Light exploded from my hands, and I forced the attacker away from me. I couldn't believe how fast they'd been able to grab me, and we were already several hundred feet from Eric in just a second. "What do you want from me?" I demanded as the man tried to stand up. Eric appeared at my side, and I put a hand on his arm to stop him from charging forward.
Ten feet away, the man was on his feet, and moved to step forward. My free hand flew up, and I let the light charge up, causing him to stop. I looked him over as he did the same to me, and found that he seemed familiar. Then I realized he held a resemblance to Claude, and was about to speak when he seemed suddenly angry. "Do not fight me girl! You belong to King Brigant. I have come to take you because your blood is now strong enough. Either choose to go or you will be forced!"
"Like hell she will!" Faster than I could follow, Eric grabbed the boy by his throat with one hand and secured both of his hands with the other.
Something occurred to me, and I spoke up, hoping it would work. "Why does King Brigant own me?
"You are one of his few remaining heir's, and he requests that you return to the fae realm for training. He needs a successor. By the traces of his blood in you veins, you are his." An incredible feeling of triumph coursed through me, and I smiled.
"Eric, let him go, he can't take me. Someone else already owns me by blood." Realizing what I meant, Eric dropped him with a smile, and returned to my side to take my hand in his.
"Who has the nerve to claim what is already owned?" He demanded, and rubbed at the red mark on his neck with disgust.
"I've never been owned by anyone, and Eric is the only one who can say that now." The man, who I assumed was a fairy, stared at Eric in outrage.
"What do you mean?" He demanded.
Eric spoke up, "She is my wife, and bonded to me by blood for life. Nobody can touch her. Not even the fairy king. If he wants to speak to her, or even see her, then he needs to come speak to me first."
A look of pure fury crossed the fairy's features, before a pure white light shone from his body, and he disappeared into thin air.
I looked at Eric, who continued to stare at where the fairy had been for several seconds, before turning to face me. Bloody tears flowed from his eyes, and he pulled me to him. "I almost lost you." He whispered into my ear, and I wrapped my arms around him.
His nose went into my hair, and he inhaled deeply, before pulling back to look me in the eye.
"You smell different. The fairy part is…stronger." I chuckled at the hungry look on his eyes, and as though by instinct, I pushed a tingling sensation through my body. A moment later he seemed confused. "I can't smell you anymore, how did you do that?"
"I don't know. When I saved myself, it made the fairy blood in me stronger. Now…I think I can cover my scent. I'll probably have to do it all the time to keep vampires from attacking me." He nodded, accepting my explanation, and picked me up to hold cradled against his chest.
I looked up and away from us, and remembered something, "What happened to the lighthouse?"
He frowned, and looked up at the structure that was now dark. "That damn Bill must have broken the lamp at the top. I'll get someone out here after we leave to fix it."
"Is he still on the island?" I asked, suddenly anxious.
He listened and took a deep breathe, and finally shook his head. "No…but I hear a helicopter getting further away. I imagine that it's him leaving." With one last look toward the horizon, he takes us into the house, and a sudden wave of exhaustion hit me. I yawned loudly, and glanced toward the outside of the house. A faint light was rising from the horizon.
"It's almost dawn." I told him, and he nodded. Of course he already knew.
We walked over to a panel on the wall, and slid it open. After putting in a number code, he pushed a small blue button, and I watched as metal shutters rose up from the floor and sealed all of the windows from the inside. Lights flickered on everywhere, and suddenly we were in the bedroom.
I let him change me into comfortable clothes, as I didn't have the energy to move much, and we were both soon sound asleep.
The rest of the week went without incident, and we enjoyed ourselves as much as possible. On the last night, Eric seemed overly excited about something, and made a big show of setting up a foldable bed on the beach. We lay together, and I curled up next to him.
"What are we waiting for?" I asked, impatient, and he just shakes his head.
I'd been questioning him since he rose for the night, and he hadn't said a word about his surprise for.
Then, around midnight, the most amazing thing happened.
I watched as tendrils of bright color streaked the sky suddenly. Reds, Blues, Greens and Purples of every hue danced through the cloudless air, and I couldn't believe it. "These are the Northern Lights." He whispered into my ear, and I leaned over to give him a loving kiss. We stayed embraced for a moment, until I leaned back onto the arm he had holding me, and resumed watching the light show.
Ever since I had been little, I had heard of the Northern Lights, but I'd never seen them. Gran had told me once that she had traveled up north, when Granddaddy had still been around, and had taken my momma with her. They had went all the way to Maine, where she visited an old friend of hers there, and they had been lucky enough to see the lights. She'd said that it had looked like an artist had thrown his brushes into the sky, and let them paint the clouds to match the coral reefs of the sea. I'd wanted to see them forever after she'd told me the story, and now I understood what she meant.
The amazing sight continued to dance in front of us for several hours, until the tendrils of color retreated back the way they had come, and the show ended. I turned to him in wonder, and he stared right back. "You're amazing. How did you know I've always wanted to see that?"
He smiled smugly, and hugged me closer, "I had a very long talk with your brother once, and he didn't know it, but I was pumping him for information. I wanted this to be perfect, so even though I didn't appreciate us having to move the wedding date, I was happy that this became a possibility. Those lights don't travel this far often, and when they do it's spectacular. Godric loved to see them." A hint of sadness crept into his side of the bond, and I placed my hand onto his cheek.
"I think Godric would be very proud of everything you've done, and I'm sure he's still watchin' you, even though you can't see him. Remember all the good things he did when he was still here, and don't think of him like he's gone." A blood tear ran down his cheek, and he tried to turn away, but I didn't let him. Instead I kissed him gently, and he smiled slightly.
"How did I get lucky enough to have you?" He questioned me, and I just smiled.
"Think of it like Godric's last gift. When I watched you in Dallas…it was like you were a completely different person. After Godric met the sun, you looked so broken, and I didn't know what I could do to help you. I didn't look at you the same after that. I saw you more as someone who had suffered and fought for so long that emotions truly were a thing of weakness to you, and even though I couldn't fully understand that, I accepted it. Even before I loved you, I had hoped to bring you out of your shell, and it's finally happened." Before I knew what was happening, he had pulled me to set on top of him, and leaned up to kiss me feverishly. I could feel a bulge in his pants beneath me, and grinned at the prospects of what was to come.
Later that night, I had changed into a bikini, and he chased me at a human pace to the edge of the ocean. I dove straight in, and when I emerged I couldn't see him anywhere. "Eric?" I called out, and don't get a response, so I start to swim into the deeper water. I laugh and squeal in delighted surprise a minute later when he suddenly explodes from the water and grabs me from behind. His mouth finds my throat, and his fangs graze the skin.
"Be careful, there are sharks out here. You might get bit." He breathes the words into my ear, and I giggle at his fake menacing voice. Then he's gone again.
I wait for him to emerge, but he doesn't immediately do so, and a mischievous tone enters my thoughts. When he does surface, he's in front of me, and starts to move toward me with a playful growl and his mouth wide open. So I cup my hands in front of me, and splash him with the biggest wave I can manage, drenching his open mouth in the salt water. He spits and sputters, dispelling the liquid as I swim away as fast as I can. "I'll get you for that!" He threatens halfheartedly, and goes under the water again.
Taking a deep breath, I hold it just in time for him to grab my leg and pull me under. He holds me in his arms beneath the water, and kisses me, and then we return to the surface. I regain my breathe, and he laughs, before I feel his fangs at my neck again.
"Are you hungry?" I ask, and I can feel him nod. I let my scent flow freely, and I can feel a shudder run through him. "Go ahead…feed." I urge him on, and he only hesitates for a second before biting down, and holding me closer. He keeps us both afloat as he drinks deeply for a minute, before licking the wound closed.
"You taste different somehow…just…more. It's like everything about you is enhanced. Godric truly must be watching over me to have let me have you." He smiles, and the seawater washes away a bloody tear from his face.
I kiss him, and he carries me back to shore.