Gift of the Realm (14 page)

Saraid
said nothing, all expression wiped from her pretty face. Her eyes were blank,
as though the woman herself were no longer there, but had escaped in her own
mind to some unknown place. Keely looked at Fiona, and the pleased twist of the
fairie’s lips had a slow burn of anger bubbling in her belly.

“And
what is the truth, princess?” Keely demanded and drew Fiona’s gaze. “My truth
holds no resemblance to yours. If Colin used me for a time, then he wasn’t
alone. I took my pleasure of him as well.”

“And
sacrificed your being in the process. It is good you’ve come to me. There is
much I can teach you. And the sooner you begin the healing of your heart, the
better.”

“I
have not come to you, princess, and my heart needs no healing.”

Fiona’s
smile was tender, like an adult to a silly child, and left Keely bristling.
“You have spirit, Halfling, which makes you strong. But the love you feel for
Colin Quinn will crush you in time, and steal your power. With my help, we will
minimize the damage.”

Keely
gave a dubious laugh and hoped the truth of Fiona’s words didn’t show on her
face. “Whatever damage is caused by my loving Colin, I will handle on my own.
The fact that he can’t or won’t return my love wounds me, princess, but it
won’t crush me. I won’t let it.” She glanced at Saraid, still and silent and
lost in her own mind. “When a woman is strong, so is her heart.
That
is
her true power. It holds her in good stead, in whatever adversity she faces.”

Keely’s
gaze slid back to Fiona and she let her lips curve with disdain. “Look at you,”
she charged. “You’re beautiful, and you’re powerful. If what you say of
Fitzgerald Quinn is true, he was no more than an ass. You should have turned
him into one in truth, and directed your heart elsewhere. It’s what I would have
done. Instead, you’ve embraced your bitterness and affected the lives of
innocents in the process. You’ve let a mere human beat you, Fiona, Princess of
the Fairies. He’s beating you still. Where then is your power?”

The
very air in the room vibrated as the tolerant smile slid from Fiona’s face. She
surged to her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, Keely saw Saraid cringe as
though bracing for a blow, and when Fiona took a step toward her, Keely felt
the urge to cringe herself. She refused to cower, meeting the fairie princess’s
chilling glare with a raised brow.

“You
know nothing of power, Halfling, or of the ways of men. Think you my heart
didn’t demand immediate vengeance upon your human ancestor? With a single
thought I could have ended the ass’s life, or worse.”

“Then
why didn’t you?”

“I
was denied that vengeance.” Her voice rose to a shout. “By my own father!” She
paused, visibly gathering her control. She smoothed a slim hand over the skirt
of her gown. Her voice was calm when she spoke again. “He placed a protection
enchantment over the ass’s life. My father’s interference in my affairs taught
me well. Be they fairie or human, men care nothing for the heart of a woman.”

“Men
will do what they will,” Keely said in agreement, “for their own reasons. But a
woman’s heart is her own. You had only to take it back and spend it well to
have your vengeance against Fitzgerald.”

“As
you spent your heart well?” Fiona challenged. “Like Fitz before him, your Colin
took what you offered and threw your heart back in your face. He’s stolen your
destiny, and your weak, human blood keeps you from seeing it.”

“You’re
wrong, princess. Colin is nothing like his ancestor. He’s a good man, an
honorable man. He took pains from the beginning to make sure I understood the
way things were with him. I knew going in I risked my heart on a man incapable
of returning it.
You
saw to that many years ago, when you sent his
father packing. If anyone has stolen my destiny, it’s you.”

Fiona’s
chin set stubbornly, covering the quick flash of guilt with a look of bored
dismissal. “I did what I had to do.”

“You
did what your bitterness demanded of you, and if you are an example of pure
fairie blood,” Keely taunted, “then I’m glad I’m half human. From what I can
tell, it’s the fairie half of my blood that is weak.”

For
the first time since she’d arrived, Fiona looked at Keely with something less
than condescending approval. Fire flashed in her eyes at the insult, and Keely
hoped she hadn’t just gone too far.

“Watch
your tongue, Keely O’Brian. My affinity for you as a Halfling and a fellow
woman only goes so far.”

Keely
knew she should apologize and do her best to smooth things over with the
powerful fairie, but she couldn’t afford to fold her hand so easily. Saraid’s
long-awaited freedom was at stake. Fiona’s treatment, at the hands of
Fitzgerald Quinn and her father, was the cause of much heartache and nothing
would change unless the princess found a way to get past it to find some peace.
If Keely could help her see that, they may just have a chance.

“As
does my affinity for your broken heart,” Keely responded evenly.

“The
break in my heart scarred over long ago,” Fiona insisted.

“That’s
not how it looks to me. Your every action paints you as a woman still bleeding
from the deepest of cuts.”

“If
I still bleed,” she said bitterly, “it’s not over the likes of Fitzgerald
Quinn, but over the knowledge I will spend eternity, unloved and unmated.”

“Why?”
Keely asked. “Surely there are men of the realm who would be happy to have you
look their way.”

“You
think I am afraid to risk my heart again after what happened with Fitzgerald
Quinn, but that isn’t so. I did my best to overcome the hurt, and turned my
eyes on another. For a time, I fooled myself into believing I had found my true
mate and could put my anger behind me. But when it came down to it, he wouldn’t
have me.”

“He
didn’t love you?”

“He
claimed he did. He claims it still. Yet, he chooses to live his life free of a
mate, rather than bind himself to me. The experience confirms what I’ve known
all along. The agendas of men are all that matter to them. You think me unkind
in bringing you here as I did Saraid, but I say, again, I’ve done you a favor.”

“What
you have done is to see to it that I will never be truly joined with my mate. I
will live with that. But Saraid has endured separation from her mate for
centuries, and yet her heart still yearns for him as Owein’s does for her. Let
her go, princess. Let her live the life she was meant to live.”

Fiona
shook her head. “That I won’t do, but I notice you don’t ask for yourself.”

“I
don’t need permission. I’ll go as I came.”

“No,
you won’t.”

The
certainty in Fiona’s words caused a flicker of fear in Keely. She cast a
regretful look Saraid’s way before attempting to zap herself back to the
surface, to no avail.

A
tinge of sadness colored Fiona’s smile. “I hope in time you will come to accept
your place here, Keely. I would like it if we could be friends.”

She
disappeared as quietly as she had appeared.

Chapter
Sixteen

The
stones loomed before the black wolf as he galloped across the rocky ground. He
didn’t hesitate, pouncing into the ring and ignoring the slashes of pain
slicing through the thick fur of his coat like razor blades. He lunged for
Owein with every intention of ripping out the fairie king’s throat. Three feet
from his prey, he slammed into an invisible wall.

The
collision staggered him, and he felt himself wavering between beast and man.
The wolf in him lunged again, even as the man struggled to form.

“You
bastard!” Colin charged. It came out as a garbled growl.

In
transition from beast to man, Colin knew Owein could flatten him without
breaking a sweat, but he was beyond caring. With Owein’s help, Keely had sent
herself into the fairie realm. He would see him dead for it.

When
he’d awakened and found himself alone, he’d known immediately where she’d gone.
Steeped in physical pleasure earlier tonight, he’d been paying little attention
to the various comments she’d made about possible ways to break the curse. In
truth, he hadn’t spared a thought for Saraid and Owein, Fiona and the dreams.
With Keely O’Brian in his arms, he found it difficult to think at all.

As
he’d raced up the trail to the Door, her words had come back to him with
perfect clarity, despite the fact that he moved on all fours
. If I entered
the realm, and could figure out where Fiona is holding Saraid, maybe I could
lead her out somehow
.

The
little fool meant to take on Fiona on her own. She’d be lost to the realm
forever.

Both
the man and the beast within him raged against the possibility. Keely, with her
sparkling eyes, and zest for life, had more courage than was healthy and had no
idea the kind of trouble she faced in her quest to break the curse on her own.
And damn it, it wasn’t necessary. Did she think he wouldn’t keep his word and
help her find a way to end the dreams?

Even
if he didn’t love her, he wouldn’t leave her to— The errant thought staggered
him. Good God, he loved her! How the hell had he let that happen?

Pain
was an iron band around his chest, and the low moan of the wolf rumbled in his
throat. He’d been so busy working at denying Owein’s wish he hadn’t noticed her
slipping past his defenses to plant herself in his heart. Now she’d taken that
heart with her to a place where only danger awaited. A place where he couldn’t
follow.

He
shuddered as the transformation from beast to human form completed, leaving him
staring into the narrowed eyes of Owein.

“You’re
no fairie king,” Colin mocked on a gasp, his breathing not yet even, “and less
a man, sending an untrained Halfling into the realm to fight your battles.”

Lightning
raced like a whirlwind throughout the ring as Owein straightened to his full
height. His voice was cold and controlled when he finally spoke. “I could kill
you for that, Halfling.”

“Do
what you will. You’ve gifted the heart to Fiona’s wrath. You may as well finish
off the soul.”

Owein’s
eyes widened in surprise, and the shadow of a smile curved his lips.

“Do
you think I care you find pleasure in seeing your plans come to fruition?”
Colin demanded. “You may have won this battle, Owein, but you’ve lost the war.
You told me yourself, when the heart is dead, so too will be the soul. You’ve
sent her to her doom!”

“
I
didn’t send your mate into the realm.” He ignored Colin’s snort of disbelief.
“That she did on her own, despite my objections. ’Tis a bold and courageous
woman you’ve chosen for your own. One worthy of the wolf. And you mistake my
humor, young Quinn. That comes from knowing that joined together, the two of
you can stand against any power, human or fairie.”

“Except
we aren’t joined together. She is now beyond my reach, thanks to you!”

“Not
for long,” Owein said cryptically. “Tell me, when you entered the ring as the
wolf, what did you feel?”

“Other
than the urge to rip out your throat?” Owein didn’t respond, just continued to
wait patiently. “I felt as if a million claws raked at my hide,” Colin finally
admitted.

Owein
nodded. “You felt the slash of the nettles protecting the people of the realm
from the beasts of the human world. Is following your mate worth suffering
those slashes again? And before you answer, know what you experienced was just
a small example of what you will need to endure to go after her.”

“I’ll
be of little use to her, and to your Saraid, if I’m killed in the process.”

Owein
smiled. “The nettles don’t have the power to kill, but the pain won’t be
pleasant.”

“Keely
is worth any pain.”

“Then
waste no time in transforming, for as the beast you have access to the realm.”

“How?
I haven’t the gift of transporting,” Colin pointed out.

“The
beasts of this world have always had access to the realm. To enter, they need
merely linger within the stones. Long ago, the People tired of having the
occasional fox or wolf appear in their midst and so set the nettles’
enchantment to keep them out.”

“If
I’ve always had access, why haven’t you mentioned it before? Why didn’t you
send
me
in to find your wife, instead of allowing Keely to be dragged
into all of this?”

“To
what end? You have fought me at every turn, young Quinn. Would you really have
subjected yourself to untold agony to do my bidding with no questions asked?
Standing with your mate at your side has always been the easiest and simplest
solution, but since you’ve come late to the realization, enduring the slash of
the nettles is the only option left to you.”

“I’ve
agreed to go,” Colin snapped. “If you’re finished pointing out my stubbornness,
kindly tell me what I must do.”

Owein
laughed as Colin closed his eyes.

“Focus
on the throne room.” Colin heard Owein’s rushed instructions through the
lashing pain from a thousand knives as the beast began to take form. “Waste no
time in re-attaining your human form, for the People will waste no time in
trying to kill the wolf. Your Halfling blood will protect you, but wounded, you
will be no help to Keely and Saraid. Inform King Cael of the facts of Fiona’s
perfidy. Though he and I are rivals, I know him to be an honorable fairie and
ruler. If Cael can’t or won’t step in to aid you, find Keely. Stand at her side
and declare her your destiny. Together you need only deny the validity of the
curse, and the deed will be done.”

****

Audible
gasps competed with feminine screams. As he pushed his mind to complete the
transformation to man, Colin had the impression of a cavernous room, filled
with a scattering crowd. He struggled to keep his feet beneath him even as the
sound of steel sliding from a scabbard had him doubling his efforts at
retaining his human form.