Page 63 of The Fae Menagerie
"Doubt it."
He made a keening sound in the back of his throat.
"But I'll try anything once." I kissed his hair.
He wriggled in closer to me, his hand warm on my chest. I ached for eternity like this. I had fallen hard for my mortal mionblath, my little flower. I wanted him to stay with me forever.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"For what?"
"Trying to help me. I didn't expect it, but?—"
"Shh." He rolled onto his stomach and pressed his lips to mine. "I did what anyone would have done. I'm only sorry it took me longer than it would have taken a normal person."
I didn't like his comparison, as though somehow, he was abnormal, but it suited my purpose. "I don't want a normal person. I want my adorable mionblath."
"What does mionblath mean?" he asked. He pronounced it perfectly, like he'd been practicing it in his head.
Literally, the fae word translated into little flower, but I spoke the feelings in my heart instead. "Precious. Dear. Important to me."
He laughed against my lips before kissing me again. "I'm the one ring to rule them all?"
"I didn't say that." I tapped him on the ass with my palm, enough for the sound to pop, not enough to sting. "I missed out on the newHobbitmotion pictures at the theater. I don't remember what I was doing at the time, " I lied. I had been drowning my sorrows too much to catch the first two, and the third had released around the time I'd started courting Prince Drummond.
I lied, and my body didn't react. If this was a benefit of having a human fated mate, I was all for it.
"I have the complete series boxed set on Blu-ray." Parker's blush looked so pretty in the moonlight. "I readThe Hobbitin middle school and became obsessed. I loved the ring books, and all the movies. I would love to rewatch them now, with you."
"Gods, I want that, too." Yes, I was drawn to masterpieces of human cinema, but I also wanted to experience them with Parker. I wanted to watch his face light up in real time, the way it did when he read a good book. I was that guy. I wanted to watch Parker watch a movie. I loved watching him.
I loved him. Everything about him. Even his snarky retorts aimed at dangerous fae from whom he needed protecting, including Chani, Aidan, and my mother. I loved the way he ate our bland food as though he were dining at a starred restaurant.
I loved him, and the only way to save him from imminent danger was to send him away. I needed to find that fucking coin, and soon.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
PARKER
Despite our bestefforts to make the viewing room floor comfortable, it was not. My knee ached where it rested on the stone tile floor beneath the blanket. My neck burned until I popped it, but the relief didn't last. It was going to bother me all day, along with my tight shoulders and my left collarbone. I tried to roll my shoulders to loosen them and received shooting pains down both arms for my efforts.
I was only twenty-nine years old, or thirty now, since I'd been here for several months. It had to be at least June back home, and my birthday was in May. These aches and pains after one night on the floor should not have impaired me. Did I age faster in the fae realm? Was that something else I needed to worry about, on top of everything else?
The rosy light of sunrise eased some of my anxiety. It was pretty here, at least. No buildings marred the horizon. No bad weather found its way inside our enclosure. Every morning dawned like a bright summer day, though sometimes rain pelted against the glass. Even storm clouds possessed a violent beauty I'd never noticed. If we weren't trapped here, it would be a nice place to visit, but only after we replaced the uncomfortable furniture.
Doyle stirred beside me. "Morning already?" he muttered.
"Why is your bed so comfortable?" I asked.
"It would be fucking awful otherwise?" Doyle frowned up at me from his position on his side.
"It would, but human prisoners have uncomfortable beds, I think?" I'd stumbled upon reality television shows from jails and prisons, and the beds looked lumpy and hard.
"Mother wanted me to hide away in my bedroom and pout like the spoiled child I am," he said. "She still doesn't see me as an adult, after millennia. It's the way of the fae, I suppose. Our bodies develop at the same rate as humans, but we're considered young until our parents die or leave for another realm."
I knew a little about the other realms from my reading, but I was still curious about them. "Has your mother ever considered leaving?"
