Page 19 of A Bargain with the Fae King

I pull away. Too hard. I’m falling. Two others catch my arms. They’re dressed alike in sheer green with flowering vines laced through blond hair. Twins? There’s a pull and tug as they war for possession before I jerk away.

My breath comes in short gasps. Sweat slides down my back. Fae advance. I shove them away and slip past. It’s rude. I don’t care. So are they.

This is a nightmare. I can’t escape.

An arm wraps around my waist, and I screech. They pull me in. I slam my fist against a hard chest.

“Lia.”

My head snaps up, and I’m staring into the grinning face of the Forest King.

“Riven,” his name cracks from my lips, half a sob.

His form wavers behind a haze of unbidden tears, but that’s definitely a twisting crown of gold and emeralds on his head. Riven. A king.Theking. My body goes limp as I give in to his embrace, letting him cradle me against the silky, soft material of his clothes.

“You came,” he says. Long fingers slide through my hair and cup my head.

I’m all too eager to bury my face, forget these fae, forget every single moment since I woke up. One giant never-ending nightmare.

But I can’t. Not yet. Not until I find May. I suck in a breath full of honeysuckle and pull back.

“May is missing. Kidnapped.” I drop my voice and lean in. “She’s here. The…er, fae near the door, they smelled a child. It has to be her.”

His face grows solemn. “Yes, she’s here.”

How could he know? Unless…

I shove at him but end up stumbling back myself. “How could you!”

The other fae have stepped away, leaving us the center of an empty ring. They’re looking at us. Whispering. Nudging one another.

I don’t care. “Y-you stole my sister!”

“Have I?” He questioned innocently, raising his brows and cocking his head to the side. His empty hands are lifted, palms up, in the air between us. This man before me is nothing like the one I know, yet there’s no question who he is.

My lips thin. “Yes, you—”

“I did not steal May.”

“You’re lying.”

Gasps fill the air. The music has gone quiet, everyone listening in.

He shakes his head, almost sadly. “The fae cannot lie.”

The same thing Galen said. Beyond Riven, I can just make out the bob of heads, others agreeing with him.

My hands ball into fists. “Then how do you know she’s here?”

Riven’s stance relaxes. That grin is back, taunting me. He looks every bit the king staring down a worthless subject, and I hate it.

“My wards alerted us that a human came through.” He gestures around us. “My captain of the guard confirmed the scent matches the area where you and May were near the door yesterday, so it must be your sister.”

I narrow my eyes at him, trying find a lie, but the words ring of truth. As they should if he truly cannot lie.

“And he found this.” Riven pulls a tiny, torn scrap of fabric from inside his coat.

I lurch forward and yank it from his hand. My heart threatens to crush into powder at the familiar pattern of little blue bunnies—May’s favorite pajamas.

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