Page 79 of Wind and Water
Smiling, she holds up a perfectly round stone of brown and gold. “It’s a tiger’s eye and has already tumbled by the water. Do you think the fairies would mind if I kept it and made a bracelet?”
“I’ve never met a fairy, but once they saw how beautifully you used it, I imagine they’d be pleased.” I dip her little underwear into the water, running my fingers over the lace.
Wren places the stone on the grass before snatching her intimate item away from me. “I’ll wash that.” Her blush is absurd and adorable.
My laughter cannot be stopped. “I wouldn’t mind another day here to recover. Without horses, it will take a few days to walk home.”
“Another day would be lovely.” She places each item on the grass, where the sun has begun to warm the glen. “Do you think that portal I made was a one-time thing?”
I had considered the idea. “No. I suspect with practice, you could make a portal anywhere, but we don’t know much about your magic, how it affects you, or how to control it. So far, you’ve needed dangerous situations to create wind and water magic with any power. The portal was after a terrible event, with the fear of more of the same. If you want to try, I won’t object, but I would feel more comfortable if you waited until after we learn more.”
With a nod, she places her torn but clean pink shirt on the grass. “I suppose there’s no help for looking a shambles when I meet your family.” She sighs.
“They will be happy to meet you and understand the situation.” I wash the final sock and lay it beside the others.
“All the royal families I know about are pretty strict. Won’t they disapprove of our relationship? Don’t you have to marry someone with a good bloodline and the right connections?” She rinses the soap from her hands. Her breasts bob at the surface of the clear water, and worry creases her brow.
I wrap my arms around her. My cock seems unhindered by the fact that we’ve already enjoyed epic lovemaking not long ago. “My family is reasonable, though in the days before females were scarce, they would have wanted a match as you describe. I think they will be happy for us. This is meant to be, Wren. I feel it in my soul. Don’t you?”
Pressing her cheek to my chest, she says, “I do, but that doesn’t mean your parents will.”
“No matter what they think, it will not alter my feelings or actions. I will not lose you, no matter what we face, friend or foe.” I kiss the top of her head.
“That was a pretty speech.” The high-pitched voice comes from the grass just beyond our drying clothes.
Chapter Nineteen
Wren
As soon as we hear the voice, Liam pushes me behind his back and stands as if he’s ready for an attack.
I peek around his side.
The voice seems to be coming from a firefly. A glowing blue dot of light hovers above our clothes. “I’m not dangerous. Well, I guess I could be. But nothing evil can happen within a fairy glen. The one who gave her life for this place wouldn’t allow it.”
“I thought elves and fairies don’t mix.” I squint to try to focus on the little light as it zips around the clothes, hovers for a moment over the tiger’s eye stone, and then flies around our heads.
She giggles. “That used to be true. Rían and I changed that.”
“Rían Redmond? How do you know the captain of the guard of Tús Nua?” Liam steps from the water, beautifully naked.
The fairy giggles again. In a flash of light, a woman appears with pointed ears, smaller than an elf’s, and a cherubic face with large gray eyes, and short blond hair. At her back, the most beautiful butterfly wings glow with iridescent rainbow colors. She’s petite, perhaps two or three inches shorter than I am.She blushes bright pink and looks anywhere but at Liam’s cock, which is still at half-mast from our embrace. “Rían will not like this.” She can’t seem to stop giggling. “He is my mate. Who are you?”
“Mate? What in the name of all the old gods is going on here? Is this some fairy trickery?” Liam steps forward.
Getting out of the spring, I hide my nudity behind Liam. “I imagine there is a lot to tell, Miss…?”
“Not miss. I am Niamh Fiain, Daughter of Muiredach and mate to Rían Redmond. I shall ask again, who are you?” She props her hands on her slim hips, and her wings flutter.
Liam gasps. “You’re the fairy princess. He lowers his head in a bow. I am Liam Riordan, son of Elspeth.”
A wide smile spreads across her sweet face. “I knew it. I felt the magic and made my way here as fast as my wings could take me. I can make a portal to take you home.” She swings her arm in an arch.
Liam holds up his hands. “Wait.”
She stops and cocks her head.
“We’re not quite dressed for court.”
