Enchanted Revenge (17 page)

As we continued to dip lower, before I could voice my concerns, I smelled the most amazing aroma, and I realized it wasn’t pink grass, and thankfully it wasn’t blood either. It was flowers.

Flowers everywhere.

Roses!

Their scent was the first to drift to my nose. I smelled gardenias, lilies and lilacs. But by far the most prominent were the sweet peas.

I hadn’t realized how fast we were flying until we slowed down. Right as we were about to land, Alec hovered over the ground for a minute, before setting us both on our feet.

All of a sudden I felt like time itself was slowing, and I was only inching by, like I was in a glob of jelly and had to wade through it. Especially when we landed. I tried to stand up straight, but it felt like everything was off kilter, like I couldn’t balance myself. Everything was so heavy, my legs, my arms, even my hair, as if the entire world was grabbing me and pulling me down.

Alec grabbed my arm, just before I fell to my knees, and said, “It’ll take a minute to adjust to being on land again.” Then he grabbed my other arm and helped me to sit. “Sitting down should help.”

The flowers were so tall they almost covered my head. Or maybe I was just that short. But really, they were gorgeous. They weren’t all pink, just from up high I guess all the colors had blended together. There were red, yellow, and white roses. Lilies in all colors. The lilacs and lavender gave the prairie some purple, and the sweet peas and pink daisies offered the blushed cherry color.

Being within them, the aroma was intoxicating. I felt almost drunk, or what I would imagine drunk felt like, since I’d never really experienced being inebriated. The closest I ever got was when I stole one of my mom’s wine coolers from the fridge, and that just made me want to sleep.

Still, no matter how incredible the flower field was, it still didn’t compare to the most exhilarating ride of my life!

“That was amazing,” I told him honestly, a huge smile on my face. He tilted his head to the side, and scrunched his brows together, as if trying to figure out why and how I could ever say something like that. “I don’t understand why you apologized. And why did you tell Rita that you couldn’t fly with me, since I’m not seventeen yet?”

“I never said I couldn’t fly with you. I said that you aren’t yet mature. It’s almost…” He paused and looked away, as if trying to collect his thoughts. “It’s rude and almost inappropriate to fly another Sylph around. The implication that a Sylph cannot fly on his or her own is crude and vile, despite the fact that you actually can’t fly on your own yet.

“I stole from you your first time. Your first time flying should be when you first get your wings, on your seventeenth birthday. It should be a very special and intimate occasion, something that solidifies you into a Sylph.”

He took a deep breath, and continued to gaze into my eyes, praying for apology. He looked so sorry for what he had done; truly believing he had stolen something from me, not realizing that he had actually given me a gift.

I reached for him, my arms still felt heavy and moved too slow, and placed my hand on his arm.

“Alec, you have nothing to apologize for. I thank you! Not only did you save my life, and gave us an escape, you gave me something that I had always wanted. The feel of the wind on my face like that…” I couldn’t even put into words the way it made me feel. “You took me soaring above the trees. You gave me something I desired since I was a child.”

I stared into his eyes, hoping he would see the truth in my words. Hoping he would understand how much it meant to me. His green eyes were calling to me, as if I was in a trance, spelled by his beauty. And then I kissed him.

It was easier than I would have imagined. I didn’t feel heavy anymore, so I moved faster than I meant to, anticipating resistance that was no longer present.

None of it mattered when I felt his warm lips touch mine. They were so soft, they melted together with mine, combining into one. We moved in unison, united. I touched his cheek, his stubble softly grated against the softness of my hand.

And then our kiss changed. He started to press into me, against me. And I let him, welcomed his advances. His body, smooth and strong, fit perfectly with mine, mirror images of each other. One of his large hands slid across my belly, and around my back, as the other held onto my head, holding me firmly in place. I savored it.

His lips. His smell. His
taste
! I savored it all.

As he pushed harder against me, I started lying down. His hand held my head, supporting it, and gently laid me down against the plush green grass, crushing the flowers behind me.

He was both heavy and not heavy at all, at the same time. I could feel him against me, chest on my chest, his leg between my legs…
between my legs
.

His hand drifted up my stomach, gently caressing it, and then tugging me softly, pulling me closer to him. He was holding himself up, off of me, supporting his weight.

I breathed him in, wanting more. I pulled him closer with both of my hands, wanting him, all of him. It felt like my blood was boiling. My heart beat so fast, pumping, pumping my blood, spinning, spinning my head.

I was sweating. I was shivering. I craved him. And I wanted him to continue, to keep kissing me, to keep touching me, to do
more
.

And when his thumb slipped under the edge of my shirt, right above my pants, I shivered from the intense, electrical surges that coursed throughout every part of me. Heat shimmied its way down. My stomach warmed. I was on a high I had never experienced before. Getting higher and higher and reaching a height I never thought I would reach.

Then he stopped, as if that tiny shiver was actually a slap to his face. He pulled his lips away, and looked down at me. Without saying a word, and with a blank mask shrouding his features, he pulled away from me.

At first I thought he was just done kissing. I had never been in a real relationship before, so I didn’t know if that’s what happened when you were done with the best kiss of your life. Or maybe, that’s just how the Fae reacted to a kiss. But when he pulled away, sat back, and looked away from me, I could tell he was
not
happy.

Maybe I shouldn’t have kissed him after all. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my haywire senses that were on overload.

When I looked at him, I felt my face heat, and was certain it matched the color of the field I sat in. I could only blame my actions on the flowers intoxicating my mind, the giddiness caused by the flight, the glorious, steamy memories of our last kiss and the lightheadedness caused from merely being in his presence.

I leaned back in the grass, laying flat against the calm earth in the shade from the flowers whose sillage wafted around me, and threw my arms up over my head. I breathed in deep, trying to calm my heavy breathing and shaking heart.

“I’m sorry,” he said, without even turning to look at me. “I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t mean to.” Then he cleared his throat, stood up and started fumbling with the abscondita. He pulled out the tripudio, placed it on the ground and began his magic mist stuff.

“Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything,” I said, wanting only to understand.

Had I misread the situation? For once I had fire in my veins. I didn’t want to just sit back and let him give me some lame ass half-answer, or no answer at all. I wanted to understand, not only what the hell he was talking about, but what was going on with me, with us. If there even was an us. Or if I was deluding myself into believing he had any connection to me other than wanting to kill the same people that killed my parents?

My parents…

Guilt gnawed at my insides, as I realized I hadn’t thought about them in hours. I was glad Alec didn’t answer; apparently I
had
been deluding myself. My fire instantly sputtered out, doused in the cool waters of grief and remorse.

The tripudio spun, and together we jumped into it. Despite the fact that apparently he didn’t like kissing me, he still held me in his arms so that we could travel to this Muircadia place.

In that moment, as we walked through what looked like outer space, I decided I needed to grow up. Who cared about a boy? I wouldn’t. I would allow him to help me, and then I would avenge my parents, and then I would never see him again.

At the end of the tunnel of darkness I saw the exit, the pinprick of light that grew into something larger. I went back into his arms, trying with all might to ignore the butterflies and the growing hunger for him, and hoped we would find the Mortem soon so it could all finally be over.

Because I didn’t think my heart could anymore of these flip-flopping emotions.

When I opened my eyes, I felt like I was in my dream again. The reoccurring dream that haunted me ever since I could remember, where I stood in a tiny patch of grass, surrounded by woods, water, and a desert. Except this time, it was just the water.

We stood at the edge of a lake or river; the pulsing crystal water flowed effortlessly past us. Directly in front of me was a rocky beach, no sand, only small pebbles. I turned around to see that we stood on an island of pebbles. There wasn’t a tree in sight, and the suns warmth beat down on me. I wiped a single drop of sweat from the back of my neck after I threw my hair up in a twisted bun.

“Why is it so hot?”

Alec ignored me at first, as he was inspecting our surroundings. I heard him mumble a few words like, “Steam,” and “Hmm?” and “No.”

I could tell he was focusing and using magic, so I decided not to talk to him and inspect stuff myself. The island couldn’t have been much larger than a football field, so I had no idea where we would go from here. In the distance to my right I could make out another mass of land, but it didn’t look very big from here, or maybe it was just really far away.

When I spun in a circle, I couldn’t see any more land, only water everywhere I looked. In one spot, it almost looked like the land ended. Maybe The Empyrean wasn’t on a planet like Earth, and it really was flat. Who needed gravity when you had magic, right?

I tried to be patient with him, I really did. I knew he was doing something important. I knew he was trying to figure something or other out, but I was still upset about his reaction after the kiss.  And I wanted
something
to happen. I couldn’t really go anywhere. I was still dependent on him and that only irritated me more.

All of a sudden Alec ran to me and pushed me behind him, his arms spread open wide in front of him. My alerts started flaring and my heart started racing. If he was freaking out, I knew there was a reason for it. And that sucked, because I so didn’t want to see fighting again so soon.

In the middle of the water, a few feet out, I noticed three shapes emerge. A female with two males behind her. They came forward, water dripping down there bodies. They all had a bluish tint to their skin, but the woman was different. She had the most beautiful, striking blue eyes I had ever seen. And her dark black hair shimmered behind her, as it blew in the wind flicking water droplets around her. She was absolutely gorgeous. More beautiful than any models I’d seen on TV or any magazine that littered the library shelves.

As they came closer, I noticed that all three of them had gills on each side of their necks and on their wrists. But as they came up onto the island, and further from the water, their necks and arms changed and became normal, their gills disappearing just as the blue in their skin faded.

She walked directly up to Alec. He was still crouched down in his battle stance, so I was too, ready and waiting for whatever was about to happen. I mean, we were after all in the middle of an island, in the middle of a lake, with no place to go. And obviously these people could easily navigate the water surrounding us. Still, I would do whatever I could, whatever it took to help.

“Are you the Sylph Realm Guard called Alec?” the beautiful woman asked.

“I am he.”

“You may call me Lynn.” As she spoke, I couldn’t help but think she reminded me more of a mermaid than a fairy. “You should come.”

Alec nodded and motioned for me to follow.

“I don’t want to state the obvious here, but are we just going to swim away?” I asked, more to myself than anyone specific. I mean, they had to realize that we weren’t Sprites, right?

The confused looks the three of them shot in my direction was actually pretty hilarious. Apparently she hadn’t even noticed I was there, just like everyone else in The Empyrean. I didn’t know if it was because I was so small, or because I was a Sylph with no wings. Or maybe because I just didn’t have any magic so they couldn’t sense me and didn’t realize I was another fae standing there.

But their aghast looks said something. I mean, if I was a fae, then I should know what would happen in Muircadia. They just didn’t realize I wasn’t from around here. I wondered if it would be bad if they found out. Would they treat me like an outsider?

Alec shook his head, just a tiny shake before turning to the Sprites and saying, “Can we have just a minute, please?” He took me aside, out of ear shot from the others.

“First, it is very important that you do not touch or drink the water from here. It isn’t like the water in the Mortal Realm.”

“Right, I remember you saying that back in Ardennes.”

“I’m going to create a bubble of magic around us. The Sprites don’t need it, but we will. You’ll be safe as long as you’re with me. For right now, we’ll be going beneath the water. I’m not sure if she plans on leading us to Central Village, or one of the smaller villages. They do have villages on land, but most are beneath the waters. For right now, we just have to trust her, as Rita placed us in each other’s paths, and when we get to wherever we are going, we’ll discuss the Mortem.”

“Okay.”

We walked up to the water behind the three sprites. Just as they began entering the water, their skin changed again. Now that I was closer to them, I could see that the blue on their faces, arms and shoulders were actually scales that shined in the sun. Crazysauce.

Alec waved his hands around creating what looked like a glass ball around us. However, when I touched it, it wasn’t hard like glass. It felt like a thin film, almost permeable. I had the distinct impression that if I pushed hard enough against it, I could break it. Only problem, while inside that bubble, I was being bombarded with the most amazing smells of the sky and wind. It was all Alec, everywhere, all over, in everything. Not just standing next to me, but in the air, floating all around me, assaulting me with his magic and smell and sense.

It made it pretty difficult to stay mad at him when he smelt so damn good.

The bubble moved with us, and when we went into the water, it parted around us and before I knew it I was submerged into the deep, dark murkiness of Muircadia.

It was one thing to be surrounded by guards that I at least could fight against. But if the bubble burst, I still didn’t know how bad it would be if the water touched me. I tried to ignore it, because really it was super cool and amazing to see. All I could think though was, thank god I wasn’t claustrophobic, because that would seriously suck something fierce.

I could never go in a submarine or anything like that. It would be too scary, because there is no escape, nowhere to go. If something happened, you’re helpless and would probably die. And that’s a huge part of why I was freaking out so bad.

We didn’t have to walk long before I saw a tube in front of us. We moved closer, inch by inch. The tube was actually a tunnel in the water, made out of water, with Sprites walking in it. Stepping into the tunnel felt so weird. I couldn’t feel the water around us, only see it. I could see it part and then separate from Alec’s bubble as soon as we entered the enclosure of the tunnels. 

The water around us was still pulsing. It was almost like the water itself was the walls to the tunnel, but I wasn’t going to touch it to find out. I looked around, but there was no Moses and I was pretty sure this wasn’t the Red Sea.

I could see the ocean life, the fish swimming in schools, and the coral growing along the ocean floor.

As soon as we were both all the way in the tunnel, the magic bubble disappeared.

“We are going to the rebel base right now,” Lynn offered.

“You speak so openly about it?” Alec asked, mirroring my own surprise.

“How long have you been gone, Realm Guard?”

“It’s been forty years since I’ve been home.”

“Well, welcome back. But much has changed. The Pixies are trying to destroy our Muircadia. It’s always been that way, the Pixies and Sprites never getting along. With water and fire constantly in combat against one another, our water so lethal to them, and their fire so destructive to us, it’s fated to be that way. But it is so much worse lately.”

“The steam above?” Alec questioned.

“Yes. They are creating fires all along our borders causing our waters to evaporate, shrinking our very home.”

The emotion behind her words resonated deep within me. I was homeless. I knew what it felt like to have no place to call home, and I knew how badly I wanted it. I could only imagine having a home, and having to watch it be destroyed with very little you could do to stop it. All the Sprites would be homeless.

Just like what Rita had said back in Ardennes, fearing her Nymph would have no home as well.

“Because of this, the majority of the rebellion resides here in Muircadia, which only adds to their determination to extinguish us. Don’t misunderstand, the leaders are still loyal to Mastikh, and we must watch out for them, but the majority of our citizens are still loyal to our King Coenraad,” she continued, and as she said the kings name, the two Sprites with her slightly bowed their heads.

We neared the end of the tunnel and were actually at a village already.

The entire place was under a bubble thing, just like the tunnel had been. If I looked up, searching for the sun, I only saw water above us, and all along the edge of the city. I could see Sprites swim and walk right through the non-existent wall of liquid.

And then I heard the most blood curdling scream I had ever heard, except for once before. When I heard my own scream the day I walked in to see my parents ruined bodies.

Somebody was being tortured.