Page 151 of Flirting with Darkness

With a muttered “Thank you,” I took one, and we started after Granny.

“A month?” I spoke softly. “Isn’t there any way of getting out of this? Or leaving sooner?”

“Nope.” He didn’t take his eyes off her as we crossed the gravel drive.

“I don’t have time to stay here a whole month. Ari needs me.”

That brought his gaze to mine. “No, little flower. Right now, you’re trapped in an unknown entity’s home.Youneed you.”

My eyebrows shot up, eyes widening. “You said this wouldn’t be so bad.”

“We don’t know what she is.” He shook his head and gestured to shapes carved into the stone above the door. They were almost letters, but not like the ones Ari’s pa had taught us. “That’s the language of spells. And I’d bet my arse there are more on the walls around the whole estate that mean we must stay until our month is up.” His brows drew lower as his gaze followed the text. “It’s a ceremonial script. Fucking old. A geas against speaking of…” His eyes bulged. “Oh shit.”

Seeing him taken aback turned my blood cold. “What?”

“It’s a geas against speaking of…” He opened his mouth, but no more words came out. He tugged on his collar and swallowed, but when his mouth opened again, still nothing came. Sweat beaded on his temple. “I can’t say.”

We passed under the carved spell and into a grand entrance way. “This way,” Granny called from the top of a sweeping staircase. “I’ll show you to your room.”

Faolán made that low sound in his throat. “Nothing we can do about it now,” he muttered, angling towards me as we crossed the hall. “No harm in making the most out of a comfortable bed and some decent meals.”

A month. The very idea fisted in my empty stomach. Ari would be on her own. I had to find a way out of here. I couldn’t leave her to that fate.

Eyes burning, I started up the staircase.

“Rose.” Faolán stopped.

That made me pause and meet his gaze.

His eyes were hard again, almost in that look of certainty, but there was something else, something edged. He placed his hand on my shoulder, its weight strangely reassuring. “Whatever happens here, don’t let your guard down.”

* * *

Granny showed us to a bedroom bigger than my family’s entire house. I tried not to stare, but this place was huge and the decoration wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen. Every surface had been painted or gilded in gold, black, or a crimson red the same colour as the apple I’d eaten. Dozens of candles cast the room with a warm, flickering light. Everything gleamed—even the fabrics glistened, all fine silks and thick velvets. Twisting vines patterned the lush carpets and wall hangings, as well as the drapery over the bed.

The one, very large bed.

The ghost of Faolán’s weight and the heat of his breath on my lips washed over me.

I’d married him. It was for survival. And it complicated things.

The marriage was for a year and a day, but nothing could stop me from grabbing Ari, taking her back home, and leaving him in Elfhame. But now we were stuck together for a month—a fucking month.

We definitely couldn’t do anything, even just for fun. Even if I somehow found myself fancying a bit of something as rough as him. Admittedly, my body had responded to his last night, just for a moment. But the last thing I needed was for him to catch feelings—orthinkhe had.

Humans. Fae. Tragedy. End of story.

At least he hadn’t shown any desire to call in our bargain or make the most of the “pretty human” now bound to him.

“I’ll leave you two to settle in to your room for the next month. You’ll be able to leave at dawn after your thirtieth night. In the meantime, the house will look after you. Supper will be along soon. If you need anything else, just ask.” Granny smiled from the doorway and disappeared.

Faolán scratched the back of his neck, staring at the closed door for long seconds. “Hmm.”

I hefted my bag onto an armchair by the fire. “What do you think she is?”

“Not sure. Just remember what I said—”

“‘Don’t let your guard down.’ Got it.”

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