Fire and Ice (15 page)

All too quickly he withdrew his hands, putting distance between us. The necklace hung weightlessly around my throat, and my fingers fluttered absently to caress it.

“Truce?” he asked, with a mischievous gleam.

“Truce.” I extended my hand.

He shook it, holding on a little longer than necessary before releasing it.

“Just as long as you don't expect me to hand over my firstborn child,” I added.

He laughed, but there was little humor behind it. “That was not the deal we made,” he said, his voice completely without irony. Then he smiled, guiding me with his hand on my back, and we continued the tour where Julien left off.

“It is strangely beautiful here, like a painting… very surreal.”

He laughed. “Somewhat like your sketches. But it's nothing like Drearyton Cove, so if that is the basis of your comparison, I see why you're impressed.”

Had my sketches captured the impossible beauty of this place? I doubted it. “I'm curious…”

“You always are. But I promised you answers, so go ahead, ask.”

“Hey, it's not my fault every answer raises a million more questions.”

His laughter washed over me, warm and soothing. I felt oddly safe with him. It was in light of his erratic mood swings, but I believed he wanted to protect me. Yet, there was something behind his eyes that hinted at a dark secret, a shadow I could also feel.

“If I am what you say I am…” I couldn't quite bring myself to use any of the terms he had used to describe me. That was all still way too surreal. “Then how did I end up in Drearyton Cove? And how did I get here? Was it all by chance? Or was it because I followed you into your world?” My face flushed. I hadn't planned to confess that like some boy-crazy stalker, I'd wanted him to come after me that night in the woods.

He smiled, obviously amused by the revelation. “Apparently you are being quite literal with your million questions.”

“Are there other humans living here?”

“Not in Mythlandria.” He paused, struggling with his thoughts. “But there are some who live among the faeries.” He chuckled darkly, his eyes suddenly fierce. “If you can call their existence living.”

I frowned, chewing my thumbnail absently. I tried not to imagine the horror of humans forced to serve the sick pleasures of the Unseelie fey.

He was scrutinizing my reactions to gauge how much truth I could handle. I didn't want to give him an excuse to back out, so I shoved down the rising nerves gnawing inside and jumped to another question. “Where is the Nevermore exactly? What separates it from my world? And how do you travel back and forth so easily?”

“Are you sure you want answers to all of this?” he teased.

I paused expectantly, catching my breath. “Okay, I'm listening.”

He sighed, raking his hands through his hair. “Well, it's not an easy thing to explain. Technically, there is nothing separating our worlds. Passage through the veil lies betwixt the dream life and the earth life. The Nevermore is accessible to anyone who looks for it with eyes to see.”

“Eyes to see?” I repeated blankly.

“Belief, or faith you might call it. There are surprisingly few humans who truly embody these traits, who live their lives from that perspective. It takes a great deal of trust.” He smirked. “And then, there's you — one who takes blind faith to impossibly dangerous extremes. Clearly you already think yourself immortal.”

I wasn't sure how I felt about his opinion of me being reckless. “I'm not against belief, but…” I said slowly. “But don't you think placing so much faith in a prophecy is a little, well… naive?”

Adrius leveled his gaze. “Is there nothing intangible you believe in?”

“I believe in lots of things. As for disembodied spirits offering prophecies and doling out arbitrary fates… Not sure where I stand on that one.”

He watched me for a moment then smiled. “Fair enough.”

We were close to my veranda, crossing the courtyard around a red fountain in the center of the mossy flagstones. I watched the crimson water dance in midair before diving into the fiery pool below, reflecting on how little I understood about him and his world.

“How do you know so much about me?”

His gaze ran over me, landing deeply in my eyes, and a soft shudder rippled through me. At last he answered. “I'm a seer.” The color of his eyes shifted subtly taking on a golden blaze. “I can read your thoughts like a book — past, present, and future.”

There wasn't anything remotely apologetic in his tone for the invasion of privacy.

“Haven't you heard ‘eyes are the windows to the soul'?” he asked, arching a brow with a wiry smirk.

“You mean all those times — like now — when I felt something probing my mind, you were actually reading my thoughts?”

He didn't flinch under my accusing glare but instead offered an insolent grin.

“Unbelievable!” I bristled, throwing my hands in the air. I stomped toward the staircase not caring if he followed, shaking my head in disbelief and muttering in outrage under my breath. He matched my stride effortlessly.

“No one can feel a seer's gaze, Lorelei. Not even a Sidhe Princess”

I stopped and spun around to face him. “Well, I can feel it and I don't like it,” I retorted. Who did these Elven Princes think they were anyway? Keeping me hostage in this place was bad enough. Now to find out he's been violating my personal thoughts the whole time? I felt my face turn red as I remembered the thoughts I'd had about him… I'd been daydreaming about the two of us since the night we met at the Lemon Balm, each fantasy more PG-13 than the last.

Of course he saw that too, judging by the wide grin.

As furious as I was embarrassed, I cleared my throat and smoothed my hair with an indignant huff. "Well, knock it off. My private thoughts are off-limits to you.”

He took in my tantrum holding back a smirk. “Lorelei, I've been listening to the inner monologues of others for centuries. You don't expect me to shut it off just like that.”

“Yes. I do,” I said flatly, folding my arms across my chest. “At least around me anyway.”

“Alright…” He shook his head, biting back laughter that might have earned him a smack. “I will see what I can do.”

“Thank you.” I relaxed as the probing subsided.

“Now, you were about to tell me how and why you came to Drearyton.”

We slowed our pace, this time it was Adrius who appeared uncomfortable.

Why were my questions so hard for him to answer?

“When we were in the keep, the Elven man I saw speaking with the winter Faerie… they referred to him as the king, and you called him your father. And I'm pretty sure that wasn't Dr. Greenbalm… so why don't you explain that one to me?

“Greenbalm isn't my father.”

“No kidding. That much I figured out on my own. Who is he?”

“He's my uncle.” His eyes grew hooded as he studied me.

“Your uncle. Is he even a real doctor?”

“He's studied psychology for several of your lifetimes. Don't worry, he's more than qualified.”

“Great. So is he human or part human?” I still wasn't sure how it all worked.

“No. He's an immortal, cursed to live in exile among humans for all of eternity. A fate considered worse than death, by some.”

I frowned.

“We are free to travel between The Veil, but cannot stay long. Even that becomes complex, as time itself is measured differently here.” He paused, letting me digest his words. When my expression remained unchanged, he continued. “Spending time in the human world is not something we feel the need to do. It's restrictive, binding. Our magic has no effect there. And the increasing pollution in the atmosphere is toxic to most beings from the Nevermore. But it can be a diversion. Sometimes.”

My stomach clenched unexpectedly. “Would you consider it a fate worse than death?” I'm not sure why I wanted to know. It's not like I had hopes of him returning with me to school as if everything was normal.

He was quiet, thinking things over. “That would depend. I used to spend a lot of time in your world, but now… it would have to be for something. Or someone… very special.”

How crazy was it I wanted to be that special someone. Almost as if I'd said it aloud, he narrowed his gaze and shook his head ever so slightly in response.

“It would mean giving up immortality, committing to exist while being slowly poisoned to death.”

My hopes vanished.

“But you lived there. Enrolled in high school. You were in my classes. Why?”

Before he could answer, an elf dressed in black and moss green with an armored vest approached. He resembled one of the guards who had shown me to my room. The not so friendly one. He bowed and then whispered something to Adrius, loud enough for me to hear. Although it did no good, because he spoke in a strange language I assumed was Elvish.

Adrius nodded and glanced in my direction.

“I'm sorry, Lorelei, but duty calls.”

“What's going on?” I asked, more curious about the guard's shifty stance than his message.

“Nothing to concern yourself with.” His mood was back to cool and detached.

“Just relax, make yourself at home for now. We'll talk later.”

Without another word, he disappeared into the bramble hedges. The guard grinned and followed. Drawing in a shaky breath, I realized my heart was racing for several reasons. Our conversation confirmed what I already knew was an impossible fantasy. We could never be together… at least not in my world.

Time flowed differently in Mythlandria, making it hard to keep track of how long I'd been here. Harder still was finding the dark Faerie among the strange and often terrifying creatures I encountered. Every morning I woke up suffocating with guilt and worry over my mom. What if I didn't get back in time? What if it was already too late? Having questioned everyone I could on how to get home it was painfully clear no one was willing or able to help me. Except for perhaps the dark Faerie. And no one wanted to talk about him at all.

Then every morning Adrius arrived like a breath of air, with an invitation to breakfast in one of the many lush gardens. Hard to say which was yummier, but the plates of sensually displayed vine-ripened fruits and honey cakes were almost as tempting as he was.

Adrius smiled, looking devastatingly gorgeous dressed in dark green and black. This morning he had a bow and quiver slung on his back.

“What's with the ammo?” I fingered a green feathered arrow after he laid them on the table.

“Just practicing…” He shrugged.

“Oh, now this I've got to see.”

“Alright, you try,” he countered, gesturing to the bow.

“Pardon me?”

“Go ahead. Give it a shot.”

I stared for a second, then grabbed the bow, selected an arrow, and positioned myself the way they did in the movies, with a cocky smirk. Must have been way off, because he cracked up laughing.

“What?” I glared.

“Nothing, it's just… here.” He came up behind me, his arms circling me to reposition the bow. If I was supposed to be concentrating, it was useless, because all I could focus on was his breath fanning my neck and how incredible he smelled. My hand trembled. Flustered, I took a step away. Not such a good idea to be handling weapons in this condition.

“Okay, so we've established I'm totally hopeless. Your turn…” I handed him the bow and struggled to regain a normal heartbeat.

“Alright, Lorelei.” He flashed a sexy grin. “Watch and learn.”

He drew the bow, and for a moment I lost myself in the sinuous tensing of his bicep.

“It's like this.” He caught me staring, so I nodded, twirling a lock of my hair. I should at least pretend to pay attention.

A strange feeling washed over me as I watched. Lean muscles pulled taut as he drew his bow — his every movement exquisite.

“Of course, if we were outside you would actually release it.” Lowering his arm, he set it down, his warm olive eyes never wavering from mine.

Again my pulse quickened and cheeks flamed. I averted my gaze even though what I really wanted to do was move closer to him… touch his arms, his face, his hair,, let my fingers brush his chiseled cheekbones, sculpted jaw… Biting my lip, I inhaled a deep breath. “Maybe we should go outside.”

Not that I was anxious to learn archery, but it gave me something to fixate on other than his perfection. It was hard enough not to make my growing obsession blatantly obvious.

We wandered to the edge of the river. Cool water bounced across the rocks, and jittery dragonflies careened to avoid the spray.

I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, examining the curled tips. “So, if I was to live here… hypothetically speaking, I would never age. I would never die.”

That same inexplicable look of frustration flickered in his eyes and then vanished. Adrius drew and released an arrow faster than my eyes could follow. It whizzed through the air striking a rock hundreds of yards in the distance, which cracked and shattered into rubble.

“Immortality is not as glamorous as it seems,” he said. “And there are some who live an immortal life in your world. But they exist in pain, watching as one love after another grows old and eventually dies.”

I shuddered, imagining what it must be like to relive that agony over and over again.

“There's one advantage to staying here for eternity — hypothetically speaking.” Adrius's expression lightened as he leaned forward so his hand could brush the top of my head. "You would be a real Faerie Princess,” he whispered. Then plucked a fallen leaf from my hair and handed it to me.

“Don't even go there,” I said rolling my eyes. “You can thank your brother for totally killing that childhood fantasy.” I repositioned myself closer to him, to hand him another arrow.

He leaned in slowly, his mouth hovering agonizingly above mine. My breath caught in my throat and for an unbearable moment, everything fell silent. The wind, the birds… even the pounding in my chest. Slightly lifting onto my toes I stretched, longing to close the tiny gap between us. The sweetness of his breath skimmed my lips.

Then he stopped, gently pulling back. “Speak of the devil,” he muttered, releasing me abruptly. Adrius stepped away but took my hand.

Confusion was rapidly replaced by disappointment, when Julien sauntered out of the brush, wielding that cat-who-swallowed-the-canary grin of his.

“Well, what a lovely surprise. I hope I'm not interrupting anything.” Grabbing an orange from the closest branch he bit into the fruit, skin and all, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

He had the worst timing.

“So what exactly are the two of you up to?” Julien waggled his fingers at us then dropped onto the grass. “Shouldn't you be preparing for the king's ball this evening?”

“There's a ball? Tonight?” My gaze darted from Julien back to Adrius.

Adrius nodded. “Beltane. The Feast of Spring. The king hosts this fete at Elyssium each season.”

I tried to imagine a party in Mythlandria… with strange and beautiful beings lacing the Citadel ballroom. Nothing about the picture I came up with made me want to go.

“Sounds fun,” I said, thinking exactly the opposite. It was hard to muster enthusiasm for something I wasn't all that fond of in my own world, where I knew what to expect. There my biggest problems were Brianne and her crew of spiteful witches. Here, the spiteful witches were real and a lot more dangerous.

"Relax, Lorelei." Adrius moved closer, picking up on my sudden anxiety attack. "It's merely a gathering with some friendly…"

“And not so friendly,” Julien added.

“…guests,”Adrius finished, shooting his brother a scathing glare. “You'll enjoy yourself.”

"There's no one I know,” I insisted, suddenly more panicked at the inference that they expected me to attend. “No one that's even human… Except for me.”

The brothers exchanged a look, but Adrius spoke up as if to stop Julien from saying what he was thinking.

“That doesn't matter. They are all anxious to meet you.”

I couldn't help the gnawing in my stomach. "Right, I'm sure the mythological beings of the Nevermore are all dying to get to know me. The ones that aren't trying to kill me.”

“What are you talking about?” Adrius frowned.

“Just a little run in I had the other day.” That was an understatement. In one short terrifying moment I'd managed to lose the one thing that made me who I was. “It's nothing,” I added quickly when he tensed. “The point is they're your guests, not mine. I shouldn't be there."

"They'll be yours too, one day, and you won't fear them once you get to know them."

Adrius rested his hand on the small of my back. That familiar feeling of protection flooded me. The one that made me want to agree with any idea he came up with. I made a mental note to ask him later if he was using some kind of mood control on me or something.

“What do you mean they'll be mine one day?”

Julien cleared his throat. And Adrius quickly changed the subject. “Everyone is anxious to meet you.”

“They don't even know me.”

"They already know everything they need to know. You're bold, beautiful, brave — and you drop like a leaf at the first sign of blood," he teased.

“You're funny.” I chewed my lower lip.

“You're forgetting the fact that you are their future queen. They have to love you,” Julien said, frowning at his brother's hand tracing circles on my spine.

“Yeah, and who started that rumor anyway?" I said with a nervous laugh. I wasn't ready to give in to this crazy destiny they all had planned for me. They had to know I couldn't possibly become their queen. But I'd learned not to jump to conclusions too quickly, since things were almost always more complicated than they seemed in Mythlandria.

When I looked up, Adrius was staring at me, his olive eyes glinting with flecks of amber. Standing so close to an angel, with his fingers sending tingling waves down my spine. If I blocked out all the rest of it, it was a perfect moment.

“But what do I wear?” I exhaled a defeated sigh, and tried to muster some enthusiasm.

Julien laughed. “Spoken like a true princess! A wardrobe filled with garments, yet not a thing to wear.”

I threw him a look. It was true there were an assortment of fanciful gossamer gowns, yet nothing that seemed fitting for a ball that included both Faery and Elven royalty. Although I had no idea what would be considered suitable attire.

“Anything you wear will be perfect,” Adrius soothed.

“Feel free to sit down and stay awhile, Princess.” Julian patted the ground next to him. “Being an expert on the female form, I'd be happy to give you fashion suggestions, if my brother has to rush off.” He gave Adrius a dark grin.

“Actually, we were just leaving.” Adrius's voice remained unchanged but he tightened his grip on my hand. In Julien's presence his whole mannerism changed. The openness I'd been enjoying disappeared, leaving in its place a stoic mask. I looked at him but didn't respond.

“So soon?” Julien cooed.

“Like you said, there's a ball to prepare for.” His voice had an edge to it. “You ready?”

It took me a second to realize he was talking to me.

“Yes.” My confusion was evident.

His fingers squeezed mine as he led us out of the orchard.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Julien leaning against a tree, watching. What was with this hostility between them? More questions better left for another time judging by the vein in Adrius's temple pulsing violently.