Page 9 of A Bride for the Winter King
The staple of every Fae wedding starts to play, a heart-wrenching love song written by the most famous singer of all time, Elizabeth Snow. I take another long swig of champagne at the familiar melody, grateful to erase the lingering taste of spider silk on my tongue.
“What a lovely song.” Cece dumps her empty glass on a magic tray and hooks her small arm around Jo’s, pulling him forward. “Let’s dance!”
Misha and Cary exchange a quick kiss before joining the other couples on the dance floor, and Seth holds out his hand. “It’d be rude not to.”
I hold up my index finger. “One dance.”
“I don’t think this reception is supposed to last longer than a few songs, anyway.” Seth pulls me close to him, the classic waltz suddenly very dirty-dancing. “In Spring, the bride and groom go straight to the honeymoon suite—a big, lavish tent set near the buffet. The guests drink to their health all night—along with the obligatory peeks through the tarps, naturally.”
I chuckle at the absurdity of Fae traditions. “There won’t be anypeekinghere, I assure you. But public sex sounds downright benign compared to the Yule pageant.”
“Winter peeps need big, flashy drama to sweeten their cold hearts,” he twirls me around. “It’s a tradition that dates back a thousand years, at least—though they didn’t use to last that long, nor come along every year.”
I chew on that for a moment, wondering exactly how this egregious spectacle started in the first place. “Are you saying that the Winter King chose his first queen through a contest, too?”
Seth nods. “Back then, there were only four prospective brides—a princess from each of the first kingdoms. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. Elio was crowned king days before the solstice and scrambled to get married quickly. He and Iris had met before, at the Academy. Elio was already enamored with her, so his first Yule pageant barely took two hours.”
“Wow.”
Two hours to decide who to spend the rest of your life with. No pressure.
The music stops. Seth looks down at his wrist and taps an imaginary watch. “I’d love to chat with you until dawn, but if you’re in, we’ve got to go. The Yule pageant starts in ten hours.If we are to pass you off as a Spring rose, you need your beauty sleep.”
I gape at his confidence. He doesn’t know half the story, and only glimpsed at my true hatred for Morrigan.
“Going once…” he trails off.
“Stop it!”
“Going twice.”
My shoulders sag. “Alright. Let me talk to Damian and Nell alone.”
There’s no good option here, but I see no way around Seth’s offer. Damian can’t afford the necessary manpower to chase Morrigan throughout Faerie, and if I refuse, Ayaan will hang. The Shadow Court doesn’t have much sway in Spring.
The happy couple stops swaying to the music at my approach, and Nell’s face falls like she knows exactly what I’m going to say. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“If I can help Ayaan…” I throw a quick glance behind me to make sure Seth is out of earshot. “Our mother was born on the fringes of Spring. She never used the wordrebel, but her tumultuous childhood landed her in jail. After her so-called friends left her to die in that place, she served her sentence and left Faerie to blend into the new world and change her life. She always made us promise never to disclose her name, so thatbad peoplefrom her past could never track us down. If Ayaan was naive enough to be roped in by some rebel scheme… I have to do everything in my power to help.”
“Then you have my blessing, of course,” Damian says.
I’m proud to serve him, really. More than ever. With enough luck, I can help Seth capture Morrigan as a bonus. It’ll feel good to take the fight to her instead of merely waiting for her to strike again.
I offer him a gentle bow. “Thank you, my king. I will strive to be worthy of your teachings.” I punctuate the stuffy speech with a wink.
“I’m only a summons away. If shit hits the fan, pray for me,” he says.
“Will do, boss.”
Nell follows me to the outskirts of the dance floor and squeezes my hands. “If he tries anything you’re not okay with, come home, and we’ll find another way to save Ayaan.”
I offer her a sad smile, her optimism endearing but not contagious. Seth is my only chance to save my brother’s life. “Go and be with your man, Old World. You have until midnight to consummate this union.”
Another silly Fae tradition, but oh-so-important if she wants to seal the deal, so to speak.
A deep shade of red brands her cheeks. “Be careful, okay?”
“I promise.”
