Page 28 of A Bargain with the Fae King

“I hoped you’d come someday, and when you did, I planned to spoil you.” His gaze coasts down my form then back up. “Human women like clothes, do they not?”

I rub the back of my neck. He might not know much about humans, but he got that bit right. Well, about some of us. Fashion isn’t my obsession, but I’m not about to balk at comfortable, pretty things either. “It’s just…”

“You don’t like them?”

“Oh no, I do! I’m just…not used to presents.” To say the least. A whole dang wardrobe when I hadn’t even come here yet is overkill.

“Fae like to give gifts,” he says like that’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Shall we go?” He holds a hand out to me.

“Abso-freaking-lutely.”

He tilts his head to the side.

“Means yes.”

“Interesting.” His ears twitch.

“First, though, I need you to take me back to the door.”

Riven goes utterly still, frozen as surely as if he’d turned to stone.

“Just for a minute,” I blurt. Dad and Elise have to be a mess. Not only is May missing, but I ran out on them too.

“Lia.” His tone is as sharp as the fangs peeking between his lips. “Your sister—”

I hold up my hands. “I want to go to her. Right now. As soon as possible. But our parents will be worried. I want to tell them—”

“Out of the question.”

I stiffen.

“You can’t leave Faery. You bargained it.”

Irritating man. “I won’t.” I pull the cell phone from my pocket. “I just want to leave this at the door.”

He rears back like I’m holding a snake. “That’s…”

“A cell phone.” His blank stare tells me he has no idea what that is, so I continue, “It’s how humans communicate.”

He frowns, his fist opening and closing as he holds himself still.

“It doesn’t work here,” I ramble on quickly. For whatever reason, he’s pissed as hell. “I just want to leave them a message on it. So they know we’re okay if they find it.” Well, sort of okay.

I’d swear the temperature drops as he stares me down.

“It would mean a lot to me,” I push.

“You cannot leave the doorway.” He holds out his hand again as if to say he agrees.

“Fine.”Bastard.I’ll take it.

His fingers twine through mine, sending a jolt of…something, straight to my heart. “Hang on.”

No sooner are the words out of his mouth than the world shifts and warps around us. I bite my lip, holding in the screech crawling up my throat. A moment later, the magic spits us out, and we’re standing in the circle of stones.

Riven grips my hand tighter as the stones fade and the tree circle appears. I glance at the phone in my hand. Nothing. Still no freaking signal. My chest tightens, and I take a deep breath. Somehow, I hoped it would work today. Figures. Nothing’s going my way.

I try to send a text to them again. It fails.

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