hot and tasted vaguely of honey and rose petals.

Turning his full attention to me, he leaned forward and smiled. “Go on,” he urged in a glossy voice. “Ask me anything.” Clearly he shared his brother's persuasive charms because I found myself complying.

“Alright… Why am I here?” I asked, setting the silver cup of pale pink liquid on the table.

“You already know the answer to that question, Princess.” He smirked. “Ask me another.”

“Where is this place?”

He yawned. “That can't be the best you can do?” His eyes widened in mock surprise. “You seriously need to start asking better questions.”

I sighed. Obviously I wasn't going to get anything useful from him. My mind drifted back to something I had overheard the other day.

“When can I leave?”

“
Ahh
, now we're getting to it.” A mischievous grin spread across his face, sending a chill down my spine. “But you are getting ahead of yourself. Perhaps a better question might be
'Can
I leave?'”

My blood froze, as his implications sunk in. “I can't stay here,” I blurted, shaking my head. “The whole town will be trying to find me.” I wondered vaguely if they would. That would mean acting in a way completely out of character from their typical apathetic norm. It implied someone took an interest… and I knew no one did. Not really. It was a painful fact that very few lives would be altered by my disappearance. Teachers may have noticed their A student was absent, but would any of them take the time to find out why? I doubted it. Abby and Davin would certainly know something was up, but with Mom away there's not much they could do. As for Neil and Brigit, they'd likely think I'd flown off to see Mom. Camilla would be the last one to come looking for me. Slim chance she even reported me missing, probably more relieved than worried. I could almost feel her smug satisfaction from here… wherever
here
was.

I looked at Julien, who was casually chewing a crumpet smothered in strawberry preserves, eyeing me curiously.

Swallowing my rising panic, I said, “I know everyone here mistakenly thinks I'm
supposed
to be here, but you're all wrong. And I want to go home. Now.” Perhaps if they believed someone was missing me they'd let me leave.

Julien leaned back, stretching his long legs in front of him and gave me another patronizing stare. “But you are home, Princess, and you've only just arrived. You can't leave so soon.”

I set my teacup on the table with too much force, sloshing the pinkish liquid onto the leafy tablecloth.

“Don't you think it's time you shook up this plain-Jane existence of yours? Live a little, take that reckless streak to the next level.” He grinned, flashing impossibly white teeth in a devilish smile.

“Are you going to tell me how I can get back home — my real home — or not?” I finally said, tired of his games. “When can I get out of here?”

“Well, now…” he said thoughtfully. “I guess that's up to you.” He leaned toward me, his eyes glinting with danger. “But admit it, Princess… you're at least a little curious about all of it, aren't you?”

I frowned and crossed my arms stubbornly.

His smile faded, replaced by a preschool pout that seemed ridiculously out of place on such a dangerously gorgeous face. He stood up, making a production of wiping his mouth and placing his napkin on the table. “I'm sorry, but this will be your home for the next little while, Lorelei Kaylen Alundra. We've gone to such great lengths to ensure your every comfort.”

“You know my full name,” I said, my eyes narrowing. “What… was Adrius reading aloud from his father's files?”

Julien made his way to the door, and I followed.

“
Everyone
here knows your name, Princess.”

“So I've heard,” I mumbled. “Where is he anyway? And why did he send you?”

He paused, reaching for my hand and placing a warm kiss on my knuckles that lingered a split second too long. I jerked my hand away.

“Adrius was called away in the line of duty. Such is the life of an Elven Prince. Duty first… Last… Always,” he drawled, impervious to my reaction. “And he didn't send me.” An impish smirk spread across his face. “I volunteered.”

“That's great. Then perhaps you can pass along the message, remind him of his promise, and tell him I'd like to see him as soon as possible.”

“As you wish, Princess.” He bowed. The glint in his eye should have warned me something unpleasant would come from it, but I was too annoyed to pay attention. About an hour later, a sharp rap on my door delivered the results of that premonition.

I opened the door to an Elven guard… the same one who had shown me to my room… the nicer of the pair.

He nodded quickly. “Lord Adrius waits for you in the gatehouse,” he said.

By the look on my face I figure he could tell I had no idea where that was.

“If you will, follow the eastern path.”

I frowned.

“This way,” he added, pointing toward the way he'd come.

I followed him down the stairway through several parts of the Citadel, across a long archway spanning between two mammoth trees, stopping in front of a small stone building with crumbling walls, overrun with vines and ropes of moss. I looked up at him expectantly, but he bowed, pivoted on his heel and disappeared in that faster-than-human way that was apparently a talent of all elves, without further explanation.

“Lorelei.” A sharp voice caught me off guard. Adrius stepped out from behind the ruins, not nearly as happy to see me as I was to see him.

He was dressed more casually this morning, in a loosely tied white shirt, and dark gray pants tucked into long boots.

“What is this place?” I walked toward the open doorway and entered. Adrius followed.

“The gatehouse… All but destroyed in the last war.”

I nodded, imagining the scale of the battle that must have taken place to bring such destruction. It must have been as beautiful as the rest of Elyssium at one time. My fingers trailed along a decaying wall before I turned to him.

“So why are we meeting
here
?” I angled to face him. His expression was unreadable.

“You wanted to see me.”

Any opportunity to set eyes on him was a treat, but meeting for breakfast had been his idea and he was a no-show for that.

“Well, whatever… thanks for agreeing,” I said, still unsure.

“I had no choice,” he replied, his eyes meeting mine briefly before looking away. “As Prince of Elyssium I'm bound to honor all promises upon command.”

He was still in that mood — standoffish and formal. There was none of the warm familiarity we'd shared at school.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, trying to catch his gaze which he kept carefully averted.

“I'm fine. What did you want?”

“I was hoping we could… talk. I heard you were too busy for breakfast—” I touched his arm.

He stepped away and I immediately felt foolish.

“I can't stay long,” he said, his voice flat and without emotion.

“I have some more questions since your brother answered zero.”

“I have time for three.”

I stiffened, trying to decipher his wintry mood. Finally he made eye contact, and a surge of electric energy shot through me, knocking me off balance. I sank onto the decayed stone bench next to the entrance.

Adrius remained rooted in place, watching me closely. In an instant I felt exposed, as if he was reaching inside my mind,exposing the secrecy of my thoughts.

I cleared my throat, in the hopes it would also clear my head. It worked, because the sensation faded.

“Breakfast with your brother this morning was… well… interesting,” I offered, trying to break the extra thick ice. No response. He barely acknowledged me at all except for his hard glare… So much for small talk.

“Okay, you said I was not who… what… I believed I was. And the same was true for my family as well… what did you mean?” I tried to keep my voice even and calm, but the intensity of his gaze was too unsettling.

“What did Julien tell you about the prophecy?” he snarled, startling me.

“Julien didn't tell me anything,” I bit back, confused. “But I would like to know what's really going on… why I'm being kept here. And what I have to do to go home.”

His face contorted into a scowl, as though I was asking something he would rather die than answer.

“I've already told you who and what you are.”

“Yes, but—”

He didn't let me finish. “The people you lived with were not the mortal, human family you thought they were,” Adrius replied shortly.

A strangled gasp escaped me. I stared up at him.

“Want to know more?” he vented. “The man you knew as your father was not human. He was a changeling, replaced by faeries of the Unseelie Court. It was unfortunate he lost his life, but his death was necessary.”

I reeled backward as though he'd slapped me. It felt like the room was spinning. I couldn't get enough oxygen.

“
Unfortunate
…
necessary
…” I stammered in disbelief. Puzzle pieces flew around in my mind, arranging themselves in a terrifying picture. Swallowing, I tried to steady my voice, but the words came out strained and hoarse. “Are you saying my father… his death wasn't an accident?”

Something flickered in his eyes, a glint of compassion, empathy. It faded too quickly, replaced by the blank, disimpassioned stare. He nodded.

I stood unblinking, not believing what I heard. My father was killed in a car crash. How could his accident not have been accidental?

“How… why—” A wave of bile entered my throat. “Were… did
you
…” I couldn't get the words out.

Adrius shook his head. “No. It wasn't me,” he said, his hostility fading slightly. I exhaled a quivering sigh of relief. Lifting his gaze, he studied my face for a moment. The penetrating sensation washed over me.

“And for what it's worth, I'm sorry… for all of it,” he said softly.

He sat down as far from me on the bench as he could, his hands clenched into fists on his knees. His flashing olive eyes fixed on them as he spoke.

“There is more to the prophecy than you know. More than I knew. Spending time with me is a bad idea, Lorelei. If you had any sense of self-preservation you'd stay away.”

My mouth gaped. “But you said you weren't responsible for—”

“I didn't kill them. But that was because I was not ordered to do so. Had I been, I would have been bound to carry out my duty, with little choice in my compliance.” His voice dropped in volume and tone. “As I would be if ordered to kill you.”

I shivered, looking at him… suddenly he was a stranger, alien and frightening. A new pain ached inside me.

There was more I needed to know… a lot more. “Why? Why were they killed?”

“Do you truly believe there is an explanation I can offer that would satisfy you? A reason you would find sufficient enough to ease your pain?”

“So that's your answer?”

Again, he nodded.

“Well, it's not nearly good enough,” I spat. I wanted to cry and scream and tear at his perfectly chiseled stone expression. “
Tell
me what
happened
, you promised me answers.”

“My trip to your world was to make certain the changeling was gone and you were safe. That was all.”

His callous mannequin-like responses fueled my igniting fury.

“You know more than you're saying. Tell me what happened to him.”

He didn't meet my gaze as he spoke. “I don't have an answer for you.” His voice dropped. “Except to tell you that he was not who you thought he was. And on the eve of your eighteenth birthday, your mind would have been sacrificed, your body enslaved to the Unseelie Court for all eternity. We could not let that become your fate.”

“Oh, so now you suddenly care what happens to me?” I lashed out.

“Should I count that as your second question?” he said, meeting my tortured gaze with detached eyes.

“What is wrong with you? Is this some kind of a game? Why would my life matter so much, when the lives of my family were so… dispensable? Why not just let me die? It would have been better than what I've had to live through.”

Adrius winced. The muscles of his jaw stiffened, but his expression remained vacant. “Your life is important because the prophecy decreed it to be. I am bound by duty to care what happens to you.”

Tears stung the corners of my eyes, but I was determined not to let him know. “Who was responsible for their death?” My voice quivered.

“…A Faery knight of the Unseelie Court.”

“Tell me how. How did it happen?” I asked, my gaze dropping to my trembling hands. Part of me dreaded the answer, but I had to know the truth.

“There was no accident. They were taken and brought to the Nevermore. It was in the winter court of the Unseelie that they were dealt with.”

“If my father was a changeling from this Unseelie Court, why would they have sent for him only to have him killed?”

He didn't respond. But I wasn't about to let it go. Something didn't make sense. I couldn't get the broken pieces to fit together in my mind.

“You don't know for certain he's dead. There's a chance he's still alive.”

“No, Lorelei. There isn't.” His open hostility subsided, but his words pierced through my bubble of hope.

“But you said yourself you don't know what happened to them once they reached the Unseelie Court, so it's possible, right?”

He rose abruptly. “I promised you three questions, I gave you five,” he said, his back toward me.

Jumping up, I grabbed his arm and spun him toward me. “Where is my father now?”

“I can't answer that, Lorelei.”

“Can't or won't?”

“Can't,” he said sharply. “I would have no way of knowing what became of him.” He started to walk away, pausing to look back at me. “But once in Faery, under the domain of the Unseelie and Shadow Courts, a human's life is almost always forfeit.”

My hand fell from his arm, and I swallowed, forcing back tears. “No. I don't believe you!” I lashed out at him, pushing against his chest.

He stood motionless, his head bent down, hair hanging over his eyes.

“No!” I tried to hit him again, barely cognizant of what I was doing. He caught my wrist and pulled me to him. My whole body trembled. He held me wordlessly, against his chest, stroking my hair, until I collapsed into his arms.

As the torrent slowed, I pulled back to look at him. His face was twisted in agony and remorse, his eyes dark, drained of anything but pain. Inhaling deeply, I pushed my hair away from my face.

He looked down at me, but didn't speak. Instead he took my hand and led me back to my room. The air was cooler, the skies a little darker and the balmy weather I'd arrived to seemed to be changing.

“I have to go,” he said quietly.

Then he was gone, as quickly and as silently as he had come. Too many questions gnawed at me, and I felt suddenly nauseous. My head throbbed and my skin felt too tight. I was drained and exhausted, but my mind had other ideas. The dark Faerie was here somewhere. I had to find him and get him to help me. No matter what the sacrifice.