Page 21 of The Fae’s Treasure

“She wants your soul? Or the baby’s? How... How would she get that?”

Dairmuid looks down at the baby, then back at me, voice dropping and one hand going over Rory’s ear, the one not nestled against his father’s arm. “Death or sex. Those are the only two ways I know to remove or share a soul if you’re a succubus.”

“But... But you said the baby is hers.”

Dairmuid nods, eyes unblinking. “She’s a demon. I thought she was reformed. Some can be. She is not. I was fooled. For months, years, I don’t know. Time moves very differently where I’m from.”

“Where you’re from?” I vaguely remember him saying something about this before I passed out.

“Hold him.” Dairmuid hands me Rory and wipes a finger along the air, along nothing—and yet he can grab the nothingness and lift it aside to show me—

Paradise. My kind of paradise. The most beautiful world you could imagine, a world of rushing rivers and sunshine autumn skies over golden and orange trees, mountains towering in the background, and air that’s so sweet you could take a bite out of it.

“Humans can’t enter this realm unless invited, usually by giving them a gift.” Dairmuid licks his lips and opens the partition wider so I can see a gray castle in the distance, a crumbling thing of towers and moss out of a fairytale, with green hills and curving paths to it. Moonlight and thunderclouds play in the distance, even while there’s sun and white, streaky clouds to the west.

“Beautiful,” I whisper, and that's all I can say.

“Would you like to come with me?”

Instantly, I’m on my feet—and then just as fast I sit back down.

Fae trickery. A trap. “Time moves differently, you said. Who is to say I wouldn’t go over there for five minutes and over in this world, people would have filed a missing person’s report, and I’d lose my job? Who’s to say you’d come back—or you’d let me bring Rory back?”

Dairmuid’s silence is enough to let me know that those are all very good questions—and I probably wouldn’t like the answers. “I have to go,” I say suddenly.

“Wait!” Dairmuid drops the partition, and the living room is simply a living room again. “I have never visited the human realm until my son was born, even though I interact with it. I know your world, and mine are very different, and I am sorry for all of my missteps, but this is my child. I have traveled through time and worlds for him—and I am not going to steal him back. I can see that you have already claimed him as his mother. That is something I cannot easily erase.”

“You’ve got that right! And yes, you’re his father, but you sure as heck have some questionable decision-making skills. Tell me the truth, did you try to get in my house and—”

“I have never set foot inside your house,” Dairmuid puts a hand on his heart. “Or wing. Or any other body part. I even tried to carry you into your own home today once you were sleeping, and I couldn’t. Saz has put up some sort of barrier.”

“So she clearly doesn’t think you should have access to this kid,” I challenge.

“That’s right, because I will protect him—and I can best her.” Dairmuid’s tone changes to something dark and insistent, something that makes my heart speed up. “She wants to kill him to take his soul, and uses him as a bargaining chip so she could consume mine!” Dairmuid challenges back, wind whipping his hair back, and storms crackling in his eyes.

Breathe, Deanna.

“He is in danger here. Saz said her power will come to a peak soon. It will either be during Samhain, when the veils thin and some celebrate death while others celebrate the fruits of harvest. Or, it will be sooner, during the autumnal equinox.” Dairmuid lets out a shaky breath, and I can see that his already pale, perfect skin is turning chalky with fear. “If I didn’t think she would do greater harm with my soul, I would let her have it at this point to protect Rory.”

Rory. He uses the name I gave him. He probably has something beautiful and hard to pronounce, something in that sing-song language that feels like spring and summer rolling off your tongue. “What’s his real name?”

“That will be his name. You have named him, and you have been chosen as his mother by the laws I do not write. All I can do is beg you to help me protect him. You would be a fierce ally, and a dangerous enemy. And... and I don’t know why Sazara chose you, but she is powerful, and she told me—” Dairmuid moves closer to me, and even though I was literally carried around in his arms, I wasn’t awake enough to enjoy it.

This person, being, whatever I should call him, radiates power. Exudes attraction. If I were braver and there weren’t bigger issues at hand, I’d ask him if that’s all fae, or just him. Or just me. Sex-starved, sleep-deprived, very overwhelmed me.

“In my bargain, I was foolish, too pleased that I had tricked her into accepting half of a biscuit, not half of a soul. I said she must never bother my son or me again. And she pointed out that killing is not bothering.”

“No,” I whisper, shocked, horrified, and backing up. I still only have Dairmuid’s word, but I believe him. I believe this. His voice throbs with too much worry, too much fear to be fake—at least, I think so.

“Yes. That’s the sort of fool I was. I’d like to blame it all on her powers, but... No, they’re my powers, too. If you couldn’t tell by that little glimpse of my homeland, I’m a fae of what is known as the Autumn Court, and my job has always been to manage the storms and winds, the rituals of harvest. Harvest means ripe and fruitful, ready to pluck.”

Honest to God, I thought he said another word. One that rhymed.

I swallow as he talks, leaning against the mantle now, one hip jutted out, letting me really see just how tall he is, how long those legs are, how wide those shoulders are... Damn it.

Down girl. Good libido.

“It seemed like such a good mix, with her insatiable longing and my ability to fulfill it. It’s probably why she chose me. Sex demon and fertility fae.” He gives a bitter laugh and shakes his head. “I’m stupid.”