If nothing more, it definitely put a crimp in his playing tricks on the humans when one knew what he was. But it was a challenge he couldn’t resist.
“I must return to court, but I have an important errand for you to handle,” his mother said.
The old errand-to-run trick that would keep him from returning to the beach resort.
Well, whatever it was, he’d either get someone else to handle it, or he’d take care of it quickly.
“Yes, my lady mother. What is the task you wish me to accomplish?”
She smiled and the look was pure wickedness.
Definitely, not good.
CHAPTER 4
The female faery took Deveron’s seat at the Mexican restaurant, turned to Cassie and said, “I’m Ritasia. Deveron is my brother.”
Alicia quickly closed her gaping mouth. So the faery wasn’t Deveron’s girlfriend, but his sister, to take up where he left off.
“I’m Cassie and that’s Alicia,” Cassie offered. “Are Micala and Deveron coming back soon?”
Ritasia shook her head. “I’m afraid not.”
“That’s too bad.” Alicia hoped the tone of her voice didn’t give away the fact she was tremendously pleased. She turned as their waitress carried another platter full of fajitas to their table.
Ritasia smiled. “I caught the waitress and she threw my order on.”
“Good.” Cassie piled guacamole, sour cream, beef and peppers on top of a tortilla. “Especially since you are so famished.”
Alicia rolled her eyes. Cassie never met a stranger. She acted as though she’d known the fae forever.
Then the man behind them complained to the waitress, “How come she got her meal before I did? I ordered the same thing twenty minutes ago.”
Ritasia winked at Alicia.
Had the mischievous fae intercepted the man’s fajita order?
Ritasia folded her stuffed tortilla into an envelope, then said to Alicia, “It must be nice to have a girlfriend here with you. Being with my brother and his...friend isn’t the same as being with a girlfriend.”
“Why did you come then?” Alicia asked.
“To keep an eye on my brother. Why else?” Ritasia smiled broadly.
“He seems old enough to be on his own.” Alicia stabbed her fork into a slice of beef, then added it to her tortilla. She didn’t feel that the sister fae was watching out for her brother.
Rather, Ritasia intended to trifle with the humans now that he was gone.
***
Deveron paced across the green marble floor of the castle keep of Venicia. Escorting the Venician princess, Lorelei, to her coming out on her sixteenth birthday, wasn’t what he had in mind to do. But no matter how hard he’d tried to get his mother to reconsider, she wouldn’t. He wondered then if she had some ulterior motive. He was to escort the girl wherever and whenever she wanted for a whole lousy week!
Micala watched him for some time, then finally took a ragged breath. “My lord, shouldn’t you have told Queen Irenis why you wanted to see the human girl further?”
“She would have taken perverse pleasure in having someone else discover the girl’s identity and why she can see us like she can.”
Micala ran his hands over his satin tunic. “I did some research in our ancient archives before we came here and found some interesting material I’d never known before.”
“Oh?”
“Over a thousand years ago, a fae mated with a human woman. Their offspring had similar abilities to this girl.”
Deveron stared at him, then sat down hard on a wooden bench. “And?”
“The fae was forced to give up the human and the reigning queen ordered the offspring destroyed.”
“What if they weren’t all killed? What if Alicia is the descendent of one of these?” Deveron rubbed his chin. “Or what if other fae have fathered these...these half-immortals?”
“It’s possible. I believe the recorded case had six children. Anyway, I couldn’t find anything more in the archives. Of, course this is mainly about our own fae. There might be some from the other realms who have done the same thing. Though it is forbidden for any fae to attach themselves to a human.”
Deveron’s eyes widened, the thought totally disconcerting. “She could be from another fae house?”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
Deveron stood, then began to pace. “Another royal house.”
“Not a royal house, exactly, but what about another fae kingdom, my lord?”
“Yes, yes.” Deveron motioned Micala to be quiet. “That’s what I meant. We have to return at once. I must know who her parents were.”
“But if neither are fae—”
“We must find out her lineage. We must!”
“What must you do?” Princess Lorelei asked, her red curls pulled tight against her head, making her thin face appear tortured, though she managed a smile. She fingered the golden medallion at her throat embossed with the gargoyle.
He forced a small smile to placate her, though he had no desire to play nursemaid to a sixteen-year-old princess who had plenty of suitors, any of whom would leap at the chance to serve in his capacity. Suddenly, he looked over at Micala. His mother hadn’t intended for Deveron to be the princess’s suitor, had she?
He groaned deep inside. Sure she would. As unreasonable as she could be. “I’m sorry, Princess Lorelei, but I’m afraid an urgent matter at Denkar has need of my immediate attention. Please forgive me. I will return as soon as possible.”
He bowed low and kissed her hand. Then he tilted his head up and looked at Micala who bowed to the princess.
Before she could utter a word, her eyes grew wide with astonishment, and he and Micala returned to the Mexican restaurant on South Padre Island, hopeful that the fae-spy would still be eating her lunch.
But when they walked into the main dining area, they found another couple sitting at the table.
Deveron cursed under his breath. “Come, we’ll return to their hotel. Perhaps they’re there.”
“What about Princess Lorelei, my lord? Surely you realize she’ll report this to her parents, and even if she doesn’t, they’ll know you’re not there to escort her anywhere. Word will get back to your mother and then—”
“Yes, well I told the princess I would return soon, and I meant it. All we have to do is find Alicia and force the truth from her.”
“The lady doesn’t seem to be the kind of girl who bows to pressure easily.”
“She will. Believe me, she will.”
“You are forbidden from using faery magic on a human, my lord.”
Deveron shook his head. “I will use whatever means necessary to find out what fae line she descends from before my mother learns of it.”
They walked into the men’s room and as there was no one there, they both vanished.
Deveron and Micala ended up at the hotel and remained invisible outside Alicia and Cassie’s hotel room door. With no one about, Deveron knocked on the door.
When there was no answer, he transferred himself inside the room. Micala followed. Neither of the girls was there.
Deveron sucked in his breath with annoyance. “Where would they have gone?”
Micala pointed at the carpeted floor. “Your sister’s been here.”
Deveron studied the almost imperceptible trail of fae dust, the signature as unique to faeries as a fingerprint was to humans.
“She must have discovered Alicia was fae-knowing.”
“Or she wished to play tricks on the girls as you had intended.”
“Where would they have gone?” Deveron asked again. His neck muscles tightened with annoyance. What was his sister up to?
“Shopping?” Micala suggested. “Human females seem to spend an inordinate amount of time shopping.”
“We don’t even know what kind of a conveyance they own.”
Voices approached the room and Deveron folded his arms, stood fast and stared at the door.
“Shouldn’t we leave?” Micala ask
ed.
“No. I will find out who she is and—”
The lock clicked open and the door opened.
A brown-skinned maid entered the room with a fresh load of towels.
Deveron released an exasperated breath. “Come. Let’s check out the shopping areas.”
“We might pick up Princess Ritasia’s trail along the way.”
“If it hasn’t gone cold by now. But you’re right. Let’s go.”
Deveron and Micala visited every beach resort T-shirt and post card shop...all the typical souvenir shops. Then they surveyed the classier boutiques. They found not a sign of either the humans or his sister.
“Do you think maybe they returned home? Maybe they were leaving today. Or perhaps Alicia worried about you having discovered her secret, and she convinced her friend they should return home.”
Disagreeably, Deveron had to consider that option. “She may very well know that the fae killed people like her in the past.”
“We may still do so, my lord. Your mother may have the girl eliminated if she feels Alicia is a threat to our people.”
“Then we must find her first.”
Micala’s brow furrowed into a deep frown. “Not to protect her, surely.”
Deveron scowled. “What do you take me for? Protection of the fae kind is tantamount in any situation.” Then he ground his teeth as he considered another matter. Princess Lorelei. “You don’t think my mother intended for me to court the Venician princess, do you?”
“She wishes an alliance with their people, yes. It’s either you wed Princess Lorelei or your sister takes the princess’s older brother for her mate.”
“Ritasia can have the Venician prince. I won’t wed Lorelei. She’s a mouse.” What he wouldn’t have given for a princess who had Alicia’s spunkiness. The nerve of the girl to douse him with sodas. And yet, just that boldness was what he liked in a woman. He shook his head to think his thoughts would even go there. No way would he risk all to become interested in a human.
“We missed that card shop over there, my lord,” Micala suddenly said.
They transferred themselves to the sidewalk outside of the shop but before they walked inside, Micala pointed at the concrete. A sparkle of luminescent sea green faery dust—Ritasia’s—caught their attention. The two followed it to a movie theater.
Deveron smiled. “I believe we have found our quarry.”
They appeared inside the building, then followed the trail to the third door on the right. Micala opened the door for Deveron, then the two proceeded to follow the dust, shimmering like a trail of tiny Christmas lights on a dark night. They both made themselves visible, then followed the trail up the stairs.
Due to the early afternoon hour and the fact the feature had been playing for a week and a half already, the theater was half empty. Both he and Micala spied Ritasia and the two human females sitting dead center in a row of seats, otherwise unoccupied by other humans.
Despite the seriousness of the feature as a car chase scene screeched across the screen, Ritasia and Alicia saw Deveron and Micala at once.
Ritasia shook her head at him.
He could have done the same with her. He stalked down the aisle toward them.
Cassie, finally noticing Micala and Deveron, smiled with enthusiasm.
Micala went around the other way to sit beside Cassie.
Deveron said to Ritasia so he could sit next to Alicia, “Move over.”
“You’re always so diplomatic when you want your way.” Ritasia scooted over to free up the seat next to Alicia.
He took the seat and looked at Alicia. She ignored him. He smiled. It wouldn’t work.
Alicia folded her arms.
Deveron reached over and took her hand in his and held tight. “Tell me who your parents are, or I can’t protect you.” Not that he was certain he could anyway, or that he would want to.
She glared at him and tried to pull her hand away. But when she’d couldn’t, she turned her attention to the movie and pretended he didn’t exist.
Fae females were always ready to please him, being he was a prince. And human females were intrigued by his looks and actions. The fact the fae-knower wouldn’t be charmed by him intrigued him to no end.
“Do you know how powerful fae magic can be?” he whispered in her ear. He breathed in her peach scent and realized at once she had a slightly different fragrance than humans. Almost like...
He shook his head, ignoring the notion that flitted across his mind. “And do you realize no matter how much you try, you can’t ever resist me?”
Alicia shuddered. Not because she was afraid of the dark fae, but because he tickled her ear with his warm breath.
“What do you know about us?” he asked, as one dark brow rose in a cocky manner.
“That you’re evil.” Alicia tilted her chin up as she waited for his response.
At first he just stared at her.
Then his lips curved up, every bit as dangerously as she knew he was. “All the more reason to tell me why you can see and hear us in our other state, before I resort to dark fae techniques.”
CHAPTER 5
Alicia noticed then that Ritasia strained to hear their conversation in the movie theater as the car chase continued across the screen. From the frown wrinkling Ritasia’s brow, Alicia assumed the fae wasn’t getting the gist of her conversation with Deveron.
Alicia sighed heavily. She had no idea what the dark fae could do to her as her father had only mentioned that humans who could see them would be terminated. Now she wished she could meet him, if only so that she could talk to him about her peculiarity and what to do in the situation she now found herself in.
She continued to watch the film, though she didn’t see anything but the flash of headlights, balls of fire, and the sparks streaking across the screen as metal ground against metal. Her concentration remained on the fae who held her hand, possessively, heating her thoroughly. But more than that, she knew he studied her with the same kind of wolfish bemused expression. And that’s what distracted her something fierce.
He leaned over and whispered, “I’ve never had any girl, fae or human, act so spitefully toward me. Whatever had I done to deserve wearing the ice cold drinks on my bare chest?”
She smiled, but wouldn’t look at him. His dark eyes were deadly entrancing, charming, lulling her into a false sense of desire. He didn’t want her. He wanted her to beg for mercy before he had her killed. Or did the job himself.
He added, “It took every bit of resolve for me not to flinch when the icy sodas hit my chest.”
Alicia’s smile broadened. So he wasn’t as tough as he acted. She could just imagine him trying to pretend not to be unsettled by the ice hitting his sun-warmed skin for the human girl’s benefit. Though she wondered why he’d be so honest about it with her now. Did he think if he gave up a secret, she would, too?
No way would she tell him who her father was. Not that she knew anyway. Her mother had kept her maiden name so the fae wouldn’t ever be able to learn Alicia’s father’s name. And Alicia only knew her father’s first name…
Suddenly golden-haired fae, six of them, dressed in navy blue tunics and dark brown trousers appeared at the bottom of the stairs. For a moment, they looked at the carpeted floor, then turned their attention to Deveron and the rest of his party. At once, the six male fae tromped up the stairs to Alicia’s aisle. From their grim expressions, they looked like they had a formidable mission. Were they coming to arrest her?
Instantly, her stomach muscles tightened. Deveron’s hand grasped hers more firmly also. Was he protecting her? Or keeping her there so she could be taken prisoner?
He was a dark fae. He wouldn’t be helping her. She tried to free her hand from his steel grasp.
“You’re in trouble now if the royal guards are coming for you,” Ritasia warned.
Alicia knew it. She was a dead woman.
Deveron cursed under his breath, then leaned over and kissed Alicia’s lips. Before
she could react, shove him away, enjoy his attention, slip out of his reach, or kiss him back, her head began to swim in circles around and around, faster and faster as if she was riding a spinning top at an amusement park. Everything swirled into the dim light of the theater to a much darker void.
Could a dark fae’s kiss disorient her that much?
She tried to concentrate on him, on the feel of his warm lips pressing with such passion against hers, on his hand that gripped hers for dear life. Then the swirling slowed down. The dark gave into light. The smell of buttered popcorn turned into the fragrance of fresh grass. No longer was she sitting upright in a theater chair, but she reclined on a bed of soft, tall grass.
Her eyes began to focus on her new surroundings.
Too dizzy, she couldn’t sit up. She tried to open her mouth to speak as Deveron leaned over her, watching her, not saying a word. Her stomach’s queasiness began to settle.
For what seemed like an eternity, she attempted to focus on him, on the dazzling blue sky above, and the puffs of white clouds that she could make out.
Birds chattered in a forest—a forest?—just a few feet away. There were no forests on South Padre Island.
She closed her eyes and tried to make sense of what had just happened. She was watching a suspense thriller with Cassie and Ritasia, then suddenly, Deveron and Micala arrived. And then...and then a gap in her memory prevented her from remembering what else.
She looked at Deveron’s lips. They curved in a naughty grin. He’d kissed her. But no. Something before that. What had happened? Think, Alicia, think.
Somehow she figured knowing what had happened before the kiss would prove tantamount to her survival. But as much as she attempted to remember, she couldn’t.
He leaned over further and took her hand in his and touched his lips to hers.
She should object. Shouldn’t she? He was a dark fae and she was…she was…was she a dark fae, too? She couldn’t remember. Why couldn’t she remember?
His name was Deveron and he was…he was kissing her—again.
She tangled her fingers in his dark brown, shoulder length hair, the rich color shimmering in the warm sunlight. The gold around his eyes sparkled with an intensity she hadn’t remembered before. Then they closed as he deepened his kiss.