Stuck With You

Part 25

Chapter 25

“You should probably let her go now.”

The smile on her face dimmed a little, making him want to take attention off the crazy, frozen fae feet away from them.  She waved to her left before letting out a sigh.  He heard the sound of Innocence’s feet hitting the ground, but he kept his eyes on Celeste.  No matter how angry the fae was, she couldn’t do anything to harm Celeste.  “Do you mind if I lay down?” she asked, her words slurring together in complete exhaustion.

Shaking his head, he helped her to her feet before walking her towards her bed.  Her wings came towards him, and he instantly stepped back, making her fall safely on to the bed.  “I have some things I need to do,” he mumbled, as her eyes fell shut.  “I’ll come back up later.”

She nodded her head before burrowing into her pillows.  Knowing that Celeste was dead to the world, he turned his attention back to Innocence.  Her once white hair was a pale green color.  Vines snaked through it as if they were trying to find something.  Her once straight teeth looked jagged, while her short nails were sharp points. 

“Calm down,” he snapped.

Her almond shaped, black eyes blinked at him.  “She shouldn’t do that.”

“She was tired,” he sighed, walking towards Innocence.  “She was in pain, and she’s feeling useless at the moment.  For the next couple of days, she’ll start throwing her powers around.  Don’t be surprised if something like that happens again.”

Innocence frowned at him as she shifted uneasily on her feet.  “How do you know?”

“I know her,” he mumbled, gesturing towards the door.  “Come on, let’s go down stairs.  You said there were other’s here?”

“Yeah,” Innocence said.  Her hair calmed down, the vines ceasing their movement.  The black of her eyes faded into light blue, almost white.  The fingernails he found deadly straightened out, as did her teeth.

“Calm?”

She let out a breath before nodding.  “For now; My Queen is downstairs.  She wishes to speak to Celeste.” Innocence frowned.  “Where does my loyalty lie if My Queen tries to kill the angel?  The angel is under my protection, and she is the one who will solve our problems, but My Queen is my leader.”

Walking past her, he patted her arm.  “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, because I have a feeling that Celeste might win in the fight.”

“My Queen has more magic.”

“Celeste has more man power backing her, and Tanya wouldn’t be able to harm her,” Aidirian reminded as he stepped from Celeste’s room.  He waited for Innocence to step from the doorway before throwing up a protection barrier. 

Innocence skipped past him, not caring what he was doing.  “Yes, but My Queen would find something that could hurt Celeste.”

“There’s one thing you’re forgetting.”

“What?” she asked.

Aidirian smiled at her.  Was it odd that he was actually starting to like the murderous fae?  “She has me.”  He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he stood in front of Tanya.  He had to give her credit for only blinking at his arrival.  The others all shifted towards what looked like very large swords on their waists.  “What brings you here?”

Tanya took a step back, making Aidirian smile.  She frowned at him before waving a hand towards her guards.  All but one moved their hands away from their swords.  “Why have you not tracked down the threat?”

“We have.”

She blinked again.  “When will you attack?”

“When we are ready,” he answered.

She let out a frustrated noise, and for the first time, he didn’t see the beauty she covered herself with.  Beneath the surface, he could see the tiredness in her eyes, the way that they darkened when she was angry.  Was this what it meant to see true forms?  She didn’t look much different that she did before, but around the edges, she appeared jagged. 

“She did it,” Tanya said with a sigh.  Genuine worry crossed the woman’s face.  “She made it to where you can see true forms, didn’t she?”

He nodded.  “Can you?”

“No,” Tanya whispered, shaking her head so fast that he thought she would snap her neck.  “I do not want to see true forms.  I prefer to see only my own form, and what other’s allow me to see.  You do not know what you are dealing with.  If others know what you can do, they will not be as accepting as I am.  There is a reason why the process is so painful; most do not live through it.”

“What do you mean?”

Tanya stopped shaking her head to give him a sad expression.  “Whoever allowed you to do this just signed your death sentence.  I would look closely at those who warned you against it and those who were accepting.  You may have some here who want you gone.”

It was his turn to shake his head.  “Celeste’s necklace—”

“Keeps her safe,” Tanya interrupted.  “It does not keep you safe.  How do you think our little angel would fair if you were not with her?  How easily manipulated do you think she would be?”  Tanya closed her eyes.  “You must understand our ways, Aidirian.  While I do not go out of my way to keep her safe, I would never wish her harm.  Listen to my words and think upon them.”

“Why do your words sound so final?” he asked.  He knew he should have kept his mouth shut, that he shouldn’t put himself in other’s business, but he could not stop himself.  She had helped him; he would return the favor.

Tanya smiled at him, a sad smile that made her look older than she appeared.  “I am done,” she whispered.  “I am too old for another war.  My daughter will be taking my place.”

Aidirian glanced towards Innocence, causing Tanya to let out a laugh.  “She is not my daughter.  She is Innocence. She is older than I, but as long as the leaves stay green, innocence will live on.”

“You enjoy speaking in riddles.”

“I do,” the Fae Queen said, “but remember Aidirian, we fae cannot outright lie.  We can talk in circles, make you question our words, but we cannot lie.  Remember that,” she whispered.  Her fingers snapped together, making her and her guard disappear.

He stood there, staring at the empty spot she once was.  For some reason, her little visit both worried and comforted him.  It answered questions he had been asking himself, but it also created more.  Turning towards Innocence, he stared at the fae.  “What is her daughter like?”

“Tame,” Innocence said, a nod punctuating her words.

“Good,” he sighed.  “That is one last thing for me to worry about.”

Innocence frowned at him.  The confused expression, he was now used to, crossed her face.  “That is her name.”

He felt like banging his head against something.  “Let me guess, she is quite like you, the opposite of her name.”

A large smile crossed her face as she nodded happily.  “Exactly.”

“I’m going to take a nap,” he groaned.  “Contact the others and tell them to be here in an hour.  I want this Nephilim business done with by tomorrow.”

As he closed his eyes, he heard Innocence yell out, “Do you think that killing them will keep the other supernaturals away?”

Opening his eyes, he smiled down at Celeste before lying beside her.  The answer was no; he didn’t believe the others would leave him alone once the Nephilim were gone.  Then again, he was beginning to question why everyone wanted them gone to begin with.