He walked off and took no more than five steps before I felt an insistent tug, a niggling urge pushing me toward him. I suspected it had something to do with that painful heat I'd felt when he'd touched me skin to skin for the first time. He had a lot of explaining to do. Gritting my teeth, I started after him and reached out the same moment as he did to clasp hands. We trod a path of crunching leaves and snapping twigs. The breeze was sweetly fragrant and smelled of green things. It was quiet now apart from the sound of small furry things going about their business in the understory.
"Speak then," I said. "Don't go all shy on me."
"I'm a fairy."
I blinked and froze. The wind stirred fallen leaves and wrapped his words around me. A few words truly can take your breath away, or make you doubt your own mind. I walked on, not seeing, hearing or feeling.
I managed a sharp noise. "You must think I'm stupid or something. You want me to believe that you are one of the rarest species on the planet?"
He bit back a smile. "You believed I was a demon easily enough."
"Well, we are in demon territory. You hid from Clerics and only demons do that."
"You ran from Clerics."
He had me there. "Uh, we're not talking about me," I said hotly. "I'm not the smartest girl, but I'm not stupid either. I'll be just as impressed if you tell me you're a shifter or witch."
"What about me don't you believe?" he asked after a small pause.
I was on a sarcasm-high now. "Yeah, sure. I believe you. Lucky Rae see's two fairies, the one kind of demon that is nearly extinct. And she sees them within minutes of each other. Even though the odds of that are-"
"What did the other look like?"
"Uh, green skin and all this long fiery hair."
He made a clucking noise meant to sound cross, but he smiled radiantly, silver eyes faraway. "I told her to hide her true form."
The direction of my thoughts became hideously plain, and icy horror froze the blood in my veins.
"I'm guessing you know her?" I tried to keep the question casual but my voice sounded shrill.
"The fairy you saw is called Maeve. She's my little sister."
I stared at him, my lips becoming numb. "Sister," I whispered. "How can you know that? Aren't all of your females green with red hair?"
"Do all human females have light hair, eyes and skin? No, all fairies are unique, though, there are typical things like our pointed ears and sharp teeth." He must have figured I was having a simple moment. I didn't back chat like I usually would. "Don't worry," his voice was gentle. "Maeve is a force of good. She's been looking for you too, and she wouldn't hurt you. She's young and stealth is not her gift. She has skills with a blade not even Conall can match." There was a deep affection in his voice as he spoke of her.
I felt dirty for not saying something sooner and opened my mouth to speak. Those curls of fear sprung up in my belly, and lashed at my insides to silence me. I locked my jaw. No words seemed adequate enough to explain what had happened. Before I had been sad about what had happened to the fairy, even guilty. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't spooked the Clerics. They might have let her go. If I told him what happened, how I'd disturbed them and gotten his sister killed, what would he do to me?
Oh gods, I felt queasy. The stress was eating away at me, and I was wound up tight right down to my baby toes.
Then the outline of something big prowled past, ghosting through the trees. I forgot about Breandan, I forgot I'd seen his sister take a bullet to the chest, and forgot I was lost in demon territory as my entire body locked down. Blood rushed in my ears as the shadow trod a path parallel to where we stood. Breandan was calm and unmoved so I toughed it out, and stayed put.
It emerged from behind a tree a few paces away to cross our path. Black and freckled with flaxen rosettes, the big cat's emerald eyes with slitted black pupils, swept over us. The powerful build and handsome face were too brawny to be anything but male. Slinking to a stop, his ears pricked up and he looked me right in the eye. A wave of consciousness flashed across my skin, and for a beat I couldn't breathe.
