The Queen of All Magick: Elizabeth (14 page)

He wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked. Rythen had practiced all day what to say to her, what to compliment her on
, but as soon as he was close enough to touch her, he could only think of one thing. He had to touch her. Pulling her into his arms, she went willingly. And when his mouth touched hers, he knew that for as long as he was allowed to have her, this would be the best moment of his life.

“You’re simply beautiful.” Her cheeks glowed with her
embarrassment, and he found that endearing. He was glad now that he’d let Shamus talk him into this. And now he had to make it through the night by wooing her and making her like him. He knew that he could do it.

“Are you hungry?” When she asked him that
, he thought of the first time they’d said that. And he’d been hungry then, but nothing compared to how hungry he was for her now. But taking a step back, he took her hand, and after a brief kiss, put it on his arm. He was taking her out, and they were going to have fun.

“I had to ask around about this place.
Duncan showed me how to look things up. Then I had to have Pete show me how not to do it.” Kim laughed, and Rythen wanted to hear her do it again and again. “He does have a knack for confusing one, doesn’t he?”

“I think he’s charming.
I had so much fun helping him out in the kitchen. He’s very lacking in that part of the house, but he runs a tight ship elsewhere.” They were taken to their table by a very nice young man, and Rythen realized he was a faerie. When they were alone again, he asked her if she had caught that.

“I did. I’m not perfect at it yet
, but Tess showed me how to tell what was what. I still get the cats messed up, but Lizzy assured me that it would come with time.” He nodded, grateful for the women of Aaron’s kiss. He’d been terribly lacking in her training, and he….

“What did you say?” He leaned closer and realized his mistake at once. Her scent called to him
, and he wanted her right now. Pulling her toward him, he settled her over his lap and took her mouth before she could tell him no.

“We’re going to get thrown out.” He thought he answered her statement but really didn’t care. As soon as he pulled the shadows around them
, he was going to take her, and damn the people in the room with them.

“I need to be inside of you.” She nodded and sat up
on her knees. He nearly cried out when she reached for his cock. Her fingers were sliding down his front when he felt the slightest bit of magic shift.

Rythen lifted her dress up over her hips and saw that beneath the
incredibly lovely silk creation, she wore thigh high stockings. Running his hand around to her pussy, he moaned when he was able to slide into her without any interference. The cool breeze over his cock was all the warning he had that she’d freed him. She lowered herself over him so that he was buried to the root. Neither of them moved.

The next time he felt the magic shift, someone looked at them. It startled him a little that anyone could see them with his magic so tight around them
, but Kim rolled her hips, and he forgot everything. She moved slowly, back and forth, until he thought he might explode any second. Rythen untied the top of her dress to expose her full bare breasts.

Her nipples were hard and thick. Taking the tip into his mouth
, he bit down hard enough to have her cry out, but not hard enough to draw blood. He wanted to suckle from her here and would as soon as he made her come. Gripping her hips to speed her movements up, he was startled when someone screamed. Looking around the room, he could see that everyone was staring at them.

“What’s going on?”
He didn’t know and tried again to pull the magic around him. It simply wasn’t there. Nothing was. Pulling Kim closer to his body, he tried his best to shield her from the fifty or so people in the room with them, but they’d seen enough to know that they’d been having sex. The man that had spied them first was taking pictures with his phone. Rythen growled.

“Get out.” No one moved
, and Rythen felt his beast, never far from the surface anyway, let go. Rythen shoved Kim aside and rushed the man, only to be brought up short when someone hit him from behind.

His arm was being pulled
, and he turned to hit the person when he realized suddenly it was Kim. She was pulling her clothes back on her body even as she rushed them to the door. His pants, now down around his ankles, nearly tripped him up twice, but he just managed to keep going until they were outside. They made their way to the alley directly behind the restaurant just as the police pulled in front. He had to get them home before anyone found them. Rythen looked at Kim to see if she was all right and took a step from her when he saw that she’d been clawed.

“It’s fine.” But it
wasn’t, and they both knew it. Her cheek was now marked with three very deep cuts that he’d done. His beast had hurt her. “I want to go home. Just…let’s just leave here before someone else takes a picture and I can’t get the phone.”

He watched her drop the one the man had had and crush it under her heel. When he reached for her
, she took a step back, and he felt his heart tear open. Rythen had no idea what had happened in there, but he would before the night was out. When he tried to summon someone to come and get them, he knew real fear. His magic was gone.

“Can you use your powers?” She shook her head.
Handing her his handkerchief, he watched as it filled with blood. “I’m so sorry I hurt you, love. I never meant to harm you.”

“
It wasn’t your fault. You were…I’m not sure what you were. You kinda scared me too.” He nodded and straightened his clothing. They had to get home, and the sooner the better. But where was home? He suddenly realized he had no idea where to take her so she would be safe.

“I need to get us a place to stay.
Do you know of a home or a vacant building?” She shook her head, and he had a moment of panic when she staggered slightly. Rythen picked her up and reached for Logan.

“I’m not going to help you.”
Rythen stopped moving when Logan spoke before he could ask him for help.
“I’ll bring Kim here, but you will have to fend for yourself.”

“You
know what happened to us?”
Logan said he did.
“Then I demand that you explain to me what happened. My mate is hurt and whatever you did was the cause of it.”

“They stopped using magic.”
Rythen had been moving toward a row of cars when what Logan said had him stop.
“I had no idea it would drain you so badly, but I guess when the power of many stops supporting you, it can have major effects.”

“You’re saying that no one is using any magic?”
Logan told him that Aaron’s kiss as well as the pack had decided to never use it again. “
That’s not possible. How will they shift? How will Aaron and his family feed? Tell them I said to stop this nonsense immediately and use their magic that I gave to them.”

“I’m pretty sure that they could care less.
And you might want to get used to not having it too. Once Elizabeth is gone, they said that you’re going to be fucked.”
And they would be as well.

“They’re just being childish.
My mate was hurt by this stupidity, and now you’re telling me that they’ll hold their magic hostage until I say she can live?”
He laughed bitterly.
“Well, I won’t have it. She will die no matter what they think to do to me. And when they are starved and their own bodies begin to betray them, I shall tell them it was all for naught.”

“I think you should think this
through, Rythen. Even if I do find a way to stop this, you’re still going to have to live with these people. And if you decide to fuck it up
with Kim, which I’m betting you’re on the road to doing now, she’ll have to stay with one of them. What do you suppose will happen to her once you’re gone?”

“Gone? Gone where?”
He hadn’t talked to Kim as yet, but he had already made arrangements for her to join him in a faerie ring. They’d live out their days until he had to return in bliss and quietness. He glanced at her as he put her into the first car he found with the doors unlocked. His heart twisted again.

“She
can’t go with you. I forbid it.”
Rythen stood up so quickly that he knocked his head on the top of the car door.
“And you’ll have to learn to live with disappointment on that one. She’s not going to the fade with you.”

“And how will you stop me
?”
Logan laughed, and Rythen felt his temper rise almost out of control
. “You will blackmail me, too?”

“No. I
don’t need to. You didn’t change her with permission. She belongs to me until such time as I release her. Read the laws you wrote. You’ll see that I’m correct.”
Rythen didn’t need to. He knew that Logan was right. But he had to get her somewhere safe so he could look into what the magic was doing…or the lack of it. Things were going bad, and he needed somewhere to think. And he couldn’t go to the castle, so he was well and truly fucked, as he’d heard Aaron said on occasion.

Chapter 14

Logan watched Rythen pace. The man was pissed
, and for good reason. Aaron was a good deal more powerful than Logan had realized, as was the alpha. Bradley had been able to call his men in and make them do just what he’d wanted without having to give any order. It made Logan want to talk to him about ruling. Aaron, too, for that matter.

“When will they stop this nonsense?”
Logan looked at Aaron, who had yet to say a word. This had been two hours ago. A car had been sent for them, and when they’d been brought to his house, Aaron had come when he’d asked him. Logan wondered now why he’d called him. He looked at Rythen when it looked as though Aaron wasn’t going to speak.

“I’m not really sure what you think they’ve done to you
.” Rythen sputtered for a few seconds before Logan continued. “I’m reasonably sure that there is no law that says they have to use their magic. And if that affects you in some way…well, I will say I’m glad for it.”

“
You’re siding with him.” Rythen pointed at Aaron as he continued. “You think this is going to endear me to you or something? You may be the Keeper of Secrets, my good man, but that does not keep you from my wrath. You’ll call them off or I shall take matters into my own hands.”

“Like what?
You’ll take her last day away?” They both, he and Rythen, looked at Aaron when he spoke finally. “You can’t do that. You see, I’ve read the contract myself. It has a specific time as well as a date that you signed her life away. And if you deviate from that at all, even for a second, things will be null and void. Perhaps I should let you. Then everything will go back to normal and you’ll go back to wherever it is you were hatched from.”

“Why you—
” Logan stepped between the two men, and he had a moment of fear when he realized that both men were a little more adept at their fighting than he was. A knock at the door had them all turning just as Elizabeth and Kim walked in.

“I’ve taken her to the castle to heal her. There isn’t enough magic here to bring a basket of fruit to me.” Elizabeth kissed his cheek and then Aaron’s.
Rythen sat on the sofa with Kim. “I’ve been thinking this over and all this nonsense must stop. Whether or not you use magic will not change the outcome. He’s a monster, and putting a stop to doing what you love most will not change his mind.”

“I am not a monster
!” Elizabeth raised a brow at Rythen when he thundered at her. Even Kim looked at him as if she’d never seen him before. “I’m not. I’ve a job to do. And the sooner we can put it all behind us the better—”

“Behind us? Like the old newspapers
, you think?” Kim stood up and glared down at him. “You plan to take the only person in the world who ever meant anything to me, and you think I should simply put it all behind me because you say so? You are a monster if you think that’s all it takes. You talk of us being together, of spending our lifetimes together, and you’re going to take her away from me. I don’t know how I’m supposed to look at you and not think that had you some kind of…if you’d had a heart that I’d still have her.”

Rythen stood up and reached for Kim
, but she backed away. “You read the contract too. You know I’ve no choice in the—”

“Everyone has a choice. Just some of us refuse to see them.” Kim turned to him.
“You said that you’d help me if I asked. Is that still true?”

“It is.”
Logan watched Rythen as he moved to touch Kim, but she turned on him just before he touched her.

“Don’t.
I swear to you if you touch me again…I don’t know what I’ll do, but you do and I’ll do something.” Rythen looked at him as Kim continued speaking to him. “I’d like for you to set a meeting up with Morriganna. I’d like to have a word with her.”

“You will not.” They both ignored Rythen as Logan
tried to think how he could fix this. He’d told Lizzy last night that this would happen, and she’d told him to give her one more day. She had a plan. The only thing he could see coming of this was a very unhappy woman and a pissed off being.

“I can
, but you should think about what you’re going to be doing. To have this relationship severed could mean great consequences for you both.” Kim glanced at Rythen, then looked at him as he continued. “Once broken, there can never be any going back.”

Lifting her chin,
Kim nodded. He had called Morriganna last night and asked her about breaking the bond between Rythen and Kim, and she said she’d get back to him. He’d not heard anything since, and wondered if she was hiding from the problem. He knew that he would be if he could. Mathew came into the room just before he could say anything.

“Mom said to tell you that dinner will be in ten minutes
, and if you’re late she’s going to castrate you.” Logan had to cover his mouth as his son looked at Aaron. “She’s sure moody lately. I’m almost looking forward to going back to school tomorrow.”

“It’s like that with women. When you take away something they love, they tend to take it out on the ones that are left behind. It doesn’t really matter if they’re the ones that ripped it from their hearts
, but you have to simply be there for her.” Aaron stood up and took Mathew’s hand. “How about you and I go and see the new shipment of books that came in? I understand you and your brothers are reading them nightly. Good for you all. I think I might….”

Their voices faded away as they moved away from the room
, and the door clicked shut behind them. Logan almost wished he could go too, but the couple in the room needed to hear what else he’d found out.

“You break this bond with Rythen and you’ll go back to what you were.
You’ll be a human again and your memories…all of them…will be gone.” Kim looked at Elizabeth, and Logan knew that she’d already told her. “You won’t remember any of us or the things that happened to you. Josh will still be dead and you’ll still have no job, but you’ll not remember how it happened.”

“I know.
I don’t think…I don’t think there is anything I’ll want to remember after she’s gone.” Logan almost looked at Rythen. He wanted to see if what Kim said had any effect on him, but was afraid to see nothing there. When she nodded and left the room, Logan sat in his chair. He’d contact the witch after everyone left him.

“She’s going to just cut us apart.”
Logan didn’t say anything to Rythen, not entirely sure what to say. “How can she just throw this all away without even considering what we could have?”

“The same way you have
, I would imagine.” Elizabeth kissed Logan on the cheek as she made her way to the door as well. She turned back to Rythen just before she left. “I’m not going to see you at all between now and the time you end my life. I would appreciate it if you’d just leave me to my family. If you do happen to be in the same house I wish to go to, I would very much like it if you left. These people are my family, and I’ll not have you there making them uncomfortable.”

Rythen nodded
, and Elizabeth left. It was a long, quiet few moments before either of them spoke. Logan just wanted him to go away, but he could see that Rythen wasn’t going to give him what he wanted. When he stood in front of the window and stared out, Logan could almost feel sorry for him. Almost.

“I’ve lived my whole life thinking that I knew the way things would go. I’ve never once been questioned on what I thought. I’ve never had anyone say no to me. And I’ve certainly never had anyone that would rather forget everything rather than remember one moment of life with me.”
Logan didn’t comment. What could he say anyway but “you’ve brought this all on yourself”? “If you don’t mind, young man, I’d like to spend the rest of the time in your lairs below grounds. I shan’t come above ground until it is time for me….”

He
didn’t finish, but Logan understood. “I’ve no problem with it if you don’t. But I, too, would appreciate it if you stayed away from my family. We’re to host a dinner party this evening, and there will be a great many people here that would cause you harm. I’m sure you will understand when I also point out that I won’t raise a hand to help you if they do.”

“Yes. I understand.”
He left him after that, and Logan was still sitting at his desk when the Sisters Three appeared before him. He was no happier to see them than he was knowing that Rythen was in his basement levels. They sat on the furniture, and before he could say anything, Clotho laughed.

“You’ve been reading into this all wrong
, my dear boy. Perhaps you should read the part of her having a child again.” The contract appeared in his hand, and he looked at her. “Read it. And if you have any questions, I should hope you know that I cannot answer them.”

“I guessed as not.” He waved the contract at them as he continued. “I love the old bat. I’m sure you know that
, and I’m pretty sure you three do as well. Is there nothing that can be done about this?”

Lachesis
laughed this time and told him to read. “You’ll see a great many things that you missed before. Oh, and here are these papers as well. For some reason they ended up at our address instead of the intended person. Would you see that Elizabeth gets them?”

Logan nodded and watched them for several
minutes. None of them spoke again but kept watching him. Finally giving up, he looked at the contract again. He was reading the page again when he looked up. There on his desk were the contract papers that Elizabeth had signed for Kim.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about
. You know that, right? What I’d really like to do is go downstairs and have dinner with my family.” Clotho nodded. “Then I want to read them a story before the nanny takes them to the castle so they won’t have to be here during the party. I’m afraid it will be a sad event for them.”

“Yes, family is so wonderful, isn’t
it?” Logan nodded. “And the way Lizzy took your son to her heart…well, I was just telling my sisters that it’s as if she’d given birth to him, they’re so close. I bet he even thinks of her as his mother.”

“He does.” Logan
knew he should have been getting something, but his mind was full of the things he wanted to do. “And the other boys too. They have already started calling her mom.”

“As they should.”
The three of them stood up as one and smiled at him. “We know that you’re not this dense, so we’ll leave you to it.”

They
disappeared in a poof of smoke, and he was left with an eddy big enough to have papers drift to the floor. Bending to pick them up, he nearly fell to his knees when he saw it.

“You could have said something,” he shouted to the empty room.
The soft giggling had him smile. Things were about to get very fun from now on.

~~~

She opened her eyes and looked around. The man standing against the wall seemingly asleep didn’t frighten her, but she also knew that she should know him. Not until she sat up and he looked at her did she remember his name.

“Rythen, my creator.” He nodded at her and smiled.
“I’ve been awake before now, haven’t I?”

“No. This is your first time.
How do you feel?” She moved her body off the long table and staggered slightly. When he touched her to keep her from falling, she felt a current run along her skin much akin to the inner magic that ran all over her. She smiled at him.

“I feel as if I have just
woke from a long sleep.” He laughed at her, and she felt foolish. “I guess that’s what has happened, is it not?”

“I would say that is true.” She moved around the room touching the things that she
knew what they were, their uses, but no memory of her ever seeing them before. He watched her the entire time without saying a word.

“I think I should like to go outside of here.” He nodded but made no move to follow her.
When the door opened before she touched it, she felt a small twinge of something, then let it go. He followed her but said nothing.

“I’m magic.” He said she was.
“And I’ll rule all the magic in the world forever. No one will have as much power as me. Do you think that wise?”

“I would have thought so. What makes you believe it
isn’t?” She thought about it and realized that she should have someone govern her and told him so.

“They would be able to gainsay me if they
think that I was to get out of hand. My head bigger than my magic.” He nodded but said nothing. She decided that she’d create a being, or beings, that would help her in this. “I would also like to have a place of my own. A place I can…that no one can come to if I do not wish it.”

“A place other than here?” She nodded. “That’s up to you. You can do as you wish with your magic
, so long as there are no problems that I must come and see to. I have created you so that I may rest. It has…I would say that it’s drained me making you, but it’s more than that. It has taken a great deal more than just my magic to make you.”

“And who am I?”
He looked at her oddly. “I am the queen, I understand that. You’re Rythen, creator of magic, but who am I?”

“You wish a name in addition to the title I gave you?” She nodded.
“Very well, what would you like to be called?”