Page 19 of Chorus of Ashes
“What’s stopping us from using our magick? None of us have been disarmed.” Terra pointed a finger at the other two. “Like … this is the most lackadaisical prison I’ve ever come across.”
“Sure it is at that.” Callahan chuckled and scooped up some porridge. “The truth of it is that you can’t swim from here, a boat can’t access the shores safely, and Rian has put enough bloody wards on the island to stop you from transporting out. You can still use your magick, but you’d just be firing it off at each other, really.”
“We can’t use it to force Rian to break the wards?” Bianca leaned in, her blue eyes going icy.
“Could do.” Callahan shrugged. “But it’s likely he’s built in a fail-safe where the magick can’t be disarmed under duress. He’s highly skilled.”
“Then we just have to wait here … in this in-between … while Rian figures out what to do with his personal vendetta against the Earth Fae?” Bianca summarized quickly.
“It seems that way, yes,” Callahan said.
“Well, now, that’s annoying isn’t it?” Bianca glanced at Seamus.
“It is my darling beautiful wife. It is. But, we have been saying we’ve wanted a bit of a vacation, so why not enjoy this nice weather while we have the time to do so? You know, seize the day and all that? We’ll be back to battle soon enough from the sounds of it,” Seamus said. He dropped a kiss on Bianca’s cheek when she pouted.
“What did you have in mind to pass the time, Seamus?”
“Well, I’m kind of a geek, and I’ve been missing my games. How about we take my lovely wife’s suggestion? Shall we have a game of magicks? Maybe a competition?” Seamus’s eyes gleamed, and Terra began to understand there were more depths to this man than she had realized. Because if there was one thing she had learned about men from having brothers, is that they loved to compete. Terra’s gaze drifted to Rian’s cottage and then back to Seamus.
“I think a competition is an excellent idea, Seamus. What did you have in mind?”
11
Laughter greetedhim when Rian stepped back outside, and he stopped short, annoyance making his shoulders hunch. They were supposed to be his captives. And here it looked like Callahan was running a damn summer camp.
“Watch out,” Seamus shouted as a stone zoomed toward Rian’s head. Rian grabbed it out of midair, narrowing his eyes as he realized that Seamus was using magick for his game, and turned to the group that stood in the meadow in front of the table where they’d had breakfast. The good weather held, and only a few clouds dotted the sky. It wasn’t particularly warm, not that Ireland ever was all that warm, but it wasn’t horribly freezing either. A perfect day for what looked to be some sort of competition.
Which would be fine and all if they were on a holiday away together and enjoying lawn games and drinks. But that is not what this was. Rian opened his mouth to speak, when another rock zoomed near his head, almost slicing his cheek, and he narrowed his eyes at Terra who had a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Goddess how he wanted her.
When she’d walked out of her cottage this morning, her hair a riot around her shoulders, her lush curves moving fluidly under her silky dress, he’d almost dropped to his knees. The punch of her was so powerful that he’d done the only thing he could think of — scowl and close down. He was waiting for her wrath and, instead, he’d been treated with kindness. Rian’s hands clenched involuntarily as he remembered her cooling touch against his skin. She’d healed him, taking in his own pain — that he’d brought upon himself for stealing from her — and he’d just stood there like an idiot unable to form a coherent sentence. Too many emotions had broken loose inside of him, rattling around like broken parts in a box, and he didn’t know what to do with them.
So he’d stood there, silently, while she’d treated him more kindly than he had treated her. Terra was making it increasingly difficult for him to hate the Earth Fae.
“You did that on purpose,” Rian called, walking closer to where the group huddled.
“Maybe that’s the game,” Terra said cheekily. “See how close we can get to hitting you without harming you. It’s great fun.”
“Game?” Rian asked, incredulous. Despite his determination to try and stay away from Terra until he could get his thoughts straight, he moved closer to her like an ant following a sweet trail of sugar.
He could still taste her kisses on his lips.
“Yes, a game. Seamus has challenged us to a bout of magicks. Care to join us?” Terra’s smile was both welcoming and hesitant, as though she also was uncertain about his response. Could he blame her? He’d stolen from her as she’d given him the most intense pleasure of his life. The thought of it brought shame, and it was a confusing mix of emotions — the wanting of Terra and embarrassment for having betrayed her at such a vulnerable moment. Rian didn’t like it. He didn’t like any of this. The day his mother died was the day he’d iced over his emotions for good, and this crack in his carefully built wall was more than disconcerting for him.
He feared it would change the one purpose that had kept him going over the past few desperate years. Where would he be without it? Lonely and an exile. Bitterness washed through him, and he opened his mouth to speak when Bianca laughed, causing him to break his focus on Terra. He glanced over to see Bianca beaming up at Seamus, the two whispering something to each other as lovers do, and his heart twisted.
He wantedthat.
Before his exile, before his mother had become sick, Rian had been an easygoing man who’d enjoyed teaching. He’d thrived on learning new magicks, often staying up late testing new spells, and loved nothing more than seeing his students' faces light up in wonder when they’d mastered a new trick. He’d never had grand aspirations for himself, because he’d already been living a life he loved. Head of Magicks for the Earth Fae, a few good friends, and the only thing missing had been a partner to make it whole. Sure, he’d enjoyed the company of many ladies through the years, but none had quite fit. None had captivated him the way that Terra had with one burning glance during a trial of his peers. She’d never left him since, and it was a mixture of both relief and dismay to once more be in her presence.
Wait.
Callahan’s words from the night before came back to him. Give it time, the man had suggested and, while Rian wanted to ignore where his thoughts took him, he couldn’t. As he’d adamantly told Terra — hewasn’ta liar. Which meant, he couldn’t lie to himself either. Rian wanted to spend more time with Terra, and if Callahan thought it was best to wait before he made a move on delivering the knife to Goddess Domnu, then now was his opportunity to explore this magnetic pull that Terra had upon him.
“Sure, I’ll play your game.” When Terra’s mouth dropped open in surprise, it took everything in his power not to lean over and have a taste. “What are the rules?”
“Alright! He’s in,” Seamus said, stepping forward with several rocks in his hand. “We’re trying a new variation next. One of us will throw this stone out into the meadow, and then we each take turns trying to get our own stones closest to it. The trick is that the rest of us can use any magicks we see fit to divert your stone, so you’ll need to be ready to defend or counterattack. Once a stone lands on the ground, it can’t be moved. So no trying to blow up a stone after it isn’t in play anymore, got it?”