As I followed the line, stopping at the center where they stood, Aeval broke into a smile and beckoned me in. “Camille, welcome, my child.”
I swallowed my caution and joined them, and she draped her arm around my shoulders, drawing me near. Catching my breath, I wondered what was up. The Queen of Shadow and Night was seldom this demonstrative. Something must have her feeling good. Either that, or I was in for hell week and she was cushioning the blow.
The man standing between Aeval and Titania turned to me, a cunning smile playing on his face. Something seemed familiar about him. He was pale as the moonlight, with curly blue-black hair to his shoulders and dark eyes. His lips were ruddy. Not the red of lipstick, but naturally dark. He was around Trillian’s height, not extremely tall, and his frame was lean and muscular. He wore a pair of black trousers and a white shirt that was open to the waist, showing a glimpse of thick chest hair. Gold and silver chains hung around his neck. A black vest completed the pseudo-pirate look, but somehow he made it work.
Aeval glanced at him, then at me. “Camille, before your training tonight, we have several things to discuss. Matters best left for here, in the sacred grove where all is protected from spies.”
Uh-oh. That didn’t bode well. I waited, not sure what to say.
“I want you to meet Bran. Bran, this is Priestess Camille te Maria—Camille D’Artigo.”
I held out my hand. Instead of shaking it, he lifted my fingers to his lips, then turned my palm up and pressed his lips to my wrist, and I swear he nipped the skin as he kissed me. A spark of hunger ran through me, and the arousal I’d felt earlier, in the pool, returned full force. I had to catch myself before I gasped. I pulled my hand away as quickly as I could without being rude.
“Pleased to meet you…” I still didn’t have a clue who he was, though something inside told me that I knew him, that I’d felt his energy before.
Titania caught my eye. “What Aeval has neglected to mention is that Bran is the son of Raven Mother and the Black Unicorn.”
Raven Mother. The Black Unicorn…
Speechless, I turned to Bran, searching his face. I had killed his father, had sacrificed the Black Unicorn so that he might live again.
Raven Mother, one of the Elemental Queens, was the nemesis of the Moon Mother, constantly seeking to steal my lady’s power. Raven Mother was jealous of the silvery moon, coveting the sparkling magic over which the Moon Mother ruled. To say we all had a volatile relationship was an understatement.
Bran held my gaze, his lips pursed. He reached out and took my hand again. I wanted to pull away, unsure of where this was going, but decided against it. Doing so might seem an insult. I glanced at Aeval, hoping she might intervene, but she seemed to have no interest in doing so.
His fingers were like fire against my own. One thing was for sure—Bran had considerable power. The tingling of his touch jarred me, racing up my arm like a thousand needles. His eyes sparkled with cold light.
“So, you are the priestess who sacrificed my father.”
And there it was. But I still had no clue of whether he was toying with me, or whether this was just his nature.
“I had no choice. It was my destiny, and your father chose me to fulfill his rebirth.” What I wanted to say was, Look dude, deal with it, and let’s not make this any more awkward than it already is, but there was a time and place for attitude, and this wasn’t it. Outspoken or not, I knew when to opt for diplomacy.
He raked his nails along the skin of my hand as he pulled away, almost breaking the skin but not quite. “So I’ve heard. My mother has much to say about you. She is…quite taken with you.”
I stared at the marks on my arm—long white scratches but not enough to call him on it. A glance at Aeval told me she was scrutinizing me, waiting for my reaction. Not sure what she wanted—or expected—I drew myself up, straightening my shoulders.
“If you have a problem with me, let’s clear the air now. I’m not sure why you’re here, but obviously there’s some reason. Chances are with the way things are developing, we’re going to have to work together on something. So if you have a grievance? If you’re pissed at me for doing what your father basically ordered me to do? Tell me now.” I stared at him, holding his gaze, unwilling to back down.
One beat. Two beats. And then…
“A problem with you? Not at all. My father makes his own choices. You might count me more in my mother’s court. I take after her.” His voice was smooth, and again—the cunning smile.
Instantly on my guard, I tried to gauge what it was about him that I didn’t like. The jabs he’d made weren’t really even jabs, except for scratching my arm, but there was something unsettling about Bran, and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
And then it came to me. I couldn’t read him, like I could so many other people.
And because I couldn’t read him, I didn’t know whether to trust him. The man unnerved me. Even then, man wasn’t the right word. The son of an Elemental Queen who was as chaotic as they come, and the father of the Dahns Unicorns? Trickster energy. Pure, essential trickster.
“Then we are settled?” Aeval nodded to me, a faint smile on her face. “Bran is here to train the warriors of Talamh Lonrach Oll. He is a sorcerer, and an adept hand-to-hand warrior. He will lead the helm if we need him.”
I whirled around, staring at her. What the fuck? Had she told Raven Mother what we were facing? Opening my mouth to protest, I stopped cold at the look on her face.
Then again, if Raven Mother and the Black Unicorn didn’t already know about Shadow Wing, it would be a miracle. I swallowed my protest and held my breath to a count of five, then let it out slowly. Politics sucked, especially when I wasn’t the one making up the rules.
“I see.” There wasn’t much else I could say.
“And you will be the liaison between Bran, the FH-CSI, and the Otherworld Intelligence Agency.” Again, the frozen smile, daring me to object.
And again, I sucked it up and nodded as gracefully as I could. “As you will.” Crap. I’d have to deal with Bran, like it or not. And right now, I didn’t like it one bit. I turned to him. “We should talk in the next few days, get some things straight.” Like the fact that we’re running the show from our side and you’d better play along.
“I look forward to it.” Again, the smooth voice covering the glittering eyes. Oh, the man was trouble. Attractive trouble, yes, but he set me on edge and I knew my sisters would feel the same. We were going to have a high old time coordinating this particular little corner of our ever-expanding world.
I glanced at Titania. She didn’t look all that comfortable, either, and Morgaine looked positively furious. What the fuck was she upset about? She was glaring at Bran like he’d usurped her position.
Bingo. It wasn’t her position she was upset about. Ten to one she’d been wrangling some scheme to install Mordred as leader of the TLO Warriors. And Aeval and Titania were having none of that.
Titania cleared her throat when she noticed me staring at her. “I think, then, introductions are finished. Camille, we have yet one more issue to drop in your lap before you get on with your training for the evening.”
This was turning out to be more fun than a barrel of rabid monkeys. My energy for the evening was about ready to fly the coop. I let out a long sigh, and Aeval must have noticed my oh-so-subtle eye roll because she reached over and tipped my chin up.
“Patience.”
At Bran’s snort, she gave him a sideways glance. “Enough. You are in my court now, and regardless of your parentage, you will behave accordingly.”
“Yes, my lady.” Bran pressed his lips together, looking none too happy, but he sobered and gave her a half nod. Feeling vindicated, I flashed him a cheery smile.
“As I said, we have a problem, and we want you to investigate. It is not something we are set up for. I believe, from our past discussions, that you have more information available than we do.”
“Do you mean me and my sisters, or me in particular?”
“You and your sisters. This quite possibly impacts your own investigations on the matter.” Aeval folded her arms across her chest. She glanced over at Bran, then back at me, and for a moment I thought I saw a flutter of doubt wash through her eyes, but then she shook her head. “One of our nobles—Lord Faerman—came to us two days past. His wife has run off, apparently seduced by the cult you call the Aleksais Psychic Network. Faerman wants her back.”
The inflection in her voice was clear. Bring her back. Alive. “What’s her name? What happened?”
Aeval cocked her head to the side, tapping her cheek with one long nail. “Her name is Syringa. She went to a meeting of the APN as a favor to a friend. Faerman says Syringa told him she wasn’t interested, but her friend Shirley didn’t want to go alone. This was last week. That night, she vanished. Shirley’s vanished, too.”
Syringa? That was the name of a lilac tree.
“Is she a dryad?” Dryads would never run off with a human group—they barely tolerated humans, just like most of the wood sprites, floraeds, and other woodland spirits. House sprites like Iris actually liked humans and paired up with families. But the Earthside woodland Fae? Not so much.
“Not fully. But yes, her lineage includes the woodland Fae. She’s doesn’t hold the human world as anathema, if that is what you are asking, but I don’t believe she would choose to run off from her home and family. She loves her husband. We would consider it a great favor if you would find her and bring her back where she belongs.”
I knew it wasn’t a favor she was asking, but a command. “As you will, my lady.” But actually, this might work in our favor, since I was going in undercover to check them out anyway. “We’ll do our best. I’ll need a few days, though.”
“I know you will. I will tell Lord Faerman to be patient.” And with that, she moved to the center of the pentagram. “And now, Titania, you and Morgaine may escort Bran back to the palace.”
Bran bowed to me. “Until later, my lovely priestess.”
I held his gaze for a moment. I had his number all right, smooth voice and suave demeanor notwithstanding. “Right. Later.”
Morgaine shot me another dirty look, but she and Titania escorted Bran out of the pentagram and began walking back toward the path leading out of the clearing. Aeval waited until they vanished from sight.
I let out a long breath. I liked Titania, though we didn’t have much in common, but I could do without the other two. I was running out of steam, and I still had the ritual ahead of me.
Aeval moved to the center of the pentagram and motioned me to kneel in front of her. I quickly obeyed. One thing I’d learned from childhood on up—when your teacher instructs you to do something, you do it. Yes, you could ask why, but you still obeyed.
As I knelt, she took a small bottle from her pocket and brushed my lips with her fingers. I opened them, and she poured three drops on my tongue.
I swallowed. A streak of fire raced down my throat, burning me through, and I reeled as the energy buoyed me up, recharging my muscles and clearing my mind. I glanced up at the sky and saw that the clouds had parted to reveal the stars, glimmering down from their icy perch.
Caught by their beauty, I raised my arm, reaching up to them. The moon, almost full, watched over the night, the Moon Mother’s power always present no matter what phase she was in.
Aeval remained silent, a soft smile replacing her usual serious expression. She wound her fingers through mine, closing them tightly over my hand. Her power, magnetic and sparkling, radiated through me, and once again, I felt a surge of rejuvenation as the weariness of the day fell away.
I laughed then and squeezed her hand. She gave me a quick nod and let go of my hand, stepping back. Motioning for me to stand, Aeval waited till I was on my feet; then she moved to each point of the pentagram, where she lit a candle and called out an invocation.
First came green for the Earth, in a hurricane glass so that it would neither go out in the wind nor start any inadvertent fires. Aeval lit the candle just outside the circle surrounding the pentagram.
“Spirits of Earth, this sovereign night, ground and center this sacred rite.”
The earth shifted, deep in the core beneath my feet, as a rush of energy rose through the soil to steady both me and the ritual to come. Aeval waited a moment, then nodded and moved to the next point—outside the circle again—where she lit a white candle for the Air.
“Spirits of Air, this sovereign night, buoy aloft this sacred rite.”
The words were simple, but as she spoke, a breeze sprang up to gust around me, and laughter lightly rolled in off the wind. My mind cleared, although the energy from the potion remained, and I could sense everything keenly, clearly, as if a veil had lifted.
Aeval moved to the next point and lit a red candle.
“Spirits of Fire, this sovereign night, burn bright with passion this sacred rite.”
Once again, the Elements sprang to her bidding and I responded. As it had when I was in the pool, my body began to ache with the most exquisite desire, and I found myself reeling, my pussy growing wet, my nipples stiffening. The breeze made it feel like a hundred hot fingers were tickling over my skin.
Aeval moved on to the fourth point, where she lit the blue candle.
“Spirits of Water, this sovereign night, wash through and cleanse this sacred rite.”
A wave rolled through; I could hear it churning as it engulfed me, an unseen force so strong that I stumbled, reeling. As it washed through my body and soul, any lingering worries and troubles were swept away and I stood stronger, taller, focused only on what was happening.
