Page 96 of The Forbidden Fae King

The innkeeper hurries over to the elemental fae, inquiring about their families. It is the strangest sight, that motherly, greying woman laughing with these demons.

“Big bastards, these ones,” Aldrin muses as he passes us to greet them.

“Sometimes a fire sprite is the size of a candle flame. Sometimes they are as big as a tree,” Cyprien says. “Aldrin will try to convince them to join us, so try not to be afraid.”

“I think I’d prefer the sprites the size of a candle flame.” Caitlin grounds her teeth as she approaches me. “Shall we get to work? The kelpies said these waters are suitable.”

We squat by the rim of the pool and Kai waits with outstretched arms held below the water’s surface. He holds a form that is half man, half fish, like the legends of mermaids.

Sweat drips down my face as the heat rolling off the waterthreatens to suffocate me. I pull a slippery seed-stone out of its protective sack and hold my cupped hands as close to the water as I can bear. Pain pricks my skin as boiling droplets splash onto my hands.

I pour the seed-stone into that shimmering cauldron and quickly rip my hands back. Kai swoops it up and dives into the depths of the water with his precious cargo.

I suck on my burns, but it doesn’t help.

Our bargain with Odiane means that only Caitlin or I can take the seed-stones out of their sack and place them into the water. Kai can only help once it is done. Caitlin helps me to my feet and together we stagger out of those caves and into the cool night air, leaving the fae behind us. It rains gently outside, and those droplets are cold kisses on my overheated skin. We lean against the rocky wall and pant, both of us flushed a deep shade of red.

It takes a long time for my head to stop spinning and my skin to return to its usual shade of creamy white.

Caitlin gives me a sidelong glance. One that is scrutinizing and disapproving.

“What?” I ask. Her frown deepens. “What?”

“Have you laid with Aldrin?”

I almost choke.

“Because if you have, if your plans have changed, I need to know.” There is no hint of judgment in her. “If you get pregnant, we need to run. Already I have been watching him for the signs of becoming a crazed, possessive fae.”

A cold sweat breaks across my skin. “My plans have not changed,” I say in a rush. “I am still taking the contraceptive herbs.” Gods, the last thing I want right now is a pregnancy.

She tips her head at me. “But have you laid with him? Do you plan to? Because he could still turn and entrap you, just like the fae did to our grandmother.”

“Gods, Caitlin, I don’t know.” I toss my head from side to side. “He won’t hold me against my will if he gets attached?—”

My sister grips my shoulders tightly and stares into my eyes. “No woman thinks it will happen to her.”

It sends cold chills running down my spine and my stomach twists at the dread. “He made a blood oath to me; he physically cannot hold me prisoner against my will,” I say. Her hands fall from me and the tension bleeds from her shoulders. “Being in this realm is the only time in my life I get tolive,”I half-whisper, and a tear rolls down my cheek at the admission.

Caitlin glances away from me. “I was scared for you, Keira. He seems to be everywhere you are, getting too close and finding excuses to touch. Don’t forget that wehaveto go back, no matter what. That our time here is only temporary. Live, but don’t get attached.”

When we leave the mountain range, two fire sprites join our party.

Our journey takes us toward the coastline. The taste of salt hangs in the air and the roaring of waves bounces off the scraggy, windblown trees of the woods. We trek through them until the trees thin, then disappear.

The shore meets the ocean in a series of broken cliffs. Those rock faces are beaten away by the sea, and each time they clash a clap of thunder echoes. Our entire band stops to admire their battle. I near the edge of a cliff and peer down the sheer height of it, mesmerized as those waves roll in.

“Careful not to fall.” Aldrin loops an arm around my waist and pulls me against his chest and away from that edge. I laugh with delight and bat at his hands. “Sharp winds have been known to pick up a person and deposit them over.”

We take a narrow staircase carved into the cliff face down to a beach protected by a natural alcove in the coastline. The warmth of a mid-spring sun bakes my back. It blows my mind that the seasons progress here not with time, but with location. As one travels through the Spring Court, they go from the thawing of winter to the kiss of mid-spring, and end at the beginning of summer.

A dozen seals sunbathe lazily on rocky platforms on the far side of the small beach. Aldrin calls out a greeting as he approaches, and a few roll from their back to glance over.

My step falters as one stands fully erect on its back flippers. Its neck extends unnaturally, then its entire head flops back, and a woman’s face emerges. Like a person unbuttoning a coat, she peels off that seal skin and steps out of it, completely naked.

She fastens her seal skin around her like a cloak that reaches to the middle of her thighs. More of their number transform as our party approaches.

I can’t help staring in wonder at those selkies, but I fall behind and Aldrin starts to address them.

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