“Why are you doing this to me?” Elijah growled. “What the fuck did I do to you?”
Ignoring her guilt, she pushed forward. “Do you know of the true-mate bond?”
“The ridiculous notion that some supernaturals are cosmically bound to one another as soulmates? Yes, I know of it. Now, let me go before I whittle a stake with my mind and drive it through your heart.”
For a moment, he gave Echo pause. Could he do that? She eyed the handcuffs. No. He couldn’t do that. Still, she edged away from him and pretended to not have heard his threat. “I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about Faerie.”
“Because I’m fae?” He curled his upper lip.
“Yes, Elijah. Because you’re fae.”
He frowned at her. “God, you actually believe this. This isn’t … fuck. You’re mentally unwell.”
Echo rolled her eyes. “Shut up and listen.” From there Echo explained about the Fae. About the queen, Aine, and her royal subjects. How she lived in Samhradh Palace among the fae courtiers of the Samhradh Royal House. That this place was called the Day Lands because they lived in a part of Faerie that never grew dark and was in constant summer. That sunlight on Faerie didn’t burn a vampire. One of the reasons there were vamps outside The Garm who would happily see the gates opened.
“Anyway, among them live princes, princesses, lords and ladies, their servants, and, once upon a time, their human slaves. On the other side of Faerie is Geimhreadh Palace, ruled over by a Geimhreadh prince of the Geimhreadh Royal House. It is known as the Night Lands as they live in constant darkness.
“Between these two are the countries ruled by the Earrach and Fómhar Royal Houses, called the Dawn and Dusk Lands. The royals are powerful fae who rule over a slightly less powerful aristocracy, and even less powerful middle and peasant classes.
“When the fae first invited humans to Faerie, the royal houses began to play games with them. This led to supernaturals. A new species first came to be when a courtier of the Geimhreadh House fought over a human woman called Isis with a member of the Samhradh House. In their fight, the woman was killed, and the fae of Geimhreadh tried to heal her with his blood. This was forbidden because they discovered when they started invading our world that their blood healed humans. Inourworld.
“However, on Faerie, magic is less stable for humans. It changed Isis instead of healing her. She was the first vampire. She would live forever, like the fae, as long as she drank blood and no one killed her. Though someone did with a stake, centuries later.” Echo studied Elijah carefully. “Are you following this?”
“I’m tied to a hotel bed with spelled handcuffs. I’ve nothing else to do at this point but follow you. Why are the beautiful ones always so fucking crazy?”
Echo ignored his last comment. “Not spelled. They’re made of pure iron, which I’m getting to. But back to the story. Aine allowed it to stand, to let Isis live, despite the danger she posed. But the other houses were angry. Samhradh House cast a spell over Isis so a wooden stake, a weapon of nature, could kill her. And the greatest weapon they spelled against her was the earth’ssun.” Echo shuddered. “Fae can be impossibly cruel, but what they forgot was there’s something bigger out there than all of us. Nature. And nature gave Isis a little gift. She had the ability to turn other humans into vampires. But as she did, the spell they’d cast over her transferred to those she’d turned. We’re not dead like the myths would have people believe.”
“I’m aware of that,” he snapped impatiently and gave a limp tug at his handcuffs.
“Okay, moving on. When a shape-shifting fae, a rare species among the Day Lands, bit a human while wolf and accidentally transferred her gift to the human man, the werewolf was made. The Night Lands remembered what Day did to Isis, and they spelled the wolf. While vampires were controlled by the earth’s sun, they made sure the full moon would control the werewolves.
“Moreover, the fae wore jewelry as symbols of their houses. Geimhreadh House wore silver. Samhradh wore all precious metals and stones but usually fashioned to look like leaves and trees. Earrach wore gold, and Fómhar House, copper. Because Samhradh fashioned a weapon for the vampires from wood, Geimhreadh fashioned a weapon for the wolves out of silver. A werewolf can heal from almost any injury if he or she shifts. But if a wound is inflicted by silver, it’ll leave a scar at best, kill at worst. So, that’s how vamps and wolves came to be.”
“Thank you for that fascinating bedtime story, but I’d like to get the fuck out of here now and away from your extremely deranged self.”
“I’m not finished. And I’m not deranged. So … back then on Earth, humans had discovered fae blood healed them. The thought of being immortal like the fae was too big a lure, and humans started to hunt the fae. They were on the brink of a war that would decimate the humans. Apparently, Aine’s seer, a faewith psychic visions, had seen the destruction that lay ahead for both sides. Because of the mating bond.”
“Ah, the true-mate bond. I really hope this isn’t leading to ‘Elijah, we’re true mates and meant to be together and I’ll keep you tied to this bed until you agree.’”
Echo glared at him. “Would you get over yourself, you arrogant prick?”
“I’m the prick?” He yanked angrily on the irons again. “I didn’t handcuff you to a bed, you nutcase!”
Attempting to keep her cool, Echo took a deep breath. “On Faerie, a soulmate isn’t some romantic notion. They are literally destined for one other fae. Not all meet their soulmate, but when they do, the bond that connects them is something that cannot be broken. Something beyond any fae, even the queen. Once they meet and know each other, they love forever.
“The mating bond began to forge between supernaturals and fae. Vampires and fae, werewolves and fae, druids and fae … soulmates. The problem with that was there were supernaturals who still clung to their human past. Like a vampire I knew called Eirik.”
“Okay, since I can’t do anything else, I’ll play along. Who … who was Eirik?”
“Hewasthe leader of The Garm. I’ll get to that in a minute because it’s pretty important. Eirik and Jerrik were made vampires millennia ago when the gate was open, and Jerrik loved the fae. He had a mating bond with a fae princess. Eirik, on the other hand, despised the fae for what they were doing to humans. So when Aine’s seer foretold the coming war with humans and Aine decided to close the gate permanently, Eirik was pretty happy.
“But that’s not all she did. Before she closed the gate, she sent back all the humans and supernaturals to Earth, even those who’d mated to the fae. They’d discovered a werewolf bitecould kill a fae if they weren’t mated. Another reason to dispel them from their world, considering they would end their true immortality. But being the twisted cow Aine was, she cast a spell that she knew would keep ambitious supernaturals warring with one another over the centuries, for a shot at true immortality. The spell brought to fruition seven children, born to human parents, but fae. Seven fae children with fae gifts and fae immortality … and more importantly with the ability to open the gate.
“Whoever used the children’s blood to open the gate would be welcomed into Faerie where they could live forever.”
“And what fairy tale did you read this in, love?” Elijah drawled, sounding a little drunk with weakness.
“I didn’t read about it. I was told the story from a primary source—Eirik himself. So adamant that the gate remained closed, Eirik formed a group over the centuries called The Garm. They purport to be protectors. Their sole purpose is to hunt down the fae children and kill them before they can be used to open the gate. Eirik so believed in this that he murdered his own brother Jerrik, because Jerrik was determined to protect the children so he could use them to return to his love.”
