Obsidian Prince (Liliana and the Fae of Fayetteville #3)

1. Decision

When Colonel Alexander Bennett opened his front door, Liliana the spider-kin seer noted that he didn't have to unlock it. He probably thought it was pointless to lock his door in the middle of Fort Liberty surrounded by security drones, cameras, and soldiers. A skilled assassin could walk right through all that. Like she had.

The lamplight behind the handsome Fae lit the scars on one side of his dark-skinned face as if they still burned. He looked down at her petite form from his towering height, dark brows furrowed in puzzlement. “Liliana.” He looked behind her at the quiet neighborhood for officer and family housing to see if anyone else accompanied her. The light from a streetlamp on the corner lit the yard, making it clear she was alone. “How did you get on base?”

“I walked in through the front gate. You gave me permission, remember?” He’d given her a base pass with her name on it the last time they spoke.

“I never forget when someone saves my life.”

“I was saving my friends. You were just in the same room that would have exploded.”

He huffed, not quite a laugh, but an amused quirk touched the edges of his lips. “So, what brings you here?”

As she’d told him, if his future path continued, he would be murdered soon. What she hadn’t told him was that more than once, she considered not waiting for fate to end his life and simply killing him herself. A landed Fae prince here in Fayetteville, North Carolina would draw a lot of danger to her new friends. Liliana had been alone a long time. Now that she had friends, she would not allow anyone to hurt them. “I need to know whether I should save your life.”

“Still trying to make up your mind?”

“Yes.”

“Well, come in then.” Colonel Bennett opened the door and stepped aside. He held his custom-made wide-barreled pistol casually down behind his leg. He probably thought she wouldn’t notice. She’d already seen it with her fourth eyes before she closed them outside the door. “I apologize for not being properly dressed,” he said. “The gate guards didn't tell me you were coming.”

“I didn't want to talk to them. They would have made me go through the scanners and stand still to let the cameras see me.” The cameras would have documented her face for authorities whose notice she’d been careful to avoid.

He raised his eyebrows. “You walked in through the front gate, but avoided the gate guards, the cameras, and scanners?”

“That's OK, though. I like the way you're dressed.” His sweats and t-shirt looked comfortable. The short sleeves showed off the rich dark mahogany of his well-defined arms.

“I'm glad to hear it.” He chuckled. “I'm wondering if I should come down hard on the guards for being lax or put you on the payroll as a security consultant.”

Liliana shrugged. “It's not their fault. I am good at getting past guards. I am content with my current profession, though. Thank you.” She enjoyed her fortune telling business, guiding people away from danger and toward happiness.

She looked around. The entryway was a small, tiled area with a bench, side table, and mirror. Shiny black dress shoes and matte green combat boots were lined up in a neat row under the bench. A camo jacket hung on a coat hook on one end of the bench above the combat boots. A deep blue jacket brightened by an array of colorful ribbon bars hung from the other end above the shiny dress shoes. Keys, a wrist phone, and a wallet lay in a bowl on the small table next to the bench.

"Can I offer you anything?" he asked.

"You don’t have any tea."

He chuckled. "No, I'm afraid I don't."

"That's okay. I'm not thirsty." Liliana stepped into the large open living room, trying to think of something complimentary to say as social rules required. His house was furnished like a picture in a magazine. A sleek modern room-bot dusted the baseboards. There was no indication anyone lived here but the cleaning bot. Aside from the insistence on order, there were very few clues to the personality of the Fae prince in his living space. "I like your back door." It was good to have an alternative exit in any home in case, for instance, someone walked in one door and accused you of murder. You could escape out the other one.

Colonel Bennett glanced at the curtains that were pulled nearly shut across the sliding glass door on the other side of the big living room, hiding the view from human eyes. "The back yard is one of my favorite places. Would you like to see it?"

"Yes." Liliana opened her fourth eyes since he had invited her to. The cat-slanted swirly lavender and teal eyes above her eyebrows focused through the curtains. She could see any time or place with her fourth eyes, so this was a simple matter. The yard was dark, so she refocused to see it in tomorrow morning’s sunlight. "It's very pretty."

Colonel Bennett chuckled. "I meant, would you like to walk out in the back yard and see it with me? There's something I don't get to share with many people that I think you can appreciate."

"Oh." He was offering to share something of himself to help make her decision. That was exactly why she came. "Okay."

He opened the curtains, then slid the glass door aside for her. The back door wasn’t locked either. The small back patio formed an island of natural flagstone surrounded by a sea of green and a riot of blooms, even in the dark of the late spring evening. The cool air smelled rich and alive. The stars seemed somehow brighter, their subtle colors visible even to her human first eyes, but she opened her second eyes anyway so she could see the beautiful place more clearly. The metallic green domed eyes on her temples brought nearly a full circle into view, lit with the unnamed colors of wider spectrums that made night as bright as day.

The Fae prince slid the door closed behind her.

Without turning around, she watched him with her second eyes. The gun was still in his hand down by his thigh. "Are you afraid of me?" she asked him, still looking out at the garden with her human first eyes. She breathed deep, drinking in the heady richness of night-blooming jasmine.

“Why do you ask?” He stepped up beside her, the breeze didn't so much as ruffle his high and tight buzzed black hair. Alexander Bennett seemed like a perfectly adapted piece of the night. His army green t-shirt and grey sweatpants managed to look regal on him. She suspected with his proud bearing, he would look like a king even if he wore dirty rags. "Should I be afraid?" His deep voice blended with the richness of the jasmine on the breeze.

"The danger to your life is still not from me." The same light wind that danced around Bennett without seeming to touch him tugged at Liliana's skirt. It tossed her thick dark hair behind her, baring her face. She ducked a bit, looking down at the prince's bare toes. That curtain of hair usually shielded her, protecting her from stares. She felt a little brazen without it.

The prince stepped out into the grass. He reached for her hand to guide her on the uneven flagstone path he walked beside. She didn't need help, but she took his hand. He had taken hers when she offered it before, even though he had not needed it. Taking his when offered seemed proper.

His fingers were incredibly long. He could probably encircle her waist with his hands. The dark tone of his skin made her own dusky olive seem pale in comparison.

"What makes you think I'm afraid?" He sounded mildly insulted, although it also sounded a little like he might be playing with her. She wished she could open her third eyes to see his mind and soul. She wanted to know what he meant, but he didn’t like for her to look inside him.

He turned in front of her, waiting for an answer.

She stopped walking, but he was already very close. Their height difference meant that she found herself staring at his chest. He had an excellent chest, with broad shoulders above the top of her head. Pronounced lines of muscle were visible through the thin t-shirt. He smelled like soap from a recent shower. It took her a few moments to remember that he asked her a question.

Maybe Liliana misinterpreted his actions. She tilted her head and considered. No, the pistol in his hand made no sense unless he feared her. "You don't carry a gun when everyone comes to visit, do you?"

He held up the gun as if to show her. His teeth flashed in what seemed like a self-deprecating smile, which rang false to her. There was nothing self-effacing about this man. "Let's just say I'm a little cautious. I've heard some things about spider seers that make it seem prudent."

Liliana thought about that, then nodded. "If it makes you more comfortable, I understand."

He chuckled low. "Very generous of you." He turned, his hand in hers, guiding her further down the twisting stone path.

The spider-kin shrugged. "I could cut off your hand before you could shoot me in any case." The hard skins of rock Fae were impervious to many things. However, Liliana's first mother had not mentioned mineral Fae skins when listing the things she would not be able to cut with her arm blades. Solifu had mentioned widow spider armor in that list, but it hadn't helped much when Liliana was forced to fight them or die. In any case, the prince was in his human form, so he would be as easy to kill as anyone.

Colonel Bennett’s body shifted with his next step, weight more forward on the balls of his feet, his knees bent. "Are you sure of that?" His free hand with the gun came forward more.

It was a good fighting position without appearing aggressive. The prince outweighed her by a hundred pounds of solid muscle. Liliana smiled and admitted, "Not entirely sure." She liked that she wasn't certain she could beat him in a physical fight. Added to that, he ruled both earth and fire in Fort Liberty as his bonded domain. He also knew well how to use his native Sidhe ability to control plants to deadly effect.

She was on his home ground, literally. His magic could turn even the grass against her. Yet, she wasn’t afraid of him. Neither was she comfortable with the tower of raw strength walking at her side. His presence was like the cool wind in her hair. Exhilarating.

Here was a man who had been properly trained to fight. He kept his body strong despite fighting most of his battles behind a desk, and others with a wave of his hand. Her father would have respected this prince. Simon of Nemea might have named the man an enemy and killed him, but he would have respected him.

"I saved your life twice,” she said. “I might one day soon save your life again. There is no advantage for you to gain in killing me, so ..." she shrugged. "It doesn't matter. You will not use the weapon."

"What does advantage have to do with murder?" he asked. She again got the impression he was playing with her, a verbal sparring game. His dark eyes studying her unshielded face felt a little unsafe, a little exciting.

"Advantage, hate, rage, or fear," Liliana said. "Or to protect themselves or someone else. Those are the usual reasons why sane people kill." His hand held hers all the time they talked of murdering each other, warm and strong, but not too tight. She could pull free at any moment if she wished. "You only threatened me in the car because you were afraid. You are not afraid now. There is no advantage to you in my death. I do not threaten you." She shrugged again. "You are not angry and have no reason to hate me, so the gun simply helps you feel more in control. I accept that. I am always armed, myself. You being armed puts us on even ground."

Her second eyes caught the corner of his mouth crooking for a moment before his features went back to the pleasant, unreadable blank expression he seemed to cultivate. His body relaxed a little. His weight shifted back to the center of his bare feet. "Well, since I have your approval to keep my weapon, maybe you could tell me what you came here to ask."

How was she supposed to decide whether he was a man whose life was worth fighting for? "I'm not sure," Liliana said. "Usually, other people ask me questions."

Colonel Bennett nodded. "That works out well. I'm used to being the one asking the questions. Maybe you could start by telling me what sort of danger I'm supposed to be in."

"Okay. We should go back inside, though. Your feet will get cold." The path had gone much further than she thought possible in an ordinary back yard, twisting and doubling back on itself. The winding path had to cross a yard far larger than those of the houses near him. Distance was deceptive with tall bushes, trees and vines on trellises turning the back yard into a beautiful maze with little benches. His house backed up against one of the patches of forest that dotted the huge Army base so without seeing the fence, she couldn’t tell where his yard ended.

He barked a quick laugh. A smile stayed behind as he looked around at the rich greenery. "I never feel cold here." That smile softened his whole face. It was perhaps the first heartfelt smile she’d seen on him. It warmed her.

She looked down at his feet in the lush grass where he walked next to her. The grass seemed to caress his bare skin. All the plants in his garden faced inward, turning subtly as they passed, as if the Fae prince were the sun. As much as the inside of the house had been bare of personality, the garden path was filled with it. Here, Alexander Bennett was truly at home.

That one real smile magnified the attraction Liliana had felt since the first moment she met him. She would mourn if this extraordinary man died. She wasn’t sure if she would fight for his life at the risk of her own, but she did not wish him any ill.

"You are going to be murdered in your house soon," she warned him. "You should lock your door."

They circled around a tiny artificial pond, no bigger than a cookpot. Startled frogs splashed into it, hiding under the water plants, despite how early in the year it was. A waterfall as wide as her hand, splashed over rocks making a pleasant sound. It masked any trace of traffic noise from the street. They finally reached the wooden back fence. An arched gate covered with moonflower and wisteria vines led out to the forest beyond.

"Is there any way I can avoid this danger?" He sounded unconcerned, bored even, while they discussed his near certain death.

"You ask very good questions," Liliana told him. "Most people don't." She stopped still in front of the gate, opening her fourth eyes.

Will locking his front door keep him from getting murdered?

But she saw nothing different. With the overbright coloring of a future vison, she saw him in the kitchen bending over to get something out of the refrigerator. She wasn't sure when, but it was late at night. He looked tired. He sighed as he stood up with a bottle of orange juice in his hand.

A bullet of some kind effective against Fae fired from a high caliber handgun penetrated his forehead.

Liliana controlled her instinctive shudder as she watched him die again.

She couldn’t see the killer. Death was so hard to see around. The hand holding the gun wore black leather gloves. It was angled up. The murderer would be someone considerably shorter than he was with small hands, a woman possibly. Death was immediate as his blood and brains splattered the immaculate kitchen. The orange juice bottle shattered on the tile.

Liliana closed her fourth eyes and swallowed hard. Sudden death featured in so many of her visions lately that she had become inured to the shock, but she still hated it. Even if he lived, she could not unsee. His death would feature in her ugliest dreams. Either the prince would ignore her advice, or locking his door would not keep the murderer out.

Alexander Bennett released her hand. He waved his in front of her face to bring her attention back to the moment. "I would like an answer to that question."

"No. And please don’t do that. It’s annoying.” People who thought her feebleminded because of her different way of thinking had done that to her when she was younger. “You can touch my arm or the back of my hand to get my attention, or just speak to me."

The prince's eyebrows went up. His grip on the gun became less relaxed. "You're not going to answer me?"

"No. That is the answer.” Liliana forced herself to glance up at his face for a moment with her human eyes. “I am sorry. As far as I can tell, without having a high probability of making matters worse, there is no way for you to avoid the series of events that will lead to your death."

He scoffed as if he found the situation amusing. "Not sure how I could make the situation any worse." No one was that unbothered by discussions of their own death. His bland face and voice must hide his true emotions. His face was like the mirror surface of his thoughts that had been protected against her third eyes’ vision with magic when they’d spoken before in his car.

Liliana held up her hand with one finger raised. "In my current vision, you die quickly. If you change things, there is a high probability that you will die slowly in agony." She added another finger. "Sometimes I see other people dying with you." She brought up a third finger. "Sometimes I see an explosion in your house. Several houses around yours catch fire with people screaming and dying inside them." She added a fourth finger. "In a few, flickery, unlikely possibilities, I see a bomb falling. Where this block is now, there will be a massive smoking crater." She held up another finger.

He showed teeth in a grimace, holding up a hand to stop her. "I understand now. There are worse things than me dying." He opened the gate. Holding it for her, he took her hand again on the other side. There were no flagstones outside his yard. Instead, soft herbs crushed under Liliana's ballet slippers releasing a sweet minty scent.

Alexander Bennett walked beside her. "If my death is unavoidable, then what can you do about it?" He looked down at her as they walked in a tunnel of vividly alive but increasingly untamed land.. Tall trees held the weight of wild grape vines and Virginia creeper. The white star flowers of blackberry brambles dotted the tangled flora around them, months early. The ground beneath her feet stayed soft and clear as if welcoming her and the tall man who walked beside her.

"I can fight your murderer to protect you." She glanced up at him, meeting his eyes for the brief moment she could comfortably tolerate.

His handsome, scarred face gave nothing away, his eyes just deeper bits of shadow in the night.

She wished again that he would allow her to open her third eyes.

"If you can fight off this attacker, why couldn't I?" his deep melodious voice asked the question as if chatting about the weather, with a bit of flirting thrown in.

She knew that smooth voice covered his emotions but was frustrated that she couldn’t find out what they were. She found herself falling a little under the soothing spell of the secluded woodland location, the starry night, and the cool breeze. Some quality of his deep voice hit her in the belly like an intimate caress. It was very distracting.

The path ended in a circle of tangled rose bushes with a small carved wood bench in the middle. Climbing pink roses covered an arched trellis above the bench. Their scent filled her lungs like a caress. The bushes blocked the wind, making the little garden circle in the wild forest feel sheltered and warm.

The prince sat on the bench. He guided her to sit beside him by the hand he still held.

"The one who would take your life will catch you by surprise. You will have no chance to fight back." She looked down at her knees, letting her hair fall to cover her face.

The big warm hand that held hers let her go. Alexander Bennett pushed her hair back behind her ear, baring one of the iridescent green second eyes on her temple so she saw him clearly painted in colors with no names. His fingers lingered in the strands. "But you can defeat this killer?"

Liliana glanced up at him with her human eyes, shifting the colors of his face back to the normal spectrums of shadowed brown. "I cannot see your murderer’s face. But I would not be caught by surprise.” In this starlit garden, rich with the scent of roses, she felt more comfortable meeting his gaze. “I have seen myself fighting. Sometimes I win. Sometimes I die."

She swallowed. His scars were thick along his cheek and temple, but the burns marred only his skin. They hadn't altered the beauty of the structure of his face. The moonlight made a shimmer that highlighted the high cheekbone on the unmarred side and put glitter in his eyes. Just then, she had no desire to look away from something so fascinating. "I cannot save your life without risking my own."

"Why would you do that?" He focused on her, his attention so sharp she had to look away again. It was too much.

Looking down at her knees, she fiddled with the satin edge of her quilted cape. Her hair fell back into a shielding curtain. "My friends admire you,” Liliana told him. “But I don't know you. I don’t have any reason to fight for you. That's why I'm here." Her human eyes were still on her knees, but she peeked at him through the curtain of her hair with her second eyes.

"Then it seems I am doomed to die." In a broad smile, the prince's teeth flashed dark in her second vision contrasting with his warm, bright skin, as if his words were a joke.

The smile was handsome, charming, and never reached his eyes.

"Unless, that is, I give you a reason to defend me." He tucked her thick hair back behind her ear, again baring the iridescent green dome of the eye on her temple. He leaned in close, unbothered by her inhuman eyes, and whispered into her ear, "Should I give you a reason?"

His warm breath on her ear made Liliana shiver. She wondered why he was whispering. There was no one else there to hear. She looked up at him with her first eyes to shift the colors of his face back to normal and tilted her head. "Yes, please. A reason to save you is what I'm looking for."

He closed the short distance between them until his lips touched hers.