Fae Mistaken (Fae 0f Ballantine Book 4) Read online

  “Since my opinion doesn’t count, I’m going to do the only thing I can and go make sure my men are ready for the attack that’s coming,” he said, glaring at his father and then Colin. “I’m done trying to convince you that you’re going to destroy us all.”

  He turned to leave, but his father cleared his throat in that way that made him stop and turn back around. “Colin will see to the guard for now; I need you to take some men and escort Miranda to Rushbrooke and then on to the cabin.”

  Jamison could only stare at him, too shocked by his father’s words to move. Finally, he found his voice. “You’ve got to be kidding,” he said. “My place is here; my men expect me to lead them; Colin doesn’t know the first thing about running the guard.”

  His father sighed. “Why must you fight every decision I make?” he asked. “I need Colin here with me, and I need someone besides Keaton, Rainie, and Reese to protect Miranda and Sarah. If the Alpine Guard were stronger, I could trust them with the responsibility, but right now, they aren’t ready, and you are. Choose eight of your best men and take them with you. I know I can depend on you to keep them safe.”

  Jamison’s stomach turned at the thought of risking his life to protect witches and Pixies, but his father’s words of praise overruled the feeling, and he nodded. “Very well. I guess when you put it that way, I can’t refuse, but I still say we’re making a mistake.”

  “I don’t think we should move Miranda for a couple of days; she needs to rest some more,” Darby said. “I’d feel better if she wasn’t refusing to use her magic before she left too.”

  “I don’t think we can wait for more than a few days,” Jamison said. “The Unseelie are already looking for her.”

  “I think we can manage a couple of days, but keep a close eye on her,” his father said.

  “That’s exactly what I plan to do,” Jamison said, looking over at Sarah. “I’m going to keep a close eye on everything and everyone.”

  He walked out of the room knowing that he’d lost another battle, but sure that the war wasn’t over yet; he still had the grand council on his side, and even his father couldn’t ignore them. As he walked to his room to begin packing, he realized that if he looked at this from a different angle, the entire situation might just work in his favor.

  When the council found out how reckless his parents and Colin were being, coupled with their blatant disregard for the law, it might just be enough for them to put him on the throne. That thought filled him with a sense of satisfaction, and then a little guilt. It wasn’t that he wanted his family humiliated; he just wanted life to go back to the way it was.

  ***Miranda***

  Miranda spent her first magic-free day sitting in a chair by the window, reading a book and watching Ballantine out her window. Darby had come by to check on her several times, but she hadn’t felt much like company, and as terrible as it made her feel, she was relieved when the visits only lasted a few minutes. Her brain was still a muddle of emotions, but underlying all the anger, frustration, guilt, and confusion, there was an immense sense of relief that her mother was gone.

  The tethers that had bound her were gone, and she felt almost weightless; the smothering feeling that she’d lived with so long eliminated. There was an empty place inside her where it had been, but she knew that in time, she’d fill it with her own wants and needs, that she had an entire lifetime in front of her to make her own choices. She wasn’t foolish enough to think that she’d escaped the Unseelie, her mother had used her as a bargaining piece after all, but for now, she was safe, safer than she’d been in her entire life.

  Feeling the weight of what she still had to face beginning to exhaust her, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the chair. A fresh breeze washed over her, and for a moment, she caught the scent of something wonderful; spicy and sweet all at the same time, it drew her to her feet. Unlatching the screen, she leaned out the window and took a deep breath, hoping to catch the scent again.

  Sighing when it filled her lungs, she looked around for the source, then saw Jamison standing beneath her window looking up at her. When their eyes met, her heart began to pound in her chest and the strange tingling deep inside began again, thudding with the beat of her heart and making it difficult to breathe. Gasping, she pulled her head back inside the window and quickly latched the screen, then fell back into the chair.

  She shivered, then drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, wondering why she had such a strange reaction to the man. It should have been fear that she felt looking down on him, he’d made it more than clear that he didn’t want her in the castle, but even as inexperienced as she was, she knew it wasn’t terror. Desire had never been a part of her life, hadn’t been something she was allowed to feel, and faced with it for the first time, she had no idea how to handle it.

  When Darby came in the next time, a dinner tray in her hands, Miranda waited until she’d arranged it on a table and stepped back before asking, “What’s going to happen to me?”

  “Well, I thought we’d give you a few days to recover before we talked about it,” Darby said, sitting down in a chair across the little table from Miranda. “I know how you feel about your magic right now, but you have to know that the Unseelie aren’t going to let you go that easily. You’re going to have to learn to defend yourself, Miranda, and to do that, you’re going to have to use your magic.”

  Miranda shook her head. “I’ll never use my magic again, not against anything living,” she said.

  “I know that’s how you feel right now, but just promise me that you’ll think about it,” Darby said. “I’d hate to see you hurt, or worse.”

  She knew that Darby was only worried about her, but she didn’t want or need her magic. “I’ll try,” she said, picking up her fork and taking a bite of her dinner.

  “That’s all I ask,” Darby said. “Do you want some company while you eat?”

  “No, thank you,” she said, “but would it be all right if I took a walk after dinner? I’m beginning to feel a little cooped up.”

  “Of course,” Darby said, smiling at her. “When you’re ready, just ring that bell and one of the servants will come to get you. You might enjoy walking in the south garden.”

  “That sounds lovely. I think some fresh air will do me good,” she said, feeling the first sparks of anticipation she’d felt since she’d arrived in Ballantine.

  “The grounds are very pretty,” Darby said, then hesitated as if she had something more to say. “Miranda, I hope you can understand that to keep you safe, there has to be a guard with you all the time.”

  “I thought you said I wasn’t a prisoner,” she said, remembering everything she’d heard about Fae.

  “You aren’t; if you decide to leave, we won’t stop you, but as long as you’re here, we’re responsible for keeping you safe,” Darby said.

  Miranda felt guilty. “I’m sorry, Darby, I know you’re just trying to help,” she said, thinking of the man she was supposed to marry and what he might do to get her back. “I’m just scared and confused.”

  “And you have every right to be,” Darby said, smiling at her. “I’m always here to talk if you need to, and when you get to the cabin, I’ve arranged for someone to be there for you as well.”

  Miranda felt a welling up of emotion and tried to hold it inside, but one tear slid down her cheek. “Thank you; I’m not sure anyone has ever taken this good of care of me.”

  Darby wiped the tear away. “It’s about time someone did,” she said. “Now eat your dinner, and maybe I’ll join you for that walk later.”

  “That would be nice,” she said, and meant it.

  Chapter Five

  Jamison

  Jamison was dozing in the chair outside Miranda’s room when one of the servants came down the hallway; momentarily caught off guard, he jumped to his feet and faced the man. “What are you doing up here?” he asked.

  The man stopped and raised his hands in the air. “Ms. Darby sen
t me up here to take Miranda out to the south garden; they’re going to take a walk.”

  “No one shared those plans with me,” he said, his voice hard. “I’ll take her myself.”

  “Yes, sir,” the man said, backing down the hallway when he saw the anger on his face.

  Jamison knew that he was being unfair, but it annoyed him that Darby hadn’t told him about her plans. He stepped over to the door and knocked loudly, then stepped back and waited, gritting his teeth. When the door opened a crack and Miranda’s face appeared, he stepped back and waited, but she didn’t open the door any farther.

  “If you want to go for a walk, then you’re going to have to come out,” he said, a bit harsher than he meant to.

  “I’m not sure...maybe I’ll just stay in my room,” Miranda mumbled, and he felt bad that he’d scared her.

  “Darby’s waiting for you,” he said, softening his voice and wishing that the instinct to protect her would go away. “She’ll be disappointed if you don’t come.”

  The door opened a crack, and it took him a second to catch his breath when he saw her; she looked so young and innocent. Her eyes filled with apprehension when they met his, and he stepped back a few more feet, his heart pounding in his chest, his mind reeling with the feelings that roared to life inside him. When she stepped out of the door, watching him carefully, he pointed down the hallway, unable to speak.

  He walked behind her for a few minutes, thinking it would help, but watching her hips sway, he realized that as young and innocent as she looked, there was a woman trapped inside her. It sent a thrill through him, but he quickly pushed it away and caught up to her, promising himself that he’d never succumb to his desires. No matter what she did to him, no matter what he felt as he walked next to her, he wouldn’t trust those feelings, wouldn’t become a victim like his brother or Reese.

  When they found Darby waiting for them on a bench at the entrance to the south garden, she looked surprised to see him, but simply nodded her head. “Are you ready for a little exercise?” she asked Miranda, ignoring him.

  He let them walk away together, needing a few minutes to catch his breath, then followed behind them, keeping his distance. For more than an hour, they wound their way through the garden, chatting and laughing, making him wish he knew what they were talking about. Even from a distance, he could see how Miranda’s face changed when she laughed, and he found himself wishing her smile was turned on him.

  When they finally found their way back to the entrance to the garden, Darby pushed Miranda down onto a bench facing the sunset and left her there. “I’m just going to get us some hot chocolate,” she said when she passed by him. “Should I bring you a cup as well?”

  Jamison gave her a false smile and said, “No thank you.”

  Darby had only been gone a few minutes when Miranda got up and began to walk around the garden, the sun setting behind her bathing her in a golden light. He was spellbound for a second, his body aching to close the distance between them, but he shook the feeling off, annoyed to have so little control. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, striving to find the balance he’d always been proud of.

  When he opened them, it took him a second to believe what he was seeing. Everywhere he looked, there were flowers in every shade of the rainbow; from the darkest reds to the deepest blues, it was a burst of color that almost made his eyes hurt. Too shocked to move, he stood staring until Darby walked up next to him, two mugs of steaming cocoa in her hands.

  “Oh dear, I had no idea she could do anything like that,” she said, her mouth hanging open as more blossoms sprang to life.

  As they stood stunned, Miranda wandered over to another bench and sat down facing the last rays of sunlight, never looking behind her. When she tipped her head back and closed her eyes, the sun kissing her skin with a golden hue, her long dark hair spread across her back, his heart began to hammer in his chest. His breath caught in his throat as a thrill rushed through him, making him tingle all over and his groin tighten uncomfortably.

  When he looked over at Darby, she was still staring at Miranda, a look of surprise on her face, and he was relieved that she hadn’t noticed. “I thought you said she wasn’t going to use her magic anymore; that sure looks like magic to me,” he said, his voice sounding strange even to him.

  Darby finally looked over at him, and he scowled at her. “That’s what she told me,” she said, studying him intently for a second, before turning away.

  “So, she’s already lied to us,” he said, a grin of triumph on his face.

  “I don’t think so,” Darby said. “Look at her, Jamison; I don’t think she even knows that she did that.”

  “That’s impossible,” he said. “How could she not know? Look at all of it.”

  “What I see is a very powerful witch who has no idea just how strong her powers are,” Darby said. “I’m not sure even her mother knew how powerful she is.”

  Jamison looked at the garden, then over at Miranda, who was still sitting with her eyes closed. “How do you know she’s so powerful? I mean, it’s just a few blossoms,” he said, feeling more uncomfortable by the second.

  “Not just any witch can do that, and not the way she just did; it takes a powerful spell to create life,” Darby said. “I think it would be a good idea to get her away from here and up to the cabin as soon as possible.”

  ***Miranda***

  Miranda had been so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear Darby coming back with the hot chocolate, but she felt her sit down next to her and opened her eyes. She took the cup Darby held out to her, still deep in thought, and turned back to watch the last rays of sunlight fade behind the mountain. She and Darby had spent the last hour together and, in that time, she’d come to understand that trying to deny her magic would be impossible, that it was as much a part of her as her blue eyes and dark hair.

  But she’d figured out a way to protect the world from its evil, and with that decision, had finally found some peace. “I think I need to disappear,” she finally said when the sun had sunk behind the mountains.

  “Well, that’s kind of what we had planned,” Darby said. “The cabin is very remote; there’s only one road up there, and it winds through a steep canyon.”

  Miranda shook her head. “No, I mean permanently,” she said. “Just me. Alone. I’m sure I could learn how to survive on my own. I’d just need a little cabin somewhere out in the woods away from people, and a few supplies to get started.”

  “It seems like you’ve thought about this a lot,” Darby said. “Won’t you get lonely?”

  Miranda looked over at her. “I’ve been alone most of my life,” she said. “Besides, if I’m alone, no one can hurt me. And I can’t hurt anyone.”

  “What makes you think you’ll hurt someone?” Darby asked. “Just because your mother chose the dark side of magic that doesn’t mean you have to. You’re free now, Miranda; you don’t have to do what she tells you.”

  She shook her head. “But don’t you see that I’m not free? I still belong to the Unseelie, and they won’t give up until I’m back with them. I can’t stand the thought of someone else getting hurt because of me. If I just disappear, maybe they’ll stop looking,” she said, trying to fight a sob as fear coursed through her body.

  Darby put her arm around her and pulled her close. “Miranda, our fight with the Unseelie has been going on for a long time; you disappearing isn’t going to change that,” she said. “Will you do something for me before you take off to hide in the mountains?”

  Miranda looked over at Darby, then nodded her head, unable to refuse. “Will you go to the cabin and spend some time with my friend Abagail? I think she’s exactly who you need right now, and maybe after some time, you’ll feel differently about your magic and the life you want to lead.”

  It wasn’t hard to agree, not when Darby had done so much for her already. “When do we leave?” she asked, managing a shaky smile.

  “Could you be ready tomorrow morning?” Darby as
ked, returning the smile.

  “Well, since I don’t have much to pack, I think so,” Miranda said, shrugging her shoulders.

  “Oh dear, I nearly forgot,” Darby said, her eyes beginning to sparkle. “I think I know just who to call.”

  An hour later, she was surrounded by racks and racks of clothes in every color she could imagine, a woman she’d just met poking and prodding her while flirting with Jamison, who was standing in the back of the room scowling at all of them. He was ignoring Fiona, who’d started fawning over him as soon as Darby introduced her, and when he’d clearly had enough, he turned and walked across the room, far enough away the woman would have had to scream to be heard.

  Fiona looked a little disappointed but turned her attention to Miranda, who was more than happy to have Jamison farther across the room. “Does he ever smile?” Fiona asked, glancing across the room.

  Darby laughed. “Not very often,” she said. “Just ignore him.”

  “That’s easier said than done,” Fiona said. “Have you looked at him?”

  “Fiona, he’s off-limits. Trust me, he’s not your knight in shining armor,” Darby said, grinning at her friend.

  “I still think it’s unfair that you got your knight and I didn’t,” Fiona said, faking a pout.

  Darby laughed again. “Can we just get on with this?” she asked, but her voice was full of warmth. “You’ll fall in love someday, and trust me: it won’t matter who he is or what he does.”

  “Do you promise?” Fiona asked, a hopeful look on her face.

  “I promise,” Darby said, giving her friend a hug.

  When they parted, they both turned to look at Miranda, who was staring at them fascinated; she’d never had a friend before, not even as a child, and she felt a deep yearning for that kind of connection. “It must be nice to have a best friend,” she said wistfully.