Page 41 of Dancing Moonbeam

“Three days ago?” Worry filled Elvine’s eyes, the tension between Kalen and Damon forgotten. “Tell me what happened when you saw your father during the casting.”

All eyes in the room were now on them. Raidh struggled to keep hold of the oversized shorts Jaytee had given him to wear while trying to break free from Elvine’s grip.

“He threatened to eliminate Raidh, which is why he hired vampires to kill his own son,” Jaytee said, glancing at Elvine. “I looked at the cut an hour ago, and it didn’t look good, but now it looks worse.” He turned to Raidh. “Your pained expression tells me you’re trying to hide the fact that it also must feel worse.”

“Or my pained expression is from two family members about to hurt each other,” Raidh retorted between clenched teeth. His arm really did hurt.

“What are you guys talking about?” Kalen crossed the room and joined them, concern creasing his brow as he looked down at Raidh’s arm. “Son, why didn’t you tell us about this?”

“No.” Elvine shook her head firmly. “There’s more to it, isn’t there?” She cupped Raidh’s face in a tight hold. “What else happened during the casting, dewdrop?”

Jaytee let out a low growl. “Be very careful with your tight hold on my mate, little fairy. You two may be best friends, but my wolf is getting pissed you’re bringing him more discomfort.”

Ignoring Jaytee, she continued to stare into Raidh’s eyes with an earnest expression.

“He blew across his palm,” Raidh finally admitted. “Do you know what that means?”

She gasped, releasing his arm and taking a step back, colliding with Jax. “Oh no!”

Jax’s hands lingered on her for a second too long before he gently steadied her then drooped his hand. But Raidh noticed how Jax’s gaze lingered even longer.

“Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?” Jaytee demanded, his frustration evident. “Why didn’t you tell me about this, Raidh? And what does it mean, Elvine?”

Her gaze remained locked on Raidh as tears welled up in her eyes once again. “It was the kiss of death,” she said in a hushed tone.

“But doesn’t the kiss of death have to be an actual kiss?” Damon interjected.

“It varies depending on the culture or species,” she replied, glancing at Damon. “Humans use an actual kiss, but fae blow across their palm.”

“Why didn’t you tell us about this?” Jaytee asked Raidh.

Because, apparently, he hadn’t known. Why hadn’t he? Raidh couldn’t recall his family ever mentioning the kiss of death. In fact, he couldn’t remember anyone ever talking about it.

“Because the power behind that kiss is drenched in so much darkness even the Unseelie fear it,” Elvine explained. “Once it’s performed, nothing can reverse it. Any injuries sustained by the cursed individual will only worsen until it eventually kills them.” She looked down at his cut. “How were you able to heal from a vampire bite while under the curse?”

Dizzy and feeling detached, Raidh gazed at the red, angry slash in his arm, throbbing with pain and hot to the touch. Was he really going to die? No, no, no. He adamantly refused to believe it. But if it was true, his own father had given him a death sentence.

A curse so feared even among the dark fae that they never spoke about it out loud.

As panic set in, Raidh felt like he was going to be sick. His father may have despised him enough to pay off vampires to kill him, but why did this feel so much worse?

“I used the healing properties in my saliva to close the tear in his throat,” Jaytee told her as he pulled Raidh into a tight embrace. “My mate spent the next three days unconscious as he fully healed.”

Trembling, Raidh struggled to catch his breath once more.

“But nothing should have healed him.” Elvine seemed perplexed.

“Stop!” Raidh buried his face in his mate’s chest. “Just stop talking about it like it’s some puzzle to solve and not my life slipping away!”

Jaytee swayed back and forth slightly as he held on to Raidh. “We’ll find a solution, Moonbeam. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

He could detect the fear and concern in his mate’s voice. “How can you say that if the curse can’t be undone?” Raidh closed his eyes, attempting to control his erratic breaths and racing heart. The thought of dying was frightening, but the thought of abandoning his mate was even more gut-wrenching.

Not even death can separate me from you. My loyalty to you is unwavering, Moonbeam. My heart, my soul, and my very existence belong solely to you.

I give you the same promise in return.

Hadn’t he and Jaytee just spoken those vows not less than ten minutes ago? They resounded in Raidh’s mind, a cruel twist of fate now that death threatened to tear them apart.

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