Page 88 of A Bargain with the Fae King

Claws.Not human, Lia. Don’t forget it.

The chest of drawers nearby contains several sets of clothing brought from Virideria. I pull out a dark green nightgown and slip it over my head before padding out into the main sitting room.

Riven sits at a desk to one side of the room, studying a large book laid open on the table before him. His hair is pulled back this morning, and he wears some loose pants similar to the ones I tried to divest him of last night.

With his super-human hearing, he’s probably heard me by now, but he doesn’t turn as I cross the room, coming up behind him. He turns the page. I peer over his shoulder on my tiptoes, hands propped on the back of his chair.

Fae words are scrawled across the page in neat lines.

“I can’t read it,” I say as my feet come to rest back on my heels. Not a bespelled book then. Bummer.

Riven doesn’t respond at first, completely engrossed in whatever it says. Eventually, he raises his head and looks back over one shoulder at me, a pleasant half-smile brightening his features.

“Good morning.” He waves a hand and beckons me to stand next to him at the desk.

I comply.

The large book, almost two feet across, occupies a sizeable portion of the desk. Its edges are worn and frayed, showing its heavy use. A faint odd scent, like an antique store, wafts from its pages. Despite the apparent age, the pages retain their clarity and sturdiness. Time hasn’t taken its toll on them as it has the binding.

“What’s it about?”

“It’s a former king’s account of the events of his reign.”

The book is thick. Either the king was verbose, or his reign had been very long.

“That sounds…interesting?” I reply, searching for the right word. Reading about history first thing in the morning sounds incredibly boring, even to someone like me who geeks out to the history channel on occasion.

Riven chuckles. “Most of it’s actually rather dull.”

He pushes his chair back from the desk but doesn’t move to rise. Sitting there, shirtless, with his legs apart, the invitation to come and sit in his lap is as clear as if he’d spoken it. The mischief dancing in his eyes makes the offer extra appealing.

I lick my lips. Tempting, so tempting, but that would likely lead to other things, which would draw me deeper into the black hole that is Riven.

Not what I need when we should be searching for my sister.

I hop onto the edge of the desk instead. But sitting like this, with my bare feet dangling in the air, I can’t ignore exactly how short this nightgown is or the way the wood grain tugs it up further.

Ugh.Maybe not the better choice after all.

“So.” I search for something, anything, to break up the sexual tension. “If the book is so dull, what were you reading about so intently?”

Riven sighs and adjusts his posture, crossing one ankle over his knee.

“He describes an object that was created as a gift to a group of humans with which they had close relations. However, after some time, relations broke down between that clan of humans and the fae. A human witch sought revenge via our own gift.” Pointed fangs peek out of a soft snarl. “She used it against us and then hid it here in Faery.”

Interesting. Except witches aren’t real. Although, fae aren’t supposed to be either.

“Humans don’t have magic.” I say. “At least none I’ve ever heard of.”

“Really?” Riven replies with a small frown. “That’s a pity. Many of our records describe some of the gifted having magic. It’s not as powerful as our own, but it would be a shame if it has died out completely.”

No kidding. Magic would be so helpful, not to mention fun. But that can wait. “What’s the object? Why did the fae give it to humans?”

“It’s an enchanted stone. When more humans visited this land, we often gave them gifts. A fair return for their presence here and their ability to enliven our magic and our land. This encouraged humans to visit, of course, and kept the relations between our people strong.”

“You don’t give humans gifts anymore?” I raise my eyebrows at him, half teasing, but also somewhat serious.

Riven grins. “Have you not received any gifts?”

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