taking a couple shaky steps toward the bedroom, he simply lifted her into his arms like a child and carried her there. She refused to look at him, refused to touch him more than was necessary, and refused to thank him when he laid her onto the mattress. Her heart beat out a crazy rhythm, and she cursed her poor, starved libido a million times from the living room to the bedroom.
He pulled the blankets over her. “Sleep.” Then he turned away, flipped off the light, and closed the door.
ELIZABETH rolled over in her bed, snuggling into the blankets. Cracking her eyes open and gazing out her bedroom window, she glimpsed the silly gnome lawn statue her brother had given her when she’d moved into her house. Evening was just reaching its elegant fingers into late afternoon, knitting purples and blues with oranges and pinks. She stretched, feeling the delicious sensation of her muscles moving after a full day’s sleep.
She pushed her blankets away and admired their softness for a moment. They’d been quilted by her mother. All her blankets had been gifts from her, quilted, crocheted or knitted lovingly in her hands. Smiling, she rubbed her fingers across one, remembering the reason she’d said yes to the Summer Queen.
As she moved through her small house, she flicked lights on here and there. Outside the sprae gathered at the edges ofher trim yard, lighting on the yellow picket fence that surrounded her cozy place. Her home had been built by the birch ladies and the Scottish nature fae who were their allies. She owed them a lot.
Standing in her kitchen, Elizabeth sipped a fresh cup of coffee—she set the maker to brew every day at 5 pm, right before she woke—and gazed out the window. It was going to be a nice evening, and she had lots to do.
Gazing out her kitchen window, she had a vague sense of unease, almost as if there was a presence in her house or as if someone was watching her.
Any other time she’d brush it off, chalk it up to her imagination or her nerves, but not tonight. As long as she was hiding the final two pieces of the
bosca fadbh
, she couldn’t discount any sort of unease she felt. There were too many different kinds of magick within the bounds of Piefferburg, too many for her to take any niggling sensation she had for granted.
Setting her empty cup in the sink, she went back upstairs, changed out of her nightgown and into a pair of cargo pants and a sweater. Then she slipped on a sturdy pair of boots. She needed to check her gardens and she’d do it with her ATV, not wanting to roam the chilly Boundary Lands in only her birthday suit. She had clothes stashed just about everywhere, but re-forming to physical state on the freezing ground this close to winter had given her a cold more than once.
She exited the house and stood outside, the sensation of wrongness intensifying. Frowning, she headed to her ATV. She’d wanted to move the pieces tonight, but something felt off. It wasn’t safe to go to them for some reason.
Standing in the middle of her yard, she stopped and lifted her face to the sky. She felt a little dumb, but she was taking no chances. Not with her mother’s life. “Whoever you are or whatever you are, I know you’re there. If you think—”
She gasped as the world…
melted
. The trees dripped green and brown and orange, the colors running like paint. The neat little yellow fence pooled onto the green grass, swirling into a stream of dissolving reality. The ground went spongy under her feet, become porous. A huge hole opened up beneath her.
She screamed as she dropped down.…
* * *
ELIZABETH gasped and jerked up in her bed back at Niall’s cottage, panic coursing through her veins. The charmed iron of the cuff still banded her ankle. It had been another of his “scenes.” More illusion. Her breath came fast and hard. She pressed a hand to her chest as though it would slow her heart rate.
Niall sat in a chair in the corner of the darkened room, elbows on
He pulled the blankets over her. “Sleep.” Then he turned away, flipped off the light, and closed the door.
ELIZABETH rolled over in her bed, snuggling into the blankets. Cracking her eyes open and gazing out her bedroom window, she glimpsed the silly gnome lawn statue her brother had given her when she’d moved into her house. Evening was just reaching its elegant fingers into late afternoon, knitting purples and blues with oranges and pinks. She stretched, feeling the delicious sensation of her muscles moving after a full day’s sleep.
She pushed her blankets away and admired their softness for a moment. They’d been quilted by her mother. All her blankets had been gifts from her, quilted, crocheted or knitted lovingly in her hands. Smiling, she rubbed her fingers across one, remembering the reason she’d said yes to the Summer Queen.
As she moved through her small house, she flicked lights on here and there. Outside the sprae gathered at the edges ofher trim yard, lighting on the yellow picket fence that surrounded her cozy place. Her home had been built by the birch ladies and the Scottish nature fae who were their allies. She owed them a lot.
Standing in her kitchen, Elizabeth sipped a fresh cup of coffee—she set the maker to brew every day at 5 pm, right before she woke—and gazed out the window. It was going to be a nice evening, and she had lots to do.
Gazing out her kitchen window, she had a vague sense of unease, almost as if there was a presence in her house or as if someone was watching her.
Any other time she’d brush it off, chalk it up to her imagination or her nerves, but not tonight. As long as she was hiding the final two pieces of the
bosca fadbh
, she couldn’t discount any sort of unease she felt. There were too many different kinds of magick within the bounds of Piefferburg, too many for her to take any niggling sensation she had for granted.
Setting her empty cup in the sink, she went back upstairs, changed out of her nightgown and into a pair of cargo pants and a sweater. Then she slipped on a sturdy pair of boots. She needed to check her gardens and she’d do it with her ATV, not wanting to roam the chilly Boundary Lands in only her birthday suit. She had clothes stashed just about everywhere, but re-forming to physical state on the freezing ground this close to winter had given her a cold more than once.
She exited the house and stood outside, the sensation of wrongness intensifying. Frowning, she headed to her ATV. She’d wanted to move the pieces tonight, but something felt off. It wasn’t safe to go to them for some reason.
Standing in the middle of her yard, she stopped and lifted her face to the sky. She felt a little dumb, but she was taking no chances. Not with her mother’s life. “Whoever you are or whatever you are, I know you’re there. If you think—”
She gasped as the world…
melted
. The trees dripped green and brown and orange, the colors running like paint. The neat little yellow fence pooled onto the green grass, swirling into a stream of dissolving reality. The ground went spongy under her feet, become porous. A huge hole opened up beneath her.
She screamed as she dropped down.…
* * *
ELIZABETH gasped and jerked up in her bed back at Niall’s cottage, panic coursing through her veins. The charmed iron of the cuff still banded her ankle. It had been another of his “scenes.” More illusion. Her breath came fast and hard. She pressed a hand to her chest as though it would slow her heart rate.
Niall sat in a chair in the corner of the darkened room, elbows on
Similar Books
