Waking Her Tiger (5 page)

He looked unconcerned. “She is mine; she was always meant to be mine.”

“She has a will of her own and claws of her own if it comes down to that. You agreed to do things the shifter way when you came here. Now, you are reverting to djinn traditions. Rein it in or you will be returned to the human world without her.”

His expression darkened. “You would not do that.”

“We have not done it before, but you are a special and dangerous case. They are not going to take chances with you, and this is why. Glove up. If direct contact starts the fire, smother it.”

He grimaced and gloves materialized on his hands. “I will miss the touch of her skin.”

Teebie shrugged. “You just have to get her to agree to the match, and then, you two can go to a deserted island and wreck the environment until you stabilize, or you can stay here and Dira will give you a space to be yourselves for as long as you need. Until the balance settles.”

His frown was still dark enough to shame storm clouds. “You think this will settle?”

“In a word, yes. You will both be drained, and you will both be filled. What remains of you will not be the beings that were standing there before but a blend of both. It is really touching to watch.”

Suran chucked. “It sounds like you know what will happen.”

Teebie mentally relaxed at his return to humour. He was resetting himself just fine. “I have seen it in others, though with you two, it might take longer.”

“Why?”

“You are powerful, and she is a novice when it comes to love.”

He grimaced. “I can’t do anything about the one, and I guessed the other, though she does know how to love her friends and family. Her bonds of duty and affection are obvious and admirable.”

“I know she is capable, but now that you are calm, you might want to continue your courtship. I can feel more magic stirring, and there are no fey in the park. You might want to pursue her before she does something that will pierce a hole in this dimension.”

He jerked his head in a nod and made excellent time as he disappeared into the green of the forest once again.

Teal cleared her throat. “What did you say to him?”

Teebie looked at the empty path and smirked. “Two things. I told him to calm down and no glove, no love.”

Teal and Tony laughed, but Tony focused in again. “You warned him about the bonding.”

“I did. If he knows that he has to contain himself to protect her, it will go more smoothly.”

Tony nodded. “Good. The last thing we need is to blow up any of our guests. It would ding our success rate.”

They all trooped back to the main Crossroads, but Teebie kept on alert for any wild djinn magic. She didn’t know how much Maddy had gotten, but any amount was enough to do a lot of damage.

The swing was fun. Maddy hadn’t been on one in years. The only thing that would have made the park perfect was a flock of butterflies.

Maddy swung back and forth, imagining butterflies with rainbow wings and the scent of lemon.

The feel of wings wafting in her face made her open her eyes. Her flock had arrived.

She stopped her pendulum effect and held out her hands, the large rainbow wings opened and closed slowly as they settled on her.

She felt Suran approach before she saw him. She whispered, “I don’t know where they came from, but aren’t they pretty?”

He stepped into her field of vision, and his eyes were wide. “Did you want to see rainbow butterflies?”

“I did. I was thinking that they would make the sun in this park beautiful and sparkly.”

“I see. Well, those butterflies are crafted from leaves and magic. You have animated them with your own will.” Suran was calm.

The moment he told her, the beauty of her new friends was gone. They dropped to the ground and became leaves again. “How did that happen?”

He took her hand, and she flinched until she felt the leather against her skin. “You absorbed some of me, and I, some of you.”

“What could you possibly have gotten from me?”

“A feeling of hope that hasn’t touched me in quite some time.”

He moved in close, and she swallowed nervously.

“So, I get power and you get hope?”

He smiled and rubbed his thumb along the inside of her wrist. “As you live beyond the lifespans of the humans around you, your emotions are the first thing to take damage. They wear out faster than shoe leather.”

“That sounds like a jaded answer. You can always hold onto those around you, whether they are still with you or not.” Maddy smiled as her pulse sped up.

“You are young. How many could you have lost?”

“Nineteen members of the town have passed since I began attending funerals at the age of eight. Death is part of life, but the marks those who have passed on make on our souls enrich how we treat those around us.”

“They took you to funerals when you were a child?” His brows knit in concern.

“Of course. Part of my community was gone. I needed to know where.” She parroted, “To know where one is going, it is important to know where one has been.”

“Very wise. I had not expected it of ground creatures.”

She chuckled and got to her feet. “We have a highly evolved and dependent society. When one member gets ill, we all pitch in, and when they die, we mourn. We also attend every birth and birthday in our town. Sometimes, it is weird to live in each other’s pockets like that, but it works for us.”

The swing was resting against her thighs, and she wanted to see the butterflies again. Under her watchful gaze, the leaves twitched, fluttered and then took to the air with bright wings and unsteady beats.

“And now, you have learned one of the eternal truths of the djinn.”

She held out her free hand, and a butterfly landed on her fingertips. “What is that?”

“If we wish for something, it comes to pass, though that may not be the best option for the djinn in question.”

“What does that mean?”

He held his hand next to hers, and the butterfly flitted to his glove. “It means that you can wish to be taller, and the magic would make you so, but it might take the molecular mass needed from your kidneys if you were not careful. It is why the wishes are so dangerous. We have to choose what the magic uses to grant the wish. It can be controlled, but it is why the phrase
be careful what you wish for
came to pass.”

“Why are you giving me this lecture?”

“Because I intend to court you, though contact is now on the forbidden list until you agree to wed me.”

His pale-grey eyes were staring at her, and she blinked slowly. He didn’t blink. The small silver rings winked in his ears, gemstones studded the deep-blue expanse of the outer curve, and it was safer to look at his ears than his face.

“I see. Um, what makes you think that I am your best bet as a match?”

He stroked her arm, the smooth leather on his skin trailing lightly down to her hand. He lifted her hand until it was near his lips, and he brushed his mouth across her knuckles. The short blaze of energy was enough to convince her that there was something between them, and it wasn’t just the fabric containing his erection.

He lifted his head quickly but not before she had been able to take in more of his power.

“What is happening?” She frowned. This wasn’t right. It couldn’t be right.

“You are accepting the djinn magic into you. It is very particular. A person must be of appropriate mindset and they must be open to it.”

“And a djinn must offer it up of their own free will.”

He shrugged and gave her a wicked smile. “That may be part of it.”

She slipped her hand out of his and wrapped her arms around her waist. “What happens now?”

Suran smiled. “We continue our tour.”

He put his gloved hand on her back, and they did indeed continue their tour with a crowd of butterflies surrounding them and leading the way.

Maddy was giggling over lunch with Suran, and when she realised it, she stopped. He paused in his telling of an ancient wish granting gone bad. “Is something wrong?”

She pressed her fingers over her lips. “I don’t giggle. It...I just don’t.”

“I liked the sound. My voice scares birds from the trees. Your laugh is music to my ears.”

She blushed. “About the ears. Why do you have so much silver in them?”

“I started with one ring or gem for every decade past my fifth century. After that, I went to tattoos. It is how I mark time.”

She stared and counted. “Um, okay. So, you have been around for a while.”

“I have. Is that a problem?” He suddenly looked a little unsure.

She thought about it and rubbed her forehead as the waitress removed the plate. “I think it should, but that is the past, and going forward, we will share a future, right?”

Delight crossed his features. “Is that a yes?”

She blinked. It was like watching a stone lion turn boyish with glee. “It is a question.”

He nodded. “Then, yes. Going forward, we would share one life, one future and, eventually, one death.”

She flexed her fingers in her hair before she set her hands down on the table. “Right. Well, what do we do next?”

He grinned. “What do you say to going dancing?”

She laughed. “I think that is a pretty good idea. I don’t dance much, so you will need to watch your feet.”

“I promise to keep a close eye on you.” He smiled and extended his hand, helping her to her feet.

He had already paid for her steak, and she gripped his gloved hand tightly as they left the café.

Touching his hand with his gloves on felt completely natural. When they entered the Crossed Star Bar, she immediately spotted a familiar face. “Spike!”

Spike smiled and finished pouring a drink for one of the fey at the bar.

“Maddy. How are you feeling?”

Spike’s gaze skimmed over Suran with a knowing eye.

“Better. It has been a very interesting day.”

Spike grinned. “I can see that. Is your dress covered with butterflies?”

Maddy looked down and then back to the medic. “Yes, I got tired of them flying into my face, so I stuck them on the dress. I think they add a certain something.”

“That they do. Well, enjoy yourself, the music is set for slow dancing, but I can turn it up to something more energetic if you like.”

Suran spoke up and barked, “No!”

The reverberation of energy was intense, but Maddy just prodded him in the bicep. “Keep it contained.”

He looked sheepish. “Apologies, Spike. I cannot touch Madeline, but I would like to hold her.”

Spike looked at him with wide eyes. “Fair enough, Suran. Enjoy your dance.”

Maddy snorted and hauled the djinn to the dance floor. She hadn’t tried to dance with anyone she hadn’t known her entire life before. This would be different. The moment that Suran settled her in his arms with one hand holding hers and the other on her waist, she felt the difference.

The music was low and slow, and they swayed together, moving around the dance floor with Suran leading and Maddy relaxing enough to let him shift her. It was a strange feeling.

She could feel every point that they touched, from his hand on her back, his fingers pressing and giving her directions through the silent contact, to the occasional brush of his groin against her belly. He was staring down at her, and she eventually sighed and leaned her head against his chest. It was fine until he rubbed his jaw against the top of her head.

She heard the shattering of glass a few seconds after the wave of energy swelled out from the contact. She tried to pull out of his embrace, but he held her, and it wasn’t until Teal and Tony arrived that he let her go.

Teal was direct. “Maddy, are you going to accept him?”

With the attention of the room on her, it was time to be honest. “I am.”

The two guardians sighed in relief.

“Good, we are creating a ceremony for you now. I am pretty sure that if you two consummated before the balance ceremony, you would break the Crossroads.”

Tony was standing between Maddy and Suran and looking very uncomfortable about his position.

Teal took Maddy’s arm. “Come on. The least we can do is give you the dress that suits the occasion.”

Suran was moving forward, and it looked like he was going to run right over Tony. Maddy inhaled and shouted, “Yes!”

He paused and listened to what Tony was telling him as Teal ushered Maddy out the door and toward the Meditation Centre.

Apparently, they were going to be balanced.

When Maddy and Teal were alone in the Meditation Centre, she focused and her sundress changed shape to drape softly to her feet in rainbows of silk.

Teal stared at her. “That is new.”

“I take in djinn energy every time we touch. Apparently, that is a good thing as far as he is concerned.”

“It is pretty much the balance ceremony.”

“Oh good. I was hoping that it wouldn’t be too invasive. My beast doesn’t like invasive.” Maddy smiled and absently brought fluttering scarves of silk out of the shoulders of the dress to float over her arms and hands.

“You are taking to the djinn magic very well.” Teal looked both impressed and a little uneasy.

“It is like being filled with bees. It buzzes and occasionally stings, but you get used to it.”

“Does it hurt?”

Maddy cocked her head and changed her shoes into slick rainbow, high-heeled slippers. “It doesn’t hurt, and it does. It is inside me but not part of me. I don’t think I can explain it.”

“But you can use it?”

“Only in the same way that I can control water by pouring out a cup or standing in the rain.” She shrugged.

“Please excuse me; I have to call the woman who will cast the balance spell.”

Maddy nodded briskly and rubbed her hands together while Teal left her in the centre of the building with the stone and sand gardens. With a few easy bounds, she launched herself to the highest rock and settled in place as a predator with the best view and a nice, sunny patch.

It was fun to sit in a spot where she could see everything around her and hear the sounds through the open roof. She could wait. Waiting was easy.