Page 10 of Temptation Unleashed (Talaenian Fae #3)

W hat in the bloody hell have you entangled yourself in, Cael?

Thaddeus fisted and flexed his hands, expelling spurts of energy from his fingertips in short sprays of gray.

Pent-up energy he fought to unravel and exhaust by the time his brother returned from delivering his two human companions to their vehicle.

He may not be entirely knowledgeable of the nuances of the mortal realm—he never cared to dally much around humans, unlike his poor, misguided brother—but he quickly became aware of how magicless creatures moved about in their dull and pitiful world.

Metal contraptions on rubber wheels. How abject.

Yet ’twas this latest complication that tormented him most. He knew of his brother’s love for human flesh.

Though a full century had passed since their last encounter, he approached this challenge from Grison with a strategic plan.

For a challenge ’twas this assignment, and naught more.

Grison’s devious plan for him to show his loyalty to a radical group of Fae cast out of Seelie for the sake of preservation .

Regardless of how the Fae perceived him, killing off the last of his blood kin was not a challenge he would accept.

Mayhap ’twas some of what Cael’s loose tongue released to that redheaded inconvenience.

Words that struck a sleeping chord in his spirit.

Mayhap ’twas the twisted self-questioning he forced upon Thaddeus in moments when weakness was unacceptable.

Mayhap ’twas his personal affairs being hung before a mortal for her to bear witness to that scraped along his nerves the wrong way.

Not that he cared what a mere mortal thought.

A flash of the redhead filled his mind. He growled, his fingers biting into the palms of his hands. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed the wench out of his head. Willed every last vision of her creamy skin, petite frame, eyes the color of emeralds, pillowy lips, and a spray of freckles?—

“Nay, stop,” he told himself on a sharp breath. The image remained, haunting, tormenting, just as his body flared with heat and his cock thickened with irrefutable lust. No one, especially a mortal woman, could ever hold a candle to his beloved Daeanna. “ Bloody stop .”

“Stop what, Thad?”

Thaddeus’s breath seized. How had he missed Cael’s return?

Slowly, he opened his eyes, trying to relax his muscles without raising his brother’s suspicions over his internal conflict.

For the sake of his pride, he fisted a hand around the hilt of his dagger, a silent reminder of why he’d come here in the first place.

Cael closed the magically repaired door, engaging the lock, and returned to the living quarters of this so-called condo.

A meager place, rather despicable, considering the high ranks they both descended from.

Cael had so much promise as a youngling, right beside Thaddeus.

Though their parents remained impartial to Fae politics, their powerful bloodlines didn’t go unnoticed by High Fae or prominent Fae nobles.

Thaddeus secretly knew ’twas the reason for the attraction Daeanna felt toward him in the beginning. The initial draw.

There’s no delaying the inevitable.

First, he needed to find out how deeply involved Cael was with the two women. He’d hate to dispose of mortals unnecessarily—if they posed no threat to the pureblooded Fae—but he would, to preserve the Seelie race. ’Twould be in the best interest of all involved.

In your name, my sweet Daeanna.

Cael stepped up to him, yanked at the hand holding the hilt of the dagger, pulled it from its sheath within the blink of an eye.

“I think you’ve caused enough chaos tonight without bringing this cursed piece of metal out again.

” With a deft flick of his hand, he sent Thaddeus’s blade straight into a far wall, the dagger vibrating with the force of impact.

“I was serious about striking you down should you dare bring another weapon at me, or anyone within my circle, carrying ill intent.” Cael flashed him a threatening smile, one that caused the silver of his eyes to shine like moonlight and rake Thaddeus’s nerves down to the core.

“Stop flexing, brother. Now maybe we can speak like civilized adults.”

“’Tis not I causing problems for our kind, Cael.

’Tis your choice of leisurely pastimes”—Thaddeus lifted a brow and shot the empty sofa a pointed look—“which brings you under scrutiny. What is it you’ve been biding your time doing with two mortal women?

” His lips curled back to hide the conflict that surged before he added, “The one saw you through your glamour, yet you claim the other to be your mate?”

Cael blinked slowly, his face a mask of unreadable emotion. Thaddeus held his gaze, burning the sincerity of his accusation into his reckless younger brother. Goddess, he truly didn’t want to kill his only living kin, but if it meant keeping Daeanna’s vision alive, then he would somehow…some way…

’Tis Grison challenging you to do this. Not Daeanna.

A sleepy sensation gave a little twist in his chest.

Forget not who’s trying to control you.

“Oh, Thad. You’re more delusional than you were two hundred years ago at the start of your little escapade with the devil princess.”

Thaddeus hissed, power thrumming along his veins in preparation of launching an attack. Cael flung up a hand, boasting his own powerful magic in the form of gray smoky tendrils pouring out of his palm.

“Stop flexing your power,” he said. “I’m growing weary of this infantile boxing match.”

With a growl, Thaddeus regained control of himself.

Cael absorbed his magic and crossed his arms over his chest. “Stop blaming me for complicating matters on your behalf. It wasn’t me she saw, Thad.

It was you .” His gaze lowered and a mischievous grin touched his mouth as he brought his attention from Thaddeus’s groin back to his face.

“It’s hard to deny something so evident.

And you, brother, present with far too much evidence that she does something to you.

Oh, the irony, since you despise humans so much, to be fated to one. ”

Thaddeus locked his jaw to keep from grinding his teeth. The ache that followed up the sides of his face matched the chaos stirring in his mind. And body.

The Goddess would never fate me to the very creatures I despise .

Cael tipped toward him, his brows lifting.

“And regardless of your dealings over the last century, I’m willing to wager that my head will stay very much on my shoulders and Rori will stay very much alive.

Because you , Thaddeus, still have a heart buried deep in the muck that bitch buried it beneath. ”

“Is this your wager, then?” His lips curled at the corners of his mouth, a mixture of scowl and grin.

Cael took a pointed step toward him, followed by one more.

Thaddeus’s cruel grin stretched as he made the single step to close the gap between him and his brother. In a quiet voice, he promised, “Your head shall be held before Grison by week’s end indeed. Mark my words.”

Energy hummed like a soft caress between them.

Thaddeus folded his hands behind his back, keeping the ebb and flow of power between his own fingertips.

He’d allowed his emotions to take control of his actions since he’d arrived in this pathetic abode.

He possessed more control, more cunning, than these fledgling maneuvers that could get him killed.

Harden the walls around your mind.

Whatever flashed across his face caused his brother’s eyes to flicker with the first sign of concern. A mere half-second revelation, but enough to satiate the coldness inside his chest.

“Very well. I believe we have an understanding, aye?”

“No, because I heed no words from this stranger before me. I’ll listen to my brother, not an empty husk.”

“’Tis at the grace of my blade or the brutality of Grison and his men. ’Tis your choice, but my death strike shall be kind. ”

Cael snickered, his eyes darkening. Whatever Thaddeus had glimpsed before was nowhere to be seen, or insinuated, now. His brother had a calculating mind that matched his own, and he wasn’t na?ve to the possible plans developing.

“You’ve one week, Cael. One week to separate yourself from those women and choose a more righteous path.”

“Follow in the footsteps of a murderous new movement only to put a target on my back for King Dagda?” Another deep, cold laugh from his fearless brother. “I think not. I enjoy my life, thank you. And a long life I shall live.”

Thaddeus tilted his chin up, pinning Cael with a steady stare down the slope of his nose. “You crossed a line, one that may not be reversable. She has seen your true self. Whether by me or another, you and your anam cara have a target?—”

“ My anam cara ?” Cael snorted, stepping back as he covered his mouth with his hand.

The lines at the corners of his eyes strained, the shadows that had haunted his gaze a moment before shattering into a glitter of humor.

He shook his head and lowered his hand, the corners of his mouth twitching against what Thaddeus suspected to be a laugh-induced smile.

It raked his nerves, his brother acting like a foolish child.

“Okay. I’m going to lay it out to you as clear as I can, since you obviously don’t get it.

Rori? That adorable little redhead with a whip for a tongue?

” Cael pointed to the front door. “She is your anam cara . She is your mate. I’ve been hanging with her and Cassy for over a year now and let me tell you something—she’d never once seen through my glamour until you popped up for a surprise reunion in all your murderous Fae glory tonight. ”

Each word was a vicious punch to his mind, one after another until his vision pulsed in time with the throb in his cock and the flashing visions of the petite woman with those bright red curls and imperfect freckles …