Dark Sidhe Claimed Read Free Page A

burst.
    The pursuing warriors swept toward their makeshift shelter. Kier didn’t have any doubt it would hold, but whether or not the Seelie sensed their presence was another matter. Tama trembled with fear. Oddly, she seemed more frightened of her own people than she did of them.
    “You’ve gotta be kidding,” Tama whispered. “Like they’re not going to notice this giant bulge in the veil?”
    Keeping his gaze on the horizon, Rylan answered. “The barrier between the worlds is neither straight nor smooth. They won’t notice.”
    “I hope you’re right.”
    He spared her a brief glance. “I do, too, Princess.”
     

Chapter Three
    Muffled voices filled with anger and frustration drifted to them through the protective shield as the Seelie soldiers searched the border. Tama froze as Dahire alighted next to their hiding place. Her breath caught in her throat as he turned to look at her, but she realized he couldn’t see her. He only saw the vast expanse of the veil.
    Rylan slowly stepped closer and rested his hands on her shoulders. Comfort trickled into her body at his touch. She couldn’t believe she could find reassurance at the touch of an Unseelie fae, but one look at Dahire’s icy blue gaze and she knew she was safer with these two than she would ever be with him.
    Dahire stepped closer, and Tama had to close her eyes. Rylan’s lips brushed her ear, his hushed words stirring her hair. “Silence. No sudden movements.”
    Opening her eyes, she nodded once—slowly—to show she understood, her gaze fixed on Dahire as he stalked around the area, berating his troops for not besting the Unseelie scum and failing to capture her. Her hands tightened into fists at her sides, her short nails digging into her palms.
    No matter what happened, she wouldn’t return to court with him. She missed her home in the faery realm, but not enough to sacrifice her freedom. Life with Dahire would be no better than slavery. He would dress her in the finest of gossamer silks and shower her with jewels, but she would be nothing more to him than a tool, a means to control their people. A means to defeat the Unseelie and bring them to heel. He planned to use her power against anyone who crossed him. He’d told her as much before she’d run away.
    Of course, at the moment, her power was practically non-existent. The constant exposure to iron had seen to that. After such a long time, she might never recover her abilities. She could still communicate with animals and plant life, the same as any faery, but she’d had additional, more specialized powers.  Unlike others of her race, she could also control the elements. If Dahire had that skill at his command, he could force his will on anyone he chose.  She could refuse, but she’d seen him torture the loved ones of other Sidhe who had refused to do his bidding. There weren’t many people she was close to, but she refused to let them suffer because of her.
    Dahire screamed his frustration at the sky, drawing her attention back to the present. In a fit of rage, he directed an energy bolt toward a group of his soldiers. A bright flash tore through the ground in front of Tama’s hiding place, scarring the earth and startling a strangled sound from her throat.
    Rylan slid his hand from her shoulder to cover her mouth. “Shh,” he whispered. She nodded, but he didn’t remove his hand. Instead, his other arm circled her waist, drawing her firmly against his body. His warmth soaked into her, and inexplicably long, dormant desire slowly radiated from where his hand rested on her belly and outward though her body. His fingertips traced lazy figures over her abdomen, and her head lolled back against his shoulder.
    Barely noticing as the Seelie soldiers left the area, she squirmed against the growing ridge pressing into the cleft of her ass. Her breasts felt full, almost swollen as her nipples hardened to tight, aching peaks. Her sex grew slick, and the threat of Dahire and his men faded