Wild Desire Ch. 06

"You were perfect," she said, watching for his worried expression to soften. "I mean, I could have done without the serial killer twins watching. For future reference, I would change that tiny little detail." Her Lord snorted in response. He stared deep into her eyes and tipped his head down to place a kiss on her lips.

Daniella was exhausted from the stresses of the day. She felt so secure and comfortable in her Lord's arms that she slid right into sleep. He let her sleep for twenty minutes. He hated to keep her from much needed rest to restore her equilibrium, but they had pressing matters to attend to.

Eventually he slipped out of the bed and pulled on his favorite pair of loose lounge pants and a cozy sweater. It was well into the third watch of the night and he needed to convene his inner council. The Lord watched his lover sleeping peacefully in his bed and an overwhelming feeling of protection and satisfaction welled up in him. She looked so delicate and sweet lying there, belying her strength and spitfire spirit. Just thinking about that wicked look and taunting smirk she liked giving him was enough to send a twinge of desire through him.

The Lord forced himself to shake her awake. Daniella opened her eyes fuzzily, scowling at him. "Up, Little One. We must meet with my inner council."

Daniella closed her eyes again but sat up obediently. The sheet slipped from her body. Her Lord's mouth watered as he allowed himself a few breaths to run his eyes over the marks on her neck and breasts from their earlier play session. He didn't allow himself too much time to get distracted, and produced a cozy sweater that was the twin to his own. Daniella allowed him to guide her arms into the soft garment and shrugged it over her head.

She stretched and forced herself to get out of bed, letting the sweater fall into place. She thought her Lord might just have her wear it as a dress, but he handed her a pair of fuzzy lounge pants.

"Are you comfortable Little One?" Her Lord asked, helping her to tighten the drawstring on her pants and roll up the sleeves of her sweater. Daniella gave him a wry smile at his mild fussing over her.

"I'm fine, Lord." It was only then that she noticed he was dressed almost identically in a soft sweater and faery-style fuzzy joggers. Daniella almost laughed at how casual he looked. "You look — um — comfy?"

He rolled his eyes. "Come, Little One."

He pulled her into a hug and then they were flying through the fabric of space. Daniella buried her face in the neck of her sweater, inhaling the subtle scent of her Lord that lingered there. She counted his heartbeats — four, five, six — and they were on solid footing again. She didn't even have time to clarify with him just who he meant by "inner council."

To her surprise she saw they had landed in the living room of her tree. Feldspar was in the kitchen making tea. Gneiss was sharpening a pair of long hunting knives in the easy chair closest to the door. It took Daniella a moment to notice Nephrite, who was barely visible under several blankets on the couch.

Her Lord went to Nephrite first. He knelt and murmured quietly to her. She pushed herself up to sitting, still cocooned in her protective layer of blankets, making room for him on the couch. Feldspar brought five steaming mugs over and set them on the coffee table. He settled in another seat with a clear view of the door, taking a freshly sharpened knife from Gneiss.

Daniella stood awkwardly for a moment. All the seats were taken and suddenly she was flashing back to meeting her college boyfriend's friends for the first time: her standing awkwardly at the door, them piled into their usual seats to watch the game.

She didn't quite know how she fit in with her Lord's chosen family. She felt totally out of place, which was even stranger because she was in her own damn treehouse and these were her own roommates. All the same, here in this private space with his closest friends, her Lord looked vulnerable and comfortable in way that was new to her.

Her Lord glanced up and saw her hesitation. "Little One, come here," he said, patting his knee. Daniella's heart skipped a beat and she wound around the coffee table to settle herself in his lap. He wrapped an arm around her and passed her a mug of hot tea before getting his own. Daniella leaned against his shoulder, enjoying the security of his arm around her.

The four faeries sipped from their mugs, all looking exhausted and shell-shocked. When all the tea had been drunk, Feldspar gathered the cups and put them in the kitchen. Still the faeries sat in silence, though some of the tension had eased from the room.

Nephrite was the first to speak, her voice surprisingly steady as she spoke from her protective nest of blankets. "I cannot go back," she said, addressing her Lord directly.

"Of course not, dearest," Gneiss cut in. "We will not let them take you."

"Indeed we will not," her Lord said. "For as long as they are here, someone will accompany Nephrite at all times."

"With pleasure," Feldspar said, twirling the wicked blade Gneiss had sharpened. It was disconcerting how natural the knife looked in his hands. Up till now Daniella had only seen those hands give pleasure. She hadn't realized the sweet faery even had weapons, let alone knew how to use them.

"Feldspar and I will take it in shifts," Gneiss said decisively, strapping her own knife to her waist.

"Good. I doubt Nephrite is the only reason for their visit. I've tasked a dozen others with monitoring them when I cannot personally do so, and alerted the entire territory to be on guard. I am afraid we will need to suffer their presence until we understand why their master has sent them," her Lord said.

"And what of Disruption? Surely their visit bears some connection to her appearance in our territory," Gneiss said, her voice hard-edged but calm as she gestured to Daniella.

"Little One — " her Lord said slowly, emphasizing his name for her, "will stay with me. They have already taken an interest in her."

Nephrite winced. "Nobody should have to take my place —" she said, leaving off when the other faeries shushed her.

Daniella sat up a bit straighter. "I won't lie and say that I love entertaining them, Nephrite. But if this is what it takes to keep us all safer, Lord and I can put on a show."

Nephrite reached out from her blankets and squeezed Daniella's hand with a wan smile.

"Do not stray from the Lord's side," she said. "They are more dangerous than you can imagine."

A heavy silence fell over the group as the four faeries contemplated what Daniella assumed was a long and ugly history with the interloping faeries. She leaned against her Lord, wishing she could get him alone to gets some answers about Hemlock and Oleander, and more importantly, the ominous "master" they answered to.

"Still, my Lord, the question bears repeating," Gneiss said at last. "Surely it cannot be coincidence that we accept a human into our territory, and shortly thereafter Hemlock and Oleander arrive after all these years."

Feldspar cleared his throat. "There is something that may be relevant, Lord." He glanced at Daniella before continuing. "You were — distracted — after Little One and I examined the fish down at the stream and we never reported our findings."

The faeries all turned to Daniella in unison. Daniella slid off her Lord's lap and retrieved her notebook from her room. She flipped to her sketches of the poisoned fish and held it up for the faeries to see. Gneiss leaned forward to examine the pictures closely while Nephrite and Feldspar blanched and found other places to look.

"Your stream is contaminated. Based on the levels of decomposition of the dead fish, the problem has been ongoing, possibly for as long as a month."

Gneiss looked up sharply. "Simply astounding! I wonder what could possibly have disrupted the balance of the Wood in the last month?" she said sarcastically. Daniella's face crumpled slightly. She dug her nails into her palms and counted her breaths to re-focus herself. She hated the idea that she was inadvertently hurting the Wood. Even worse, she knew Gneiss was probably right and she didn't know what to do about it.

"Were you able to determine the contaminant?" her Lord asked gently, ignoring Gneiss' comment.

"No," Daniella let the single word hang in the air long enough for disappointment to fill her Lord's face. Then she drew a steadying breath and pushed all the academic authority she had into her voice to continue. "I took samples from the water. If I had access to my lab at the university I could tell you not only what the contaminant is, but likely where it's coming from and how to stop it."

The faeries all turned to their Lord. He studied Daniella's face, which she hoped looked innocent and neutral. She wasn't lying about the contaminant or her need for a lab. What she wasn't saying — and what she hoped her Lord wouldn't discern — was that she wasn't sure she'd come back if she was allowed to leave the Wood.

"As returning to the human territory is not a possibility at this time, what do you recommend?" her Lord asked after studying her for an uncomfortably long time.

"Well, Feldspar already raised the alarm not to use the stream for eating or drinking. Beyond that, I'm not sure. The contaminant could spread if animals from the Wood prey on fish from the stream. We'll need to be vigilant for any symptoms in the carnivores."

She debated silently whether to say more. The water wraiths were horrifying creatures and they had had every intention of murdering her when she was outside her Lord's protection. Then again, nobody deserved to die a slow death by poisoning. Plus she had no idea whether her Lord would prefer them living or dead in the balance of the Wood's delicate ecosystem. She cleared her throat. "And — if you want the water wraiths to live, they'll probably need to be moved to another water source... If that's even possible."

Her Lord regarded her thoughtfully. "Thank you, Little One. Gneiss, you will inform the water wraiths of the danger in the event they are unaware of their precarious position."

The four faeries spent another hour planning their movements for the next several days, ensuring that Nephrite would never be alone. Gneiss distributed more weapons from various trapdoors around the room that Daniella had never known existed. She even gave Daniella a knife and showed her how to use it with the ever-so-helpful advice to keep the sharp end pointed away from herself.

As dawn approached the exhausted group headed for bed. Nephrite led the way up the ladder toward the bedrooms, followed by Feldspar and Gneiss. Daniella expected her Lord to whisk himself off to his own residence, but instead he took her hand and followed the others up. By some silent agreement the faeries all followed Nephrite into her room.

Nephrite crawled into her bed, pulling her voluminous duvet up to her chin. Gneiss crawled in next to her and took Nephrite into her arms. Feldspar spooned up behind Gneiss, throwing an arm around her companionably. Daniella hesitated and glanced at her Lord. He yawned and nudged gently toward the puppy pile of faeries on the bed. She climbed in on Nephrite's other side, leaving a few inches of room between her and the faery. Her Lord plopped in behind her with the grace of an ox and wrapped an arm around her. Daniella leaned back against him, slipping into sleep almost instantly despite the newness of her bed fellows.

Too soon dawn light filtered through the windows, waking Daniella. Her Lord groaned behind her. She vaguely registered him raising an arm out of the covers and snapping his fingers. Instantly the room darkened again as curtains appeared over the windows. Daniella sighed and snuggled more securely into his arms, returning to sleep in seconds.

The next time she awoke, her Lord was gone. The room was still darkened by curtains, making it impossible to tell what time of day it was. As she came to awareness, Daniella realized her pillow was wet and the bed was shaking almost imperceptibly. She blinked, sorting out what her senses were telling her.

"Nephrite?" she whispered. Her bedmate sniffled and drew a shaky breath.

"S-s-sorry," Nephrite whispered back. "Did I wake you?"

"Are you okay?"

Daniella felt Nephrite shake her head in the darkness. Nephrite let out a few brokenhearted sobs, melting Daniella's lingering awkwardness of finding herself in bed with her roommate. She slid her arms around Nephrite's shaking shoulders and held her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked when the faery had finally subsided into silence.

"Hemlock and Oleander..." she said, almost as if that explained everything. Daniella waited.

"Did you know that faeries are not born powerful?" Nephrite said after gathering herself. Her voice was hollow, almost cold. Daniella shook her head.

"Here in the Wood, we draw power from the land and our connections with each other. Where I came from, power is taken by force. Hemlock and Oleander are their master's most powerful subjects."

"By force?"

Nephrite was silent for an uncomfortably long time. Finally she said flatly, "When I was young I never realized..." she subsided into a long silence.

"I was young and in love, but over time my lover changed. He became cruel, told me I was unlovable, blamed me for perceived slights. You cannot imagine the games he played. He grew more powerful by the day until I feared for my life when he was in a foul mood.

"My heart was broken. I was considering leaving him when I received word from the Lord of the Wood. At that time I barely knew him. He risked so much to get a message to me."

She drew an unsteady breath and let it out in a rush. "He had discovered the body of my lover on the edge of the Wood, mutilated and drained of blood."

"I'm so sorry," Daniella whispered.

"He had been dead for a month by the time he was found."

"Wait. What?"

"What the Lord and I pieced together was that Hemlock and Oleander, with the support of their master, tortured my lover over a period of days, maybe weeks. They drank his pain and fear to fuel their power. When they killed him the infusion of energy gave them the power to do things none of us had previously known were possible."

Daniella felt bile rise up in her throat as she realized what Nephrite was saying.

"I will never know when my last day with him was, what my last words to him were. I will always wonder when it was that Hemlock and Oleander abducted him, when it was that Hemlock began wearing his face and walking in his skin," Nephrite said, her voice devoid of emotion.

Daniella swallowed with effort as the horror of what Hemlock and Oleander had done washed over her. She couldn't think of anything to say that wasn't a lie. Life wasn't like a fairytale. Good did not always triumph, heroes did not always win the day, and there wasn't always someone around to save the damsel in distress. All she could offer was a silent promise to do all she could to protect Nephrite from Hemlock and Oleander.

When they finally got up they found Feldspar alone in the living room, apparently left behind to keep watch. As they entered the room he stood, one hand resting on the hilt of his dagger. Nephrite tensed and put one hand on Daniella's arm to hold her back from going any closer.

"Sunrise over Shanghai," Feldspar said.

"Moonset in Montauk," Nephrite replied.

Both faeries breathed a sigh of relief, having exchanged the correct code words to prove their identities. Over the next several weeks, Daniella and the four faeries repeated the same ritual every time they reunited. Daniella did her best to never let her Lord out of her sight. The specter of what Hemlock and Oleander had done to Nephrite's lover was never far from her mind.

Days blurred together. Daniella trailed always a step behind her Lord and sat silently at his feet during meals. In front of Hemlock and Oleander her body was a thing to be beaten, tortured, debased. Hemlock took a liking to whispering disgusting things in her ear as her Lord played with her body. Oleander complained loudly and often that her Lord didn't bleed her so that they could feed off her life force. At night she toppled into bed, the faeries' demeaning words and cruel faces playing through her head in the few moments before sleep took her.

The only thing that kept her sane was the stolen looks and secret words from her Lord that conveyed through everything: This is not all you are. This is not what we are. This is a game and we will win it.

Three weeks passed quickly and one morning the Lord awoke before dawn. He rubbed his eyes blearily and considered trying to go back to sleep. He was tired of Hemlock and Oleander's presence. Perhaps today it would be worthwhile to turn them out. He smiled at the thought. The tenuous peace between the Wood and their master had lasted many years, but his patience with their games was wearing thin.

He started to roll out of bed but a tug on his sweatpants waylaid him. He turned back to Little One. Her breathing was soft and slow with sleep, but her grip on his pants was ironclad. Gently he reached down and began working to pry himself free so he could get up. Her brow furrowed and she murmured in her sleep, clutching him all the tighter. The Lord's heart seized up. She had been so strong in the face of Hemlock and Oleander over the last several weeks, but in her sleep she couldn't put on a brave face. He pulled her into his arms, smiling at her sleepy grumbles and the way she finally relaxed her grip on his pants.

Lying there he didn't have the heart to make her spend the day entertaining Hemlock and Oleander again. He knew she could muster up the strength. He trusted in his ability to read her boundaries and play right along the edge of them to make their show convincing. But he was tired of playing for the benefit of someone else. He was tired of his Little One collapsing exhausted into bed every night and clutching him desperately in her sleep, afraid he might turn into Hemlock when she wasn't looking.

He dispatched a few trusted faeries to accompany Hemlock and Oleander, and drifted back to sleep until late morning. In the afternoon the couple went to the fruit orchard. Daniella lounged against a peach tree, sketching the strange orchard. The summer heat of the peach orchard was oppressive in contrast to the nearby cluster of apple trees she was sketching. Every so often a crisp breeze carried the scent of apples and fallen autumn leaves to her, relieving the still heat surrounding her. Her Lord sat next to her, idly strumming a mandolin he'd conjured up from thin air.

Daniella set her sketchbook down and leaned her head back against the tree, enjoying the peace of the afternoon. The sun warmed her closed eyes and the gentle hum of bees and trill of birds sang in time with her Lord's lilting music. She wondered whether he followed the tune of the Wood, or whether it followed the melody of his mandolin. Perhaps both or neither were true.

The afternoon was tilting onward toward evening. Daniella knew she would have to see Hemlock and Oleander at dinner. She would have to go back to putting on a show with her Lord, back to pretending she was a slave and he was her uncaring, detached master.

She opened an eye and glanced at her Lord. He was strumming with his eyes closed, a slight smile playing on his lips. The look on his face warmed her heart. He had needed the space and peace of this afternoon just as much as she did. He reached the end of his song and opened his eyes, catching her staring.

Daniella gently took the mandolin from her Lord's hands and placed it on the ground next to him. She straddled his lap and twined her hands through his hair. He tilted his face to her, meeting her lips with a sweet kiss. Daniella smiled against his mouth. How many times had she kissed him? Each time was still a revelation and this time was no different. His kiss was filled with sweetness instead of his usual wild passion. Joy surged through her and she kissed him again, slipping her tongue into his mouth.