Jewel of Darkness (29 page)

“Are you telling me we’re stuck here?”

“You could try the veil,” Crina quickly pointed out.

Just as they started off in the direction of the veil they were brought up short by Ainsel and several of his guards. Gustavo could tell by the grave look on the king’s face, he wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear.

“I’ve just been informed that our realm is sealed. The veil has been closed.” He looked up at Adam. “Could you go to Peri’s?”

Adam was already shaking his head before the king could get the question out. “I’ve just tried flashing. My magic isn’t working.”

“Wait,” Kara said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She and the other girls had been pleasantly surprised to find out the fae magic could be used to charge their phones without electricity. “Why don’t we try calling someone?”

“Do you have anyone’s cell numbers?” Crina asked her.

“I’ve got Sally’s.” Kara attempted the phone call while Gustavo and the others watched eagerly. But their hopes were quickly dashed when the young healer pulled the phone from her ear. She looked at the group and shook her head. “It won’t make the call. I choose the number and nothing happens.”

“It only makes sense that since fae magic can affect the phones, whatever this magic is could as well,” Adam pointed out.

The pixie king let out a string of expletives. “Volcan must know that some of the healers are here,” he said as he glanced around their group as though looking for them. “Are they all safe?”

“Stella, Kara, and I are present and accounted for and so bored we’d almost take some bodily harm just for the adrenaline dump. Anna, however, seems to be off on an adventure of her own,” Heather offered as Kara and Stella guided her over to the group.

“Anna?” Ainsel’s brow dipped low. “Is Anna the healer that is your mate?”

Gustavo heard the caution in the pixie king’s tone. He knew a predator when he saw one. “Yes,” the wolf gritted out. “She is with one of your people.” It sounded like an accusation, though Gustavo didn’t mean it that way, or at least he didn’t think he did.

“Yes, Peri mentioned that Adira was hosting her. Adira is a powerful pixie. She will be able to help keep your Anna relatively safe.”

“Um, Ainsel,” Crina spoke up. “Words like relatively safe aren’t helpful when talking to male wolves about their mates.”

Gustavo could feel his claws digging into the flesh of his palms. It had been so long since he’d lost so much control of himself that he began to involuntarily phase.

The king paled as he took in Gustavo’s barely contained rage. He had every right to be scared. King Ainsel had an unbonded, Alpha, male wolf stranded in his realm, while his unbonded mate was in another realm. Yes, the pixie king definitely should be afraid.

“I don’t know about you guys,” the healer named Kara whispered. “But I’m thinking boredom is a thing of the past.”

Chapter 12

“Come away with me, sister. Let us dance through the night. Feel the magic with me sister, so real and so right. Open your soul to me sister. Give the darkness your heart. Join with me sister. It’s time to play our part.” ~Jewel

J
ewel’s eyes snapped open just before she could watch herself lick blood from her hands. It was a nightmare, but it had felt so very real. Even as she laid there, attempting to slow her heartbeat, she could feel the sticky blood coating her skin. Jewel lifted her hands and held them in front of her face. It was still dark, so she had to give her eyes a minute to adjust before she could finally see that there was no blood.

The worst part of the nightmare hadn’t been watching herself lick blood off of herself, though that was pretty bad. The worst part had been watching Anna lick blood off her own hands and then seeing her smile with red stained teeth. Why she was dreaming of Anna, she didn’t know. But she didn’t like that the other healer had suddenly taken a starring role in her nightmares. Jewel knew that it had something to do with the magic and blood that belonged to Volcan, yet flowed through her veins. She was beginning to grasp just how much control the dark fae had over her.

“What are you up to?” she whispered into the dark room. Jewel shook off the remainder of the bad dream and closed her eyes. She forced herself to picture anything but what had happened in the dream. The first thing her mind grasped was him. It was always him. Thoughts of Dalton could chase away the darkest dream and reminded her that she wasn’t alone. She didn’t have to face what was to come on her own.

Jewel once again let the exhaustion of her mind and body pull her into a deep sleep, all the while hoping that with Dalton at the forefront of her mind, perhaps, he could keep the nightmares as bay for the remainder of the night.

D
alton watched as Jewel poured herself a glass of orange juice. She seemed very contemplative this morning, as though she were trying to figure out a puzzle but didn’t have all the pieces. He’d asked her if everything was alright and then realized what a stupid question that had been. Of course, everything wasn’t alright. But he couldn’t fix it, at least not right then. Subconsciously he’d been hoping she would answer with a problem that he could immediately solve. So far, she’d been perfectly capable of fixing herself breakfast and a drink. Her sleep had been restless and several times he’d nearly gone in to check on her, but she always seemed to settle down pretty quickly so he’d refrained. It was beyond frustrating that he couldn’t fight tooth and claw against her enemy because her enemy resided inside of her own body. But eventually he’d have Volcan before him. Then he could release his beast onto a physical foe.

“Have you already eaten?” Jewel’s voice broke through his mental destruction of the dark fae.

He shook his head. “Not really hungry this morning.”

Jewel tilted her head slightly and pursed her tempting lips. “A few years ago I would have told you that you shouldn’t skip breakfast because, as we’ve heard repeatedly, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

She was doing it again ― giving him random facts of information. For some reason that eased a bit of the tension he’d been feeling. Dalton had noticed for the past couple of days that Jewel hadn’t been tossing out knowledge like it was candy. The fact that she was doing it now made him feel that she was okay, that, perhaps, the blood flowing through her veins didn’t have as much control over her as she feared.

“And now?” he asked.

“New studies are actually suggesting that skipping breakfast might help weight loss. It’s very controversial, though. Considering how everyone, including the U.S. president’s wife, has harped on healthy eating and three square meals a day, a scientific study challenging their position hasn’t gone over well.”

Dalton gave her his own curious look. “Where do you learn all this stuff?”

Jewel shrugged. “I just remember things I hear or read. Even if it’s just something in passing on the news, it just sticks in my brain. It’s almost like I have a filing cabinet and a spot for everything. and I can just open it up and pluck out the information I need when I need it.”

“And it’s never too much?”

“Considering I’m still able to store info, I guess there’s still room.”

They sat in comfortable silence as she ate her cereal and toast and he watched her, unable to take his eyes off of her. Dalton honestly hadn’t known if he’d ever see her again, but here she was and he just wanted to soak up every second they spent together.

“What’s the plan for today?” Jewel asked him.

A smile formed on his lips. “I told you I was going to court you. I checked with Peri and as of right now she isn’t going to make a move on Volcan. She wants to check on the healers in the pixie realm. So we have a free day. I’m taking you on a date.”

“Alone?” she asked as she sat up a little straighter.

It amused him that she was nervous to be alone with him, as though he might ravish her at any second. And because he wasn’t a fool, and definitely
wanted
to ravish her, he’d secured a chaperone.

“No, we will have a chaperone as I promised.”

She relaxed a little. “Who?”

“Who do you think happily offered?” Dalton practically growled.

Knowledge danced in her pale green eyes. “A certain high fae?”

He gave a single nod. He was only allowing Perizada to be the one to chaperone them because he knew without a doubt she had the power to keep Jewel safe, not only from enemies but from Dalton as well. It irked him, but it wasn’t something he could change so he figured he could at least use it to his advantage. Keeping Jewel safe was his highest priority and he would do whatever it took, even accept help from a fae that would kill him and never bat an eye.

“She said we could go on our date as soon as you are done eating and she will go check on the others after. Gustavo and Adam are with them so she feels they are as safe as they can be.”

Just then Peri walked into the kitchen.
Speak of the devil,
Dalton thought.

“Are you two love birds ready?” she asked them giving Jewel a bright smile. She didn’t glance his way. She was still angry with him and, perhaps, rightfully so.

Jewel stood and took her bowl to the sink, quickly washing it and setting it on the counter to dry. She turned to face them and returned Peri’s smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Oh, good grief,” Peri spouted. “You look as though I’m taking you to the gallows, Jewel. Surely he’s not that bad to be around. I mean, he might have fleas, and the wet dog smell can be a bit of a turn off, but surely you can put on a better front than that.”

Dalton rolled his eyes at the fae’s attempt to annoy him. Now that Jewel was here, he couldn’t care less about anything else, especially the opinion of Perizada.

Jewel leaned her hip against the counter, making no move to leave. She stared at the fae as though thinking very hard on what she wanted to say. “Did you know,” she began, “that when you get angry, your body has the same chemical response as the fight or flight urge. The adrenal glands dump adrenaline and cortisol into the body preparing your muscles for some form of physical exertion.”

“I’m going to assume you have a point in this health lesson,” Peri said dryly.

Jewel just kept going. “While those things are good for the fight or flight response, and only for limited amounts of time, they are not good things when the anger draws out the adrenal response. Staying angry can physically hurt your body. It can cause insomnia, high blood pressure, stroke, skin rashes, depression, and even heart attacks. It’s not worth the consequences.”

“While I appreciate your concern,” Peri said matter-of-factly. “All of those symptoms you just listed are already a part of my assortment of ongoing issues caused by stubborn, uncontrolled, foolish werewolves. Seeing as how there is no way in the foreseeable future that I will be rid of these parasitic hosts, being angry is the least of my concerns.” Peri clapped her hands as though that problem was solved and said, “Now, am I taking you two on a date or are we going to continue to discuss all of the things that are bad for me, which in all honesty don’t matter because I’m more likely to die at the hands of a deranged fae than from any health complications. Besides who said my species even has those kinds of health problems?”

Dalton bit back the laugh that threatened to emerge. It was clear that Jewel’s little speech had affected Peri more than she wanted to admit.

Jewel turned her eyes upon him and smiled. “Where are we headed?”

Dalton reached out his hand to her but she took a step back. He dropped the offered hand and stared at her for several seconds before motioning her to follow him.

He led her down a large hallway. When Peri had offered to be the chaperone, he’d laughed in her face. But then she’d extended an olive branch and told him that they were much better off as allies than enemies. He’d tested her by asking her to prepare something special for his little dove. The fae had agreed but had made it abundantly clear that she was helping for Jewel’s sake, not his.

When they reached the door that held his surprise, he had a moment of apprehension. What if she didn’t like it? What if she thought him silly? Dalton’s wolf snarled at him, making him feel ridiculous for being insecure. If this was what human males had to go through over and over again to find their mate, he wondered why they didn’t just remain single.

Peri cleared her throat and Dalton finally twisted the knob and pushed the door open. He stepped to the side so Jewel could walk past him and the look on her face alleviated all of his self-doubt.

J
ewel stood motionless, starring in awe at the nostalgic room around her. It was reminiscent of one of the posh movie theaters from the 1940s and 50s. There was a huge screen with red velvet curtains draped around it. Plush chairs sat inclined in rows. The walls were draped in heavy gold and red fabric. Along the wall, every fifteen feet or so, the fabric was parted revealing a line of framed classic movie posters. The posters were from films long before Jewel’s era, but she recognized a few of the titles simply because of the popularity they maintained over time. There was a huge gleaming chandelier hanging proudly from the ceiling. The amount of crystals glittering against the light demanded the room’s attention. The gold chains attaching the crystals to the frame shimmered in their own right, as though fighting the crystal’s for the viewer’s attention. There was a popcorn cart at the front of the room just to the right of the screen. Red and white striped containers were stacked next to it. Next to the popcorn stand was a small Coca Cola brand coke machine bearing a metal plate above the coin slot that read “10¢.” It was marvelous. She looked over at Dalton and started to reach for him but caught herself before they could embrace. Instead, she looked up at him and said as sincerely as she could, “Thank you. I love it.”

She didn’t miss the flash of hurt when she’d stopped their near hug, but he smiled back at her words and shrugged, causing him to look boyish. “I can’t take all the credit.” He glanced toward Peri who was leaning against a wall staring at her nails looking as though she’d rather be watching paint dry than be there with them.

“You did all of this?” she asked the fae. “How?”

Peri sighed. “When will you people learn? Yes, I did it and the how is simply, I’m me. It’s not rocket science.”

“If it was, I would totally understand,” Jewel pointed out.

Peri smirked. “Humble much?”

She grinned at the fae. “Just stating the facts, like I always do.”

Jewel nearly jumped when she felt Dalton’s hand on her lower back. She whipped her head around to look at him but he ignored her response to his touch.

“Shall we?” he motioned to the seats.

They sat in the middle of the theater. Dalton growled when Peri took the seat between them.

“Cozy,” Peri cooed.

Jewel decided ignoring the jibes would be best, “So what are we watching?”

“Well, since I am stuck here, I mean, since I have the privilege of watching the two of you grow closer. Gag me. I wasn’t about to watch a movie in black and white, without sound or without a little hanky panky. Thus, we are watching Dirty Dancing. I’ve heard this is a classic.”

Jewel laughed. “I suppose to some it is considered as one. It has great music.”