Page 9 of Tempting the Fae Lord
We stand side by side at the arched entryway, watching the trail of villagers get smaller and smaller as they descend. “I thought you liked living here.”
“I do,” she says. “Most of the time.”
“And the rest of the time?”
“The rest of the time, not that it matters, I wonder what a hot summer day would feel like. What a bustling city with crowded streets and colorful shops might have to offer.” Her gaze grows wistful. “Water warm enough to swim in, how would that be?”
I cram my hands into my pockets. “Do you ever wonder about your real family?”
“Pfft.” She thwacks my chest with the back of her hand. “Don’t be silly. You are my real family. You, Chester, Amaris, and the others. Even him. You’re all the family I need.”
Her sweet sentiment lands warm on my heart.
I squint. A lone rider travels in the opposite direction, toward us rather than away. “Reckon they forgot something?”
Eulayla sees him too. “That’s not one of ours.”
Before it’s out of her mouth, I notice the purple and gold banner of a messenger. “Do you think it’s?—”
“Now don’t go getting ahead of yourself. An abandoned babe isn’t the only reason we get messengers.”
I stare. “Yes, it is.”
“All right. It generally is. Still, it might not be that.”
My emotions are all over the place. A wee fae babe with both parents gone dormant is sad, of course, but also… This could be my chance.
He’ll have to go through the gate to swap them for a human baby. If I could only convince him to take me along, show me where I came from, I could find?—
“Better hurry back inside,” says Eulayla. “I’ll need to prepare something hot for the messenger. He’s likely to be half-frozen and starved. And you’ll need to switch over the guest quarters. Remember how the villagers left it last time?” She turns and trundles back toward the keep. “A mess! Chester labored for two full days cleaning up after them. You’re young, though. Won’t take you as long.”
She’s still chattering away as I imagine a happy reunion with hugs and kisses and stories and sweet cakes and a mother and fa?—
“Come on, lollygagsy, those bed linens won’t change themselves.”
I jog to catch up, but my daydreams run absolutely wild.
The messenger’sname is Callum, and he can’t be persuaded to give his message to anyone but the Gatekeeper himself, even though we all know what news the message will bring.
Which means waiting all day for the master of the house to rise.
By twilight, I’ve thought myself into a tizzy. Not only am I guaranteed to see the Gatekeeper any second now, but my new mission consumes my mind: To see what’s on the other side of that gate.
What will it take to convince him to allow me to tag along?
I have no magic to contribute, no special powers, no super strength. But I’m a handy sort of person to have around. I could set up camp, tend to the horses, cook the meals, or—Wait, he doesn’t eat meals. Well, he does. But not the kind of food one cooks.
I couldbethe meals, if only he’d change his mind and feed from me.
And now I’m thinking of food, which isn’t the best thing to be thinking of. I’ve been too worked up to eat all day, so whatever happens tonight, I’ll face it with an empty stomach. My belly growls as if in protest.
At least dusk is finally settling over the frozen landscape.
Instead of the gaming parlor, we gather in what any other castle would call a Great Hall, but we call the sneezing pit because it’s so seldom in use every surface is covered with a thick layer of dust that must be cleaned away before the Gatekeeper wakes.
Having done that with brooms and rags and lye soap, we only need to complete the finishing touches. I polish the iron throne till it shines, and Marissa adds a blue velvet cushion upon the seat.
Rows of wall sconces cast an eerie, orange glow, and fae lights sparkle golden overhead. We rarely use these. Their magical presence distracts me, their reflections making the black marble floors glitter like freshly fallen snow. But it’s warm tonight with two hearths blazing bright on either side of the expansive hall.
