Devin didn’t even feel the hit that threw him across the clearing. He landed in the soft earth near where Lindsey had just been lying.
“Oh yeah, I forgot one detail,” Nessa added as she smiled at Devin from across the way. She was still standing where they had entered the clearing. Devin didn’t even see where Lindsey had gone. The massive hulking green form was now gone. “Lindsey hates when people call him a girl.”
Devin ducked as the air around him tingled. A large limb went flying over his head. Nessa moved back to the line of trees around the clearing to watch. Devin saw the smile still plastered on her face for only a moment as he had to duck again, and roll out of the way. The large, green monster could actually move faster than expected and was a much better fighter than Devin had imagined. He didn’t even get a chance to swing back as blow after blow came his way. Devin danced across the clearing, ducking and maneuvering away from all the hits. All he could do was be on the defensive. The large sidhe wasn’t leaving a shadow or a haze as other night humans did, and Devin didn’t have a moment to analyze the sidhe before he had to start ducking and blocking blows. Maybe fighting an ogre wasn’t a fun idea after all.
“Is this a fight until one of us yields or what?” Devin yelled to Nessa, who was content to just sit and watch.
“It normally doesn’t take Lindsey that long to decide on someone. You must have pissed him off a lot,” Nessa replied, sliding her fingers through the grass and relaxing like she was on a picnic.
Devin ducked and moved toward Nessa’s area. He forced the fight back over near her to not have to yell as he spoke, and in the hopes she’d tell him what he needed to do to prove to Lindsey he was worthy to enter the village.
“You could have told me that he wasn’t a girl,” Devin replied as he blocked a hit. The old sidhe’s fist connected with Devin’s shoulder as he moved. The hit shook his whole body. It was much harder than the one that fell before. “No disrespect meant,” Devin said to the empty air where he hoped Lindsey was.
“You never asked.” Nessa smiled as she scooted a few more feet away, trying not to get caught in the fight.
Devin huffed and ducked another blow aimed for his head. Nessa was right, he had never asked. But still, she should have told him; especially if she already knew the sidhe was sensitive about being called a girl. Devin moved back closer to Nessa as he dodged another fist through the air.
“But you seemed to know it would make it worse.” He called her out on it. He had seen her smile the first time he called Lindsey a she. Nessa faked shock, but couldn’t hide her smile. “And you probably knew that the only Lindsey’s I’ve ever met were girls.”
“I told you Lindsey was a few hundred years old. Not all names that are girl names now were always girl names. You should know that, at least, with your own name,” Nessa replied, pointing out a true fact. “You shouldn’t assume things.”
Devin saw the air shudder around Nessa as the blow he ducked was coming toward her by accident. Devin moved to take the blow himself. It was a powerful blow to his left shoulder that had already been hit before. He felt the bones crack and give way as it connected, but he didn’t move, fearing that Nessa was the target and not an accidental miss.
Lindsey instantly materialized right next to Nessa, and the large form was looking more and more human-like with arms and legs that were distinguishable from the rest of the body now. The hulking form dropped to his knees.
“Your majesty, I’m sorry for breaking your toy,” he mumbled in a deep voice. Devin could make out a face on the green form now because his lips moved while he talked.
Nessa smiled as the bones in her shoulder broke due to the bond between her and Devin. Lindsey looked up at her when he heard the cracking. His mouth dropped open.
“Your majesty,” Lindsey said as Nessa’s bones knit back together as quickly as Devin’s had. “If I had known he was under your protection, I wouldn’t have touched him. I am ready for my punishment.”
Nessa sighed. Devin looked between her and the hulking and mossy green man. He remained bowed at her feet. Nessa hadn’t sounded sure of what her place was in the sidhe society with Rhys gone, but Devin now saw with his own eyes that her place was on top.
“Do you wish me to keep this a secret?” Lindsey asked. He obviously already knew something. Devin wondered the same thing. Would it need to be a secret?
“No, they’ll know soon enough,” Nessa replied, motioning him to stand. It was true. “Nothing gets past the wind near the villages. It wouldn’t be a secret for long. The first time your blood is spilt, everyone will know what I have done,” she explained to Devin.
Devin was unsure if the bond would be a problem for Nessa or not at first, but he was beginning to think it would be. He already had an idea that day humans were not treated well by the sidhe since Nessa refused to truly answer, but Lindsey confirmed his suspicions when he called Devin “Nessa’s toy.” Could Nessa, the future queen, bond to a “toy” and not upset the sidhe? Devin looked between Nessa and the bowed green form at her feet. It was going to be important to not spill any blood then to keep it a secret.
Devin watched as Lindsey had walked over to one of the larger trees in the area. He knocked against the wood of the tree and the branches of the nettles at its base began to move. Lindsey bowed again to Nessa, and she nodded to him with a sour look on her face. This would be the norm in the sidhe village, but it wasn’t something Nessa was fond of at all. Nessa reached over and took Devin’s arm. She pricked her finger with her nail and swiped his arm to cause a shallow cut to form. With their blood pressed together, she could speak silently with him as all night humans could do. Nessa had yet to figure out how Devin could without their blood touching.
‘Follow my lead,’ she said to him.
‘You do know the blood-to-blood contact isn’t necessary,’ Devin replied, not commenting on her instructions. Of course he was going to follow her lead. He had no clue where he was, or how they would even treat him. He was walking food in a cave of hungry night humans, and he wasn’t fooling himself that the only thing that would even make them hesitate was Nessa. He had no plans to leave her side until he knew how the sidhe society worked and where he was safe. All night humans had one thing in common, and the sidhe would be no different. They craved day human blood.
‘I have no idea why it isn’t necessary for you to have a blood-to-blood contact, but it is for me. Not all of us are magical day human people,’ Nessa complained. She was back to being moody. The nearness of the village was starting to bring it out more in her.
‘It isn’t me,’ Devin replied as she pulled him to the bridge. He didn’t want to deal with her being moody, but he doubted it was going to get better the closer they got. ‘It’s our bond. We’re already bonded, hence we already share blood. If you just think the thoughts directly at me, I can hear them,’ Devin patiently explained.
Nessa paused and looked at him. Devin had logically explained it, and it did make sense. But that a human could readily use a blood bond without contact did seem a bit farfetched, even for Devin. Nessa debated internally while Devin watched. She let go of his arms and moved ahead on the one-person bridge. Devin followed behind her.
‘I promise, all you have to do is project your thoughts to me and I’ll hear them,’ Devin explained. His voice traveled through the air between them and into her mind. He had had tons of practice communicating mentally with his charge Arianna for the past year. It wasn’t a stretch to talk to Nessa that way as well.
Nessa paused at the base of the bridge and looked back at him, waiting for him to catch up. The few sidhe outside parted to make a clear path for Nessa to walk through the sparse crowd of people without having to walk around anyone. It was becoming clearer to Devin who was now in charge, even if Nessa didn’t see it.
‘You make it sound easy,’ she complained, oblivious to the people around her as she waited for him to step off the bridge.
‘It clearly is,’ Devin replied with a gen
uine smile. Nessa huffed, but secretly smiled as she turned back around. It was that easy.
Devin continued to follow Nessa as he stepped off the bridge behind her. All around him he analyzed the world he had just walked into. People milled about on dirt pathways. As they passed the first home, he saw that trees had been converted into houses. Branches were bent in several directions, forming walls, and plants grew up the sides, covering any openings. As Nessa had said before, it was all natural. He could tell from the shapes of the homes that the trees they were made of were still alive.
A few people were outside in the morning air, hurrying with chores before the sun rose completely, but for the most part they were more alone then he expected to be. That was the best way to make an entrance, but it worried Devin. He had no clue how many people actually lived in the strange houses, and for that matter, how many houses were actually there. Everything was well hidden, just as Lindsey had been, that Devin was worried he might miss something. The sidhe world was far stranger then he had expected, and had hidden pockets everywhere. If he was going to keep Nessa safe, he had to know and see more.
Nessa led the way through the trees and homes as she turned at what seemed like random points, but was in fact on a path to somewhere. Without a paved pathway, Devin was unsure where they were going. He made a mental map of the route they were taking. There was no telling what to expect, and he needed to know how to get them out of the village if needed, or if Nessa was unable to tell him how. Thus far, they had met two sidhe at the rest stop that tried to kill them, an ogre sidhe that worshiped the ground Nessa walked on, and a handful of sidhe that didn’t even notice them pass. There was no one way they were being greeted, and Devin needed to keep track of it all. His life might depend on it.
When Nessa finally reached her destination, she paused for Devin to take it in. Two large trees stood in the middle of the mass of growth. It was as if vines grew a latticework to make the walls. Between the trees was a large doorway with streamers of plants dangling down like a weeping willow tree. Even from their close vantage point, the whole structure was massive. Nessa waved a hand and the dangling branches moved aside to let them pass. Nessa led the way in, Devin following behind. The massive structure outside was actually a wall, and past the doorway was an open-air courtyard. Devin wondered if the village homes were the same way, a protective wall outside the home. If so, then he hadn’t really seen any homes, just their outside walls.
“Everyone in the immediate McKinny family lives here,” Nessa explained. “Each of the five families have their own compound.”
Devin looked down the wall. It led off to the left and right as far as he saw. Random doorways, like the one they walked in, dotted the walls.
“Why the wall if there is no one there to protect it?” Devin asked. There had to be at least ten to twenty doorways from what he saw, but not a soul around to guard them.
“Spells,” Nessa replied. “You can only enter with permission of a resident.”
Devin nodded and followed her as she led them between more buildings. The structures they passed were again natural, but were looking more like man-made structures. Nessa stopped at one and opened the door. It was completely dark inside, but came to light once she passed the threshold. It had to be Nessa’s home. Devin glanced around. They were in a moderately-sized, studio-like room. The kitchen was off to the side, and the bed was next to the other wall. In between were tables, chairs, and a couch.
Nessa rubbed her forehead and the stress seemed to be lessening now that she was home. Devin watched as she looked around the room and nodded to herself, as if she were taking inventory. Devin wondered how she could take inventory of the disaster that was the room. Books and papers were strewn everywhere in the large, one-room home.
“I’m going to take a shower and get to bed. It’s been a long day,” she explained. “Do you want the couch or the bed?” she asked. Not waiting for an answer, Nessa went into the only other doorway in the house, which Devin assumed was the bathroom.
Devin looked between them both. There wasn’t much room on either for a person to sleep. Books literally covered every surface in the house. The couch would be impossible to lie on, but the bed wasn’t in much better shape. Devin glanced at the bed, and it was probably the only place someone could sleep. There were only a half dozen books there compared to the at least fifty on the couch. And the bed was big enough for two. Devin took the books that remained on the bed and piled them on the floor next to it. He paused as he looked at the top book.
It was a handwritten book in an impeccable script. Devin looked at the title on the first page. Binding. This was exactly what he needed to read. It wasn’t the same small book that Nessa had given Andrew and Arianna. This one was much larger, and contained more details. Devin opened to the first page and sat down on the bed. They needed to find answers, and she said they could be in her room. Devin wasn’t going to waste any time and got right to reading. He was part way through the first chapter when Nessa finally came out of the bathroom. She looked to the couch and scrunched up her nose.
“Great,” she mumbled.
“You do know the bed is big enough for two,” Devin said to her without moving from his reading spot. He turned the page and was on to the second chapter. He hadn’t found about breaking the bond yet, just warnings about being serious with the bonding and that the repercussions of doing so were permanent. Devin wanted to believe Nessa that there was a way to break the bond, and thus needed to read more.
“No thanks,” she quickly added. She turned to the couch and sighed again loudly.
Devin looked up from his book and rolled his eyes at her as she began moving books. “You’ve never brought a guy home before, have you?” Devin teased. Nessa ignored him and continued to move books. “I really don’t bite. Day human after all, remember?” Devin patted the bed. Nessa paused. “And I’m sure the bed is more comfortable than the couch.”
Nessa was warring with herself internally. Devin saw that the couch was a losing battle. She’d have to spend at least the next fifteen minutes moving books, and then they would all be on the floor around the couch. If she did that, then she’d have to be careful to move without knocking them down. The couch was really more work than it was worth, especially since Devin had already cleared the whole bed.
Nessa gave up her fight with the stack of books and walked over to the other side of the bed. She pulled down the covers Devin was sitting on and climbed into her bed. Devin went back to reading his book. That was the norm for Devin. He didn’t need more than four hours of sleep per day, and once he was set on reading a book to get answers, he could go most of the day without sleep. The binding book he found possibly held answers. Nessa watched him read as she drifted off.
When Devin was sure she was asleep, he finally turned to look at her and began analyzing his growing need to protect her. It had been a crazy whirlwind of a trip to get into the sidhe village, Devin was sure it wasn’t going to stop now that they arrived. Her eyelids fluttered slightly while he watched her. Her relaxed face looked much younger. She was such a stark contrast to Arianna. Her dark, curly hair framed her face and sprawled out on the pillow around her distinctly unlike to Arianna’s golden hair. In fact, they were as different as night and day. He had watched Arianna for years, never allowing himself to get close enough to care. He never noticed anyone else. Now he was free to choose a life of his own, yet found himself stuck in the same pattern. He was slowly memorizing every detail of Nessa’s face as he watched her. He found himself not caring about anyone else around him. He felt the urge to protect her more than anything now. He wanted to say it was just the bond, and he wasn’t about to admit that it started before he was bound to her. Nessa was mesmerizing to him.
Nessa began to thrash in her sleep. She was mumbling something, but even without words, it wasn’t a good dream. Devin reached over and gently stroked her cheek. It was as soft as he expected it to be, but much warmer to his touch. He always viewed night h
umans as cold, precise creatures, but Nessa was anything but cold and calculated. Her thrashing slowed at his touch. Devin wanted to take his hand away, but he couldn’t. Something told him to keep it there. He blamed the bond, but beyond that, he wanted to feel her face. She was the first girl he ever truly looked at and wanted to know more about. Devin wanted to deny what his heart was feeling. Maybe there was more between them than he needed right now. Any growing feelings had to be crushed. They planned to break the bond as soon as they could. That was why they were there.
CHAPTER 4
A loud knock woke both Nessa and Devin from their sleep. Nessa was shocked to find herself cuddled up in Devin’s arms with only the thin blanket separating them. They both hurriedly and ungracefully untangled themselves from each other and jumped up on opposite sides of the bed, pretending like they hadn’t just been caught in each other’s arms. Nessa’s blush matched Devin’s.
Nessa opened the door only to be jumped on by her younger cousin.
“Nessie,” the younger female squealed, grabbing ahold of Nessa. “I told them you were home last night, but no one believed me. They all said you weren’t back yet. Really! I was assigned to find you as soon as you came back, but then everyone just laughed at me. It sucks being the youngest. They always think I’m wrong, but I can tell that I woke you, and I was right. You were back last night. Why can’t the adults believe me? I mean I don’t understand everything they said about a trial and how the houses are all upset about you. And they are all especially mad about you being next in line, since they don’t exactly want a queen but rather a king. I can tell when my favorite cousin comes home.” The girl said all of this in one breath. Devin nodded along, but Nessa knew he could barely make out all the words. No one but Nessa could really understand all Gemma said when she ranted.
Nessa smiled at her younger cousin. “Gemma. Slow down. What did they say about making me queen?”