Shadowspell (21 page)

I sighed. “If she wants to kill me, she can line up behind all the other people who want the privilege.” If I wasn’t careful, having all these people wanting to kill me was going to make me bitter.

He nodded in approval. “I admire your courage, Faeriewalker. Very rare in one so young.”

“Er, thanks. And I thought you were going to stop calling me that. My name is Dana.”

“My apologies, Dana. And my name is Arawn. Few would dare use it, but you may do so with my blessing.”

I was saved from having to answer when the doorbell rang. Kimber was here.

The Erlking—Arawn—picked Ethan up and carried him as easily as if he were a baby. Without another word to me, he headed for the door, and I hurried to catch up.

*   *   *

My mind kind of numbed out a bit after that. Kimber was both thrilled and panicky when Arawn handed her brother’s limp body to her. As a full-blooded Fae, she was able to handle his weight, though not as easily as Arawn could. Tears streamed down her face, and there was no sign of the crankiness she usually displayed around Ethan. Probably just as well he was only sporadically conscious, or he’d never have let her live it down.

She was distracted enough by her relief over Ethan’s release that she didn’t ask me how I’d managed it. I felt like I’d dodged a bullet, but I fully expected her to start shooting more bullets than I could avoid when she’d recovered her composure.

We went our separate ways after that, Kimber taking Ethan to their father’s house, while I returned to my safe house. I’d hesitated a long time before doing it, afraid there might be consequences Arawn had failed to mention, but eventually I pricked my finger on the brooch he’d given me. With no bodyguards, and only about half my wits available, I was a sitting duck for anyone who wished me harm, so I figured it was absolutely necessary that I hide myself from sight.

My sense of direction sucks, but I’d traveled back and forth from my safe house often enough that I was able to find my way without assistance. I didn’t have the stag to light my way this time, but Arawn had thoughtfully given me a flashlight.

Finn was being very bodyguard-like when I stepped into the guardroom, his head bent over a gun he was meticulously cleaning. Several other guns lay on the table, as did a couple of silver knives. I held my breath as I walked by, but he didn’t see me. I hated to admit it, but the Erlking’s gift made a nice get-out-of-jail-free card. As far as I could tell, Finn never even knew I was gone.

Once I was safely in my suite once more, I debated between drinking massive amounts of coffee and collapsing into bed. Collapsing into bed won, and I was so exhausted I fell instantly asleep.

Unfortunately, it was not a dreamless sleep. The moment I drifted off, I found myself held tightly in Arawn’s arms as he kissed me. It was a kiss as deep and passionate as the real one we’d shared, only this time it wasn’t influenced by magic. I pressed myself against him, letting myself feel the intensity of his arousal against my belly. It should have alarmed me, but it didn’t.

I opened myself to him with abandon, letting his tongue explore my mouth, not protesting when his hands slid down to my rear and pulled me even harder against him. I was mindless with pleasure and need.

Arawn broke the kiss, and I let out a mewl of protest. He smiled down at me, his eyes dark and glittering, then picked me up and laid me down on my bed. A small part of me registered the fact that this couldn’t be real. The rest of me didn’t care.

Arawn positioned himself on top of me, careful not to crush me under the weight of his huge body. Somehow, my legs ended up spread, one of his thighs pressed between them. I arched my back and let out a moan. I could hardly breathe through my need, and my hands lifted of their own volition to the buttons on his shirt.

I don’t know how far the dream would have gone if I hadn’t been awakened by Finn pounding on my door.

“Dana!” he shouted, like it wasn’t the first time he’d called my name. “Answer me now, or I’m coming in.”

Groggy and disoriented, I sat up. “Be out in a minute,” I managed to answer.

“Your father wants to see you,” Finn said.
“Now.”

Ugh. That didn’t sound good. “I’ll be out in just a sec.”

I rubbed at my crusty eyes and made my way to the bathroom. I wanted to at least brush my hair and throw some cold water on my face before facing my dad, who must have heard that Ethan was free and known I was somehow responsible.

I froze when I saw my reflection in the mirror. My face was flushed, and I belatedly noticed my cheeks were blazing hot. My pupils were dilated so much it looked like I’d been doing drugs, and my hair was a snarled, tangled mess.

The flush deepened when I remembered just what I’d been dreaming about. I did
not
want to think about the Erlking that way. Yes, he was gorgeous, and he had that special bad-boy appeal—
real
bad boy, unlike Keane—but he was dangerous, and cruel, and about a zillion years too old for me. Absently, I rubbed my fingers over my lips, remembering the bruising force of his real-life kiss. I had enjoyed it at the time, but remembering now made me squirm. I’d been kissed a total of twice in my whole life, and both times I’d been under the influence of mind-altering magic. I wondered what a genuine kiss would feel like, and worried that the sensation would pale in comparison.

I shook myself out of that line of thinking and shoved the memories—both of the real kiss and the dream one—to the back of my mind to be dealt with later.

It was time to face the proverbial music.

chapter nineteen

There was exactly zero chance I was going to tell my dad what I’d had to do to win Ethan’s freedom, and by the time I’d gotten myself pulled together enough to leave my bedroom, I’d concocted a cover story that would get me out of having to tell
anyone
the embarrassing truth.

Dad was waiting for me in the living room, pacing restlessly in front of the couch. In the second or so I had before he noticed me, I saw that his face was tight with strain, his cheeks unusually pale even for him. I’d expected him to be furious with me, but he didn’t look angry. He looked … scared.

I didn’t have a chance to examine that revelation for very long, because he looked up and saw me. He wiped much of the expression off his face, although whatever was wrong bothered him enough that he couldn’t manage his usual blandness. His eyes met mine, and he shook his head.

“Dana, what did you do?” he asked. His voice sounded bleak, and I wondered for half a second if he suspected the truth. Then I dismissed the idea. I was pretty sure he’d be pissed, not scared, if he’d known I’d pledged my virginity to the Erlking.

I raised my chin and hoped I wasn’t blushing. “What I had to do to rescue Ethan from the Wild Hunt.”

“And what was that, exactly?”

Covering up for my mom had given me plenty of practice both in making up good lies and delivering them convincingly. I’d learned that it was always best to keep the lie simple, and to mix in as much truth as possible. Oh, and not to avoid eye contact, which made you look like you were lying even if you weren’t.

So I looked right into my dad’s eyes as I lied to him. “I didn’t do anything. I just had to promise to do something in the future. And before you ask, he put a geis on me to keep me from telling anyone what it is.”

The starch seemed to go out of Dad’s spine, and he dropped onto the couch. He looked like I’d just told him someone had died. Since I hadn’t told him much of anything, I wasn’t sure what I’d said that bothered him so much.

I ventured a little farther into the room, but didn’t sit down. I was too agitated for that. “What’s wrong, Dad?”

“What’s wrong?” He laughed bitterly. “What could possibly be wrong when my daughter has promised the Erlking something he wants so badly he’s willing to release one of his Huntsmen to get it?” He let out a heavy sigh. “You don’t know enough about him or about Faerie in general to make fully informed decisions. Whatever you promised him, you don’t dare give him. Even if it means he takes Ethan back.” He sounded resigned, like he didn’t expect me to listen to him.

I thought about the promise I’d made, and knew I wouldn’t be fulfilling it any time soon. No sexy dream was going to make me want to have sex with the bogeyman. Besides, Dad was right. I
hadn’t
made an informed decision. I had no idea what the ramifications of fulfilling our bargain would be, and until I found out, there was no chance in hell I was going to do it.

Too bad pretending a geis prevented me from revealing the promise also kept me from asking anyone who knew more about Faerie just what might be hidden in this deal.

“I don’t have to do it anytime soon, if that makes you feel any better,” I told my dad.

“It doesn’t!” he snapped, and I finally saw a hint of the anger I’d been expecting. “Listen to me, Dana: you mustn’t give him what he’s asking for. Period.”

I bit back my immediate response to being ordered around. “Do you
know
what he’s asking for?” I asked, wondering if that would explain the intensity of his reaction.

“I don’t have to,” he said. “There was nothing Titania, the Seelie Queen, could offer the Erlking that would tempt him to let Connor go. Can you really imagine he would hand Ethan over to you for something that wouldn’t have devastating consequences?”

No. I might not know what those consequences were, but I knew they had to exist.

“I couldn’t let him keep Ethan,” I said. “Not when I could save him. I’ll just have to find some way around the consequences. Like I said, it’s not something I have to do anytime soon. I’ll figure something out.” I hoped.

Dad was far from appeased, but he backed off for the time being. I had no illusions that we wouldn’t be talking about this more in the days to come.

He frowned suddenly and looked up at me. “Wait a minute. You said the Erlking put a geis on you?” His eyes widened in what looked like horror. “How did you manage to meet him without Finn knowing?”

“I didn’t,” I said, not losing a beat even though I hadn’t anticipated this question. “He called me.” Again, a little bit of truth, mixed in with the lies to create a believable cover story. No way did I want my dad knowing about the brooch. He’d take it away from me for sure, and I had a feeling it might come in handy again someday.

“He placed a geis on you over the
phone
?”

Oops. I guessed that did sound a little unlikely. Then again, I had the distinct impression that no one was sure what the limitations of the Erlking’s power were, so I stuck to my story. “Yeah. Don’t ask me how he did it. I don’t get this magic stuff at all.” Unfortunately, that was nothing but the truth.

I wasn’t sure Dad was convinced, but he didn’t ask me any more questions. Perhaps the Erlking’s alleged ability to place a geis on me over the phone wasn’t any harder to believe than the truth of how he’d managed to get me out of the safe house without Finn knowing.

*   *   *

I wasn’t in the least bit surprised that my mom called me not too long after my dad left. Although Dad had her under his version of house arrest, he didn’t have her completely cut off. She had no idea what I’d promised the Erlking in exchange for Ethan’s freedom, but like my dad, she assumed it was something terrible.
Un
like my dad, she wasn’t any good at staying calm during a crisis. I’d always thought it was the booze that caused her sudden bouts of hysteria, but apparently not.

I did my best to talk her down off the ledge, but she was still in tears by the time I hung up. I was glad Dad had removed all the booze from his house, or she’d no doubt have gone on the bender to end all benders.

I was much more surprised to receive a phone call from Alistair, Ethan and Kimber’s father. Despite his rivalry with my father, the two of them were working in something that resembled a partnership to make sure I survived to full adulthood. The partnership was close enough that my dad had let Alistair have my phone number, but not so close that Alistair had any clue where my safe house was located.

Alistair was a relatively young Fae, and he’d been born in Avalon. He was more reserved than your average American, but much less so than my dad. While he, too, told me that I mustn’t give the Erlking whatever I’d promised him, he thanked me so much for what I’d done that it was almost embarrassing. I think Ethan believes his father loves him primarily because of his magical abilities and what they could do for Alistair’s ambition, but that sure wasn’t what it sounded like to me.

I kept hoping that Ethan would call me, but he didn’t. I told myself that was because he was too weak and ill after his time with the Hunt to manage it, but my insecurities weren’t convinced. Kimber had miraculously failed to put any blame on my shoulders, but maybe the same wasn’t true of Ethan.

What had the Erlking done to him during the days he’d been trapped in the Hunt? I was pretty sure there’d been more to it than just riding around the city on motorcycles. The Erlking had promised me Ethan had been “unharmed,” but I didn’t think that meant the same as “unhurt.”

I fell asleep that night to visions of Ethan being tortured by the Erlking and his Huntsmen. Gruesome as those mental images were, they didn’t stop me from dreaming about the Erlking. I awoke in the morning with only confused memories of those dreams, but I knew they’d involved a lot of bare skin, and I was sure they’d gone way past first base.

It’s not like I’d never had an erotic dream before, but never anything like this. Never so intense, and never so tangled up with my real world. My body still remembered what it had felt like to be plastered up against the Erlking’s chest while his tongue stroked the inside of my mouth. And even though I didn’t want it to be, that memory was hot.

I was still feeling pretty out of it when nine o’clock rolled around and it was time for my lesson with Keane. I wondered if he knew about Ethan, but the moment I got a look at his face, I knew the answer. The look he gave me was dark and angry. I would have tried to smooth things over, but he was in no mood to talk.