Shadowfever
Page 79

Command me, I am yours, MacKayla. We shall spend a finite number of human hours, to be specified by you.
I was fatally flawed. I couldnt say no. Ill take that coffee now. I reached out the window for it, expecting him to float it up or something.
I am unable to oblige. The paranoid ones wards are still active. They keep me several feet from the building.
But not off his car, I said, a smile tugging at my lips. Barrons would go nuts if he knew Vlane had touched his Viper. And stretched out on it nude? Hed have an aneurysm.
It is all I can do not to sear my name into the paint. I am afraid you will have to come down for your coffee. It is hot; make haste.
I ran a brush through my hair, splashed water on my face, slipped into shorts, a tank, and flip-flops and, ten minutes later, I was in Rio.
I cant be on a beach without thinking of Alina. I keep telling myself that, when all this is over, Ill ask Vlane to give me an illusion of her again and well spend a day playing volleyball together, listening to tunes, and drinking Corona and lime. Ill say good-bye, once and for all. Ill let go of the pain and the anger, tuck the wonderful parts of the life we shared into a sacred corner of my soul, and accept living without her.
If Barrons had truly been dead, and enough time had passed, would I have eventually accepted living without him? I was afraid I never would have.
I turned my attention to the Seelie Prince walking beside me. I was glad hed come to find me this morning. If he hadnt, I would have summoned him with the sensual sting of his name through my tongue. My dreams last night had unsettled me deeply. I had questions, and he was the only one who might have the answers.
We walked a short distance down the powdery beach to a pair of silken chaises sunk in white sand, close to the salty spray of the sea. My clothes melted away and were replaced by a hot-pink string bikini and a gold belly chain adorned with fiery stones. The beach was deserted. I had no idea if there were no people left or if Vlane had sent them away for privacy.
Whats with the belly chain? He seemed to have a fondness for them.
When I have sex with you from behind, I will use it to pull you closer, push in deeper.
I opened my mouth and closed it again. I was the idiot that had asked.
And now whenever you see the gold of it glinting in the sun, you will think about fucking me.
I sank into the chair and tipped my head back, watching birds fly overhead. The soft rush of waves soothed my soul. Baseball cap and sunglasses, please.
He reached over and tucked a cap on my head, propped sunglasses on my nose. I looked at him. He was nude again, towel mounded between his legs.
I have found it burns. It is most unpleasant.
Is your skinreal?
He removed the cloth. Touch it. When I made no move to do so, he said, I regret that you are immune to me. Human seduction of one such as you may take an eon. Yes, MacKayla, in this form my skin is every bit as real as yours.
A drink appeared in my hand, a creamy blend of pineapple, coconut, and spiced rum.
Tell me about Cruce, I said.
Why? Vlane said.
He interests me.
Why?
It seems he was somehow different from the other Unseelie Princes. The others didnt have names. Why did Cruce? When I first met you, you offered me the cuff of Cruce. Why was it called that? How did Cruce learn to curse the Silvers? There seems to be so much more history about him than any of the other princes.
Vlane sighed, in perfect human mimicry. One day you will wish to talk of me. You will have as many questions of my existence and my place in Fae history. It is majestic, far more so than Cruces. He was a fledgling prince. I have more to offer.
I tapped my fingers, waiting.
He ran his hand along my arm, wove his fingers with mine. His hand was warm and strong and felt just like a real mans. He was seriously putting on the human today.
I have already told you more about ancient Fae history than any human has ever known.
And I still know only the barest sketch of events. You say you want me to see you as a man, to trust you, but trust comes from sharing knowledge and finding common ground.
If others of my race were to discover how much I tell you
Ill take that chance. Will you?
He stared out at the sea, as if seeking wisdom in the turquoise waves. Finally he said, As you wish, MacKayla, but you must never reveal your knowledge to another Fae.
I understand.
Once the Unseelie King was satisfied that he had sufficiently improved upon the initial, imperfect efforts of his experiments that resulted in the lesser castes of Unseelie, he began to replicate the Seelie hierarchy. He created four royal houses, dark counterparts to the Seelie royal lines. The house of Cruce was the final one he made. Cruce himself was the last Unseelie ever brought into existence. By the time the king began to work on the fourth royal house, he was a virtuoso at bringing into being his half-life children, even without the Song of Making. Though with their raven hair, black torques, and haunting melodies, they would never pass for Seelie, they were still a match in beauty, eroticism, and majesty for the highest-ranking light Fae. Some say the king stopped with Cruce because he knew if he made even one more of his childrenmuch like in your own mythologiesthe child would kill the father and usurp his kingdom.