Faery Kissed

Chapter Eight

My teeth clenched harder as I tried to maintain control. "Why did you bring me here?"

"I need the child you will give me. We've discovered the mixed race children hold the powers of the Fae and the strength of the Blood Wraiths. They are stronger than we are."

"And why do you need such strong children?"

"The Blood Wraiths have found ways to penetrate Faery during Midsummer, and they are attacking us and killing off my people. We need the children to fight them."

I was so confused. "So you're creating more Blood Wraiths by mating with them so you can have their children to destroy them? How does this even make sense?"

"I told you. Time passes differently in Faery. In three of your years we can raise a soldier of twenty-one summers."

"Three years? How many of these Blood Wraiths are there?"

"Many. It appears there is another side effect of the changing. The humans become immortal after the exchange."

I laughed wryly. "So each child you have creates another enemy for you. I can't see how this is very wise reasoning."

She remained silent.

Horror lanced through me. "You kill them, don't you? No one brought into this place walks out alive, do they?" I whispered.

She stood, coming quickly toward me. I stepped back in repulsion as she laid her hands on my shoulders. "Yes, they do kill them, but don't worry. I won't let them do that to you. I'll help you escape and teach you how to survive. No one will even be aware you escaped. I wasn't lying when I said I love you. I love you with everything inside of me. I wanted to be with you so badly—wanted to be the one you held in your arms—wanted to have you love me, too. This was the only way we could be together."

She spoke rapidly—her words spilled out as she attempted to express her feelings—but I couldn't absorb them. "How do you think I could possibly love you after this? You just told me that you lured me here under deception, you've taken away my humanity, you've turned me into a bloodthirsty creature, and you want to steal my child. That doesn't put you very high on the list of people I admire right now, Eirian."

Her skin flushed as I spoke her name, and I pushed her away in frustration, walking across the spacious suite as her words began to sink in. I grew angrier with every step, and when I turned I found she'd followed me, tears streaming from her eyes. "Stay away from me," I blurted out. "You can forget having the child too, because I will not be lying with you ever again."

A sob left her throat and she reached for me, fisting her hands into the front of my shirt. "Have you ever loved or wanted something so much you would do anything—risk everything to have it?" she cried, desperately.

I was breathing heavily when I nodded. "Yes, I have. And her name is Ceridwen," I spat.

Eirian paled at my blow and wrenched away from me as if I'd struck her.

I took a step back, wanting to distance myself from her. I felt sick, disgusted by what she'd done. "You tricked me! I've lost everything because of you. I was willing to give up my life to make an honest try with you."

Eirian sank to the floor in a puddle—weeping into her hands, but I didn't care how pathetic she looked. All I could feel was my own anger.

"You want to know what I've been doing today? Figuring out how I was going to move on, planning to embrace my future with you, and how I would provide for you and our children."

She sobbed harder, yet I still carried on.

"Why? Because that's who I am, Eirian! I was raised to be an honorable person. You have no honor that I can see. Not only have you destroyed my life, but you've destroyed your own!" I accused.