by Alice Wilde
In front of us are two white stairways that lead to a small platform, Kai climbs it to take his place in the middle of four other beings.
“Welcome to the High Court,” Kai says, raising his hands toward us and bowing his head slightly. The other four simply nod their heads at us.
“You’ve come to us to seek passage to the Southern Portal, have you not?”
“Yes, if that’s possible,” Roan says.
“All is possible,” Kai says. “But not all things are easy.”
“Why have you brought us to the High Court?” I ask.
Kai looks at me. “Because of you. You are not of Clan Artair. The truce once made between Fae and humans only grants safe passage to the Artair clan.”
“I see,” I say calmly. In my mind I know I should be scared, but I’m not.
Kai fixes his gaze on Roan. “No harm will come to her while she remains in the Seelie Courts, but I cannot speak for our fallen brothers. If you insist on taking her with you through the Fae lands, the truce will be broken between your clan and the Fae. They will not be able to harm you while you’re here, but once you return to your own lands, there will be great turmoil between us once again.”
“What are you suggesting?” Roan says.
“We will give you the same choice we give all who are drawn to this court,” Kai says. “She is welcome to stay here, becoming one of our own until her mortal death.”
“Out of the question,” Roan says, his voice rigid.
“The second option is to continue on, just as you planned.”
“That’s really not much of a choice,” Roan growls.
“And the third choice is to marry her here in the High Court, making her part of your clan and keeping the truce agreed upon intact.”
Not even the peace of the Seelie Courts can keep my heart from leaping out of my chest at the proposal.
“But, I’m already married,” I say.
Kai’s white eyes once again turn toward me, a long silence ensues.
“It wasn’t consummated.”
“Would we have to consummate it?” Roan asks, his voice wavering.
“Our laws are not so primal,” Kai says. “However, a vow taken in the Seelie Courts by a mortal cannot be broken without dire consequence, in this land or yours.”
Roan clenches his jaw in thought for a moment before taking my other hand in his and turning me to face him.
“Annalise, I swear to you, I did not bring you here knowing any of this. I will leave this choice up to you. If you do not want me or you’d rather stay here, say so. But if you take me as your husband, I will follow you for the rest of your days.”
“Did you just propose to me?”
Roan pauses, a soft smile forming on his face. “Yes, lass. We may never be able to be man and wife in the ways we desire, but I will be true to you and only you if you will be my wife.”
My heart is beating hard within my chest. “What about your family? Damien? The others? Doesn’t it bother you that I’ll be bound to multiple men?”
“No. I can’t promise to always be happy about it, but I can accept it. As long as I am one of them.”
I smile up at Roan, a warmth flooding through me unlike any I’ve ever felt before. This is how blissful I had always imagined I’d be on my wedding day. Although this isn’t quite how I had thought it would come about.
Now, here I am, standing in a Fae court, wearing dirty clothes and unkempt hair experiencing happiness far greater than any I had ever known.
“Yes.”
Roan’s emerald eyes almost seem to sparkle with joy as he looks deep into my own. He draws me to him and we kiss deeply, my heart singing.
I feel a cold but searing pain on my ring finger.
“It is done,” Kai says.
Roan and I pull away from each other and look down at our hands to find a small band of light entwined around each of our ring fingers. We turn to face the High Court once again.
“On behalf of all Fae folk, the High Court welcomes the laird and lady of Clan Artair.”
All five of the tall beings bow their heads at us.
“You may now traverse the Fae lands without harm. The bands of light around your fingers are a symbol of your vows. They will only glow in moonlight, but they will do so for the rest of your lives,” Kai says. “I warn you, Roan, do not break the vows you made this day. There are far worse things than death.”
“I have no intention of doing so.”
“No, you do not, but there will be great trials ahead…for both of you. You may stay in the Seelie Courts for as long as you like. However, when you are ready to leave, simply continue to follow the path. Once you have left this place, you will encounter a crossroad. Keep straight. Do not stray from the path. You will have to walk through the Unseelie Courts to get to the Southern Portal. They cannot harm you, but there are other ways of tormenting humans. We wish you good fortune, and an heir.”
Roan and I are greeted once again with the sensation of movement as the floor lowers away from the members of the High Court. Exiting the building, we stop and look around.
“Did that just happen?”
“I think so,” Roan says. “I’ll be disappointed if it didn’t.”
He pulls me to him once again and kisses me. I wish he’d never let me go. Roan presses his forehead to mine and carefully tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear.
“I guess we should probably get going, unless it’s okay for us to let Li and Ero sort themselves out.”
“You’re terrible,” I say.
“You’re terrible, husband,” Roan says, correcting me with a wink.
I swat at him playfully, but he dodges it with ease.
“Let’s go,” I say, laughing as we make our way back to the path.
As we are making our way out of the city, Roan pauses, forcing me to stop as well.
“I had a thought. Give me a minute.”
I watch as Roan bounds over to speak to one of the nearby Fae. The conversation doesn’t last very long, but it seems to make Roan excited.
“Lass, have you noticed how time seems to feel…slower here? Almost as if we were the only ones moving at a normal speed.”
“I’d noticed something was different.”
“Well, it’s because time is moving slower here. An hour spent here is only half that in our own lands,” Roan says.
“Okay, so where are you going with this?”
“What if we spent a bit more time here than we were planning? We’d still be able to make it back to the castle in plenty of time.”
The offer is tempting, but I honestly don’t know what we’d do here among these otherworldly beings.
“I don’t think we should,” I say. “I don’t want to lose track of time here, at least in our own world we can tell the time of day.”
Roan’s face falls in disappointment, but he is quick to compose himself. “You’re right. I was being selfish.”
He offers his hand to me and I take it as we finally make our way out of the Seelie Courts and back toward our own realm.
It doesn’t take us long to reach the crossroad, each road leading off into completely different areas. The way straight ahead leads into darkness while the road to our left winds through forests far greener than any I’ve ever seen. Gnomes and other woodland Fae can be seen flitting through the flora and fauna. The path to our right soon disappears into a crystal blue water, and I just make out the shape of a merfolk’s tail disappearing beneath the waves. I’m starting to wonder how many portals there are connecting the Fae lands to our own.
“I can’t believe this actually exists,” I say in awe.
“Are you ready to face the Unseelie Courts, my bonnie lass?”
“As ready as I can be.”
“I’ve heard tales of these folk. If you start to see something you wish not to, close your eyes. I’ll lead you through it.”
“And what am I supposed to do you if you see something?”
“I sup
pose that will lead to the blind leading the blind, won’t it?”
I snort, trying to keep myself from laughing. “I’m being serious,” I say.
“If that happens, we’ll stop and refocus. We just have to remember they can’t really hurt us as long as we stay on the path. Whatever they say or do is just lies meant to torment us.”
“Okay. Let’s do this.”
Roan rolls his shoulders and holds my hand tighter as we walk forward into the gloomy darkness ahead.
Roan runs his fingers through my hair, his lips slowly making their way down my neck. The tip of his nose drags gently against my skin, sending shivers of electricity down my spine. He pushes me gently to the ground, straddling my hips with his own as he continues to kiss me. His fingertips gently graze my collar bone as they slip beneath my high neckline.
“I want you,” Roan whispers. “I don’t want to wait any longer.”
Before I can protest, his hands have seized the neckline of my dress and torn it down the middle.
“How am I supposed to be able to wear this later?” I ask in shock.
“You won’t need it later.”
“Oh really? And what am I supposed to do? Show up naked before your sister?”
“Suits me just fine,” Roan teases, his fingers gently tracing the bit of bare skin now visible down the center of my chest to my navel. “I’ll give you my shirt if it bothers you that much.”
Roan slips his hand beneath the fabric, taking my breasts in his hands and I moan, forgetting all about the dress. His hands leave my breasts wanting as they make their way up to my shoulders where he proceeds to push the fabric of my dress down around them, exposing my breasts to him. He looks without touching for a moment before leaning down to kiss me softly on the mouth.
“You’re beautiful, lass.”
He shifts, one hand cupping my breast while his mouth finds the other. Roan’s tongue flicks back and forth over my nipple, a throbbing ache starting between my legs. His fingers gently rub and tug at my nipple as he continues to use his mouth to suck and pull at the other one. Shifting his weight, he begins to pleasure the opposite breast with his mouth, but this time his hand slips beneath my dress and between my legs faster than I can react. My eyes flutter shut in anticipation.
“You’re mine now, wife.”
My stomach twists and my eyes fly open. It’s no longer Roan, but Damien on top of me, tearing away at my dress as he readies himself to enter me.
I scream.
“Annalise, please. I need you to focus on my voice. You need to wake up!”
I slowly open my eyes, my body shaking uncontrollably, and look up into Roan’s worried face.
“What did you see?” Roan asks, carefully wiping the cold sweat from my brow.
“I…I saw Damien. He tried to force himself on me, and then I woke up.”
“I’m sorry, lass. Everything is okay now. The Unseelie Court is a dark place. I should have known better than to let go of your hand, even for a moment.”
“What happened?”
“They must have tricked you into seeing something powerful enough to make you step from the path.”
“I don’t remember…No, I do. I thought I saw…” I say, shaking my head in frustration.
“What was it?”
“It was my mother. I thought I saw her through the trees, as idiotic as it sounds coming out of my mouth now.”
“No, not at all,” Roan says. “I’m just glad you didn’t think you saw Ero and ran off after him.”
I can’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of his remark. Leave it to Roan to have something ridiculous to say in a situation like this.
“How about we get out of here?” Roan says.
I nod and he picks me up in his arms.
“Did we get married?”
“Yes, yes we did.”
“What a strange day,” I murmur, tucking my face into his chest as he carries me the rest of the way through the Unseelie Court.
As dark as the Unseelie Court was, the Southern Portal is aglow with beautiful white flowers. We step through the same strange wall and out into our own, human realm.
“Looks like we managed to get through the Fae realm faster than the men were able to ride here,” Roan says. “Perhaps we should rest for a bit.”
Roan carries me over to a bit of supple looking grass and lays me down on it. Dropping down beside me, he pulls me to his chest and we watch the stars slowly fade from the sky as the sun begins to rise.
“Thank you, Roan.”
“For what?”
“You’ve saved me more times than I care to admit. I mean, all of you have. But tonight was the first time I felt truly happy in a long time.”
“Even though Damien was the one getting you off in your Unseelie induced nightmares?”
“What?” I say, heat rising to my face.
“It took me a while to wake you, lass,” Roan says, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “For a while there, you weren’t minding too much what was going on.”
I shift uncomfortably. “It wasn’t him.”
“But you told me it was Damien.”
“I mean, yes, in the end it was. Those demon Fae are worse than they let on. The nightmare started out as a dream, a rather pleasant one. It was only once everything seemed to be going perfectly that it suddenly turned into my worst nightmare.”
“So, who was it?”
I hesitate for a moment before replying. “It was you, but I didn’t appreciate you ruining my dress.”
“Oh, was it now?” Roan says, lifting an eyebrow skeptically. “You’re not just saying that to keep from hurting my feelings, right?”
“I swear, it was you.”
“So, how was I? From the sounds you were making, I’m guessing pretty good.”
I pinch him, hard.
“Ouch!”
He grabs my hand and lifts it to his lips, kissing my ring finger gently. The last glow of moonlight fades as the sun and moon switch places on the horizon. I lay my head on Roan’s chest and he plays with my hair as we watch the sunrise together.
“One day soon, I’m going to tear the clothes right off you and stare at your summer apples so hard.”
“Thank you for completely ruining that beautiful moment we just had together.”
“You’re welcome, little wife,” Roan says, kissing the top of my head.
Seventeen
Annalise
We don’t have to wait long for the men to arrive at the Southern Portal. The sound of thundering hooves alerts us to their arrival long before the men are visible.
“You made it through,” one of the men says in complete astonishment. “So, you are Roan, son and heir to Clan Artair.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Roan says. “Let’s get back to the castle. There’s a lot still to discuss. And we need food and rest.”
“Of course, Lord Artair.”
“No, please don’t call me that,” Roan says. “I’m not here to take back the rule of the land. I won’t do that to my sister and her husband.”
“But you’re the rightful heir.”
“Perhaps, but as long as I’m still alive, I don’t see the harm in letting someone else with more experience rule in my stead.”
“What about the Fae folk?”
“First, back to the castle,” Roan says, taking our horse from one of the men. He mounts, pulling me up to ride in front of him. This time, instead of the men escorting us, they ride behind, letting Roan take the lead. Roan keeps one arm around my waist, pressing me against his body as he holds the reins in his other hand.
It doesn’t take me long to realize why he didn’t want me to ride in front before. I have very little experience to base my knowledge on, but from what I can tell, Roan has been blessed by the gods in more ways than one.
By the time we reach the castle, Roan is fully aroused and ready to throw me into a haystack and have his way with me. At least, that’s the impression he’s giv
ing off. He keeps shifting in the saddle.
“We shouldn’t have ridden like that,” Roan says when we finally slow to a stop.
“I didn’t do anything,” I say.
“You didn’t have to…but I wouldn’t mind if you did.”
“Hush.”
“Is that any way to talk to your husband?” Roan whispers in my ear before letting me slowly down to the ground and placing his hand strategically on his lap. “You go ahead, I just need a minute.”
I wait patiently just inside the castle for Roan, not wanting to face Fiona and her husband without him.
Roan takes my hand as he enters the castle and leads me back to the Great Hall, which is far from empty when we open the doors and step in. Everyone turns to watch us as we make our way toward the laird and lady, their eyes wide with astonishment.
“You’re back?” Fiona asks.
“That we are.”
Fiona and Neil share a look.
“You’re certain they entered the Fae land,” Neil asks one of our escorts.
“I wouldn’t believe it either except I saw it with my own two eyes.”
“What of the Fae?”
“As long as I am alive, the truce is still intact. The Seelie Court will make sure it is honored,” Roan says. “There shouldn’t be any more issues regarding the lack of firewood and cursed harvests.”
The room is so quiet, I can hear goats bleating outside, and then cheers erupt loudly throughout the room.
“Silence!” Neil bellows. “It is one thing to claim this is the case, but another to have proof.”
The room grows quiet again, but not without the light chatter of increasing excitement.
“McLauren,” Neil says, pointing at one of the men in the crowd. “Take several of the men who tend your land and go check your harvest. Bring back whatever you find.”