Page 61 of Thistle Thorns

“Arthur,” I whispered again, stroking the thick hair of his cropped beard. “I can’t let you die. I haven’t told you—” A sob caught in my throat, choking off my words.

The strength he’d been clinging to abruptly left him, my gentle giant collapsing into my lap.

With the same speed of the Rabbit Step Spell, I eased Arthur’s head down to the ground, shot up to my feet, and thrust out my hand to the Stag Man.

“What is your name?” I demanded of the fae.

His jewel-like eyes glittered. The fae was obviously miffed at something, whether it was Sawyer’s doubt or my brashness. “Ossian.”

I didn’t have the time to determine if he was lying to me like I had to Arcadis. According to legend, the fae couldn’t lie, but I wasn’t going to take any chances. Not when I felt the golden haze creeping back into my consciousness.

“I, Meadow, will do my best to open the portal to Elfame with my magic, only if the fae I’ve been introduced to as Ossian saves Arthur Greenwood’s life right now, agrees to teach me how to unlock my magic in order to accomplish my end of this bargain, and doesn’t hurt my family or friends. Oh! And the portal must be opened at least three days before the winter solstice,” I added hastily. I hoped that would be enough time to get into Elfame, find the Wandering Mirror, and get it to Arcadis to ransom my brother.

The corner of Ossian’s mouth quirked up, his irritation forgotten. “This isn’t your first fae bargain, is it?”

I thrust my outstretched hand even closer to him, fighting against the golden haze of his influence. “Do you accept?”

“High fae lords of the Seelie Courts don’t shake hands to seal their bargains,” he told me, nevertheless taking my hand. He pulled me in close, wrapping his other arm around me so I couldn’t get away. My free hand found his chest and braced against him, keeping a distance, however small, between us. “They kiss.”

“Mm-mmm!” came Flora’s muffled protest, the garden gnome waving her hands and shaking her brown curls furiously.

I wasn’t sure what her hullabaloo was all about. So close to Ossian, it was impossible not to smell his faint musk, to bask in the golden aura emanating from his bare skin, to be swallowed up in his jewel-like gaze. “Like… on the cheek?” I managed to get out.

He cocked an eyebrow. “What kind of bargain would that seal?”

Not a very strong one, I supposed. But… I’d only ever kissed Arthur. Only ever wanted to kiss Arthur.

“Meadow,” Sawyer cried from where he crouched by the lumberjack shifter’s head.

“His heartbeat fades with your indecision,” Ossian told me.

Surging up on tiptoe, I shut my eyes and crushed my lips against the Stag Man’s mouth.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

I pretended he was Arthur. My lumberjack. My bear. This high fae lord needed to know how serious I was about this bargain, and this was the only way I knew how to convey it. My fingers knitted into his copper curls, fingernails sliding against his scalp until they found where his antlers protruded. Gripping the thick antlers at their base, I used them to haul myself closer, to kiss him deeper.

Ossian grunted in surprise, then his arms banded around my waist and lifted. His chest crushed against my breasts as his tongue plunged into my mouth, delving deep. His lips were the same chiseled softness I’d come to know from Arthur, but the lumberjack’s kisses, while devouring, weren’t savage. Ossian was rough, demanding, greedy. My lips bruised under his attention, but only a fraction of me protested. I faintly remembered something Sawyer had said about auras, but the all-consuming nature of the fae lord I was kissing was hard to resist.

Arthur, that little voice inside me whispered, the chain thrumming. Remember Arthur. Remember Marten.

With a gasp, I broke the kiss, forcing Ossian away from me by jerking on his antlers. His green eyes fluttered open, their jewel-like depths enflamed with lust and power and possession.

“I accept,” he breathed.

With his words, it wasn’t a puff of wind I felt against my face signaling my bargain with an invisible mark. It was a shock wave.

When it passed, I was boneless in Ossian’s arms. Literally. My lips were tingling liked I’d gotten a little too frisky with the hot sauce on my tacos, but that was all the sensation I could feel.

The golden aura was gone.

“How do you feel, love?” he asked, lowering me to the ground. His voice was just as luscious as before, but it held no warmth in it.

Were my feet touching the frozen earth? I couldn’t tell. “I-I—” I gave him a wild look, realizing how fatigued my body was without the same strain affecting my mind. “What did you do to me?”

“I took nothing you didn’t offer,” he replied lightly, releasing me. “And you were very convincing, love. I think I’m actually jealous of the bear.”

My legs buckled immediately. I managed to catch myself on my hands so I didn’t face-plant, but my arms began to tremble with the exertion.

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