Sex, Lies & Magic

Nineteen

Trees branches ripped at my clothes and hair like ever reaching gnarled fingers as I ran through the dense technicolor forest. Behind me the dying screams of a village being pillaged echoed far. For some reason I had a sense that I ran because I already did all I could.

"It went this way!" An known voice shouted as I slipped and rolled down a hill.

Bruised and broken I laid at the bottom, it hurt too much to move so I gave into my fate. Someone slid down the hill and came to a controlled stop beside me. Glancing up their long form, the Sidhe's beauty captivated me. I had never seen a creature more beautiful, then again Craven without glamour was always an other worldly sight.

He knelt beside me.

"Did you find it?" The unknown shouted.

"No." Craven responded. "I'll search this part of the forest." He called up to them before returning to survey me.

I tried to move.

"Shh, stay still." He whispered as he touched my shoulder and his magic washed over me, mending the damage from the fall. "Running was stupid. They do terrible things if you make them chase you."

"Why is a Seelie hunting us with the Unseelie?" I asked, my voice little more than a thread.

"I...used to be a Shadowblade, and Oberon refused to welcome me back after I killed one of his sons."

"Liar."

"A Seelie can't lie." He stated matter of factly as he continued to heal me.

"But a Courtless Shadowblade can, and your jaw twitches when you lie. Weren't you supposed to train out that reflex."

He smirked. "Yes, but it's been a while."

"So why are you here, Seelie?"

"I'm a War Child, Oberon's War Child."

"The one with the Unseelie Queen?"

"Yes."

"Word travels fast . Though, you're supposed to be a horribly misshapen thing she locked in the dungeons. I'm admittedly a bit disappointed."

"I have Seelie coloring, I might as well be some monster in my mother's eyes." He moved his hand from my shoulder. "There, all healed."

I swallowed. "And in return? I'm not stupid , Sidhe never do anything for free."

"We don't."

"So what do you want?"

"You. But not in a dungeon, and not in iron chains. I want you wet and willing, in a soft bed."

"Why?" I eyed him suspiciously. "If you're looking for a tight fit there are plenty of other pixie who would be more than eager."

"I don't want a whore."

"And you think because you saved my life that I'll automatically open my thighs for you in gratitude? Isn't that what a whore does?"

"No. I saw what you did back there, before you jumped from the window. You're fierce, and brave. You shouldn't be caged, you're like a falcon."

"Your kind cages falcons all the time. You blind them and bind them with jesses."

"The most loyal ones have no need for that. They love their master."