Page 513 of Flirting with Darkness

“You were always afraid to come into the woods,” he said. He tilted his head to one side, studying me. “You were afraid to end up here.”

“Yes,” I admitted.

“And then King Hier brought me home, and the doors closed forever between your world and mine.”

“Why did the king bring you home?”

“Because I’m his son,” he said.

“You’re a prince too. Why…”

“Look at me, Bethany.” His gaze held mine steadily, without a hint of self-pity or embarrassment. “I was cursed when I was just an infant by one of the low Fae, to be like them.”

“So you can’t rule?”

“No. Not like this… the High Fae would never follow me.” His lips twisted bitterly. “So the prince will rule.”

“That’s not fair!”

He turned to me with that one eyebrow quirked. “Don’t you think he’s beautiful?”

“That has nothing to do with whether he should rule or you should!”

“It means everything to the high Fae.” He tilted his head to one side again, curiously. “And you have no idea if I would be a good king or not.”

“He said he wanted a human bride for his own reasons. Why is that?”

He hesitated. “He was trying not to scare you. To force you.”

“Why, Tor?” He towered over me, but I was ready to shake him if he didn’t just answer my questions.

“Remember how those Fae treated you when they first saw you? Before they knew you were… under my protection?”

I nodded, my stomach knotting with fear at the memory.

“Many of the Fae want to begin the Wild Hunt again, when they used to hunt humans. To bring them back as servants or…” He paused, as if he’d rather not go on, but when I glared, he added, “To bring them back in pieces.”

I stared at him in shock, the knot tightening.

“They wouldn’t,” I said, but the words were empty. I’d felt how much danger I was in when I encountered those Fae; some old, prickling primordial sense warned me they would kill me and they would kill more like me if they could. “Why does the prince care?”

“He’s not a monster.” His voice was wry. “Unlike me.”

I didn’t like hearing him refer to himself as a monster. It was just his appearance. “Why doyoucare, then?”

“I caught enough glimpses of your world to know it doesn’t need any more cruelty.”

I didn’t want to parse that thought; Tor knew the weakest, most vulnerable side of myself, something I would never have shown anyone else. He knew a child that didn’t exist anymore and didn’t matter.

“How do I factor into the prince’s plan?” I asked.

“A queen wields considerable power in our world,” he said. “No one would dare attack the queen’s lands.”

“And so you need a… mortal woman,” I finished.

He inclined his head in answer.

“Well, the prince does,” I amended. “And you thought of me?”

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