Chapter Eight

 

 

Elly woke, warm and comfortable. When the masculine arm pulled her back against him, she remembered part of what had happened.

With deliberate care, she eased out from under his arm. She was nearly free when he asked, “Did you want to go and get some breakfast?”

Elly shrieked, jumped and ended up on the floor with her head against the bedside table. “Ow.”

Eric leaned over to look at her. “You were asleep when I got you here, and you wouldn’t let me leave, so I had to stay.”

She stared at him. “You were a horse.”

“Yes, the condition is reversible. You aren’t really a morning person, are you?” His smile was too handsome for words.

She glanced down at herself, noted her lack of clothing and got slowly to her feet. “Not really. I am a little too used to night shifts. Excuse me.”

She didn’t run to the bathroom, but she wished her hair was longer as she sprinted to safety.

Elly stared at herself in the mirror. She could still feel the imprint of his body against hers. Her body hummed, and she wanted to crawl back into his arms, but she wasn’t quite sure what his motives were. Did he want her? Did he want her as a fey? Did he like her music? Did he like her? What did he do for a living... and what the hell was she doing glaring at herself in the mirror?

She exhaled sharply and turned on the shower. She shampooed her hair and found something weird. There was a braid in her locks. She never braided her hair; it got in the way of the combs.

She tried to untie the braid, but there was a wrapping of long dark hair around the base. It was firmly tied.

She finished washing and got out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her. She was holding the braid, and she headed to her bag.

Eric was sitting on the edge of the bed wearing jeans.

He raised his brows. “What are you doing?”

“I am going to cut the braid tie so I can brush my hair.”

He got to his feet. “That won’t work.”

Suspicious, she looked up at him with one hand inside her bag. “Why?”

He crouched next to her and held her braid. “It is a fey lock.”

Her molars ground together. “Where did you get a fey lock?”

“King Larion gave me the magic. The tie is my mane.”

Her lips tightened over her teeth. “What does it do?”

“It repels nightmares. None of my sisters will be able to touch your dreams again. I know that is why you didn’t want to rest last night, so I felt it was the perfect time to give it to you. Well, after you passed out.”

Her butt hit the floor. “Really?”

He looked at her with concern on his face. “Really.”

She burst out into loud and uncontrolled sobbing. She clutched at her knees, but Eric pulled her up and into his lap, sobbing on his shoulder and knowing she looked horrible.

When the storm had eased, he took a corner of her towel and wiped her cheeks. “So, will you tell me what that was about?”

“Dreams are fine, bad dreams are fine, but the nightmares that started visiting when I was in school terrified me. I know I don’t fit, but the thought of some distant relative finding me and pulling me back into the human population where I would stand out like a sore thumb... Those dreams played over and over, and I could never get out.”

He rubbed her hair. “And yet, you came out anyway.”

She sniffled and blurted the truth. “I was ready to die.”

His arm around her tightened.

She squeaked when his fingers dug into her arm.

“Sorry, Elenora. I don’t get upset often, but that definitely did it.”

“What did it?”

“That you are ready to die. That is not something I want to hear out of your mouth again.”

“It was true in the moment, and a moment is all it takes to make a very stupid decision.” She sighed. “Hence the previous week. I thought I was ready to face them and deal with whatever they brought.”

“And you changed your mind?”

“The moment that I woke up in my unpleasant memories twisted into horror.” She shivered. “If you hadn’t been there to talk me through it, I would have given up.”

“I had to fight my way in; you have a fairly strong mind.”

“How did the mares get in so easily?”

“They enter your mind through the panic reflex, carried by the magic of the one who sent the curse.”

“Yeah, that is what it feels like.” She sniffled.

“The schedule for you would have kept your body in that state for hours, and it likely would have killed you.”

“I know. You mentioned. I am just so relieved that there is something to keep those bitches out of my brain. Thank you.”

He pressed a kiss to her head. “It was the least I could do.”

She sighed and settled against him, warm and protected until something he had said struck her. “When did you meet the king?”

“When he offered me your hand. So, after the nightmares and before I ran into you in the café.”

She leaned away and looked at him in shock. “He handed me over?”

“There was some negotiation. You are still the official court musician, you will only have to attend the court once a week unless requested to attend for specific events.”

“What do I do around that schedule?”

He quirked his lips. “I thought you could help me with the family riding school.”

Elly shook her head. “I can’t ride.”

Eric grinned. “I know. I think that being mated to me and balanced can be beneficial for both of us. I get pointy ears, and you learn how to sit on a horse.”

She stared at him in surprise. “What does being balanced mean?”

“All of your magic is removed, all of my magic is removed, and then, it is mingled, divided and returned to us, sealed in place with a spell that fuses it to us.”

“That sounds... oh, wait. I know someone who has had that done.” She chuckled. “I know a few folks who have had that done.”

“Who?”

“The lord of winter and his wife, Nova. Yval and Drorik, she is exceptionally fun to be around. There are quite a few others that I was not introduced to, but I have performed on their children’s presentation to the king.”

He smiled. “Are the half-shifter’s cute?”

She sighed. “Adorable, they tend to have their father’s colouring, and their ears are smaller than the standard halfling, so with a good hairbrush, they could pass for human.”

“The ones who aren’t a more festive colour.”

“Yeah, that too.” She wrinkled her nose. “They could use a glamour, I am guessing.”

“Do you?”

Elly didn’t understand. “Do I what?”

“Use a glamour?”

She snorted. “You have seen me in my own mind, and I am pretty sure that I look very similar to what I am here.”

“You do, but I have always been mystified by all the hair and makeup and stuff. I wondered if any of it was done with magic.”

She smirked. “Only the magic of practice.”

He stroked her jaw. “You are an excellent performer.”

“Um. Thank you?”

Elly watched as his face got closer and closer to hers until her eyes crossed. The kiss was sweet and intense, and it got more so with every passing moment.

When his hand touched her breast, she jolted and pulled back, tumbling away from him and landing on the floor. Unfortunately, the towel remained on his lap.

Eric smiled and got to his feet, holding out the towel. “If you would like?”

She paused and returned to her pack, slipping on the wrapped silk that she used in lieu of a bra and panties. She pulled on a cotton dress and slipped on some sandals.

When she was dressed, she finally made eye contact with him.

Eric was smiling, and there was a warmth in his eyes. “Naked or clothed, you are still lovely and one of the most determined women I have ever encountered. Shall we get some breakfast?”

“Don’t you need a shirt or shoes?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Right. Fey establishment. I forgot for a moment.”

She stared as he pulled his shirt on and toed his shoes into position. “What do you mean by that?”

Eric smiled. “Shifters are much more casual about nudity. We have to get naked every time we shift, after all.”

“What about touching?”

He bent over to finish tying his shoes. “Touching is exceedingly intimate for us, but scenting is the precursor to everything. If we don’t like the scent of another shifter, we will get violent in order to keep them away from us or those under our care.”

She nodded and quickly went to brush her hair. To her shock, the braided hair didn’t get in the way of the brush. It slid from side to side as she worked and never tangled with the bristles.

He stood in the open bathroom doorway and waited. When she was ready, he held out his hand and pulled her toward him. He inhaled deeply against her neck, and a full-body shiver went through him.

She caught his scent and leaned in until her nose was touching his neck. The strange act of sniffing him was more intimate than the kiss, and she was blushing furiously when he pulled back.

“So, breakfast?”

Elly nodded. “That sounds like a safe thing to do.”

“Oh, Elenora, the things that I want to do with you are nowhere near safe. I suppose I shall have to pace myself.”

Her blush fired up again just when it had started to wane. “I think I am going to need to speak to the king.”

“Why?”

“Because if he didn’t authorize this, it will be worth my life to take you into my bed.”

He dug his right hand into his pocket, and he produced a small object. “He said you might mention that, so he gave me this.”

She looked at the marriage signet ring that the king used to formalize all of the unions that were executed in his realm.

“Oh. Well.”

Eric lifted her left hand, and he slid the ring into place. Elly could feel the power of the object pulsing on her hand.

She looked up at Eric with a grin. “That changes everything.”

With that stated and the official authorization for her to leave court and start a life of her own, she linked arms with her mate and went to get some breakfast. She planned on using up a lot of energy today, so fortification was critical.