Page 24 of Apples Dipped in Gold

I swallowed hard, looking at him.

“Excuse me?”

“I saved your life,” he said, as if that explained everything.

I stared at him and then asked, “Did I ask you to?”

He blinked. “What?”

“You say I owe you a debt because you saved my life, but I did not ask you to save my life.”

Lore tilted his head as if he did not understand me. “Are you saying you did not want to be saved?”

“I don’t know,” I said. I could not remember what I had been thinking before he killed Peter. “The point is that I did not ask, and how can there be a debt if I did not ask?”

The fox made a strange, high-pitched sound, a laugh, I realized. “Oh, she is a clever thing,” he said. “If I did not know better, I’d think she were fae!”

Lore scowled and took a step toward me. I curled my fingers into fists.

“It does not matter that you didn’t ask,” he said. “You are obligated to repay me however I choose, and Ihavechosen.”

I did not understand.

“Why me?” I asked.

“Whynotyou?” he asked.

“I am…worthless,” I said.

I had no skills, save keeping house, and still, as my brothers often reminded me, I managed to fail at that every day.

Lore studied me for a few quiet seconds, and in that time, I felt like the only thing in existence. He lifted his handbut did not touch me, only let his fingers mimic brushing my skin. I could feel their heat, even gloved. It was enough.

“You do not get to determine your worth to me,” he said and dropped his hand.

I stared at him, considering my options, though there truly was only one—to follow him and fulfill my debt. It was not as if I could go home.

“My brothers will come for me,” I said. “They have hunted and survived this forest many times.”

“So have I,” he replied. “I will keep you safe.”

A thrill went through me, warm and pleasurable. I longed to contain it, because I did not want to feel it. Fae would say anything to get their way, and I doubted this one was any different. He had, after all, saved me for a purpose that only served him. I would have to remember that if I was going to survive this.

“And after seven days?” I asked. “What happens to me if I have not managed to repay you?”

“Nothing,” he said. “You will be free.”

I almost laughed at his words but stopped myself. He did not understand—he did not know. I might be free of him, but I would never be free of my brothers.

Lore frowned and then asked, “Do you desire something else?”

I held his gaze as I answered in a hushed tone. “I have never desired anything else.”

“Truly?” he asked, his voice just as quiet, and I refused to think about the fae I had loved and all I had dreamed for us.

“Truly,” I said, glad that at least I could lie.

Chapter Four

---