Have No Mercy (5 page)

No longer outside, I stood in a
hallway with super high ceilings. The walls and floors were made out of the
same material giving the hallway a singular appearance. Bright light emitted
everywhere with no viewable source taking the strange into the stranger.

Again, I was moved against my
will, and we entered golden double doors. Once the doors closed behind me, the
girls began pulling at my clothes. I fought with shouts of Wait, Stop, No that
went unanswered. There were too many hands, and I couldn't stop them from
baring me to my natural state. I covered my most private parts as best I could
with a strategically placed arms and hands.

It made no difference as the
girls clucked their tongues and spoke to themselves in a language that was
foreign to me. Grasped by my biceps, I was hauled towards a dais. Two more
involuntary steps and I found myself submerged into milky liquid that steamed
on the surface. An unintentional groan escaped my lips, grateful for the warmth
and cover of the opaque liquid. I didn't resist and sank deeper covering myself
neck to foot.

With the girls’ attention off of
me, I finally took in the room. It was larger than my bedroom and dimly lit.
The ivory walls were of the same marble color from the hall and bounced what
little light all around the room. There wasn’t any furniture or benches save
the border of the sunken bath was a foot or so higher above the floor. The tub
itself could easily fit ten or fifteen people. And as I stood neck deep in the
water, I marveled how deep it went below the floor level. I did wonder what
caused the baths opaque color, but it felt like water and I decided to believe
it was like a fancy bubble bath without the bubbles. It was better than
worrying over something I couldn’t change.

I closed my eyes while the girls
gathered on all sides and continued to talk amongst themselves. Despite the
language barrier, I doubted I could have understood what they were saying. They
were all speaking so fast and at once, I wondered how they could understand
each other.

For a long time, I simply enjoyed
the heat, and allowed my body to regroup from the chilled air that had covered
me when I first stepped into the winter wonderland. I didn’t like being
strong-armed, but I was outnumbered and without resources to defend myself.
Something had to give. They wouldn’t keep me in the bath forever. Meanwhile, I
would relax and mentally prepare myself for the monumental task in front of me.
Tristrom and how I would gain access to him and convince him to leave this
place. The one thing I had going for me was if I was right about who he was, he
hadn’t looked at all happy about being there.

When I heard the doors behind me
open, I imagined the worst, the Napoleon, footman or even Madeline’s husband
lurking at behind me. That would be my luck. They all had looked at me like I
was something tasty, and I gave into the shutter as I stood all too vulnerable.

"Ladies." The voice was
a little too gleeful for our situation. "Let me have a few minutes with my
wife."

The word wife sent a tingle down
my spine while instantly the room quieted. I glanced around to see the adoring
girls flush with pale color before they giggled and batted lashes at Flynn on
their way out the door.

Faint footsteps moved around the
bath to stand front of me. I sank even lower bending my knees and kept my arms
folded across my chest. I was never so grateful for the milky consistency of
the liquid that pooled around me.

"Why do you hide from me
Mercy? As my wife, I would have seen you a thousand times."

I laser tagged him with my eyes.
I wasn't foolish enough to splash him and somehow inadvertently give him a
glimpse of me.

His playful smirk shifted in a
way that sent chills through me despite the warmth that came from the unknown
liquid.

"So now what?" he asked
while staring into my eyes with a penetrating gaze that would have stripped me
naked if I wasn't already.

It wasn't his question that had
me confused. I swallowed, my throat felt raw from unshed tears, and I felt them
building.

"Well," he asked. The
arch of his perfect brow bent in a way that drew all my attention. And I had to
call a spade a spade. Flynn was probably the most beautiful boy to have ever
lived. And if my life weren't so torn asunder, I might have been with him.

Again, I swallowed and blinked my
eyes in rapid fire succession. I shook my head a little to clear it. We needed
to stay on topic "I think I know who Tristrom is."

I didn't look at Flynn, but
rather the ripple of waves made by his finger as he stirred the water I was
submerged in. I was thankful at once for the Fey’s ostentatious bath that
encapsulated me. The ripple dissipated before reaching me.

"If you know who he is, why
are you taking so long in the bath? Although by the color, it appears you
needed one.”

Even though I heard a hint of
tease in his tone, I reacted as I always did. “I’m in here because of you, you
jerk. And I didn’t cause the color that’s the way it was before they put me in
here while you let them. What the heck was wrong with you back there? Did she
mind control you or something.”

He shrugged. “I’m playing the
game. I figured it would keep you safe. You have a way of finding trouble.
Maybe you needed the bath to cool you off. If you piss off the Queen, she might
order off with you head and all that.”

“That’s King Henry’s words not a
queen's.” It was a dumb quip, but he grated my nerves at times.

“King Henry the eighth, I know,”
he deadpanned.

Not appeased at all he wasn’t
flustered, I continued. “What do you know about history? Don’t you get all your
girlfriends to do your homework? And then we come here, and all the beautiful
people want you to join their club as their next prince. And then you have to
be all charming and say the right things.”

He smiled at me in a way that
said he was indulging my tirade. “Prince Charming, I like the sound of that.”

“Yeah Prince,” I chuffed. “Why
don’t you stay here with all your adoring fans and find your Cinderella. There
has got to be a glass slipper around here somewhere. Just leave me to find my
mop and broom with the other less fortunate people around here.”

I spun because I knew I was
wrong. My insides hurt for too many reasons to count. I wanted take backs on
all the things I’d done in the past. I wanted Luke safe. I wanted Flynn well
and not dying because of me. I wanted not to make a rash decision to kill
Sebastian and leave everyone behind to deal with his wrath. I wanted to go back
to being the clueless human I had been. Maybe then, I would have never put
anyone in danger. And it just hurt too much, and my mask of indifference was
cracking faster than an egg shell without my demon to protect my heart.

In a quiet voice, his words rang
out like church bells. “Stop being a little bitch.” I spun while sputtering for
something to say. He spoke for me. “You think I like this.” He motioned with
his hand in a circle around his beautiful face. “What has it gotten me? It sure
in the hell hasn’t given me what I wanted. No.” He shook his head. “I got Queen
Mad out there giving me the I like young boys and what are you going to do
about it look.”

“Queen Mab,” I dared to mutter.

“Mad, she is.” He paused goading
me to refute him. “Everything I’ve done in like… forever has been to keep you
safe.” He paused again for effect and it was working. I closed my lips tight
because he was right, and I knew it. “I’m here for you… for him. I’m here!
And…” It was the and that I wondered about. He was keeping something from me.

“And what?” I finally asked when
he just glared at me without finishing his sentence.

“And it doesn’t matter. We need
to focus. We should have a look around soon to get a feel for this place. You
said something about knowing who Tristrom was?”

I looked away. I could face his
stare. "He was sitting next to the king," I said even though I didn't
think Queen Mab's husband was called the king. My words were tied in knots.

"I don't think I caught him.
Describe him, so I know who we are looking for."

Still submerged up to my neck and
nearly to my chin, I unfolded my arms so that I could play with my nails and
continued to ignore his heated stare.

"He has blonde
curls..." I trailed off, but if Flynn's sharp intake of breath was any
indication, he'd caught the similarity.

I rolled my bottom lip into my
mouth and bit wanting to taste my blood because I was bleeding out on the
inside if my clenching heart was any indication.

"Are you going to continue
to ignore this conversation?" he asked.

My head snapped up. Although I
couldn't feel my demon, something inside, something that's protecting Luke and
the knowledge he was still alive, came to the forefront. It blotted out all the
sadness that had surrounded me moments before. "I'm not ignoring
anything."

Flynn frowned. "What
if?"

It's only the knowledge that I
was stark naked that keeps me from getting in his face. "This isn't for
nothing," I yelled. "He's alive. I didn't get to say goodbye."
And my voice broke. "I'm not ready to live without him."

He straightened and laughed that
lacked humor. "Don’t I know it. Not that you would ever let me forget.”
His jaw tightened, and his body strained to move as if he were forcing himself
to stay. He roughly pushed a hand through his hair. “I don’t have to tell you
Luke died because he wanted you to live. You may not want to believe that. But
how you believe this Mercy, I'm not ready to live without you.”  My mouth
opened and closed like a fish out of water. He unmercifully continued. “If I've
learned anything, I learned we might be dead tomorrow. And you need to
know..."

The door opened behind me. A soft
voice broke the heavy pause. "I was looking for you." The voice was
lyrical. A glance over my shoulder revealed a petite girl with silvery ash white
hair that hung straight below her shoulders reminding me of Madeline. She was
beautiful in a way I'll never be. I faced Flynn to find him spellbound with his
lips slightly parted as he gave the intruder all his attention.

My breath caught, but neither of
them noticed. Without giving me a cursory glance, he walked forward meeting her
at the door. They spoke so softly; I didn't hear what was said before he left
without a word.

Tears fell without my approval.
And I wasn’t crying for Luke because somehow I had managed to bottle up those
emotions for the moment. They fell for Flynn. I hated to admit that maybe I
loved him more than just a friend. And yeah, it was wrong for me to love two
guys, but the truth was, I was pretty sure I did. And the sooner I admitted
that, the better off I'd be. It wasn't like I could deny our mating bond
forever.

I sunk underneath the water with
a surety that maybe I should just stay there. The seconds ticked by as I gazed
towards the surface of my underwater prison. The liquid’s ripples slowed
prepared for stillness. Under there, I had no tears. They mingled in the murky
depths with no accusation of my betrayal to either boy. I stayed submerged
until my determination to set things right sent me to the surface. Before I
broke through, my lungs burned to the point of forcing my mouth open to seek
out life-giving oxygen.

My gasp in a heaving breath
changed to an exhaled shriek when I faced the cuter Napoleon look-alike
standing next to the bath. How long had I been under that I missed his entrance
into what felt like a revolving door of visitors?

He held a towel and stared at the
water like he could see underneath it. "You might need this."

Stupidly, I reached for his
proffered gift. But it wasn't a gift he was bringing me. His hand pulled back
as his eyes raked over me. The only visible parts were my head, neck and a peek
of my shoulders as I tucked my arm back across my chest. Annoyed, I wanted to
roll my eyes because I had bigger problems.

His voice rang out cruel and
commanding, "Stand."

Narrowing my eyes, I ignored him.
I might have given him my back if not for my need to keep my eye on the creepy
Fey.

His black eyes shone with
amusement that wasn't either heartwarming or the least bit funny. They peered
out of slits when he said, "You'll find that giving me what I want will be
easier on everyone."

He glided, yes, he moved like an
icy breeze. An ease that I imaged all the Fey did in their world. Once he was
at the door, he dropped the towel. "Next time," his words dared
before he exited.

My eyes closed involuntarily with
anger. The halls weren't empty, and Fey peeked in as they walked by. I cursed
Flynn for being the ass he was and leaving me for a prettier girl when I
couldn't even be honest with him. Who was I fooling?

I sunk back under the water
wondering if I just stayed there would I see Luke on the other side. Another
demand for air sent me to the surface.  Even though my heart was heavy, I
wasn't ready to give in.

And again, I was stunned.
Although that time, I managed not to scream. Instead, I vaguely puzzled in the
mystery of how long I was able to hold my breath, for I had missed yet another
person entering the room. I almost laughed at the humor of the situation had I
not been in it.