Blood Tied (10 page)

So the dark fae can take what is rightfully ours. Our world and yours.

This time a low roar traveled through the room that not even Mrs. Stonewall’s constant shushing could stop. The whole reason behind the banshee attack was to increase their territory? That didn’t ring true to me. It wasn’t the way of the fae, light or dark.

Something else was going on here. Aiden clearly agreed. His gaze met mine, and he shook his head.

Why are you lying?
I asked through the link.

Mr. Stonewall glanced over his shoulder at me, perspiration dripped from his forehead and his eyes narrowed in displeasure. His wife stepped forward and turned me to face her.

She grabbed my forearm and yanked me toward her. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Getting to the truth,” I replied, tearing free of her grip.

Aiden appeared by my side. If he’d been any angrier, Mrs. Stonewall would be a pillar of flame. “She’s lying, you idiot.” He spoke to her as if she were one of his subjects, which wasn’t making things easier. He clearly had to learn to control his temper. “The fae don’t concern themselves with territorial wars. If you knew anything about my kind, you would realize that. We have always lived in harmony.”

She arched one eyebrow at Aiden. “Perhaps
you
don’t know the dark fae as well as you think you do,” she replied. “My husband’s power prevents her from lying.”

“Enough!” Mr. Stonewall shouted from where he struggled to hold sway over the banshee. “You’re breaking my concentration.”

I paid no attention to the warning. We had to get answers, and if the banshee couldn’t lie, I had to make use of the opportunity.
Answer me
, I commanded.
Why are you lying?

The banshee’s gaze shifted from Mr. Stonewall to me. The dead, faraway glare changed, and the glimmer of hate resparked.
Because that is the answer I’m supposed to give
.

Who told you to say that?
Aiden asked. He stood next to me, and I drew strength from his presence.

She shut her eyes and let loose a muffled scream of protest.
I cannot say!

Tell us
, Mr. Stonewall commanded. He squinted, and his entire body shook as he forced his magic into her in order to get the answers we needed.

No
,
she pleaded.
Don’t make me.

Answer!
Aiden said. He spoke with stately finality.
I am a prince, and all fae fall under my sway.

The banshee glanced at her sisters, who shook their heads in response. The aggravation at being held captive and the anger in their yellow eyes had been replaced by terror.

This was the information we needed, what would likely lead us to the answers about the vampyre and the shadow weaver that had attacked us during Mabon.

Tell us!
Aiden commanded.

It was E—
,
she began, and then her eyes darted around the room as if she sensed a familiar presence. Her sisters followed her gaze, and a few seconds later their golden eyes grew wide in fright.

Instead of fighting against the roots that held them, they gripped tightly to them as if they’d become a lifeline.

I’m sorry
,
she pleaded.
It’s not our fault.

In reply, the shadows around us coalesced until a huge head the size of an overgrown pumpkin emerged upside down from the ceiling. “
Siopāte
,” it said in a language foreign to my ears.

The shadows around the gaping mouth turned into ragged rows of sharp teeth before the figure lurched forward and descended upon the banshees. I leaped toward Mr. Stonewall, shoving him out of the way as the jaws snapped shut around the banshees, cutting them in half.

The pumpkin head turned to regard each of us before its gaze settled upon me. “
Ései emós
,” it said before it merged back with the shadows upon the wall.

FOR A
few moments, no one spoke. The surprise and violence of the attack had caught everyone off guard. The banshees’ corpses turned into puffs of fog and vanished.

Pierce was the first to speak. “What the hell was that?”

“It was the shadow weaver,” Mason answered. He darted his eyes around the room, uncertain if the threat still remained. “That’s what it looked like when it attacked Elliot and me at school, and then again here in the library before Drake killed the vampyre.”

All eyes suddenly turned to Elliot and Drake for confirmation. When they nodded, everyone spoke at once.

“What does it want?”

“We need to contact the Conclave.”

“Um, guys. I have somethin’ to say.”

“Will the Conclave even have answers? They haven’t had any so far.”

“Why did it kill them?”

“Are any of y’all even listenin’ to me?”

“How come no one sensed its presence? How powerful is this shadow weaver?”

“What hold does it have over the banshees?”

I couldn’t keep track of who said what. Their voices became white noise as a tidal wave of confusion washed over me. I’d been hoping to finally have answers, but like everyone else, all I had were more questions, the most important being: what had it said to me?

“Are you okay?”

Aiden gripped my shoulder as he kneeled beside me. His touch was strong yet gentle, and when I gazed up into the green pasture of his eyes, I couldn’t help but feel safe and secure. “I’m uncertain,” I replied.

He nodded. He could undoubtedly relate. “A shadow weaver?” he asked. His eyes widened in concern. Knowledge of these rare warlocks had evidently traveled as far as Otherworld. “The situation is more grave than I expected.”

“Tell me about it,” I said, taking his hand and being helped up. Once I was on my feet, I couldn’t bring myself to remove my hand from his, so I left it where it was, waiting for Aiden to release me. When he didn’t, I smiled. “Are you okay?”

“Surprisingly so,” he muttered, as if he was shocked by his answer. He glanced at our joined hands and beamed. “There must be magic in your touch.”

A childlike smile spread wide across my lips. “I was thinking the same thing about you.”

He squeezed my hand tighter. “Then we’d best not let go.”

“Will all y’all shut your traps and listen for a minute?” Drake stood on the leather couch, cupping his hands around his mouth in a makeshift megaphone.

That got everyone’s attention, especially Mason’s. His wide eyes told us all how surprised he was by his boyfriend’s words.

“I’ve got somethin’ to say.”

“What could you possibly have to say about any of this?” Mrs. Stonewall asked. “You are not one of us.”

Mason bristled. “Yes, he is. My father made him a member of our coven, remember?”

Silence was her only reply.

“Oh my God,” Drake complained. “Can all y’all stop bickerin’ for just one second so I can say my piece?”

“What is it, Drake?” my father asked.

“I know we don’t have a ton of answers right now, but that thing just spoke to us, right?” He paused, clearly waiting for someone to agree with him. When only Mason nodded, he continued, “Well, I don’t know what it said to Thad any more than the rest of you, but I do know one thing. It spoke Greek.”

While the Stonewalls proceeded to question Drake, I stopped listening. I’d forgotten that Drake had an inherent gift for language. It came as easy to him as free running. When Mason had first told me about Drake’s affinity for dialect, I’d put Drake to the test. I presented him with a book written in Latin, and he’d translated the words quite easily. He’d done the same with texts in Spanish, French, and German.

It wasn’t a bona fide answer, but it certainly pointed us in the right direction.

“Can you remember what it said?” I asked, interrupting the wizardly interrogation.

Drake thought for a moment before answering. “I believe it said, ‘Aníkete se ména.’”

That sounded about right. I rushed over to one of the shelves, found a Greek dictionary, and placed it in his hands. “Think you can tell us what it means?”

He grinned at me as if that were a silly question and then opened the book.

“CAN YOU
do it?” I asked Charlotte with a nod toward where Aiden reclined on the couch. “Can you heal him?” Aiden still had some nasty wounds from his previous run in with the banshees, and he needed to be in top form for whatever might come next.

She arched her left eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

I was being silly. Of course, she could. Her water powers allowed her to heal most injuries, as long as they weren’t fatal. “Right. Dumb question.”

She nodded. “They don’t come much dumber than that one.”

But instead of going over to where Aiden waited for us, she continued to stare at me until both eyebrows had arched. “What?”

“I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on.”

“You and me both,” I said.

She shook her head. “Not with that,” she said with a gesture to where Drake worked on translating the shadow weaver’s words. “With you.”

“What are you talking about?”

She glanced over to Ben, who stood talking to Pierce and then turned her attention to Aiden. “Well, you’ve got Ben, who’s obviously got a thing for you, and then this hunky fire fairy shows up. The moment he flew into our world, your eyes lit up and you wrapped your arms around him as if he were the most important person in the world.”

Had everyone seen that? No wonder Ben was jealous. “I think you’re overexaggerating.”

“And I think you’re in denial,” she replied.

I shot her my disapproving stare.

“Not judging,” she said, waving her hands as if they were white flags. “I get it. Aiden’s hot. There’s innocence under the muscle and bravado. It’s a pretty intoxicating combination. And Ben? Well, he’s a warlock, so he’s much darker. More mysterious but just as yummy. Like that piece of chocolate cake that will destroy your diet, but you want to eat it anyway.” Her long, drawn-out sigh communicated her envy. “If only I had your problems.”

“Will you just heal him already?”

“I will.” She hooked my chin in her fingers and forced my gaze to hers. “But if you’re not interested in Ben, you should tell him. No one likes being strung along.”

I wasn’t stringing anyone along. Ben and I had hooked up. It wasn’t like I’d asked him to spend the Sabbat with me and then ignored him once Aiden came along. As far as I was concerned, Ben and I had been a one-time thing.

So then why did getting close to Ben make me want to strip naked and fuck?

I glanced over my shoulder and found Ben studying me intently. He obviously wasn’t paying attention to anything Pierce was saying. When he noticed me staring at him, he gave me a nod and a big smile.

At exactly what moment had this bizarre love triangle formed?

Wait. No. Love triangle was
not
the right word. I didn’t do love. This was attraction, pure and simple. I was insanely,
uncontrollably
attracted to Ben. And Aiden? Well, his appeal went beyond the physical. What that meant, I had absolutely no clue.

An aquamarine glow filled the library as Charlotte kneeled over Aiden. “
Sana
,” she muttered, and at the uttering of the Latin word for heal, a small pool of water appeared. It floated above him, skimming over his body as if it were alive instead of a manifestation of Charlotte’s abilities.

It hovered over him, searching for the areas that begged to be refreshed. On those spots, a bead of water dropped from the floating pool and landed in a sparkle of blue. Drop after drop fell, onto his bruised lips, swollen eye, and along his cut flesh until the spell dissipated and the pool disappeared.

Aiden’s healed lips parted in a smile. “Thank you, Charlotte.” When he gazed up at me, the light of his smile dazzled in his eyes. “Thaddeus, you seem different.”

I glanced down at my clothes. They were a bit wrinkled from the banshee attack, but my appearance was otherwise unchanged. “What do you mean?”

“There’s a lightness about you I haven’t seen before now.”

I glanced from him to Charlotte in confusion. “Does he have a concussion?”

She giggled and shook her head. “He sees what everyone else can see,” she said, standing. “You, Mr. I-Don’t-Do-Relationships, like the half-naked fairy.”

My cheeks grew unbearably hot. Why did she have to say that? I darted my eyes from Charlotte to Aiden, mortified he might get up and walk away.

A big grin broke across his expression, but he didn’t speak. It only added to the awkwardness.

“Well, alrighty then,” Charlotte said. “I think I’ll give the two of you some privacy.

When she walked away, I had no clue what to say or do. Did I tell him Charlotte had too many bats in her belfry, or did I just play it off with a chuckle? Instead of playing it cool and doing either of those things, I got up and left the room.

I DIDN’T
storm out the front door like I planned. I plopped down in the antique Queen Anne chair in the hallway. I couldn’t leave, no matter how embarrassed I was. I had to stay and see what Drake might uncover.

I buried my face in my hands and groaned. How could Charlotte have done that to me? She knew how guarded I was with my feelings. Hell, she was the only person until a few hours ago who’d had any knowledge I even dated.

I kept my private life and my feelings to myself. They belonged to me. They were mine to deal with and work through. As long as I understood what I felt and processed it, I could keep myself under check.

It kept those I loved safe.

What Charlotte had done undermined all the precautions I’d taken. Plus, it was pretty bitchy. I’d expect that from Miranda but not from someone I considered a friend.

“I don’t think she meant any harm.”

Aiden stood over me. His earlier smile had been replaced with a thin grin that clearly communicated his discomfort with the situation.

“I know,” I said with a sigh. There wasn’t a malicious bone in Charlotte’s body. She most likely believed she was helping me, pushing me beyond my comfort zone. But that wasn’t her place. “I don’t have many friends, so I won’t hold it against her for too long.”