Protected by Emeralds (A Dance with Destiny Book 5) by JK Ensley, Jennifer Ensley Page A

shooting mercilessly through his aching side. When he crested the peak, his foot caught in some thick vines and sent him tumbling toward the valley below. He yelled out as he bounced off what seemed like every single rock and tree on the way down. Pain shot through his back, the likes of which he had never known. He shrieked loudly just before he landed atop a waterfall, and was quickly tossed over the side. The battered little Fairy’s ungraceful belly-flop echoed painfully across the magical hidden valley, as he landed in the pristine pool with a loud splash.
    Vittorio reached in, pulling the tiny floating man out by his now limp arm.
    “That’ll do, wee Fairy-lad. Enough running. Hand it over.”
    Shaemon didn’t speak. He felt like his body had been the sole target of a raging stampede, and having the wind knocked completely out of him was a more painful thing than he had imagined it would be. He made a strange wheezing noise as he tried to suck in a breath.
    “All that pain, an’ the ending is still the same. Give me the stone, Shaemon Green. Cough it up before I have tae wring it from what’s left of yer scrawny hide.”
    The Fairy only wheezed again as he opened his palms, showing them to be covered in scratches and cuts, but completely empty.
    “Dropped it, did ye? Well, the punishment’s still the same, stone or nae. Ye took it. There’s nae denying that. Stand up, Fairy. Take it like a man.”
     
    Jenevier quickly clamped her hand over her mouth, trying to hold in the giggle threatening to escape.
    “Yeah… I thought you’d enjoy that part,” he huffed. “You like that damn Death Angel as much as he likes you, don’t you?”
    “I love Vittorio, yes. And although I do not love what happened to you, Shae, you have to admit… you brought it on yourself. But the way you told the story…” She chuckled. “…I could just see Vittorio doing that very thing, saying those exact words.”
    “Well, I’m happy I could be your entertainment.”
    “Apologies, Shae,” she said through another laugh.
    “Oh, don’t worry about it. Looking back on it now… I could almost laugh myself.” He sighed. “And that’s the story of how I obtained, and then lost, the Water Stone of power.”
    “So… what happened? What did your Queen do to you?”
    Tears filled his eyes once more. “It’s not what she did to me… it’s what she did to Garoth that will always grieve me—tore my heart asunder. I loathe her. I prayed that the demons who invaded our realm would tear her into tiny pieces… but that she didn’t die until the very last moment, that she felt every wretched drop of it. Alas… she was well-hidden during that gruesome apocalypse.”
    Jenevier didn’t say anything. She only held him—stroking his hair, keeping his breathing in-tune with hers, wiping away his tiny bitter tears. When he lifted his trembling hand, Jenevier thought he was going to touch her cheek. Yet he reached past her, placing his palm on the rough bark of the tree trunk they were resting against.
    “She came looking for me,” he whispered. “After the Death Angel had claimed my wings… I laid here for what must have been hours. I was beaten, broken… shamed. I couldn’t have climbed out of this valley if God Himself had demanded it.”
    She lightly kissed the top of his head, blinking away her own tears.
    “I was lying right here when they found me.” He ran his hand atop the soft grass. “In this very spot. I know that because of this tree.”
    “It is a lovely tree,” she whispered.
    “More lovely than you know.” He sniffed and then shuddered. “When I didn’t return, the Queen woke Garoth and together they came looking for me. And when they found me… she was furious. Furious that I had lost the stone, yes, but even more so that a Dwarf Prince now knew of her intended treachery. When Garoth saw what kind of shape I was in, he ran to my side. That’s when the vile woman cast her unforgivable spell.” He