“Okay, let go; I can’t breathe!” she cried happily. He let go abruptly but caught her as she stumbled backward.
“Sorry!” He grinned and laughed. She laughed along with him, feeling elated.
“Do you have the water, then?” Shade nodded at Sary, who had worked her way up to her. “You did it, Shade. You saved our people!” Sary hugged her and joined the laughter.
“Let’s go home, everyone. It’s been a long journey, and it’s time to celebrate! Queen Zinara will be absolutely delighted. We will win this war against the Unseelie after all! We have new allies joining us for victory!” Jack smiled widely as he hugged everyone in the group. Everyone agreed and nodded. The stairs to the underground opened and they each descended, laughing and chatting with each other, all the strain of the journey lifted at once.
“Who are our new allies, Jack?” Shade inquired.
“Oh, sorry, you probably haven’t heard about it yet, but, on our way to the Santiran fountains, we ran into a group of villagers who proclaimed that Prince Lotinar had returned and sided with Queen Zinara. This will prove most useful to our cause.” Shade pondered what he had said, not really knowing of whom they spoke, and suddenly thought of something else.
“Wait, um, was Sylphi with you guys? Where is she?” Shade asked, not that she really cared.
“Sylphi? She ran at the battle with Lady Blythe. She probably returned to the Teleen Caverns. She most likely got too scared to fight,” Ewan chuckled.
Shade wasn’t the only one not missing Sylphi.
Shade approached the first step to the mound but turned to see Dylan watching her.
“The blood bind is still in place. I thought it might be fulfilled at journey’s end, but it’s not,” he whispered as his eyes stared off into the forest, glazing over. His face was serious and contemplative.
“I’m sorry, Dylan; you know I would break it if I could. What do you think has to be done to end it?” Shade placed her hand on his arm to pull him back into the present. He returned his gaze to her and smiled through the sadness.
“It’s all right, Shade, I know now that this is my destiny. I’m not meant to be captain of the Teleen guard anymore. I’m glad I met you, Shade. Changes are good.” His eyes sparkled in the dimming light of the dusk. The orange glow spread across the sky and dimmed the forest floor as the sun crept away to slumber.
“I’m glad we met, too. Come on, let’s get some real food and rest for once. After we give the flask to the Queen, I can go home and see my family.”
Dylan’s face darkened in gloom as he stared back at her. “Home? You’re leaving? Well, I guess you would want to go home, wouldn’t you. I won’t be returning home, probably not for a long time.” He pressed his lips together and stepped forward toward the stairs. “I have to warn you, Shade. I have to stay close to where you are, or my blood burns inside me.”
“I know. You could come, you know. You could meet my family. I’m sure I could think of something to tell my mother. You could definitely pass for a teenager. I could say your family is moving out of town, and you need a place to stay so you can graduate at our high school. What do you think? We do have a guest room; my mom rarely uses it, but I’m pretty sure she’d agree to letting you stay with us.” She stood before him, staring down the stairs of the faery mound.
He suddenly turned, a wide grin spreading across his face. “Yes, that would be good. I think that since our blood bind is still in place, I will have to stay near you somehow. I guess that would be best, at least until the bond’s requirements are fulfilled and it lets me go home.”
Shade beamed. She could feel his anxiety pulsating out toward her. Something about the fountains had linked them even closer. She flushed red as she remembered the burn of his lips against hers. She hoped for Dylan’s sake they wouldn’t be bound for too much longer. However, as they descended into the faerie court and out of sight, she knew she wasn’t ready to let him go.
(A Dark Faerie Tale #2)
For my children:
Ethan, Rayven, Maximus, and Elias.
You are all my light in the dark, and I am blessed to have you in my life.
Mommy loves you!!!
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I thank God for everything he has blessed me with. Without his wisdom and guidance, I wouldn’t be here.
I want to thank my family and friends. There are so many of you who have cheered me on in times that I wanted to give up and throw the whole thing out the window. Without you, I could not have gone this far. I want to personally thank Amber Tunney, my BFF, whose encouragement and wise words helped me write better and sleep at night. Amy Conley, the best proofreader ever, and whose awesome enthusiasm makes me smile every day. Daniel & Sandy Alcaraz, all our talks and brainstorming helped me immensely, and I am blessed to have you guys in my life. Thank you to Cyndi Stauff for all your advice and help. My cousin, Natalia Lopez: I strive to face life with as much life as you. Love you, Prima! Also to Michael K. Rose, who’s awesome support has only made my work thrive, thank you!
I also want to thank my lovely RN coworkers and friends. The list of names is so long, probably as long as this book. Each and every one of you have helped me in one way or another, whether by editing, reading my stories, gushing about it, giving me suggestions, or just supporting this starving author. I love all of you. You are the awesome in this world!
Ever Fire (A Dark Faerie Tale #2)
Chapter One
SHADE’S ONLY THOUGHT was of running. She let the ground fly under her feet, feeling the dirt shifting with her shoes as they were imprinting themselves into the dark, soft earth. She wasn’t afraid, nor did she have to run. No, she wanted to run. The need to feel the air rush past her with its fingers ripping through her hair, and the bushes and leaves whipping on her skin was overwhelming. The fresh earthy air fed her lungs, and the beating of her racing heart was the drummer of the tempo.
Running in the forest had turned into a soothing meditation for her since returning from the Santiran Fountains. It was funny that the woods seemed to have become her sanctuary, even though her adventures in the great outdoors had been no less than scary. She often wondered; since her powers had grown, did it mean the faery in her now craved the intimacy of nature more and more? Regardless, she enjoyed her daily sprints in the forests around her house.
The solitude gave her time to think. To think about her powers, her life, her future, and her commitments. She had pledged her allegiance to the Guildrin Clan, a Seelie Court of Faeries. Shade hadn’t realized how much allying oneself with faeries would involve, but for now she was happy it did involve a lot of magical training, weapons training, fight training, and the history of the fey lessons. It was a Fey University of sorts. Her brain was often fried and required her to use her daily runs to recharge it.
*****
SHADE’S REFLECTION STARTLED her in the dismal dark of night. The mirrored closet doors reversed the room enough to make her wonder where the heck she was. Blinking, she rubbed her face and let her eyes adjust to the dim twilight. She let her breathing slow to a more calming rate as her heart slowed its frantic flutter. It was just another nightmare to wake her from her sleep. They’d become more and more frequent since returning from the long journey across Faerie. The dangers she’d endured to retrieve a powerful Santiran Water Magic for Queen Zinara of the Guildrin Seelie Court had left its mark. She wasn’t exactly sure what had triggered the nightmares, but the delirium of sleeplessness was getting old fast.
The soft tap on her door as it slowly creaked open made her jump again.
“Shade, are you alright?” Dylan’s whisper floated across the room to her. His hair was growing out and lay in dark wisps across his left eye. His piercing steel-grey eyes seemed to glow in the dim twilight and flashed about the room as if scanning for disturbances. She lay back, relieved to see the Faerie guard. Dylan waited patiently as she reached over to click the nightstand light on.
“Yes, Dylan, I’m fi
ne. Just another bad dream.” She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Her hair was a messy chestnut tangle which snarled around her shoulders. She watched Dylan as he gave her a slight nod and retreated, clicking the door shut behind him. She wondered how he always knew when something was going on with her. He just seemed to be there, immediately, every time. Of course, being so near and down the hall at her house did seem to have something to do with it.
Her mom had been cool when Shade had brought him home and introduced him as her new friend from school who needed a place to stay so he could graduate from their high school. They had played it off like his family was moving for his father’s work, and he didn’t want to change schools. Dylan had appeared as innocent as a teenage boy could appear. He had used his glamour and charms on her mother. Somehow, it had worked, and Shade’s mom had agreed to let him stay. Her mother wasn’t naïve; she had her hawk eyes on them constantly, but she seemed to loosen up after a few weeks had gone by without incident.
Shade smiled at the thought. Dylan did make her heart jump with a flip or two when he was nearby, but they had not really had much time together since returning from the journey. School graduation, parties, and high school friends had sucked up her time like leeches. Ultimately, it had kept their conversations to a minimum, but that hadn’t kept her from dragging him along to every function. He hadn’t found them quite to his liking, but he’d been too curious to admit he really hadn’t minded going with her that much and seeing what went on at the parties. At the very least, he liked to be near her. She was glad her mother hadn’t objected when Dylan had asked to stay longer, probably for the whole summer. Her mother had just nodded and smiled while moving about her day as usual.
Shade reached over and clicked off her lamp, robbing the room of light. Blinking, she let her eyes adjust to the night glow which slowly drizzled in from the streetlights outside. Wiggling down into her bed, she pulled her pillow under her head and sighed. The sweet warmth and softness of her bed beckoned her back into the lull of sleep. She silently prayed the nightmares would stay away, at least for tonight.
Chapter Two
“YOU KNOW, YOU could come with me,” Brisa, Shade’s friend, inquired. “I don’t have a roommate yet. You don’t have to stay in this ho-hum town, Shade. Why the hell would you want to stay here anyway?”
Brisa pushed the bowl of chips toward Shade. She grabbed a handful and munched on the salty bits. Shade was trying to avoid Brisa’s constant badgering. She’d told Brisa everything that had happened in Faerie, but it was all so beyond her, it was no surprise she didn’t understand why Shade wanted to stay. Brisa was headed to UCLA after the summer was over, and Shade had decided to stay put in their hometown and attend the local community college. Well, maybe she hadn’t really decided on what she wanted to do with her life quite yet. Finding out you’re a part-faery changeling, along with being a fire-resistant human, does kind of change things a lot.
“Look, Shade, I know you want to go and ‘find yourself’ and all, but you have to come with me. What am I gonna do without my BFF to rule the campus alongside me?” Brisa stared back at her. Shade’s silence was more than she could bear. Brisa sighed while grabbing her sketchbook and pen. Her eyebrows furrowed as she scratched the pen on the paper. She didn’t know what to draw; she just knew she had to draw something when she was frustrated.
“Brisa, I can’t go, you know that. There is so much I don’t know about everything right now, and I can’t find out anything about myself if I’m hundreds of miles away from here. I have to do this, for my own protection at the very least.” Shade crossed her arms and let her head drop back onto the edge of the bed as she sat on the floor. She didn’t feel so vulnerable and open there. Closing her eyes, she took a breath in and tried to think of something else they could talk about. The tension between them wasn’t so bad, but it got thicker whenever Brisa tried to lure Shade out of the city. It just wasn’t going to happen right now.
“I really wish you would change your mind,” Brisa mumbled back. “I just don’t think staying is what you should do. It’s dangerous out there. Why would you want to risk yourself in the lands of Faerie? I sure as heck wouldn’t want to. You hated it out there, remember? All the dirt, bugs and crap! What did it get you? An array of scars and some really sore muscles. Plus you almost got yourself killed, not once, but several times! Come to college with me, it’s nice and safe.” Brisa was furiously scratching at her drawing pad now, her olive complexion burned red in frustration and her dark hair fell into her eyes.
“Brisa, I wish you could understand. It’s really weird, but even though I hated it out there, in the wild, now I feel compelled to go back there. Maybe I draw my energy from the land… I told you, my powers were stronger in Faerie than they are here. I guess it’s something I need to be near.” Shade slumped as she yawned and stretched, already sick of the subject.
“Well, at least that Dylan guy is pretty cute,” Brisa said as she gave Shade a smug grin. “It might be worth it if everyone in Faerie looked that good. So, is he like your boyfriend now or what? You take him to all the parties, but you definitely don’t get all touchy-feely with him. What’s going on with you two?” Brisa chewed on a sour twist candy she’d swiped from Shade’s nightstand as she waited for an answer.
Shade sighed. Pressing her lips tight, she could feel her face run scarlet. “No. For your information, Dylan is not my boyfriend. He’s like my bodyguard. He’s bound to protect me since his brother tried to kill me. It was the only way Queen Gretel would let Darren live. Otherwise, he was screwed. I have to figure out how to dissolve this bind before anything else, too. I can’t have a Teleen Warrior ‘guarding’ my body all the time. Especially not at college… though I do really like him.”
Brisa giggled and made smooching noises with her lips. Shade just rolled her eyes. “Well, he can ‘guard’ my body anytime he wants to. If you don’t want him, I mean,” Brisa added.
“Stop that!” Shade threw an empty can of soda at Brisa, which she promptly dodged. Both girls laughed as they began to smack each other with Shade’s bed pillows.
“Are you girls okay? What’s going on in here?” Shade’s mother, Jade, pushed the door open and scanned the room, finding them both frozen in swinging positions. She shook her head as her eyebrows rose in a suspicious arch.
“Shade, how ‘bout tidying up your room while I make us all some lunch? Brisa, you can help her, and I’ll make some for you, too. Sound like a deal?” The girls nodded and quickly began to reassemble the trashed room as Jade turned away and disappeared down the hall.
“Your mom is so cool, Shade. My mom would’ve told me to get out of the house for that. Anyhow, I’m starved. You’ll figure it out, Shade, you always do. That’s why you’re queen of this castle… besides your mom, of course.” Brisa snickered as Shade rolled her twinkling brown eyes back at her, letting her pillow bounce once more off of Brisa’s head.
*****
SHADE SLIPPED HER plate into the sink while scanning her eyes across the lawn out the kitchen window. The dusk was absorbing the day away in colors of tangerine, red and gold. Rinsing the dishes and putting them away, she looked again out into the dimming evening. She spotted Dylan standing near the edge of their lawn. He was staring into the woods behind her house. The property was large and extended a couple acres beyond the grass and a short way into the woods. The house was surrounded by forest and was spaced far enough away into the trees that no one could see it from any other house on the road. Shade thought her mother had probably loved the privacy of the lot when she’d bought it.
The gentle breeze swayed Dylan’s hair, teasing it into a halo which swirled around his head. It hung past his ears and lay straight in jet-black masses. He looked almost like a statue out there, alone and still. Shade wondered what he was doing.
Brisa had taken off before it had gotten too dark. Shade wiped the counter clean and headed out the back door toward the Teleen warrior. He remained where he was, still and as straight a
s a board, even when she came to a stop beside him. She took a long look into the forest, hoping to catch what he was watching.
“Hey, Dylan, you okay? Did you eat any dinner?” When he didn’t respond, she turned to study his face. His white skin had tanned a bit since leaving the Teleen caves and now had a healthy glow. His shining black hair framed his face nicely as his steel-grey eyes glowed in the sunset and scanned the trees and tall grasses.
“Dylan?”
He turned his eyes to Shade and took in her face, acknowledging her before turning back to the remnants of the day. The seriousness that clung to his face worried her.
“I thought I would be home by now, Shade.” His solemn voice made her shiver.
His arms hung at his sides, never wavering from his statuesque stance, as though his feet were rooted to the land under him. Shade stared at him; he seemed so lost and alone. She often wondered what went through his head. At the graduation parties she’d dragged him to, he’d hung out at the edges of the rooms or in the corners, trying to fade away and become inconspicuous. He would nod and smile at the friends she would introduce to him, but he would leave that as the extent of his conversation. Getting him to mingle was like pulling teeth.