CHAPTER FIVE

 

THE SHADOW!

Spinning on the spot, I dropped the bow and fell into the defensive stance that Clay had taught me. Even though I’d been learning to use the weapon, I’d proven myself proficient at hand-to-hand combat so it was the logical choice for self-defense. My hands lifted to block my body from an attack, and my skin warmed reflexively.

It took a second to recognize the owner of the voice, and as I did, all ideas for self-preservation left me. In front of me was not a dangerous invader. Neither was he a shadow person. Instead, it was an intimately familiar face from my distant past. I was rendered completely useless by the surreal sight.

Bright-blue eyes—able to pierce straight through to my very core—stared at me from within a perfect porcelain face. Hair, dark and untamed, fell loosely around an attractive, angular face, ending just above his high and wickedly sharp cheekbones. If I reached out to stroke his skin, the pale, almost opalescent, surface would be soft to my touch. I knew that from memory. All of the features belonged to the fae, whom I’d known many years ago, but none of them made sense in the frigid winter landscape of Norrland. I couldn’t understand what possible reason Aiden could have for being there, so it didn’t make sense that he was.

Staring dumbly at him, standing right there in front of me, I tried to reconcile my memories of him with my present situation. It had been years since I’d last seen him and now things were so completely different for me.

In the seconds I had to process it all, I couldn’t help but remember that the last time I’d touched his cheekbones was during our good-bye kiss. The last time I’d met those eyes was right before I’d walked away from him in New York. The last time I’d caressed his milky, smooth skin was when we’d made love a week before I left. My voice stuck in my throat and I was struck dumb. I couldn’t even move enough to check on Clay, but wondered whether Aiden recalled enough of our previous conversations to understand who Clay was and what he meant to me.

“Hello, Lynnie.”

My gaze fell to his lips the instant he spoke, and I became even more convinced that I was having some sort of a breakdown. Between the shadow, the woman, and now Aiden, nothing made sense anymore. There was no way he was here, in Sweden, thousands of miles away from his home. Everything about him seemed wrong in my present circumstance. His clothing, his stance, his very presence, were all so far removed from what was my new normal. Nothing that had happened during the day had been what I’d expected when I climbed out of bed that morning.

He was wearing a thin blue shirt, with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and light gray dress pants; all items were much more suited to the streets of New York than the rugged wilderness of Sweden. A chill ran through me even thinking about the way he was dressed, so different from the thick jackets both Clay and I were wearing.

I reached gently for Clay’s hand to remind myself that he was actually there—that I hadn’t somehow transported back in time. Or worse, that I’d completely fabricated our reunion in my mind and was living out a permanent fantasy while my body lay prostrate and dreaming, with a smile on my lips, in the fae court.

Clay’s fingers clasped around mine, his hold tight in what I was certain was a protective—and possibly slightly possessive—action. I wasn’t sure whether Clay was anxious over my reaction to Aiden or because he understood what Aiden was.

I didn’t even know if Clay knew what the fae standing before us had meant to me once upon a time. If he could connect the dots between a story I told him years earlier and the new arrival.

“Aiden?” I squeaked, after eventually finding my voice. “What—”

“What possible reason could I have for being here in Sweden visiting you?” he asked, his mouth twisting up into a grin. The scar over his left eye broke the line of his eyebrow, making it seem eternally lifted in question. His gaze fell to where Clay’s hand interlinked with mine, and he seemed stunned for a moment before his mouth split into an even wider grin than before.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it,” I said as I considered what possible reason he had for being in Sweden. He was someone I’d never anticipated seeing again. Yet despite the fact that he didn’t belong, he somehow seemed to fit with the forest more than Clay and I ever could. He was somehow part of nature, at one with everything around him. I knew it was because of his fae nature, but that didn’t keep the moment from being surreal. “I never thought I’d see you again. Let alone here, so many years later, on the other side of the world.”

“If I did not know you half as well as I do, Lynnie, I would be hurt by that statement. I always hoped we’d see each other again one day. Did you not?”

Clay’s grip on me tightened, and I squeezed his hand in response to reassure him.

I shook my head. “I really didn’t think we would.”

It wasn’t that I hadn’t wanted to. My sole focus after leaving Aiden had been to find Clay. When things had gone sour, and I’d fled Clay’s embrace, I hadn’t wanted to see the fae. Shame over the death of Clay’s sister—which had ended up not being a death at all—had kept me from returning to Aiden’s court for sanctuary in the years that followed. How different might things have been if I’d gone back?

“How’d you find me?”

Taking a step forward, he brushed my cheek and gave me a tender smile. “You have been touched by my magic, which has connected us in an unbreakable bond. I can locate you wherever you are in the world.”

Clay’s hold on my hand tightened until it was almost unbearable. The muscles in his arm were tense, as if preparing to yank me backward at a moment’s notice. Even though I wanted to reassure him, I let my skin heat to warn him that he was hurting me.

Aiden’s gaze assessed Clay’s possessive hold, which tightened further under the weight of the scrutiny, and the rigid way Clay held himself. Aiden’s eyes pinched at the edges for a moment at something he saw. I wondered if he understood he would not have much of an opportunity to talk safely and without interruption.

“I have come on a personal errand for a dear friend. We are in need of your assistance,” he said. “Or, perhaps more correctly, we are in need of the assistance of someone who has an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the Rain and is willing to fight at our side for a just cause.” He indicated Clay with his chin.

“Why would I help you, fae?” Clay tried to shield me behind him as his anger coursed through him. I was glad that he wasn’t holding the bow or it was possible that Aiden would have already sustained multiple wounds.

Placing my free hand on Clay’s arm, I tried to communicate wordlessly that I understood his worries. Regardless of his concerns, however genuine they may have been, the last thing we needed was for his hatred of the fae to blind him. I was certain Aiden wasn’t a danger to us, and I wanted to hear him out at least. He wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of finding us without a good reason, and I still owed him so much for all that he’d done for me.

“Because I know you will do what is just. You are the next generation of the Rain, no longer uncaring marble all the way through. Instead, you are like a tortoise with a hard exterior but a soft and gooey interior.” The sarcastic edge to Aiden’s voice was unmistakable. “Apparently, you can see beyond the usual rhetoric spouted by the Rain about the evils of other species and do not make harsh judgments. At least, that is what I had assumed from Lynnie’s glowing endorsement of you years ago. Maybe I was mistaken. However, I do not think you would be living alone in the wilderness with a phoenix if I were.”

Before Clay could react, I intervened, moving my body between the two of them. “Can’t we at least try to get along?”

“Evie, he’s fae. They can’t be trusted. They’re tricksters. They enjoy human suffering and will do anything they can to cause it.” Each time Clay said the F word, he formed the word as if it physically hurt him to hold it in his mouth for more than a second.

Aiden scoffed. “You would believe that even after everything you’ve seen.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Clay questioned, his tone sharp and his lips curled into a snarl.

“It means that despite how hard you have struggled to overcome the prejudice instilled within you, you have a long way yet to go. One day, most likely one day rather soon, you will realize the errors in your judgments, and I am certain that it will result in you singing an entirely different tune.” Despite the sarcasm in his tone, Aiden wasn’t actually reacting to Clay’s anger with any rage of his own. If anything, he appeared mildly amused by Clay’s antics—like a parent patiently waiting for the end of a child’s temper tantrum. “Besides, even I can tell with that very base assessment you have given that you are thinking of the Unseelies.”

Aiden’s not-quite-but-almost-carefree attitude was such a strange juxtaposition to Clay’s anxiety that it only added to the surreal feeling of the meeting and left me practically speechless—until I remembered the blonde-haired person I’d seen. “What about the woman we saw? Is she with you?”

“Fiona,” Aiden said as an explanation.

Almost instantly, the face that went along with that name floated into my mind from a time years ago: deep, ocean-blue eyes and long, curly blonde hair that always seemed to bounce uncontrollably around a beautiful, rounded face.

“Your aunt, the Queen?” I asked, wanting to confirm the relationship my memory had provided.

Aiden grinned. “You remembered.”

“How on earth do you know that?” Clay asked, his patience clearly tested and not only by Aiden’s presence. Given what had happened to his sister, I understood his anger, but I was certain Aiden and his court had nothing to do with Louise’s replacement by a changeling, or her torture. It had to have been the Unseelies that had done that. It was the only thing that made sense.

I wasn’t sure how he would cope with my next revelation, but I didn’t want to lie to him about it either. “Aiden is the one I told you about,” I admitted quietly. “The one who saved my life. I lived with his court for almost a year.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Clay said. The anger, fear, and betrayal in his voice were unmistakable. “I knew you were with a fae, but I didn’t realize you were so deeply involved with a whole fucking court.”

“What do you want me to say?” I asked quietly. “I can’t apologize for something that happened when I was alone, especially when it probably saved my life.

“If it wasn’t for Aiden, I don’t think I would be standing here today. I will owe him forever for that, and I hope he understands how grateful I am even though I never actually told him. But I don’t love him; I never did.” I offered Aiden an apologetic look. In return, he gave me a soft smile that made me think that he was recalling our last conversation.

Neither of us had loved each other; we were both merely willing distractions in one another’s lives. Even though I knew he’d viewed me as a friend, our union had been a result of him wanting, among other things, the conquest of a unique and rare creature. For my part, I’d simply wanted a replacement for the love I believed I’d never feel again. It probably wasn’t healthy to have used each other in such a way, but it had worked for each of us for as long as we’d let it.

“I can’t regret the part he played in my life. In fact, he was actually the one who gave me the information that led me to find you in Salem.”

Clay had closed his eyes during my explanation. When he opened them again, I could see the pain and unease buried within.

“We’ll talk more about this later,” he murmured. The anger from before was completely absent, replaced by disappointment and sorrow, which was somehow so much worse. I could almost see him berating himself again for leaving me in Charlotte and starting the chain of events that led me into the arms of a fae.

Knowing that I would happily tell him as much or as little as he wanted to know, I nodded. I didn’t intend to keep secrets from him, but the fact remained that, whether Clay liked it or not, Aiden was a part of my history. Turning my attention back to Aiden, I asked, “What did you need our help with?”

He stared over my shoulder for a moment before meeting my gaze. “It is actually Fi that is in need of your assistance. I have to admit she was concerned that you might not remember her. She was also concerned that the meeting may not proceed quite as she desires it to. She requested that I attempt to connect with you to initiate this first conversation.”

“As backup?” I asked.

Aiden nodded. “Something along those lines.

“But why would she need backup?” I asked.

Aiden’s gaze touched on Clay briefly before returning to meet my eyes. In the brief second he’d glanced at Clay, I saw genuine fear in his eyes. It was the first time I’d ever seen the emotion on Aiden, and it made my heart race.

My mind reeled as I wondered what could cause Aiden fear. His court, and others like it around the world, was almost as powerful and plentiful as the Rain. I hadn’t been lying when I’d told Clay that Aiden could have kept me safe—that is if I’d been willing to sacrifice my happiness and the potential of Clay’s love in order to stay within the walls of the fae court forever.

“She hoped to have someone available for her needs in the occurrence that the meeting takes a significant turn for the worse or does not proceed the way she hopes it may.”

“You’re talking in riddles,” Clay snapped. “But what else should I expect from a fae?”

Anger flashed in Aiden’s eyes before he tempered it. “Could you please promise that you will at least listen to her story before jumping to any conclusions? It is taking a great deal of personal sacrifice for her to even risk the attempt at contacting you, and I do believe you need to take that into consideration in your dealings with her.”

“We will, we promise,” I said before Clay could argue. I glanced around quickly before asking Aiden where Fiona was. After our initial sighting, I hadn’t noticed any other movement around us.

“She will require just a little time to prepare. As I explained, coming here is at a great personal cost. Her hope is that the gains she might make will be more than worth the risks. I only hope that she is right. This is not an easy path for her,” Aiden said. “If you are both in agreement and are willing to arrange a meeting in order to listen to her tale, she will meet you at your cabin on the hour. Is that suitable?”

“Yes,” I said, once again interrupting Clay before he had a chance to say no.

“Regardless of the outcome of that meeting, I will endeavor to meet with you again before we depart, if that is suitable for you, Lynnie?”

“You’re not coming with her?” I asked confused as to why he wouldn’t come to meet us with Fiona. Especially after the fear he’d shown toward Clay.

“This is a task she must undertake alone.” Aiden’s gaze flicked onto Clay again, but the guilt in his eyes when they met mine again made me think it wasn’t intentional.

Aiden shifted closer to me and Clay’s hand flinched against mine. I returned the involuntary action with a reassuring squeeze.

“And Lynnie,” Aiden’s voice dropped to a whisper as he leaned in beside my ear whispering words intended for me alone, “I have to tell you, your relationship has an intensity I never would have guessed at. Please remember that over the coming days. The world may get a tad topsy-turvy soon. However, I am certain you will be able to navigate through it with the strength you possess.”

Spinning away from us, he disappeared into the forest within a few footsteps. I stared after him with bewilderment. Despite everything I’d been through, there were clearly things that were still able to surprise me.