Lone Star Magic (12 page)

“ARE YOU all right?” Later, as he gave Carly
a tour of the palace, Alrick noted her too-pale face and unsteady
walk.

“I’m fine.” Yet she continued her death-grip
on his arm. “This place is fascinating. And safe.” Her chuckle
sounded more like a sob. “I’m beginning to think I’d rather not
leave.”

“Most humans feel that way once they’ve seen
Rune.”

“Most humans don’t have some crazy Warlord
after them.”

“True.” She’d heard the Mage. She understood
her destiny as well as he.

“But we have to go back, once you are fully
recovered.” He found himself wanting to kiss the top of her head.
“You know that.”

“Yeah, I do.” She sighed. “Believe me, I’d
much rather go home – if my life could return to normal.”

They continued to stroll silently. Enjoying
the feel of her leaning on him, Alrick left her to her own
thoughts, though he watched her carefully. She still hadn’t
recovered fully. At the first hint that she needed to rest, he’d
send her back to her bed.

“I’d like to see Kayo and TM, make sure
they’re all right.”

This, Alrick could understand. Despite her
uneasiness around the young stallion, her love for the horse and
dog was evident. Though she still seemed fragile, the day was
balmy, and the fresh air might bring color back to her cheeks. “Are
you sure you can?”

She shot him a look between her long lashes.
Her freckles seemed to stand out in sharp relief. “What, you don’t
think I can make it?”

He kept his face expressionless, knowing if
he smiled she’d take immediate offense. “Carly, you’ve recently
been injured. I don’t wish you to overtax yourself so soon.”

“Whatever,” she shrugged, but still didn’t
release his arm. “I’m stronger than I look. And I want to see my
animals.”

“What’s TM stand for, anyway?”

A shadow flitted across her expression.
“Texas Magic,” she told him, her gaze far away, on other memories.
“Liam and I always said he’d be the magic we needed to make a go of
the ranch.” The next step she took wobbled. He didn’t hesitate.
Scooping her up in his arms, he lifted her and strode towards the
door.

“Hey –!”

“You were stumbling,” he growled. What he did
not tell her was how much he liked holding her or how disturbing he
found her scent. The light floral essence had followed her to Rune,
surviving the explosion and injury. She felt so light, yet so
feminine, her curvy bottom draped over his arms.

To his surprise, once she’d made her initial
protest, she rested her head against his chest. Surely she could
hear the rapid pounding of his heart, or the jagged breaths he now
took. He hoped she’d put them down to exertion.

“Where are my pets?”

Deliberately, he forced his thoughts back to
the situation at hand. “You consider TM a pet?”

“In a way. He and Kayo are all I have.”

“You have me.” He hadn’t meant to say the
words, but once said, didn’t regret them. All in all, they were
only truth. She ¬
did
have him, as long as the Warlord was
after her.

“I can walk now,” she said. “Please.”

He let her slide out of his arms, holding her
close until she’d found her feet on the cobblestone path.

“TM is in the barn. I put Kayo in the stall
with him. They seem to get along, so I thought they’d each like the
company.”

“Do you have a stallion stall for him here?”
Her expression unreadable, she peered up at him. “If your barn is
made out of the same fragile stuff as your palace, he’ll tear the
place down.”

“Crystal does not so easily shatter.”

“Really?” She didn’t seem impressed. “I’m
more worried about the injury TM might do to himself if he’s not
handled correctly.”

“Don’t worry.” The barn had come into view,
the shining building impressive, or at least Alrick found it so.
He’d had it patterned after an old colonial barn, with two stories.
“We’ve got a lot of experience in dealing with stallions and mares.
In my spare time I bread horses.”

“In your spare time…” Staring at him, she
appeared stunned. “You’ve never mentioned this before.”

“There is much about each other we don’t
know.”

“True.” She looked away. Intrigued, he saw
the color rise in her pale cheeks.

“I’m sure my people have taken good care of
your stallion.” Smiling, he did his best to appear unconcerned. Yet
the fact was; he’d been so worried about Carly that he’d paid
little attention to giving the stable-hands instructions regarding
TM’s accommodations. He could only hope they hadn’t assumed he was
there for breeding purposes.

He kept his face expressionless as they
neared the barn. The crowd spilling out the door and crowding the
center aisle gave him warning.

“What—?”

One of the group clustered outside looked up
at him and grinned. “A mating,” he said. “Looks to be a good one
too.”

“Oh, no,” he groaned.

“Mating?” Carly froze. “TM?”

“I don’t know.” But he did. TM was the only
stallion in the barn. Most of the Fae herd was off in summer
pastures. Only a few of the best mares were kept nearby for the
royal family.

The crowd was beginning to disperse, telling
him the deed had been accomplished.

Giving up her futile attempt to push through
the crowd, Carly evidently reached the same conclusion. “I sure
hope they at least chose a good mare.” She gave him a wan smile.
“Maybe this will settle him down some.”

“All my mares are good.” And he wasn’t
boasting. He took great pride in the beauty of his horses.

Nodding, she tried to turn and then
staggered. “Damn.” She put out her hand to steady herself. He took
it, helping her stand upright.

A teenager with a shock of nearly white hair
grinned at Alrick as he passed. “This one will take, I bet. A fine
foal will come out of this.”

Alrick nodded, searching the crowd. His head
stable- hand noticed and hurried over. “Do you wish me to separate
them when they’ve finished, your highness?”

“Of course.” Still supporting Carly, Alrick
jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the barn. “Who gave the order
to mate those two?”

“Why I did, of course.” The other man looked
confused. “That was why you brought the stallion to us, was it not?
That’s the only reason you ever bring stallions to the barn. He
serviced each of your four mares?”

Alrick sighed. “Each?”

Oblivious, the man nodded. “Shehra is his
last.”

Eyes closed, Carly groaned. “I’m thinking I
might have to charge you stud fees.”

Dismissing the man with a gesture, Alrick
found himself chuckling. “Fine.”

“You know what?” She sounded gravely
serious.

“Hmm?”

“Even in the midst of all this upheaval, life
renews. At least one of those mares should be with foal.”

He tightened his arms around her. “Remember,
you shall have your own child one day.”

When she lifted her eyes to his, he saw the
sheen of unshed tears. “Yeah, I know. But it sure seems impossible
to me now.”

“Everything will work out. You should always
have hope.” He nearly winced as he spoke, but platitudes were all
he had to offer. He had his own path to follow, different from
hers.

“Hope.” She stiffened in his arms. “Let me
tell you about hope. When Liam was hit, he didn’t die immediately.
He was in intensive care, in critical condition. I prayed. For
days. In the beginning, I had hope – hope he’d recover. Hope we
could have a normal marriage. Hope we’d be together always.” Her
voice broke. “None of that happened. Liam died. I no longer believe
in hope.”

Shaken, he tightened his arms around her.
“You don’t have faith, do you? You don’t think you’ll make it
through this.”

“I—.” She gave a slow shake of her head. “I
don’t know what to believe.”

“You speak like you’re giving up, as if you
plan to let the Warlord kill you.” A horrible thought occurred to
him. “Since you lost your husband – do you have a wish to die
too?”

“No, no death wish. I’m merely fatalistic. If
it’s meant to happen, it will. There’s nothing you or I can do to
change what’s meant to be.”

“Nonsense,” he exploded. Fury and fear and
pity combined inside him, frustrating him. How could he make her
see? “We control our own destiny. Look at yours; look at the
destiny you’ve been given. Think of Lance, and then you will
understand the true meaning of the word
hope
.”

“You don’t understand. While the idea of
having a son is precious to me, Liam and I wanted children, Alrick.
Three. This idea that I’m to bear another man’s child – you think
this will give me hope?” She spoke as fiercely as he, anger warring
with the tears still in her eyes.

Finally, he understood. “You love him
still.”

She didn’t look away. “Of course I do. He was
my husband, my other half. When Liam died, I didn’t think I could
continue to live. Even breathing hurt too much. Every morning I
wake up, take one breath after another, put one foot in front of
the other, and make it through the day. Alone.”

His throat constricted as he stared down at
her. He searched for his own words, words that would make her
understand, words that would make her see. Finally, he found them.
“You’ve had an entire year to mourn, Carly Roberts.” He kept his
tone formal, the stern teacher lecturing the student. “But now the
time has come to think of others besides yourself. If you don’t
want to hope for a better future, so be it. There is nothing I can
do to change how you feel. But I will protect you, no matter what.
I won’t let you die. Your son, this unborn lad whom you will name
Lance, he will be the embodiment of hope. To numerous, unnamed
others.”

Gazes locked, they stared at each other.
Finally, she gave a small nod and closed her eyes. “Let’s go back
to my room. I need to rest.”

He kept his arm around her waist and they
made their way back to the palace. She appeared not to notice the
thousands of fragrant flowers lining the cobbled path, nor the
brightly colored birds that turned out to greet her with trilling
songs of welcome.

Her expression looked tight, her lips
pinched. Exhaustion had made hollows under her eyes and dulled
their emerald sparkle. When at last they reached the palace, the
sunlight reflected off the crystal, sending sparks of gold to adorn
her copper colored hair.

Uninterrupted, they made it down the long,
glittering halls of the palace to her door.

“You can leave me here.” She wouldn’t look at
him, though she kept one hand on the crystal doorframe for support.
“I’m going to go to sleep now. I guess I’ll see you later.”

“After you wake.” Nodding, he turned to
go.

“Alrick?”

He froze, though he kept his back to her,
afraid she might see his hunger for her, that the inappropriate and
unrelenting desire he felt might show in his face.

“Before we leave, I’d like you to find a
gentle horse for me. It’s long past time I learned to ride.”

He jerked his head in a nod and strode away,
his throat too damn tight to acknowledge her words.

The next morning, while he cradled his third
cup of coffee – a human habit the Fae had grown enamored of, Carly
walked, no fairly danced, into the room. Her green eyes had
regained their healthy sparkle, and her pale skin once again glowed
with life.

“Morning.” Smiling at him, she immediately
headed to the crystal coffee urn to get her own cup.

As he regained his wits, he realized she wore
trousers once more. Men’s trousers. Made of a soft material similar
to linen, they were several sizes too large and held on her slender
waist by a knotted rope that served as belt.

“Mort’s.” Correctly interpreting his look,
Carly carried her steaming cup and took a seat across from him. “He
knew I was going horseback riding today.”

“You were serious?”

“I think it’s about time. Especially,”
sipping on her coffee, she cast him a long look, “if we’re going to
go back on the run.”

The caffeine had begun to kick in. Finally.
“How did you expect to run a ranch if you can’t even ride?”

She laughed. “Liam could ride. I am – was – a
city girl, and never cared to learn.”

Why couldn’t he be around her for more than
five minutes without wanting to touch her? Alrick pushed himself to
his feet, crossing the room to refill his mug and to move himself
beyond temptation.

“Great coffee.” She’d followed him.
Great.

“I like it.” He looked at her – first
mistake. One strand of her copper colored hair had come lose from
the artless twist she wore. He fought the urge to push that
back.

“Who would have thought Fae drank coffee?”
Oblivious, Carly smiled up at him. “I thought you guys stuck
strictly to wine and fruit juice.”

“In the past, we did. But in this modern
time, we have copied a lot of human customs. Coffee is one.
Chocolate another.” He pointed to the chocolate fountain.

She made a face. “Too early for me. I need a
muffin or something and then I’ll be ready. What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

To keep his hands busy, he grabbed a donut
and crammed it in his mouth. Then another.

Carly ate her muffin much more slowly. When
she’d finished, she drained her second cup of coffee and jumped to
her feet with all the enthusiasm of a child. “Let’s go.”

He followed her out the door, thinking how,
since she seemed completely healed, it wouldn’t be long before they
had to leave Rune.

When they entered the barn they learned that,
after speaking with Carly, the Mage had sent word ahead to the barn
asking that an even-tempered mount be prepared for Carly. Another
horse, a huge black that Carly didn’t recognize had also been
saddled for Alrick.

The mare watched them, great brown eyes
docile, and snorted. Carly stared back, then turned to look at
Alrick. “I don’t know about this.,.”