Page 209 of Fated or Knot

I giggled, my wings fluttering a bit. “What?”

Marius’s gaze was on Fal, narrowed in a subtle warning. “It’s time for another tradition,” he said.

The dark elf reached around me to drape a strip of cloth over my face. He tied it behind my head while I whined. What was going on?

“What self-respecting pack of Unseelie doesn’t steal their mate away?” Fal proclaimed. “Consider this a well-meaning relocation,mo stór.”

Stars, okay. That’s what’s going on.I smiled under the blindfold as I waited to be whisked away to this mysterious event.

57

LARK

The carriage bumped along. I made myself cozy against Fal as we rolled toward the event, resting my eyes since I couldn’t see anyway. Our disguised scents mingled in the air, smelling of a different pack. I was growing used to it. This way, no females would be chasing my mates at the event, either.

Fal laced his fingers through mine again. “We’re all celebrating that you’re joining our pack tonight,mo stór. Everyone else attending the event is too, even though they don’t know it.”

“It’s not like we’ve kept our infatuation with Lark a secret,” Kauz put in.

“Then they can all release the fakest gasp of surprise together when we announce her as our princess at the autumn festival.” I could practically hear the dark elf rolling his eyes. “We couldjust do it earlier. It’s not like anything else about finding our mate has been traditional except for our celibate train buddy time.”

“I fucking hate trains now,” Marius muttered.

A growl came from Tormund’s direction, but all he said was, “Me too.”

“Our next overnight trip on a train won’t be celibate,” I said.

“Maybe I don’t hate trains,” the redcap conceded.

“Anyway,” Fal put in. “This is still my date with you, Lark, so I’m claiming your first and last dance.”

“Okay.” With that detail, alone, I had a good idea of what kind of event we were about to attend. There had been many hints already.

“We’ll leave a little early. How does moonrise sound?”

There was a murmur of agreement around the carriage.

“All right, good. I want our omega home and claimed by the midnight bells.”

I pressed my thighs more tightly together. My skin was flushed with the promise that I would be theirs by the end of the night. This time, there wasn’t any noise from the males. But their attention was all on me, their gazes a caress I could practically feel.

“Finally,” I breathed.And forever.The next few hours would set the rest of my life on course. I had one night to preserve my fate with these males as my mates.

There was a charged quiet for a while, before Fal broke it again. “Oh, before I forget. Thank you, Marius.”

“For what?”

“You know what.”

The other male made a sound halfway between a grumble and growl. Well, I thought Fal would figure out where the silver-veined crystal came from quickly. Unless he was thanking the kelpie for something else.

At any rate, I was practically vibrating with anticipation and nerves by the time the carriage came to a stop. Fal’s breath skimmed my ear as he leaned in. “We’re here. I’m going to carry you out of the carriage for the big reveal.”

I was up and pressed to his chest before I could agree, giggling as he tucked me under his chin to duck out the doorof the carriage. We bounced down a couple of stairs before he placed my slippers on the ground and whipped away the blindfold. I covered my mouth with my fingertips, taking in the estate before us with a gasp.

The front gates of a palatial residence were thrown open to a steady stream of well-dressed fae. Even though the sunlight was fading to evening, the estate appeared to be coming to full life as darkness descended. Faelights shaped like insects darted between flowers in a lush garden full of blooming flowers.

Fal made a sweeping gesture. “Duke Revantee’s spring revel. Delayed by a few days, unexpectedly. Revantee Pack received a generous donation from the crown for their difficulties.” He winked, before offering his arm. “I thought you would want to be seen in the more traditional sense,mo stór. With me.”

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