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Again he felt chastised, but she was right; the move may have been a little more reckless than was necessary. “She stubbornly refused to come out and was attacking my men when they tried to gain access,” he defended. But it was more than that. Jessie’s antics had gotten the better of him. He’d lost his cool. Literally. But it wasn’t until she’d gazed down at that gun in her hand like it was her only friend in the world that he’d gone berserk, transforming and using the hottest fire he had ever produced to melt his way inside. He was sure she’d been contemplating taking her own life…which was why he had crushed her gun as soon as he’d snatched it from her grasp. And then he’d taken away her blade in case she thought to harm herself with that next. After all, she’d proven to be unpredictable—
Wait…where’s the blade? Dammit!
Edel finished straightening June’s hair and faced him. “Isn’t that to be expected? She must have been out of her mind with fright.”
Mindlessly nodding, he glanced around his desk, hoping he had just set it down somewhere, but he knew he hadn’t.
“Do you no’ recall how frightened my Juniper had been when all of you charged onto that dreadful ship armed to the teeth? You and your men are no’ the most delicate of emissaries, nor should you be. Luckily, I was there to carve a path through all that testosterone and calm the situation. You should have summoned me to speak with…what did you say her name was? Jessa?”
“Jessie,” Orik snarled, fuming. At his dark tone, three sets of eyes looked his way. Orik gritted his teeth and schooled his features, not wanting to admit Jessie had gotten one over on him…again. She had control of a potentially deadly weapon, and his family wanted to visit her. His anger was only tempered by the bone-deep belief that Jessie would not harm another unless she felt her life was threatened.
At least, that was the impression he’d gotten.
Another thought haunted him: the image of Jessie’s bleak expression as she’d raised that gun cropped into his mind, only now he pictured the knife in her grasp.
Suddenly he found it difficult to draw air into his lungs.
He’d left her looking so sullen and dejected…
Would she…?
No, she wouldn’t. Not now that she understood there was nothing to fear from them.Wait until I get my hands on her. I’ll wring her neck.
“Don’t worry,” said June to Edel. “I was there to help mitigate the situation. Once Jessie learned I was human, too, she relaxed. We’re going to go check on her now, if you’d like to join us.”
Edel gave her a motherly pat on the cheek. “It gives me great satisfaction to know you are going to make a wonderful queen, dearling. You are already on your way.”
Tristan could not appear more prideful while June flushed pink at the praise. “I hope so.”
“Indeed. You must,” Edel exclaimed, eyes twinkling. “We are surrounded by brutes. Who else will tame them and keep them from warring incessantly?”
As if they were savages. Orik and Tristan shared a look, then shrugged. Orik had spent much of his youth seeking conflict. One felled coven after another, it had been his mission to destroy as many witches as possible. Tristan had battled alongside King Mar to defend their territory from encroaching dragon clans, and more recently had fended off several challengers to the throne.
“Come, come. You know it to be true.” Edel continued her teasing, wagging her finger at them. “You are all so like your father. Especially you, Orik.”
Now it was Orik’s turn to flush. If he could be a fraction of the man King Mar had been, he could say his life was a success. “Are you forgetting all the battles you partook in?” Orik countered. “I seem to recall you ferociously leading the charge on more than one occasion.”
“Aye,” Edel replied boastfully. “I had to keep my reckless boys safe, didn’t I?” Then she pinched up the front of her dress and glided from the room. “Well, let us go. I’m eager to meet our new guest.”
* * *
Jessie sat on the balcony’s sturdy stone balustrade with her legs dangling over the ledge. The view from up here was to die for, and the breeze carried the faintest hint of salty sea air. The castle loomed like a towering bastion, having been built on a higher elevation than the surrounding land. A good location if war were to break out. Then again, what would be the advantage of higher ground when your enemy could just swoop down from the sky and snatch you up?
Below, the sprawling trees swayed in the wind, ebbing and flowing like a glimmering green liquid that stretched for miles. She could imagine the blissful sound of leaves playfully slapping one another, but she was too high up to hear it. It almost seemed as if she were closer to the two moons above, neither full but both flaring brighter and brighter as glorious orange and purple hues chased away the sun.
The energy of this place felt wonderful…calm and tranquil and mysterious. She invited it to surround her in its cozy embrace. The warm breeze floated up as though to greet her. Everything about this world was pure temptation. An adrenaline junkie’s dream. Her patrons back home would be clamoring to explore and discover all Legura had to offer.
She glanced down at the sheer wall, several hundred feet high. It was made of stones that were as tall as her, as if giants had put this place together…or dragons, I suppose. Bottom line, there’d be no climbing down in a pinch. Not enough footholds. Paragliding was an option, or rappelling, if only she had access to the equipment in her store.
Why was she thinking of descending an Empire State Building-sized wall? First, it would be a blast. Second, Orik had locked her in this room, for how long, she didn’t know. She was trapped. And she despised that feeling.
Ever since the car accident that had taken her mother’s life and nearly her own, any time she felt confined or restricted, she grew uneasy and anxious, sometimes even panicked. She recalled bleary moments of lucidity where she was hanging upside down, too tightly bucked in, the car twisted around her, the suffocating scent of burning oil in her lungs.
She shoved the memory aside. At least her cage was huge, with a balcony that overlooked this incredible landscape. She might even be able to call for room service—she wasn’t sure, she hadn’t tried yet. Some might be delighted over such a gilded cage, but Jessie wasn’t one of them.Give me a pop-up tent and some fishing gearand I’m golden. She would sacrifice luxury for freedom any day.
It won’t be for long, she assured herself. Orik had promised to return her to Earth. Heck, after he discovered she’d once again taken back her Ka-Bar, he might see her off directly. She knew she shouldn’t have done it. Knew he would find out within hours, if not minutes. In fact, she was surprised he hadn’t yet barreled in here to rail against her. Her heartbeat sped up at the thought. Was she looking forward to it?
Why can I not stop provoking him?
