CHAPTER FOURTEEN
It took a moment for Valeria to react when her jailer bolted quickly out of the room. And from what she could understand, Ian had been the dark predator who attacked her earlier. As there was nothing she could do about the situation, she decided to jump into the shower before stealing another shirt and retrieving her pants, and cleaning up the room. The moon was high when she finally sat down in the leather chair and retrieved her book. The tray was still there, but the tea and broth were cold. For one moment, she extended her hand, ready to heat the food, but stopped herself just as she willed her power into her hand. What the hell was she doing?
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the cold cup and a few crackers. Surprisingly, her tummy grumbled. She took one bite, then another, and a sip of cold black tea, which didn’t taste so bad, before taking another cracker. After the tea, she finished the cold broth and sighed. Her head was clearer, the hunger and lust had left the building, and she fully realized what had happened in the last hour. She had sex with her captor. A handsome, sexy and blonde god, but her captor nonetheless. Was it what they called Stockholm syndrome? What a weird mess. Why did she do it? Why did her body betray her?
Valeria grabbed her book from the table and settled back in the chair when someone knocked on the door. She hesitated. Was she supposed to answer? Wasn’t the door supposed to be locked from the outside?
She waited for another knock, but the door quietly opened. Ellen peeked inside.
“May we come in?”
Valeria frowned at the strange question.
Without waiting for her answer, Ellen came in, followed by … what’s her name? The fae she had seen just minutes before the attack. Genevieve, right? The fae woman hesitated before floating into the room as Ellen closed the door behind them.
“We don’t have a lot of time, witch. The guard at your door will come back soon.”
Valeria looked at both women beside her chair, both standing, and both hesitating.
“Hello. May I help you?”
Ellen beamed. “Precisely what I wanted to hear.” She sat on the bed and grabbed Genevieve’s hand, pulling her beside her. “Genevieve had come to see you. We need your help.”
“Ellen, I’m so sorry, but I can’t help Genevieve. She’s already requested my help. I know all about her daughter, and I’m very sorry. If I could…”
“But you haven’t seen her! You cannot know if you can help or not!”
Genevieve, pale as a ghost, her gaze so dark and filled with pain, came to her and touched her hand. “Please, come and see Maya. I’m not lying to you. Our healers couldn’t find anything wrong with her. She’s fading away, and I cannot do anything about it.” Tears started to roll down her cheeks, her voice shaking.
Shit. Valeria didn’t know if it was a trick or a trap, but she couldn’t do nothing. “How can you even trust me? You don’t know me. And let me remind you that your leader won’t allow me to leave this room. You’ll get into big trouble. And me too!”
Genevieve’s face dropped, and Valeria got to her feet. “But you’re lucky, I’m ready for some trouble.”
Ellen clapped her hands in glee and Genevieve grasped Valeria’s hand to the point of pain. There was so much hope in their eyes, she had to warn them. “Ladies, I can’t promise anything.”
“That’s all we ask.” Ellen caught her other hand and pulled them both out of the room. She took a quick glance, before silently walking down the hall. Valeria hadn’t seen that part of the house. It appeared huge and quite old, with lots of dark wood and thick carpets. They went up one flight of stairs to another corridor, other doors, until they reached the end of the hall, facing double doors. Ellen made a sign to keep quiet as she peeped inside, before ushering them all in.
The room was large, filled with tiny twirling lights on the ceiling. The walls were adorned with painted mythical creatures frolicking on green hills and woods. And on the end wall, a bed. And on the bed, a little fae girl, sleeping. Pale as a ghost. But the more she came closer, the more Valeria doubted her own eyes. The little girl lying on the frilly pink bed was translucent. Exactly like a ghost. But unlike a spirit, she was still solid, the sheets and blanket following the contours of her fragile form.
“What happened to her?” Valeria murmured her question in a low voice, trying to avoid waking the little girl.
Genevieve came around her and sat on the bed beside her daughter. The little girl didn’t even stir.
“We don’t know. When she was born, she was like any other child. The more she grew and aged, though, something seemed off. She had terrible nightmares and grew tired very quickly. None of our healers know what ailed her. Then, I tried to reach out to others. I heard that wizards have great healing powers, but none wanted to help me.”
“Why?”
Genevieve turned her head and smiled sadly. “It has always been like that, apart from within a sanctuary, our people do not mix.”
Valeria crossed her arms and refrained from commenting. She knew too well how each clan barely tolerated each other. Of course, they talked during the High Council, but trade secrets were not shared. Helping other species of the realm was considered as weakening their own.
As she stared at little Maya, Valeria yearned for her own mother. Ann knew so much more about healing than her. And especially now, as she couldn’t even use her powers, how could she be of any help?
Valeria came closer to Maya and sensed a strange vibe coming from her small body. Something was amiss. Not a curse, it wasn’t that dark. Not an illness, it didn’t feel like it. It was more like an internal battle. Something, some sort of energy was playing tug of war inside her. Carefully, she sat on the other side of the bed. Another thing Valeria found strange was how her own magic didn’t read fae. Well, not completely. It was like she had a fae inside her, but also something else.
“Genevieve … you’re her mother. Who is her father?”
Ellen gasped behind them, but Valeria kept her gaze on Genevieve. The fae hesitated and then stared up at her. Fear poured out of the woman; fear and incredible determination.
“Her father is not fae.” The voice was small, but she was telling the truth.
“What was he, Genevieve?” Valeria hated pushing, but if her suspicion was right, it could change what she could actually do or not do.
“If I tell you…” Her voice broke, and Ellen came to her, laying a hand on her shoulder.
“Tell her, Genni. It’s our last chance.” When the fae sobbed some more, it was Ellen who finally answered her question. “He was a wizard.”
Wizard blood. No wonder the little girl was suffering. Two very different and very powerful types of magic were battling for her control. Not that interspecies children were impossible, but it required concrete actions to protect their development. Her mother had told her many stories from her time in a gypsy community. Many times, away from official covens, children were born to humans and even magical species. They were shunned from society and often left to die. Her mother didn’t approve and helped them out, saving as many as she could.
“Okay, here is what we can do…”
But before she could say another word, the door crashed open, flying into the room. Valeria’s heart stopped when she saw the dark man who had attacked her earlier. The same caramel eyes and dark beard, the same murderous stare. He stood in the doorway, breathing hard, hunched for the assault. From the corner of her eye, Valeria saw Genevieve shielding Maya, who was now awake. The shifter, Ian, took two steps in her direction, growling. She saw Ellen silently flee the room, hopefully, to get help. Valeria was trapped, unable to use her powers here. It was too dangerous with the fae so close. She moved back, in time with each of his steps forward until she was flat against the wall, as far away from the bed as she could possibly be. The predator moved fast, grabbing her throat with a single hand, squeezing.
“I’ve found you, witch. You will pay for the others. You will pay for all the suffering you’ve inflicted and those of your ancestors.”
His roar echoed through her body. She could barely breathe, tears streaming down her cheeks. Over her attacker’s shoulder, she saw Ellen and the ginger-haired man, she assumed this was Robert, running into the room with the blonde werewolf. All three crouched, but Ian yelled at them to stop.
“Come closer, and I rip her throat out!”
The blonde wolf took another step, and Ian growled menacingly.
“That includes you, Asher.”
Asher. Fighting through waves of unconsciousness, Valeria was glad to finally know his name. The knowledge made her almost giddy, or was it the lack of oxygen?
She was close to giving up when she felt someone move closer. Maya. Maya, with an ethereal smile on her face, came to stand beside Ian and pulled his shirt, beckoning him to look down at her. Valeria risked a glance to Genevieve who nodded.
Ian gaped down at the little girl and blinked. “Maya?”
The little fae giggled. “You sound like a bear when you say my name like that, Ian.”
“Go away, Maya. Go to your mother and leave.”
Maya pulled again on his shirt. “No Ian, you can’t kill her. She knows how to cure me. Don’t kill her, Mommy will be so sad.”
Valeria wasn’t sure what happened. One moment, she was seeing white dots in her vision, the next, she was on her knees, trying to gulp air through her raw windpipe. Coughing and wheezing, it took her a moment to register the fight happening beside her. When she could finally look, she saw Asher and Robert taking Ian out of the room.
“Wait! Let him go!” Whoa, was that her voice? She sounded as if she had smoked nonstop for the last two years. “Please, let him stay.”
Asher stopped, staring at her in disbelief. “You do realize he tried to kill you, twice. And worst of all, he disobeyed my direct order. He’s going in a cage until I decide what to do with him.”
Ellen helped Valeria to stand up. “I know. But he feared for Maya and listened to her. I want him to stay while I help her. That way, he’ll calm down, won’t you, Ian?”
Ian turned to her and then looked at Maya, now sitting on her mother’s lap on the bed.
“You care about Maya, don’t you, Ian? I just want to prove to you that I won’t hurt her.”
“Witches are liars.” The words came out of his mouth, half spit, half snarl, but Valeria wasn’t deterred.
“Not all of us. And I’m going to prove it to you.”