Yew Queen Trilogy Read online

  A stand of silver maples crowded one wall, and three pines spread needled limbs that nearly brushed the ceiling. An oak grew beside a massive bed swathed in ruby velvet, the branches overtaking the curtained canopy with thick clusters of glossy leaves. Gnarled roots spread across the green clay tiles of the floor, then twisted their way up the sides of a fireplace the size of Hekla’s Volvo. Leafed faces carved into the hearth peered through the roots with wide eyes. Paintings of a bright blue, starry sky and angels in shining silver armor showed behind the trees. I tied the ends of my shirt, letting my stomach cool.

  “Is this your bedroom?” I could totally see him lounging on that bed, all glorious and magical. Damn. Why did he have to be hot and have a tragedy in his past? I wanted to hate him. I truly did. But I didn’t. I actually liked him.

  “In a way.”

  “How do you get these trees to live in here, away from the sun?”

  “They are a glamour. When I truly rest, I must go to the courtyard and lose myself in the trees there. These are only a reminder of home, a place to think.”

  The glamoured oak near the bed felt real enough under my palm, its trunk warm as the air. “How is this going to work?” I glanced at the bed and swallowed.

  “I can’t take from your aura and withhold my lure. You will feel…what you have experienced already when I approached you.” He returned my gaze, his eyes serious, giving me a wild case of butterflies.

  I licked my lips. The memory of those delicious shivers rolled through me. A bead of sweat rolled down my neck. “Why is it like summer in here?”

  Lucus watched that bead of perspiration travel past my collarbone, where it disappeared into my shirt. He looked up quickly, his throat moving in a swallow. “Don’t you enjoy the summer months? I could alter the glamour.”

  “No.” I waved a hand. “It’s fine.”

  He held out a hand. “May I?”

  “It’s nice you’re pretending I have a choice here.”

  “You do.”

  “Oh, sure.”

  “Your facial expressions have made it very clear how you feel about this bond between us, and you know I am not pleased with being fated to mate with the enemy of my kind. But bonded we are, and so I will not force you to do anything.”

  “This is a change.”

  “It is.”

  “So you’re saying you would let me leave here, that you wouldn’t lure me back, if I took off and refused to give you or your brothers any of my energy?” A voice inside my head said I didn’t want his brothers to die. I didn’t want to see Lucus suffer any more than he already had. But I couldn’t let myself think like that. He was a serious danger to humanity, to my hometown, to Hekla. Lucus and his brothers were deadly. Why did I feel such empathy for them? I had to hate them.

  But my heart wasn’t listening to reason. And neither was my body.

  “I’m afraid that is exactly what I’m saying. I can’t believe it myself. But I feel…protective of you, Coren.” He lifted his extended hand and cupped my chin between his thumb and finger. Pleasure rocketed from the touch and down my spine, warmth gathering in my core. “I don’t know what will happen between us, with my life and yours, but I can’t deny this.” His gaze locked on mine, and emerald fire sparked in his eyes. “I feel a tie to your heart. Do you not feel it? I’m the one with no choice here. I am bonded to you. I am yours to do with as you please.”

  It was like I was possessed. I placed a hand over his heart as the bond pulsed inside me. I knew what it was. Somehow, I just knew. Was this magic too? I didn’t want to feel this way, but I did. He was suddenly important to me. His loss. His gain. I wanted to please him. Dammit. It was horrible and wonderful and insane all at once.

  “Do all people with power in their blood have a fated mate?”

  “Yes, but some are never fortunate enough to find them.”

  I wanted to continue questioning him, but in this strange forest with this man I didn’t want to be attracted to but was completely insane for, I was—for once in my life—at a loss for words.

  And so I just fell into the feeling. I could come up for air later and figure this all out and save the world. For now, I would help this man who had lost his people, this monster who was gentle and sad, this magical creature who had shown me wonders I’d never dreamed could exist.

  Reaching out, I tangled my fingers in his ebony and emerald hair. I gave him a good glare but tilted my head back to expose my throat.

  Slowly, Lucus inched my shirt farther from my neck. Every touch scattered shivers along my skin. His lure poured over me, waves of aching and yearning crashing through me, making me tremble. I gripped his hair more tightly, and a quiet growl rumbled in his chest as he poised his mouth just under my ear. My body thrummed with heat at his warm breath, my skin sticky as nectar against his body. I wanted his clothes and mine out of the way. He kissed the hollow in my throat, and I gasped, sliding my hand under his shirt to feel his flat stomach and the muscles in his chest. He brushed a hand over my shirt and undid a button, then two more. I had to stop this. It was wrong. Wasn’t it?

  But then Lucus’s mouth found mine, and my blood rushed through my veins, my nipples pebbling and my senses soaked in his lure and the awe of what he was and what I was…

  The kiss intensified, his tongue dancing across mine and pulling a moan from deep within me. I felt so many emotions, sensations—it was like the best of roller coasters, the greatest drop off a cliff into the water, the most thrilling race down a dark forest path.

  “Coren.” His voice was raspy and bursting with need.

  He lifted me and set me on the bed. His weight pinned me to the voluptuous mattress, his body hard against me. Wings spread wide above me, he dipped his horned head to kiss me gently, sucking my lower lip before dragging his mouth down my neck as he took a deep breath. I gripped the curves of his biceps, then yanked his shirt away so I could kiss his chest as his hips rolled forward. Energy filled me as he inhaled against my neck, taking in my aura. His wings shivered, and I was undone.

  But Lucus raised himself up on his hands, pulling away from me. “Coren. Do you truly want to do this?”

  His lure retreated, the cascades of pleasure receding, but only slightly. My body still thrummed with heat and desire. It wasn’t from his lure. It was the bond. It was him. It was us.

  And he was right to question this. We didn’t know one another. Not this well. Not when I was planning to trap him in an ancient castle and run away.

  “No.” I propped myself onto my elbows, my cheeks hot. “Not yet. Or maybe…” I couldn’t bring myself to say never, not when it felt like a lie. A line from a Daughter song slipped through my mind. I want all that is not mine. He wasn’t even a part of my world. Sure, I had some dash of mage blood or whatever, but this…

  He tucked his wings and brushed his hair away from his horns. Closing his eyes and standing beside the bed, he seemed to rein himself in. “Of course. Coren, you are special.”

  I buttoned my shirt and stood beside him. “Oh, hold on. Don’t act like I’m a holy darling because I’m not going to sleep with you right now. I don’t buy that kind of B.S.”

  “That’s not what I mean. I mean you.” He touched my chest, his gentle finger resting on the spot above my heart. “You are dear to me. Beyond the bond. You have my enemy’s blood, but you have such courage.” Turning, he glamoured his wings and horns away. “Your will is so strong. I love the way you respect your own desires. You have an amazing amount of control, far more than I possess.”

  My heart knocked on my chest like a fist on a locked door as I realized he wouldn’t have stopped if it weren’t for me.

  I was good with changing the subject. If I didn’t, I’d probably shove him right back on that fabulous bed of his and rock the damn it out of his world. “I don’t have control over this magic of mine. I’m just waiting for another shock.”

  “You need to follow your instincts. To think less, and simply react. Once you learn to listen to
your instinct, you’ll most likely learn how to diffuse your power into the earth as needed and bring it forward, increasing it when you want to cast a stronger spell.”

  “Most likely?”

  He shrugged. “I am not an expert. Only another mage would know for certain.”

  We both straightened our clothing, not meeting each other’s eyes.

  I didn’t have any magical instincts, for crying out loud. I’d just now figured out I had this power. I felt like an idiot who’d won some weird lottery even though she’d never bought a ticket. “Are there any other mages out there?”

  “I don’t think so. As Kaippa mentioned, we fae ignite the magic inside a mage’s or a shapeshifter’s blood. There are only us three left, and we haven’t been out in the world.”

  “Until me.”

  “Until you.”

  “What happens if I can’t control it? Will I really be in a load of trouble?”

  “You will.”

  I nodded, taking that in. Great. Cool. More to deal with.

  Lucus stopped at the door. “I want to take your arm, Coren, but I won’t because I don’t want my brothers to know about our bond. Or my feelings. They would mistrust me for good reason.”

  “I get that.” I brushed past him and headed down the corridor where the firelight from the sconces flickered brightly. “Can we talk normalish things?”

  “Of course, but, Coren, you should consider what I mentioned, about feeling for your magical instincts.”

  “I feel zero on that front.”

  Lucus frowned. “Just try.”

  “Can we talk about something else?” I ran hands through my messy hair. “My brain is exhausted.”

  “Ask me anything.”

  This was good. This felt less serious. I needed some less serious for a minute or maybe a lifetime. “Who lights these sconces?”

  “They’re enchanted to remain lit.”

  “Got it. Now, about that glamour thing. Are your wings and whatnot still there when you glamour them to be invisible?”

  He chuckled. “If I use a weak glamour, they remain slightly visible, still present. If I enact a strong glamour, they go fully into the ether.”

  “The do what?”

  “As magical beings, we exist on two planes. This one,” he said, pointing to the floor, “and the ether.” He spread his hands to indicate—what exactly?

  “Like another dimension?”

  A frown tugged at his full lips. “I think so. The translation lacks depth, but I think that is as close as we will come in your language.”

  The sun broke over us as we strode into the castle’s inner courtyard.

  Baccio and Aurelio stood by the pines, eyes hungry. A chill snaked around my throat as a growl rumbled from Baccio. “Brother dear, if you don’t infuse these trees to the fullest of your power, I think you’ll need to let us have a moment with this bella giovane donna.”

  Anger pushed me forward. “Your alpha made a deal with me, and unless I’m mistaken, your kind can’t lie. Seems like that would include breaking bargains.”

  Lucus’s mouth twitched, and he covered his lips with a hand. “She makes a good point.”

  Baccio started toward me, but Aurelio gripped his arm. “Brother. We will do this the old way. Calm yourself.”

  I really hoped this old way didn’t involve me sticking around any longer. I needed to leave now, to shake Lucus from my head and focus on planning on how to deal with this whole nightmare without becoming a monster myself.

  Chapter 23

  With me behind him, Lucus walked into the courtyard’s small but impressive forest, and the trees bent toward him as he passed. I wanted to leave, but curiosity sank its claws into me, tearing all sense from my head. How was this going to work? Would I be able to see my energy—the aura Lucus had taken—flow into a tree? His brothers gave him space as he set a hand on the largest of the pines. A breeze tossed the trees, and the only sound was the shushing of the needles above our heads.

  Closing his eyes, Lucus murmured in what I guessed was the fae language. It sounded similar to what I’d heard in his memory. Light bloomed under his palm and filtered through his fingers, where it seemed to soak into the tree. A faint shimmer danced along the pine’s trunk, and a sigh left me at the beauty of it. Damn, it was tough to loathe these immortals.

  Baccio and Aurelio approached the large pine as Lucus stepped back. Baccio held out a hand to Aurelio, gesturing for him to go ahead. And do what, I didn’t know, but that seemed to be the meaning because Aurelio nodded in thanks, then turned his back to the pine, crossing his arms over his chest like ancient knights on their fancy tombs. What was he doing? I was about to ask when he just…disappeared.

  Like for reals.

  Well, not completely disappeared. The faint outline of his eyes and mouth shone from inside the tree. He was inside the pine tree. I blew out a breath. Wow.

  Lucus faced a second pine and laid a hand on its scarred trunk. The light rose under his flesh, making it glow, then the tree took the energy in, the energy from me and my aura.

  So freaky.

  Baccio did the same as Aurelio had, his gaze haunting as he stared at me from inside the tree, his silhouette like a ghost.

  “You should go,” Lucus said quietly, not turning to face me. “They are sated for now. For the first time in a long, long time. I thank you for that.”

  I swallowed and flexed my hands. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you at dawn in three days.”

  “Be well.” Lucus’s voice echoed in my heart, the bond rising to the surface of my confused tangle of feelings.

  “You too,” I mumbled as I hurried toward the door.

  Vines snapped from the stones of the courtyard and opened the door for me, raising the portcullis as I stepped through.

  I didn’t feel as light as I’d thought I would leaving the castle. I was distracted as I started up my bike. An old Honda in the space behind me roared to life simultaneously, and I jumped, feeling uncentered.

  As I drove into mid-morning traffic, I looked over my shoulder one more time, the sensation of eyes on me as irritating as my blinker that didn’t want to cut off when I turned.

  I just needed a break. Some thinking and plotting time. I was getting paranoid.

  After a shower at home, I headed to the bakery where I found Hekla, who waved at me, and a red-faced Ami at the register.

  “I didn’t mean to add it up wrong, Hekla. I’m really sorry.” Ami snapped her gum and glanced up.

  “It’s fine. You’re just stressed out.” Hekla hugged her, then ran to me and gave me the same treatment.

  I squeezed her hard. “Thanks. It seems we’re all in need of Hekla hugs at the moment.”

  Hekla pulled away and slapped my arm. “Tell us all the things!”

  Ami wiggled her eyebrows. “Yeah. Spill. The lunch rush will be on us soon, and we need the dirty details.”

  I suddenly needed a very large glass of very cold water. I escaped to the kitchen and filled one of our massive coffee cups at the tap.

  Ami and Hekla leaned on the doorframe. They wore matching glares.

  “You are not getting out of this,” Hekla said. “At least give us a happiness number.”

  We used happiness numbers to gauge situations. I’d scored a ten when I’d won the TV baking show. The day my old dog had died was a negative eleven.

  How could I score Lucus and this whole experience? It was impossible. “A negative five layered with a firm eight and a resounding ten.”

  Hekla and Ami traded looks.

  “Oh, now we are definitely going to need more deets, woman.” The oven beeped, and Hekla donned her giant mitts and removed a tray of chocolate croissants.

  My mouth watered. “Oh, sweet heaven.”

  Hekla shoved one at me and another at Ami. We munched in silence for a beat before Hekla started in on me again.

  “All right. You are fed. We have made a sacrifice to you, love goddess.”

  “His name i
s Lucus.” At that moment, a bit of Aunt Viv trivia spilled through my memory. If you learn a fae’s true name, you hold power over him. Would Lucus have given me his real name so easily? Probably not, if Aunt Viv was right, and she’d been right about a lot. So what was his actual name? If I could figure it out—

  Hekla snapped her fingers in front of my nose. “Hello in there!”

  Ami snorted and ate another croissant.

  “Sorry. Yeah. Lucus is a bit of an enigma.”

  Hekla grinned. “With a great ass.”

  “Truth.” Ami nodded.

  I faced her. “Wait, how do you know? You didn’t see him.”

  Ami pointed a chocolatey finger. “She told me what he looked like.”

  Hekla did a little shimmy. “I’m good at describing things.”

  I downed the rest of my water, the cool liquid reminding me of the breeze in the pines. “He’s from Italy. I think. Sort of.”

  “He did have a fab accent,” Hekla said.

  “He has a couple of brothers.” I kept an eye on her to see if she remembered anything, but her face was open and curious. Wow, was I glad she was safe from all those baddies. I wondered if my mage blood protected me from the memory loss of the lure. “One is a jerk but the other one is pretty cool. They’re only in town for like a month.”

  “Oh,” Ami said, “that’s the negative five part, right?”

  I pressed my hands over my closed eyes, breathing in the familiar scent of the bakery, longing for a little comfort. “Sure. Yeah.”

  “A month isn’t nothing.” Hekla elbowed me as the bell on the front door jingled. The lunch rush was beginning. “You can get a lot of loving done in a month.” She winked, and it reminded me of Kaippa’s wink.

  I touched my neck. I hadn’t even thought about whether the mark of his fangs would be visible.

  “You can’t hide it now,” Ami said, leaving the kitchen to go to her battle station at the register. “We both saw the signs of a hickey.”

  I almost laughed, nearly tearing up. More than anything, I wished it was a mark from a simple make-out session. Little did Hekla and Ami know that a couple hours ago I was not having a sweet little morning. I’d been trapped between two monsters, giving up my magical blood and golden aura.