[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Faerie Kennedy had passed when she saw the concern in his face.
Sighing, she leaned into him.  It s okay, I ve got you. We ll deal with the rest.
They ate and got dressed and just before he shimmered them to the queen s
audience he turned to her.  Em, I hesitate to mention this but because you can feel us,
there are& 
 Your former lovers will be pissed off too and present in this audience with the
queen? she finished for him, eyebrow raised.
He nodded.  I love you, but there are lots of women in my past, Em. I can t change
that. I don t want you to feel hurt about that, what s past is past. You re my present and
my eternity.
She took a deep breath.  I know. I may not have totally understood that before but I
do now.
101
Lauren Dane
He squeezed her hand and shimmered them into Aine s audience chambers.
* * * * *
Em blinked at the brilliance of the room. Not just of the physical space the high
arches, the gleaming marble and trickle of water from fountains, the plush couches and
chairs, and the drapes that looked like they had spun gold thread in them but the
people too.
The men were all large and gorgeous like Con, although not a single one could
come close to how sexy Con was. The women were beautiful, their voices musical and
sexy. The sound stroked over her, into her ears like a seductive caress. It was almost
hypnotic. She swallowed down her feelings of inadequacy and tapped into the courage
she d found within herself. Con brought her hand to his lips and looked into her eyes.
 I love you, Em, he said with a wicked grin and she smiled back, unable not to.
She opened herself up a bit as she looked around the room and felt a wide array of
things anger, fear, jealousy, resentment, curiosity, sexual attraction both toward
herself and Con. There were definitely some friendly people in the room. She felt
warmth and openness and that made her relax through the feelings of definite dislike
and jealousy. There was something darker there but she couldn t quite put her finger on
it.
 Con, is this your little human friend? a petite blonde said tartly as she
approached and touched his arm.
Con gave a heavy sigh and squeezed Em s hand.  Sorcha, this is my Fated One, Em.
Em, this is Sorcha.
 An old friend, Sorcha said with a slight leer.
 Ah, well, we all have old friends. I m his new friend.
Em watched Sorcha s face change as the sickly sweet demeanor gave way to fury.
 Look, human, I was fucking him before your kind crawled from the primordial seas.
Con started to say something but Em stepped close to the other woman.  Look,
bitch, I don t care. He s with me now and that s the way it is. Deal with it or don t, it s
all the same to me. As for you fucking him when the human species was nothing more
than amoebae, I can t imagine why that should impress me.
She heard clapping and a musical laugh.  Well done! Sorcha, begone. I do believe
you were told to be on your best behavior. Out of my sight before I remember that I
used to be a goddess of vengeance.
Everyone bowed to the woman that Em guessed was the queen. She followed suit.
 Do stand and come through to my personal chambers, she called to them as she
fluttered out of the room.
They followed in her wake, Con wearing a big smile. He liked this side of Em she
had taken on Sorcha like a raging lioness and the news would spread like wildfire.
102
A Touch of Fae
She d gain respect for that. As for those who wouldn t like her for it, they didn t like her
to begin with so it wasn t like she d created new enemies.
Aine turned to them and waved at a chaise.  Sit, sit, don t bow and scrape.
Em sat tentatively and Con put his arm about the back of the chaise, keeping her
close.
 Sorcha is such a bitch isn t she? Aine laughed.  You handled it well, Em. You
know you ll have several such interludes. Con was popular before he met you.
Con stiffened and started to say something but Em waved him quiet.  Please, Con,
you can t be indignant over the truth. I can feel everyone but you I can feel the story.
They lust after you, yes, but mainly, they respect you. Some fear you, a few hate you,
but even the ones who hate you respect your abilities.
Aine watched the human woman and her heart expanded. She could see straight
into Conchobar MacNessa and see how much Em had healed his self-imposed
emptiness after his father s murder. Em s love, or rather loving Em, made him stronger.
Yes, Em Charvez would make an excellent Faerie as well as an excellent partner for
Aine s most trusted advisor.
 You re an empath, yes?
Em nodded.  I can t feel you, though, you ve got an awful lot of power. It s
blinding.
Aine smiled. Em was so genuine, there wasn t anything manipulative about the
statement. It was refreshing to not have to be on her guard and wonder what the other
person wanted from her.  Why thank you! I m awfully jaded these days. I don t think
I ve been truly flattered or surprised or even impressed for at least forty thousand [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]