Page 12 of A Bargain with the Fae King

Yes, I want to see him and explain things. So much. But here at our cabin? At night? My nails dig into my palms. Dad would kill me if he found out—doesn’t matter that I’m old enough not to need his permission to see anyone I want. Even if I was fifty, he’d still find a way to scold me for sneaking someone into the house at night.

I creep around the house on bare feet, stealing like a thief through the night as I check the door locks, the windows, look inside closets, in the cabinets, anywhere a body can fit.

Nothing. Not a damn thing out of place either.

I run my hand through my hair, fighting against the ever-present tangles. Far away, an owl hoots. The bugs strike up their midnight symphony once again.

Overreacting, Lia. Just overreacting. Who wouldn’t after learning Fae are real?

I sigh and climb the stairs toward the bedrooms on light feet, dodging the spots that always squeak. No sense in waking Dad and Elise now when everything is back to normal.

At the top of the stairs, I halt. Something’s still off. The wrongness of it echoes in my bones, tugging at me like a caught thread. I peek back in my room, half expecting to find Riven lying on my bed, a grin on his face.

Alas… My shoulders drop as I take in the space. My bed is empty. As always.

There’re only two rooms I haven’t checked: the suite Dad and Elise share and May’s room.

May.

My blood runs cold. She was at the door with me. She saw the bear, the Unseelie? I lunge to her door and throw it open.

Empty.

Her bed is empty.

All the world goes still and stops as I stare at the rumpled pink sheets.

“May!” The scream cracks as bad as my heart. My knees crash to the ground next to her bed as I look under it. Nothing. Nor behind the door.

I suck in one short breath after another.

Empty. It’s just—She’s just—

“What’s going on?” Elise stands wide-eyed in the doorway.

Her pale blue nightgown is a hazy blur through the tears streaming down my face. “I can’t find May.”

Elise goes rigid before springing to the bed. She shoves me out of the way as she searches all the places I’ve already looked while calling for her daughter.

From the corner of my eye, I catch Dad bolt toward the stairs in nothing but his boxer shorts, calling for his youngest child. But I’ve already looked there. And here. Everywhere except my parent’s room, which they were just in. Elise flees from the room, back to her own, where various objects thump onto the floor as she roots around, still calling for May.

Nausea bubbles up in my throat, threatening to choke me.

A stiff breeze blows my hair around my face, snapping me out of the shock threatening to overwhelm me. The window near the bed is open. Thick curtains ruffle in the breeze.

I lurch to the window. My fingers dig into the frame as I poke my head out the open bottom pane, fearing what I might see below.

Nothing.

Thank you, Jesus.

Elise runs down the stairs as I pull my head back in.

“Anything?” Dad’s voice floats up from the stairwell.

“No.” Her reply is a half-sob.

“The doors are still locked. What about the windows?”

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