7. Lira
7
LIRA
W hat the hell was Tavish’s cousin doing in here with a dagger while I bathed? My foolishness would not result in me dying naked in a bathtub.
“Did Tavish send you?” I rasped, hating that my voice revealed how scared I was. I hadn’t meant to ask that question, but I needed to hear the words so that my body would stop reacting to my terror.
Eldrin smirked. “Does it matter? The result will be the same.” He held the dagger in front of him as he slowly moved toward me.
For some reason, it did matter, but if he knew that, he sure as hell wouldn’t offer the answer. I had to handle this differently. I stood, letting the water pour from my body. This had to go perfectly for my plan to work without me tripping and falling. “Ah … so the king doesn’t want to do his own dirty work after all his talk about how he wants to handle my punishment accordingly. So he sent in the peon who must obey his command.”
“Peon?” Eldrin paused, his brows furrowing, yet he still took the opportunity to ogle me. “You speak so strangely. ”
I wanted to slide back into the water because his leering made me feel dirty. Instead, I straightened my back, needing to come off like his creepy ass didn’t bother me. “You know, a person who doesn’t matter to the king. The people he orders around to do his bidding.”
His head jerked back and his jaw clenched. “If Tavish had requested I do this, it would’ve been an honor.”
My chest loosened marginally, though my situation hadn’t changed. I didn’t want to analyze why because Tavish was my kidnapper and enemy … that was all. “You do realize that when he sees me hurt, he’ll kill you. Don’t you remember the guard who lost his wing earlier?”
“That’s why you won’t speak of this to anyone.” He stalked closer.
A tingling warning shot through me, and I didn’t want to learn his plans for me. His finding me naked and alone couldn’t be a coincidence. Acid roiled in my stomach.
“If you do, I’ll have no choice but to visit”—he smirked and tilted his head, pausing for dramatic effect—“Eiric. That’s your sister’s name, right?”
I tensed, understanding the threat. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I would.” He stood a few feet away, easily within striking distance if he wanted. “In fact, I hope you tell Tavish all about this so I can take someone you care for away from you, giving you the same courtesy you gave me.” He tsk ed. “Now, what should I do with you?”
The time to act had come. It was now or never.
I used my injured leg to kick water from the tub, aiming for his face. He jerked back at the sudden splash. I spun and jumped out then squatted to retrieve my dagger from under my jeans.
The toes on my right foot panged, and my knee hit the wooden floor, forcing me to catch myself with the same arm as earlier and causing my attempted fluid motion to secure the dagger to fail. My kneecap throbbed, but I gritted my teeth and ignored the pain.
The sound of wings flapping echoed against the walls, and the gigantic bathroom suddenly felt very small. I slid my hands under the jeans just as Eldrin slammed into me.
He knocked me onto my injured side. I groaned, and he gripped my arm, forcing me to lie on my back as he straddled me, pinning me down.
A scream lodged in my throat, and I tried bucking him off, but he held me in place. His face turned a tad purple like he might be flushing, fae style.
“Stay still, or I will have your family on Earth slaughtered,” he snapped, holding my wrists with one hand while he lowered the blade of his dagger to the top of my chest. The blade sliced my skin, the sharp sensation stealing my breath.
“I’m not going to sleep with you.”
He laughed menacingly and lowered his face toward mine like he might kiss me. I prepared to bite his lips off so he could never try to kiss me again.
A few inches from my face, he stopped and spit, the liquid hitting my left cheek. He rasped, “I don’t want anything of mine in a Seelie Cailleach-sgath. Don’t flatter yourself. When I learned you were bathing in the king’s chambers, I knew this would be the best place to get you alone. Nothing more than that.”
My blood froze. “So you’re acting against your king ?” What could be so important that he would disobey his king and his own family?
“I’m doing what needs to be done.” He sneered, and the lines in his face deepened. He dug the knife in more, and warm blood trickled down my body .
Placing the dagger into his mouth, he removed a bottle from his pants and scooped my blood into it.
That couldn’t be good.
When he lowered his head a little more, concentrating on getting more of my blood into the bottle, I acted.
Bracing for the pain, I jerked upright and headbutted him. My ears rang on impact, and a deep throb pulsed in my head, but the agony was worth it when his grip slackened.
He snarled, but I yanked the dagger from his mouth and aimed to stab him in the shoulder.
He bolted, his gigantic wings flapping, and I sliced into his arm instead. Even though the wound wasn’t that deep, his black blood dripped all over me. He held the container in one hand, his white eyes appearing to have more color.
“I should kill you,” he spat, hovering over me. “Right here and now.”
He screwed the cap onto the jar, and I noticed that my blood looked different. It wasn’t red anymore but golden like honey.
I glanced down and saw that golden liquid had dripped underneath me. My mind ran in circles, but the threat remained. I couldn’t lose focus. I lifted my head and met his gaze. “Do it. I dare you. Your death won’t be far behind mine.” I, once again, was using Tavish’s obsession with breaking me himself against Eldrin.
“You’ll regret that, sunscorched.” He lowered himself to the floor several feet from me. “Your sister will pay the price for you.”
Eiric .
My heart fractured into pieces, but I couldn’t fall apart and become more of a target. These fae used fear to feel superior. “Do that, and I won’t hesitate to tell Tavish what happened, including that you straddled me while I was naked.” He probably wouldn’t care about that last part, but if I said it with enough confidence, maybe Eldrin would believe it.
Eldrin glared, and the hatred in his eyes had my skin crawling.
“I got what I came for.” He placed the jar in his pocket and smirked. “So don’t speak a word, or your family will die. Do you understand?”
“I do.” Even though I wanted to tell Tavish what had happened, I had no doubt that Eldrin would injure my family. “Now leave.” I held his dagger tighter, ready for him to request it back.
Instead, shadows swirled around him, and he disappeared.
The door didn’t open, but the moment he left, I knew. The chill in the air went with him as did my sense of safety. Not even in Tavish’s chambers was I safe. Had the guards watching the entrance allowed Eldrin in, or could he hide from them too?
Unsure what to do with his dagger, I held it tight. There was no way in hell I was putting it down. I went back to the tub to wash Eldrin’s spit from my face and clean the wound he’d made. I felt dirty again.
I drained the water before refilling the tub. This time, I washed myself quickly, trying to scrub the memory of Eldrin’s touch from my body. My skin tingled more noticeably when the water flowed over the cut, reminding me of peroxide from back home.
No matter how many times I rinsed myself, I felt cold and violated. His strategy to attack me in here had been sound.
I climbed from the tub and wrapped the towel around myself. Glancing down at the wound, I noted that it was no longer bleeding. I sighed in relief. I wasn’t sure how I could have kept it from Tavish.
Desperately wanting clothes, I hoped that the servant had brought them. Otherwise, I’d be forced to put my jeans back on, and they’d seen better days.
I grabbed my dagger as well and studied the weapons. I had to put them somewhere, or Tavish would see them as threats. I wondered if that was why Eldrin had left his with me, hoping I’d get caught with it. I refused to allow another one of his plans to come to fruition.
There was only one place I could hide them—in the toilet water tank. I doubted that Tavish went anywhere near that, and later, I could move them somewhere else.
I hurried over to the toilet and sighed when I realized that it didn’t look like the ones back home. There was a small water chamber up top, so I opened it and put the daggers into the water. The fit was tight, but I pushed them down enough so the lid could close once more.
Satisfied, I exited the bathroom and glanced around. Even though I couldn’t see the fae cloaked in shadows, maybe I could sense them. I would never again assume I was alone and safe.
I waited for something to indicate that I wasn’t alone. Each second that passed allowed my breathing to get slightly easier until I could focus on getting dressed.
My attention landed on a flowy gray dress laid out at the bottom of the bed. My stomach tensed.
This had to be a joke. I despised dresses, especially with people waiting to attack me around every corner. I grumbled and considered putting on my jeans and shirt again. But the last thing I needed was for Tavish to get mad at me. If I wanted a chance to escape before he and his buddies determined the best way to torture me, I had to play the part of an obedient prisoner.
Pouting to myself, I dropped the towel and lifted the gown from the bed. I expected it to be scratchy, but the material was soft and smooth to the touch. I pulled it over my head just as the door to the bedroom opened.
I squealed, and my pulse pounded as I tugged the dress down, but with my body still slightly damp, it stuck to my stomach, not completely coming down, and I couldn’t get my head out of the hole.
A deep laugh caused a lump to form in my throat.
“Oh, Lira.” Finnian broke out into louder laughter. Footsteps headed toward me, making me desperate to yank the dress down. Somehow, I got my head out of the top of the dress so I could actually see what I was doing.
And boy, I wished I hadn’t.
The dress was completely bunched at my waist, leaving everything from my ass down on full display. As if my night … day … whatever time it was, seeing as this place was always cloaked in darkness, could get any worse.
“I must say I never expected a water fae to have issues with moisture.” A tear leaked from the corner of his eye, and his words were breathless. He didn’t flinch when I glared at him but laughed even harder, holding his sides.
Water fae?
I wanted to ask more about that, but after my ass was covered. Tugging on the hem, I got the fabric down a little more, but not nearly enough. The material stuck to my skin, and I realized the dress was about a size too small.
Even better.
“Let me help.” Finnian reached for me.
I took a step back and landed on my right foot. Pain flared up my ankle. I lifted a hand, blocking him from getting any closer to me. Cold air hit my ass, reminding me that another man had reached me while I was damn vulnerable. Now, I wished I’d kept the daggers with me.
Finnian’s head tilted back. “Did something happen to you? You weren’t this jumpy earlier.”
I swallowed, hating that this man could read me so easily. I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t get myself to say no —like, I physically couldn’t. My throat worked, but my mouth wouldn’t make the shape, nor could I make a fucking sound.
Something was horribly wrong.
My breathing quickened as fear strangled me.
“It’ll be all right, Lira.” Finnian took a slow step toward me. “Let me help you get your dress down before Tavish and Caelan see you like this. I promise I won’t do anything more.”
I nodded, my head woozy from the lack of oxygen.
Finnian gripped my waist, lifted me, and tossed me onto the bed.
I managed to keep my knees together to prevent myself from flashing him in a very intimate way. This wasn’t how I wanted a guy seeing me completely naked for the first time to witness … well—everything.
His hands gripped the hem of the dress, brushing against my skin. “Calm down. You’re safe.”
I waited for the buzz, but the sensation never came. Instead, his hands on me felt wrong.
What the hell?
I squirmed to get away, and the dress hiked up higher.
This was why my parents always told me to remain rational and not lose my head.
Finnian mashed his lips together, but his eyes twinkled.
“Let me help you. It’ll go much faster, especially if you stay still.” He raised both hands like he wanted to prove they weren’t weapons.
My face burned. I must look like a tomato … or whatever was red in their world. “Fine, but don’t look at my bare half.”
His brows rose. “You think I’ve never seen a woman’s vagina before?” He rubbed his fingers along his chest. “I’ve seen hundreds of vaginas and have loved each one.”
Ew. Was he being serious? “No loving mine. Got it?” Of course he’d been with hundreds of women. And if he’d been with hundreds, I didn’t want to consider how many Tavish had been with.
Not that I cared or anything.
He ran a hand down his face as if to prevent himself from laughing again. “I vow to you, Lira. Even though I find you extremely appealing, you are one with whom I will never succumb to my urges.”
Ah, yes, here the insults came. “Because I’m Seelie ?”
“No, that’s not why.” He winked. “I can make any type of woman scream. It’s for reasons I won’t get into with you. Either way, you’re safe with me, unlike most others.”
I believed him … which bothered me.
Before I could force myself to tell him no, his hands grasped the hem of the dress and tugged it down.
The material gave, so I kept my mouth shut, wanting to reclaim my pride. He leaned over me, his arms working, and just as the dress covered my ass, the door to the bedroom opened.
My body heated despite the temperature of the room dropping a few degrees.
With those weird competing sensations, I knew who it was.
Tavish .
Our eyes connected, and Tavish’s face tightened, and his nostrils flared. His wings opened, and he flapped over to us, grabbing Finnian’s shoulders and yanking him away from me.
Finnian’s grasp ripped a piece off the bottom of the dress as he was thrown against the wall.
“How many times do I have to say nobody touches her!” Tavish bellowed and charged at him.