Wrath: The Niteclif Evolutions, Book 2 (10 page)

We parked the car at the car park and walked to the small vegetarian restaurant near the circle for lunch. I wasn’t hungry, but Hellion again insisted I eat something to keep my energy up. We’d been sitting in the small diner for about half an hour, our food just delivered, when I realized we were being watched by a small man wearing a bulky jacket and having a hard time sitting still. The man looked somehow out of place in the restaurant. I probably would have figured out what it was that set him apart if I’d been able to get past his gaze. If a pair of eyes could speak, his were issuing me threats of violence and promises of pain. I looked away and shivered, unnerved by the level of malevolence held for me by a complete stranger.

“Hellion?” I leaned forward and spoke low. “We’ve got an audience.”

“Aye, we do. He’s a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Maddy.” Hellion took a big bite of his tabouli and said, “He’s been following us for about an hour, love. He picked us up outside Avon as if he knew we’d be here.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Setting my fork down while still looking at Hellion, I missed the edge of the table and dropped it to the floor with a clatter. I had to bend toward the faerie to pick up the fallen utensil. I thought it over before sighing and beginning to move very casually. He shot out of his chair and ran out of the restaurant.

“Oops.” Obviously my mad stealth skills still sucked.

Hellion smiled. “I’d imagine he was supposed to deliver a message to one of us, but finding us together threw him. The fae know of the prophecy, but their king and queen had hoped you would bond with Tarrek. Beyond their wishes, they’ll be as surprised as any of us to find we’ve been cast together.”

“Oh. I, uh, had no idea they’d wanted that. That’s a little awkward.” The sentiment seemed insufficient in the wake of their son’s death, but I couldn’t find it in me to regret his demise. “Should we go look for our messenger?”

“The little fellow? No. He’ll either show up again or we’ll be approached by another of the fae. I would imagine the king or queen, or both, seeks an audience with one of us.”

That reminded me—the queen had asked to speak to me. I opened my mouth to tell Hellion about Clay’s message when I realized the couple at the next table were listening unapologetically to our conversation. They’d gone so far as to give up their meals in order to lean closer. I glared at them, and the man sat back, but the woman couldn’t take her eyes off Hellion. I cleared my throat and she didn’t flinch so I leaned forward. “Boo.”

She jumped back as if I’d yelled at her instead of spoken softly. Standing, she gathered her tourist flotsam and stalked out of the restaurant, muttering about the rudeness of the locals.

I laughed out loud and leaned over to her partner. “Tell her I’m from the States. The locals here are much nicer than I’ve ever been.”

He gathered his coat and dropped some bills on the table before scampering after his table partner.

Hellion laughed softly “That was brilliant, Maddy! They’ll likely remember your attitude and not the topic of conversation. Good thinking, chit. I’m typically more conscientious, but I’m a bit distracted today. Apologies.”

It hadn’t been thinking at all, which I wasn’t going to tell him. Instead it had been pure, unfiltered jealousy at the woman’s interest in Hellion. Okay, it was prefaced by concern, but the knee-jerk reaction was in response to the jealousy. I shoved my plate away. “I’m done.”

“You’ve hardly eaten a half dozen mouthfuls.”

“And you’re not my keeper, so can the attitude. One father was all I ever needed.”

“Where are your parents, Maddy? I’d like to meet them.”

I closed my eyes and felt the hot burn of tears in my throat. “They died,” I rasped. Two traitorous tears fell over my lower lashes and raced for my jaw. A roughed thumb beat them there and brushed them away.

“
Ta bron
, Madeleine.”

I opened my eyes and looked at him, laying my cheek in his hand. “Taw broin?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh.” Again. “I’d say it’s okay, it’ll be fine, but it’s not and it may never be. Some things never really seem to heal.”

“I hope that others will.” He stood, took his wallet out and dropped a few bills on the table before coming around to pull out my chair for me. I sighed. My status as an independent, modern woman seemed to have caved under the force of these western European men. I smiled, sure it had something to do with their accents. Oh, and rugged good looks didn’t hurt. Bahlin would be happy to know he’d influenced me and created in me high expectations.

We walked out of the restaurant companionably, my hand tucked in Hellion’s arm.
 

We sat in the fast-diminishing sunshine on thermal blankets designed to keep our rumps dry. Hellion had his arm slung casually over my shoulders, chatting about his childhood and his Irish estate. I gradually relaxed and enjoyed this new open, easy manner of his.

It wasn’t long before the creep of power swept into the circle and almost forced us apart. Sarenia wasn’t happy. Mundanes in the area began to wander away without seeming to notice they were more interested in leaving than in staying. I stood and turned to face her as she walked into the circle, her rage palpable.

“Sarenia.” My voice was cooler than spring water. I only inclined my head to her in deference to her status.

“Niteclif,” she bit out. Oh yeah, she was pissed. She looked over at Hellion, who was just getting to his feet. “Wizard.”

“Come now, Sarenia. I’ve known you for more than two centuries and you’ve never called me simply ‘wizard.’ Let us discuss this like rational beings.”

She sat and we followed her lead. “Tell me what happened,” she commanded.

So I did, beginning with the prophecy and Odin’s little interruption, my conversation with Bahlin, the conflict and fight and, ultimately, our plunge out the window. I made sure to explain that Bahlin had instigated the fight against my express desire. It mattered to me, if to no one else.

Sarenia took it all in, tears coursing down her face at the mention of Bahlin’s plunge and my account of his death. “Did you see his body?” she asked.

Struggling to maintain the little bit of control I felt when Bahlin’s name came up, I answered her. “No. But Sarenia, I’ve left messages for him everywhere I could think he might be and he hasn’t answered—his cell, his brother’s cell, the hotel, with several members of the weyr. Hellion has looked at the hotel. We’ve scried for him. And I’ve pleaded with the gods to interfere.” My shoulders slumped. “There wasn’t time for him to change. I don’t think there’s any way he survived the fall.”

“So you don’t believe he could have flashed to dragon and saved himself?”

I shook my head, mute with the loss of him.

Hellion listened carefully, his face a study in careful neutrality. “Is it possible he could have cloaked that quickly? Because no one reported anything. In fact, no one reported seeing us all fall.”

Sarenia waved a hand. “He probably cloaked you on the way down, meaning he may have had time to shift. So you never saw the body?”

A spark of hope seated itself in my heart. “No. No body.”

“Then you’ve no proof he’s dead, Niteclif.” She started to add to her answer then stopped. “Yet you have come together anyway.” She waved a hand at us to encompass our apparent status.

Hellion answered her, but instead of denying we were lovers he said, “Sarenia, you know the prophecy better than any, as your daughter was the one to deliver it. It’s been verified by three sources, as required by the Council. Maddy and I are predestined, and no amount of anger will change that.”

I looked back and forth between the two. There was that word: predestined. Did Hellion really believe in true love or was he just accepting his fate? Most likely it was a little of both. I myself had acted on both, believing Bahlin was my One and then accepting pieces, but
only
pieces, of the prophecy as fact. Add into the mix the feelings I had of having known Hellion somehow before all of this, and it was one huge damn mess.

Sarenia turned to me and asked, “Did you love Bahlin?”

I was so thrown by the question I answered quickly and honestly. “Yeah. I still do.” I quickly looked over at Hellion. “I’m sorry, Hellion. You know how I feel.”

He smiled gently and said, “I do. Yet you will love me too, only differently than you ever loved him. We are fated, you and I.”

Goosebumps ran up and down my arms. Bahlin had said the exact same words to me weeks ago.

“We are.” I wasn’t sure who it was that I was answering…or remembering.

Sarenia sighed. “As much as it pains me, I must admit I believe this is right.”

My head snapped around. “What’s right?”

“The two of you. Your connection is visible, like one heart split between two bodies, one soul reunited. I fear that if Bahlin finds out, this will pain him greatly, prophecy or no.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Be gentle with him, Madeleine Niteclif. He will need your patience and understanding through all this.”

“So you believe he’s alive?”

“I believe the odds are in his favor.”

“Why did he not show when I scried for him?” Hellion chewed on his bottom lip, the action an undoubted holdover from youth, then smiled. “Ah, if he was cloaking himself with his full magic, he would have been invisible to me.”

I nodded. “He could also have gone to his den. If he made the shift, he would have headed there. He told me it’s a magical place of safety for him.”

“Did he take you to his den?” Hellion and Sarenia asked at the same time, both incredulous.

“Yeah. Why?”

“It’s a huge sign of commitment from a dragon,” Sarenia answered, glancing over at Hellion. He was scowling and picking at the grass.

I reached over and laid a hand on his arm to still his destruction. “You’re taking me to Ireland. Isn’t that kind of the same?” I moved my hand to trace the edge of his lips, and they twitched in response. Sarenia looked so sad.

“What?” The belligerent word came out like a challenge.

“He will take you home and seat you in his place of power. You’re right. It’s significant as well, Niteclif. You are well-mated, but at what price?” She stood, dusting herself off, and prepared to leave. “We will convene here again tomorrow evening so that all may come safely. I will spread the word. The king and queen of the fae will wish to attend.”

“Oh yeah. We had a visitor—”

“Follower,” Hellion interrupted.

“Okay, a follower. He was fae. Do you think that’s what he wanted—to ask us to meet with the king and queen?” The thought made me nervous. I wasn’t looking forward to meeting with Tarrek’s parents. How do you express remorse for, essentially, arranging the murder of their psychotically deranged son? Hallmark doesn’t exactly make a card for that.

Sarenia watched the different emotions cross my face before answering. “I’m quite sure the king wants to recommend a replacement fairy for the High Council. He is disqualified from serving because he is a ruling monarch. It would be like asking your president to serve on your Supreme Court, yes?”

Why couldn’t all explanations be so simple?
I wondered, nodding in understanding.

“The vampires and shapeshifters must also recommend their replacements, so I will coordinate that. Unless, of course, you’d like to do so, Hellion?” Sarenia watched him carefully.

“My interest in serving the Council has never run toward leadership, but thank you for the vote of confidence,” he answered formally. He slipped an arm around me and pulled me close, silently daring her to suggest otherwise.

She inclined her head to him and walked away. Stopping, she turned back to me and asked, “And what will you do, Niteclif, if you find Bahlin has survived?”

Self-doubt washed over me. “I don’t know, Sarenia. He left me and sort of affirmed it was for the best. Do I love him? Yes. Is it enough? I don’t think it’s enough to carry the whole relationship, no.”

“And besides, Sarenia,” Hellion said, his voice resonating so that it carried across the distance effortlessly, “I ask her only to share the burden of love, not to bear it alone. Odin has spoken, and she is my heart. I will not let her go willingly.”

“Odin means nothing to me.” Once outside the circle, she disappeared.

Chapter Eight

Night crept in from the shadows, finally falling around us as a blanket of stars covered the blue-black sky. Hellion drew me close and kissed me, and the stones seemed to hum their approval. “What’s that?” I asked, gently pulling away. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the easy intimacy that had developed between us today, appealing as it was.

He wrapped his arms tighter around me and raised his brows. “You truly do not know?”

“Wouldn’t have questioned it if I did.” I ducked my chin, trying to buy the time I needed to regain control of my facial expression following the tenderness of the kiss.

He lifted my face to meet his. “Will you kiss me, just once, as if you hadn’t a care in the world?”

I shrugged. It wouldn’t be the first time, and it wasn’t like I was cheating.
Except on his memory
, I thought. Before I could convey my change of heart, Hellion kissed me more enthusiastically.