WingsOfDesire-AriannaSkye (35 page)

“I admire your confidence, Princess.” Aine knelt before her.

Rhiannon arched a brow and gave Aine a quizzical glance. “What are you doing?” Aine looked up, with tears brimming in her dark eyes. “I’m now an outcast in my kingdom.

I would swear fealty, my new queen. I only wish I could be as strong as you.” Rhiannon took Aine’s hands in hers. “I think you’re stronger than you realize.” She gave Aine a comforting gaze. “And you need to swear fealty to the king and queen, not me. I’m just the princess.” The dragon’s shriek cut off their conversation. “We have a dragon to fight. Let’s talk about this fealty stuff later.”

Aine twisted a curl of hair in her finger. “How do you plan to defeat him?” Rhiannon rubbed her chin, watching the dragon angling down toward them. “I don’t know.

Got any brilliant ideas?”

“I’m good at deflection—at least Fergus says so.”

“Fergus?” Rhiannon jumped, watching a fireball shoot their way. She tucked and rolled like a pro, evading the fiery globe. “Damn, that was close.” Aine ducked from another ball of fire. Dusting herself off, she stood. “One of my sister’s guards. He’s a good man.”

“Why don’t you give up, you White Faerie scum,” Tynan called from the sky. He fisted his reins, causing the dragon to throw back its head and roar. He turned to Aine. “What a pathetic waste of Dark Faerie blood. I should kill you first.”

“Why not fight like a man instead of a coward,” Rhiannon challenged, holding her fist high.

“Are you afraid two meek females will defeat you?” Tynan threw back his head, his golden mane whipping around him. Even from the distance, his dark eyes sparked. Why did they have to make an Adonis wannabe have the blackest heart—

next to Korrigan’s, of course?

“I have Korrigan’s power inside me! I’d like to see you—the both of you—try.”

Rhiannon held out her hand, beckoning him with her fingers.
Thank you, Matrix!
“Bring it on, dragon-breath.”

“As you wish,
human
. I’ll give you five—” He scratched his chin. “No, I’m not in a generous mood. Two minutes to come up with whatever meager defense you can.” She turned to Aine. “Korrigan’s power?”

Aine gnawed her lip. “This is worse than I thought,” she muttered.

“Did he kill Korrigan?” Rhiannon asked, turning Aine to face her.

Aine shook her head. “No, my sister still lives.”

“Could you explain before he burns us to a crispy mess?”

“She’s given him her blood.”

Just fucking great. So not only were they faeries, they were bloodsuckers too? Thinking the whole situation couldn’t possibly get any freakier, Rhiannon asked, “Like a vampire?” Aine rolled her eyes. “How come anytime anyone mentions blood, humans instantly think

‘vampire?’ Vampires do not live in the otherworld. They are earthbound creatures.” Aine blushed. “Sorry for the comment about humans. I realize you’re not one.”

“Oh, no problem at all. But we are running out of time.”
So much for make-believe.

Vampires were real?
She guessed werewolves were too.
Wonderful.

“I realize this.” Aine took a deep breath. “He wears a medallion with a drop of Korrigan’s blood inside. The blood allows him to channel some of her power. I can sense it’s only a drop, otherwise he’d be even more powerful.”

“And we know Korrigan doesn’t want her men too powerful.” Aine nodded. “Precisely!”

Rhiannon craned her neck to spot Tynan shaking his head while steam billowed from his dragon’s nostrils. He narrowed his eyes in a scathing sneer. “Are you done with your last wills and testaments?”

Wow! They had those in Fey too? Fancy that. “That’s a question I should be asking you, dragon-balls,” Rhiannon growled.

“I don’t need one.” He fisted and jerked the reins of his dragon. No wonder these dragons had meltdowns. Rhiannon would be mad too if someone yanked on her like that.

A stream of yellow fire shot from the dragon’s nose, cutting a path between Rhiannon and Aine.

“Your two minutes is up,” Tynan called from atop the dragon.

Rhiannon leaned into Aine. “Okay, here’s what we do. You deflect and I’ll counterstrike.” She gripped Aine’s shoulder. “Got it?”

Aine raised an eyebrow. Apparently she hadn’t really spent
that
much time on Earth.

“Do you understand?”

Aine nodded. “I do.”

“Okay, then.” Rhiannon spun around to face the dragon rider. She clapped her hands and shook her head from side to side. The only way she’d be able to defeat this guy was with pure unadulterated confidence. “Let’s do this.”

Rhiannon raised her chin and glared at Tynan and his dragon. “Hey, Tynass, don’t just stand there! Blow me away!”

A loud chuckle rumbled from his chest as the dragon hovered above the ground. “You’re making this too easy for me, Princess Rhiannon. Usually I deal with moving targets. A stationary one is a welcome change, I assure you.”

“Light me up. You know you want to, you big bad dragon-riding asshole.” Rhiannon raised her chin with as much pride as she could muster, her eyes boring into the over-muscled faerie.

Humans on steroids had small packages. Faeries that doped appeared under-endowed in other areas. The miniature wings on his back were testament to that.

He gripped his reins tightly, rearing the dragon up into a high arc.

“You’re insane. He’s angry,” Aine whispered in her ear. “I’m not even sure this plan will work.”

“Does it matter now?” Rhiannon asked, never taking her eyes off the Mr. Olympia wannabe.

“Just get ready to deflect his fire.”

Aine nodded, taking a defensive stance next to Rhiannon, and looking like she was in one of those kick-ass kung-fu movies. Rhiannon wondered if faeries knew martial arts.

“You might be insane, but I like you. It’s the only reason I’m here.”

“Wrong. You want to avenge Sionnach by helping his people. He
will
be proud of you.” The look of pain and longing flickering in Aine’s eyes let Rhiannon know she’d gotten it right on the first try. “You’re extremely intelligent, Your Highness. You’ll make an excellent White Faerie queen when your time to rule is upon us, but I fear Sionnach cares naught for me.” Rhiannon had no time to disagree. Tynan pulled the dragon into a nosedive toward them, as

the monster shot out a nasty ball of fire. Aine held out her hands and closed her eyes. A bright ray of energy shot forth from her hands and hit the fireball head on. The glowing ball bounced off Aine’s light and fizzled.

Rhiannon nodded toward Aine in congratulations. Watching Tynan rein his dragon, she took her own stance, flinging her hands forward. A gigantic wave of energy raced away from them toward him. Holy shit, she thought, as the repercussions sent her flying backwards. The deafening blast echoed in her ears.

“Ahhhh!” Tynan wailed. “You bitch! My dragon! You’ll pay for this!” Rhiannon’s head swam and her heart pounded. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Aine rushed to her side to help her.

“Look what you did!”

Rhiannon focused up toward the sky to see Tynan flailing his fist at them while floating on his wings. The dragon lay in a heaped, burning mass on the ground below.

“Korrigan will have both your hides!” Tynan growled, before evaporating in a cloud of black smoke.

“Oh, my God! I fried the dragon!” Rhiannon shook her head, feeling tears ready to spill.

“They are evil creatures, controlled by Korrigan. It’s not a big loss.” Rhiannon nodded. “On Earth, some of us believe dragons are good.”

“There are some that are good, but they are far and few between.” Aine jerked her head around. “Did you hear that?”

Rhiannon tuned her ears. The faint sound of feet plodding echoed to the north. “Barely.

What do you think it is?”

Aine pushed a raven curl behind her ear. “A small faerie party, five at the most. Some are winged, some are not.”

That was one awesome skill. “Wow, how’d you know that?”

“Ever since I gained my wings, my senses have become sharper.”

“Do Dark Faeries get their wings the same way the White do?” Rhiannon asked as Aine pulled her to her feet.

Aine sighed, a deep sigh of what could only be described as exasperation. “No, we have to seduce humans to mate with us, and in that act we gain our wings and power. It’s our punishment as Dark Faeries for breaking away from Northern Fey.”

“Like succubi and incubi?”

Aine gave Rhiannon a blank stare. “What are those?”

“They’re demons that screw humans of the opposite sex to suck out their life energy.

Succubi prey on men and incubi prey on women,” Rhiannon said in explanation, pulling the remnants of her tattered dress. “Humans can die from it.”

“We aren’t supposed to do that. We’re only supposed to take their sexual energy. The only thing we do is leave them drained for a month or two.”

“Yep, you’re a succubus.” Rhiannon giggled.

“Why do you say that?” Aine asked, a look of hurt swirling in the dark pools of her eyes.

“Human males would rather die than not be able to
perform
for a month.” Aine smiled, her eyes brightening with laughter. “We have men like that in Fey, too.”

“I know. I’m supposed to marry one.” Rhiannon patted Aine’s back. “I’ve regained my strength. Let’s get moving.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.” Aine wrapped her arms around Rhiannon and pulled her up.

She fluttered her wings and took flight. “I think it’s best to fly.” Rhiannon wouldn’t disagree. The sooner she got home to the comfort of the palace, the better. “Fly away, my friend.”

The dragon looked as if it had its victims cornered. It was hard to see from their distance.

The rider teased his prey, as if he were deliberately taunting them. Cerne wrinkled his nose. He hated the way the Dark Faerie riders fought, but this one seemed to be taking it very personally.

For some strange reason he felt compelled to fly up to that man who sat proud and pompous on the fiery beast. Alas, he hadn’t the wings to do it.

“Let it go, Cerne. It’s probably some Dark Faerie outcast. It’s Korrigan’s land.” Maeve took a step next to Cerne.

“Does that make it right?”

Maeve sighed. “No, I suppose not. But you cannot risk your life to save someone who may not give a fern—not when your princess is still missing.” Belenus sidled his horse around Cerne. “Maeve does have a point, my friend.” He turned his head to watch the dragon spit a ball of fire. A blast of white light followed, deflecting the fireball into a mass of fizzling sparks.

“Blessed deities, did you see that?” Maeve gasped in wonder, pointing toward the dragon.

All of a sudden, an intense wave of light and energy filled the Dark Cliffs. The dragon burst into flames and the rider vanished in a cloud of black smoke. Too bad the rider escaped the inferno unscathed. It would’ve been a fitting end for a black-hearted Dark Faerie.

“Holy Goddess,” Belenus breathed. “Whoever did that has some powerful magic—maybe more powerful than the Queen herself.”

“Rhiannon,” Cerne murmured. She was that powerful, he thought, remembering how she’d hurled him against the wall with a book. And how could he forget the time she’d thrown the ball of energy to scare General Windstorm.

“Rhiannon?” Maeve asked.

“Yes,” Cerne replied, with his head held high. Something deep and possessive gripped at his heart. “Rhiannon is that powerful.”

“So is Korrigan,” Maeve replied evenly. “It could be a trap. Do you forget she may have the amulet?”

Cerne drew his lips into a hard line and his jaw ticked. “I feel her—I can tell she’s near.”

“You feel her in your heart, Cerne. It’s how I was with Bel. I breathed for him.” Belenus blushed. “I breathe only for you too, my love.” Perhaps he did breathe for Rhiannon. She certainly had a habit of stealing his breath away anytime she entered a room. Cerne pretended to roll his eyes. There was no way he’d let Maeve and Bel hold this over his head. He would not admit he loved her—when he knew she did not love him back. She wanted to return to Earth. He couldn’t blame her for that. It was the only place she’d known. Cerne took a deep breath and closed his eyes. What kind of man was he turning into? Weak and sappy? He needed to be strong for his princess.

“You remind me of two fawning doves. Can you keep those sweet nothings to yourself?” Cerne gave them a devious grin. “No one can love each other that much.” Maeve laughed. “Is that so? I believe you should talk to Queen Titania and King Oberon about that.”

Cerne shrugged. He pushed through the forest and into the clearing with Maeve and Belenus close on his heels. To his left were the South Shires. He couldn’t help but cringe. The once bright and sunny shires were dark and dreary as Korrigan’s cloud of evil loomed overhead.

He turned toward the dark cliffs. A plume of smoke rose high in the sky. He edged closer, hoping to get a better look.

“This may help you,” Maeve said, handing him a spy-globe. She patted the top of his head.

“You never know when you’ll need to be on the lookout.” Cerne nodded and held the orb to his eye. Looking into the spy-globe, he scanned the scene.

There lay what remained of a dragon, smoldering on the scorched black earth of the Dark Cliffs.

There was no other evidence of a struggle, save for a burnt tree and a path of recently charred earth. He turned and angled the spy-globe to the west.

“I see something,” Cerne said, squinting into the glassy orb. A Dark Faerie struggled to stay aloft. She held another woman—wingless—in her arms. A patch of limp auburn curls hung from her head. His stomach and heart started doing flip-flops as the color drained from his face.

“What is it?” Maeve asked.

Without a sound, Cerne handed her the spy-globe and hung his head in his hands. There was no doubt that the other woman was Rhiannon. He’d recognize those waves of curls anywhere.

Willing himself to look up, he clenched his fists and his blood began to boil. Korrigan and her

minions would pay for this. Blood for blood, eye for eye—he would avenge Rhiannon.

“She’s alive, you know.”

Cerne craned his head toward Maeve and arched his brow. “How can you tell?” Maeve smiled. “There was an oddity in the Dark Faerie that held her. She didn’t seem dark at all.”