Page 16 of Seduced By Darkness
Nothing else matters.
4
Iskvien
The music takes my breath away as fae leap and dance. My mother’s celebrations are hedonistic in every way, but there’s something raw and powerful about the sound of that music. It sings a song of wild magic.
Light the bonfires against the ancient darkness.
Sing and dance until morning, when dawn lights the skies and we are finally safe.
Breathe, laugh, kiss. Joy will shield us from the Wild Hunt. Laughter will make the Erlking’s toes tap. Music will confound his hounds, and tempt the Erlking from his hunt...
There is no Wild Hunt anymore. There hasn’t been for years, with the Erlking and his cohort locked away. He used to hunt the world on nights like these, when the Veil thins, stealing away fair maidens and youths.
But the tradition remains.
I once asked Nanny what he did with those he stole and she told me the story was not for my ears.
Though a heated blush stole through her cheeks and she leaned close and whispered, “They say what he did to them ruined them. He would steal them away for a year and a day, until the Veil next thinned. They would return from his magic court, but they were never the same. They begged to return. They found no comfort in our fae foods, no pleasure in our touch. They became hollow and empty, and could only find solace in music and dancing. But what the stories don’t say is that foolish young maidens ventured out on those nights when the winds howled, desperate to be claimed as his tribute. Because the Erlking is everything powerful and wild, dangerous and tempting. Dance to distract him, Vi. He loves the dance. He loves our music. It’s the one thing that can sway his predatory instincts.”
There is no Erlking anymore but as the music sweeps me up, I can’t help feeling my heart beating in my chest like a drum.
The fae part as I slip through them. I want to look everywhere at once. I don’t recognize a single soul, and while I’m sure one of my mother’s guards is following me, I haven’t managed to mark him.
“A drink, my love?” A fae dressed as a leprechaun shoves a golden goblet into my hand and elderberry wine splashes over my wrist.
“Oh, leave her be,” says his woman, slinging an arm around his neck as she looks me up and down. “Unless you want to join us?”
There’s no doubt what she’s suggesting. The forests are woven with lanterns and there are numerous little bowers out there in the woods, decorated with berries and sheaves of wheat—for fertility. I wave them away, thanking him for the drink.
It’s at that moment that I sense someone watching me.
It’s a prickling sensation down my spine. A languid caress.
Sipping at the wine I search the clearing, but there’s only laughter and dancing. A fae lordling draws a woman into his lap as another kisses her shoulder. A garishly painted woman swallows an entire flaming sword. Dozens of gorgeous fae maids are swung into the air as the fiddle kicks in.
The wine glides down my throat, but it doesn’t mask the sensation I’m being watched.
But who?
Night-blooming flowers suddenly burst to life in the sky.
Someone’s hired an enchanter to paint the night bright, and thecrackandpopof sound makes me shiver.
A golden head appears between two dancers, a male wearing a lion’s mask. I’d recognize those broad shoulders anywhere.
Etan.
And he’s looking for someone.
Me, if I was to place any coin on it. He’s already claimed my dances. And Mother insisted I allow it.
Gods, it wasn’t someone’s eyes upon me that I was sensing, but danger in itself. If he sees me then I’ll be forced to dance with him, and right now, I’m still furious enough at my mother’s demands that I don’t know if I can bite down on my words.
I turn, desperate to escape, and it feels as though the crowd in front of me parts at my whim.
They’re not parting for me.
