A Kiss Of Shadows   ::   Гамильтон Лорел

The van came out on Sepulveda a little too fast, and Uther caught me before I had time to fall. His big arms pulled me against him, cradling me against a chest nearly as big as my entire body. Even with my shields firmly in place he was like a large, warm, vibrating thing. I'd met other fey who had no real magic to speak of, just the very barest of glamour, but they were so old and had been around so much magic all their lives that it was as if they'd absorbed the power into the very pores of their skin. Even the sidhe wouldn't find me caught within Uther's arms. They'd sense him, not me. Probably. Initially.

I relaxed against Uther's broad chest, the warm safety of his arms. I don't know what it was about him, but he always made me feel safe. It wasn't just the sheer physical size. It was Uther. He had a center of calm like a fire that you could huddle around in the dark.

Jeremy turned in his seat, as far as the seat belt would allow, wrinkling his suit, which meant what he had to say was serious. "Why did you ward my back, Merry?"

"What?" Uther said.

Jeremy waved the question away. "I had an old sidhe injury on my back. Merry put a ward on it. I want to know why."

"You are persistent," I said.

"Tell me."

I sighed, cuddling Uther's arms around me like a blanket. "It's possible that the sidhe that injured you could call the dragon out of your back or force you to shape-shift into one."

Jeremy's eyes widened. "You can do that?"

"I can't, but I'm not a full-blooded sidhe. I've seen similar things done."

"Will the warding hold?"

I'd have liked to have simply said yes, but it was too close to a lie. "It will hold for a while, but if the sidhe that did the spell is here, he may be powerful enough to breech my magic, or he could simply keep hitting the ward with his own power until he wears the magic away. The chances of the same sidhe being on this hunt are very slim, Jeremy, but I couldn't let you help me, and not ward it."

"Just in case," he said.

I nodded. "Just in case."

"I was very young when this was done, Merry. I can protect myself now."

"You're a powerful magician, but you're not sidhe."

"It makes that big a difference? "he asked.

"It can."

Jeremy fell silent and turned in his seat to help Ringo find the quickest way to the airport. Uther said, "You are tense."

I smiled up at him. "And you're surprised?"

He smiled, that very human mouth under the curved bone of the tusks, the piggish snout.