The Faceless Woman by Emma Hamm (i love reading .txt) 📕

done yet, witch. Don’t let my charms overwhelm you.”

“Charms?” She rolled her eyes. “You seem to think I'm affected by you. I am not.”

“My mistake then. Usually when I have my hands on a woman’s bare legs and she stops breathing, I assume she’s waiting for more.”

“Perhaps you know some women, faerie, but you do not know me.”

He made a noncommittal hum and slid his hands up the rest of her legs. When his nails scraped against the top of her thighs, she bit the inside of her lip to keep herself silent. She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right. He did affect her.

Aisling didn’t like it.

He made quick work of her healing, pulled down her skirt until it rested against her shins once more, and leaned back. “All done.”

“We’ll see about that.” She already intended to make as many comments about his lack of healing skills as possible. But when she leaned down, pulled up her skirt, and looked at his work, she found little to disagree with. The blisters were gone. Her skin was still red, but more like a sunburn than an attempt at her life.

Begrudgingly, she sniffed. “It’s a fine job.”

“Would you go so far as to say I ‘healed’ you?”

She already hated his teasing. Frowning, she gave him a look that should have shriveled him up. “Don’t push it, Fae.”

He held up his hands and laughed. “What do you have against the Fae anyway?”

“I have nothing against them. I have him, don’t I?” She pointed at Lorcan.

“Cat sidhes are a different breed because they aren't always born faeries.” He arched a brow. “You have no inclination to trust me at all. You’re a surly little thing whose hackles rise the moment I step near you. Why’s that?”

“It’s not as if you’re easy on the eyes.”

It was a low blow, and she knew it. Aisling cast her eyes to the side even though he couldn’t see her. Speaking with faeries could be difficult when they couldn’t see her expressions. Luckily, he wouldn’t know she was embarrassed by her own rudeness.

“No, I don’t think that's it,” he replied. “You’re not afraid. You’re throwing out barbs so I won’t get too close.”

He saw too much. Far more than she was comfortable with.

“Thank you for healing me,” she ground between clenched teeth, “but I really must be on my way.”

She pushed to her feet, holding her breath for the blinding pain that had stolen her breath. She released a sigh when the pain didn’t come. He really had done a fine job healing her.

Damned faeries. They were always good at everything.

“Lorcan, let’s go.”

“But it’s warm here.” He let out a rumbling purr. “The fire feels nice.”

“We’re not staying.”

“My legs aren’t working.”

“They work fine.” She rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers at the lazy cat. “Get up! We’re going home.”

He opened one eye and narrowed it on her. “Did you just snap your fingers at me like I was a common household pet?”

Aisling clenched her fists. The damned cat might be a witch, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t required to listen. If he wanted to live with her, then they needed to compromise.

She opened her mouth to blurt out a scathing retort, only to be interrupted by the Unseelie.

“I must also request you remain where you are.”

“We’ve already heard your arguments, faerie. I need not hear them again.”

“And yet you made a deal with me.”

She let out a slow breath. The words shouldn’t have been sensual, but they slid along her senses like the finest of velvet. A deal. She’d been the fool who had made a deal with an Unseelie faerie just to spite him.

“Of course,” she mumbled, “the binding curse.”

“Remove it.” He smoothed a hand down his chest, rearranging his tunic and vest as if he were about to do something important. He tapped a finger against the faint scorch mark over his heart. “Right here, in case you need a reminder.”

“I don’t.”

“Good. Then cast your spell, and we can both be on our merry ways.”

She looked him up and down. The faerie was a strange man and immediately grated on her nerves, but she wanted to remember him.

The feathers on his face flattened and his brow furrowed. His fingers twitched, and his taloned toes tapped against the ground as he waited to see what she would do next. It was a shame she couldn’t get to know him better. Of the few faeries she’d met, he was the most interesting.

Aisling lifted a hand and opened her palm. The eye shifted against her skin, twitching as it surveyed the landscape. “Hex break, curse release, all magic from my lips cease. So mote it be.”

The power building on her fingertips sizzled and popped in her hand. A flare of static made her hair stand on end while searing pain bounced between her fingertips in bolts of tiny lightning. Crying out, she grabbed her wrist and forced her hand down. The magic gathered and cracked in the air like thunder.

The clearing fell silent other than the rasp of her breath. She held her hand palm down, pointed at the ground, so the eyes could not see anything else.

“What was that?” the faerie growled.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? It’s your magic!”

“I don’t know.” This had never happened before. The eyes on her palms helped channel her magic, while the bindings at the tips of her fingers concealed her face. They had never rebelled against her before.

She swung her hand up to try again, only to get hit in the chest by a ball of magic so strong it knocked her back a few steps. She heard the crackle of power gathering in her palm again and swung her hand back toward the ground.

“I release this spell back to the earth,” she frantically said.

Electricity slammed into the ground with an audible bang. Aisling winced. She’d left a hole in the earth in the exact shape of her hand, and she hadn’t