Fae Guardians Series

Chapter 5: A Dangerous Woman

Malcolm

The human woman slumped against me. At first, I thought it was a ploy to throw me off-guard in order to stab me. She had admitted to killing Fae - our kind - the scent of iron and silver wafted from her like cheap perfume.

"She cannae be Fae," Darrius glowered. "There's nothing saying she's anything more 'n human."

"A human who took on a f*****g leminax." Simeon nodded to the pile of dirt and ash nearby.

"Then she donnae 'ave any sense. Why would anyone take on a leminax?" Darrius snorted. "There be no way she's one of us, much less the missing 'eir."

I shifted her in my arms to carry her. Her head rolled to the side, tucking underneath my chin. When I'd first seen her in our bar, I knew something was unique about her, but I couldn't figure out what.

For over a decade, my cousins and I had searched for the queen of the Dragon-clan Fae and had come up empty. Our bar had been a way to test women we thought might be potential candidates. The golden martini mixed with a Fae truth serum would only make human women giddy.

Once they laughed and tried to get into one of our pants - we knew they weren't the one - and would politely send them home.

Well, I would. I couldn't speak for either Darrius or Simeon who ran two other bars in two neighboring cities. The prophecies said the Dragon-clan Fae queen would be in one of the trinity towns bordering the Fae and human lands.

So each of us settling in one of the cities only made sense and gave us the opportunity to test any woman we'd thought might be the true heir. My bar brought in many females, so I never had to hunt through the city. If I did meet someone in passing, a quick date to my bar and the promise of free drinks, brought even the shyest lady inside.

It wasn't until later we discovered the tested women would end up abducted. Someone tracked our movements and innocent, human women paid the price. I had thought this one was like the others when she'd tried to seduce me. She was a walking contradiction. Eager to be closer to me yet pulling away suddenly. The back and forth of her actions both intrigued and irritated me. Most of the women who came across us didn't need any encouragement from our Fae liquor to want to f**k us. Yet half the time this beauty had given me the impression she wanted to rip out my heart and burn it to ash.

"Avery!" a faint female voice called.

"Her phone," I grumbled. We didn't need anyone tracking the signal. "Turn it off."

Simeon bent down and hit the button, tucking the phone in his back pocket. "What? It might come in useful later."

I shook my head. A cellphone or any other human device wouldn't work in our world. "We need to get her to the palace and safety."

Didn't need to explain myself. We'd all heard the news of the missing women. Whatever hunted them did so after they'd tasted the golden martini. Somehow our unknown enemy detected the Fae Snapdragon's nectar in each woman.

"What the f**k be wrong with ye?" Darrius' pale face flushed dark red. "Take a human ta our realm? Especially one admitted ta killing our kind?"

"Tinder trusted her." I narrowed my eyes at both of them, daring them to question me. "Even let her pet him."

"Donnae prove anythin'." Darrius stalked away. "She could be a witch an' enchanted it."

"And she did get through our barrier over her home," Simeon added, running a hand through his platinum blond hair. "That could prove she is a witch. What if she's from the shadow realm and wants to eliminate us while we sleep?"

"You read too many broken Fae tales." But I looked down at the woman in my arms. Her pale skin glowed in the moonlight against her dark, chestnut hair. I hadn't been able to tell what color her eyes were in the bar. She looked so innocent, so peaceful. My whole body tensed at the sight of her. Wanting to keep her safe. Hoping she was the one we sought. The one to unite the clans and lead us into battle against our enemy.

She murmured in her sleep. "Stupid Fae."

"Sounds like she's talking about you, Malcolm." Simeon clapped me on the back, his amethyst eyes sparkled.

"If she tangled with a leminax...she could be dangerous...do you think she can see Shadow kin?"

"If she can, that'll be another sign she's the one." Hope I'd long forgotten laid seed in my chest. Her heat pressed against me, her aura fading. We needed to get the leminax poison out of her soon.

"Or both of ye're bloody fools and she's a witch who 'as addled yer brains."

"At least we have brains, unlike you who've remained unaffected," Simeon quipped back to Darrius.

"Enough." I strained not to set Avery down and smack both of my cousin's heads together. "We're taking her to the palace and tend her wound. After that, we can decide what to do."

"Ye mean ta test 'er." Darrius' eyebrows rose up into his hairline.

"Yes," I said using our native tongue.

"An' if she donnae pass?" he asked.

I refused to answer. The truth was I had no idea if she was the prophesied queen or not. Or if my own lust and not having been with a woman in months made my d**k take over my thoughts.

When we passed through the barrier, she let out a hiccup, but didn't wake. The leminax venom left its victims unconscious so it could gnaw on them in peace. She'd been damn lucky to have beaten it. Which made the seed of hope in me take root. No normal human, unless she'd had training, could overcome one of the shadow Fae.

Inside the palace, my shoulders lost a bit of their tension. Here we were safe from the monsters that crept both sides of the border.

Something clattered across the marble tile. I shifted Avery in my arms to figure out what had made the sound.

Darrius bent down to pick it up, when he hissed, his hand sizzling with smoke. "Holy f**k! It's an iron an' silver dagger."

"Where did it come from?" Simeon kicked it with his boot, and it spun in a circle before the tip pointed straight at me.

"She must have had it on her," I grumbled. Where though? She wore the same slinky black dress from last night, except it had more slashes than material. Again, my groin tightened in approval of her attire and the fact I still held her in my arms.

"That's how she got the best of a leminax." Simeon beamed. "So if she is a witch, she's a wickedly smart and practical one."

"Havin' a Fae-killing dagger donnae prove she bested the creature. Only that she must 'ave got a good shot in." Darrius rubbed the back of his neck. "An' she admitted murderin' our kind. We should send 'er back through the barrier. Let 'er own people 'andle the leminax poison."

I thrust her into Simeon's arms.

"Take her upstairs and call the healer." I was f*****g tired of Darrius' shenanigans.

Simeon hadn't even made it to the first step when Darrius' voice echoed through the grand hall.

"Ye're too soft...taken in with a pretty face."

In two strides, I hauled him up by his throat. His boots hovering over the floor as he smacked against my hand. Rage hurtled through my veins. "Even if she is not the queen," I said in the old tongue, "she at least deserves to have the vile toxin purged from her system for killing one of our enemies."

Darrius slammed a fist down on my arm, but I shoved him back.

"If she dies, I'm taking a piece of your ass for payment." I didn't bother to stay for his rebuttal, because I didn't want to hear or see him for the rest of the night. We were all on edge. Time was running out to find the lost heir. My gut said this woman was the one, but what if I was wrong?

I bent down, using my blazer to pick up her dagger. What if in my haste, I'd not only brought an imposter, but a clever adversary who had planned all of this in order to gain entrance into the palace and planned to slay us all.