Page 43 of A Bargain with the Fae King

He freezes, head snapping toward me. The distance between us closes in three quick strides until he looks down at me from inches away. “A mistake. One I bitterly regret.”

I search for a retort, anything to fling at him to calm the fire of guilt and pain raging within me. My hand clenches and unclenches at my side as I came up empty.

“Why did you want his help?” His tone is deathly calm, almost icy.

I shrug. “Because we might need it.”

Riven looks past me at the night still darkening the sky outside the balcony. “What is he playing at?”

The question was a whisper through a clenched jaw and not directed to me, but I answer anyway. “Maybe he does want to help.”

“Unlikely.”

His attention shifts back to me, and his eyes soften. The muscles in his face relax. Riven’s hand caresses my face, scrubbing at something on my cheek. That simple touch stirs up so much. Everything fades until only he and I are left.

“When I saw that Unseelie coming for you…” He shakes his head. “If I’d lost you…”

His face dips closer to mine, cocking slightly to the side. My heart kicks into high gear. All my focus drips to his slightly parted mouth, my tongue moistening my lips in anticipation. He’s warm, solid, strong, real—everything I need.

A loud knock sounds at the door, causing us to jump apart far too soon.

The door swings inward, held open by one of the guards, as a woman strides in. Her brown hair, pulled back behind her head, highlights pale, pointed ears. Golden eyes shine out of a middle-aged face. A tray is balanced in her hands with two steaming cups.

“Karin, thank you for coming so quickly,” Riven says.

“I came prepared. My girls will bring food along shortly, but for now—” She halts, her gaze sweeping me head to toe and then moving over to Riven. “Oh, my word. What happened?”

He runs his hand through his hair again and looks away.

“Poor dear.” Karin basically drops the tray on a table and rushes in my direction. “And you just let her linger in this mess.” She shakes her head in dismay. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

I’m too exhausted—mentally, physically, and emotionally—to argue as she drags me to the washroom.

Chapter 13

Aseriesofplant-coatedarchways curve down from the ceiling to waist high on one side of the washroom, letting in the cool night air. The view beyond is starlight and treetops. Calm. Peaceful. The opposite of me.

A splash catches my attention. A torrent of lightly steaming water flows like a small waterfall into the stone bathtub below it. Karin moves around the room on autopilot, lighting more little lanterns, grabbing towels and a basket of small vials, and who knows what else. The water has me transfixed. I long to dive in and scrub my skin until it’s red and raw.

“Shall I wash your hair for you?” she asks.

Heat floods my cheeks.

“I, uh…I think I can handle it myself,” I say gently, trying not to offend her. For all I know, that’s common here, but it sure as heck isn’t where I’m from. At the salon? Sure. Naked, in a tub? Nope. “I’d like to be alone. If that’s all right.”

Karin nods, replacing a vial she’d pulled from the basket. “There’s a robe on the shelf.” She points to the dark wood piece near a matching bench. “I’ll lay out some clean clothes for you in the other room.”

“Thank you. Really.” I lay on the sugar, as Grandma used to say. “I appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem at all.” Her sweet smile and gentle pat on my arm as she departs mirror the kindness of her words.

Alone in the steaming water, I hug my knees to my chest, trying to hold in the sobs that threaten to overtake me. Without distractions, all my thoughts return to May. Have they kept her asleep? Is she hurt? Not knowing eats away at me. Those worries terrify me more than the dark stains on my clothes, even more than the blood matted in my braid.

I choke down a sniffle and eye the vials sparkling in the lamplight.

Nothing a good hot shower can’t fix, Elise likes to say. I doubt she’s right in this case, but it can’t hurt.

The door creaks open behind me. Karin returning?

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