Page 67 of The Iron Vow

“Isn’t it also tradition,” he said, “that it is theyoungestsons and daughters that dance with each other as a show of goodwill between the courts?”

Rowan’s smile faded, but Mab turned to him, looking surprised but also pleased. “It is,” she said, nodding. “Although, this is surprising, prince. Areyouoffering to dance with the girl, then?”

He could feel Rowan’s glare, promising retribution, but he shrugged and looked away. “If that is what is required of me.”

He hoped none of them could hear his heart pounding beneath his shirt.

“So, this is Oberon’s famous half-blood.”

She was afraid of him.

He could sense her fear when she whirled in her seat at the high table, her large blue eyes widening with alarm. It was understandable. He had just chased her and Puck through the wyldwood and had even shot a couple arrows in their direction. True, they had been aimed at Puck, but that probably didn’t matter to her. She knew him only as an enemy, as someone who should be feared.

He stood calmly beside her chair and resisted the urge to clench his fists.Up close, she looked even more like Ariella, a younger, more naive version of the Winter faery he had lost. A sudden stab of disgusted fury lanced through him. How dare he compare this human girl to Ariella? She was nothing like her.

“And to think,” he went on, “I lost you that day in the forest and didn’t even know what I was chasing.”

She shrank back from him a little, but her eyes flashed. So, she did have some fight in her, after all. “I warn you,” she said, trying not to show her fear, “that if you try anything, my father will remove your head and stick it to a plaque on his wall.”

He almost smiled. Not many would openly threaten him like that, even if she was threatening him with her father. “There are worse things,” he said, and watched her eyes widen in horror. Oh, she was interesting. “Don’t worry, princess,” he said, giving her a faint smile. “I won’t break the rules of Elysium. I have no intention of facing Mab’s wrath should I embarrass her. That’s not why I’m here.”

She eyed him warily. “Then what do you want?”

What did he want? He suddenly wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know why she was in the Nevernever. Why now, when she had lived her entire mortal life in the human world?

Catching himself, he squashed that curiosity, shoving it back where it came from. It didn’t matter why she was here, he told himself. She was Oberon’s daughter, a princess of the Summer Court, and his enemy. He just needed to get through this dance, and then he could return to pondering if he should kill her or not.

Stepping back, he offered a perfectly polite bow. “A dance.”

“What?”She gave him a look of disbelief. “You tried to kill me!”

“Technically, I was trying to kill Puck,” he said. “You just happened to be there. But yes,” he admitted. “If I’d had the shot, I would have taken it.”

“Then why the hell would you think I’d dance with you?”

In that moment, she seemed very human, masking fear with anger. She was just a girl, he reminded himself. A half-human girl, who knew nothing about the ways of Faery. “That was then,” he said flatly. “This is now. And it’s tradition in Elysium that a son and daughter of opposite territories dance with each other, to demonstrate the goodwill between the courts.”

“Well, I just got here,” she argued, and crossed her arms. “I don’t know anything about faery traditions. So, you can forget it.” She glared stubbornly. “I am not going anywhere with you.”

He raised an eyebrow, not certain whether he was amused or annoyed. “Would you insult my monarch, Queen Mab, by refusing?” he asked softly. “She would take it very personally, and blame Oberon for the offense. And Mab can hold a grudge for a very, very long time.”

That did it. She protested again, muttering about choice, but her hesitation faded, replaced by fear. So she did understand enough to know what angering the fey would mean, especially someone as volatile and powerful as Mab.

He held out his hand, assuring her she did, truly, have a choice, and he would not force her and would, in fact, be a perfect gentleman, at least until the night was done. And after a pause, she rose from her seat and placed her fingers in his.

That contact sent a tingle racing all the way up his arm, so much that he almost pulled his hand back. Thankfully, the girl seemed too nervous about dancing in front of a crowd of fey to notice, and he schooled his expression into a blank mask as they made their way toward the open space that would serve as the dance floor. She trembled, mumbling something that sounded like a curse and how she couldn’t dance, and he tightened his grip on her hand.

“You’ll be fine,” he said, leading her to the center of the dance floor and deliberately not looking at her. As they bowed and curtsied to the rulers of Faery and became the focus of the courts, he could feel her shaking. He turned to her, saw those blue eyes gazing up at him, frightened but strangely trusting, and that strange shiver went through him once more. “Just follow my lead.”

Shewasa terrible dancer at first. She tripped over her own feet and nearly stepped on his toes as they circled the floor, which both amused and bewildered him. How could a princess of the Summer Court, even one who was half-human, be so bad at something that came naturally to every faery? He hoped it was just the fact that she was so nervous that was causing her awkwardness; even though she was with him, this was painful.

“So.” The girl paused, and nearly tripped over her own feet again. He kept a firm grip to keep her upright. “You’re Queen Mab’s son, right?”

“I think we’ve established that, yes.”

“Does she like to...collect things?” He gave her a puzzled look, and she hurried on. “Humans, I mean? Does she have a lot of humans in her court?”

“A few.” Apparently, talking was helping her forget her fear. He twirled her, and this time she went with it, returning to his arms as if she did it every day. “Mab usually gets bored with mortals after a few years,” he explained as she gazed up at him. “She either releases them or turns them into something more interesting, depending on her mood.” The girl’s face went pale, and he frowned. “Why?”

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