Chapter 14

An unnatural darkness descended around the car. I could hear the engine revving—a plaintive rumble—but we were no longer moving forward; we were moving upward. I pulled my little iron dagger from the sheath strapped to my thigh, and Tiernan automatically shifted away from it even as his attention settled on the impenetrable black outside our windows.

"Unseelie," I whispered as I stared out from my side.

"Yes," he agreed as light started to emanate from his palms. "But I am not."

"Do you have a plan or should we just jump out and hope for the best?" I asked him with a jaunty smile.

"Are you enjoying this?" He asked with wide, horrified eyes.

"Maybe." I grinned. "It's been awhile since I've seen this much action."

"If you had agreed to a different sort of action between us, we may not be in this situation right now." Tiernan narrowed his eyes at me.

"Are you seriously blaming me for this attack because I wouldn't have sex with you?" I laughed.

"Yes," he said simply. Then he rolled down his window and launched a ball of white light into the darkness.

And I shut the hell up.

Mainly because that light illuminated some of the most horrifying monsters I'd ever seen. They were surrounding the car—some of them responsible for holding it aloft—and they all screeched pathetically when Tiernan's light hit them. They shrank away from it; the ones holding the car actually dropping us. We started falling a bit before they caught us again; sending me slamming into the ceiling. I felt like a damn 007 martini; shaken, not stirred.

"It's the Sluagh," Tiernan's voice shook just a little. "They sent the damn Sluagh after us!"

"What?!" I screamed; cringing away from the windows.

"What? Not so excited about the fight anymore?" He growled.

"Shut up, you asshole!" I shouted. "It's the fucking Sluagh!"

"Yes, I know. I just said as much," Tiernan said and seemed to calm. "Whatever you do, don't touch me with that damn blade." He slid his hands under my ass and lifted me up as he angled himself over and into my seat. I found myself sitting on his lap. Under normal circumstances, I would have been impressed with the amount of strength and dexterity it took for that maneuver but just then, I was too terrified.

"What are you doing?" I stared back and forth between him and the looming gloom.

I'd only seen a glimpse but that was all that was needed in the case of the Sluagh. Some men had been driven insane by one glance at the monsters of Fairy, and the Sluagh was a collection of the most horrifying monsters Fairy had to offer. Things with too many eyes, too many teeth and claws. Creatures with tentacles, razor-sharp horns, acidic blood, or scaled skin. Massive bodies coated in slime or oozing poisonous pus.

Think of every nightmare you've ever had—every twisted thought you've dreamed up in your darkest hours of dormancy—when your pulse pounded in your ears and your skin shivered even as sweat ran down your stomach. These creatures were a thousand times more frightening than that. It was enough to paralyze your average human and even for me—an extinguisher who was trained for this very situation—it was almost debilitating.

"I'm getting us out of here." Tiernan held me tightly to his chest as he opened the door. "Hold onto me with one hand and just stab out blindly with the other; the one holding that iron blade."

"Yes, I know which hand to stab with," I growled.

"Just making sure." Tiernan launched us into the sinister sky, and I tightened my hold on his shoulders.

Terrible sounds filled the air around us as we fell like Icarus; hitting bodies as we went. Things squished, cracked, and thudded against me as roars and growls filled my ears, but when I stabbed out with my weapon, the sounds turned into cries of agony. I felt the warm spray of blood across my face and kept stabbing. Over and over, I pushed that little piece of metal out into the dark and met solid resistance. Over and over I stabbed through that resistance until my arm started to burn from the strain.

Then we were out of the malignant murk and the city sparkled far below us to the right. They'd taken us out over the bay and high up into the sky. I saw Tiernan's beautiful car go plummeting down on our left as a brisk wind began to blow from beneath us; slowing our descent. It caught us gently and shifted us toward land with smooth but swift intention. I shot Tiernan an impressed look. Such a degree of control over a flighty magic like air was more a mark of royalty than his title was.

A huge splash erupted from the bay as the car struck the water and then the roiling cloud of darkness above us started to move in our direction. Tiernan's jaw clenched and the wind picked up; blowing us even faster toward a nearby cliff.

"As soon as we land, we run!" He shouted to me over the wind.

"Right!" I nodded; my blade extended far away from him. "Hit the ground running; got it."

The monsters of the Sluagh were getting eager, or maybe they were just plain pissed because they were moving faster than their shadow cover and some of them were starting to poke through the obvious disguise. I cringed and set my attention on the ground. I wouldn't look at them unless I absolutely had to.

"It's a type of magic." Tiernan squeezed me tighter. "The fear you're feeling isn't just from their appearance."

"As if they needed any help." I grimaced and then looked up at him with a smile. "Thank you for telling me that."

"Of course." Tiernan nodded and set his attention back to directing our fall.

Sometimes with magic, all you needed was knowledge of it to lessen its power over you. This was especially true for illusion magic which counted on you not looking too closely. I was still afraid, but my fear had lessened significantly. I'd never been told that the Sluagh used illusion magic to enhance their fearsomeness, which meant the Extinguishers as a whole had no knowledge of it. Which also meant that Tiernan had probably just betrayed some sort of fairy code by revealing it to me. Just as Aideen had done when she told me about the pukas.

"I won't share that information, I promise," I said as we neared the ground, and he gave me a sharp, surprised glance.

"Prepare yourself." Tiernan nodded downward. "We're going to hit hard. Don't tense up; keep your knees flexible."

"Yes, I know how to land," I huffed, but we hit a little more harshly than I expected and the impact, combined with those hellish high heels, sent me to my knees.

Tiernan jerked me to my feet, and we immediately started to run. We headed straight into the trees; me a little behind him since the fairy had a way of navigating through nature that no human could match. Plants seemed to simply move out of our way as he led me through the dark. He was nearly silent too; his feet barely touching the ground and his body sliding against leaves like a fish through water. I was not nearly as quiet.

My feet seemed to land on every rock there was and those heels slid into every hole when they weren't stabbing into the ground and slowing me down. I nearly fell a couple of times. Finally, I gave up and began to levitate a little with each step, making my footfalls closer in nature to his; a mere touch on the earth. As I did, I felt myself steady; as if tapping into my psychic abilities reminded me of who I was and what I was capable of. My breath came easier and my muscles seemed to fill with energy. I felt strong again.

Tiernan glanced back at my feet—just a quick glint of silver in the dark—but I saw it and knew he had wondered about my change in pace. Then he dropped suddenly and pulled me with him. We rolled into a hollow made by the root of a redwood tree, and I felt a wave of magic coast over us.

"Please sheath your blade," he whispered into my hair, and I carefully slid my dagger into its sheath. "Thank you." He sighed. "Now, just try and be still."

"What did you do?" I began to take slow, even breaths.

"I've masked our auras to blend with that of the tree's." Tiernan's hands clenched on my back. "Here they come. Just close your eyes, Seren. I've got you; I won't let them hurt you."

I don't think anyone has ever said those words to me. Not even my mother. From a very young age, I was raised to be strong; to never rely on anyone but myself. I was loved but never coddled, and when I got hurt or scared, I was basically told to suck it up. To hear someone tell me that they would protect me—that they would make sure everything would be all right—was like drinking a bitter tonic. It choked me on the way down; making me resent my parents just a little and wish, for just a moment, that my life had been different. Then it seemed to hit my heart and this warm, tremulous feeling began to thrum there; spreading out slowly to my whole body.

No, no, no, no, I shouted internally. Don't you dare! Don't fall for a damn fairy! But with my face pressed into Tiernan's neck and his scent of rich amber and sandalwood cocooning me in calm, I couldn't find the strength to fight against it. For once, someone else was going to be strong; I didn't have to. The overwhelming relief of that was dizzying.

Then a snuffling sound came from right beside us, along with the slide of something wet through the underbrush, and the breath caught in my throat as I froze. Tiernan went still as well; nothing moving but the rush of blood through our veins. Thrashing noises came from all around us and then a horrifying shriek which made me flinch. Clearly, someone was frustrated. I would have laughed if I hadn't been so damned scared.

Tiernan's cheek slid down my temple and then he shifted so that his lips were pressed to me there. His arms were already around me; one in the middle of my back and one over my thigh. The hand at my thigh was pressed against bare flesh; right below the hem of my dress. I felt Tiernan's finger move the tiniest fraction of an inch so that it edged beneath the fabric. I inhaled sharply; the sound muffled by his chest. He went still; a question in that stillness. I knew that all I had to do was remain as I was and nothing more would happen, but I didn't.

It was almost involuntary; the way my stomach clenched and my hips tilted up into his. I moved barely a centimeter but it brought a very sensitive place on my body in contact with a very firm piece of his. Tiernan swallowed roughly and pressed into me; that hard length between us hitting a place on me which had me closing my eyes in yearning. The hand at my thigh edged higher beneath the hemline and his fingers stroked my hypersensitive skin.

My heart was in my throat; the pound of it making it hard to breathe. The mix of fear and desire was bewildering; leaving me desperate to tilt the balance one way or the other, and I nearly gave in to the urge to turn my face up and into his kiss. There was no way to do it quietly; I was pressed back into the hollow of earth, and I knew that such a large movement would surely dislodge something. It was all the Sluagh needed to find us. Still, the temptation remained tingling in my veins like a possessing demon until the sounds around us faded, and the forest went quiet.

"They're gone," Tiernan whispered, and I was sure he was going to kiss me then. Hell, I even wanted him to, but he didn't. He just pulled away and looked me over before he asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." I took a deep, shaky breath. My body was still thrumming with desire but now that the Sluagh were gone, I was able to think again and remember that this was a bad idea.

"You must think I'm an opportunistic cad," Tiernan muttered. "Please accept my apologies for my behavior. I thought I would take your mind off the fear, but I got a bit carried away and honestly, it was entirely self-serving. I shouldn't have taken advantage of the situation."

I blinked up at his shadowed eyes; part of me hating him for being so... "Damn amazing. That's what I think you are."

"You do?" His gaze returned to mine and a soft smile spread across his lips.

"You didn't take advantage of anything," I admitted. "I think you know that, but I appreciate you trying to take responsibility for my lapse in judgment. I shouldn't have encouraged you."

"Ah, I see." He gave a little huff. "Fear induced insanity."

"I do think you're amazing, Tiernan," I whispered. "I've never seen anything like what you did tonight."

"Well, I can take care of myself," he mimicked my earlier words

"And me too evidently," I mumbled and looked away; not sure how I should feel about that.

"That wasn't meant to offend you." Tiernan turned my face back to his. "I know you're capable, but sometimes even the strongest person needs some help and, frankly, I'm glad you needed mine. Every man needs to feel as if he can protect his woman."

"Uh, I'm not your woman." I made a fractious face at him.

"You will be." He grinned and got to his feet.

Tiernan held a hand down to me, and I stared hard at it. That warm feeling was still rushing through me, and I knew I was dangerously close to becoming involved with this dangerously beautiful and dangerously sexy man. I also knew that nothing more than this would happen between us, it just couldn't. He would realize it soon enough, but I didn't want to argue about it and ruin the moment so I put my hand in his and let him help me up.

"Just get me back to the damn council house," I muttered, and Tiernan laughed.