Page 212 of Fated or Knot

As the song concluded, Marius drew me into the hard line of his body. He leaned down to kiss me, before hesitating at the last moment and skimming his lips over my cheek instead.“I’m going to kiss you so fucking much when you’re finally in heat. You won’t escape my knot or my lips, sweet prey.”

“Ooh,”I cooed, though my physical reaction was immediate pain. My core gave a brief spasm, a warning of more lengthy cramps to come.

He helped me off the dance floor and pressed his palm to my belly, like his presence would ward off the pain like it had earlier today.“I’m okay,”I assured him.

He blew out a puff of air with a low, feral sound. I instinctively understood he was dubious. Of all my mates, he seemed to understand best how soon and intense my heat would be. He drew me close and purred while he still held my middle, filling me with comforting vibrations as the orchestra played an odd string of notes over and over. Most of the dance floor wasemptying, and the fae gathered in clusters around those that remained.

“It’s a dance challenge. There’s always a few at Unseelie events. It’s a chance to show off your dancing skills against another fae, sometimes for a boon for the winner,”Marius explained.

We were being beckoned to by his parents. When we went over to stand next to them, Marius continued to purr quietly and soothe me.

“You look so nice, Metalark,” Nemensia whispered. “Give those skirts a shake.” I did, and the bells pealed gently while she smiled with delight.

We were in the cluster around Rennyn and Tanith, who were circling more like sharks than dancers as the anticipation thickened in the air for their dance challenge.

The music changed to an up-tempo piece. Rennyn nodded along before bursting into dance first, while Tanith watched with her hands poised on her hips. He seemed to be making up something new, moving his body with uncommon precision. His feet barely seemed to skim the ground. I joined in with the rest of the crowd, cheering and clapping.

He danced for maybe a minute before the music restarted from the beginning, and it was Tanith’s turn. This was the first time I’d seen her outside of nixie night. She wore a dress that curled around her tall and slender form, its glittering fabric hugging her modest curves tightly. Her dancing was just as quick, though her motions were as fluid as if she was underwater. Her red and gold fins moved with her to exaggerate each ripple and sway of her body. The wavy mass of her unbound, scarlet hair flew about her head as she tossed it.

“The second part is what you really watch for. Now they have to imitate one another’s dancing style,”Marius chuckled.

Rennyn cracked his neck and stretched while the song changed and tempo slowed for the second round. His red eyes flashed over to Nemensia before he winked at her. He danced slow and sensual, mimicking Tanith’s flowing movements with boneless grace. The fae around us whooped, while I could’ve sworn I heard my godmother sigh wistfully and Elion suppress a soft growl under the crowd noise.

When it was Tanith’s turn, she slicked back her hair and held her fins mostly stationary as she mimicked Rennyn’s earlier dance. Her heeled shoes hit a few angles that had me wincing in worry for her, but she didn’t so much as stumble. I cheered for her happily. She was doing all this in heels, for an extra challenge that the dark elf king didn’t have.

“How do we know who won?” I whispered aloud.

“Crowd noise. It’s not a perfect system,” Nemensia answered.

I saw what she meant. The music gave us cues and the crowd cheered elsewhere for other dancers too. Rennyn raised his arm first, grinning as he was surrounded by a wall of noise. The queen cheered for him, while Elion, Marius, and I raised our voices for Tanith, who still had a quieter crowd around her. She bowed her head in defeat and Rennyn went to her side to pat her on the back. His lips moved, exaggerating the words, “That’s my girl!”

Nemensia went to them, which gave Elion a moment to lean in and whisper to me, “I’ve noticed your heat must be very close. If you want to leave early, feel free to take my carriage back. It is free and hitched to the finest team of horses. I don’t want you to experience any more discomfort,mo stóirín. You’ve been through enough.”

Marius pulled me a step away with a warning growl. Even if it was his father murmuring in my ear, my mate’s continued rut said that was too close for a rival male. Elion chuckled andstraightened, starting after the queen. “Think on it,” he said over his shoulder.

Another of Fal’s predictions had just fallen into place.“Elion will offer you some way out of the plan. He’ll disguise it as concern and offer you a different carriage that will remove you from any danger. Usually, he and my father are thick as thieves, but in this case, he’s the member of the royal pack who knows exactly what you mean to his son. He’s going to be the only royal willing to sabotage everything in the eleventh hour.”

It was more than tempting, to skip the risk ahead completely. But if I was going to do that, I may as well have stayed in my nest rather than come to this party. I straightened my spine and smiled up at Marius. “How do you feel about refreshments?” I asked.

“I’m sure there’s some at our table. Let’s go find it, and I’ll return to my duties.”

Fal had already mentioned that our family would have a table with a spread of drinks and finger foods, and also who would be at it. We found them in a quieter corner. Siora, artfully draped over a chair in a beautiful dress, licking her lips and making come hither gestures at males that interested her. Thalas, who was quietly enduring the evening and only here because the rest of his pack was, and finally Eletha, writing away in a journal while tapping her feet to the orchestral music.

“Of all of us, Eletha is only coming to the event because my father included her in the plan. He calls her his secret weapon,”Fal had said.

She lit up when she saw us. “Oh, hi!”

“Hi, Eletha. How’s the book coming along?” Marius asked.

“Still working! I’ll have another chapter for you to read soon,” she said cheerfully.

He smiled at her. I could feel through our bond that he was eager to read it. “Can’t wait.” He nodded her way before nuzzling my hair with a murmur of farewell.

I sat and sighed as the pressure on my feet eased. Someone had definitely taken a generous amount from the refreshments for us to graze on, and I filled a plate with things that looked good to munch on in this quiet moment.

I asked Thalas how he was holding up, since Siora and Eletha were content with their own pursuits. He smiled and held up a journal, and across both pages he’d made an elaborate ink drawing of a tree at sunset. Each individual leaf had texture. “I’m keeping myself occupied. When the magic show starts, I might sneak in a few measurements. You know how it is,” he said.

I nodded like I understood what he’d be measuring. I would’ve asked about the magic show, when a cramp struck my middle like a punch to the guts. Sucking in a breath, I hunched over in my chair. “Oh no, are you okay?” Eletha gasped.

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