Midnight Enchantment (9 page)

LIAM wandered the halls of the Black Tower, every molecule of his body on alert. There was only one person in all of Piefferburg that might recognize his face—Charlotte Bennett, the human woman who had taken the third piece of the
bosca fadbh
from the Stone of Destiny in Ireland.

He’d fought her there; the bitch had even stabbed him and left him for dead. His wound had barely healed. It hurt like hell all the time, especially when he exerted himself, but he wasn’t going to let anything stop him from completing this mission.

There was no way Charlotte wouldn’t recognize him if their paths crossed. That night it had been dark and everything had been chaos, but he was a distinctive man with his enormous build and his fire red hair. According to his information, Charlotte resided in the Black Tower with her new husband, Kieran Aindréas Cairbre Aimhrea. If she ran into Liam while he was poking around it could cause massive problems.

It had been hard for him to leave the Boundary Lands, where the Seelie Queen had her hideaway. Liam had been just a small boy when the Great Sweep had occurred and barely remembered what it was to be surrounded by the fae or immersed
in an enchanted wood. He was a nature fae, though, and his blood remembered.

Standing in the Boundary Lands after having entered through the Phaendir’s secret chink in the wall had been a heartbreakingly beautiful experience for him. He’d just stood there, arms outstretched, sprae lighting on his skin, head, back, and soaked it in. It had been like taking a warm bath after centuries of bitter cold. He’d barely even noticed the Phaendir retching in the grass all around him.

Now he came to the Black Tower, a betrayer of his own kind, yet what choice did he have? His adopted family of free fae were full of those who’d committed fae murder after the walls had gone up. If the walls came down, Aideen, his wife, along with so many others, would be swept away by the Wild Hunt faster than you could say
sluagh
.
Gone.

So, here he was, totally alone, looking for any way he could to prevent the walls from coming down. Not only that, he was working with the fucking, conniving Summer Queen and the treacherous Phaendir. Danu, but he hated that.

The whole thing was making him cranky.

He stopped in front of the carved double doors of the Shadow Queen’s receiving room. Two black-and-silver-garbed Shadow Guards stood on either side. They said nothing, didn’t twitch a muscle. Liam bet if he reached for the door, they’d move all right. Instead he stood there, scowling at them both until the door finally opened.

A slim dark-haired woman stood in the entryway. He let out a slow breath of relief. It wasn’t Charlotte. “Liam Connall Deaglan Mag Aoidh?”

He nodded. “I have an appointment with the queen.”

“Yes.” She held out a hand, which he squeezed. “My name is Bella. Come on in.”

He entered the lushly decorated rose and white room. The Shadow Queen sat in the living room, with a good-looking man with long dark hair beside her. Probably the Shadow King, Gabriel Mac Braire, incubus, and Lord of the Wild Hunt. This was the bastard who’d reap his Aideen if the walls fell.

Bella led him over. “We don’t get many nature fae to see the queen. If there’s something specific you need during your stay, just ask for me.”

“Thanks,” he grunted. Their graciousness just made him feel that much guiltier. Would be easier if they were all fecking bitches and arseholes.

He walked over to stand in front of the queen. After a moment, he realized he should bow and did so. She motioned for him to sit down on a nearby sofa. He sat, examining her. The tattoo of the Shadow Amulet was faintly visible on her collarbone and neck. Swathes of silver and white fabric enfolded her slender form and a black and silver crown sat on her blond head. She was pretty and a little fragile-looking.

So this was the woman who had disposed the former Shadow King. She didn’t look like much.

He remembered Aodh Críostóir Ruadhán O’Dubhuir, the former Shadow King, and his pet ogre, Barthe. He’d seemed the friendly sort, but fecking brutal as hell under his warm exterior. It was hard to believe this was his daughter.

The Shadow Queen raised her eyebrows. “Liam Mag Aoidh? You’ve come a long way from your home near Silver Branch. What do you require of the Shadow Court?”

He shifted on the couch and cleared his throat. He had to be careful to damp his Irish accent. Most of the inhabitants of Piefferburg had lost theirs over the years. “I think it’s more a question of what the Shadow Court requires of me.”

She raised a silver-blond eyebrow. “Really? How is that?”

“It’s no secret that the Seelie Queen’s gone rogue and run off with two pieces of the
bosca fadbh
. It’s also no secret that she’s passed them off to some nearly uncatchable fae to hide them for her. I can help you find that fae and get those pieces back.”

Gabriel spoke up. “What skills do you possess that could help us?” The words went unspoken, but were perfectly audible to his ears—
since you’re just a nature fae
.

“I have the ability to meld my consciousness with parts of the earth and locate objects.” There, let them chew on that.

“That definitely is a relevant ability in this case, Liam,” answered the Shadow Queen, “but Piefferburg is a pretty big area.” It was. It was roughly the size of Virginia, in fact, the state just to the north of the detention area. “The woman hiding the pieces is an asrai, with the ability to become water at
will and re-form anywhere within the bounds of the warding. She could have hidden the pieces absolutely anywhere in Piefferburg.”

“Let me find the woman. If I can find her, maybe I can narrow down the possibilities for the location of the pieces.”

“We already have a very capable man on that task.”

“So send a second.” He leaned forward. This was his fastest way of getting the job done. He could go out on his own to look for the woman, but the Shadow Queen had information that would make his job easier—like the location of the woman right at this moment. They were right, Piefferburg
was
a big place. He needed to convince them that he could help. “You need all the people on this that you can find.”

“The one we sent is someone we trust implicitly, someone with highly specialized skills. You must understand that
trust
is very important, especially right now. The man we sent would not appreciate someone showing up who he doesn’t know, no matter how helpful you could be in this situation. In fact, we’re pretty sure he would act violently toward your presence.”

“I can handle violent men. Send me. I want to help. I’m desperate to help. I need these walls broken.”
Lie, lie, lie.

The king and the queen shared a brief look. Then the Shadow King caught and held his gaze. “Look, Liam, thanks for offering your help. We might take it, but not quite yet. I understand you’ll be staying here with us for a while?”

He gave a curt nod, his teeth grinding. This was his dismissal.

The Shadow King nodded back. “Good. Then we know where to find you in the event we need your help.”

Not good enough.

FUCK
. He didn’t want to hurt her.

Niall entered the living room where Elizabeth was tied to a straight-backed chair and blindfolded. She’d let him do it, hadn’t fought him a moment. It made guilt well up inside him hard enough to give him chest pains. He didn’t want to see her suffer, this woman, yet the easiest thing would be to torture the information out of her. That’s what the Shadow Queen
expected of him. Torture was what he’d intended from the beginning.

He couldn’t do it.

Striding past her, he went into the kitchen and leaned against the counter, bowing his head.
Damn it.
He wished the queen had sent someone else to do this job. His brother, Ronan. Anyone. Yet he suspected he knew why he’d been selected. Sure, it had to do with his special arsenal of skills, but she’d picked him for another reason, too—his compassion.

The Shadow Queen had known he would use restraint when another of the Unseelie might hurt her so badly she died before she gave up the location of the pieces. Niall was unlikely to do that.

But it was his compassion that was tying him in knots right now.

He shouldn’t care about this woman. He should be willing to do whatever it took to get what he’d come for, yet one look from her big green eyes and he was toast.

That’s why he’d blindfolded her.

“I can hear you, Niall.” Her voice sounded steady and strong when it should have had a tremor of fear running through it. “Why don’t you just come over here and do it?”

He turned and rubbed a hand over his face. “Last chance. Tell me what I need to know so I can set you free.”

“Sorry. That’s not going to happen.”

“Screw your stubbornness, Elizabeth.” His voice came out bitter and cold.

“Come give it your best shot, Niall, but you’ll fail.” Ah, now he could hear a note of fear in her voice. It was nice to know the woman wasn’t made of stone. Maybe he would be able to reach past her defenses after all.

He pulled up a chair facing her and took her hands in his. For a moment, he studied her. Her long red hair lay tangled over her shoulders, dark against the creamy paleness of her skin, like garnets and gold woven into silk. Her full lips trembled just the slightest bit, and her hands were cold.

She was worried about what he was about to do—and she should be.

He could just make out the dusting of freckles across her nose under the blindfold. They reminded him of cinnamon.
He had an urge to count them, commit every last one to his memory.

After all, he would carry this woman with him forever after this was over. He would never forget her, would never go even a day without thinking of her.

He almost didn’t do it, but couldn’t stop himself in the end. It was a mistake and he knew it, but how often in his life had he knowingly made a mistake? Too often to count. So, he went ahead and made another one.

Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to hers.

She jolted with surprise in her seat, but didn’t pull back.

Leisurely, he tasted her mouth, exploring those full lips by brushing his mouth over them slow and then even slower. Her fingers, twined with his, curled tighter and the softest noise escaped her throat. Her lips worked, kissing him back. Her tongue flicked out against his mouth, and a slow shiver crawled up his spine.

Dragging his hand up to the nape of her neck, he slanted his mouth across hers and parted her lips, sliding his tongue inside. His tongue tangled with hers and she made another soft noise, her tongue rubbing up against his and making his heart beat out a crazy rhythm. A warm, salty tear slid into his mouth, and for a moment he wasn’t sure if it was hers or his.

Breaking the kiss, he rocked back, staring at her. Tear tracks snaked down her cheeks. His mouth was still filled with the taste of her—like wild, cold water from a stream.

“That was my first kiss.” Raising her bound hands, she wiped at her cheeks with her fingers. “It was beautiful.”

Surprise rocked through him. With any other woman he would take that for a lie—a desperate survivor’s ploy—but he believed Elizabeth.

“Too bad it had to come from the man who is about to torture you.” His voice came out leaden.

The small smile she wore faded. “Yes, that’s bad luck, isn’t it? Maybe a different time, a different place.”

“With different stakes between us.”

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

He forced himself up and stalked to the other end of the room where he punched the wall, driving his fist through a layer of drywall. He wanted to think she was playing him.

But she wasn’t.

Leaning his head against the wall and cradling his throbbing fist, he took a few deep breaths. Then he turned and walked back to her.

It was time.

ELIZABETH brushed her lips with the back of her hand and felt another teardrop land on her thigh. She wished she could be stronger than this and not cry. She wished she wasn’t selfishly thinking of herself right now and the fact she was probably about to experience a lot of pain.

She wished it wasn’t Niall who was about to deliver it.

Most of all, she wished she could live out the rest of her life, see her mother again, maybe even have another kiss like the one she’d just experienced. Yet she knew that was not to be her fate, not in this lifetime.

From somewhere across the room she heard a thump—like a fist hitting a wall. She jumped at the sound and the series of low curses that followed it. Clearly Niall didn’t want to do this anymore than she wanted him to do it.

But she knew he would anyway.

After a few moments, Niall sat down opposite her and took her hands. This time the gentleness was gone. Now he meant business. Her body tensed as she waited for whatever torture he had in store for her. She had to endure it. She had to stay strong.

His hands gripped hers a degree harder and magick tickled her palms, skittering up her arms and through her shoulders. A small sound of fear rose in her throat and she swallowed it, her face screwing up with bitterness. Inch by inch the magick he wove around her reached deeper within, permeating every molecule of her body. It didn’t hurt, not yet. Her muscles went tense, her jaw locked tight, teeth grinding, as she anticipated pain.

When was it coming? What was he going to do…?

She stood in a moonlit clearing. Her blindfold had been removed. The cottage was gone. Niall was gone. She looked down at her hands. The rope that had bound them together had disappeared.

What had happened? Had she somehow dissolved even with the charmed iron on her?

No. That was impossible. Anyway, she was dressed. Looking down at herself, she saw she wore a pair of loose pants, the ones she favored, with her favorite soft navy shirt. She lifted one bare foot and saw that no cuff bound her ankle.

Above her the moon shone through a few scudding clouds. Lifting her face to it, she raised her arms, feeling the stretch of her muscles. She felt wonderful without that charmed iron touching her skin.

Stepping to the edge of the clearing, she reoriented herself.
Ah.
She was near one of her gardens! And her ATV was parked under the elm tree, just where she always left it. Hurrying over to her patch, she retrieved her basket and began to harvest ripe peas, tomatoes, and green beans. She could deliver them to Abertha, Sioned, and Donnell tonight.