by ERIN BEDFORD
The music changed from a happy upbeat tone to a dark and sensual beat. It caused a tickling sensation that left me feeling both alive and breathless. The press of the prince’s large hands against my waist and hand didn’t help my ability to think straight, nor the zing I felt each time our bodies brushed against each other. I chanced a glance up to his face and smiled a little as his eyes flickered between light and dark. At least I wasn’t the only one feeling so affected.
As he weaved us between the other dancers, I glanced away from his overbearing gaze to watch those around us. Some of them were too lost in each other to pay us any mind, but others openly stared at the red-headed girl dancing with the UnSeelie Prince. Their faces were full of curiosity and – hostility? The hostility wasn’t directed at me, though. The disdainful glances and thinly veiled sneers were all for the dark prince holding me.
“Why are they looking at you that way?” I gripped his shoulder where I held on tight as if I could protect him from their animosity.
“Such concern for me now? How generous of you.” The chuckle reverberated from his chest and into mine causing my face to heat.
I didn’t care about him. Not really. It was just for curiosities sake and maybe for the fact that he was the only thing standing between me and a horde of Seelie Fae. If I kept telling myself that maybe it would be true.
“Is it because of Lynne?” I tried to take the focus off me but regretted the words when his entire form stiffened, stopping our promenade as he ripped himself away from me. Thankfully, his abruptness didn’t seem to disrupt the other dancers. They simply stepped around us as if we weren’t standing in the middle of a dance floor staring at each other.
“Where did you hear that name?” His eyes were full of an angry dark blue, his real eyes peeking through as the glyphs flared to life.
I realized my mistake as I stuttered for an answer, “Oh, you know. Around.”
“You are lying.” The prince grabbed my wrist in a pinching grasp, gone was the teasing from his face. Rage and suspicion poured out of him as his pheromones beat down on me, commanding me to tell him the truth.
“I’m not lying.” I gritted my teeth against the urge to tell him where I’d really heard the name. I didn’t think he would be too happy to know I was poking around in his past any more than he would be to know that I was the one he was kissing at that time.
“You are!” He growled, causing the dancers closest to us to pause in their dance. Seeing he was drawing attention to us, he grabbed me back in his arms, keeping a tight but distant grip on me.
“I am not.” I hissed at him, choosing to match his anger with my own, instead of the fearful pulse beating down on me.
He pulled me close as if to whisper naughty thoughts in my ear. “The only ones who know that name are the Seelie Queen and myself. All other memories of it have been eradicated.” His hand on my waist tightened further, bruising the skin beneath my sheer top. “So, either we missed someone, or you are not who you say you are.”
I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off. “And before you lie to me again. Know Fae do not make mistakes.”
Eyes on anything but him I muttered, “I don’t know what you are talking about. How can I be something that I’m not?”
“I do not know, but believe me when I say I will find out.” He grabbed my chin and forced my face to look at him. “You had best remember who you should be trusting here.”
“And I can trust you?” I scoffed at the suggestion. I trusted him as much as I trusted that the tightness of his pants was causing some kind of neurological damage to his brain.
“Girl, here I am the only one you can trust. Their smiles are lies and they will not hesitate to devour you in an instant.” His voice lowered as the music stopped and the crowd around us opened up to reveal the Seelie Queen and Chess’ harem.
Mags seemed uncomfortable to be there. While Jewels wasted no time pinning me with a hungry leer, licking his chops like a wolf ready to eat his meal. Gab, on the other hand, was the one I was most worried about. Her face was the definition of the triumph. Nothing good would come of this interaction.
The dark prince didn’t even bat an eye at them as he put a charming grin on his face. “Ah, your majesty, how can I be of service?”
“My darling Gab says that this is the half-breed’s new playmate this moon.” Her cool eyes washed over me, chilling me to the bone. “I swore she must have been mistaken because this is the mourning moon. If you do recall?” Her cold eyes locked with the prince’s, causing him to tense up beside me.
“Of course, your majesty. How could I forget?” His voice held all the formality required of him, but his body gave away the building anger inside.
“Well, you do have issues with remembering items of importance.” Her mouth curled into a cruel smile. “I believe that is the reason behind this celebration to begin with, is it not?”
“Yes, your majesty.” I watched as his jaw clenched and the glyphs pulsed softly as if he was trying to control his rage.
“Now, now.” The Queen patted the cheek with the glyphs. “Don’t be cross.” Her laugh stung like razor blades against my skin. “Not that you have a choice.”
I gulped when she turned that cruel smile to me. I knew from the moment I saw her that I didn’t want to be on her bad side. Too bad that didn’t stick. I forced myself not to take a step back as her towering height loomed over me.
She bent at the waist so we were eye to eye. “Do you know what the mourning moon means, sweetness?”
“Uh…” My mouth became dry. “That we’re in mourning?”
“Exactly!” She clapped her hands together pleased with my answer. “So tell me, why did you say you were the half-breed’s toy this moon if this is the only moon in which he does not get a tribute?”
“But I didn’t–” I blurted out, “I mean...that is to say.” I pointed at the harem waiting eagerly at her back. “They assumed I was. I just didn’t correct them.”
“Oh?” Her eyes lit up. “And why is that, my dear?” She placed a long finger under my chin. “Could it be that you have something else to hide? Why would you smell like the half-breed, if not to disobey the rules?”
My eyes darted between the members of the group. Mags watched me with pity in her eyes. Gab was simply beaming at my lack of an explanation, reminding me why I didn’t have girlfriends. Too many jealous bitches. I avoided the hungry gaze of Jewels and searched the crowd for something to inspire me.
Why did everyone think I was lying? Of course, I was up to something. I was trying to get home without being eaten, or worse date raped by Fae magic. I let my mouth open and close as I floundered for something, anything to satisfy the Seelie Queen.
“It was me.”
All eyes jerked to the prince beside me. While I was relieved the attention was off me, I couldn’t believe he would put himself in the line of fire for me. After the way Mop and Trip had described his sense of justice, he wasn’t likely to be the one to take the fall, especially not for a human.
“What was you?” The Queen’s words seemed more like a warning than a question.
“She was with me. Not the half-breed.” His face formed a playful grin. “It has been a while and the outskirts do get boring after a while. Am I not allowed my own play thing?” He slid an arm around my waist, his hand lying dangerously close to my butt. I didn’t have a chance to react to his touch before the queen gave a vengeful cry.
“No you are not. Or did you forget that too?” She turned and addressed the watching crowd. “My children, hear me and be witness. The UnSeelie Prince has once again caused offense to our court. Not only for his previous transgression, but to seek pleasure in the arms of one that is not his betrothed and on the anniversary of her demise.”
The Queen’s words stung my ears as the crowd gasped and shouted. The glittering room that was so full of merriment just moments ago was now full of anger and malice. My mind was spinning with questions.
The celebr
ation was for the mourning of the prince’s ex-betrothed, which apparently means he was tied to her until death? What was he thinking? How was announcing me as his lover a good idea? I would have laughed at the complete disaster I was in if I wasn’t so terrified of what the Queen was going to do next.
The prince stepped away from me and toward the Seelie Queen. “What could you do that you haven’t done already? I am exiled from my own home. I am a slave to the courts and forced to be happy about it.” The dark prince’s rage pressed down on the room as he fought against the symbols influencing him.
“I have had to attend this gathering every year for decades.” His voice filled with pain, the light coming from his face blinded the room from the force of his rage. “I lost her too, and I’m not even allowed to mourn her. So tell me, your majesty.” He spit the words like venom. “What else could you possibly do?”
“Do?” The queen’s voice was bitter and filled with sadness. Perhaps she cared more for the prince’s pain than she let on. Then she seemed to remember herself as her eyes became hard again and found me once more. “I’m not going to do anything to you. Your companion, on the other hand, will get the same fate as the last one.” She snapped her fingers in the air. “Guards! Seize her.”
Two large gold-plated guards grabbed me by the arms before I could wonder where they’d come from. I pushed against their tight grip, my heart pounding in my chest. The manic look in the queen’s eyes was all I needed to know of my fate even as her words sliced into my skin.
“Off with her head!”
12
Both Ways
MY MOTHER WOULD be horrified to see me in jail. A Fae jail, more of a dungeon really, but jail all the same. She wouldn’t even question whether or not I was guilty, only that I was making her look bad. I could imagine exactly how that conversation would go.
“Katherine Marie, what am I supposed to say to the neighbors? How am I going to show my face on Sunday morning with all of them knowing I have a criminal for a daughter?” Her voice would start to have that screechy pitch to it whenever there was a threat to her public face.
“Who said you had to tell them?” I shot daggers at the floor of the cell, the cold stone biting into my hands where I sat on the floor.
“They’re my friends. How can I not tell them?”
“Ha! Some friends.” I snorted, rolling my eyes because she wasn’t there to chastise me for it.
“You would understand if you’d leave the house more than to just go to work. Then maybe you would have more friends. Maybe that Ziegler girl? She seems nice.”
“You only want me to go out with her brother.” I wasn’t naïve enough not to see through her schemes; years of experience had hardened me to that truth.
“So what? He’s a good-looking boy and a lawyer too!”
I scoffed. “You mean a bully.”
There were only three items on my mother’s checklist to make a good husband: a good job, good looks, and no scandals. The majority of the time I didn’t know if I was talking to her or some character out of a Jane Austen novel. She was a poster girl for the 19th century. Not that she would know what that was.
“Now, Katherine, you don’t know that.”
“I do to. I…why am I even arguing with you, you aren’t even here!” I jerked back, banging my head on the wall behind me. I closed my eyes and rubbed the sore spot. “No wonder everyone is crazy here. Much longer and I might not know where home is anymore.”
“Talking to yourself, dear Kat?”
“Chess?” My eyes popped open at the sound of his voice.
There, peering through the bars of the cell door with an amused grin, was the delectable Cheshire S. Cat. I jumped up and raced over to the door. I was still mad at him, but it was a relief to see a friendly face.
“Hello, my lovely.” He rolled his face against the edge of the window, looking very much like a real cat in that moment.
“What are you doing here?” I stood on my tip toes to meet his gaze.
His head tilted sideways at my question. “To rescue you, of course.”
Suspicion filled my eyes. I stepped back from the door and crossed my arms. “Why should I trust you? I’m only in here because of you.”
“Now, is that any way to talk to your savior?” Chess moved out of sight, leaving me to stare at the door across the hall.
When he didn’t poke his head back up after a moment, panic overcame me. “Chess?”
I grabbed the edge of the window and tried to peer out into the corridor. Did he leave me? I should have kept my complaints to myself. I turned back to my little cell, about to have a fit, when I saw Chess there lounging on the cell’s little cot.
“Wha–? How?” I pointed between the door and the smug cat peering up at me.
“Besides, it’s not my fault you got distracted.” Chess continued as if he hadn’t just appeared out of nowhere.
“How did you do that?”
Chess shrugged his bare shoulders. His previous ensemble had been switched out to a more golden variety, which of course, made him look even more delectable than before.
His pale pink hair hung loose over his shoulders, framing his shirtless chest. His array of belts were still wrapped around his waist, but his dark pants and boots had been replaced with ones almost identical to the ones he gave me. Braided ropes wrapped around his bicep, tight enough to make his muscles bulge over them, that or his arms were more impressive than I had previously thought. I must have been staring for longer than I thought because a growl rolled out from deep in his throat.
“What do you mean distracted?” I forced my eyes up to his and tried not to blush at the heat in his eyes.
“If you’d gone straight to Hatter like you were supposed to, you wouldn’t have drawn any attention to yourself. I wouldn’t have given you my scent if I had known you were going to blow it.” His leering dimmed a bit at my failure.
“Fat lot of good it did me. Your play things sniffed me out.” My eyes kept straying to his chest and the faint scars there. My fingers itched to touch them. To ask him how he had gotten them.
I glanced up at Chess’ face. His lips curled up into a smile, the tips of his fangs peeking out over his lip. He knew exactly what affect he had on me. Gab’s face popped into my head, reminding me I wasn’t the only one who had his attention.
I balled my hands into fists and turned my face to the wall. Touching would be bad. No need to give him more ammunition to take advantage of me.
“Ah! You’re jealous.” Chess’ excitement was abundant as he stalked his way over to me from the corner of my eye.
“I am not.” I stared hard at the wall. “I just don’t like being mistaken for one of your prostitutes.” I tried not to shiver as his tail wrapped around my waist. The feel of it should have freaked me out, but I was slowly starting to expect it and even hoped for it a little bit.
“They are hardly prostitutes.” His voice caressed my ear. “They come from noble families.”
“High-end prostitutes, then.” My heart jumped into my throat when his lips whispered down the curve of my jaw.
I let out a shaky breath as his clawed hands turned me to look at him. The feral glint in his eyes made me take a step back. And then another. The Fae mimicked each step I made until I found myself bumping against the hard stone of the cell.
“The guards will be here to check on you soon.” His lips hovered over mine. “Wouldn’t you – in your last moments – like to find out what all the fuss is about?”
“Um.” My tongue felt heavy and clumsy in my mouth as I fought for an answer.
It was tempting. If our kiss was any indication of what it would be like with him – deep, wild and all consuming – I had no doubt that his lovemaking would be the same.
Though I had never been a casual kind of girl, I had a feeling Chess only ever did casual. If that wasn’t enough to deter me from accepting his offer, icy blue eyes attached to a dark head of hair popped into my mind. Those eyes were like
a dose of cold water to my libido.
I turned my head so his lips brushed my cheek instead of completing the kiss. He pushed back from the wall, confusion and maybe a hint of hurt etched on his face. I almost apologized, but he recovered quickly, giving me his usual cheeky grin. Guess he wasn’t that hurt after all.
“Enough dallying, let’s get you out of here.” He moved toward the door, his tail swishing behind him.
I stayed where I was against the cell wall and watched him approach the door. My eyes widened as Chess poked his head through the door. It reminded me of what the dark prince had said earlier about Chess not being bound by the same laws.
“What do you mediate exactly?”
“The worlds, of course.” The green-eyed feline pulled himself back into the cell. Reaching down, he pulled a metal clip from his boot. “I’m what you’d call neutral.” He popped his upper half back through the door.
“If you can pop though walls why do you need to pick the lock? Can’t you just, I don’t know, pop me through too?” I tried not to let my eyes focus on the swaying of his behind as he worked on the lock.
“It doesn’t work that way, Kitty Kat.” His tail movements became more exaggerated as if he knew I was watching. “You belong to the human world. While I–” The lock clicked and Chess opened the door with a mischievous grin. “–can go any way I please.”
“I just bet you do,” I muttered as the thought of him and Jewels jumped into my head. “Don’t you live in the UnSeelie Court, though? That’s not very neutral.”
“The willow is actually an extension of the Between. It doesn’t exist in either court.” He gestured for me to go to the right. “And only I can let anyone in or out.”
Chess led me down the dimly lit corridor, passing several doors, full of moans and groans. It was hard to tell if it was from pain or pleasure. For all I knew it could have been both. One room emitted a little squeak that was enough like Trip’s to make me worry.
“Did you find Trip and Mop? Did they get captured too?” I grabbed Chess’ shoulder, his skin warm beneath my hand. “We have to save them.”