Keeping Paige (Divinity Warriors 3), page 1
Keeping Paige (Divinity Warriors)
By
Michelle M. Pillow
Keeping Paige (Divinity Warriors) © Copyright 2009 - 2013, Michelle M. Pillow
Cover art by Natalie Winters, © Copyright 2011 - 2012
Second Electronic Printing March 2012, The Raven Books
First Electronic Printing July 2009
ISBN 9781452467696
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Published by The Raven Books at Smashwords
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This novel is a work of fiction. Any and all characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events or places is merely coincidence. Novel intended for adults only. Must be 18 years or older to read.
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Keeping Paige (Divinity Warriors)
By
Michelle M. Pillow
Keeping Paige
Alternate Reality Romance
Divinity Warriors Book Three
An outcast because of her psychic abilities, Paige doesn’t expect her people to rescue her when a zealous sect of Faerians sacrifices her to their gods. Thrown through a fairy ring to a new dimensional plane, drugged on ambrosia, she is compelled to seduce the first man she meets. Only when the effects wear off and she’s left with an insatiable husband expecting more than she’s willing to give, does Paige discover the true extent of what the fairies have done.
Ordered by the king to marry, Sir Aidan of Fallenrock is dead set against taking a bartered bride. He believes his people should be patient and wait for the gods to bless them. When the beautiful Lady Paige comes through the sacred rings, kissing and touching him like she knows their joined fate, Aidan’s sure he’s being rewarded—until his new bride tries to back out of their marriage.
Divinity Series
Divinity Warriors
Lilith Enraptured
Fighting Lady Jayne
Keeping Paige
Taking Karre
Divinity Healers
Ariella’s Keeper
Seducing Cecilia
Linnea’s Arrangement
Divinity Magic
Divining Helena
More Coming Soon!
Prologue
Great Forest, Faerian Territory, Parallel Universe
“Oh, blessed fairies of the great forest, givers of spring, and givers of life after the cold! Take our autumn offering to grant us safe winter and bring life after the snow. Take our offered sister and make her a queen of your realm.”
“Let me go, you crazed heretics!” Paige screamed, kicking and jerking her limbs to be free of the hands that held her high over a sea of ivy-crowned heads. Outrage pumped hard and fast through her veins until she felt as if her heart might burst from her chest in little pieces. “You don’t want me. I’m not a believer. I will curse you with dead trees and wilted flowers. My father’s people will not stand for this!”
All right, so the last part was a lie. Her father’s people wouldn’t care what the Faerians did to her. In fact, she half expected they traded her to the crazed women to be rid of the last of her cursed family. How else would the heretics have known where her hunting ground was located? Or that she’d be there following the buck migration?
The Faerians ignored her pleas and threats, answering the priestess’s words with random exclamations of, “Oh, blessed fairies!” and “Take our Forestter sister. Grant us life!”
Long, drifting branches passed over her, the yellowed leaves falling with each push of the breeze. They hit her chest and hips, and fluttered onto the female heads surrounding her only to tangle in their flowing locks. A tiny giggle mingled amongst the swaying treetops and Paige stiffened in horror. Soon the first laugh was followed by more mischievous sounds, as if a choir of fairies watched the procession. She couldn’t see them, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there and very real.
Paige didn’t need to see the ground or the pathway in which they traveled to know what was happening. They took her to the sacred circle, to the fairy ring of the great forest to be sacrificed. The trees gave way to a grassy clearing. A ring of stone pillars created a large circle, each roughly carved and three times as tall as the women. Their towering height imposed as it impressed. The believers carried Paige between two of the pillars.
“At least give me back the clothes you stole from me. Don’t send me like this!” she screamed, shaking now that they were drawing to the end of the journey. Everyone knew about the fairy rings, had been warned as children to avoid stepping within the fairy playground. Paige’s own grandmother claimed to have come through them when she was a young girl. “At least give me my bow. Have some compassion. Don’t send me to the fairy world unarmed.”
Paige believed in the possibility of fairies, though she had never seen one for herself. From what she had been told as a child, they were mischievous, somewhat vengeful creatures and they liked nothing more than to play tricks on non-worshippers.
“Oh, blessed fairies, here is our sister!” the priestess called. The woman ordered her lowered and Paige felt the cold chill of a stone altar at her naked back. The flimsy gauze they’d wrapped around her waist like a belt hardly counted as clothing. As the material snagged on the rock, the pin holding it close to her hips dug into her flesh.
Paige struggled to be free. A ring of mushrooms grew in the center of the stones, so innocuous in appearance that if a person didn’t know about their hidden magic they might be tempted to step inside. Was this truly the fairy ring, supposed doorway to fairy realm? The truth was Paige didn’t know where the ring would lead. No one did. She doubted even the Faerian priestess knew all the fairy secrets. Her grandmother came through and it wasn’t the fairy world she had been living in.
The priestess stood over her as countless hands pinned Paige down. The woman’s white gown formed tight to her bodice only to flow in long waves along her waist and hips. The skirt trailed behind her in a long train. Tiny gold flowers were embroidered along the hem. Her followers wore the same outfit, minus the embroidery and train. Long, straight black hair seemed to stir around the priestess’s oval face, the thin strands dancing like snakes. The woman lifted a wooden cup she had carried with her from the village.
“Drink of the ambrosia,” the priestess urged, her gorgeous brown eyes round and filled with promise. “Taste the nectar of the fairy goddess and feel the pleasures of old magic. Let it take you. Let it show you.”
Paige clenched her mouth tight, struggling violently as fingers pressed into her cheeks to force her teeth apart. The priestess’s expression didn’t change as she leaned over and slowly poured the cup’s contents into her prisoner’s mouth. Wherever the liquid touched, tingling erupted, almost burning in its intensity.
Paige tried to resist, spitting the liquid out over her face, but it was too much. She was forced to choke down several gulps or drown. The tingling spread down her throat into her stomach and over her cheeks from where trails of discarded liquid touched her flesh. She tried to resist the alluring magic, but it was as useless as resisting the falling rain.
The instant the cup was empty the Faerian women let go, leaving her free to run. Paige shot up on the altar, ready to bolt into the woods to hide, only to be brought short by a transparent winged creature flying in front of her face. Paige jerked back in fright, sliding her ass on the rough stone. The fairy’s gown matched that of the priestess, with the train trailing down past her feet as she fluttered about in the air. The creature’s eyes looked too big for her face and her skin glimmered, tinged with pale blues and silvers. Silver threads wove in delicate patterns over her wings. Soon more small beings began to appear to her, each tinted with different shades of nature.
Paige couldn’t move. The strange sensation of the ambrosia traveled through her blood, leaving her stomach to conquer her limbs. Even her fingernails and hair seemed to prickle. With each passing second, the fairies became clearer. They flew around the gathered worshipers, perching on their shoulders and heads, completely unseen by those who did not drink. Several pulled at the priestess’s hair, combing the locks with their fingers to create the snakelike effect she had noticed earlier.
They buzzed around her and Paige jerked, trying to follow them with her eyes. But, when she looked too quickly, the forest blurred into streaks of impossible colors. The Faerians became excited at Paige’s apparent visions.
“What madness is this,” Paige whispered, swatting at the pests. The flat of her hand managed to smack one across the body and send it flying. Instantly, the others became enraged and attacked. Though Paige tried to fight them off, they swarmed her, pinching her flesh,
Paige screamed for salvation, but the only answer she received was the high-pitched screech of fairy laughter and the incessant droning of, “Oh, blessed fairies! Take our sister, grant us life!”
Chapter One
Hanging Forest, Outside Fallenrock Village, Parallel Universe
Sir Aidan of Fallenrock grinned at his good friend Peeter’s cherub-faced daughter. When Ileen had blinked her big brown eyes at him and begged him to let her decorate his long blond hair, he had known he would give in to her. The four-year-old had known it as well, for Sir Aidan could never deny one of her requests.
That is why he now found his hair pulled into a messy array of knotted braids and tied with yellow and pink ribbons. He was even sure she had stuck a few flowers and leaves in there for good measure. At her look of pride in her creation, he didn’t have the heart to take it down until he was well away from the cottage. Even then, he would need a comb and about three hours of hard tugging.
“Pretty Dandan.” Ileen had the look of her mother, dark skinned and eyes with tightly curled hair that bounced as much as she did. Only her nose took after Peeter.
“Beautiful Leenie,” he answered, kissing the top of her head before moving to untie his horse’s reins from a low tree branch.
“You should wear those ribbons to the breeding ceremony,” Peeter teased, doing a horrific job of hiding his amusement. “How could any bride resist you? You’ll be sure to fulfill the oracle’s prophecy.”
Aidan frowned, glanced at Ileen and bit his tongue. What he felt like saying to his friend was not fit for young female ears. Peeter laughed heartily.
“The town oracles have been wrong before. They don’t know everything. There’s no proof I must take a bride, let alone a bartered one. Besides, the old crones only said they strongly encouraged a marriage.” Aidan wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince more. The truth was, the oracles had been fairly certain of the signs, but he hadn’t told anyone that part of the prediction.
“They have been right, too.” Peeter grinned at his pregnant wife. She sat near the front door to their modest home, rubbing her swollen belly. “They said Shana would bear two daughters.”
Women were scarce in Staria. With their endless wars, boys had become a necessity and their natural evolution answered the call with more sons than daughters—when they did have children. Their low birthrate wasn’t from lack of trying when the warriors were home, but war took them away all too often. Sometimes forever. The fact that Shana gave birth first to a daughter was a miracle and a blessing.
“With enough tries, any man can give two daughters,” Aidan teased, hoping to turn the conversation away. King Wilhelm already ordered him to Battlewar Castle in a little over a fortnight to attend the next breeding ceremony. It seemed all of Staria plotted to see him wed.
“So you have decided? You’re not going to choose a bride?” Peeter’s pity was almost too much to bear. His friend didn’t want him to end up alone. “Won’t you at least look at the women the king has bartered for?”
“Yea. I’ve been ordered to do as much.” Aidan grimaced. “What if these otherworlders are misshapen or strange in the head? Or worse, cowards? I do not trust this Divinity Corporation to choose women who are right for Starian men. You’ve heard the tales of how the Divinity man-aliens looked—weak and simpering and endlessly talking. They depend on their technologies more than duty and responsibility and the power of a full day’s work. They do not earn a trip through the fairy rings with the gods’ blessings, they build contraptions to force their way where they do not belong. The gods would never bless such overstepping people. Here in Staria we know what is important—duty in battle, meeting your responsibilities as a warrior, as a husband, and as a man.”
Peeter suppressed his laughter. “You do not speak of anything I do not know. Are you trying to remind yourself?”
“It is easy for you to be smug. The fairies brought you Shana long ago. If only I had seen her first, then perhaps it would be me laughing at you.”
“Ach, she would not have you,” Peeter dismissed, his amusement only growing in strength. “Besides, I am much better looking. She would have found her way to me either way.”
“Pretty Dandan!” Ileen pouted, pushing her bottom lip out in defense of Aidan as she looked at her father.
“Only because you made him so,” Peeter answered. The child giggled and began skipping around the yard in a random pattern.
Aidan scratched at his knotted hair, watching the child briefly before stating the biggest affront, “Not a single one of those otherworlders carried a sword when they appeared in the midst of battle. What fool doesn’t take a sword to a fight?”
“Perhaps the women will be grateful to be away from such weak men. They’ll be enamored of our warriors and very willing to—” Peeter stopped talking, giving a conscious glance to his playful child.
Aidan sighed. Every belief he carried since childhood told him it was wrong to barter for otherworld brides, especially when the cost wasn’t too high. Nothing good came without some sacrifice. The gods of war taught them that much. Besides, what woman agreed to travel to an unknown world just for a little blue mineral water? The stuff ran in springs beneath the earth. It would be like bartering for dirt or handfuls of grass. “The king should not have meddled in the will of the gods. If they wished for me to find a bride, they would have sent one through the fairy rings as is tradition. Since they have not, I can only assume I have yet to earn one.”
“You? Not earn one? You have fought more battles than anyone in the village. The fact the king wishes you to be amongst the firsts to choose from the new blood means you are honored.” Peeter firmly gripped Aidan’s arm. “The king only wishes to ensure happiness for his people. Is it so wrong for men to want softer company? I don’t want you to end up alone, not after all the loss you have suffered.”
“Peeter,” Shana scolded, not standing from her seat. “Leave Aidan be. His heart will choose what it must. Whether these brides are gifts from the gods or an abomination of Starian beliefs, it is for each man to decide for himself. You have your bride. Leave Aidan to choose his wife in his own way.”
“Yea, my lady.” Peeter instantly gave in to his wife’s command. “As you so desire.”
“Thank you, most wise Shana,” Aidan said, bowing his head toward her.
“Though, you’d do well to find someone who can cook,” Shana said, laughing, “or who doesn’t mind that you make bread as hard as rocks.”
“Ugh, won’t let me forget it, will you?” Aidan swung onto the back of his horse, naturally adjusting into the saddle. He barely had to give the animal directions as it turned from the small cottage on the outer edge of Fallenrock Village. “How do you know I didn’t cook like that on purpose, so you would take pity on me while my mother is at sea?”
“That is perhaps the saddest thing you have ever said to me.” Shana suppressed a smile. “Very well. Come back as often as you must, good sir, and you will be fed.”
“Now we will never be rid of him,” Peeter protested good-naturedly. “He will be at our door like a stray wolf begging for scraps.”
“Too late, my friend. you cannot rescind the offer now.” Aidan grinned. He said his final farewells before riding into the solitude of the forest. The hairstyle had to be the most unmanly look for a serious soldier of Starian’s army and he couldn’t ride through town during the daylight hours lest it be seen. It didn’t matter if he whiled away the hours in the forest. No one waited for him at home. The pang of loneliness settled once more in his chest, only having been temporarily lifted by the company of his friends.
