“I will get us some food. This could take a while. I have seen her when she gets like this.” Jazmin finds that she needs some space from the hunky elf. She moves to the kitchen and runs her hand through her hair. Sighing, she rubs her chest thinking of all that’s happened. She pulls out pizza dough and begins rolling it out on the counter. Next, she pulls out vegetables to chop for the pizza.
“Fae, Jazmin. I am Fae, not, Elf.” Bastian says softly from behind her, “Nor Pixie!”
Startled, she jumps and spins around wielding a rolling pin, but he’s too fast. He attacks, quickly removing the weapon and backs her up to the counter in one swift motion.
He buries his hands in her hair, pulling her head back and takes her mouth. Jazmin can’t think, she can only feel, and boy does she! Her body takes over, and she jumps up wrapping her legs around his waist. His hands cup her thighs, and he spins to the wall, slamming her back into it, grinding against her heat. She pulls back for a second and seeing the lust in his eyes, meets fire with fire. Bastian begins to slow down, raining kisses over her face; he whispers, “I can’t believe I’ve found you, after all these years. Surely you are perfection, Jazmin.” He licks her lips, and then nibbles his way to her throat, biting and sucking on the throbbing vein.
The room spins and Jazmin moans his name, “More, Bastian, more...” she demands, and they both jump when Caderyn calls out, “I’ve got it!”
Slowly, he lowers her feet to the floor and backs away from her. He smiles at her swollen lips, flushed cheeks, and tousled hair, and hums as he walks into the living room.
“What was that!” she whispers touching her lips with trembling fingers.
Chapter 8
Bastian walks to Caderyn, and she hands him the coordinates on the tiny scroll. “You and Jazmin will go to the Eryon Palace, and I’m going to find Drakes body.”
“No offense intended, my Queen, but I can’t let you do that,” Bastian tells her.
Caderyn stands and walks to him, “Tell me his name, this shadow. He will be hunting for me now that I’ve attacked him. You must protect Jazmin and give me the time I need to get to Drakes body.”
“His name is Reese,” Jazmin says from behind them. “Her name was Wynn. I’ve heard him scream it in my mind. She stood with their daughters wrapped around her legs and watched as they accused him of a crime he didn’t commit. Her only thought was to be with him! She wouldn’t have hurt anyone. Why Bastian, why did they do it? Why would they separate a family like that? Why did the Queen kill her?”
Desperate to soothe her, he walks to her and touches her face, “Jazmin our duty is to our people. Reese conspired against the Fae; he was in league with the Shadow to destroy the Vale.”
“No. I felt everything, Bastian! His pain, his fear, and his loneliness, all of it!” She reaches up and grabs his hand, “His every thought was for the safety of his family. He was innocent! What happened to his girls?” She asks fighting back tears now.
“We do not punish the young for crimes that are not their own,” Bastian tells her wiping her tears. Caderyn watches the tender way he cares for Jazmin and smiles.
“Why was your Queen outside of the Vale, Bastian?” Caderyn asks.
“I don’t know why she left our people,” he says in anger. “We do not cross the Vale. Once you enter you do not leave, it’s not permitted. If you leave, coming back is forbidden, unless the Queen pardons you.”
Caderyn looks at him and understanding dawns. “You left Bastian. How will you get back?”
“I go back with my Queen or not at all,” Bastian replies with a bow.
Jazmin’s eyes fill with horror. “No Bastian, why would you do that?”
“My duty is to my Queen and my people,” he says moving away from them. “You need to understand that the Fae were hunted for their powers and gifts. Humanity forced us to create the Vale because of their greed. Some wanted to be free to use their magic, with no consequences for their choices.” His dark eyes look grim as he continues, “Your people were considered insects, nothing more. A human life meant nothing to an immortal; they were hunted for the sport.”
Caderyn moves closer to Jazmin, and they both sit, to listen. “When the first human bodies were found, the Fae Queen decided to fade, and her light was captured inside a special orb she had made. The orb was the only way to determine which Fae were dark and which were light.”
“How does that work, Bastian and what does it mean to fade?” Jazmin asks.
“The Queens serve for one thousand years, when the time comes for a new Queen, the old one fades from the Vale and returns to the stars. It is not a death, but a new beginning.” Bastian sits closer.
“There was a division amongst our people, some were turning dark and fighting amongst the Fae of the Light. When a shadow is detected, the globe emits a beam of blue mist, as you have experienced. It surrounds the shadow, making it impossible to deny. The Queen strips them of their gifts, and they are pushed through the Vale,” he responds.
“Has the globe ever been wrong, Bastian?” Caderyn asks.
“No. The shadows live amongst the vermin they detest and are forever separated from our people as a punishment,” Bastian replies firmly.
“Vermin!” Jazmin
