Chapter 15

The San Francisco Council House was in an uproar when our cab pulled up in front of it. First, Brendan had returned without me and then a huge magical discharge had been felt emanating from somewhere over San Francisco Bay. The Extinguishers and councilpersons alike were in a tizzy. Then I walked in holding the hand of a fairy and looking as if I'd been rolling around in a battlefield; frolicking with him in the blood and muck. I thought my father was going to burst a blood vessel.

"There he is!" Brendan pointed an imperious finger at Tiernan. "He must be the one responsible for that magic."

"He's not," I growled, "and I'm fine, Brendan; thanks so much for asking. Don't worry, this blood isn't mine."

"Extinguisher Seren." One of the councilwomen approached us. "Would you please tell us what happened tonight? It appears that you may have first-hand knowledge."

"That I do." I grimaced and let go of Tiernan's hand reluctantly. Oh, that reluctance was not a good sign.

"Allow me." Tiernan stepped forward and laid a hand on my shoulder.

"First, you'll be taking your hand off my daughter," my father snarled as he stepped up to Tiernan.

"Dad." I angled between them. "He just saved my life. Big time." The room went silent. "You're going to listen to him, all of you are, because he's earned that much at least."

"My Lord Tiernan," the councilwoman said, "please proceed."

"I had some things I wanted to go over with Extinguisher Seren about the attack involving the fairies from my team," Tiernan began. "So, I went after her tonight. I offered her a ride back here when I saw that my presence in the nightclub was causing a disturbance."

Brendan snorted but was shushed by his father.

"We were attacked by the Sluagh," I growled, and everyone went silent again. "This is Sluagh blood on me"—I glanced down at the assortment of gore I was covered in—"and other Sluagh fluids."

"My car was apprehended and lifted with us inside it," Tiernan went on. "We had to abandon the vehicle and evade the Sluagh before we were able to make our way back here."

"You evaded the Sluagh?" Councilman Murdock stepped forward; leaving his sputtering son behind him.

"There are ways it can be done," Tiernan said.

I smiled and shook my head; knowing that Alan Murdock was even more impressed than I had been at Tiernan's skills. The Sluagh may be comprised of fairies but that didn't mean fairies were better equipped to handle the monsters. No one went up against the Sluagh by choice and very few faced them and lived.

"We'll be infiltrating Gentry Technologies tomorrow," Councilman Murdock said with a shrewd look. "We'd be pleased if you would accompany us."

"If Seren is going, so am I," Tiernan said calmly; surprising everyone in the room yet again.

Everyone except for myself. I was half expecting him to say something like that but, still, I groaned when he did; especially when I saw my father's expression. Facing the Sluagh may prove easier than facing Extinguisher Ewan Sloane.

...

"Do you still doubt that someone is trying to kill you?" Tiernan was following me down the hallway to the suite I was sharing with Aideen and my father.

The two of them were following him. We'd just spent hours with the council, going over every detail of what had happened that evening, and I was exhausted. Exhausted and annoyed because they'd agreed that Tiernan should be allowed to join our group and watch over me. Meaning; he got to stay in our suite tonight. In our suite!

"Why would someone want to kill me?" I asked yet again.

"Perhaps your father knows?" Tiernan stopped and turned to look at my dad.

"There's no reason for anyone to go after Seren." My father narrowed his eyes at Tiernan. "All of her kills have been legal."

"Legal or not"—Tiernan looked back at me—"someone powerful enough to command the Sluagh is after your daughter."

"You don't think they were simply trying to get to me through Seren?" Aideen asked in a small voice.

"No, I don't, and I don't think Seren does either." Tiernan was staring at me strangely. "You have an odd look on your face."

"You don't know her well enough to judge whether or not she looks odd." My father was edging in belligerently toward Tiernan.

"Evidently he does"—I didn't take my gaze off Tiernan—"because you know as well as I do that he's right."

"Let's take this inside our suite." My father sighed and unlocked the door for us.

We followed him into the central living area; a spacious room with wall-to-wall, navy-blue carpeting and black leather couches gathered in the center. There was a modern kitchenette in the far right corner with a small wood table in front of it and a door to the right of that. Then to either side of the room were two more doors. All three of them led to bedrooms; one for each of us... not including Tiernan. He'd have to sleep on the couch. I stared at one of the sleek leather couches; an image of a sexy, sleepy Tiernan stretched across one filling my head until Aideen walked through my line of sight. She went to the kitchenette and put a kettle of water on the stove.

"Explain." My father shut the door behind us.

"You know this already," I said, "I told you on the plane."

"What? That the fairy bitch attacked you first instead of Aideen?" He scoffed. "So what? Any warrior knows to take out the strongest first. Aideen posed no threat; even if the girl had run, they would have been able to catch her."

"Um, I'm four-hundred-fifty-six years old; hardly a girl," Aideen interjected timidly.

"Lissa attacked you first?" Tiernan asked; ignoring both my father and Aideen.

"She grabbed me and pulled me into the air," I said. "She seemed rather intent on separating me from my father."

"That makes twice that unseelie fey have tried to carry you off." Tiernan frowned.

"Carry me off?" I cocked my head at him. "Are you saying they may not have been trying to kill me?"

"No." Tiernan ran a hand through the hair at his temple, and I found myself staring at his long, elegant fingers. They were more the hands of an artist than a warrior. "I don't know," he admitted. "But it's strange that they both would try to remove you from the ground."

"Well, none of us can fly," Dad huffed as he fell back onto a couch. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a fall could kill us."

"None of you can fly, but I've heard that some of you can levitate." Tiernan cast me an assessing look as he gestured toward the couches, and I took a seat. He sat beside me; turning his body toward mine so he could still look at me while we spoke.

"Yes, I can levitate. That's what I was doing in the forest," I admitted. "But hovering midway between earth and sky doesn't have a lot of benefits. Being able to run faster and more quietly has been the best so far, and I just learned that trick tonight. Levitation wouldn't have saved me from that fall earlier. You did that."

"Between earth and sky," Tiernan whispered as he frowned, but before he could say anything else, the kettle began to whistle.

"Oh, here we are," Aideen interrupted.

Aideen took the kettle off the stove and poured the water into a waiting teapot. She put the teapot on a tray with four mugs, a bowl of sugar, a pitcher of cream, and some spoons, and then brought the whole thing over to us. She carefully placed it down on the coffee table in the middle of the gathering of couches and smiled as if it were a marvelous accomplishment.

"Tea?" She asked brightly.

"Thank you." Tiernan politely accepted a cup, but my father and I just gaped at her.

Was she seriously interrupting us for tea?

"A warm cup of tea will help you think," she insisted and handed me a teacup.

"Thanks." I frowned down into my tea, and then shrugged and spooned in some sugar.

"Cream?" Aideen asked, but I shook my head. "An Irishwoman who drinks her tea without cream?"

"I only like cream in my coffee." I shrugged, and Aideen glanced at Tiernan with wide eyes.

He narrowed his at her.

"What?" I snapped.

"Nothing." She smiled. "It's just that most fairies feel the same way. We like our tea sweetened only. Cream ruins the natural flavors."

"Anyway." I rolled my eyes. "There's no special reason to lift me into the air. It doesn't make a difference."

"Unless they didn't want you to levitate." Tiernan tapped his cup as if he were trying to put his finger on a thought.

"How about a snack?" Aideen popped up from the seat she'd just taken and ran over to the refrigerator. "I think I saw some things to make sandwiches with. Anyone want a sandwich? I think we're supposed to have little ones when we drink tea. I could cut them up small."

"We're fine, thank you." I narrowed my eyes at her. Why was she so damn nervous? Then it hit me, and I sighed. "It's okay to be scared, Aideen. After seeing the Sluagh in person, I totally understand how even the thought of them is enough to disturb you."

"Oh, I'll be okay." Aideen laughed nervously and came to sit back down beside me.

"Why would they want to keep me from levitating?" I looked back at Tiernan.

"Are you sure you don't want a sandwich?" Aideen asked again. "Not even a little one?"

"Aideen, please," I huffed. "Relax; we're all safe in here. This house is charmed against unwelcome visitors, especially fairy ones. Unless someone welcomes the Sluagh in, they won't be able to step one foot... er... tentacle... hoof... whatever inside."

"Let me pour you a cup, Aideen." Tiernan reached over to the teapot and poured a cup of tea, then handed it carefully to the dryad.

Aideen nodded her thanks as she reached for the cup and some delicate, flexible branches slipped out of her hair. They were thin like vines but definitely branches; with fluted, delicate, pastel flowers whose color matched her hair perfectly. She inhaled sharply and slipped them back into her tresses self-consciously, but not before their scent drifted over to us.

"Is that night blooming jasmine?" I asked, and she flinched; spilling a little tea into her saucer.

"Drat," she huffed and got up to fetch a napkin.

"You're a Night Queen?" Tiernan's eyes went round. "But that means—"

"Yes, let it be!" She snapped at Tiernan, and he jerked as if she'd hit him. "I apologize, my lord; I'm a little on edge. I only lose control of my blooms when I'm under strain."

"Of course." Tiernan nodded gallantly, but his eyes held a strange look. "Think nothing of it."

"I love night blooming jasmine." I smiled at Aideen. "I'd forgotten that it was also called Night Queen. The name suits it, though. We have a tree in our yard back in Hawaii and when I come home at night, the fragrance rules the night. It suits you as well."

"Thank you." Aideen settled in beside me again and gave my hand a pat.

"This is ridiculous," my father growled. "We don't have time to talk about flowers and drink tea."

A knock at the door startled all of us, but Dad got up and went to answer it immediately. It was one of the council aids; sent to let us know that extra guards had been posted to watch for the Sluagh and that we were expected to report in tomorrow at 8 AM for the briefing before we left for Gentry Technologies.

I groaned and looked at my watch. It was 3 AM so that meant I'd only get about four hours of sleep. I put my teacup down, stood up, and started heading toward my room. At that point, I didn't care what anyone else did or said; I was getting into bed while I still had the chance.

"Seren," Tiernan stopped me.

"What?" I asked in a whiny groan.

"Sleep well," his low voice followed me into my bedroom, and I determinedly shut the door on the sexy sound.

Shivers coasted over my arms as I started to undress for bed, and all I could think about was being held by Tiernan under that tree; our hearts beating together as his lips pressed against my skin. Tiernan was going to be a problem, a big one, and I had no idea what to do about him. Whatever I did, it couldn't be what I wanted.