Page 117 of Atop the Faerie Throne
“It can’t have been that bad.”
“You’re right. I’d take that over holding his head any day. This morning, he made me do that for almost an hour.”
Goddess, he reallyistrying.
The rest of the inner city is a blur. The two of us watch with amusement—and a little shock—as mostly naked fae with glittering skin dart between buildings, pursued by their equally nude partners.
“That looks like chaos,” Caed mutters. “Goddess, my eyes. This much cock on display is just awful.”
“There are some children’s fires by the north gate,” I say. “Everyone there will be wearing clothes. You can join them if your insecurity is getting hard to bear.”
“Insecurity?” Caed scoffs. “Little queen, if you want to know how big my cock is, you only have to ask. I don’t think you’ll have any complaints.”
That’s the boldest his flirting has ever been, and my eyes widen as they meet his.
We’ve been so careful never to cross the line, though we’ve never said as much. He, because he didn’t want to hurt his chances with Drystan, and me because I knew there was no going back once I did.
The reasoning seems silly now. Obviously, celibacy had no impact on whatever subconscious block my dullahan is battling, and it didn’t stop me falling for Caed.
Fae call out to us as we ride past, towards the largest of the bonfires, and my heart sinks as I realise the sun has dipped below the outer wall. I can’t help compulsively glancing at the mate mark on my hand, checking that the blue sunburst on my wrist is still there.
There are fae peddling food and drink everywhere, and when we finally dismount before the largest bonfire, a goblin with a wicker vending tray wastes no time in darting forwards and placing brightly coloured paper bags into our hands.
“Goddess bless the Nicnevin,” he says, waving me away as I reach for my money.
Before I can even reply, he’s gone, working his way through the crowd.
“Fuck yes.” Caed grins, digging straight into the bag and pulling out a wrapped sweet. “Wait, what’s a sour gnome?”
I shrug, because I have no idea. He gives the hard-boiled sugar within an experimental sniff before shoving the whole thing into his mouth.
“Ancestors balls,” he mutters. “Thatissour. Wait, what the fuck?”
He sticks his now-green tongue out, making a comical face as he tries in vain to see it past his nose. I cover my mouth with a giggle as miniature sugar flowers pop into being on the surface.
Without thinking, I lean forward and kiss him, swiping one of the sour blooms into my mouth. It melts almost instantly, leaving behind the flavour of tart apples.
“I don’t think those are my favourite,” I say, after a second of considering it.
“Fucking fairy food,” Caed snorts, swallowing the rest. “Do you reckon a fizzy barghest is safe, or will it grow teeth and try to eat my soul?”
Offering him a smile and a shrug, I pick one from my own bag at random and shove it into my mouth. Sickly sweetness replaces the sour, and I hum happily, following him through the crowd to get a better view of the bonfire.
“This one is really good.” I almost drop the bag in shock, and Caed roars with laughter. My voice is three octaves higher than normal, and the words are so fast I can’t believe they actually came from my mouth. “Goddess! This is so weird.”
Caed takes the wrapper from me. “Pixie mallow.”
“You’ve got to try one,” I say. “Where’s another?” But my words are already returning to normal.
Disappointment spikes, and I shove my hand back into the bag, searching for more.
Caed snorts. “No way. I want to keep my dignity. Do you think trollish liquorice is safe, or should I go with a valravn twist?”
“Valravn twist,” I reply, distractedly.
Laughing drops sound safe… right? I pop the bright yellow teardrop into my mouth and grin at the citrus sweetness. “Oh, these are so?—”
My words cut off with a burst of sudden, bright laughter.
