Beauty (A Faery Story 3)

“She’s alive.” It was the only explanation. Somehow the little twit had survived and lain out a body to be mistaken as her own. Perhaps that was why she’d set the fire.

Seamus shook his head, but he hadn’t been a decent liar in life, and his turn as a sluagh hadn’t fixed the problem.

Torin roared, the sound combining with the bean sidhe’s wail. He put a hand to Glannis’s throat and squeezed until the hag’s eyes bulged.

“Find Bronwyn Finn.”

Chapter Four

Shim stared out over the ocean. The temptation to grab the invisible thread that bound him to Bronwyn was nearly overwhelming. This was where the thread had always been its strongest. Here on the beach. Now, Shim understood why. There was a crack in the veil here that they would shortly slip through. It would lead t

hem to Tir na nÓg.

The night before he’d felt so close to her. They’d drawn her in, bringing her to the chamber that would one day be theirs and stripping her bare. She’d been so beautiful, her skin nearly pearlescent in the moonlight. At first, she’d stayed in the sun, her domain. In those moments when she’d turned her face up to the sun, she’d been a goddess, remote and untouchable, a true vision of pure Seelie beauty. But once they had her in their domain, she’d looked perfect—sexy and so fuckable that Shim’s dick was still in agony hours later.

“Do you think she just woke up?” Lach asked, joining him. Lach was already dressed for travel, in plain clothes and worn boots. Nothing that would give away the fact that they were royalty. It wouldn’t work here in the Unseelie kingdom, but once they got to the Seelie plane, it was hoped they could blend in. They were, if anyone asked, merchants travelling to the agricultural provinces. That would explain the guard. Merchants had more rights than peasants, but were far less interesting than nobles.

Though the sheer fact that they were travelling with a group of mercenary vampires, a gnome who thought he was the next coming of Lugh, and a girl who could change into a wolf might hurt them in the blending-in department.

Shim sighed. The dream the night before had been the most vivid since their childhood. It had hurt when she’d disappeared. “I suppose so.”

“You don’t think she cut off contact herself, do you?” Lach asked, his expression blank, but that didn’t work on the man who held the other half of his soul.

The smarter half. “No. She was right on the edge of a massive orgasm, Lach, so no I don’t think she decided to cut us off. She woke up. It happens. Besides, as far as I can tell, she hasn’t figured out how to tune us out.”

Shim turned. They had been walking since daybreak, trudging back and forth along the beach, looking for something Simon Roan, the mercenary, called a weak point. He would stop every now and then, use his tablet to take readings, and then move on. Finally, they had stopped here. And then the waiting had begun.

Lach shrugged as though it didn’t really matter. “I was just wondering if she’d figured out something.”

Shim sighed and looked at his brother. Though they had known all of their lives that this one woman was meant for them, he was sure that things seemed to be happening very quickly for Lachlan. “I had more control last night. Did you feel it?”

Lach nodded. “A bit, though I know you have the stronger connection.”

And that was a point of contention between them. “Only because I had hold of the thread when she died. It connected us. It doesn’t mean she’s going to love you less, Lach. I think we should try to find a way to tell her, and I think we should show her your real face.”

In the dreams, Lach’s face was always perfect, freed from the scars of reality.

The unscarred side of Lach’s head flushed a deep red. “So says the man with the perfect face.”

“Damn it, Lach, she’s not going to reject you.”

“You heard what her brothers said. She was raised a princess of the Seelie. She won’t want me. And I don’t know what to do now that it’s staring me in the face. I have to save her. And I can’t let her go.” Lach took a long breath. The night before, they had broken bread with Beck and Cian, who had been more than willing to talk about their little sister. Bronwyn, they had explained, had always been a bit of a brat princess. Indulged by their mother, she had been raised to expect a perfect life. She should have never had a moment’s struggle. They had no idea how she’d survived on her own.

But Shim knew. She was stronger than anyone gave her credit for. He could feel it. She was a different person than the child they had played through their dreams with. She was a woman who had fought for her life and was changed by the fight. She might have started life as a Seelie princess, as Beck and Cian Finn’s sister, but she was his and Lach’s woman now.

Duffy walked up to them, though waddling was perhaps a better word for what the gnome was doing. He was covered in plate armor, the very armor Shim had requested be made for his last birthday. It had been made as thin as could be, but it still weighed more than Duffy. Julian followed behind the small gnome, slowing his normally long strides to match Duffy’s.

Lach’s mouth turned down in a frown. “Are you sure we should let him come along? I’m worried about him.”

“We’re going to be surrounded by vampires who know what they’re doing,” Shim assured him. He lowered his voice as Duffy got closer, not wanting the gnome to know what they spoke of. “You can’t leave him behind. He would never forgive us. We’re going after Bronwyn. Don’t you think he’ll want to see Gilly again?”

Duffy had loved Gillian for as long as Shim could remember. Duffy, for all his flirting, had been sweet on only Gillian, and he’d held that torch for thirteen years. Duffy wasn’t foolish enough to believe his love would be returned. He’d told Shim time and time again, but Shim couldn’t leave him behind.

Lach nodded tightly. “All right then. But I don’t know about the vampires all knowing what they’re doing. Why the hell is Dellacourt coming along?”

Julian lifted Duffy on to the ledge they stood on overlooking the sea. The gnome’s armor clanged a bit, and he had to find his balance.

“Dellacourt’s not so bad,” Julian assured them. “And he won’t let his wife go without him. I think you’ll find Kaja very helpful. You might know the district where your bondmate lives, but Kaja can pick up Gillian’s scent. She’ll save you days of looking.”