The Changeling Soldier Read online

War in Annwyn was bad for everyone on both sides of the veil. Here the newspapers were already full of disease outbreaks. Borders between countries were being closed. As the death tolls racked up, she felt sorry for the humans and their ignorance. They had no idea what was causing the problems as they had forgotten their fairy lore.

  Usually that was a blessing.

  Melody’s knowledge of fairies scared Ella just a little. As soon as she dropped off the dress she would be fleeing across the veil like the Hunter’s hounds were after her. The only regret she had would be not getting to know Isaac better. For a brief moment she considered offering to take him with her. But even though he was half fairy he was still mortal, and being mortal in Annwyn was dangerous.

  She gave the dress a final inspection, more than happy with the way it had turned out. Melody would look ethereal, as she’d requested, and she’d attract attention just like she wanted. Ella had put a little magic in the dress, even though she’d had doubts about helping Melody at all. However, it must be hard for her, pinning her dreams on someone else’s whims.

  At least Ella made her own dreams and her own luck. She rarely had to glamour people into giving her what she wanted. And Isaac? If she asked for a date—that would of course end up in bed—would he agree?

  In her mind, he did. A small smile formed. If she’d only had longer…

  It had been a long time since she’d allowed herself to indulge in anything that came close to a relationship—she allowed herself a few nights, maybe a few weeks, but nothing more. Fairies didn’t age like humans. When a fairy became old they wasted and became frail, but they never looked a day older. She sighed and carefully wrapped up the dress in tissue paper.

  All she could have ever have with Isaac was sex. It was probably for the best that she was leaving instead of tangling herself up with a man she couldn’t have. In Annwyn she would find herself a fairy lover to take her mind off all the heartache human men had caused her over the years.

  There was nothing in the mortal world for her anymore.

  No friends. No lovers. No royal courts. They were all long gone.

  She had to give Annwyn a try. A new ruler would mean a fresh start. Perhaps that was what she needed more than anything else.

  She changed clothes to look like Ella Aaron instead of Eletta, the freezing fairy in tracksuit pants and jumpers trying to stay warm. Jeans and a shirt with a thermal T-shirt underneath, were more of Ella’s look. She was beginning to feel as though she’d never be warm again. When she put gel in her hair to add texture and style, she was sure she was paler, her skin more translucent. She wasn’t wasting away and getting ready to die, but the failing magic of Annwyn was starting to affect her more. Panic gave her heart a little flutter.

  The bell was tolling on her time in the mortal world.

  She picked up the dress. A few more hours in the L.A. sun, maybe one last walk along the beach and then she’d collapse her life here and leave. She didn’t want an investigation into her disappearance—not when she’d worked so hard to build up her reputation. She would announce she was going to Europe, pay out her rent and give the car away. She’d made the plans a month ago so she’d be ready when the time came. In all, it would take only hours for her to safely vanish.

  Instead of being annoyed by the traffic, she tried to enjoy the grid lock, the music and humanity all around her. How much had Annwyn changed in three hundred years? Or had they clung to old traditions so much that it would be like going back in time? Once, the Court of Annwyn had been ahead of the humans—they’d been the ones assisting human progress, but she suspected that was no longer the case. So much of humanity was soulless, mindless and pointless.

  Where was the fun, the joy and the things that made life worth living? So few people seemed to realize what they had, what she could never have no matter where she lived. Love just wasn’t possible. At Court it was all about status, and here it was all about hiding what she was and protecting her heart from mortal men who would die too soon. She could never just be unless she was alone with her patterns and fabrics.

  As she pulled up in front of Melody’s house, the nerves she’d been trying to bottle up resurfaced in a nervous shiver she couldn’t tame. The tension in her belly had nothing to do with Annwyn, the dress or Melody. She was hoping to see Isaac again, even though she knew it was foolish.

  When he let her through the gate her heart gave a flutter and bounce. Today was going to be fun.

  Isaac let Ella through the gate as Melody was apparently busy getting ready to try on the dress. Once again, she’d wanted him here. No doubt so he could say how beautiful she looked in the dress. What had happened to her while he was away? Now she only seemed to exist when people were looking at her. Sometimes it felt as though he was here only to be her mirror, so when she asked “who is the fairest in the land?” he could reply.

  As Ella walked up the steps with a carefully wrapped package and a bag over her shoulder, he knew the answer wasn’t Mel. It was Ella. Dressed simply in jeans, she still managed to hold his attention. She smiled when she saw him, and he wanted to hand over his soul there and then just to see what happened next. He was tired of waiting.

  Her eyes glimmered like a gold coins beneath water and her skin had that translucent look starlets would kill for. Fairy. The word kept running through his head.

  Mel thought Ella was fairy and had been planning to test her with iron. He’d talked her out of it though, and she’d promised to stop with the unhealthy fairy obsession and go back to seeing her therapist.

  He, however, had continued with the fairy obsession. He’d tested himself this week with iron just to see if it still burned him. It did. The mark on his arm looked like a stray patch of sunburn until it had faded. What would happen if he’d kept his skin pressed to the iron? Would it have blistered? Or would the pain make him stop first?

  He returned Ella’s smile. “I’m glad to see you again.” And not just because she was part of the future he kept seeing. She was beautiful, and no doubt had plenty of admirers.

  A light blush colored her cheeks, and he realized just how pale she was. Was she okay? “Same.” She brushed against him, and a stab of cold and pain burned through him, stripping his nerves. For a moment he was blinded with the agony.

  He drew in a breath and blinked. There were no bullets, and no roadside bombs this time, but something bad was about to happen to Ella. She noticed and stopped in the doorway only inches from him. He should warn her. And say what? He didn’t even know what was going to happen. She tilted her head, noticing that something was wrong. Would she believe him if he told her he could glimpse the future?

  The words were on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed them down. He wasn’t ready to admit that he knew what she was. “Can I take something for you?”

  “It’s not much this time, but thank you. You’re a real gentleman.”

  “Just polite.” And trying to cover up the premonition. He put his hand on the front door to close it but stopped. The cold and dread increased, twisting in his gut until it was hard to breathe. He couldn’t let her go in without a warning. “Melody thinks you are a fairy.”

  As soon as the words left his lips, he felt stupid. Thinking it was one thing, but saying it aloud was another. It was why he only mentioned his premonitions if they were life threatening, and for some reason this seemed dire.

  Ella’s features froze for just a moment, and then she laughed. While he was used to that response, it still cut. He glanced away, wishing he hadn’t said anything.

  Then she stepped closer. “If I am fairy, you are changeling.” She tilted her head. “A changeling is a fairy born in the mortal world.” She kept her voice low as if she didn’t want to be overheard.

  He flinched at the word changeling. That wasn’t what he’d read about changelings. Weren’t changelings babies who were switched at birth? “A changeling?”

  She smiled, but there was an edge to it. “One human parent, one fairy parent. Born here, not in
Annwyn.”

  He swallowed as what she’d said sunk in. He had a fairy parent. His mysterious and absent father. He shook his head not wanting to be having this conversation. “I’m just Mel’s brother.”

  “No one is just anything, Isaac.” She placed her free hand on his chest in a movement that was familiar from his dreams. Was she already planning on taking it? Or did she not know that was going to happen? His breath caught. Her fingertips were cool through his shirt but heat raced over his skin.

  She tilted her head and held his gaze. Her lips curved as if she found him intriguing, fascinating and worthy of investigation. For a moment he wanted to lower his lips to hers to see if her mouth was as cool as her fingertips. Her grin widened.

  His heart raced as adrenaline kicked through him. Ella was dangerous, like a hungry wolf in winter, and she had her eye on him. He’d never had a woman affect him so much. It was exciting and perilous. And he knew he wouldn’t be able to walk away. He liked the rush that tumbled through his blood too much.

  “We should do dinner tonight. I can tell you more about what you are, if you believe.” It was almost a dare coming from her lips. Her eyes never left him as her hand slid over his chest in a delicate caress that promised more.

  Her lips on his, skin to skin in a strange bedroom with pink sheets.

  She wasn’t asking him to dinner. His dick hardened at the idea and the vision replayed in his mind, tempting him with a glimpse of his future. It was going to happen whatever he did. He’d never been able to change the outcome of a premonition; usually he didn’t want to see what was going to happen, but this time was different. He wanted to see more. He needed to dive in and get to the point. Since coming to L.A., his life had been on hold, now he could feel the shifting of gears and the gaining of traction. All he had to do was accept the challenge.

  “That sounds…interesting.” He didn’t want to admit to being too keen, even though lust burned beneath his skin. If she glanced down he was sure she’d notice the effect she was having.

  Her eyebrow quirked up. “Don’t play coy, Isaac. It doesn’t suit you. You need answers.” Her tongue darted over her lip, and his gaze tracked the moment. He was falling under her spell and couldn’t find anything to grab onto to save himself. There was no point…he already knew where this ended up. Annwyn. “I can feel your craving for them.”

  He gave a single nod. Though he suspected it was his craving for her she could sense. She could unravel his dream and explain his life in a way he couldn’t. She was also going to take his soul, but at the moment he really didn’t care.

  “I thought I could hear voices.” Mel walked into the hallway, made up to the nines at ten in the morning. She pressed her lips into a pouty smile and glared at him for delaying her dress fitting.

  The unease swelled, that moment when he felt the incoming attack and his world exploded in frag and sand was coming fast, but he couldn’t see how it was going to unfold or who was going to get hurt this time. All he knew was it was too late for any of them to look for cover.

  “If you two are finished, I’d like to get on with the fitting.” Melody’s voice had gained an edge that hadn’t been there last time.

  Ella glanced at Isaac. A frown now creased his forehead. For a moment she thought he was going to say something. When he didn’t, she jumped in. She still had a reputation to maintain. Switching her attention from Isaac to Melody, Ella smiled as if nothing was amiss.

  “Sorry, but I can’t resist a war story.” She gave Isaac a lingering look—wishing once again she had time for more than just dinner—then strode up the hallway.

  Melody shut the door to the lounge room behind her, leaving Isaac in the hallway. “Did you finish the dress?” Her eyes were wide, but the exuberance of last time was missing.

  Something was up. Isaac had warned her that Melody knew, and he hadn’t exactly balked at being told he was changeling. It made her wonder just how much the family knew about fairies.

  “Of course.” Ella put down her bag and unwrapped the dress. Melody gasped with delight and seemed genuinely pleased. Perhaps the talk of fairies would amount to nothing.

  Melody stripped down to her underwear and tried on the dress. Ella did it up and made sure it sat perfectly, which of course it did. Her dresses never needed alterations. And as she’d promised, Melody looked gorgeous. It was a dress fit for the Court of Annwyn.

  “Will this dress lead to my big break?” Melody spun around and admired herself in the mirror that had been added to the room since last time.

  Ella gave a casual shrug, but went on guard. “Possibly.”

  “Mmm, the women you dress seem to have extraordinary luck.” Melody met her gaze in the mirror.

  “If they do, I’m sure it’s because of who they are, not what they were wearing.” She liked to think of the magic she included as reparation for the souls she’d taken through tricks and deals.

  Melody turned and admired herself from a different angle. “You must make me another dress.”

  It was a demand, not a question. Ella’s pride bristled. She didn’t take orders from mortals. “You haven’t worn this one yet…perhaps later in the year, as my schedule is quite busy.”

  “Can you at least show me some more designs? Something for a cocktail party?”

  “I didn’t bring my books today; only the dress. If you’re happy, I’ll collect the rest of my payment and go. I have other appointments to keep today.” Ella needed to collapse her life and see Isaac for dinner before crossing the veil. Her heart was beating too fast but she wasn’t sure if it was fear of Melody or desire for Isaac.

  Melody turned away from the mirror and brought something to her face. It took a moment for Ella to realize what she was doing. Melody had a fairy stone, a stone that had naturally formed a hole in the middle that allowed mortals to see through glamours. Merde. Melody was trying to prove she was fairy…or rather had proven she was fairy.

  Melody gasped and almost dropped it. “You have yellow eyes.”

  Ella shook her head and played the confused human—it had always worked for her in the past. “What are you doing?” She put a little magic into her words so Melody’s mind became muddled and she doubted what she’d seen.

  “Um, I thought…” Melody fisted the stone and looked at Ella.

  “Shall I help you undress?” She had to keep up the lie that she was human a little longer. If that meant some magic and trickery, so be it. But her magic didn’t feel as strong as it once had. As Annwyn’s power faded and winter settled, her magic was weakening. She was weakening.

  Melody turned around, and Ella began undoing the small buttons on the dress. For a few moments there was silence as Ella watched Melody in the mirror, then Melody’s expression changed as the confusion vanished.

  “I want more luck than what the dress will give me. I need more dresses. Please.” Her voice became whiny. Was she hoping pleading would work where demands had failed? This was a woman not used to hearing no.

  “Luck is made by the wearer.” Ella’s voice became cool, and she started to think of the best way to escape the house. She could shrink to Brownie-sized or drop the magic that made her visible to humans, but she’d still be trapped until she could sneak out. Was Isaac just outside the door ready to grab her?

  No, he couldn’t be in on this. He’d warned her, and she’d seen the lust in his gaze…maybe he was hoping his sister would catch her.

  Melody’s face became hard. She watched Ella with the same intense scrutiny that Ella had only ever experienced at Court right after her father’s death. This was the true face of Isaac’s sister. She might be able to manipulate her brother, but she was a fool if she thought she could manipulate a fairy or gamble and win. “I think you make the luck with fairy magic.” Melody opened her hand to look at the fairy stone.

  “You don’t want fairy magic.” The kind she put into the dresses was harmless, a gift that could only be given freely. A deal, on the other hand, could be fatal. Ella stepped
away from Melody. The dress, now undone, gaped at the back.

  Staring at the mirror, Melody looked a little lost. But Ella’s magic wasn’t enough to cloud her thoughts completely. She turned around. “I want you to grant my wish.”

  “No. You’re going to pay me for the dress, and I’m going to leave and you’ll forget this conversation happened.” Granting Melody’s wish would teach her a lesson, and the temptation was there. “You wouldn’t want it getting out that you believe in fairies and magic, would you?” Ella put on her sweetest smile. She didn’t need an afternoon to bring down Melody’s fledgling career. She’d brought down fairies who knew what they were doing in less time than it took to finish with them in bed.

  However, these days she took no pride in those achievements.

  “You don’t deny you’re a fairy?” Melody raised one eyebrow.

  “You believe I am, so does it matter what I say? Perhaps you should see someone about those delusions.” She needed to get out of here, and she’d rather keep up the pretense that she was human. Admitting she was fairy would only escalate the situation.

  Melody’s lips worked silently for a moment. Then she shook her head. “Fairies are real. Isaac can see them.” She stepped free of the dress and handed it to Ella to fold.

  “But you can see me.” Because she let herself be seen by mortals. Again she wondered how much Isaac actually knew and how much he’d shared with his sister.

  Melody frowned. “Your eyes…”

  “I have a medical condition that’s claiming my sight. In another two years I won’t be able to work.” The lie rolled easily off her tongue, and the magic she was using to confuse Melody was trickling out and weakening her further. She had to leave. Now.

  Instead of finishing folding the dress, Ella picked up her bag. She turned, and Melody was right in front of her. Ella stepped back, her calves hitting the sofa. “I’m going now.”

  This time the magic in her words had no effect. Melody grabbed Ella’s hand. Pain lanced through her arm and she knew Melody had a small piece of iron on her skin. Her flesh burned. She gasped and tried to pull away, but between the iron wound and the cold in her blood she was too slow. She’d stayed in the mortal world too long, fearing fairies more than humans.