“So they gave them to you, and you have them all in here,” he asked as he tapped on his temple and winced. “And now I have you.”
She expelled a breath and nodded her head. “Yes,” she admitted. “Now that I think about it, I thumbed through a lot of the archives as I returned them to the shelves…” she trailed off in wonder as the impact of the Guild system hit her. Sure, it was a system that had flaws, but it was probably more secure than most corporations had set up on their computer networks and subject to hackers on any given day. “Anyway, this also means that we don’t need to continue searching for missing pages because I have them in my head.”
“Good,” he said as he closed his eyes. “I’m going to bed,” he announced abruptly as he stood and moved towards the door. He waited for her to follow, but when she just stood watching him, he grinned. “Easy or the hard way, little librarian, tonight I don’t care either way. Hard way will get you fucked here and now; easy way will probably postpone playtime for the morning. Decide.”
“I’m coming,” she said as she moved in his direction and watched as his eyes smiled at her.
“No, not yet. Trust me; you will know when you are coming, because you’ll be screaming like earlier.” His eyes sparkled with mischief as he grinned wickedly.
“I need sleep,” she hissed, then gasped as his magic slithered around her skin, and before she could protest, she was dressed in a creamy satin nightgown that showed off more than it hid from prying eyes.
Once they entered his bedroom, he pointed at the lights, flicked his finger down to dim them, and crawled across the bed without a care in the world as his clothes seemed to melt away from his body. She, however, felt the unease of having his huge, now naked, sex God body bared before her eyes. He turned over slowly, revealing a very impressive erection. She slid onto the bed and gave him her back as she pretended to not notice it.
“Get some sleep; tomorrow we will be heading out,” Ristan warned, as his hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her close against his body, cradling her tightly to himself. She didn’t stop him, because based on his past actions, it would have been pointless to even try.
She replayed the day’s events and felt elated at her discovery and proud to know that she hadn’t just been pushing papers around as a simple librarian. That her place inside the Guild had meant something, and had been a meaningful position that not just anyone could do. Her joy faded a little as she thought about her other discovery of the day. She was feeling an emotional connection with her captor, and she found herself wanting to delve deeper into it, which was insane. She found that she enjoyed having sexual relations with him, but it should end there, right?
She’d needed the connection of his mouth against hers as much as she’d needed him to be inside her body. His touch felt like fire and it kindled her desire until it was a smoldering blaze that not even the most skilled firefighter could put out. She also liked talking to him; he was intelligent, funny and, since she had come to really know him, she didn’t feel that awkward or self-conscious.
His body cradled hers, and she closed her eyes as tears welled, and her heart pounded against her chest with what was happening. She was more than falling for her captor; she had already fallen for him.
She was addicted to his company, his touch, and his kisses.
This was so freaking bad!
*~*~*
Ristan felt the moment she’d fallen asleep and opened his eyes. He’d felt her emotions, and knew she was just as screwed as he was. He sensed what she was feeling as she’d come to the realization that she was becoming emotionally attached to him—and damn if it didn’t bring warmth to him that left him reeling with a sense of joy he’d never felt before.
This was new territory for him, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to tread into this kind of new terrain. Every excuse he made up to stay away, wouldn’t last more than a moment or two and his resolve kept failing. He couldn’t get enough of her, and even though he knew he’d developed feelings for her, he wasn’t sure staying around her for much longer was healthy for her.
Eventually, Danu would come to him. Their little tiffs wouldn’t be enough to make her leave him alone for very long. Olivia’s life would be in danger at that point, and he wasn’t sure that he could honestly say that she was his prisoner and he was only torturing her because their relationship was evolving; he just wasn’t sure where it had taken a turn into her being more than his prisoner.
He held her against his body, protected in his embrace, and considered his options. One, he could keep her as his sex slave. That held a great deal of appeal and many Fae had pets like that. But it might break her spirit, and that wasn’t something he wanted to do. He loved watching the fire in her eyes and he enjoyed finding ways to provoke it. Two, he could have her help him look for the relics and help them with deciphering the archives. He could consider it payment for her part in his capture and let her go once she finished helping them. He at least owed her that much.
His stomach churned at the thought of her leaving this bed, let alone leaving his world. If he could figure out a solid remedy to his problem with the Goddess, maybe he could have the best of both worlds. He shook his head before he placed a soft kiss to the back of her neck and closed his eyes. He needed to pull away from her, because letting her go wasn’t going to be an easy feat.
He shifted in the bed as he heard Ryder call for him through their shared mental link, and he groaned softly with the summons. He sat up as he gently detangled his limbs from hers and whispered a spell to strengthen the wards that surrounded the house that would hopefully make it harder for Danu to find his or Olivia’s signature traces leading to this location. He knew he couldn’t hide from her forever; she was a Goddess, after all. As it was, he was buying time to figure out how to fix the issue.
He moved from the bed slowly and glamoured on his armor that designated him as one of the Elite Guard before he opened a portal and sifted into Faery.
Ryder was in the war room, spreading an ancient scroll across the table as he lifted his eyes with a subtle greeting to his brother.
“For the love of the Gods, tell me you got something on the archives?” Ryder asked as he picked up more papers and tossed them into the stack Zahruk was still adding to.
“I don’t think you’ll find any useful information in there,” he said as he sat beside the growing stack. “Olivia had a breakthrough, but it’s not certain.”
“Elaborate,” Ryder said as he took the chair opposite Ristan.
The men turned as Synthia entered the room, her eyes glowing as she smiled at Ristan. She moved gracefully as she slid into the chair at Ryder’s side.
“What’s going on?” she asked as she took in the faces of those in the room and Ryder gestured for Ristan to continue.
“Olivia has a photographic memory,” he explained. “She doesn’t think it’s a coincidence that she and a few of the other librarians had the same ability. She thinks that it’s how the Guild keeps the archives safe from enemies. The librarians are like the backup drives for the Guild.”
“It’s inside her head,” Ryder mused. “What if she was killed? They’d lose the information. Technically, it’s brilliant, but there are a lot of flaws in that plan. Too many unknowns,” Ryder mused as he considered Ristan’s story.
“That’s the thing; they would send new mission logs and archives through two librarians and then through an Elder before they were filed. Olivia thinks the sensitive archives were split up by the Elders and sent to separate areas of the catacombs. Just imagine how much information she could have potentially absorbed as she looked through those tomes and scrolls before she refiled the returns in the library catacombs. Speaking of which, I took her to the catacombs today and we found some strange shit. One being a mausoleum full of caskets, the other being a room that she hadn’t known about which was filled with grimoi
res. She brought back files and a lot of loose pages that should have made the archives we have make sense, but they don’t fit or pertain to the archives in any way.”
“There’s a lot down there. Too bad you didn’t sense any relics when we went through there the first time.” Synthia shook her head and placed her hand on the top of Ryder’s comfortingly.
“Just wards,” Ryder agreed. “I would have sensed the relics if they’d been inside the walls of the Guild.”
“I don’t think the Guild would have left them there, at least not at the Spokane Guild.”
“No actual relics, a lot of information, though. We did get the cauldron because of the information stored there, and I did get a good lead on another relic, but until I’m certain what and where it is, I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”
“I’m sure you don’t,” Synthia agreed as she smiled. It evolved into a grin in her excitement as a thought struck her. “I know Olivia was given a file by Marie that pertained to a dagger; I know because I was the one she asked to hand it to Olivia. It was weird, and at the time I thought the same. It was a long while back and Olivia was fresh out of training. Marie insisted that I give her the file and only her. I’m wondering if Marie was a little clairvoyant, because if it is what I think it is, we have the location to the dagger and it could lead us to the other relics.”
“You gave Olivia the file, but that also means another librarian had the same information,” Ristan noted.
“Maybe, but maybe not, Marie was there when I handed it to Olivia, and she remained in the room. She was also the one who helped the librarians and taught them how to navigate through the catacombs. If she knew what I was, and could sense the future in the way that you can, Ristan, maybe she only wanted me and Olivia to know of its existence.”
“I guess I better go ask a Witch about a dagger,” he said as he pushed away from the table and stood.
“How is she?” Synthia asked, her eyes sharp as she took in his proud stance and smirk that lit in his eyes.
“She’s mine,” he said with a short grin. “I have a few loose ends to tie up. After that, I’ll be heading out to see what I can find. I’m going to need someone watching my back, though, because I’m sure if we figured it out, the Mages are not far behind us,” he admitted. Even though he could handle most the shit those sick, twisted fucks could throw at him, he’d be moving with a woman at his heels and he wanted to be sure nothing happened to her while she helped them.
“Be careful of the devil,” Ryder said with a wicked grin. “That one could be far more dangerous than he appears. You let us know when you need help; you know we will come when needed. There isn’t one of us who wouldn’t draw swords to aid you.”
“I’m counting on that,” he said as he stood and moved from the room.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Olivia awoke to the sensation of being stared at. She stretched her arms and stifled a yawn as she sat up in bed to find Ristan watching her as she slept. She quickly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand to be sure she hadn’t drooled in her sleep. He smiled as if he’d read her mind and shook his head.
“You snore,” he said playfully.
“I do not,” she said, watching him as a smile formed on his full mouth.
“Then explain to me why the trees have all run away and are hiding even as we speak?”
“Seriously, I snore?” she asked in a worried voice.
“You do,” he teased. “Up,” he coaxed as he snapped the covers away and used his magic to wash her instead of wasting time with a shower. With a quick flick of his fingers, he dressed her in a baby-blue cotton dress that made her eyes pop vibrantly. It had a full-length skirt, which he wasn’t too hot about, but he wanted her to be comfortable when he broached the conversation he needed to have with her. “I need you awake, then I need you to listen to what I have to say.”
He reached around to the table he’d set up with an array of food and beverages, grabbed the coffee, and ran his fingers over the rim of the blue mug until steam rose from it. She watched him with wonder in her eyes as he heated the coffee for her.
“Warm, but not scalding with a dash of fresh vanilla crème and one packet of sugar, as you prefer it. There is also fresh melon and other fruit for your breakfast,” he said as he handed her the mug and watched her as she lowered her nose to inhale the warm, fragrant vanilla.
He’d watched her enough to know exactly how she took her coffee, and that she preferred fresh fruit over bacon and eggs. He also knew that she hated going to Starbucks because she thought the baristas didn’t make the coffee strong enough, but she wasn’t against buying it to brew at home where she could make it strong enough for her taste.
She sipped the coffee and moaned as she closed her eyes with a smile. “This tastes like heaven,” she murmured between sips.
He enjoyed watching her eat, and since he didn’t need Human food, he didn’t join her, but he did enjoy watching as the juices from the plump melon balls tried to escape her lips as she devoured them. He loved the way she ate without a care to what or who was watching, unlike many Human girls he’d observed who pretended to be full after only a few bites. Olivia always ate as if she was being given her last meal.
Once she was finished, he handed her a tissue he glamoured and held out his hand for hers as he took her out of the bedroom so his brain could be where he needed it, and not on the giant bed and sexy vixen he wanted to bend over it.
“Just spit it out!” she said when they’d reached the living room where archives and papers were still scattered everywhere, which he knew had to be driving her OCD over the edge.
“Synthia gave you a file on a dagger shortly after you first came out of training; do you remember it?” he asked, his eyes watching for any sign of agitation as his fingers absently stroked her palm.
“Yes,” she replied honestly. “That was a very long time ago.”
“Marie told Synthia that she was to give it to you, but at the time it seemed strange to Synthia because you were pretty new to your duties.”
“Yes, I said as much. I thought it should go to another librarian who had more experience to take care of it than I did. Marie told me I had to file it, but it was strange because normally an Elder from the library would be present, and Marie was more of an everything Elder. She knew the entire running of the Guild from top to bottom, and she told me she needed me to do it. I remember Synthia bringing it to me, and I remember her having a strange look on her face as she looked around at all of the older librarians,” she said as she made a face and continued. “However, instead of it being handed off to another librarian to be double-checked after I’d finished processing it, Marie took it. She simply stated that she wanted to be sure I’d double-checked the file.”
“Did you tell anyone about it?” he asked as he watched her.
“No, never; Marie was an Elder and I trusted her one hundred percent. She was kind, and she cared about us,” she sighed heavily and turned troubled eyes to Ristan. “She loved us, and I think if she had been alive to see the Guild brought to its knees, she’d die again.”
“Marie was murdered,” Ristan pointed out.
“They told us that she was killed by a group of radicals,” she corrected.
“They tell you what they want you to know, just as they’ve told you all Fae were evil. Tell me, Olivia, do we still seem evil to you?” he countered.
“I can’t answer that,” she whispered. “I only know what they told us. I also know she was different than the other Elders. She taught us things that mattered and about self-worth. She was also the sweetest woman I’d ever met. I just can’t imagine that someone would actually want her dead, not even after all this time has passed.”
“A few weeks ago, I am sure you couldn’t imagine a Guild Elder conspiring to kill everyone in his own Guild, but shit h
appens. People keep secrets; we all do it. So back to the dagger,” he replied.
“It’s in Ireland,” she replied absently and tenaciously circled back to their previous topic. “The Elders told us that Marie was killed by a group of radicals outside the Guild. If she was really murdered inside the Guild…”
“The parents of the students would have panicked; Enforcers would have called for the blood of an invisible enemy. Alden believes she was killed by another Elder, one who wanted to take her place.”
“Cyrus took her place,” she whispered breathlessly.
“That he did.”
She seemed to consider his words for a moment and then nodded as if she was willing to let that line of thought go for now. “Okay, so there are a few things that don’t make sense, while some of it does. The dagger was supposedly hidden in Dublin, Ireland; the archives stated it was in the catacombs of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. I remember quite a few details from the records, but I would prefer to double-check those facts against the ones in the Guild Library before anyone heads off to the cathedral.”
“Ireland?” he asked with a lopsided grin. “Ireland is full of myths and legends, and it’s the perfect place to hide something.”
“Ireland,” she confirmed and nodded her head. “Coffee me,” she smirked. “Please.”
“Fine, but we need to get some things together. I have to see someone before we can leave for Ireland and you’ll need to come with me. Do you happen to know anything else about that box?”
“Other than the fact that it’s evil?” she quipped. “I know that Marie knew about it. She thought it should be destroyed. Problem is, no one knew enough about it to know how to successfully destroy it. She spoke with us openly about things like that, as if we weren’t just a bunch of kids in training, more like we were adults who would be soon in charge. I’m still not sure about where the key might be, but, Ristan, whatever is inside that box, it’s beyond anything I’ve ever felt before. It’s like raw, burning evil that radiates from it as if it’s a life force itself,” she whispered shakily.