Be Careful What You Wish For Read online

  “That is correct, Madam.” The man or elf or whatever the hell he was said to Nana, agreeing with her statement. “For the length of this trial, I will be your ‘very own elf’ as you put it.” He had a very slight accent that was almost British and he bowed as he spoke to their grandmother, making her preen with delight.

  “Cass,” Phil murmured discretely. “Elves are kind of the white collar class of the Realm of Fae. The executives, the doctors and lawyers and bankers—the people that get things done. Basically he’s saying he’s our attorney.”

  Jacobin O’Shea threw Phil an approving glace over one broad shoulder before looking back at Cass. “Your sister is also correct but it extends farther than that. Because you don’t have enough fairy blood to look out for your own interests, during these proceedings I will be both your representative and your guardian in the Realm. As I said, I am your court-appointed elf.”

  Cass stared at him blankly. “Well you sure as hell don’t look like any elf I ever heard of,” she said, frowning.

  He didn’t, either. When she thought of elves, it was usually Santa’s tiny, jolly, red-cheeked helpers that came to mind. That or the pale, blond, androgynously gorgeous elves from the Lord of the Rings movies. But Jacobin O’Shea wasn’t red-cheeked or jolly and he certainly wasn’t tiny. And as for androgynous, well, Cass couldn’t imagine anyone less asexual than the tall man in front of her.

  Look up ‘male’ in the dictionary and I’d probably see his picture staring back at me, she thought. The only thing even remotely elfin about him, as far as she could see, were the tips of his ears which were ever so slightly pointed.

  “I had heard that you humans had some strange misconceptions about my people. I suppose you were expecting a tiny, amusing imp or some pale angelic being come to guide you through the Realm,” Jacobin O’Shea rumbled, raising one black eyebrow and returning her frown with a frown of his own. “But I assure you, Miss Swann, that I am neither easily amused nor amusing and my temper is anything but angelic. So I suggest you come along to the hearing now with your grandmother and sisters.”

  “Or what?” Cass set her jaw and put her hands on her hips, determined to stare the annoying man down. Despite the fact that he had stated almost exactly what she had been thinking, she was damned if she’d jump just because he said frog. “Or you’ll drag me by my hair like the cave man, excuse me—cave elf you are?”

  “No,” he said coolly. “Or I’ll have to go back to the court without you and report that you need to be forcibly brought to the hearing. In which case the chief magistrate will probably appoint a fachan to come and get you.”

  “A what?” Rory asked, frowning. She and Phil had drifted closer to O’Shea’s broad back as he talked to Cass, like iron filings drawn by a magnet. Now both of them and Nana were crowding around Cass and the irritating elf like spectators watching a fight.

  “A fachan is an evil spirit with a single eye in the middle of its face,” Phil said, her voice trembling every so slightly. “They’re said to hate anything even remotely human. Some have claimed that even the sight of a fachan can cause a fatal heart attack.”

  “Are you serious?” Cass spared a moment from her staring contest with O’Shea to see that her older sister looked remarkably pale.

  “Your sister is correct and I am deadly serious,” Jacobin O’Shea said. “I’m not certain if the sight of a fachan could actually stop your heart, but then again you humans are puny creatures so it’s possible, especially if the fachan was angry. And I promise you that it would definitely be less than pleased to be dragged out of the Realm to fetch you.”

  “That sounds awful.” Rory grimaced. “Cass, just come on. You don’t want to risk that.”

  “But I…” Cass shook her head. She didn’t want to give in to threats from this big asshole, but then again, she didn’t want some pissed-off, one-eyed monster from another world hunting her down either.

  “You have…” O’Shea reached into a side pocket of his expensive suit and pulled out an old-fashioned gold watch on a chain. “Exactly two minutes to decide,” he told her, putting the watch back after a glance. “Thanks to your stubborn refusal to listen to reason, we’re about to be running late.”

  “Two minutes? But I can’t get changed in two minutes,” Cass protested. “And I can’t go like this—just look at me.” She gestured to herself, indicating the Snug as a Bug in a Rug! sleep shirt and the Bert and Ernie slippers. “I mean, I don’t even have on a bra!” She threw out her arms in protest, forgetting for a moment that their court-appointed elf was standing less than two feet from her and could probably see her nipples poking through the thin white cotton of her sleep shirt.

  For the first time, a slight sardonic smile curved the corners of O’Shea’s narrow mouth.

  “So I see,” he murmured.

  Cass felt a hot blush spreading across her cheeks as his piercing leaf green eyes raked over her body. She crossed her arms over her chest quickly and bit her lip in frustration.

  “What I meant was, I’m not exactly dressed to go to court,” she said stiffly, wishing she could punch the big elf in the mouth. She bet a fat lip would wipe that stupid little smirk off his face.

  “But be that as it may, Miss Swann, your somewhat, ah…unconventional mode of dress can be more readily excused than our tardiness or your absence from the court room,” he said, returning his gaze firmly to her face. “Now, are you coming or not?”

  “Fine.” Cass hated to give in to his bullying but he didn’t look like the kind of guy to bluff. If she had no choice about going to court, she would rather go like she was than be dragged there by some supernatural being so ugly it could stop your heart. “I’ll go,” she said and added mentally to herself, But that doesn’t mean I have to like it!

  O’Shea seemed almost to hear her unspoken words because he didn’t tease her any farther. He simply nodded and held out his hand. But Cass balked at shaking hands.

  “If you think I’m shaking hands with you, I’m not,” she told him bluntly. “I don’t care what court-appointed you. I’ll go because I’d rather come peaceably than be dragged but that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about putting up with your bullshit. So don’t expect me to play nice and pretend to be friends when you’re basically forcing me to go out in public in my pajamas.”

  “Cassandra!” Nana gasped. “Language!”

  O’Shea ignored her distraught grandmother and kept that piercing gaze trained on Cass.

  “I have no intention of trying to be your friend,” he said in a voice that was little more than a growl. “But we must have skin-to-skin contact in order for me to transport you from your world back into the Realm of the Fae. I trust your sisters and grandmother to each take one of my fingers.” He held out his other hand as he spoke, the fingers of his large right hand splayed wide. Hesitantly, Phil and Rory and finally Nana each clutched a digit. “But you,” O’Shea continued, still holding out his left hand to Cass. “You I intend to keep an eye on. So take my hand, Cassandra Swann, or suffer the consequences. Now.”

  Cass was so angry she felt fit to explode but there was nothing else she could do. Thinking that she’d rather bite his hand off than hold it, she reluctantly uncrossed her arms and reached for him. Before she knew what was happening, long, strong fingers were entwining with hers and she felt the familiar tingle that let her know Jacobin O’Shea had fae blood in his veins.

  “Hang on to me tightly,” he murmured. Cass heard a whooshing sound like the wind when you put your head out of a fast moving car’s window. Then everything around her began to turn dark blue and swirl in a way that made her want to be sick. She closed her eyes tightly and held on.

  When she opened them again, she was in a different world.

  Four

  Cass opened her eyes and looked around to see that they were all standing in a small brick room that looked like some kind of a cell. Except she’d never heard of any cell that was made of sparkly pink and gold bricks. And the floor, when she