Page 37 of Curse the Fae

My fingers flex around the handle. “You took what was mine, you barbarian. I had a right to take it back. I didn’t give it to you as payment for a favor, nor did I trade it with you in some frivolous bargain. Not that I would do either, and not that you’re the favoring or bargaining type, even if you are one of the Folk. But if you want to reclaim what’s mine, we could always take another battle lap around the river. Not that I’m anxious to do that. I’d rather keep my only means of protection. Unless of course—”

The current snatches the spear and pitches it into Elixir’s waiting grasp.

My mouth falls open. “Conniving, thieving river!” I snap at the ripples.

The Fae’s lips spasm with underlying mirth. “It is water. It cannot hear you.” He runs his free palm across the surface. “But we are bonded. It will move if I beseech it. That is, when it allows me the power to do so.”

His point is clear. If he wants my weapon, he can pluck it from me at any time. This ruler scarcely needs to lift a finger, much less combat a mortal over the spear. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him maneuver the water, and it explains the cascade wall he’d created in his den, and why the daggers don’t drift away.

Withdrawing his hand from the river, Elixir runs his digits over my weapon, then tosses it to me. I catch the spear, nearly thrown off balance.

“I will not take it from you,” he says with a grudge. “Faeries cannot take objects twice.”

I puff out a humorous laugh while paddling to stay above water and simultaneously balance the spear. “And here, I’d anticipated you would actually say something honorable.”

He closes the distance between us, runnels drizzling down the brick wall of his chest. “Is that what you desire in a person? Honor?”

“How does that concern you?”

“It does not,” he acknowledges yet doesn’t revoke the question.

If I answer, he’ll dissect my response and manipulate it for all it’s worth. “I would explain, but I’ll spare you the embarrassment.”

He frowns. “Embarrassment.”

“Embarrassment because you wouldn’t understand. Honor is a concept Faeries can’t conceive of. Plus, you’d never be able to comprehend my desires, not even if I spelled them out to you.”

Elixir’s incisors flash. “Then what is the harm in trying?”

The air crackles. My eyes lurch from Elixir’s face to his chiseled torso and back up, animosity converging with the stifling temperature. A discomforting warmth spools down my stomach. Suddenly, I want to drink something cool from a tall glass that sweats with condensation.

The Fae’s nose twitches. He inhales, and his nostrils to flare as though he’d rather bite into something than sip from a vessel. For an instant, his face simmers, enthralled by whatever scent he’s picked up.

Then he jerks back to attention and snaps, “How did you escape the cascade?”

That’s an easier matter to deal with. “I dove into your brewing vat.”

“Without knowing if it was poisoned.” Those eyes glint with surprise, offense, and a third, farfetched emotion that visibly unsettles him.

Truly, there’s no point in lying. Not only am I terrible at it, but I can’t think of an alternative story. Although giving him cause to be more severe is unwise, I also don’t want him underrating me.

“What choice did I have?” I tell him. “After that conversation with your so-called brothers about making the games hurt, I wasn’t going to give you an excuse to up the ante. There was a chance you honestly didn’t know I was there, a chance I could flee with you unaware. I had to take it. But you did know I was there.”

Elixir nods. “We all did.”

“Which means the three of you could have said whatever you wanted me to hear.”

“What we wanted you to hear,” he repeats while pushing toward me. “And what makes you think you’re worth that effort?”

Meaning, I’m just that inconsequential, just that harmless a threat. I lift my chin. “Don’t underestimate me or my sisters.”

The Fae sneers. “Mortal confidence.”

I would very much like to punch him now. Instead, my tongue gives this viper the lashing he deserves. “I’m worth the effort if you had to confiscate my weapon in the first place, if Puck has to deface my sister’s archery as well, and if Cerulean’s been contemplating the strengths of my other sister’s whip. I’m worth the effort if you need to maroon me on an isle surrounded by a sinking lake. I’m worth the effort if I managed to get past that obstacle anyway, and I’m worth the effort if you conjured that watery wall in your den. Therefore, and in conclusion, and for all intents and purposes, I’m very much worth every bit of effort.” I lick my lips. “The end.”

Elixir’s head jerks toward my mouth. And I think…I think he’d heard the wet drag of my tongue, because when he answers, his baritone is even deeper and darker. “Exercise that fucking tongue all you like, for it shall not be so powerful if it reveals a vulnerability.”

I must have imagined the husk in his tone, which doesn’t match the aggravated look on his face. I open my mouth to respond. The river jostles, the water swishing against us.

---