Knight in Leather (21 page)

Siobhan lunged toward him, but Ethan’s reflexes were obviously well honed. He got between the princess and the scoundrel and put up his hands. “Easy, now.”

Hestia massaged the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “I didn’t come here to referee. Once I leave, you’re on your own, Colin. They can beat you black and blue and I won’t interfere.” She dropped her hand, only to prop it against her hip, and cleared her throat.

“I don’t like when you clear your throat,” Dasha said. “The sound always makes me think pain and suffering will follow soon after.”

“No pain. No suffering. Just a favor that needs to be done.”

“By whom?”

“You, dear. I need to phrase this in such a way that I don’t step on Mielikki’s toes.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about her. She doesn’t really pop in the way you do.”

“Just because you don’t see her doesn’t mean she isn’t around. She’s always been a little less…” Hestia crinkled her nose and made a waffling hand gesture. “
Overt
in her interactions with her favored ones. Some goddesses might get annoyed with me speaking with you at all. She’s generally slow to temper, so I’ll just come out with the request.”

“What do you need?”

“I need you to fetch a fairy for me. Since you’re going into the realm, anyway.”

“Um. I’m going into a very specific part of the realm, so if that fairy doesn’t live within a three-minute walk of the portal, you’ve got the wrong girl.”

Hestia waved a dismissive hand. I’ve got the plan all worked out. When you get there, you just need to get hold of Fergus so he can open the tunnel between the Gotches’ little patch of forest and the palace.”

“Why the hell would she want to do that?” Ethan asked. “My parents don’t try to get near the place. They had Fergus close down that tunnel eons ago to make Rhiannon have to work harder to travel to them.”

“Yes, but I’ve got everything arranged.” Hestia fixed her gaze on Dasha and pulled a small, silver-colored envelope from the folds of her robe. “All you need to do is blow the contents of this packet into the face of whichever guard approaches the tunnel, and then wait.”

“What’s inside?”

“Oh, just a bit of magic that relays specific instructions.”

“It’s a
spell
,” Siobhan said, shaking her head. “If you’re rolling up your sleeves like this and getting your hands dirty, whoever that fairy is you’re trying to get out must be very important to you.”

“He’s important to many, including a woman living outside the realm, even if she doesn’t know yet. Him being freed of his binds to Rhiannon is important. He is needed elsewhere to put other plans in motion.”

“Plans that have nothing to do with us, I’m guessing,” Ethan said.

Hestia shook her head. “Not directly. And I am not the goddess who bestows this gentleman favor. In this case, I am merely a messenger who has agreed to pass the mission on to you.”

“That doesn’t sound like something you’d do,” Siobhan said.

Hestia shrugged in that graceful way she always did. “The outcome is important to my fellow, and she made a convincing argument.”

“And I take it he can’t wait for the Great Fairy Escape?” Dasha asked.

Hestia cringed.

Dasha had
never
seen the goddess cringe.

“No,” Hestia said flatly.

“What are you not telling us?” Ethan asked.

“I’ve already said too much,” Hestia said. “Any more, and I may inadvertently lead your actions in ways that would break the code of conduct for beings like me.”

Siobhan dragged her hand down her face and let her breath out in a sputter.

Hestia locked her gaze on Dasha.

“What?” Ethan snarled.

Hestia opened her mouth, closed it, shook her head, and then vanished.

“Shit.”

Dasha got a sinking feeling.

She turned in Ethan’s arms and looked up at him. “What was that about?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, sweeting, though you’re wise to be suspicious of her coyness.”

Colin grunted. “When they clam up like that, it’s usually for some dastardly reason.”

“You would know, right?” Siobhan asked him tartly.

“Why would
he
know?” Dasha asked.

“His disrespect toward fairies is because he isn’t one. In spite of who is mate apparently is, he thinks we’re lesser. He’s a demigod. His father is Poseidon. We may never know who his mother is, but I’d imagine his sunshine and roses demeanor came right from the sea god himself.”

Colin grunted. “Never met my mother, actually. I mean, I’m sure she was
there
when I was born, but my father had no need for her beyond that.”

Siobhan drew in a long breath, clenched her fists at her side, and let the breath out slowly. Whatever meditative effects she thought that action would have obviously didn’t work. Her bright blue eyes were clouding over and her fair skin was turning a sickly greenish gray.

“Shit,” Ethan muttered. He unhanded Dasha again, tossed Siobhan over his shoulder, and ran faster than a man his size should have been capable of.

Not fast enough, though. Before he could round the corner of the motel office, Siobhan sent out a torrent of magic that even Dasha with her human senses could feel, and the energy was nasty.

As the magic hadn’t intended for her, she didn’t get the full-bore effect. It made her cough and scrunch her nose at the foul scent it carried, but forced Colin onto his knees.

Evidently, he couldn’t draw breath. Mouth gaping and eyes bulging, he scratched as his throat and gagged.

Dasha didn’t know what to do. Obviously Ethan had tried to stop what he suspected Siobhan was working up, so Dasha figured that maybe she shouldn’t let the guy die.

She canted her head and put her hands on her hips. “Can demigods die?”

Colin coughed and clawed at his throat.

“Is that a yes or a no?”

He pointed to his back and pantomimed pounding.

Scoffing, she walked over to his kneeling form. She delivered a hard smack to his middle, upper back with the flat of her hand.

He fell forward, wheezing and sputtering on the asphalt. “
Damn
, she packs a wallop.”

Dasha knelt beside him and grunted sweetly. “You know, these folks are serious about their friendships. You might want to be careful what you say around them.”

He coughed some more—violent, unproductive coughs that had him going red in the face and retching at the end. When he finally got control of his lungs, he dragged the bottom of his shirt across his sweaty face. “Fairies don’t make friends. They just use each other for what they can get.”

“Really? Because that’s not what I’ve observed in the past six months. These people care about each other.”

“I’m sure they’re putting on a good show of it.”

“To what end?”

He shrugged. “Who the fuck knows? Nothing is genuine about the world people like me live in. You’re lucky to have been born and raised on the outside.” He pointed to her and raised his dark brows. “If you had a brain in your head, you’d get as far away from the mess as you could.”

“Too late for that.”

“Why, because some asshole says you’re his mate?”

“I
am
his mate.” Dasha believed that with a clarity she hadn’t known in years. Apparently, acceptance had paved the way for truth. She believed she was Ethan’s with the same certainty she knew those dark clouds covering the sun meant rain was coming. The condition was obvious she’d done a little better than made her peace with it.

She
liked
the man.

Colin scoffed. “Such confidence.”

“You sound so derisive, and yet when you saw Daryn, you seemed pleased enough that you’d caught yourself a fairy.”

He shrugged again. “Compared to folks like me, they’re fertile.”

“Fairies aren’t particularly fertile, from what I hear.” If they were, she wouldn’t have done what she’d done with Ethan without a condom coming into play.

“As I said, compared to folks like me.”

Dasha stood and jammed her hands into her pockets. “You don’t even see her as a person, do you? She’s just a pretty face with a cunt and a uterus, huh?”

“You think your fairy sees you as more than that? If so, you’re mistaken.”

“You’re a sick puppy, you know that? Go fuck yourself.” Dasha headed toward the office, and she didn’t need to have any magic to know the jackass was following right at her heels.

She would have told him to back up, but knew doing so would have been pointless. They were going to the same place.

If he knew what was best for him, though, he’d keep his mouth shut. She might not have been able to lay a guy out like Simone, but she had no problem with trying to claw him bloody.

Fortunately for Colin, he’d found some wisdom—or at least some very sticky gum—and with it, kept his mouth from running as he traveled through the tunnel with Dasha.

Ethan had pressed his gun upon her again for her to take. She hadn’t wanted to, but he’d seemed so anguished about her being unarmed, and she hated that he was so anxious. She’d never seen him like that, and she wasn’t going to let that mouthy demigod tell her that Ethan’s cautiousness was simply because he wanted to protect his biological investment.

She needed his affection and worry to be based on sounder reasoning than that. If he didn’t care about her romantically, than he was doing a damned good job of pretending.

She heard the snarl at the end of the tunnel and, gripping the hilt of the gun, slowed her steps.

“For gods’ sakes, just blast whatever beast it is out of the way,” Colin said, pushing around her.

She ran ahead and put her back to whatever it was, pushing Colin back into the tunnel. “You reckless jerk,” she snapped. “You can’t go through life blasting things that don’t trust you.”

Turning slowly, she swallowed hard and let out a breath at the sight of the familiar wolf.

“Mr. Gotch.”

His gaze tracked over to Dasha’s tagalong.

“He just needs to get to a body of water,” she said. “He’s annoying as hell, but he’s not going to stick around long enough to bother you.”

The wolf canted his head toward the path that led around the cottage.

Colin got moving. “See you when I see you, I guess.”

“And hopefully no time soon.”

Dasha shifted the heavy duffel bag she carried to her other hand and watched Colin’s figure retreat around the side of the house.

When he was gone, Mr. Gotch headed toward the cottage, and Dasha followed.

He padded around to the side, and Dasha let herself in through the front door, depositing the overstuffed bag at the door and slipping her purse’s strap from around her neck.

“Mrs. Gotch?”

“I’m still alive, dear,” came the ailing woman’s weak voice.

Dasha headed to the bedroom and, poking her head into the door, found the lady sitting up. She was still as frail and gaunt as she had been during Dasha’s last visit, but obviously strong enough to be upright.

“Needed a different view?” Dasha asked.

Moira nodded. “Ethan always tells me… Not to tax myself… So quickly.”

“Well, you’ll be back on your feet in no time, I’m sure, but you’re probably like my mother. Can’t just be sitting still doing nothing.”

“Need to be… Working.” Moira gestured slowly to the bedside, and said, “Sit. Tell me why…”

“Why I’m back already?”

Moira nodded again.

Dasha settled into the chair at the bedside right as the elder Ethan, on two legs and wearing the face that looked like his son’s at the moment, leaned into the window.

“Who was the pissant with the attitude?” he asked.

“Colin.” Dasha rolled her eyes and affected her most deep, theatric voice to add, “Son of Poseidon.”

“Explains why he was looking for water, I guess. Probably uses it to travel between one part of the realm and the next. What does he want?”

“I’m not exactly sure. We’re not what you’d call friends. All I know is that Thom and Ethan sent him here to do…
something
.” She shrugged. “My brain copes better if I don’t ask them too many questions.”

Ethan Senior narrowed his eyes and fixed his gaze on the hands Dasha had twined atop her lap. “Did Ethan not get the sword?”

“Oh, he got it. Perplexed him, actually.”

“Uh-huh. Did he
unsheathe
the thing?”

“If he did, he didn’t do it in front of me. When I got back to the motel, I gave him the sword, and he went straight to his room.”

He groaned. “No matter, I suppose.”

“What did I miss?”

“Your damned rings were inside the sheath.”

“Pardon?”

“Your
rings
, woman. Not all fairies exchange them, but the tradition is one our family adopted ages ago. You need to wear those rings.”

“You mean…
wedding
rings?”
Because he’s my husband, apparently.
She kept forgetting. “I…have a husband.”

Moira chuckled. “Odd to think of…Ethan being so grown-up.” She fixed her gaze on
her
Ethan. “That’s what you get…” She paused to take a deep breath. “For being subtle.”

He grunted. “Perhaps so. So, what do we owe the pleasure of such a rapid repeat visit?”

Dasha’s brain needed a moment to parse his words. Her brain was still a muddled mess from the mention of rings and marriage. She’d been married for six months and hadn’t known. She was a fairy’s mate. And that fairy was honest and protective. The incredibly good-looking part certainly didn’t hurt. The fairy stuff was off-putting at times, sure, but she was getting used to all the surprises, the chaos, and the passion.

She even thought her father would like him, and she’d never been able to say that before about any man she’d been with. He’d take care of Dasha, and in spite of Colin’s grumbles, she wasn’t going to let herself doubt that for a moment. Her gearhead father would probably take one look at Ethan’s Harley and call him “Son.”

“Um.” She fiddled with the end of her scarf and took a deep breath. “Well, I’ve brought you some stuff for you to coordinate an exodus on your end, I guess. I don’t know if I can explain things as well as Ethan would be able to. He said something about giving up some magic and that being a fairy’s ticket out of the realm.”

Ethan Senior nodded slowly. “Many would jump at the opportunity.”

“Yourself included? I think Ethan believed that was the case. He wanted to know what you were thinking.”

“Yes. The thought had crossed my mind.”

“Well, all the stuff in that duffel bag is for you. I don’t know what’s inside. Ethan and Heath packed it, and I guess they would know what they were doing.”

“How often do they plan on opening portals here?”

“That, I don’t know, but there is a journal sticking out of the bag. They might have jotted down the logistics inside.”

“I’m sure they did. Hold tight.” He disappeared from the window, likely to loop around to the front of the house.

Moira gave Dasha’s wrist a squeeze. “You’ll stay… For a while?”

Dasha cringed. “I can’t, actually. Somehow, I’m supposed to run a message to the palace and get back before the tunnel on this end collapses. The guys said you’d be able to tell me how to get in touch with Fergus.”

“Mmm.” Moira moved her hand to the bedside table and wrapped her fingers around the handle of a hand mirror. She sighed, and looked to Dasha.

“Too heavy? Let me.” She put the mirror on the lady’s lap.

Moira waved her hand over the glass, and said in her soothing way, “Where are you, Fergus?”

The surface of the mirror fogged, then cleared, and a moment later, old Fergus squinted on the other side of the glass.

“Whoa!” Dasha couldn’t help her excitement. The fairies back at the Hearth could do some pretty extraordinary things, but nothing as
useful
as communicating through a mirror.

“Oh!” Fergus said. “That you, Dasha? What are ye doing with Moira?”

“Um. That’s a complicated story and I’m a wee bit short on time today. I need you to open the tunnel between your place and here. I have to go to the palace and deliver a message from Hestia.”

“Gods, they’ve got ye runnin’ their errands?”

She shrugged. “There’s no one else who can come here. I don’t have fairy magic, so Rhiannon can’t detect me.”

“True enough. All right, girlie. I’ll open the tunnel up and meet ye on the other end in a moment.”

He disappeared from the glass, and Dasha returned the mirror to the nightstand.

Moira grabbed her hand before Dasha could get to her feet. Panic tugged at her delicate features.

Dasha didn’t try to understand the way she felt. Her compulsion was to soothe, not to query. She never wanted to make people feel bad about needing comfort. Ben had possessed a real talent for doing that to her on the days she’d been at her lowest—the days she’d wanted to leave the most.

“Hey,” she said, mustering up as much cheer as she could. “I’ll be back in a bit, assuming I don’t take twenty minutes to jog between here and Fergus’s.”

“Not…that far. Easy walk within…the realm.”

“Okay. Lickety-split, then.”

“Be careful…near the palace.”

“I will. Ethan even sent me with a gun. Not sure what he thinks I could possibly do with it, seeing as how a bullet or two probably wouldn’t take down most of y’all. Maybe I could just annoy someone to death with the sound of my voice.”

Moira sighed. “Be careful…all the same.”

“Don’t worry. I have a very well-honed sense of self-preservation.” She cringed. “Now I do, anyway.”

Dasha relieved her purse of a couple more paperbacks and left them near the edge of the bed. Then she hurried out to the front room, where Ethan Senior was studying the book from the bag.

“Good information in there?”

“Aye,” he said. “No firm plans, but good information all the same.”

“Cool. So, where’s the tunnel to Fergus’s?”

“Just follow the path down. If he’s got it open, you’ll see the magic shimmering around the hole after a ten-second walk. The portal is built into the side of a hill.”

“Got it.”

Dasha took a look at her borrowed watch, clutched her purse to her side, and started jogging.

___

As much as he wanted to, Ethan couldn’t sit inside the motel office watching the portal and waiting for his wife to return. Prince Heath and Thom were both demanding his attention, and given the topic of discussion was certainly relevant to Ethan, he had no choice but to engage them.

They were sharing a table at The Shell Shack and digging into the day’s catch.

“Caryl’s been patrolling,” Thom said. “She said she keeps seeing Laurel on the beach near the motel.”

“I wish she would give up, already,” Ethan said. “She just can’t seem to take no for an answer.”

“That’s typical of her kind, though,” the prince said. “Once they’ve decided something, there’s no changing their minds.”

“Is that the fairy in them or the fish?”

Thom grunted. “Neither. I suspect the tendency is due to the combination of the two. Some groups simply shouldn’t crossbreed.”

“But, you do realize that Daryn has gained a fish as a mate?”

Thom grunted again. “Probably won’t be an issue. Seems to get worse with subsequent generations.”

“Be straightforward,” Prince Heath said. “You’re talking about inbreeding. Just say the word.”

Ethan dunked a shrimp into his vat of cocktail sauce and cringed. “The things some people do to keep certain types of magic in their families still stun me after all this time.”

“Selective breeding. From what I heard, my father’s family frequently arranges certain kinds of matches.” The prince made a moue of distaste, which quickly went away when Princess Simone returned from the bathroom and took her seat at his side.

“What did I miss?” She glanced down at her watch, so Ethan looked at the time on his phone.

Dasha had about twenty minutes to return before the tunnel closed. She’d had a lot to do in such a short period of time. He hoped she hadn’t run into any problems.

If anything happened to her, no one would be able to calm him, except to knock him out. Heath would have to pull every bit of energy off him to keep him from finding a portal to run through or the right kind of magic user to teleport him. He didn’t care if Rhiannon would be able to detect him. No one was going to keep him from his mate.

“Caryl has seen Laurel swimming near the motel,” Thom said.

The princess rolled her eyes. “Want me to open up a drop portal to toss her into? I’m low on energy right now, but I could probably manage opening one that didn’t have a specified end.”

“If she gets close, I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t.”

“Have I been too kind?” she asked.

Ethan let his breath out in a sputter. “She’s not your problem. She’s
my
problem, and I’ve been letting other people deal with her as if I’m not capable of handling her myself. What’s wrong with me?”

Princess Simone reached over and patted his hand. “You’re a gentleman, and for whatever reason, you still see her as a lady. Stop seeing her as a lady. I think we’ll all forgive you if you do.”

“I can’t physically assault her. She’s a woman and weaker than me.”

“She wouldn’t be in the water, though,” Thom said. “If she gets you in the water—”

“Yeah, I’d be toast.”

The princess narrowed her eyes and drummed her nails against her tea glass. “Think that’s what she’s doing? Trying to lure you to the water?”

“I wouldn’t put the stunt past her. Every time I bumped into her at the motel, she asked me to go swim with her.”

“She thinks you’re stupid.”

“Apparently.” He looked down at his phone again.
Fifteen minutes
.

The motel was a five-minute walk from the restaurant, but they’d all ridden over. They could get back in no time flat.

He dragged the back of his hand across his sweaty brow and rocked back on his chair legs.

Thom reached over and gave his bicep a squeeze. “Easy.”

“I don’t know how the hell you could possibly expect me to be. How can you stand being away from your mates for as long as you do? Dasha’s been gone barely forty-five minutes, and I’ve already broken out into a cold sweat.”

“In my case, psychic shit. That’s the perk of having two telepaths as mates. They never really seem to be that far away. Also, being near Simone likely takes some of the edge off.”

“Alas, I get one mate and no spares, and frankly, that’s all I want.”

“You should tell Dasha that,” the princess said.

“Tell her what?”

“That you don’t want spares. I think she freaked out a little when she caught a whiff of Heath’s practical nature.”

“Fairies are practical in general.”

She nodded. “Right. To a fault, at times. But remember, Dasha’s not a fairy, so the tiered relationship concept isn’t something she’s going to grasp for a while, if ever. Regardless, you have to help her understand that you’re a one-woman man,
period
.” She narrowed her eyes. “You
are
, aren’t you?”