Flight (Children of the Sidhe) (9 page)

“
And he’s so good looking.”

Tessa met his gaze at that. Were those his words, or his echo of her words to her brother yesterday? How could he have overheard that?
“Yes. I happen to think so myself.”

Abarta grinned, and Tessa had her answer. Somehow he had overheard her conversation with Mikhail. Did that mean he
’d heard Mikhail’s update on the other half-humans?

Tessa didn
’t give the slightest physical indication she got the joke. “Why is that funny? I find many men attractive.”

“
But when was the last time you invited one straight into your bed?”

“
Bertran, actually. A few weeks ago. It was a long dry spell.” It was Tessa’s turn to grin. It wasn’t a smile of humor, but one of challenge.

Abarta laughed.
“It is good. We Sidhe have appetites. They must be answered.” What was that sparkle in his eye? Suddenly, Abarta grabbed her. Yanking her forward, he took advantage of her surprise and kissed her full on the mouth.

She
shoved him away, hissing in disgust. She swung at him.

H
e dodged her, and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “You see? It isn’t any man. I know you find me attractive, on some level.” He smiled and she scowled in answer. He turned his back to her, and she clenched her fists in impotent rage. “But the half-human has you in his thrall. It isn’t just sex, or reputation. Is it
love
?” He spat the word.

What did Abarta care about Tessa
’s heart? She refused to ponder his actual question. It was preposterous. She’d only known Nathan for a handful of days.

“You are arrogant, Trickster. A woman like me could turn you away for any number of reasons. Chiefly, you’re not good enough for me.”

Tessa’s mind worked as she spoke. She had to focus on the problem at hand. Abarta wasn’t happy she was having an affair with Nathan. Would it be enough for him to end their bargain and cut her out of the loop? Or could she put off their inevitable confrontation for a few more days?

So it came to the ultimatum.

“Do you want me to keep working on your assignment? Or not?” Tessa thrust her chin in the air, and stared him down.

Abarta just watched her for a few moments
, no doubt attempting to evaluate her intentions. “If you haven’t provided new information by sunset three days from now, our bargain is off. And Tessa,” he held her gaze, the ice returning to his eyes. “The child’s life will be forfeit.”

“
That wasn’t part of the deal, Abarta!” Tessa snarled. “You had better remember who you’re dealing with. I can squash you like an insect under my heel. That girl is your only hold over me.”

“
Still, the child will die,” Abarta hissed as he stepped forward. Instead of his repulsive kiss, this time she felt his hot breath on her face, making her want to cringe. “New information, Tessa. Three days. Do not fail me.” 

Fifteen

Slowly, through a book-induced fog, Nathan realized the wards on the front door were chiming. He rose, and stretched. If it was someone coming to kill him, he doubted they
’d use the front door, or attack him inside a warded building. They’d wait to catch him in the forest. So he only hesitated for a moment before answering the door.

Nemglan stood outside, glowering at the trees over his shoulder. His eyes widened as he took in his son at the door.
“Nathan. It is good to see you. May I enter?”

Nathan waved him in, watching the forest. Season was nowhere to be seen. In fact, it had been almost a day since he
’d seen her. She must be checking in with the Morrigan. He realized he was focusing his thoughts on anything except the man he’d just let into Tessa’s house.

“
You look well,” Nemglan stated, taking him in with a sweeping gaze. He stood in the center of the hallway, his feet squared, as if prepared for a confrontation.

“
I’m as well as can be expected. Do you need anything? Something to drink?” Nathan led the way into Tessa’s study.

“
No. I just came to...I’m sorry, Nathan. I should have returned days ago. I had no success tracking the assassin, and I should have returned to see you. I have so much to tell you, but with each day that went by...I couldn’t face the son I know hates me.”

Nathan realized with some surprise that
hate
was no word for what he felt. A few days ago he would have expected to hate Nemglan, but maybe having a week to cool down on an Otherworld vacation was just what he needed to accept his father.

“
I don’t hate you.”

Nemglan looked up. His eyes sparkled with what Nathan assumed must be tears, though he refused to look closely enough to verify it.
“That gives me more relief than you can understand.”

“
If not for this threat, would you have come for me, eventually? Or would I have gone my whole life without knowing what I am?”

“
I didn’t know your mother had died until recently. We agreed long ago that you should not be torn between two worlds.”

“
And what if I turned into a hawk, with no idea what was going on? At least you were there when I shifted. I can’t imagine facing that for the first time on my own.”

“
There was only a small chance you’d be capable of shifting, Nathan. Most of my family do not shift, and most of my children have had only a single form. Strange, that the son I abandoned, for the best, turned out to be most like me.”

“
You don’t know that. You don’t know me at all.” Nathan was glad the words didn’t sound petulant. He didn’t feel any post-adolescent angst over missing a relationship with his father. Instead, it was a statement of the obvious.

“
I do know you. I’ve paid attention. You can’t call me negligent, once you know the facts.”

“
The
fact
,” Nathan stressed, “is that you left my mother alone to raise a son you fathered. That’s shameful.”

“
Your mother wanted to be left alone. Once she knew of my nature, she could not condone our relationship. She chose to be alone. And you see how little time she had? Why could she not let me make her happy for her short mortal span?” Nemglan’s anguish kindled something in Nathan.

“
She was such a stubborn woman,” Nathan said softly.

Nemglan
’s gaze jumped to his with surprise. “Yes. She was.”

“
But the fact remains that she had a hard life. Couldn’t you do more for her?”

“
Your mother would only take so much from me. Nothing for herself. She was not a kept woman, she told me. She let me do things for you. She never had to tell you no about a summer camp, or the prestigious colleges you applied to. How do you think she paid for private school?”

Nathan held up one hand.
“Don’t tell me now all the things you paid for, and act like that made you a parent. That just makes you a cash machine.”  

“
She was all the parent you needed, Nathan.” The hawk-shifter stared him down. “Look, I’m not cut out for parenting. I’ve never raised a child, and I’ve fathered them for millennia. There’s nothing I can say to take away the sting of that.”

“
You think I’m angry because you weren’t a good father to me? I’m angry my mother had to work so hard for so little, while you stood in the wings. Why couldn’t you make her life easier?”

“
Haven’t we covered this ground already? Should I have taken her hostage and held her in splendor in a locked castle? I could have. But that isn’t kindness.”

Nathan couldn
’t speak any more. But it seemed Nemglan couldn’t take the silence.

“
Has Tessa been kind to you?”

“
She’s been good to me, yes.” Nathan held his father’s eyes, maybe for a second too long. Had he made it obvious there was more to the story? It felt far too intimate to speak to Nemglan about it.

Nemglan didn’t take up the dangling thread about him and Tessa, instead changing the subject.
“Nathan, I’ve received word that the other half-humans have found sanctuary at the sacred healing waters of the Well of Slaine.”

“Yes, Mikhail said something about twins staying there with their father.”

“You should travel there at once. We’ll have more success guarding you all if we know precisely where you are and can protect a specific area.”

Nathan shook his head.
“Not interested. I’ve only been waiting to speak to you, and for the danger to die down a little, before I return to my own world. I don’t belong here.”

“
Not even with Tessa?” So his father had understood the subtext perfectly.

Had this been Nemglan’s
reason for bringing him to Tessa in the beginning? Nathan had a sinking feeling in his gut when he realized he’d become attached to their world just as his father had wanted. Nemglan was smart enough to take himself out of the picture, and what blame would Nathan place on someone he had no connection to, and a beautiful, amazing woman at that?

He frowned at the old man, who appeared no older than his son.
“You knew we’d sleep together?”

“
It’s a fair bet with the Sidhe. If you place us within reach of a lover we’ve never known, it is hard to resist. Staying in her home? I thought it
might
happen.” 

“
All the better for you. I’m less eager to return, that’s certain.”

“
I only showed you that there’s much more to Tir Nan Og, to the Sidhe, than your negligent father.”

“
I’ll still return home.”

“
Don’t risk yourself foolishly because you’re angry with me.”

“
I wouldn’t. I just don’t belong here.”

“
When you return
home
, what will you do about Hawk?”

The question hit Nathan like a punch in the gut.
Hawk surged beneath his skin, threatening to take over, agitated at the thought of
hiding
, trapped, while Nathan worked and lived among
humans
. He hadn’t thought about that. Now that he knew Hawk, he also knew his animal side wasn’t to be resisted for long. He would need to shift, would need to fly, would need to hunt. Could he return to his work, to his studies, knowing he had to go out in the woods every few days for a good workout? Would Hawk feel the same about the forest beyond the veil? He hadn’t chosen to emerge until Nemglan showed up.

Abruptly, Nathan shoved those doubts to the back of his mind. He
’d consider them when he wasn’t face to face with Nemglan. He also decided then and there not to tell Tessa that Nemglan had told him to go to the Well of Slaine. She was sure to agree with his father, and he wasn’t going to let them control his decisions. He had to maintain some sense of himself, his human side. It had already begun to fade in a forest strewn with pixie parts, snakeskins and the other wild things.

Sixteen

“
Brother, the time we feared has arrived.” Tessa dove right in. She’d sought him out at the Authority Guard immediately after her meeting with Abarta. Mikhail wouldn’t appreciate stalling on this particular topic. “Abarta is angry. He may harm the girl just to wound me.”

Mikhail swiveled to face her, a question he wouldn
’t ask in his eyes.

She wanted to shout at him.
Of course it would hurt me if she were harmed on my account!
But she didn’t rise to the bait.

He took a deep breath.
“I should go to them. Yet this conflict doesn’t allow much space for personal time. What do I tell them?”

Tessa sucked in a quick breath, and gave him the best advice she could muster, surprised he
’d bothered to ask in this situation. Yet she was his big sister, and he’d always counted on her advice. “I would tell them the truth. It’s time to come clean. There are already half-Sidhe children protected in the name of this conflict. Let the girl be another among them.”

“
And her mother?” His quick smile was more of a grimace. Tessa wondered, not for the first time, what had happened between them.

“
What do you think, Mikhail?” This was a question she had no right to interfere with, not now.

“
I won’t take her daughter from her.”

“
Then I guess you have to convince her to come, too.” Her smile was a peace offering.

He glared at her, like he knew the objections that rose up in the back of her throat at the idea of his half-Fomorri, half-human lover in their world.
“I know she bears Fomorri blood, but I’m not ashamed of her, or the child. Rosa is a Guardian. It is a sacred trust. She’s worthy of any Sidhe’s respect. I don’t mind people who aren’t Sidhe, and I don’t care what the foolish among the Sidhe think of me because I took her to my bed and got her with child.”