Protecting Shaylee (The Fae Guard Book 1) (30 page)

He grunts out a string of curse words and slams his fist in the grass. “You’re going to piss me the fuck off, Shaylee.” He climbs back to his feet and calmly brushes the dirt and grass from his shirt and pants. However, the façade is broken by the fury in his gaze. Killian’s back is to the house now, so he doesn’t notice the movement on the porch and I see Hayleigh has retreated back to the door of the house. Her betrayal knifes me, but I don’t have time to focus on that, right now. At least she isn’t joining his ranks.

“What exactly do you want, Killian? Why are we here?” my voice is heavy with irritation. I don’t want to provoke him, but it helps to mask the fear. I’m ready to face these situations; it’s what I’ve been training for. But, not while I’m pregnant. It was why Aden insisted someone always be with me here, so that I would never end up in this situation, facing a Fallen alone.

“You’re not as special as they think you are, you know,” he sneers. I don’t know, so I raise an eyebrow, requesting an explanation. “Oh, you don’t know, do you?” He laughs manically and now I’m convinced that someone is about to jump out of the darkness and yell, “Cut!” An idea filters into my mind and I almost dismiss it but . . . So far, this situation is right out of a bad movie. So, maybe I can do that thing where they play on the bad guy’s ego to give me enough time to form a plan. I want to roll my eyes at the stupidity of this plan, but hey, what have I got to lose, right?

“Why don’t you tell me, Killian?” I do my best to adopt a bored expression.

“Did you know they were looking for Aden?” Killian watches me for a reaction and he’s got my full attention now, but I keep my features schooled not giving away my interest. “When they killed your father.” The coolness of my demeanor cracks when he brings up my dad’s murder. Killian catches the minute slip and his thin lips spread into a creepy smile.
How did I ever think this guy was attractive?
I know somewhere in my subconscious that I should be concocting plans, but I’m completely focused on his story.

“Yup.” His lips smack together and I hold back a cringe. “I don’t know all the ins and outs of the grapevine, but someone found out about the power that Aden and the one he is fated with, would develop. I guess their goal was to turn him or kill him, but the asshole always managed to shake them. Like I said, I don’t know all the particulars; I don’t really care.” He shrugs, but there is something in his expression, a gleam of that ego, shining through.

“But, you know more than they think, don’t you, Killian?” I state, pandering to his cocky attitude.

“Of course I do!” he snaps. “I’m the one who led them to you in the first place. They should be grateful to me, not shutting me out. After all, I’m the one who found you again, aren’t I?” His smug expression and sinister smile return. “They found your aunt, since she doesn’t have any children that would shield her magic. Watching her, led them to your dad, who they then cornered in the alley. His magic was pretty weak from being in the human realm for so long. Anyway, he was being obstinate and no help at all.” He rolls his eyes. “Stupid man,” he adds. My fists and jaw clench with anger, both aching from the strain, but by some miracle, I’m able to keep the emotion from bleeding into any other visible signs.

“Anyway, I guess he pissed off the wrong guy because one of them stabbed him.” He shrugs nonchalantly, like the death of another person is just no big deal.

“Funny thing is; they had no idea that you were Aden’s fate. I was raised by a dark Fae and dating you was just a happy coincidence.”
For you.
“Then I turned twenty-one and we realized I was a fate reader. For a half Fae to be a fate reader is spectacularly rare.” His conceit is brimming now and I realize that he’s so sure I’m enthralled with him, that he isn’t paying me much attention. I start searching the exits as discreetly as possible, while still making the requisite noncommittal sounds as though I’m listening intently.

He starts droning on about our “courtship” and how I’d callously thrown it away. That we could have had a perfect life together and he was always watching me, caring for me, and a whole bunch of other bullshit.
This guy lives in fantasy land, doesn’t he?
If I can get him to back up to the railing to the porch, maybe I can keep him plastered against it with a stiff wind, long enough to run. I’m contemplating just how to get him to back up when my attention is caught by his next words.

“Well, you’ve gone and ruined the future I had planned for us. I decided not to suffocate you that night; give you another chance.” He sighs melodramatically. “I thought maybe we could just cut out that thing growing inside you. But, no; you’re beyond tainted now. I’m just going to have to kill you.”

HAYLEIGH SILENTLY SWINGS THE door open and I slip through onto the porch. She’d managed to keep her phone hidden behind her back and send me a text to let me know what had happened. Thank God I’d already arrived back in New York and was at Shaylee’s house, waiting for her. Hayleigh had succeeded in melting into the background so that, with his full attention on Shaylee, he would forget all about her. If he noticed her movement at the door, he would most likely assume that she was leaving to save herself.

Shaylee had wisely kept him talking, not too hard since its clear this guy is an arrogant bastard. She hadn’t seen me yet, and I tried to keep it that way for as long as possible. I have no doubt that she would be able to keep from giving off any indication that she’d seen me. But, it will just be easier if she is as surprised as Killian.

I creep down the steps, just to his right, along the outer wall that juts out just beyond the porch. Hayleigh follows silently, but she moves to his right, ready to protect Shaylee when I’ve got Killian’s attention.

I’m forming a strategy when I hear his threat to Shaylee. I flip my shit and pull a sudden burst of wind from behind him, shoving him right into the wall next to me. I spin him around and slam him up against it, my hand pressing tightly into his neck.

“You know, Killian, when you started dating Shaylee, I knew there was something off about you.” I can feel him trying to blow me away but the thing is, in this little fairy tale, I’m the big fucking bad wolf and I’m going to crush his motherfucking house. I press his throat even harder and he begins to sputter, his skin turning the color of eggplant.

“Then you went and started treating her like shit and I had to have a little talk with you. That’s when I knew you were Fae. But, being the sniveling little rat that you are, I didn’t see you as being any further of a threat to her.” I’ve kept my tone light as though we were just having a conversation, but now I drop it down and it becomes menacing when I bring our faces only inches apart. “I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” A new voice slithers into the darkness, bringing a surge of cool power into the air. He’s a Fallen but I know better than to take my attention off of Killian, so I trust Hayleigh to take care of the newcomer. I take note however, that Killian’s eyes are now full of terror and his attempts to remove me have ceased.

“Who the fuck are you and what do
you
want?” Shaylee spits. I can’t help but smile at how feisty she is.

“No need to be crass, my dear. I’m Aodhagan.”

I don’t like having my back to this guy, so I cause the roots from the tree, a few feet away, to grow in our direction. Once they reach the wall, they begin to climb up, twisting and winding all around Killian, keeping him immobile and fixed to the wall. Being in this close of proximity to Shaylee boosts my abilities; Killian won’t be able to do much from his little perch. I might have made the roots a little tight; it’s possible he is struggling to breathe right now. I mentally shrug and turn to face the Fallen, standing much too close to Shaylee.

He reminds me of someone, with his lengthy, straight, black hair, falling down well below his shoulders, with a deep widow’s peak on his forehead. His face is long, with a patrician nose, narrow, dark eyes, and a small, thin-lipped mouth. Suddenly, Shaylee’s Harry Potter references don’t seem so far off.

I reach out my hand and motion her over to me. “Baby, come over here.”

She makes a wide berth around Aodhagan and walks to my side. Hayleigh is hanging back again, blending, forgotten until she’s needed. “You haven’t answered the whole question. What do you want?” I bite out.

“Well, I was looking for Killian. It seems you found him first.” He examines Killian and raises his eyebrows slightly. “It looks as though you’re not very fond of each other.”

Shaylee snorts in contempt. “Actually, he found me and well, yeah. You could say I’m not
fond
of him.”

Aodhagan’s inspection shifts to Shaylee, curiosity sparking in his eyes. “I have introduced myself, would you be so kind as to return the favor?”

His speech pattern is niggling at me, trying to ferret out a memory. He is obviously much older and hasn’t lost the refined speech and posture of his day. Curious, I decide to give an inch. “I’m Aden Foster.” There is a flash of recognition in his eyes; visible, despite the bland expression on his face.

“Hmmm. Aden Foster. It’s nice to finally make your acquaintance. I do believe the others of my council have been searching for you.” This information brings the memory closer to the surface, but I still can’t quite grasp it. He’s a member of the Fallen council and yet he has come personally searching for Killian?

“What is it you want, Aodhagan?” I don’t even try to hide my impatience.

He studies us for a moment. “You are Shaylee? You’re fated with Aden?” His voice holds mild curiosity, but there is something dark hidden behind it. There seems no reason to hide it, so I answer, “She is.”

The darkness emerges as his gaze whips back to Killian, and for a moment he is unable to hide his disapproval and rage. “Killian was instructed to bring the whereabouts of certain Fae directly to us,” he quickly morphs his countenance back to one of only mild interest. His eyes shift just the tiniest bit, but enough to know that Killian was not supposed to approach Shaylee on his own.

“He has chosen to go against the council one too many times and I was tasked with bringing him in to be . . . chastised.” His hesitation explains some of the terror I’d seen from Killian. I don’t think it’s a stretch to believe their version of chastisement involves a great deal of pain. “If you would remand him to my custody now, we’ll be on our way.”

I have no sympathy for what Killian would endure under the thumb of the Fallen council. However, he is a fate reader so they won’t kill him and that’s not acceptable to me. Not only did this son of a bitch try to kill Shaylee, but she’ll never be safe from him if we don’t end him.

The Fae are not ones to seek violence, we are not malicious, but our role as protectors becomes even fiercer when it is our family. I would not choose to kill someone if there were any other way, but I know, deep down, that Shaylee will always be in danger.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you have him.” Again, I see the slightest crack in his pleasant demeanor and his angry disapproval becomes faintly visible before it vanishes.

His probing gaze is steady on Shaylee and me, seeming to contemplate his options. He even turns to glance at Hayleigh, having not forgotten her as we’d thought. She steps forward, not in a threatening way, but simply in a statement that she is there to aid the situation. There is a miniscule change in him like he’s decided that going against us is a lost cause. “Very well, I would be a fool to pit myself alone against three other Fae, and even more of a fool, considering the power between you two.” He dips his head in farewell and glides toward the back gate, tapping the tree as he steps past it, eliciting a gasp from Killian. Just as he steps one foot through the exit, he pauses. “Tell your friend, Ean, I look forward to making his acquaintance,” he calls without even turning around. Then, he is gone.

His cryptic words have the three of us wearing matching frowns. There is something about that man . . .

I shake off the encounter and move on to my next task, wanting to get Shaylee home and safe. I pivot on my heel and step back in front of Killian, but before I finish him, I decide to take the advantage he provides us. I loosen the hold of the roots and wait, while he gasps for air and some of the bluish tint on his skin begins to recede.