Page 12 of WitchCurse
“Wesley,” Dylan said. “Maybe you can put a leash on thelordhere. We are just out shopping for clothes. Kiran is under the protection of our pack.”
“This area is under court rule,” Wesley offered, looking a bit apologetic.
“We’re on our way out,” Nick said. He glanced at Dylan. “We were unaware a court had been established near to our new lord’s realm in a continent this vast.”
Zephyr’s gaze floated over Nick, and I stepped in front of my scion, unwilling to let thelordhave a single moment of him. “Are you aware of what he is?” Zephyr asked. “The fox you guard?”
“Kiran or Seb? Because to me they aren’t all that different,” Dylan said.
“Lesser fae,” Zephyr said.
“I’ll let Seb know you think he’s lesser. He’ll love that,” Dylan’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “Didn’t you just send him a bunch of gifts to coax him to join your court? Seems counterintuitive to insult him if you’re trying to woo him.”
The sidhe wore the allure of power like a badge of honor, and most fae would easily succumb, but Sebastian wasn’t most fae. He was a fountain of magic, power in its most wild form, and luring him away from the wolf in whom the fox adored? Not possible. I wondered briefly if I had someone as devoted to me, would I ever have been trapped? My gaze fell to Nick and the feeling of his warm body pressed to my back. Possessive was my human, even if he didn’t have the sort of power necessary to withstand the fae. We’d bonded long after my destruction began. There had once been a time, I could have given him the power Liam got from Sebastian.
“Should we do this outside?” Wesley said lightly as he glanced at the shopkeeper. That easily the Stag bespelled him, not to control him, but to ease away the memories of their words. His hold rolling through my shield as though it weren’t there at all. Intent mattered with magic. Zephyr meant harm in most things he did. The Stag neutral, though I knew from experience, neutrality only provided minimal safety and left pawns in its wake.
“We have to pay for our clothes,” Dylan said. “And I’m not sure whatthisis. We are pack, not fae.”
But that was only partially true. Sebastian was fae, and lord of his own realm, as wild and chaotic as it was. He was not sidhe, which might have been why he’d changed completely and remained grounded in this new world. Or it could have been the bond to the wolf that held him back. The wolf understood the roiling power and was trying to build and maintain that realm while keeping Seb grounded and safe. Leadership did not occur to Sebastian. He guided, but that of a soothsayer or healer rather than a leader. His realm strangely encompassed the wolves, and slowly expanded to add others the fox consideredhis.
The sidhe, themselves, were relics of an era now dead and gone. That might have been the point, my death, another cog in that wheel of fate.But the sidhe had never been fond of letting barriers go untested, and it could take decades before the fox’s realm was established enough to really be formidable. Could the wolves defend it that long from the fae? It would be easier to welcome fae inside, and expand the magic from within, and maybe that’s whatlordslike Zephyr were afraid of.
“Pay?” Zephyr inquired as if the word was foreign to him. Did he not use the mortal currency? I had only been part of the mortal world for a few months and it was required for everything. How would he get by without it?
Wesley nodded to the shopkeeper. “He’ll get you ringed up.” He pulled a wallet out of his pocket and one of those strange magic cards everyone had. “I will take care of it.” Likely wiping the poor man’s mind as well.
“Jake is part of the pack alliance,” Dylan said. “And we will pay for our own stuff. Remove your hold from him. We will meet you outside.” His words were firm, and a sudden well of power surged, seeming to light up the shopkeeper, who jumped, the hold of the Stag shattered, and glanced around. He looked at Dylan who nodded with a strained smile. “Can you get this stuff tallied for us? Our friends are going to meet us outside.” He handed over a card. “These gentlemen were just leaving.”
Zephyr stood there a moment longer, but the Stag stepped back. The swell of the wolf’s power reflected that of the alpha and alpha mate. Strong and tangible, they really had only been giving me nibbles. Another reason to be grateful? How much of their energy would I have to devour before I became their slave? Wasn’t that the way of us lesser fae? Beholden to those greater?
My shield on the humans would break soon. Could the wolf maintain his tug on the alpha’s strength without the shield? I didn’t think I could hold if Zephyr attacked again.
Zephyr glared at me a moment more before stepping outside and taking the weight of his energy with him. My shield collapsed and I sagged into Nick’s waiting embrace, exhausted. If there was a battle waiting for us outside, I’d be useless.
The door closed and the shopkeeper rushed to the front to ring up our things, though his eyes were huge. “What the hell was that?” he asked Dylan.
“Fae,” Dylan muttered. “Fucking fae.”
I flinched. Nick’s grip tightened, but I was barely holding my glamour. “Let it go,” Nick said. “We’ll be leaving anyway.”
I shook my head, unwilling to show anyone. Even the fox hadn’t seen my true form. The alpha had, only because he saw everything, especially related to his fox. He asked a lot of hard questions, not all of which I had answers for.
“The shield helped,” Dylan said. “Took me too long to recognize what he was doing. I’m not used to dealing with the fae, and we can only learn so much from books.” He sighed. “Liam is not happy.”
I tried to contain my anxiety. Would they cast us out for bringing trouble to their pack? How would I keep Nick safe without their sanctuary? I wasn’t strong enough to manage this world without losing myself to the final change.
Nick took a sweater from the stack. One of the zip up types and held out the tags to the keeper. “Can you remove these? I’m going to put this on Kiran.”
“Will he be okay?” Jake asked. He hurried through scanning the stack and removing tags on the sweater. Nick tugged it around me, zipping it, and sliding a hood up over my head. It was a bit of instant relief to release some of the glamour, not enough to let my dark skin appear, but the hair and the layer over my body could fade. Covered this much, in mortal attire, I could hope to disappear into the background, as long as we weren’t battling the sidhe in the parking lot.
“I will be fine. Your concern is unnecessary,” I told the human.
He glanced at me, but bagged up all the clothing and swiped the card. “Should I call the pack? You can hang out in here until they arrive?”
“We will endure,” I assured him. Nick held bags in one hand and kept a firm grip on me with the other. Dylan took the front, back stiff and ready as though we were headed to battle.
“Zephyr is more likely to war with words than swords. Trying to get us to slip up, and create an obligation.” He’d never been the best of fighters, relying on others to wage a battle for him. Despite his size and immense power, he was a diplomat, a politician much like those of this world, set on getting the most gains for themselves first. Having been one of the tools used by him, I knew his tactics well.
