Page 161 of Bride of the Midnight Prince

“I am drawn to all of those things, yes.”

That sentence hangs there long enough that I add, “But . . .?”

“But,” he says, claiming one of the few spots surrounding the Fool, “those things come with a cost. I do not like the cost.”

“What is the cost for you?”

His chest expands with his deep breath. “There is no true freedom in Faerieland. Even when I become Lord Nothril in many, many years, after my parents’ lives come to an end, I still must answer to the High Throne of Faerie. I still must bear in mind the considerations of the people I rule. And I will always have enemies.”

Several turns go by. I claim another spot adjacent to the Fool. He nods approvingly at my strategy.

I lick my lips. “May I ask you another question?”

He inclines his head, focused on the board.

“What is that tattoo on the back of your neck for?”

“I thought you might ask about that again,” he says, reaching up one hand to touch it. “It is . . . a little hard to explain, but the essence of it is that it is a bargain. Lord and Lady Nothril gave me a task, and if I do not accomplish it my sister will die.”

All at once, the pieces fit together. The task must be capturing the Ivy Mask.Me.That is why he is hunting me. Lord Nothril must have been particularly angry after I freed his slave girl. And that is why, when the assassins came, he was so grateful that I saved his life. Because if I hadn’t, he would not have been able to fulfill his side of the bargain. His sister would have died.

So one of us will have to die.

My stomach turns over. I feel sick. The game becomes my refuge from the swirling thoughts in my mind.

“I wish I could take you to Faerieland,” Rahk says after a long time. “You would find it fascinating.”

“Oh?” I keep my gaze fixed on the board.

“Most humans don’t do well there. The land isn’t made for them. I think you, however, would be smart enough to survive the perils of it, if your Fool’s Circle instinct is any indication.”

His praise warms my chest while simultaneously making me want to cave into myself.

“But it can never be,” he adds. “To bring you across the border as anything other than my wife would be to guarantee your death and sentence as a slave.” He glances at me. “I’m sure you wouldn’t want to come anyway, after what happened to your mother.”

My awareness sharpens on him. A conversation from weeks ago resurfaces in my mind—Rahk telling me about fae bindings. I’d forgotten about it until now. So our marriage might not be acknowledged in Faerieland as it is? I keep my tone casual as I ask, “Why wouldn’t you bring me as your wife?”

He looks startled by my question. I’ve never seen the way his lips very slightly open, then close. I’ve cornered him, and if I’m lucky, he won’t realize I’ve done it on purpose. He must now admit that he has purposefully avoided marrying me in the more permanent fae way or lie to spare my feelings.

He makes his move. I bite my lip at how careless of a choice it is. “Faerieland doesn’t acknowledge human weddings,” he replies, dodging the question.

I don’t intend to let him off so easily. I want his confirmation that he has withheld himself from me, that he has chosen to avoid binding himself permanently to me.

I need to know that I am not the only one holding back from this marriage.

“There was that princess of Aursailles.” I claim the second-to-last spot next to the Fool. Rahk blinks at the board, realizing the mistake of his last move. “She married the High Prince, or whatever his title was. Does Faerieland not acknowledge their marriage?”

It is dangerously similar to what Queen Vivienne asked of him. I ask it as innocently as possible, yet Rahk’s black eyes still pierce me like twin blades of obsidian.

“The fae do not usually acknowledge fae and human marriages,” he says at last, giving in, “unless they married according to fae tradition. You and I are married according to the human tradition. Our union would not be acknowledged there.”

“Does that mean we aren’t truly married?”

He narrows his focus on me. “To what end do you ask these questions? What is it that you are afraid of?”

Many things. So many things.“You’re going back to Faerieland.”

The hard line of his mouth softens slightly. “I will stay as long as I have a reason to.”

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