She's No Faerie Princess (39 page)

As they passed by what had once been a smallbathroom, Fiona reached out and grabbed at theexposed pipes of the wet wall. She didn't just curl herhand around a pipe; she used her entire arm, hooking herelbow and utilizing all the strength of her upper body toanchor her in place.

Dionnu cursed and yanked her other arm violently. Fionascreeched, feeling her shoulder pulled painfully from itssocket, but she didn't let go.

"Walker!" she screamed, her voice hoarse with panic.

"Help!"

She couldn't tell which Other hit her uncle first, but itdidn't really matter. What mattered was that Dionnu letgo. Momentum sent her spinning around the other side ofthe pipe, like an overdressed pole dancer. She landedhard on her back and doubled over on a wave of nausea,pulling her injured arm protectively against her stomach. Her shoulder throbbed and burned, and she choked onthe taste of bile.

"Walker," she panted, raising her head and blinking against the blurring of her vision. When it cleared, she saw Rule, Graham, and Rafe pounding at the invisible boundaries of the circle as her uncle dumped her mate's limp body on the floor at the center.

"I can't get in!" Rule bellowed. "It must be warded against

demons! I can't get in or out!"

In his animal form, Rafe couldn't speak, but his similarinability to get into the circle was clear.

Fiona struggled to her feet, her heart pounding wildly inher throat. She saw her uncle like a twisted mirror imageof herself, also cradling an injured arm, but with the otherhe reached for the iron blade. Iron might be the only thingthat could kill a Fae, but any metal thrust into the heart ofa Lupine would do the job. Frantically Fiona tried tosummon the energy to cast a spell. A missile, a fireball. Hell, even pulling a rabbit out of a hat would have beengood enough for her if it broke her uncle's concentrationenough to draw his attention away from her mate. It wasno use. Like Walker had said earlier, she hadn't had timeto recharge the energy she'd expended during the demon

attack in the park.

Cursing and sobbing, she scraped up every stray bit ofenergy in the building, in the city, in her own soul, andwrapped it around her like a blanket. It wasn't enough todo her uncle any harm, but it might just be enough toprotect her against the wards of the circle long enough forher to get inside.

Gritting her teeth, Fiona threw herself forward, forgingthrough the boundary of the circle, determined to dowhatever she had to to keep her mate safe. Theadversarial magic burned like fire even through theprotection she'd gathered around herself, but she ignoredit. Nothing mattered but Walker. If she could force Dionnuto drop the knife, she would, and if she had to put herown body in front of that knife, she would do that, too.

When she entered the circle her uncle screamedobscenities and turned his rage on her. Lunging at her,he plunged the knife in the direction of her heart. Shespun and leaned, barely dodging the blow, and shoutedfor her mate.

"Walker! Walker, you have to move! Hurry! Please! You

have to get out of the way!"

"He's not going anywhere," Dionnu sneered, squaring off against her once more. "And neither are you. It will be very sweet to see you die together with your new pet, Niece."

Walker stirred, lifting his head weakly off the ground. Themovement distracted Fiona enough that she almost didn'tdodge in time. The edge of the blade missed herstomach, but when she jumped to the side it caught her

on the leg, opening a hair-thin scratch in her thigh.

The pain winded her. She'd never been injured by ironbefore, but now she knew that the stories of the damageit caused to her people hadn't been exaggerated. Cryingout, she fell to her knees beside her mate while tendrils oficy agony wrapped around her wounded leg. As if from adistance, she could hear Rule shouting, hear Raferoaring and hissing outside the circle. The world seemedto slow around her, like in a movie, and she looked down,the tilt of her head seeming to take hours. Out of thecorner of her eye she could see the look of satisfactionblooming across her uncle's face, see him preparing tostrike the final blow that would kill her. Strangely, it didn'tmatter. Fiona blinked and focused on the eyes of hermate, seeing his anger and grief and love shining back ather more clearly than sunlight.

I love you, Princess.

She could almost hear his voice in her head, deep andlow and warm, wrapping around her like an embrace,taking all the pain from her and leaving her with nothingbut joy.

I love you, Fiona. My mate.

Maybe she was hallucinating, but it didn't matter. Even ifthose weren't the words in his mind, she knew they werethe words in his heart. They were the same words inhers. She only hoped he could see them as clearly.

I love you, too, Tobias Walker
. Mo fáell.
 
My mate
 
.

In her peripheral vision, she saw her uncle's arm lift, sawthe dull glint of the knife, felt her muscles tense against

the coming blow. The blow that never landed.

Suddenly, unbelievably, Fiona felt a surge of energy hither with the force of a tsunami. Stronger than anythingshe'd ever experienced. It burned hotter than the magicof passion, deeper than the magic of Faerie. It filled everypart of her, every hidden corner and crevice, andsuddenly she slipped out of slow motion while the rest ofthe world remained locked at half speed.

She heard the sound of Dionnu's triumphant roar, Walker's agonized scream. She saw the knife descendand raised her hand casually, as if to brush it away. Aflash of light sparked from her fingertips, bright and whiteand blindingly pure. It caught Dionnu in the center of thechest and seemed to tear right through him as if he weremade of paper. It coursed through him like lightning,making his skin glow with an eerie fire. His gloating roarturned into a scream of pain and rage. The knife slippedfrom his hands and clattered harmlessly to the floor. Hiswide, uncomprehending eyes locked on Fiona's face forone extended moment before the light reached his head,and it seemed to flare even more brightly before it died. In the sudden dimness, Dionnu's body slipped lifelesslyto the ground.

Shaking like a drunk, Fiona turned and reached for Walker. She had both hands buried in his fur before sherealized her shoulder felt fine. Blinking, she looked at it,then looked down at her thigh. There was a slice in thefabric of her jeans, but the skin beneath was pale andwhole and unmarred. Slowly, she began to smile.

The first flash of the power had faded, but she could stillfeel it tingling inside her. Carefully, she willed it down

through her hands and into Walker's body to mend bone and skin and tissue. She saw his surprise as he gazed up at her, and her smile became a grin.

He didn't wait for her hands to leave him before heshifted.

"What the hell happened? How did you do that?" he demanded as soon as he had the necessary arrangement of vocal cords. "You told me you used up all your energy."

She shrugged and leaned forward to kiss him, her lipscurved against his. "I got more."

Outside the circle, Rule threw back his head andlaughed. "What else could have stood up against all thatdeath magic?" he asked, resting the point of his sword onthe floorboards. "Clever little sidhe."

Fiona shook her head and laughed. "Not so clever. Really, I was pretty much expecting to die." She lookedback at Walker and felt her smile grow tender. "Turns outpassion isn't the only thing that gives me magic." She laidher hand on his cheek and let her feelings for him shinebright in her eyes. "Love works even better."

CHAPTER 29

They found Squick pinned to the floor where Graham hadlain. Fiona had more than enough magic now to heal the

alpha Lupine as well. Once he was back on his feet, Squick groaned and spit out a mouthful of fur and immediately began talking. Everyone seemed in too good a mood to correct him when he narrated the whole story of the battle for Tess and Missy. Not even when he got to the part where he jumped on Dionnu's back and held him still so "the princess could hits him with the big love whammy."

They all just laughed.

"I'd have been doomed without Walker and the rest of

you there," Fiona said from her perch in her mate's lap on

Vircolac's library sofa. "And Squick." She winked at the

imp. "But frankly, I'm just glad it's over."

"We all are." Rafe looked over at Rule. "And no matter how you protest that you were useless in the end, I still think we all owe you a debt of gratitude. As well as an apology."

Tess shot her mate a superior glance. "Some of us havenothing to apologize for because we didn't automaticallyassume anyone from Below must be up to no good."

Rule laughed. "No one needs to apologize. I only playeda small part in tonight's events. And I'm afraid I still havework to do. I didn't see any evidence that the otherdemons Dionnu summoned were returned to theirhomes. If they're still here Above, I need to find them."

"If there's anything the pack can to do help," Graham

offered, "you only have to ask."

"Speak for yourself," Walker said, grinning. "Did I mention

I'm going to be taking some vacation time in the

immediate future?"

Graham looked at his beta and raised an eyebrow. "Andhere I was going to offer you the chance to take over myplace guarding the negotiations."

"Right, because I just would have jumped at that chance. Sorry, Cuz, but I've got better things to do with my time than listen to those squabbles."

"So do I," Graham muttered.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry, old friend," Rafe drawled, stretching out his long legs and grinning in satisfaction. "I think you will get a vacation of your own before the year is out."

Fiona looked at him, surprised. "Really? Things are goingthat well?"

"Very nearly. The first agreement has been signed and ratified. We are over the first hurdle, and as you might expect, the first is always the largest."

"Congratulations," she said, meaning it sincerely. "That's a hell of an accomplishment. One for the history books. Literally."

Tess grinned. "Stop, before the praise goes to his head. This is the result of the hard work of a hell of a lot of folks,not just my oh-so-talented husband." She squeezed saidhusband's knee and turned her attention back to Walkerand Fiona. "So where are you going on this vacation ofyours?"

"We got a message through to Aunt Mab from Dionnu's apartment," Fiona said, grinning. "He had a scrying mirror of his own, it turns out. Even though he cut everyone else

off from Faerie, he wanted to be able to keep his eye on things there. Anyway, she's invited us to visit, so I'm taking Walker home to meet the family."

Missy looked intrigued. "Are you going to be stayinglong?"

Fiona laughed. "Not on your life! She seemed to thinkthat with Dionnu dead, I was going to come home andassume his place on the Unseelie throne."

"But it turns out I'm allergic to palaces." Walker grinned.

"I've never wanted to be part of the whole political life at court. I told my aunt that if she wanted to reward us for taking care of Dionnu, she could give me a lifetime supply of Faerie wine to take care of this pesky little difference in life spans we have to deal with. The Fae only get tipsy from drinking it, but mortals get extended longevity. Dionnu had plenty of other nieces and nephews. They

can duke it out to see who gets his throne." Fiona looked at Rule. "Aunt Mab did mention, though, that she also wants you to know that if you need help, you can call on her."

"The only help I would ask for is that you continue to conceal my presence as well as that of the fiends from the humans. My work and my life will be a lot easier if they know nothing of us."

Rafe sighed. "I'll do what I can, but I'm afraid one thingthe Council of Others never considered was how ourcoming out to the humans would affect those Below. Ihave to apologize for that, as well. I'm afraid it's only amatter of time before the humans will realize they havemore to deal with than just shapeshifters and vampires."

"You can't stop the march of time." Rule shrugged. "I'll take whatever assistance you can give, and when the time comes that the humans find out about us, we will deal with it. At least I can go back Below and tell my people that we should begin to prepare."

"Trust me." Graham scowled, his opinion of the human side of the negotiations clear. "There are some things you can never prepare for."

Fiona laughed and looked up at her mate, who returnedher laugh with a grin.

"I'll second that," he said. "Some things just take you by

surprise."

"And sometimes," Fiona said, reaching up to kiss him,

"those are the very best things of all."