Broken Lungs

The taxi stopped at two towering purple doors intricately carved in a Victorian fashion that stood out against the white building even in just the light from the street lamps. Isaac stepped out of the taxi first, offering his hand to Finn but noticed she hadn’t taken it. He dipped his head back down and saw her laying a pink velvet pouch in the driver’s hand who looked momentarily dazed. She smiled at him then hopped out on the sidewalk next to Isaac, looking up at him. “What?”

“That wasn’t money that you gave him, was it?”

“Not exactly. Come on.” She grabbed onto his arm and pulled him through the large doors into a lavish lobby that looked just as he imagined it would – old, Parisian, only a few older French people sitting in the high back couches in front of a roaring fire. A man at the marble concierge desk tipped his hat to Finn with sly grin.

“What did you give him?” He asked, as they waited for the elevator. “The pink stuff?”

“Of course not. I gave him heillandi rik. Or, as you might know it, ‘faerie dust’.” She responded, pulling him into the elevator and hitting the button for the eighth floor. “The others sleep on this floor, we’re on the top level.”

“I don’t stay with you?”

“No. I mean, sometimes the others bring up one of them for the evening but I -” He cut her off by pinning her to the wall so quickly she hadn’t had a moment to stop it before his lips were on hers passionately, picking her up easily as though he weighed nothing. And, to him, she probably didn’t. She pushed him back, catching her breath. “You have to stop doing that.”

“I don’t want to. I don’t think you really want me to, either. You like it.” He grinned, kissing her again until the doors pinged alerting them they had reached his floor. “I don’t want to stay down here. I want to stay upstairs with you.” He whispered the last part in her ear seductively, keeping her pinned to the wall.

“I don’t care. You can’t. Put me down.”

“Make me.” His smirk didn’t falter once. “Just a little zap …”

She put her hands on his broad chest with every intention of zapping him to the other side of the elevator but nothing came out from her fingertips. Confused she looked at her hands then put him back on his shoulders and, again, nothing. She looked back up to when she met his eyes, her serious expression finally making his smile slip. “I want you to put me down, Isaac.”

This time, he listened.

“You’ll sleep in this room.” She stopped at the fourth door on the left, unlocking it without even pulling out a key, and letting him walk inside. The room was nice – furnished with modern decorations, fancy hi-tech gadgets including the newest Playstation, and it plenty big enough for one person, as it actually would hold three. She watched as he looked around the open living room that flowed easily into the kitchen, separated by an island where he paused with his back turned to her. Though she couldn’t see him, tension was rolling off his broad shoulders in waves.

“I don’t want to stay here.” When he turned around, he looked deadly serious.

“Why? It’s nice.”

“I don’t like being alone.” The look on his face was haunting and it nearly broke her heart. Nixie and Alva might be all right being frivolous and enchanting at any cost to the men that crossed their paths but being cold was something Finn and Eira weren’t capable of. The sadness in his tone and the desolate look on his face disarmed her and before she could think of what she was saying, words were already flowing out of her mouth.

“Okay. Come on, you can … you can come upstairs.” She held out her hand for him and he slowly took it so she could lead him up to the penthouse suite. He didn’t try anything in the elevator – it was as though the prospect of sleeping alone had jarred him out of his absolute need and desire for her. It made her wonder what had happened to him to make him so frightened to be alone. She squeezed his hand as the elevator doors opened, bringing his attention back to her. “Hey there … it’s all right. You’ll like it much better up here.” She promised, pulling him inside.

She shot him a comforting smile as she pulled him into the suite as the elevator doors opened and tugged his hand so he would walk with her. It still shocked her when she came in every day so she knew what it must be doing to him for the very first time. She took in the surroundings again herself just as he did and took in a deep breath. The whole place smelled of home to her. One of the many tricks Inga had come up with to make their stay in Paris more tolerable.

The living room was wide with large floor to ceiling windows with the perfect view of the Eiffel Tower all lit up along with the rest of Paris. The furniture was all pastel, feminine and Victorian like the building in blushes and mints with velvet couches and chaise lounges all surrounding, what looked to Isaac to be, a small little pond with a fountain in the center of it. She let go of his hand so he could walk closer, seeing the fountain was marble carved with five girls dancing around the base as water flowed peacefully into the deep blue of the pond. There were little lily pads floating around it and he followed the water as it seemed to flow through to the kitchen.

“How is this possible?” He turned to ask her, clearly mesmerized.

“Magic.” She gracefully descended the three steps to where he was standing, almost looking like she barely touched them until she was in front of him. “This whole building is magical, Isaac.”

“What are you?”

“Haven’t you figured that out yet? I told you just outside – I’m a faerie. Fey. Me and the four others here all came from Iceland as we are the last living members of our tribe. A sea tribe from the coast. Faeries are a dying race.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, actually. Maybe we aren’t suited for this world now. Too many supernatural creatures in one place can get a bit dangerous, don’t you think?”

“I wouldn’t let anyone harm you.” His eyes glowed – literally glowed golden – as he said it, staring down at her seriously. “I’d kill anyone that tried.”

“Isaac … what you drank at the club? You can’t have anymore, okay? You might see some around here but you cannot drink anymore of it.”

“Why? It’s delicious.”

“Because you’re – you’re not you when you drink it. It’s special. Magical, like me.”

“I love magic.” He crossed to her in no time and had her head pinned between his hands as his lips devoured hers passionately, backing her into a wall.

“Oh, little one! How naughty of you to do that in the common area.” The two split apart, seeing one of the ‘sisters’ as they called one another walk in with a sly grin.

“Isaac, this is Nixie. Nixie … Isaac.” Finn introduced, pushing him off of her and wiping her lips. “And we weren’t doing anything.”

“Very sorry I interrupted it. He looks just delightful. Tall, muscular, supernatural … yum.”

“No, Nixie.”

“Oh I know … he’s yours … but do take advantage of that.” Nixie motioned her finger up and down him and winked at Finn before crossing to the other side of the room to go to her chambers.

As Finn stood watching her walk away, she felt Isaac’s hand slowly slipping up the back of her thigh and right before it reached her butt she zapped it away making him chuckle. “None of that now. Bedtime. And you will stay on your side of the bed.” She turned to him, raising a finger and trying to look threatening but at such a size difference she was sure it didn’t work. “Come on, this way.”

The way the apartment seemed to work, to Isaac, was that the round common room split into four different hallways. Nixie had gone down one, the kitchen had been down the other where the small creek flowed, and then Finn was leading him down the one completely opposite from where the other pretty blonde had gone. Two doors sat on opposite ends of the hallway, the one marked with a pink ‘F’ being the one which he was led through while the other, with a pink ‘E’, remained a mystery to him.

A large bed sat in the center of the room, white billowy curtains hanging from the ceiling and touching the floor looking sensual and inviting beckoned him further in. The walls looked rustic with a few golden framed pictures decorating them. The rest of the furniture looked worn, in a classy and elegant way, all white and feminine. It was lovely, yet girly, and very fitting to how ethereal Finn seemed to him. He could feel her pretty eyes watching him as he moved through the room finally turning at the foot of the bed and moving his hands to the hem of his shirt.

“No! All clothes stay on. None of that.”

He smiled and held up his hands. “You sure that’s what you want?”

“Yes.”

“You’re going to sleep in that pretty blouse and heels?”

She looked down and shook her head. “Of course not. But stay clothed while I’m gone.”

“As you wish, sweetheart.”