collection of fae species that lived in complete harmony with the natural world. Their gifts were as varied as their appearance, but they worked together to bring balance to all living things. She had been free to do as she pleased, dancing, laughing and loving those who caught her interest. Life had been a whirl of pleasure and play. And then it had ended.
She had been summoned by magic and sold into slavery on a distant world.
Her life with the Earl had been tolerable. She had never been truly mistreated or abused. But that life had come to an end the day Camford, the Duke of Southmoor had come to visit her master.
From the moment the loathsome duke had clapped eyes on her she had known nothing but fear. First, he had tried to gain her master’s permission to bed her for a single night, but by the end of his visit he was offering staggering sums to buy her outright. Lily had not slept a wink until he was gone. Every time she closed her eyes she could see his vile face, and she lived in fear that her master would relent and sell her. In the end, he had refused Camford’s offers and Lily thought that was the end of it.
She had been wrong.
Even after he had departed, Camford continued his attempts to acquire Lily by letter. Each missive more threatening than the ones before it, each one making it clear the man would not stop until he possessed Lily. Still, Rockland had not understood the danger he was in. It was only when Camford’s army was spotted marching toward his lands that her master truly grasped the full extent of the Duke’s determination, and by then it had been far too late.
Now her master was dead and she was Camford’s newest acquisition, trapped in this terrible cage of iron with painful welts on her skin. The mere touch of iron brought pain and torment to one of her kind, and she had no doubt Camford knew that. It was more proof of his dark soul that he had imprisoned her in a cage of iron, when he knew full well the collar around her neck controlled her completely. She was his, and there was nothing she could do to resist any order he deigned to give her.
When the servant had tripped, the cage had been sent tumbling and Lily had been hurled against the bars. Bruised, shaken and hurting, even if Camford had allowed it, she would not be able to summon enough magic to heal herself, not surrounded by so much of the magic-blocking ore. She had been in Camford’s power for a few short hours, and her suffering had already begun.
When the door of Lily’s cage was opened she hurled herself through the opening in a panic, the need to get away from the burning bars overwhelming ever other thought. Once Lily was free of the cage, she tried to stabilize her flight, but her head was still ringing from being flung about the inside her prison. Off-balance and out of control, she began to fall, spiraling out of control as she plummeted.
A man’s large hand appeared just below her and she landed on his outstretched hand in an awkward tangle. “Easy now, I’ve got you,” someone rumbled and then she was being lifted slowly upward until she was face to face with the man who had caught her mid-tumble.
H e’s handsome.
Of all the things Lily needed to be worried about on this, the worst day of her life, she couldn’t begin to understand why it mattered that the stranger holding her had a handsome face. Or that there were laugh lines etched around his eyes, despite the hardness she could see in their blue depths. Several days grown of beard shadowed his cheeks and a line of white showed where a scar ran the length of his jaw on one side. He was looking at her with wonder tempered by concern, and part of her wished that this man was her master and not the cruel, florid cheeked creature she knew wore the ring that forced her complete obedience.
Kel couldn’t stop staring at the tiny, luminescent creature he held in the palm of his hand. The dazzling light that cloaked her had dimmed after she had tumbled,
She had been summoned by magic and sold into slavery on a distant world.
Her life with the Earl had been tolerable. She had never been truly mistreated or abused. But that life had come to an end the day Camford, the Duke of Southmoor had come to visit her master.
From the moment the loathsome duke had clapped eyes on her she had known nothing but fear. First, he had tried to gain her master’s permission to bed her for a single night, but by the end of his visit he was offering staggering sums to buy her outright. Lily had not slept a wink until he was gone. Every time she closed her eyes she could see his vile face, and she lived in fear that her master would relent and sell her. In the end, he had refused Camford’s offers and Lily thought that was the end of it.
She had been wrong.
Even after he had departed, Camford continued his attempts to acquire Lily by letter. Each missive more threatening than the ones before it, each one making it clear the man would not stop until he possessed Lily. Still, Rockland had not understood the danger he was in. It was only when Camford’s army was spotted marching toward his lands that her master truly grasped the full extent of the Duke’s determination, and by then it had been far too late.
Now her master was dead and she was Camford’s newest acquisition, trapped in this terrible cage of iron with painful welts on her skin. The mere touch of iron brought pain and torment to one of her kind, and she had no doubt Camford knew that. It was more proof of his dark soul that he had imprisoned her in a cage of iron, when he knew full well the collar around her neck controlled her completely. She was his, and there was nothing she could do to resist any order he deigned to give her.
When the servant had tripped, the cage had been sent tumbling and Lily had been hurled against the bars. Bruised, shaken and hurting, even if Camford had allowed it, she would not be able to summon enough magic to heal herself, not surrounded by so much of the magic-blocking ore. She had been in Camford’s power for a few short hours, and her suffering had already begun.
When the door of Lily’s cage was opened she hurled herself through the opening in a panic, the need to get away from the burning bars overwhelming ever other thought. Once Lily was free of the cage, she tried to stabilize her flight, but her head was still ringing from being flung about the inside her prison. Off-balance and out of control, she began to fall, spiraling out of control as she plummeted.
A man’s large hand appeared just below her and she landed on his outstretched hand in an awkward tangle. “Easy now, I’ve got you,” someone rumbled and then she was being lifted slowly upward until she was face to face with the man who had caught her mid-tumble.
H e’s handsome.
Of all the things Lily needed to be worried about on this, the worst day of her life, she couldn’t begin to understand why it mattered that the stranger holding her had a handsome face. Or that there were laugh lines etched around his eyes, despite the hardness she could see in their blue depths. Several days grown of beard shadowed his cheeks and a line of white showed where a scar ran the length of his jaw on one side. He was looking at her with wonder tempered by concern, and part of her wished that this man was her master and not the cruel, florid cheeked creature she knew wore the ring that forced her complete obedience.
Kel couldn’t stop staring at the tiny, luminescent creature he held in the palm of his hand. The dazzling light that cloaked her had dimmed after she had tumbled,
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