Free Seduced by Magic by Cheyenne McCray Page B

hands in her lap.
    He reached over to her and laid his large tanned hand on her pale and dainty one. She was so small, so fragile.
    Tiernan squeezed her hand and she looked up at him. “What happens now?” she whispered.
    â€œI will find a solution.” He took her fingers in his hand and brought them to his lips and gently kissed them before releasing her. “Give me time. I will tell our parents we are postponing our handfasting for six weeks. In that time I will find a way.” Though he had no idea what way there could possibly be. He swallowed hard. “I will not allow you to be humiliated. Rest assured of that.”
    â€œThank you,” Airell said as she met his eyes. “You are more than kind, Lord Tiernan.”
    He stood and gave her a low bow. “My lady.” He turned away and strode back along the path to the manor.

Six
    She was in the tunnel again. The air smelled of sulfur, rotten fish, and earth, and the ground looked like it had been freshly dug. She squinted. Shapes ahead, moving through the unlit tunnels. Copper raised her wand, but the light was absorbed by the darkness, sucked up until she could barely see.
    Her heart started pounding as she continued through the tunnel.
    The ground dropped from beneath her feet.
    She screamed as she tumbled through brilliant light so white it was like falling through a star. Wind rushed against her face and her heart felt as if it were on fire, that it would burn a hole through her chest.
    With a thud she landed so hard on her feet she jarred her teeth.
    Shaking, she blinked to regain her vision. Her wand light glittered off damp stone walls. When her heart didn’t feel like it was going to explode, she realized she was on another dark pathway—a tunnel even farther belowground.
    She was alone.
    No—no. There were the shapes ahead. Familiar? She couldn’t be sure.
    She shivered in the damp air that smelled of ancient dirt and heard the steady
plunk, plunk, plunk
of water coming from somewhere ahead. And rotten fish again. Yes, she definitely smelled rotten fish.
    Copper woke late with a strange feeling in her belly. It was gloomy outside, the air cool and moist with an oncoming storm.
    For some reason the dreariness of the day and her dream didn’t dampen her mood. She felt as though something special were going to happen.
    â€œMaybe today’s the day,” she said aloud. A spell had been churning in her mind. Perhaps it was a spell that would set them all free. Something inside her told her she
had
to return home. These dreams, this feeling—they had never been so intense before.
    Fully awake, she scrambled out of her shelter, got to her feet, and finger-combed her hair so that it lay in a wavy mass over her shoulders. She placed her hands on her hips and looked around the meadow. Ladybugs moved up the branches of the flowers and a grasshopper bounded across the clearing. The Faerie children were doing their chores and gathering fresh grass and seeds. The Pixies were playing their version of tag around the rock outcropping, and the Brownies were nowhere to be seen. That fact gave her little comfort. Where were those nasty little goons?
    The Fae hadn’t left Copper anything for breakfast—which meant they were in a fickle mood—so she headed for the apple tree, reached up, and plucked the reddest one she could find. The tree always had plenty of apples. It was as if any that were taken were replaced overnight, and it had fruit year round. She especially enjoyed the times when the perfume of the tree’s blossoms mingled with the scent of apples.
    When she’d perched on the rock at the foot of the tree, she took a big bite of the apple with a loud crunch. Sounds of Pixie laughter made her grin as she chewed. They were mischievous as hell, but they were fun to watch and listen to—if she wasn’t on the receiving end of their mischief.
    The Faerie Queen Riona appeared from around the