Faery Kissed (4 page)

“
Let me guess, there’s no
way to break the bond, is there?”

She looked dreadfully hurt, and again I felt
a stab of regret for my brusque remarks.

When she didn’t answer, I continued on a
little softer. “I need some time away from you, so I can think.
When you’re around, I feel confused.”

She removed her hand and stepped away from
the door. “Then, please, take your time, but try to stay on the
palace grounds. Though there is protective magic set up throughout
the land, here is the only place in Faery that is truly safe from
the Blood Wraiths.”

“
Blood Wraiths?” I
questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

“
There is much I still need
to tell you about Faery, Bran—when you are ready to hear
more.”

I gritted my teeth against the use of my
name, my body enjoying the traitorous reaction. I chose not to
reply, instead leaving through the door and moving out onto the
steps.

The castle was set upon a high hill at the
mouth of a canyon that flowed with numerous waterfalls spilling
over the edges from the lush forest that lined the rims. I could
see for miles and miles.

“
Where does the castle-land
end?” I asked.

“
The boundaries are clearly
marked—you will know them when you see them.” She pointed. “If you
wish, follow that path there. It will take you down into the
canyon, to the area I first took you last night. I find it a
comfortable place to sit and ponder.”

I knew she was trying to be helpful and make
up for her mistakes. I could still see the guilt eating away at
her—in her eyes and the way she held herself. She knew what she’d
done was wrong, but she chose to do it anyway.

“
That path there?” I nodded
in the direction she’d just shown me.

“
Yes.” She smiled
softly.

“
Perfect.”

I continued down the steps, and when I
reached where the pathway forked, I looked over my shoulder to see
if she was still watching.

She was, of course, and I tossed her a
cynical grin before purposefully heading in the opposite direction
she’d suggested.

There was no way I was going to let her
control me any more.

Chapter Four

I don’t know how I managed
it, but I
still
ended up in the place she suggested. Either I’d become
totally unobservant and walked in a circle, or she’d anticipated me
wanting to contradict her and had told me the other way just to get
me to come in this direction.

Whichever it was didn’t matter. Both
situations made me even angrier.

I stomped over to where the blossomed
branches of the ancient tree were parted and made my way inside and
found a soft lounging bench complete with pillows. Flopping down, I
rested my elbows on my knees and shoved my hands into my hair,
cursing slightly.

What had I done? Better yet, what could I do
to fix it? I wanted to call myself every stupid name I could think
of. People always warned of messing with the Fae, but I didn’t want
to listen. I was mesmerized by the tales of them—always wanting to
know more. Even Fergus had warned me before I left on this
adventure.

Fergus. It was the first time I’d thought of
him or the rest of my family. I wondered if they were frantic with
worry. Would they be out searching for me?

I snorted, doubting it. They were all
probably passed out from the honey mead somewhere. Knowing my luck,
they wouldn’t realize I was gone for another whole day.

Ceridwen—her name came easily to my mind and
with it a wave of memories and feelings that twisted at my heart. I
almost felt panicky, like a prisoner in a cage. The thought of
never seeing her again was excruciating and made me long for
escape. I wanted to run my fingers through her hair, and kiss her
breathless as she clung to me. I couldn’t count the nights I’d lain
awake, dreaming of the time I could finally make her mine and start
our lives together. She was all I ever wanted.

I wondered if there was a way for me to
leave this place. Eirian said it was impossible while I was bonded.
I believed her, knowing she couldn’t lie about things like that.
Was there a way to break a bond? I’d assumed, because of the magic,
it was infinite. Was it? Or was Eirian withholding something from
me?

I growled in frustration. Even if I could
flee, what could I say to Ceridwen that could fix this? There was
nothing. She’d hear my story and be repulsed—forever doubting my
honor. I could only imagine how I’d feel if she came and told me
something like this had happened to her. I would be
devastated—unable to recover.

On second thought, maybe it was best if they
all thought me missing. Wouldn’t it be better for Ceridwen to think
I’d been carried off by some wild animal, or killed in an accident,
than to find out her love had willingly bonded and lain with
another?

I groaned. Thinking of Eirian brought a
whole new set of problems. I might not know her very well, but
there was an abundance of physical attraction there. I was fairly
certain—given my current state of anger at the situation—that I’d
been released from all enchantment, too. That wasn’t a good thing
considering I could feel my body reacting to even the thought
her.

What was it about her that seemed so
familiar? Why did I loathe the idea of losing her as much as I did
Ceridwen? It didn’t make any sense.

I lay back onto the bench, placing an arm
over my eyes. Eirian’s image floated there, and I sighed, realizing
I already knew every part of her, almost as well as I knew myself.
I wanted to be angry, but if I was being truthful, there was a
closeness I felt with her that I’d never experienced with anyone
else. That troubled me. I didn’t want to be in love with someone
who had tricked me.

Love? I almost choked and openly scoffed at
the idea. There was no way I could ever fall in love with Eirian.
Not after what she did. She betrayed my trust. I wasn’t sure how to
learn to love someone like that. Things of that nature only
happened in faerytales.

I laughed wryly at the irony. It seemed a
faerytale was exactly what I was stuck in.

I got up and left the area under the tree,
and walked to where the water from the river lapped the shore. I
searched for a pebble, acquiring several, before I sat down in the
tall grasses and began tossing them one by one into the shimmering
surface. I could barely hear them hit the water though; the sound
being drowned out by the waterfalls that tumbled down the rock
faces farther down the canyon.

It was beautiful here; something my eyes had
never dreamed of beholding. If I were ever able to go home, I would
be sad to never see this place again. It was magical—part of a
dream come true.

In all honesty, I wished I could share this
place with my loved ones. My mother would be completely excited to
know this existed. I don’t know what my father would think. His
eyes used to light up when he told his tale of seeing the Fae in
his youth; how he spied on them in the glen while they were
dancing, unaware of his presence. But there was also a solemnity
about him, as if such things should never be taken lightly. He
never encouraged me to be frivolous in my thoughts concerning the
Fae, nor did he build them up to be sought after. He just told his
story and that was that.

I knew there were some people who didn’t
want to believe him. They were determined to undermine the truth of
his tale, but they couldn’t really refute him since he was known as
one of the most honest and noble men in the area. He was too well
respected. I wondered what advice he would give me about this
situation.

Just considering that gave me the answer I
needed. I sighed, part of me not wanting to acknowledge what he
would say. I sat in silence, trying not to think about anything for
a few moments while I came to terms with the new direction I would
be heading.

I would be staying with Eirian and making
the best of my current situation. Whether I’d been tricked or not,
I was still responsible for the choices I had made. I’d chosen to
seek out the Fae. I’d accepted her offer to dance, even knowing my
heart was given to another. I’d kissed her, bonded with her, and
consummated that bond. It was time to be the man my father had
raised and accept my responsibilities in this new life and world I
found myself. I would honor my family by being honorable.

It was the right choice, I knew, because
even though it caused me heartache, peacefulness came upon making
it. My heart still hurt over the idea of never seeing my family, or
Fergus, and giving up Ceridwen completely. I felt awful knowing
they would think I’d died some terrible death, and it would cause
them all pain. I wished there was some way I could keep that from
happening.

Maybe there was. I would ask Eirian if there
was anything she could do for them—something to erase the hurt that
my choice would cause.

As if thinking of her had conjured her up,
she suddenly appeared down the shoreline from where I was. She
wasn’t looking at me; instead, staring out into the water with a
sorrowful expression. She was wearing a pale blue dress, and her
hair was unbound in loose flowing waves. She paused at a tree near
the water’s edge, leaning back against it as she stared wistfully
out at the scene before her.

I was drawn toward her, feeling the need to
apologize for my earlier outburst. She’d agreed to be honest, and I
berated her because of it. There may have been some enchantment
involved on her part, but I felt just as guilty. If we were going
to have any kind of life together, I needed to try and fix things
with her now.

Quietly, I rose and made my way toward her.
I was sure she knew I was approaching, but she didn’t make any
movement to acknowledge it. I continued until I was only a few feet
from her, and she turned her head to stare at me softly with her
big blue eyes.

“
I love you,” she
spoke.

It was all she said, but I was frozen to the
spot, unable to look away from her dreamy gaze. We stayed that way
for several long moments.

“
Why?” I finally managed to
choke out, and her lips curled ever-so-slightly into a
smile.

“
I’ve watched you for a
long time. I fell in love with you long before I began setting the
plan in motion to call you here.” Her eyes never left me, and I
could see her emotions in the depths of them.

“
How long have you watched
me?” I swallowed, wondering what I’d ever done to capture the
attention of a girl like her.

She sighed. “Since you were born.”

Wait. What?
I was confused. “How is that possible?” I
asked.

She smiled. “I’m much older than you
are.”

I laughed. “Is that so? Because you look
younger.” I’d wager she was around sixteen or seventeen
summers.

“
I’ve looked this way for
the past two hundred years.”

“
Two hundred years?” I
couldn’t help my skeptical glance.

“
Time works a little
differently here than it does in your realm. It passes quicker for
us, though we age in appearance much more slowly.”

I moved closer, not even trying to
comprehend her remark. My glance traveled over her perfect form and
back up to her beautiful face. “Well, time looks good on you then.”
I turned away, looking out over the water. “Before you tell me
anymore, I just want you to know I’m staying. I know you said I
couldn’t leave Faery since we are bonded. You probably think there
is no chance of me leaving, but I want to tell you that I’m
choosing to stay—of my own free will this time.” I paused,
searching her face. “It is of my own free will, right? You haven’t
done any enchanting again?”

She looked happy as she shook her head in
denial. “Your will is your own.”

There was a moment of silence between us as
her reassurances sunk in.

“
Then please, continue on
with your story. Time moves differently in Faery,” I reminded
her.

I couldn’t stop looking at her, suddenly
feeling very content with my decision to stay. All I wanted to do
was talk and get to know her better.

Experiencing a sudden urge, I swept her off
her feet and carried her toward the hidden bench under the tree.
She laughed in surprise and wrapped her arms around my neck. I
caught a whiff of her sweet scent and my mouth watered. I swear I
seriously had the urge to bite her, she smelled so good.

“
Time moves differently in
Faery, and that has allowed me to watch you grow from a child into
the young man you are today,” she continued on.

“
And that didn’t scare you
off?” I chuckled as I ducked through the opening in the branches,
and let her slide to her feet.

“
Not at all. You were
interesting. It was fun to watch you grow, and see what you would
do. For whatever reason, I realized one day that I’d gone from
being interested to caring for you, and that eventually grew into a
longing. I knew the day would come when I was expected to take a
mate, and I knew I wanted it to be you.”

“
Why not mate with another
Fae? You’re royalty here in this realm, are you not? Why would your
people let you mate with a commoner like me?”

She shrugged, turning away and going to sit
on the bench. “My people love humans. They encourage us to mate
with them regularly. It’s actually beneficial to our
bloodline.”

“
Really? How come?” I
leaned against the tree trunk, crossing my arms as I
stared.

“
The children that come
from those relationships are much stronger than normal Fae
children.”