Page 20 (1/1)

Indeed, the appellation suited her She was certainly ; only the second mortal woman he’d ever encountered who hadn’tfeirlishly flirtatious with hilamour of beauty and taken her last breath with a kiss

"Well?" she snapped, jarring hier had won the battle for control of her facialher nostrils Still, apprehension shadowed her lovely eyes He didn’t want her fearing him Fear would interfere with his plans to experience huain his i you, and I meant it I merely seek your aid with a small problem"

She eyed him suspiciously "You seek my aid? How could I possibly aid an all-powerful fairy?"

"I’in to relax

"Really? Do tell"

Her eyes narrowed a bit too calculatingly for his taste Relaxed was one thing, but he had no intention of walking around on constant guard against those treacherous knees "I may not be all-powerful, Gabrielle," he said softly, "but even diminished, I am far more powerful than you Indeed, far more powerful than most humans Need you a reminder?" He stretched lazily in his chair, fully aware of how his body rippled and flexed

She growled, actually growled low in her throat at hi faintly Small and currently helpless as a kitten, she sported a lion’s share of ferocity; her lush, five-foot-four-inch body jam-packed with six feet of temper "Listen well, Sidhe-seer"

Gabby listened well indeed while he talked, eyes narrowing, taking meticulous mental notes

What he told her fanned the spark of hope in her heart into flame Not only was he not all-powerful, but he was actually trapped in mortal form

All that splendidly masculine body is human? cooed a breathy, traitorous voice in her mind

Oh, shut up Hoas it possible that a fourteen-year-old version of herself was still skulking around inside her head?

And not only was he flesh and blood--which explained why he’d bled and didn’t have typical fairy eyes--but he’d been cursed by the full triumvirate power of the féth fiada, which, he told her, made it impossible for humans to perceive hi chaos like a cloak around him Except for her--descended froic didn’t work the way it was supposed to

Further coer traverse realms He was stuck in the hu her all this He was revealing, without reservation, that he posed no otherworldly threat to her That he couldn’t carry her off, couldn’t suic to boot!

Though he refused to anshen she asked for what offense the queen had punished him, she didn’t press She didn’t really care What reater threat than any other hu one

She was going to survive She really wasn’t going to die today! After all, he couldn’t kill her; she was all he had, the only one who could see hi way toward cal death, she was dealing with is

Wait aas her mind latched on to an inconsistency: He claimed to be powerless, but was still able to move in the blink of an eye like a fairy How could that be? She needed to know precisely what she was up against "I thought you said Aoibheal stripped your powers Why can you still ed "It’s the only power she left me--the ability to sift short distances"

"Why would she leave you anything at all?" she pressed, wondering if he was telling her the truth

"I suspect," he replied dryly, "so buses wouldn’t runto adjust to my new form She wisheselse?"

He shook his head and gave her a chiding glance "Don’t think to escape me, Gabrielle I won’t permit it It would be unwise to thinkhis next words with care, and smiled faintly--"impotentin any way"