Forever (Book #3 in the Fateful Series) (5 page)

After sighing, he tossed back the rest of his tea, ignoring the fact that it burned his throat. He really needed to get a handle on his jealousy. Danielle had finished eating and had slipped two fingers into one of the belt loops on his jeans so she could snuggle up to him and offer a bright smile that he knew belonged to him alone. “I’m ready to go,” she said. Her gaze never left his and she either knew about his internal turmoil or had no idea the other guards looked at her like they wanted what was his. The truth could be either or both, but when she looked at him like that he decided he didn’t bloody care they had an audience when he lifted a hand to cup her face and gave her a proper snogging right then.

Chapter 4

Return to The Fey

The temperature changed as they got to where the trees grew closer together and the thick canopy of leaves smothered out a great deal of the sunlight. The fragrance of flowers saturated the air as Danielle picked her way around tree trunks and a carpet of English bluebells. She didn’t want to trample them, but there were so many it was hard to avoid crushing the bell-shaped flowers. When she started seeing large red mushrooms dotted with irregular white spots, she knew they were getting even closer. Lifting her gaze from the forest floor, she looked for the little tree houses that would mark the fairy’s dwelling. All she saw so far were numerous brown trunks with thick, peeling bark.

This trek had been easier than the first time she’d come here. They’d been better about making sure they stopped to drink and eat snacks along the way. Plus she hadn’t overdone it with a fierce sparring match the day before.

Danielle led the way, but she remained aware of the fact that Ethan stayed close at her back and the
five
guards flanked them on each side. Two more had joined the others in their quest, Richard and Harry, one of the new guys. She stopped when arms came around her waist. Looking down she recognized Ethan’s sleeves and tossed a wondering look over her shoulder at him. “We just ate,” she said, still able to taste the cheese and chutney sandwich, “and we’re almost there.”

After kissing her on the cheek, his fingers trailed along her waist as he untied the shirt secured there. Next he gathered her wrist and began feeding her arm into the sleeve.

“I’m not cold,” she informed him quietly as he proceeded to dress her. “What are you doing?”

“Just making sure you don’t catch a chill.”

But she’d just said.... Danielle turned and measured him in bewilderment for a moment. Then it dawned on her. He was still struggling with jealousy, and for some reason wanted her to be covered up. Was it because Richard was here and he was the only single guard there besides Casanova? Her eyes passed over the prince who was visible just past Ethan’s shoulder. Richard wasn’t even looking her way; he was intently searching the surrounding forest for any possible threats. Just like a bodyguard should be doing. Her eyes shifted to Casanova. Danielle knew Ethan didn’t like him much either. She understood his problem with Richard, but not Casanova. The guy seemed really nice and he wasn’t looking her way either.

Deciding to appease him anyway, she reached down and tied the tails of the shirt together as he straightened the collar. “Thanks,” she said. This Victorian-possessive-protectiveness was cute on him, even if it was slightly annoying at times.

A pleased smile captured his lips as he braced his hands on the trees at either side of her and leaned toward her for a kiss. She could see her reflection in his glasses as well as the flirtatious twinkle in his eyes. But instead of matching his mouth with hers, he shoved her backward into the leaves and bluebells and landed on top of her. “What—?” was all she managed as the air whooshed out of her lungs before one of the guards shouted, “Pixies!”

That’s when she realized Ethan hadn’t intentionally knocked her down; he’d fallen into her when Merrick shoved
him
down. Looking just as surprised as she was, Ethan shifted so he wasn’t squashing her with his weight, but maintained a protective position above her. He also looked for his glasses which had slid off as they fell and then bounced off her cheek before tumbling into the thick undergrowth.

“Do you have salt?” Danielle asked as the little creatures entered her line of vision and their rotten-apple smell assaulted her nose.

When he jammed his hand into his pocket and tossed what looked like white particles of granular snow at a swarm of sharp-toothed and snapping pixies, she took that as a yes.

Ethan lifted his arms and came back down on top of her, shielding her from another shower of salt, thrown by the guards this time. Danielle closed her eyes as it pelted her skin not covered by Ethan.

When Ethan lowered his left hand to the ground to brace himself, and lifted his head to look over his shoulder, she could see the guards battling against what looked like hundreds of pixies. The men tossed salt and smacked away the creatures attacking them. Merrick, who was the closest to her and Ethan, backhanded three at once as they tried to fly past him. The pixies went sailing like thin, snarling toys.

A huge crowd of them got past Merrick though. While the vampires swatted and tossed salt at the pixies, Danielle got a better view of what was attacking them. In truth, she’d never actually seen them this close up before. With their skinny bodies, they looked something like stick bugs, but they had little faces sort of like fairies, except a wicked twist of their lips made what could be smiles evil-looking. Instead of having brown skin, however, they were actually a pretty shade of pale blue mixed with brown. That was the only appealing thing about pixies though. Miniature beasts closed in on them with claw-tipped hands raised, and needle-sharp teeth exposed. Their smell became overpowering enough to make her sneeze. When her eyes blinked open again, the pixies grabbed hold of Ethan’s backpack and pulled. Ethan let it slide free of his arms before he was dragged along with it. Danielle kicked out and managed to impact two of them, sending them flipping head over heels away from them. Ethan swung out with a fist too, but they’d gone for his clothes this time and hauled him right off her.

“Ethan!” she screamed reaching for him. Danielle had no idea those things were so strong until then.

He swore and fought to get them off his clothes as his feet actually left the ground. “Guards! Help us!” shouted Ethan. But the vampires had their own problems. The curse was weakened enough during the day that they were having trouble keeping their feet on the ground too.

Throwing sucker punches at the pixies, she tried to knock off as many as she could, but she was unsuccessful. They snagged tiny handfuls of her clothes as well, and she felt the fabric go tight as they began lifting her. Danielle seized hold of one on her left sleeve and nearly lost her lunch. It was like grabbing onto an enormous bug. Within her grasp it twisted, causing her stomach to do the same. Setting her teeth against the nausea, Danielle yanked. The thing held on like a stubborn tick. It moved to bite her and she jerked her hand away. Pixies might look fragile at first glance, but they were actually as durable as cockroaches. She hadn’t even rumpled its wings that vibrated as fast as a hummingbird’s.  And she’d touched it? A shudder of repulsion worked its way through her body.

As her back lost contact with the earth, she noticed in perplexed curiosity, that there were more colors than streaks of blue darting above her.  It took her a moment to realize fairies were there, chasing off the pixies with blasts of fairy dust coming from itty-bitty wands. Dressed in flower petals and leaves, they zipped about on multi-colored wings. The pixies holding her let go and she grunted as her back slammed into the ground. The bluebells may have cushioned her fall slightly, but she still found a rock right between her shoulder blades.

A little farther away, she heard Ethan’s “oof” when they dropped him too. She saw him rising to his feet, brushing dead leaves from his clothes. With the way he was favoring his right leg, she believed he’d been injured.

Remembering his glasses, she rolled to her knees and looked for them in the flowers where she thought they’d landed. Her fingers connected with something smooth and cold. For a second she worried it was a snake or something worse, but it was hard. Brushing the plants and fallen leaves aside she found his glasses next to the tree roots and picked them up, cleaning them off with her shirt.

“Thanks,” he said taking them from her fingertips and putting them on.

“Are you hurt?” she asked.

“I fell from six or seven feet up I think and jammed my knee pretty hard when I landed, but I’m all right.”

“I thought the pixies feared men. Why wouldn’t they leave us alone this time, especially with all of the salt that was thrown at them?”

She watched as Ethan considered her question. His hand came up and he scratched behind his ear, like he didn’t exactly have an answer to her question. “We did notice they were more aggressive when we visited the hobbit homes, but not this bad. This time they were practically unstoppable.”

Danielle shuddered and apparently the movement drew his attention. His gaze traveled her body just like it did when he was looking for injuries.

“Did they hurt—?” Ethan began but he was interrupted by a fairy that flew right up to his nose and tapped her finger against the glass of his eyewear, making a faint clinking sound.

“What is this?” Alora asked. She spun over to the side of his head, wrapped two hands around the frame and tried to take them off his face.

Ethan batted her away, obviously being careful not to actually hit her and grabbed hold of his glasses. “Now see here, I need those!”

“What are they for?” the fairy asked.

“My eyesight isn’t what it once was. These help bring the world into focus for me.”

Swinging around to face him again, she plopped little fists on her hips, cocked her head to the side and studied him for a moment. All the while her beautiful and sparkling wings of pale lavender flapped like a butterfly’s.  “You’re blind because you’re mortal now?”

Straightening his glasses, Ethan shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not completely blind. I just need assistance in the matter.”

Several fairies had gathered around them, some male and some female. All of them watched her and Ethan with bald curiosity as though they’d never seen them before. But they’d been here more than once. It’s true, Ethan had never worn glasses on their past visits, and if they didn’t see many mortals then it was likely they hadn’t seen any type of eyewear before now either.

Alora passed a gaze over the forest and then locked her blue eyes on Danielle. “I suppose the pixies were after you?”

Opening her mouth to respond, she closed it when Ethan asked, “Do you have any idea why they would want her?”

In a gesture that looked kind of nervous, the fairy began nibbling at her fingernails while she considered her answer. “They might want to eat her.” The disturbing idea came in a high-pitched but enchanting little voice that probably shouldn’t be saying things like that.

It felt like her knees had vanished right out their sockets as she imagined those creepy little pixies gnawing at her flesh and how that would probably be a long and painful death.

Ethan’s hand was suddenly grasping her arm and she realized he’d noticed her reaction. “We need your help,” he said. “Nothing will leave her alone and the werewolves have found someone with magic to help them.”

Alora’s fair eyebrows rose toward her hairline. “They probably want to eat her too.” Then, even more disturbing, the fairy took a whiff of the air in her direction, like she thought maybe they should have her as a snack as well. Danielle took a step backward. Apparently Alora guessed at her fear and tittered out a peal of laughter. “We’re—what was it you called it, Ethan?”

“Ah, vegetarians,” he offered, looking like he wanted to laugh too.

“Yes, that’s it. You don’t need to worry about us eating you, my dear, we only consume fruits and nectar and other such things.”

“That’s a relief,” she muttered feeling her cheeks heat with how this conversation had taken a strange, disturbing turn. “Thanks for saving us from the pixies.” Though she couldn’t help but think that was the strangest sentence she’d ever uttered in her life.

As the fairies led them the rest of way to their dwelling, and their little tree houses began to dot the trees, Danielle asked Ethan in a whisper, “Do you think it’s true?”

“What’s that?” She felt his fingers squeeze hers gently.

“That stuff about the pixies wanting to eat me? Why?”

Ethan threw his gaze skyward as his free hand made a pass through his hair. The sparkling light from the fairies played across the reflective surface of his glasses and she couldn’t see his eyes to measure what he was thinking. His gaze lowered to their path as they walked, leaves crunched beneath their feet, thin twigs snapped under their weight. Ethan took his time considering this before he said, “They could think that you consumed vampire blood when you bit me and now have that in your system.”