CHAPTER THREE
First, she barged into his home like she had every right to be there, with her chin tilted up like the haughty, entitled little creature she was.
Next, she threatened him, obviously unaware that she was almost to that point where he was about to slash her throat with his sharp nails for being annoying alone.
And now, here she was claiming that she could remove a curse that was damn near impossible to remove. Once a fairy cursed you, only that same fairy could remove it.
She had to be one of the dumbest fairies he knew—either that, or she was just so good at the dumb and innocent act that she had him fairly duped enough to actually consider it. Isaac inwardly shook his head, trying to clear the thought from his mind and facing her with the same blank expression on his face. Normally, he was good at reading others, but she had him stumped from the very beginning. Roxie K'Lashtama hadn’t even bothered to hide her nerves from him, which could only mean either of the two things: that she was nervous about coming there and lying, or that she was stressed out about the situation and approaching him really was her last resort.
“You must really think I’m easily susceptible to fairy charms, don’t you?” he asked, keeping his voice soft. Actually, he couldn’t detect the charms from her, either, and he had to wonder what sort of powers she carried. The vibrating energy was there, but that was pretty much it. “Not that you have said charms. I can’t sense it, oddly. Are you sure Pine was your mother?”
She visibly flinched before covering up her expression, and he realized he’d hit a sore spot. But it was true. Pine had been beyond beautiful with charm in spades, and one was bound to fall under her spell. This Roxie? She had a passably pretty face and skin, but that was about it. He wouldn’t even have known she was a fairy if it wasn’t for her eyes.
“Yes, she is my mother. I’m not using my charms on you,” she confirmed, ignoring his claim that she had none. “And I’m telling the truth.”
“You mean the lie about another fairy being able to lift a fairy’s curse?”
She lifted her chin again. “I’m the curse reverser. There’s only one of me in every court, and we can only use this special magic once in our ruler’s lifetime. I’m the only curse reverser left who hasn’t used it yet.”
Bullshit.
“Miss K’Lashtama, I’m going to repeat my offer. Ten seconds. Leave now, or I swear to hell I’ll torture you first.”
He hardened his voice, so he expected her to go scampering off. But like the stubborn mule that she was, she stayed in place and kept staring him head-on without regard for her own self-preservation.
Isaac was about to order the guards to take her to prison when something happened.
She finally moved—except her movement wasn’t necessarily a movement, but more like a flash of light that had him blinking and shifting before he knew it. Something zinged on his back—a jolt of electricity that he felt even through his fur with how powerful it was. The next thing he knew, Roxie was back in her spot, perfecting her innocent expression.
He didn’t leap at her, even while instincts screamed at him to do so. Instead, he shifted back to his human form in the span of a second, watching her eyes widen as she took him in. He was as naked as the day he was born, and now she swallowed as she finally looked down before her gaze snapped back up and her cheeks colored. Oh, so now she was intimidated? Deliberately, he took a step towards her and didn’t snarl, speaking in a calm, angry voice.
“What did you do?”
“I lifted your curse off,” she intoned sweetly.
“Liar.”
She shrugged like she didn’t care one bit to be called that. “Go see for yourself.”
Isaac narrowed his eyes. Then he was shifting back to his panther form and cursing in his mind as he sprinted out of the hall and past the guards. A nod in Urban’s direction and the man was barking orders at the others to stay where they were, and Isaac went off and outside the cave, using his speed to burst out and into the forest, further and further away.
He got to the edge of the boundary of his home—the exact boundary that the curse was based on, too. Isaac took a step forward and scolded himself in his head for sprinting out of there so quickly. He expected the invisible barrier to block him from getting out and planned to go back and give Roxie a good verbal beating before he took her himself to her rightful prison cell—
His front paw stepped out. Then his other.
Isaac’s eyes widened as he realized she wasn’t lying after all.
The curse was gone.
*****
“You need to tell me exactly why I’m going to help you when I’m already free right now.”
Roxie raised her brow, still in the spot he left her. Obviously, she was in no hurry to leave.
“Because my curse reversal is only temporary.”
“How temporary?”
“A month,” she murmured. “Two if it’s the really powerful kind. I can’t say I’m as powerful as the other three.”
“Then why help you?”
“Because once you rescue my mother, I’m going to let you take all the credit.”
And Pine would remove the curse. It was possible.
“You’re the queen now,” he shot back, returning to his throne. “Why bother rescuing someone when she can take over the throne again?”
Roxie wrinkled her nose so believably that he was once again trying to decide if she was lying or not over her next words. “Contrary to popular belief, Mr. Hart, not all fairies are as mad for power as everyone thinks. I’d rather have a peaceful life.”
Her words rang with sincerity. Isaac considered it silently, feeling that she wasn’t telling him everything yet. At the same time, the hunger to have the curse completely lifted off ached inside him, forming a ball in his stomach that had him tensing before he could stop himself.
So he nodded his head. “Tell me everything you know.”
And he was going to take it from there.
*****
The phone rang three times before the other line picked up, and Dylan’s surprised voice came on.
“Hart?”
“Masters,” he intoned back, keeping his own voice steady. “Is my sister there?”
“Well, yes. She’s right here beside me.”
He didn’t want to think about where they were exactly, so he decided not to comment on that. Instead, Isaac said, “Can you put her on the line? I want to speak to both of you.”
There was surprised silence at his request, but Dylan told him to hold on. Isaac heard murmuring in the background, followed by a soft gasp. Then the ultimate clan leader was back on the line.
“You’re on speakerphone now, and we’re in a private area.”
“Isaac! I’m so glad you called.”
Isabella’s voice floated in his ear, warm and every bit joyful. Warmth flowed in his heart at her words, and suddenly he realized how much he missed his siblings. Jason’s face floated in his head again, and he had to rein it in. There was no room for emotions at the moment, save for the one he felt for his one and only sister.
“How have you been?” he asked. “Masters is treating you well?”
Dylan muttered something, and Isabella laughed. It was the answer Isaac needed, and he inwardly sighed in relief. At least, despite the distance, she was happy and safe. He knew Dylan wouldn’t let anything happen to his mate, and that was that.
“He is,” Isabella confirmed belatedly, humor in her tone. “Don’t worry about it. How are you?”
Tired. Sleepless. Free.
Well, free for now.
“I’m good,” he assured her. “But I do need something from Masters here.”
Shocked silence filled the air, and he couldn’t exactly blame them. He’d rather have done anything other than have swallowed his pride to ask for help from anyone on the outside—but this was a rare case.
It was one that involved his permanent freedom.
“What do you need?” Dylan asked mildly.
“A witch to open a portal, for one.” He thought it over. “And a guard for the witch, as a precaution. Any chance you can lend me those?”
“Of course,” Dylan replied smoothly. “Is this for something deadly?”
“No. They just need to open a portal for my mission.”
“I have just the two people in mind. I’ll brief them in an hour. You can have them until you no longer need them.”
“Very well.” Isaac knew exactly who Dylan had in mind, which was what he was counting on. Time to swallow his pride. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” Dylan said. “I owe you too much already.”
There were sounds in the background, and Isaac waited. Then Isabella came on again.
“Isaac, what is going on?” she asked worriedly. “I’m no longer on speakerphone, so you can tell me whatever that is if it involves politics. I’m still loyal to you, you know. Are you in trouble?”
Maybe.
“No,” he said instead. A part of him wanted to tell her, but the other part of him refrained from doing so. It wasn’t the politics with Dylan he was worried about—rather, he wanted to protect her from hoping too much and ending up disappointed. Hell knew that was exactly what he was feeling right now for himself. So he kept his voice light. “Just some side thing I need done. Don’t worry about me.”
Isabella hesitated, so he kept on, distracting her with topics such as updates on the slave children and the clan itself. She finally believed him, and outwardly, he kept up the friendly chatter.
Inwardly, he started plotting.