Page 24 of A Bargain with the Fae King

“It’s easier to search with you here. Once they’ve located her whereabouts, we’ll go.”

“You make it sound so easy.” Frustrated, I get up and walk out onto the balcony.

Trees arc overhead, rising up from walls that are a mix of plant and stone, just like the rest of the castle I’ve seen so far. I lean against the cool railing that hits just below my breasts. We’re higher than I thought. It’s a lucky thing heights don’t bother me…too much. The balcony looks out over the sprawling complex, trees and plant life springing up among stonework. Little lights filter up from below like huge fireflies floating idly in a field. I blink, but the image stays the same. A vast forest, or at least what appears to be a forest, stretches out toward the horizon.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. The clean, floral scents fill my nose and calm my senses. I’ve always loved the night, especially in recent months.

A faint rustling sounds behind me. Moments later, Riven is at my side, arms propped on the railing, looking out over the scene below. The breeze blows his long hair. Moonlight paints his skin in even paler hues.

He truly looks like a Forest King here, one assessing his domain and finding it perfect.

“She will be safe.” The certainty in his voice wraps me in a blanket of comfort and calm. He can’t lie, right? If he believes it, then it has to be true.

She’ll be all right. She has to be.

Chapter 7

Maybethewineisstarting to do its work, but I finally build myself up to asking about one part of our bargain that keeps swimming up to the surface of my mind. I raise my wine glass to him in a mock toast.

“In our bargain, you mentioned that I would bear your mark. What does that mean exactly?”Please don’t say you’re going to bite my neck like a vampire. Vampires don’t do it for me. Blood? Big no go.

He looks at me calmly, almost like a normal man having a conversation over a cup of coffee on a weekend morning. For a brief moment, I delude myself into believing that vision.

“A mark is both a magical and physical representation of a fae mating bond,” he rattles off as if reading from a textbook. “When two partners willingly consummate their partnership, the mark appears on their bodies as a physical symbol, a tattoo, you might call it. It has its own magical presence as well, which can be felt by anyone with even limited magical ability. It will remain as long as the two continue to be intimate together and will fade over time without it.”

Certain key words stick out in my wine-fogged mind: Consummate. Tattoo. Willing.

Riven slides closer and brushes some stray hairs out of my face. His touch is feather-light, almost gentle. I nearly spill my remaining wine as I back away and knock into the railing.

A mischievous grin spreads across his inhuman features. He whispers, “More simply put, once we’re together, everyone will know that you are mine.”

I groan.“Just when I’m starting to think you’re a nice guy, you go off and say something like that. Seriously, ugh!” I slam the glass down on the railing a little too hard. It clinks but doesn’t break. “And you just had to go and announce that in front of”—I gesture to a host of invisible fae around me—“everyone?”

His eyes twinkle. “You’d rather have every one of them seeking your hand?”

My eyes nearly roll out of my head. Yeah right. I tug at my worn shirt. Like any of those glamorous fae would want a little human like me.

Long fingers graze my shoulder and trail down my arm, causing me to shiver despite the warmth of the night. “You should get some rest.”

Rest, right. It’s gotta be super late, but with May still out there… I bite my lip and look back out over the forest.

Riven’s hand twines with mine and gives it a squeeze. “We’ll get her back as soon as my guards locate the ones who took her. You’ll want to be there, I assume?”

My attention snaps to him. “Of course.”

He leads me back inside, the wine forgotten on the railing. We pass through a curtain of honeysuckle vines dripping with blooms and enter another room lit by the same little flames under crystal. A large bed in the center of the back wall snags my attention. Layers of pillows, sheets, and furs dominate its surface.

Warmth creeps up my neck. A bedroom. Of course, he said sleep, but…

“There’s only one bed,” I practically vomit the words.

A small chuckle slips into the silence as Riven squeezes my hand. “You did agree to be my consort.”

Holy shit.I rip my hand away.

“I d-did, but…” Now? Right now?

“We have a bargain that—”

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