Shifting Sands {Corbin}

[Marissa Skye ☀]

Things not what they used to be
Missing one inside of me
Deathly lost, this Can t be real
Cannot stand this hell I feel
Emptiness is filling me
To the point of agony
Growing darkness taking dawn
I was me, but now he 's gone


Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire.

One second, Rissa was looking for an avenue of escape and then next.. A savage roar had her whipping around in time to catch the look on Corbin’s face as he reached for her and shoved her through a veil that suddenly appeared behind her. He looked almost… Fearful? For her?

Unfortunately, she had no time to ponder that as the second she hit the ground, pain lanced up through her shoulder from where the dragon had barely missed sinking its talons into her. As it was, a nasty cut had appeared and oozed blood rapidly.

“CRAP CRAP CRAP!” she hissed as she grabbed up a nearby towel pressed it to the wound.


However, even as she did so, she noticed the edges starting to pull together and heel. Frowning, she watched it for a moment and then blinked. “So that’s what being immortal was good for!” she thought to herself just before the yelping sound of her dragon companion drew her attention and knocked her back on her ass on the floor.

“GAH!!!!!” she screeched for a moment, shoving at the creature. “A little more warning next time, would you?”

Getting to its feet, the dragon shook his own purple hid and gave her a put upon look.

“Well, I would have but your lord and master didn’t give ME much notice. I was a bit busy saving your skinny hide to catch your exact location, you know.”

Frowning, Rissa had to concede that point just as Corbin appeared through the opening and the veil suddenly sealed itself. Her companion took one look at the dark fae, yelped and shifted into its silver form on her ear.

“Sorry, your royally screwed highness but this one your dealing with yourself. I can’t interfere!”

Grumbling about the dragon’s cowardice, the petite blond watched her lover ‘s movements before growing more and more uneasy. He was entirely to calm for her peace of mind and that was SCARY. At least when he roared at her, she knew how to sooth the beast. This man though…. This man terrified her on a whole new level.

However, when his eyes finally fell on her, did Rissa cling to the better part of valor and cower?

Of course not. The woman truly had a death wish.

Instead of scooting away from him, she squared her shoulders, lifted her chin and glared him straight in the eye while pushing to her feet. When his words rang out over the stillness between them, the blond simply cocked a brow but suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

Definitely a good thing.

“The next time you call me for a secret tryst, my love,” He said, voice mocking. “Remind me to arm myself and bring a guard, hmm? I would really appreciate that.”

Ok, that did it, Rissa decided. She’d had enough of his betrayed attitude. With fire in her eyes, she flounced forward until she was on tip toe, nose to nose with the huge lord. Her gaze held her own feelings of anger and betrayal even as she fought the appeal that always overwhelmed her when he was near.


“Oh…..Back that train up, buddy.” She snorted, poking him in the chest with a slim finger. “That wasn’t my idea… I was perfectly innocent.. Minding my own business when out of nowhere.. I was snatched by some scaly lizard dude who wanted to use ME to get to YOU! If anyone is at fault here.. ITS YOU!”


Falling back on to her heels, the small fae put her hands on her hips and met his look scowl for scowl.

“So don’t you go blaming this on me, Mr. “I’m so bad I can get away with whatever the hell I want!”. Surely you knew SOMEONE would be looking for a woman who could paint the future! For all your intelligence, your arrogance amazes me at times. Did you think that no one would figure it out? That no one would come looking for a way to strike at you? What do you think MY reaction was to being snatched and held hostage? HE COULD HAVE KILLED ME, CORBIN!!! DID YOU THINK OF THAT??? In all of your evil plans... Did you ever stop to think about what it might mean to me? To US?”

Shaking her head, Rissa didn't see the waves of power that flowed off her like a shield as she scolded him. Her whole image began to shimmer and shift with her emotions but she was only aware of the man before her.

"Of course not... You didn't think about any bloody person but yourself.... I love you, Corbin.... but I won't let you hurt innocents in your pursuit of power. I can not.... "

[Corbin Muunokhoi]

There was that pesky feeling of pride again, he thought with an amused lift of his brow. The rage he felt slowly inching into the forefront of his mind was practically coating his every word, every expression, every movement…but despite all of that, the witch never backed down. She faced him, fire for fire, and that, if nothing else, saved her.

If she’d shrank back and begged for forgiveness, his beast would have reared back and killed her for her weakness. But this…this display of anger, disappointment, sadness; it was enough to surprise that almost corporeal insanity enough to allow him some control over his movements.

It allowed him to circle her once again and school his expression. It allowed him to uncurl his fists and let his lips cover his teeth. It also allowed him to come closer, and push those sweet smelling strands of hair over her shoulder before she could swat his hand away.

She was healing, which meant that she was no longer completely human. His woman wasn’t as useless as she’d made herself out to be…the question was; was this a plan gone awry, or a random occurrence?

“I will kill him for taking you,” He said mildly, eyes on her quickly healing shoulder. “And I’ll make it so slow, he’d wish that he’d never left his former mistress’ hole. As for your being in danger…”

A disappointed smile finally replaced the schooled expression. With a tsking sound, he turned to walk away from her and toward the washing basin across the room. With his back turned, she would have been able to see how his own burns quickly knitted themselves together.

He returned with a wet cloth. “My love, I know you aren’t a stupid woman. Kyle Aodhagan would not have killed you; he’s disgustingly chivalrous that way. Yes, I knew that someone would be looking for her…I just didn’t care.”

Suddenly, a fiery intensity lit up his eyes and he pressed closer, despite the knowledge that she would probably lash out at him. “I wanted to know what she knew, not just what the fool dragon would tell us in the Council. My darling, don’t you think that, if only being my woman in name, you are already in danger? I want to rule this world, love. Just by being near me, you put yourself at risk…not that I’d let you leave.”

Ever so fondly, he trailed a blood stained finger under her jaw before using the cloth lovingly on her shoulder, wiping away the quickly drying blood. “Those in my world know not to touch you, because I protect what is mine. I will simply have to make this known amongst everyone else,” His voice was conversational and even as he caressed her with the cloth.

As if answering the light-filled shimmering, Corbin was shockingly aware of a malicious darkness rising up to meet it. Yanking his arm back, he shook his head in confusion, rubbing his fingers against his temples.

“You love me…yet you cannot accept me,” He murmured, giving his head a brutal shake. Why had his Fae side reacted so? His blood was practically boiling with magic. “You knew what I was and what I’d do to fulfill my life’s work, before all of this. Why do you question it now?”

[Marissa Skye ☀]

You're wrong when it's right
You're black and it's white
We fight, we break up
We hug, we make up
You, you don't really wanna stay, no
But you, you don't really wanna go, oh
'Cause you're hot and you're cold
You're yes then you're no
You're in and you're out
You're up and you're down
Someone call the doctor
Got a case of a love disorder
Stuck on a roller coaster
Can't get off this ride

Well damn... Didn't he just have to go sounding all logical this time around?

With just a few words, he yanked the rug out from under all her arguments and had her scowling to beat the band. What was he, some sort of litigator now? The one time she wanted him to be illogical, he decides to be logical? Wasn't THAT just her freaking luck?

Growling deep in her throat, Rissa watched him circle her and felt his breath on her shoulder. Immediately, something within her roared to life and she sensed rather than saw his retreat to the table for a washcloth. His return only made her skin hum with sensation and she felt as if she might come completely out of her own skin if something didn't happen soon. She felt the same sort of power rising up in him but it seemed to be a darker, more forbidden shade of her own.

"There is much you don't know about me, Corbin... Much I did not know about myself. You have always said that you sensed something in me that I did not.... I've lately come to believe that you just might be right. " she drawled out in a calm, precise voice that belied the tension in her stance. "As far as the rest... Its true that I knew that there was some threat but I was unaware that it went so far as to include a massive war between realms. I also told you that I wouldn't let you harm innocents while I was around... That was the one condition I put on my staying with you.... Would you have me be the flighty sort of female who does not take her word as an oath? It was my understanding that this was one of the things you appreciated about me..."

Even as she spoke, Marissa found her body responding to his nearness. Even for all her anger, her soul still wanted him and her skin craved his tough. It made her angry even as she wanted to melt into his arms and ignore all the evidence of his true nature.


Damn him and all his male sex appeal.

Forcing that thought away, the petite Fae made herself concentrate on his words and not on the draw he held for her. As he came to stop before her and wipe away the drying blood on her shoulder, Rissa tilted her head sideways and her eyes seemed to flash with an inner light.

For a moment, she seemed far older and wiser than her years. The powers buried within her seemed to sense that which was within him and they tingled with the need to reveal themselves. Just as quickly though, it was banked and she was back in control of herself. It happened so quickly that only the keenest of eyes would have noted the shift in the young woman.

"As for love..... They say love is blind and that is what I have been. It is a weakness I see now, as you have claimed, and I shall not allow it to control me. I am not the weak woman you see me as and from now on...I will meet you toe to toe in any action that brings harm to an innocent. I might love you, Corbin, but I don't have to like the things you do."

With defiance blazing in her eyes and a challenge written in every action, the little blond knew she was asking for trouble but she was also suddenly certain that she could handle anything he dished out. A new confidence surged through her awareness and for the first time... She was no longer the least bit afraid of the male before her. Where once the sands had been shifting beneath her feet... She now felt as if she were on solid ground.

"So take that and smoke it in your pipe, Mr. Big Bad Caveman. There are going to be some changes around here or we are going to have some major issues. No more of this hiding what we are doing from Rissa because she might be upset and spoil your little plans. From now on..... We are going to be partners or nothing.... Capeesh? You may be my man but that doesn't mean I'm going to bow down to you anymore or innocently go about my business while you torture poor humans to death."

(Sorry Corbin.. its a bit of a sucky post but hope it works. IF not, let me know and I will try to rewrite it!)

[Corbin Muunokhoi]

So what if you can see the darkest side of me?
No one will ever change this animal I have become
Help me believe it's not the real me
Somebody help me tame this animal

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For a moment, Corbin seriously thought about her question, eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at her. Did he want her to be a flighty little woman at his side? He had so many pawns at his side of the board, had had so many easily caged birds flit in and out of his life…did he want Marissa to be one of their flock?

Without any hesitation, the answer ‘no’ slid into his mind, surprising him. As a warlord, he could appreciate her courage, that steel in her spine that so obviously kept her from backing away from him as he stalked her. She was brave, compassionate and, as he’d found out earlier, quite the cunning little witch. That flash of pride that he’d felt before came back suddenly, and as he looked at her now, he didn’t see only a woman he felt comfortable sleeping next to.

He saw a Queen. His Queen. How odd; if he’d had imagined her so just yesterday, he would have denied it completely. Or, if he were truly truthful with himself, he would have feared the thought and pushed her away.

Now, however, it appealed to him. Marissa Skye, sitting at his side on a throne diamond carved throne, with that mischievous smile on her lips. Strange that he kept on imagining her ruling from a white throne, while all of his seats of power in the compound were obsidian black.

When she started speaking again, something akin to regret flashed through him, disappearing before he had a chance to catch it. Love was a weakness; he’d built his life around that fact. Love, compassion, guilt; none of the foolish emotions did anything but make a man question what he was doing. Corbin had been born to rule this world; he’d known it ever since the day his mother’s people had taken him in. Any sense of remorse or empathy had been beat out of him, and he thrived under the constant war, the never ending bloodshed.

In the end, he would rule as King, and that was enough to sustain him.
…Wasn’t it?

Shaking his head against those two, stupid little words, the Dark Fae bared his teeth at nothing. Why did it bother him so, to have her repeat his words on love? And why did it NOT bother him to have her stand up to him in such a way? Why did he keep on feeling- FEELING!- that warm surge of pride as she laid out her demands? It made no sense! HE was the one in charge! It was HIS right to obtain power in any way that he pleased?

The familiar burn ripped through his brain and he heard his father’s voice in the back of his head, urging him to hurt her, dominate her, kill her. With a frustrated rumble deep in his chest, he forced himself to back away, bringing a hand up to pinch at his eyes as he turned away from her.

Damn his warring mind; it was getting harder and harder to hold back the tide of late. It was as if there were part of himself trying to get free…something dark and sinister that called to his soul. But no, he couldn’t kill her any more than he could kill himself. Standing rigid for a moment, he regained control.

“If I tell you or not, I will do anything that I have to, in order to get what I want…and I want this world, Marissa Skye,” He said, without turning back to her. He held himself rigid still, expecting her to lash out or to leave. “You think that you can change me? That your new surge of confidence will be enough to make me take on a new leaf?” Finally, he turned around to face her, jaw clenched. That damn voice continued its whispering, and he bit the inside of his cheek, hanging onto the pain to keep him grounded. “I cannot be changed; do you understand? I want you at my side, witch...but you can't change me. You can't change what I would be willing to do for power...you can't change what I am.”

[/center]

[Marissa Skye ☀]

Oh, girl, let's take it slow
So as for you, well, you know where to go
I want to take my love
And hate you till the end
It's not like you to turn away
From all the bullshit I can't take
It's not like me to walk away
I'm so addicted to
All the things you do
When you're going down on me
In between the sheets
All the sounds you make
With every breathe you take
It's unlike anything
When you're loving me


Oh Fate. Wasn't she just a cruel bitch and a half? Seriously. Rissa was beginning to think she'd done something in a past life that had pissed off whatever entity that ruled the world. What was that famous quote she'd always liked? Oh yeah, it was by Emerson. “Fate is nothing but the deeds committed in a prior state of existence.” If he was right.. Whatever she'd done.. IT truly must of have been a dozy. Maybe she'd caused a world war like Helen of Troy or something.

OK, that thought was so extreme it was just laughable. Maybe she'd been comedy relief instead? Funny, she didn't feel so comical at the moment though.

Instead, she felt as if her heart was being bashed in and all her dreams and hopes crumbling into dust. She could see Corbin struggling with the other side of himself and knew he was fighting the insanity that lurked just beneath the surface. That insanity was responsible for the vile things he did and it wasn't the man she loved.

Unfortunately, it was as much a part of him as the air he breathed and she had no idea how to save him from himself when he didn't seem to WANT to be saved. There was no way she could be with him twenty four seven and only he could make the choice to be the man she truly saw within his soul.

Ok, so maybe she was lying just a bit to herself.... OK,OK maybe alot.

Rissa knew there had to be something truly screwed up in her own makeup to love such a creature with the emotion she felt for Corbin. He was cruel, sadistic and nasty beyond any hollywood rated horror movie. In fact, he was so fierce and dark that his own mother probably had been scared senseless of him.

To Marissa, though, he was like a wounded animal in need of healing and she saw through all that ugly behavior to the man she sensed trapped within the confines of his mental prison. That man was like a magnet pulling on her heart and she wanted nothing more than to love him to the end of time. His fierce protectiveness and stark adoration was like the air she breathed and in his unguarded moments... Well, he was everything she'd ever wanted and needed and in his arms.... She truly felt safe in ways she'd never felt in her whole life.

Oh yeah. There was DEFINITELY something messed up with in her.

As all these realizations came down, Rissa knew what she'd have to do. Adam had been right when he's said she wasn't meant for a mere human existence and that she had much to learn in order to rule the fae realm. It was time that she took her rightful place in the order of things and she couldn't do it being Corbin's mere concubine. She had a job to do and the blond didn't believe in doing anything half ass so tonight would be the last night she would be with her lover.

Whether he realized it or not.... The end of their romance had come.

That didn't mean she couldn't have him one last time though. She needed a memory to sustain her through the passage of time. It was the one last thing she would take for herself.

Reaching out, the petite fae place her hand upon his chest and moved forward so that their bodies met and their eyes remained locked upon each other. Her expression was veiled but she allowed the love and desire she felt to flare forward enough that he would sense them.

"I have no wish to fight any longer, mate. In this, we will never see eye to eye and I need to feel your arms around me after the fright I've had. If you don't make love to me this very instant.... I may have to resort to drastic measures."

Letting her nails rake down his front, Marissa rose on tiptoes to press her lips to his neck and nibble at the skin there. Her sharp little teeth nipped at his throat and then her arms slid about his neck.

"For now I am here... Do you truly want to waste the time we have by fighting? I don't.... I can think of more... rewarding pleasures..."

[Corbin Muunokhoi]

Had she finally succumbed to reason? To his will? It seemed too easy, and it was with utter caution that Corbin stood still beneath his woman’s ministrations. She had denied his natural urges, declared that she would not stand idly by while he fulfilled his destiny to rule, and had threatened him if he so much as blinked at a human wrong. So what was this? Some kind of tactic to divert his attention from the subject at hand?

…Well, Gods help him, whatever it was, it was working. He was distracted. Utterly, devastatingly distracted.

As she moved closer to him, something possessive and utterly primal seemed to rise up in him, demanding that he pulled her even closer. Though angry, hurt words had been traded not even a minute earlier, that deep seeded calling wouldn’t be appeased until he had wrapped his arms around her and met her flesh to flesh.

Something was definitely wrong; his ever calculating mind sensed it. There was some unknown emotion in his woman’s eyes that he just wasn’t used to seeing…something grown up. Determined.

Once again, pride flared up in his chest, so bright and angry that he had to bite his tongue to keep from smiling. He was being thoroughly played by the one person he’d vowed never to let too close, and he was enjoying it. She didn’t accept him, and he certainly couldn’t accept all that stunning light that practically poured out of her like a lighthouse in a stormy sea; such weakness had been beat out of him long ago. His mother’s people favored strength, cunning, deception. There was no room for such things as pity, mercy or forgiveness! He didn’t even know the meaning of the words.

Yet, as he stood with the bewitching female in his arms, he thought that he might try to learn. Not to practice, mind, as he still had a reputation to uphold…but perhaps to learn.

Would she be his Queen when the time finally came? Would she be the voice of compassion that would stop him from killing all those under his rule? He could practically see her now; sitting on a diamond throne, that fiery look he’d come to appreciate in her eyes, demanding that he stop scaring the child at his feet, or she’d kick him to the curb for the weekend. Only Marissa Skye would stand up to him so.

And only she would live to tell of it. How unexpected, this feeling of completion, with her so near. It was as if he’d been missing part of himself for so long.

Something was going to happen; he could feel it in his bones…and it was going to concern his feisty little witch. Would he be able to survive, if she ever left him? The sudden question made him pause as he dipped his head down closer to hers, dark eyes locked on her own.

Would he be able to survive without her; ‘of course!’ cried his pride. He had been more than operational before he’d met her, and he would be just as ruthless if she was gone. Yet, as he hesitated before her, reading those unexpected emotions in her eyes, he wasn’t so very sure.

A groan escaped him at her ministrations, and all such depressing thoughts proceeded to vanish from his mind. Ah, only his woman knew how to touch him in ways that set his blood afire!

“Can you indeed, my love?” His voice was a husky rumble as he tilted his head to catch her lips, bringing her hard up against his body. “I believe I can as well. Shall we compare ideas? I have one that involves that bed over there. What do you think about that?”

Without waiting for an answer, Corbin urged her legs around his waist and easily lifted her, heading for the bed with a smile on his face that others could call quite fond. Whatever desire had inflamed her need to forget their previous argument seemed to be catching, he thought with an amused chuckle. He would have to remember to bring it up again in the morning, however.

But that was for later. For now…for now, he was going to savor his woman.
His mate.
His light.

And so he did.

[Marissa Skye ☀]

Gone like a freight-train, gone like yesterday
Gone like a soldier in the civil war, bang bang
Gone like a '59 Cadillac
Like all the good things
Well, she's gone


God how she loved the things his growly voice did to her every time he spoke to her in that sexy, grumbly tone. The things that dark, hungry look stirred in her belly when he stared at her in that hot, heated manner. He was so damned sexy that he made her heart speed up with just a touch.

The heavens help her but she loved this moody beast.

As he swept her up in his arms, Marissa was content for the moment to push everything else aside and surrender herself to his might. Tomorrow could wait forever for all she cared as long as she had this moment with him. Holding nothing back, she gave herself over to him completely and hoarded each pleasure deep in her soul for the dry spell ahead. Kiss for kiss, caress for caress, she matched his ferocity as their wills seemed to battle even in this intimate moment.

When they finally came to rest on the bed of furs, she stroked his long dark locks and breathed in his scent. She wanted to store away everything about him in her heart so that she'd have something to warm herself by in the coming eternity. Finally unable to keep her eyes open any longer, the petite fae drifted into sleep with her cheek pressed against the steady beat of her lover heart. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE NEXT MORNING

Dawn was just beginning to flicker on the horizon when Rissa came awake. Stirring in Corbin's embrace, she sensed something or someone nearby and looked up into the sapphire blue eyes of none other than her father. Suppressing an epithetic "EEP" the pretty blood blinked and pulled the covers up closer.

For a moment, she was dazed and confused and then awareness set in. Sadness, grief and then resignation crossed her exquisite features before she nodded at Adam and he turned away to give her a bit of privacy. The fact that Corbin hadn't yet sensed him and come awake said volumes of the Fae Prince's powers but that could change at any moment. She had to hurry or she'd never be able to do this.

Slipping carefully out from under the arm that held her to her lord's side, Rissa gazed down into his face for a long moment before pressing a gentle kiss upon his lips. A last caress and touch of his hair and then she climbed carefully from the bed she'd shared with the man who ruled her heart. Although every step away from his side felt as if a knife were being stabbed deep in her heart, she was determined.

After all, what was one person's happiness against the happiness and lives of hundreds? Growing up really freaking sucked.

Stepping to makeshift closet, the Fae Princess drew out a beautiful sapphire blue baby doll dress that she drew over her head and let fall around her waist and legs. A pair of short jean shorts followed underneath and then sandals protected her slender feet. Finally, unable to stall any longer, she glanced once more towards the bed wistfully and then squared her shoulders. Moving to the dresser, she picked up a pen and a piece of paper and quickly scrawled a short note upon it for Corbin to find when he awoke.


"My love,

When you find this, I've no doubt that your fury will be great and you will seek to find me if only to punish me for defying you. Please know that if there had been any other way, I would have taken it. Unfortunately, fate rarely asks us what we really want and i've recently discovered something that makes it impossible for me to stay at your side while you persist on the dark path you feel you must take.

Corbin, you were very correct when you spoke of me and the power you sensed I had within. Do you remember a few weeks ago when I disappeared for an afternoon in town and came back all broody? You thought it was because I was worried you'd be upset with me (which you were!) but it was actually something else.

There is no way to tell you this but to just be blunt.

My biological father is none other than Adam Black, the fae Prince. It seems I am also the last remaining female with royal blood and now the heir to the Queen's throne. Until recently, my powers have been locked down for my own safety but the spell that I cast to summon Marty unlocked them.

Now, I must learn to use them for the purpose they were intended and I go with my father to do that. Its also for this reason that I must leave you. My powers lie within the light and I can't survive in your shadow. I must learn to be my own island and how to rule with my own judgment.

We both know that this point would have come eventually so its just as well we part now. You will always own my heart and I will always be yours in my soul but this is for the best. No other will ever have what I have given you and I hope that someday you will see this for the sacrifice it is. I leave a part of myself behind with you even as I write this letter and see you sleeping in the bed we've shared many a nights love within.

I love you, Corbin. Till the sun ceases to shine and the moon falls from the night sky. Please do not hate me for what I must do and know I think only of both of us by doing this.

Yours to Eternity,

Marissa"

Turning back to the silent, dark haired man in the corner, she moved to him and meet his gaze levelly. There was compassion in his eyes but she ignored it, afraid she would crumble if she acknowledge it.

"I"m ready, Father." she said coolly before taking the hand he held out towards her.

As her father flashed her from the primitive suite of rooms and into a world foreign to her, Marissa closed her eyes and grieved for all that she lost.