Page 27 of The Forbidden Fae King

She claps her hands twice, and the room falls silent immediately. “There is one very important way to bring magic back to our realm that we haven’t discussed yet. The most powerful, the most cherished, that grants us priestesses our name of Mothers of Magic, and gives immense magic to generations of people. Achieving it could give you the honors of royalty and the freedoms of the wealthy. The contributionImade frommypilgrimage.”

“Magical pregnancy,” Caitlin whispers. It was how our father was conceived.

“Magical pregnancy,” the high priestess barks. “Everyone who plans on a magical pregnancy, please stand up.”

Multiple women in the group rise gingerly, including Caitlin.

“Come on, don’t be shy. Anyone who has even daydreamed about it. The slightest interest in becoming pregnant to the magic. Stand.”

Almost half the room are on their feet now, but I remain firmly seated, because a pregnancy is the last thing I need. There is a sick feeling in my stomach. A sense of anticipation. I know my grandmother well enough to pick up when she is being cruel.

“There is no such thing as falling pregnant to the magic. Of pure, untainted magic quickening a womb.” Her words ring out. “There is only one way to get pregnant, and it is the same in the Otherworld as it is here.”

Chapter 8

Keira

Caitlin’s face drops, turning deathly pale, and her eyes become glassy. Her hands visibly shake. I want to pull her into a hug, to take away that pain and bitter disappointment. To allow her to cry into my shoulder, but she would never show that kind of emotion, not even to me. For her, all vulnerability is weakness. To me, there is strength in being able to express it.

I settle by taking her hand and squeezing it, then pulling her back into her seat. My heart breaks looking at her.

“You heard me right,” the high priestess continues. “There is no such thing as amagicalpregnancy.”

Caitlin isn’t the only one who looks visibly sick. My own stomach twists with revulsion at bedding a fae. They were once our greatest abusers when they ruled this realm. Rapists. Murderers. Kidnappers. Surely such an experience would be horrible. Traumatic beyond belief.

“But how?” one woman cries out. A lord’s daughter who probably saw her way out of a marriage. “Can we even bear their children? Must we lay with a fae beast? Surely, they would be cruel. That they would hurt us.”

My grandmother lets out a long breath, and her tone softens. “It istrue that the high fae kidnapped our women for hundreds of years to be their consorts and carry their offspring, because we humans are far more fertile than their females. Sometimes we hear of incidents of it happening in current times.”

I cringe. Those words really do not help.

My grandmother continues on her warpath. “Humans had no magic until ancient Tuatha Dé Danann of the Otherworld opened the portals and visited these lands. Those old gods combined their bloodline with humans to create the fae. Once, when the portals between realms were open and fae lords ruled these lands, our people had great magical abilities due to the interbreeding, but we were not free until we banished the fae from these lands.

“Now the only way to bring real magic back to our people is to mix our blood with the fae, as we once did. Magic does not truly belong to humans, despite how we have built our technology around it. The greatest secret of this realm hides the fact that a magical pregnancy comes from laying with a fae. That our most blessed offspring are half fae. There is no immaculate conception where the magic itself is imbued in a womb as we would have this realm believe. If this knowledge were known, this kingdom could erupt into civil war. Those with great prejudice would attempt to slaughter the children of the fae and their descendants.”

I am shell-shocked by the revelations. We all are.

Women have been laying with the fae for generations.My grandmotherdid it. The people who enslaved us and took all the wealth of these lands for themselves. Who oppressed us.

I have read brutal accounts of their deeds, copied by scribes to preserve knowledge hundreds of years old where original works didn’t survive. So much of the truth has been lost over time. We know nothing of the fae who used to rule from Appleshield Castle, other than his gravestone.

A woman puts up her hand, but it wavers and she lowers it again.

The high priestess’ gaze focuses on her. “Speak, child.”

“Naomi, was—was it horrible? Was he abusive?”

A high-pitched laugh erupts from my grandmother. “Horrible? Nochild. It was thrilling and exciting and incredibly delightful. I almost didn’t want to return home. The fae are not like us. There is no stigma around sex. Sometimes, it seems there are no rules at all in their world. They are incredibly free, and every moment in a lover’s embrace is celebrated and cherished, unlike many human men who only focus on their own gratification. They are incredibly beautiful and very proficient lovers.

“I suggest you treat this pilgrimage as you would any festival day. Have fun, explore what the place has to offer, and if a low fae takes your fancy, then indulge yourself. The fae definitely know how to celebrate and there are constant forest parties you can slip into. A single low fae can take many forms, so if a wild form doesn’t take your fancy, they can become human-like. They usually do, to entice one of us. Keep away from the high faeat all costs.”

Have fun?

She says it as though it were the simplest thing, while roaming enemy lands. Falling into the clutches of a fae man is meant to be the worst possible thing to happen to a human woman. How could I ever trust one enough to allow him to touch me? I look around the classroom and notice I am not the only one who isn’t convinced. We all wear varying degrees of scowls and sick expressions.

Despite my conviction, my treacherous heart soars at the idea of dancing among the fae. At not only observing their culture, but actually participating in it. Of living, rather than reading life through books.

“Won’t we stand out? As humans?” a minor lord’s daughter asks.

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