Twisted (Rogues Shifter Series Book 3) (22 page)

Lord Kennet was chained to his horse with iron and in obvious pain. Still he managed to smirk at me. Lord Caelen cursed him and struck him with the flat edge of his sword, causing him to fall to the ground, where he sat and glared at all o
f the fae gathered around him. Many of them spit at him or cursed him. Garrett jumped off of his horse and in a blur, stood by my side with his arm wrapped around me, shielding me from Kennet’s glare.

I twisted in his arms and kissed him, then whispered, “Garrett will you trust me? Will you back me up as you always have in the past? There’s something I have to do and it may be hard for the fae to accept or understand, but I have no choice. I owe a debt.”

I was trembling so he held me tightly and whispered into my hair. “My darling, I will love and support you always, no matter what. What is it?”

Instead of answering him, I turned to Lord Caelen and said so everyone could hear, “Lord
Caelen, I need to ask you and the other Elders for a favor.“

I think he knew what I wanted before he answered, because
he'd seen it in my mind. “You have saved the life of my son, Aedus. Tell us what you want."

“I want revenge on
Lord Kennet.”

“You may not kill him. He must be judged by the Elders. In the end he will be executed by the soul of the Wild Hunt.” I turned to look at the dark shrouded figure who sat astride his black horse apart from the rest.

“If I can get my revenge, but return him in exactly this condition so he can stand before you for judgment, would you agree to it?”

“Yes
.”

“And do
you
agree, Lord?” I turned to the dark figure and he slowly nodded.

“I owe someone my life and I’m going to bring him here to take Kennet. He will return Kennet
as you see him now, ready to be judged.”

There was only a shocked silence as I summoned Isaiah. He appeared instantly and bowed slightly to me, touching his birthmark as he did
. “Jackie. You—summoned me?” He looked exactly the same as he had in my small room, but with a very serious expression, bordering on anger. He was not pleased that I’d summoned him and I felt a small twinge of fear, but shook it off. He’d be feeling much happier in a few minutes.

“Is our old agreement null and void?”

“Yes. And no one reneged. Although in summoning me..."

I interrupted.
“Is an oral agreement binding; one without all the blood and sacrifice?”

“Yes, between us, yes. Especially since you did not trap me in a circle and bind me to your will."
He glanced at the Fae surrounding us and at Kennet on the ground in chains. “You have something in mind, I gather.” His eyes were already sparkling with excitement.

“I will give you Kennet for one month to take to your realm to do with as you like. You must return h
im here in this exact condition, thirty human days from today, chains and all, to hand over to Lord Caelen, his sons or another Elder.”

“And what do you want in return?”

“I want you to continue to train me. I will invite you to my home after you return Kennet to Lord Caelen. You will behave yourself while you're staying with me or else Garrett or I can send you back anytime we want.” I took two steps toward him. “Isaiah, I want to know more about what I am.”

He
laughed at me, but then must have seen the seriousness of my expression. “Your bargain is reasonable, but I want
six
months with him.”

“Two.”

“Five”

“Two”

“Four”

“Two or nothing. Isaiah, I need this to end."

He turned to look at Kennet seated on the ground with several blades at his throat. He’d obviously heard everything we’d said because he turned to Lord Caelen and said, “You are not going to permit this, Caelen, are you? I’m your brother, a Fae Lord of the Seelie Court.”

“
Kennet, your blood is seelie fae, but your actions are those of the lowest unseelie. As long as you are brought back as you are now, the Elders will permit this. My sons, who are both recovering quickly, will especially enjoy these next two months that you spend in the Demon Realm.”

Isaiah’s slow smile sent shivers down my spine. His eyes were flaming orange as he stared at Kennet with hunger. “I will accept only two months, although I’
ll hardly have time for what I have planned. But you must swear never to summon me again.” He looked at me with such intensity that I trembled slightly.

Garrett supported me with a firm grip and a vicious glare directed at Isaiah. Isaiah arched an eyebrow. “Remember, vampire, that it was
my
training that returned her to your arms.” He shifted his gaze back to me and waited for my response.

I squeezed Garrett’s hand to keep him calm. “As long as you return him in two months
, Sixty human days, able to stand trial, I’ll never summon you or give your True Name to anyone. And you must swear to the same.”

“
Yes, I agree. I, Isaiah of the Bas Demonic Level, accept this verbal agreement in front of all of these lovely witnesses.” He looked around and nodded to Lord Caelen. “Caelen, how pleasant to see you again after 524 years 11 hours and 42 minutes.”

“I cannot
truthfully say the same thing, Isaiah, but I have no argument with you on this particular day.”

I looked from Caelen to Isaiah and decided to
finish this before any disagreement started up between them.“And I, Jacqueline Crawford Cuvier, accept this verbal agreement in front of all of these noble witnesses.” I managed to smile at him. “Thank you Isaiah, for saving my life.” I leaned back against Garrett, afraid that my exhaustion might show and I didn't want to appear weak in front of Kennet. Because he understood, Garrett supported my weight without drawing any attention to us.

“In the end you saved your
own
life. Your power is growing daily. I look forward to our lessons.” He turned to Kennet as fangs sprouted from his mouth and his eyes blazed with an orange fire. He growled. ”Kennet-you-are-mine.” They disappeared at the same time.

The clearing was quiet. I’m sure everyone was in shock. I turned to Lord Caele
n and nodded in the way of the fae and then took Garrett’s hand and used the lines to go back to our room. When we arrived two seconds later, I leaned my full weight against him, having used most of the reserves of my strength on Aedus and then on summoning Isaiah. He picked me up and laid me on the bed, looking worried and slightly annoyed with me. I knew that I should eat something, but I really didn’t feel motivated.

“Jackie you’re weak so don’t argue with me.” He took off my shoes, kicked off his own and crawled up next to me, biting into his wrist and forcing it into my mouth. Starting to drink, I groaned with pleasure as I felt my strength return full
force.

“High octane, yum.” It didn’t take long for me to feel like myself again.

Garrett laughed as he licked his wrist.  I wiped off my mouth and put
my
wrist next to his nose. He started to push it away but I held it there. “C’mon, you know you want it.” He hissed softly as he pulled it closer to his lips. His fangs popped, his eyes sparkled and he bit into me, the sudden suction making me gasp.

As he drank, I talked, keeping my voice low. “Do you know what you’re drinking there, Garrett? I found out that my grandmother is a full blood demon. Actually, she’s one of the nobility. That’s how I can travel the lines.”
He didn’t react other than to arch his brows and lock his gaze with mine as he took in my blood. “So how do you feel about me now?” I was acting playful, twisting his hair around my fingers, but part of me was scared shitless. There was always the chance that he'd pull away, spit out my blood and take off.

With this surprising news came a surprising reaction. He pulled away from my w
rist and grinned deliciously, kissing me in a different spot between each word, “Loving-every-drop. I’m very much a vampire, Jackie, and
not
a fae.” He licked my wrist. “It answers the question of why your blood tastes so uniquely delicious.” He pulled me very close and nuzzled my ear. “You didn’t think it would bother me did you?”

“Show me.
” I was only whispering, but I could still hear the desperation in my voice, as I clutched at his body, starting to tremble.  I needed him to show me that my news really made no difference, that he still wanted me, that he still loved me.

He was wired from the blood, just like I was, so he fisted his hand in my hair and tilted my head back, exposing my vulnerable neck. He ran his lips and his fangs from my earlobe to the base of my neck while I slid my hands over his shoulders. When his lips moved back up to my mouth, his kiss wasn't gentle, but that was good, because I wasn't in the mood for gentle either. Sometimes you just need to feel with your body and forget the rest.

Chapter Forty-four

Garrett: 10:00 AM Saturday

We’d decided to leave for home at dusk. Lord Caelen had scheduled a luncheon-slash-meeting  with us around 2
:00 PM and then Bridgett’s formal apology ceremony would follow. The fae prisoners had agreed and the fae citizens were buzzing with the news. Poor Bridgett was a nervous wreck.

Jackie had jumped out of bed this morning,
showered, dressed and gone off to check on Aedus. I'd hoped that we could've spent a little time together so she could perhaps, open up about what happened, but instead she'd rushed out. Maybe, when we got home...

I was just finished dressing
, when there was a knock on the door. It was Liam.

“Good morning, Garrett. I know that Jackie isn’t here. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Sit down. Is something wrong? It's not Aedus is it?”

“
He's fine, better than ever. But there are some fae who are upset about Kennet being sent to the Demon Realm. I’m certainly not one of them, and neither is anyone in my family, but there are a few and they will be speaking against Jackie at the meeting. They want her to lose her ally status.”

“I think she can handle them. She has a lot to discuss with everyone at the meeting. She’s dropping a supernatural bomb and I think that information may cause more of an uproar than Kennet’s surprise vacation.”

“Bomb?”

“Her grandmother was a full blood demon. Isaiah figured it out and that’s why he was able to teach her to
travel the lines. It’s probably what saved her life.” I glanced at Liam who was looking like he’d been eating spoiled food. “Why Liam, do you have some prejudiced bones in your body? Are you a zealot anti-demonist?” I was laughing, but I could see the conflicting emotions in his changing expressions. He wouldn’t turn against Jackie, he was just worried about the security of his people.

“Garrett, the fae people have never had a demon ally.”

“And here’s their chance! Actually, she’s a healer cheetah shifter with sorcerer and demon blood mixed in. She's a true smorgasbord of the supernatural community.” I was having more fun than absolutely necessary watching his reactions.

“Sorcerer?”

“According to Isaiah, her dad was a sorcerer, but she couldn’t inherit because she’s a
she
. So the healing cheetah shifter rose like cream to the top. Demon genes mix well with shifter, apparently, as do fae I'm sure.”

“You’re not taking this seriously, Garrett.”
He actually sounded annoyed.

I met his gaze directly. “You’re correct if you assume that this is not my main concern. I’m taking her
suppressed emotions
very
seriously. She's not talking. She’s not dealing with what she’s gone through and when it all surfaces, she may need your help, Liam. I hope that you’ll be there for her.”

“How could you ask that?”

“Then stand behind her today.” I snapped. I was angry so he took a moment to let me calm down before he spoke again.

“
You know that I could never turn against Jackie.”

I sighed and shook my head in exasperation. “S
he's been through so much and now some fae fanatics are going to give her a hard time. She's the same exact person who became their ally in the first place. We have to make them see that.”

He nodded as Jackie came through the door. “Liam!”
She ran over and hugged him, but noticed right away that he didn’t hug her back as enthusiastically as he had before. She took two steps back. “Did Garrett tell you?” He nodded. “So I guess it makes a difference to you? We can’t remain friends?”

The look on her face broke my heart
, so I contemplated slamming Liam’s head into the wall until I saw him jump up and grab both of her hands. “I apologize for making you feel that way. The information was a shock, but you'll always be my dear friend. I'll support you in front of the council and the fae community.”

She was laughing
at his sweet apology. “It’s normal to freak out a little over this. You should've seen me when Isaiah first told me. I’m actually just getting used to the whole thing myself. Oh wait. I have to show you guys something. This is so cool.” When her eyes turned orange Liam needed to sit. My body had the opposite reaction.