The Tainted Web (The Godhunter, Book 7) (2 page)

The rooms set aside for me and my men were a suite of four bedrooms and two baths, with a central, sunken social area. I stepped down into the main area while behind me, the guys inhaled in appreciation. I have to admit, I was pretty impressed too.

The furniture was a part of the tree, growing smoothly out of the floor, or in the case of the side tables, out of the wall. The only exception being the carved wood chairs that were a part of the dining set closest to the door, they were actually separate pieces. The two couches set down in the sunken section, one across from the other, were cushioned in watered silk which was painted to resemble branches and leaves. It was so realistic, I could almost see the leaves shifting in a breeze.

The carpet was thick moss and vines grew out of it, twining up the walls and spreading across the ceiling to hang bell shaped flowers above us. A subtle fragrance drifted from their red hearts, adding its layer to the beauty of the room, but it was the view that was the most striking.

Directly across from the entrance was a wide terrace. I walked out onto it in a daze, my feet starting to tingle from seeing the height I hadn't realized we'd achieved. I clung to the thick railing of woven branches as I peered over the edge and got the full effect of our location. A little glowing bug that had been inspecting a flower to my right, buzzed over and hovered near my face, almost as if he were admiring the view along with me. I gave him a quick smile before returning to the view.

We were suspended out a mind-dizzying amount of space from the main trunk of the tree. Thousands of feet below us, the gardens of the inner courtyard were spread out in a vibrant tapestry I hadn't been able to experience before. The detail of its layout was much more evident from above and I was able to finally understand that the gardens had been arranged into four sections, one for each element, with neutral hedges and paths between them.

The fire section was off to my right, in the direction of the Fire Kingdom, and I was willing to bet that each of the elemental gardens were in line with their respective kingdoms as well. I smiled as I watched the heatwaves rise from the fountain of molten lava, set in the center of the fire garden. It reminded me of the caverns beneath Castle Aithinne.

I stared out in the direction of the Fire Kingdom, feeling excitement clench my belly. I hadn't realized how much I wanted to see Arach until I was actually there. I took a deep breath, looking out into the darkening forest. There were sparks of light and echoing cries as animals either bedded down or woke up with the night. I had no idea that so much went on above ground but I wasn't really surprised. In Faerie, it seemed like no space was ever wasted, there was life everywhere.

“
I hope they don't have faerie termites,” Odin came up beside me and winked his one eye at me.

“
That would be unfortunate,” I laughed before I turned to look at Danal. “I didn't realize we'd come so far up.”

“
Ah,” Danal nodded. “Just a bit of magic. If you know where you're going and keep it in your mind, the tree will shorten the distance for you.”

“
Like in Castle Aithinne,” I recalled how it never seemed to take very long to get all the way to the top of the castle.

“
Yes, most likely,” Danal agreed. “Most of the royals utilize the spell.”

“
Fascinating,” Odin wandered back out into the hall, to peer at the floor as if he might be able to catch it in the act of folding space.

“
Is he alright,” Danal watched him warily,“mentally?”

“
He's fine,” I pushed the fey's shoulder. “Give them a chance to adjust.”

“
Take all the time you require,” Danal grinned. “I trust everything is acceptable for your needs?”

“
Yes, perfect,” I smiled my thanks and then called out to Odin. “It's not Dune, you're not going to be able to catch the tree folding space, Odin.”

“
And we don't have sand worms either,” Roarke smiled to himself, inordinately pleased that he was able to catch my movie reference and I have to admit that it was nice to not have to explain myself. I looked over to where he was stretched out on one of the couches, posed as seductively as possible. I don't think he even did it on purpose, it was just a cat thing, looking beautiful while being lazy.

“
Do you want me to rid you of this annoyance?” Danal waved his hand at Roarke.

“
He's not that annoying,” I shook my head when Roarke proved me wrong by sticking his tongue out at Danal. “Roarke,” I groaned.

“
What?” He blinked wide green eyes at me.

“
Leave Danal alone.”

“
I did nothing.”

“
Well if you stick that nothing out at me again,” Danal patted the sword at his hip, “I shall cut it off.”

Roarke sat up in affront, letting out a long meow. “A little extreme don't you think?”

“You've been spending too much time in the God Realm if you think that's extreme,” Danal huffed and left.

“
Hmph,” Roarke made a snide face which slowly faded away. “Yeah, maybe he's right.”

“
No one's cutting anyone's tongue off while I'm here,” I sighed.

“
Unless it's you doing the cutting?” A slick voice asked from the doorway, garnering everyone's attention.

The excitement that had been building in my belly, clenched and shot out into my limbs with a shivering delight. I turned slowly to face him, a smile spreading over my face that I wasn't able to suppress. Then I saw him, he looked so different from the way he did in my mirror. As beautiful as he always seemed when I spoke to him in the looking glass, reality was so much better when it came to my husband.

“Arach,” I went over to him.

“
A Thaisce,” he wrapped himself around me and his scent filled my head, citrus embers and dragon musk, an earthy sort of smell with a tinge of sweetness. “I've missed you.”

“
It's good to see you too,” I limited my emotional response to him, in respect of my watching lovers and my indecision regarding our relationship. I pulled back but I wish I could have stayed in his embrace and judging by his expression, he knew it.

“
Well met,” he said to the others and they all came over to shake his hand, though Trevor and Odin were a little more reserved than Kirill and Az.

Odin had a sort of connection to Arach. They were both leaders of the Wild Hunt, guiding a host of warriors through the night to hunt down people and kill them horribly. In Odin's case, it was done to punish criminals, evil-doers. For Arach and his Host, it was the same where fey were concerned, a punishment for aberrant behavior, but all other races were fair game, hunted just for the pleasure of it. They each thought poorly of the others version, Odin saying Arach's was bloodthirsty slaughter and Arach proclaiming that Odin had twisted something pure and natural, restricting it with his idea of order. The disagreement hindered their friendship a bit. Oh, that and the fact that Odin had to save me from Arach's Wild Hunt.

And then there was Trevor.

“
You look well, dragon,” my wolf growled, eying Arach's wide shoulders and the bulges his arms made, where they strained his velvet tunic.

“
You as well, wolf,” Arach grinned. “Well enough to take the news that I'll be absconding with my Queen.”

“
Excuse me?”

“
What?”

“
Explain, now!”

Arach was bombarded immediately by questions from my men. He just laughed and held up his hands. “Please, gentlemen, relax. Can you not allow me my Queen when she is in Faerie? I haven't seen her in nearly a year. Her subjects haven't seen her. I need her to stay with me, with us, while she's here. Our rooms are just there,” he pointed out of the open doorway to a hallway that branched out from our, er, branch. “She is well within screaming distance.”

“I don't like this,” Trevor said, practically snarling.

“
I agree with Trevor,” Odin nodded.

“
Kirill?” I looked at my lion and then my angel, “Az? You guys have anything to add?”

“
I zink you have many people who need you, Tima,” Kirill frowned. “I can't deny zem ven I know how much vould hurt to be vithout you.”

“
As the one who gets to see you the least,” Azrael shook out his black wings, out in the open since we'd arrived. I think he was enjoying the open spaces made to accommodate beings with wings. “I have to agree with Kirill, it's unjust to deny people who love you a chance to be with you. I leave the decision to you, Carus.”

“
Thanks a lot,” Trevor glared at them, “for making us look like assholes.”

“
No, you're right,” I said to Trevor, surprising everyone it seemed. “If they're so close, there's no reason for me to stay with Arach. I can visit with them and still sleep here.”

Arach's face fell but Trevor looked happier than I'd seen him in ages. Odin simply nodded, as if he'd trusted me to make the right decision all along.

“A Thaisce,” Arach started but I held up a hand.

“
I'm not here to jump into bed with you,” I sighed, what a shame that. “It may have been a year for you but for me, for
us
, it's only been a couple weeks. Things are still fresh and we're not sure where this is going yet.”

“
You love me,” he said confidently and Trevor growled. I heard Odin whisper something to him and left him to deal with my wolf's temper.

“
This isn't a damn Beatles song,” I shook my head at Arach, knowing he wouldn't get the reference but making it anyway. “Love is not all we need. I have love, lots of love, and although I do love you, giving you that love comes with a price I'm not sure I want to pay. That's part of why we're all here... together. We need to try and figure out what this is going to be between us and I can't do that from your bed.”

“
Here, here,” Odin agreed.

“
I need my Queen beside me,” Arach said with single-minded determination. “It will reflect poorly on the House of Fire if she is not.”

“
We'll have to talk about that later,” I frowned. “Honestly, with this extreme time difference, I don't know how I could possibly be a good Queen for our people.”

“
The time difference is the very thing that makes it all possible,” Arach smiled. “Don't you see? You could stay here for months at a time, helping me rule, and then go back to your other lovers without them missing you. You'd be gone mere days.”

“
Huh,” now why hadn't I thought of it like that.

“
It is good point,” Kirill nodded.

“
When the fuck did you join Team Dragon?” Trevor hit his best friend in the shoulder.

“
I vant vat is best for our voman,” he looked accusingly at Trevor and Trevor looked away with a sigh.

“
Damn but you're too good for the world, my brother,” Trevor shook his head. “Too good for us.”

“
Maybe you should come hang with me in Shehaquim,” Azrael joked. Shehaquim was one of the Heavens, the third I believe. “You're actually nicer than some angels I know.”

“
I vould like zat, actually,” Kirill smiled and Az smiled back.

I was overjoyed. Kirill and Trevor had been so close that my other two men were kind of left out but then Trevor had bonded with Odin over this faerie thing and Azrael became the only man left in the cold. I was glad he was finally making friends.

“Okay,” Azrael's wings were high over his shoulders and it surprised me to realize that I could tell his mood by their lift. He was happy too. “We'll figure something out.”

“
Is this something I should know about?” Arach was starting to look confused.

“
They're just becoming better friends,” I rolled my eyes. “Don't worry, we'll get back to you but not right now. I think all these questions and decisions should wait till after we're all rested and settled. For now, I'll go with you to see the fire fey and everyone else can stay here and relax.”

“
Minn Elska,” Trevor started.

“
I'll be right over there,” I pointed down the hall. “I promise I will be okay and you just heard me tell him there's not going to be any sex.”

“
I was just going to ask how long you're going to be.”

“
Oh,” I laughed, “sorry. Probably a few hours, I need to see how everyone is.”

“
Okay,” Trevor nodded and pretended to be nonchalant. “It's cool.”

“
Cool, eh?” I laughed and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “Okay then, wolf. I'll catch ya later.”

Chapter Thre
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