Page 83 of Trapped to Tame
‘Those children are the only fae children. Do you understand? All of them. We told you we’re a dying race.’
‘Why is that?’ Eve asked.
‘No one knows,’ Drax replied. ‘Finer minds than mine have been put to the task. But no one's been able to make heads or tails of it. All we know is that far fewer babes are being conceived in families and far fewer fae females are being born. That was why we were surprised when we found you. The fae Council doesn't know of your existence or you'd never have been left here. You would have been taken to the Underhill.’
‘Even being half human?’ she asked.
‘Aye, even halflings are important to us now.’ He grimaced. ‘Not that you're not … that humans aren't … I mean?’
She gave a small laugh, surprising him.
‘It's all right. I understand. It's far easier for humans to increase their numbers.’
Drax nodded. ‘Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?’
She stopped her horse. ‘Speak plainly.’
He drew his horse up beside hers. ‘If they’re in that temple, we can't very well take them down those passes, Eve.’
He felt her become anxious.
‘I’ll need to make a portal,’ she said faintly.
She said nothing more, urging her horse onward.
They caught up to the others who were waiting for them to begin the descent into the valley below where, with some luck, they’d find an entrance to the temple.
Drax prayed to the gods that the fae children were there or else they were at a dead end once more, but a part of him also hoped they didn’t find them here. He didn’t want to watch Priest’s methods of making Eve conjure. Terrifying her with her past did more harm than good.
Running a hand over the frosty hair growth on his face, Drax sighed. Perhaps he shouldn’t have told her that they might need her to make a bridge. She was already worried.
They began the steep decline into the hidden valley below, not sure what they’d find, but hoping this mission would soon be over.
* * *
Priest
As they journeyeddown past the clouds, they realized that the valley was full of thermal vents coming up from deep in the rock. Heat blasted from the earth, making the surrounding air as warm as summer. There was no snow at all. Plants grew where there should have been none, green and lush and rivalling even the Underhill. Priest had never seen such a place and, as they descended, it became so warm and humid that they had to take off their ermine lined cloaks, even their tunics.
The female was down to her chemise and Priest couldn't take his eyes off of her shapely curves. Being part fae had its perks. She’d filled out quickly now that she was being given proper meals. He stifled a groan as he thought about the night before in the storm. The sounds she'd made with Fie and Drax had made him want so badly to join them. He’d had to leave the tent or risk just that and he wasn’t ready to share her with them. Not yet.
He didn't know when things had changed. But they had. He wanted her. He could admit that to himself. He'd wanted her since their time in the Dark Realm together. He might have needed to seal their bond, but it had hardly been a chore. She should hate him for what he’d done, but she didn’t. He could feel how she was when she was around him.
It would take some time to navigate their way through the valley and reach the next mountain. He couldn’t wait. He loosened his shirt, his body uncoiling as that fae part of him took over and he smiled in anticipation, knowing how he would do it.
‘We should stop and rest,’ Priest said, hoping his Brothers wouldn't sense his ulterior motives.
There was a pool of clear water close by. It appeared untainted by whatever the vents were spewing out that smelled vaguely of brimstone. Eve got off her horse and Priest announced that he was going to hunt. He looked at her.
‘Why not come with me?’ he asked.
She hesitated just as he'd known she would for she was very wary of him still and he couldn't say that he blamed her. A tiny voice said that it would be easier if he enthralled her, that he could make her forget it afterwards. But he disregarded that wayward thought as soon as he had it, disgusted with himself. He would have their Fourth properly. He wanted to have her begging for it, needing him as he needed her.
She walked with him out into the forest.
‘How do we do it?’ she asked, and he grinned at her question.
She really thought they were out here to hunt for game, she didn't realize yet that he would be hunting her.
