The Changeling Soldier (12 page)

As they kissed his hands learned the feel of her body and the way she moved as he touched her. Her skin was like silk, smooth, creamy and cool—as if she couldn’t get warm. The look of fragility was replaced by desire. Her hands were on him, caressing and teasing. Her mouth claimed his with a hunger that he met.

Right now he needed her as much as she needed him. It didn’t matter that there was so much he didn’t know about her; he knew enough to know this felt right.

He lifted her on to him and let her sink lower, inch-by-inch. She took her time, but her gaze never left his and he lost himself in the gold of her eyes and the sound of her breathing. Gradually each breath became a moan and her eyes closed. His fingertips pressed into her hips, but he still didn’t try to control her movements. Not until she came, her core clenching around him, then he pulled her down hard. Lust tightened its grip on him and he drew in a sharp breath as he let go.

When Ella woke, it was dark. She was curled in Isaac’s embrace. The heat of his body was luxurious against her back. She snuggled closer, her body warm and relaxed. Their lovemaking had gone a long way to helping her feel better. Isaac had a calmness about him that she hadn’t realized she’d been craving. But it was more than that…he wasn’t afraid of the future he’d seen the way some people would be. He was willing to fight in a fairy war, and he was willing to fight for her. She couldn’t remember if anyone had ever done that before. She sighed and tried to go back to sleep, but something was wrong. She didn’t feel quite right.

Then she realized that while there was cold in her blood, there was no magic. She went still. What did that mean? Was she too late? No, if she were she’d be dead. But something had changed in Annwyn and she didn’t want to linger in the mortal world any longer. She turned and glanced at Isaac…she’d hoped to give him a little longer to adjust to what was going to happen.

He kissed her shoulder. “Is it time to go?”

She turned to face him. “It is.” She hoped he was ready and had made peace with leaving the mortal world. She knew what it was like to leave everything behind and start over. In some ways that was exactly what she was going to have to do in Annwyn. “The magic has stopped flowing from Annwyn. We can’t delay any longer.”

They were running out of time to get home. And yet she didn’t regret taking that one last client. If she’d never met Melody, she’d have never met Isaac. She’d always liked changelings and he was no exception.

She got out of bed and dressed in clothes that were more suitable for Annwyn. Winter clothes, a long dove-blue dress with her fleece-lined leggings and boots. She pulled out her black coat and added a scarf and gloves to the pile.

“What side should I fight on?” He was up and moving, heading for the bathroom. He stepped into the shower without even flinching at the running water. How could he do that? Probably because he hadn’t been brought up to fear moving water like a fairy.

“I don’t think I can make that choice for you. You’ll know when you get there.” That did worry her more than a little. The side he fought on won, but was that the Prince’s side or the usurpers? If Isaac could trust his visions, she needed to as well. But she knew he wasn’t telling her everything he’d seen. Sometimes when he looked at her it was as if he was trying to work out how the pieces of a puzzle fit together.

She wanted to help him figure it out, but if he wasn’t ready to share she had to wait.

Ella didn’t have to tell him to hurry up. He sensed the urgency and moved quickly, drying off and dressing. He pulled a jacket out of his bag and slipped it on without doing it up, then shoved gloves and a beanie into the pocket and shouldered his bag. His movements were short and tense. “I’m ready.”

He might be clothed appropriately but she wasn’t entirely sure he was ready. However there was nothing she could say to ease his fear of the unknown, or hers. Sometimes it was better to just act. “So am I.”

She gave her apartment a last look. She hadn’t collapsed her life here, and she didn’t want to take the time to do it now. Ah well, one more missing mortal woman. She doubted the police would look too hard into her disappearance. Life as Ella Aaron had been good while it had lasted.

For all her griping about L.A. she’d had fun, and she knew humans would never go back to the lush courts of Europe she’d once inhabited. Maybe in a few years she’d visit again, but that was all it would be. It would be a long time before she ever lived in the mortal world again. With a new Court coming to Annwyn, perhaps it would be fun to try her hand at fairy politics and see what kind of position she could claim.

“It’s only a short walk to the church.” That was the other reason she’d selected this apartment block. She liked to be within running distance of a doorway in case things went bad.

The night air was warm as they walked down the road. They were overdressed, but there weren’t many people around to notice. They passed a cop car and Isaac stopped.

For a second he didn’t move. “Oh, God.” He turned and watched as the car parked out the front of her apartment. “They’re looking for you.”

“Already?”

“They’re going to pin it on Mel.” He took a step toward her apartment. Then stopped himself.

Ella laid a hand on his arm. “She wanted to be famous.”

“I know.” But he stood there and watched as the police entered the building. After several moments he drew in a breath and turned around. “I told her fairy deals don’t end well for humans.” There was caution in his eyes as he looked at her as if he were considering his own fate.

“You didn’t make a deal with me Isaac, You gave your soul to me so she could have her fame.” She wouldn’t hurt him. She wanted to get to know him better. It would be fun to be sharing Annwyn with someone. To watch the changes brought about by a new ruler. It would be like the ocean washing a beach clean, ready for someone else to leave his or her footprints. Everyone would get a chance to reinvent themselves.

He shook his head. “No. I gave my soul to you because I need to be in Annwyn for the battle and I knew I could trust you with it.”

“You’re trusting a fairy?” Curiosity plucked at her nerves. She wanted to know what he’d seen that made him trust her implicitly. Not even fairies trusted other fairies completely. Annwyn was a place of deals and double deals, plotting and scheming.

“I’m trusting you.” He took her hand and started walking toward the church.

“I know you rely on your visions to guide you.” His grip on her fingers tensed. “But fairies have no magic in Annwyn.”

“No more visions…that might be nice.”

She glanced at him; his face half hidden in shadows. “I know you’ve seen something.”

He nodded and kept walking. “Not much, but enough. You’ll know after the battle.”

It wasn’t that long to wait, not really.

He smiled and squeezed her hand. In that moment she knew it wouldn’t just be his soul that he trusted her with, but his heart. Hers gave an extra beat in surprise.

What would happen in Annwyn that she let herself fall for him?

However, it wasn’t hard to imagine. Already she was worrying that he’d be hurt in the battle even though she knew he lived. He’d told her that.

They stopped on the footpath out the front of the church. She closed her eyes for a moment and reached out to see if the doorway to Annwyn was still there. A small sigh of relief escaped. While it didn’t feel strong or even complete it was enough for them to cross the veil.

“This is it,” she said as much for herself as for Isaac.

The church was a new building, not like the cathedrals of Europe, but the principle was the same. The ground had been blessed, the dead were buried here and faith gave the place its own magic. That was enough to make a doorway through the veil and into Annwyn, the place between life and death, where souls were judged by the King and sent either into the river or over the river and into Elysia. Some were given a chance to redeem themselves by serving the Court as a shadow servant.

“You don’t sound that excited.”

“It’s been a long time. My father used to be the Hunter of Annwyn, it didn’t end well for him and I left in disgrace. I’m hoping for a new start with the new ruler.”

He studied the church for a little longer. “Then we’d better find out who the contenders for the throne are. And hope I know what I’m doing.”

“I trust you.” The words were alien on her tongue. Had she ever trusted anyone before? If she had, she couldn’t remember. If Isaac had seen a future with them together, and put his faith in it, maybe she needed to do the same. She wanted more than the hollow affairs she’d once had at Court and more than the passing liaisons she’d had in the mortal world.

Was Isaac the man she’d been waiting for? She hoped so. They could have a lot of fun together.

He flicked her a smile. “I’m glad one of us does.” Then he pulled his beanie and gloves out of his pockets and put them on. “So this is it.”

“Yes.” She turned and took one last look at the mortal world. How much would it have changed by the time she came back? Time moved differently in Annwyn. A few days there could be weeks or months here.

“Will you miss it?”

She nodded. She would, but she was longing to go home. “I’ve lived here for a long time, but it was never my home.”

“I’m not sure it was truly mine either. I’ve been dreaming of Annwyn for as long as I can remember, fighting the battle in my dreams for over a decade.” He smiled, his teeth gleaming in the streetlights, his eyes as pale as ice. He looked like a dangerous fairy ready for war. “If it’s destined to be; I might as well show up and be ready.”

She didn’t know if she’d have had quite as much bravado.

He took her hand, and she took him across the veil. It shimmered and there was a temperature change. One moment they were in the warm L.A. night, the next, they were in daylight with snow falling all around them.

“How deep is the snow in your dream of the battle?”

“Mid-shin,” he said breathlessly, his head turning as he took it all in.

She’d never seen Annwyn in winter. The castle was bare of leaves but still imposing. Built entirely of trees that had grown together, it was enormous. In summer it would be crowned with green; a living castle. Now it seemed kind of desolate and sad. The magic was failing. This was the cold she’d been feeling in her blood and trying to ignore. Around her the forest was shadowed and her breath clouded in front of her. The field she remembered as grassy was now coated in a thin layer of snow that had been churned into mud and slush in places. But the snow wasn’t deep. Yet.

“It’s prettier in summer.” Usually there’d be games on the field as people watched the comings and goings from court. Today it seemed rather unwelcoming, as if no one wanted to party and everyone was thinking of war.

“I bet it is.”

“Don’t make bets here unless you know you can win and get what you want.”

He glanced at her, a frown forming.

“Your word is all you have. Oath breakers are not looked on fondly. Be careful with what you say and whom you speak to at first. Even I don’t know the way the dice are falling yet.” She didn’t want any harm to befall him.

Snow dusted his beanie, and he wasn’t making any move to head toward the castle.

He was watching her and waiting. Snowflakes caught on his eyelashes. He was beautiful, like a fairy made for winter with his ice blue eyes and blond hair. He looked like he belonged here. She leaned in and took a kiss while his lips were still warm and before she took his soul and he became fairy. He responded, but she felt the tension in his body.

“Take it.” He rested his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath before slowly releasing it in a cloud of warm air. He opened his eyes. “I’m ready.”

Was she? It had been a long time since she’d taken a soul. Anticipation squirmed in her belly. It was too late to back out now. He’d offered it willingly and knew it had to go. Taking his soul was the only way to protect him now that he was here. She placed her hand over his heart and a soft kiss on his lips. “I’ll make it up to you later.”

“I hope so.”

She’d never taken a soul in Annwyn before, but she knew how it was done, could feel it beneath her hand like a flame, all flickering and bright. Before leaving the mortal world she had put her favorite jewels in her pocket. She reached in and pulled out a sapphire ring, one she’d won from a Duke a long time ago. It was gold and dark blue and once she’d considered it gaudy, but when she’d looked through her jewelry for something suitable, it was the one that had spoken to her.

“Give me your soul, and I’ll keep it safe while you’re in Annwyn.” She could barely say the words aloud. Her mouth had gone suddenly dry.

“It’s yours,” he said without hesitation.

True to his word, his soul came free. It filled the sapphire with heat. The gem glowed for a moment then looked like any other pretty bauble. Isaac looked the same…no, not quite. The edge in his eyes had been sharpened.

He covered her hand with his as if checking he was still alive, his chest rising and falling with each breath. He blinked a few times and frowned as if trying to locate the change, but didn’t speak.

Had she done something wrong? “Are you all right? Did it hurt?”

He shook his head and sent tiny flakes scattering. “I just felt breathless for a moment. Now…I don’t know. I’m sure I don’t feel different and yet…”

“You’ve lost a part of yourself. You’ll feel the loss.” They stood there for a little longer as if breaking the moment would set into motion the next part of his dream. She wasn’t ready to choose sides. She wanted more time with Isaac without the pressure of the coming war.

It was so tempting to suggest they head for the villages, away from the castle, but he wouldn’t go with her. He knew he had to fight and had been waiting for this. Because she wouldn’t leave him to fend for himself in Annwyn, she would stay with him.

He glanced at the castle. “We’re being watched.”

“This doorway is always watched. Come, we’d better head toward the castle and figure out what’s going on.”