Page 40 of Lord of the Hollow Court
Katty made a beautiful bride, and was rather impressive with a scrub brush—which, for some reason, counted for a great deal to him. Perhaps it was that she labored over a court that was not even hers, that she was trapped in by the geas, and yet she gave it the respect it deserved while restoring it, the way Braam himself would’ve. When he’d found her on the ballroom floor, he noticed how the exertion made her face shine and her cheeks rosy. A sweat-dampened tendril had stuck to the side of her face. He’d tried to deny it, but he’d noticed these things. As he felt that attention again, his body heated, even as he cautioned himself to act with the utmost restraint.
No, there was nothing unpleasant about this human. There were even things to like.
“Let’s go to the center,” he said, drawing her in. His cane moved with surprising ease among the leaf-strewn loam, which accommodated his aching hip with every step.
When they reached the middle, the lanterns twinkled around them, casting the world in soft shadows and flattering light. The grove was utterly theirs now. Here, he could finally relax. Here, too, would he explore these burgeoning feelings toward the human stranger who was his bride. Braam unfastened his cloak and lay it on the ground for Katty. And then, setting his cane down, he turned to her to remove her mantle.
“Turn around,” he said, trying to sound gentle. But Katty shivered under his warm fingers as he pulled the fur mantle away, and draped it across the top of his cloak like a pillow.
When he returned to her, she gazed over her shoulder at him, eyes wide and curious.Such an alluring look.
“I’ll help you with your buttons,” he said, already unbuttoning his cuffs. One cufflink with his family crest thumped into the loam.
Katty whirled, her bridal gown floating around her. Her eyes were more white than brown. “Here?”
Braam paused, hands on his cuff.Why wouldn’t it be here?“This is the fae ceremony.” He searched his knowledge of humans for the reason behind her objection, and found that knowledge sorely lacking. He could only assume a blushing maid was the same, whether fae or human. “I can assure you, the Lord’s Grove is completely private,” he said. “No one is permitted to come upon us.”
Katty wrinkled her nose at him. “But why must I change my dress here? And what am I to wear instead?”
“Do you not know?” Braam’s brows flew high.
It was the wrong thing to say. Katty recoiled, fingers combing through the lightly curled fall of her hair. “I told you, Lula didn’t tell me anything about this ceremony.”
Braam’s mouth hung open as he realized.She doesn’t understand. Do humans not instruct their children in such a key aspect of life?He shook his head, alarmed at the foolishness of it.
“Katty,” he said, then corrected himself. “Lady Katrina. We have wed according to your custom, but not to mine. To do that, we must—consummatethe marriage here, in the Lord’s Grove, to show the lands that you are my chosen mate.”
“But—were the vows for nothing then?” He saw her hands curl into loose fists.
“Fae can be tricky with words,” he said, softening his voice. The poor creature was struggling with this. It was his duty to ease her into a life with fae magic—a life withhim.“The vows we have made to one another do not mean as much as actions—as proof that we intend to be together. What better way to prove we intend to be mates than to be mates?”
“Mates,” she repeated. “Where I am from, that is sometimes used to mean friendship—or sailors on a ship.”
“Ah.” Braam saw no way around this but to be direct. “Here, a mate is the one you bed for a duration.”
“Bed.” Her gaze was hooded.
Why did she keep repeating him? “Sex, Katty. I want—I wish—the ceremony calls for you to lie down with me here instead of a bed. If that is acceptable to you.” He swallowed, then furrowed his brow. Why was he so nervous? “After, you’ll be accepted by these lands as Lady of the Hollow Court. I’ll help you back into your dress, and we’ll go on to the party.” He winced, thinking of his hip. “It doesn’t have to take long.”
Katty’s shoulders shrugged up. “It took three people—three faeries, I mean, to get me into this dress.”
“I’ll manage.” He hesitated. “’People’ does as well for faeries as for humans, actually.”
“But—”
Braam rubbed at his forehead. “If you do not wish to go through with this, I’ll understand. This is your decision. After all, it is not the only way to satisfy the geas.”
“What is that word everyone keeps saying?”
Braam shifted uneasily. He should’ve guessed she wouldn’t understand, but it was damnably hard to keep track of what a human wouldn’t know. There were witches enough out there in the world, and yet it seemed she had none of their learning—as if her life, until now, had been completely absent of magic. How could he explain it to her? “A geas,” he said, “is sort of like a promise, one magic holds you to but that you do not always make of your own free will.”
She scrunched her nose, eyes darkening as they shifted away from him, circling the Grove. Looking anywhere but at him. He’d give a twelver or two to know her thoughts just then.
“In your case,” he continued, “you incurred a geas by triggering the Wild Hunt and the destruction it caused to my court.” In more ways than she knew. He sighed, knowing he’d have to explain that to her as well, once she was his court’s Lady. She was like a fawn standing for the first time on unsteady legs, only to find herself amongst wolves. Or amongst Hollcats, in this instance. She was not yet ready to hear about Fenna de Groot. “If the damage had not affected the Hollow Court so abominably, you might’ve returned home, but as it is—”
Katty swallowed audibly. “I couldn’t have.”
“Excuse me?”
