Stolen By the Pooka (Midnight Hour Mates #1)

Prologue

She was drowning in an unstoppable tide of sadness. Riona wandered through the forest until she found the clearing. Sunlight flooded the small patch of forest. The green blades of grass swayed gently from the light breeze. Trees fringed the edges, and in the middle of the clearing, a circle of stones ringed the center. Riona sat, impervious to the beautiful day. She didn’t care about the picturesque beauty of the woods. She only wanted her mother and the little brother she’d never know back. He’d died minutes after their mother. She missed them both so much.

Tears tracked down her cheeks. She ran a pale, freckled hand through her tangled copper hair and cried harder. Her hair was the same vivid color as her mother’s. Her mother, whom she was never going to see again. Her mother and brother had been lowered into the cold, hard ground this morning.

She linked her arms around her coltish legs and rocked herself like her mother had many times before when she was younger. It was childish for a thirteen-year-old girl, but the rhythmic movement calmed her. Unconsciously, she warbled a sad song about lost love and heartache. A song her mother had taught her in this very same clearing.

She was so lost in sadness that she didn’t notice the boy until his foot snapped a branch. The loud crack sent her song ending in a surprised squeak. She bounced up and faced him like a wild deer caught in a trap.

He held up his hands in an attempt to show he didn’t mean any harm, but his flashing golden eyes, which no human could ever possess, immediately set Riona on edge. Fae.

“Greetings,” he said. He moved forward slowly. Riona stepped back. He studied her intently. Riona thought she saw his eyes widen in surprise for a second, but she wasn’t sure why.

“I don’t mean you any harm.” His voice was forcefully light as if he were attempting to show her he wasn’t a foe.

Riona snorted. “Fae always mean humans harm.”

The young man laughed. His laughter was lighthearted and jovial like she’d just said the funniest thing in the world. “Perhaps I do mean humans harm, but I don’t mean you any harm.”

Riona frowned at his words. They didn’t make any sense at all. She ran her hand across her face to wipe away her tears. A streak of moisture and dirt stained her hand.

She focused on that momentarily before looking back at the young man. He didn’t appear to be much older than her. Maybe a few years at most. There was still that rangy, unfinished look to him. A tuft of his dark black hair threatened to cover one of his golden eyes. He flashed perfect white teeth at her.

“If you don’t want to harm me, then what do you want from me?” Riona asked. She leveled him with a stare she hoped came across as menacing but only produced another smile from the stranger.

“I was drawn to your song,” he said with a shrug.

Riona’s blood turned to ice in her veins. She’d been so caught up in her grief that she hadn’t noticed that she’d been singing when he came into the clearing. Sometimes the words would just bubble out of her. She was usually able to stop herself, but this time, she hadn’t stopped herself because she’d been so lost in her sorrow. No one was supposed to hear her singing. Ever.

“It was a beautiful song, although it almost brought tears to my eyes,” the stranger said. “Would you finish it for me?”

“You weren’t supposed to hear me sing.”

The young man moved closer to her. Riona didn’t step away this time. She let him get near her. Up close, his eyes were even more intense. They were so bright they looked like they were made from the flames of her father’s forge.

“Why not?” he asked.

He smelled like the forest after a good rain, crisp, clean, and earthy. The wayward lock of hair finally fell, covering one of his brilliant golden eyes. Before she could stop herself, Riona reached out and tucked it behind his ear. He flinched in surprise at her touch. Riona was surprised at her actions too. You were never supposed to talk to the Fae, much less touch them. She stepped back and cleared her throat.

“It was a promise I made to my mother. Singing was something we did together when no one else was around.” Riona shrugged.

“An odd promise, wouldn’t you say?” The young man lifted a brow mockingly.

Why couldn’t she sing around other people?

For the first time, she thought about how odd that promise was. A memory flitted into her mind, one of her first from her early childhood. A boy dancing in circles with fear etched on his face until he fell to the ground. The scared look on her mother’s face when she found them. Then the promise. Suddenly, Riona was cold. Very cold.

She shook her head, acting like her wayward thoughts didn’t upset her. “It was just a promise, nothing more.”

“I think there is much more.”

Riona made a sound of disgust. “Think what you want, Fae, but I’m not going to stand around here anymore. I’ve been gone for too long. If I don’t return to the village, my father will probably worry and start looking for me.”

That was a lie. Her father was probably already looking for her. Half the village might be looking for her at this point.

The sound of the dirt hitting her mother’s coffin had done something to Riona. The thump thump thump of the dirt covering her mother into the earth sent Riona running away from the funeral. She’d ignored her father’s cries and ran. It hadn’t been until her lungs filled with fire that she stopped and noticed she was in the forest on her way to the clearing where she and her mother used to secretly spend time.

“If you sing for me, I’ll grant you a gift.” The stranger’s words stopped her retreat. Fae magic was limitless. Some Fae could even bring the dead back to life... Still, taking something from the Fae was never a good thing. Their gifts usually became curses. But she would do anything to be able to see her mother again, no matter the consequences.

She turned to him, hoping that her desperation was hidden. “Why would you give me a gift for my song?”

He smiled. His smile was haunted and empty this time. “It was a beautiful song, and I would like to hear the end of it. Sometimes sad songs have happy endings.”

“Then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. My song has no happy ending.” Riona smiled wryly back at him.

“Sing it anyway, and I’ll still give you a gift.”

“Sing a song to a Fae in the forest? That doesn’t sound like a good idea, and you forget my promise.” Riona turned to leave, hoping that her unwillingness to sing would pique his interest. The more he wanted her song, the better the gift. She would sing to him until her voice was hoarse and her throat ached if it would bring her mother and brother back.

His hand reached out and touched her arm. “Do you have to uphold your promise any longer? She’s gone, and no one can bring her back.” The stranger’s eyes bored into her as he continued, his voice soft, “Not even a Fae.”

Riona’s soldiers hunched in defeat, and she shook her head. Tears started to trail down her cheeks again. Her hopes crushed. “I... I... don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Song always eases the heart, and we could both use the solace.”

Riona stared at the young man. For the first time, she noticed the worry lines at his mouth that no one should have at his age. She noticed his fine clothing was threadbare and torn in some places, which was unusual for a Fae. His cheekbones almost jutted out against his tanned skin. She finally saw the hardship etched on him.

“You’ve run away too, haven’t you?” Riona’s question popped out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She placed a hand over her mouth, and her eyes widened in fear. One should never ask a Fae a personal question.

He snorted and stepped back. His expression was mocking. “I didn’t run away. I left. No regrets.”

“You look like you’ve had a tough time.”

He shrugged. “I’m not sorry, and I’ll never apologize for leaving. My life, my choices. No regrets and no apologies. Now, are you going to sing for me or not?”

Riona sensed his agitation, but she wasn’t threatened by him. He’d stopped being one of the scary Fae and had become a young boy in the woods with a sad girl who missed her mother. “Are you still going to give me a gift?”

“Yes.” The stranger smiled, and his eyes flashed.

Riona placed her hands on her hips, ignoring the way his smile made her belly flip-flop a little. He was very handsome. “What is the gift?”

“I’ll show you a truth.”

“You’ll show me a truth? That doesn’t sound good.”

The young man smiled and cupped her chin gently in his hand. He tilted her face up and stared deeply into her eyes. “It will change your life. Now sing for me. Please.”

The please undid her. There was something so earnest and raw about his plea. She opened her mouth and began her song.

It was a ballad about a woman betrothed to a man she didn’t love. She fell in love with another and ran away with her lover. In the end, they both died horribly by the hand of her spurned betrothed, but they died in each other’s arms.

Riona didn’t hold back. She closed her eyes and became lost in her song. Images of the lovers filled her mind. She wasn’t in the clearing anymore. The song swept her away. It felt like she was creating magic with the song. Each word was filled with sadness. Sorrow filled her song. She allowed hope to filter into their words when the woman met her love. Her voice rose to excitement when the lovers came together and then fell into despair when they met their end. As she sang the last word, she opened her eyes and faced the stranger.

They stood in silence. Finally the Fae spoke, “You have definitely earned your gift with that song.”

Riona shook her head in protest, but he raised his hand, stopping her. Magic filled the air between them, and then he brought his hands beside Riona’s face. His fingers twitched at the air, almost brushing her temples. He was pulling on something. The pressure built around her, but he wasn’t touching her. A sweat broke out on his brow in effort.

“What are you—” Riona couldn’t finish the sentence. Her lips felt funny, and her words dried up. The pressure built up to the point that it was almost painful. Suddenly a light flashed around her, and then a pop. A weight left Riona’s body. It felt like a heavy shroud had been lifted from her. His hands fell to his sides. She looked around. The forest was alive. The forest was always alive, but something had changed.

Everything was brighter now. Richer. Vibrant. Colorful.

Riona noticed details in the leaves of the nearby tree she hadn’t seen before. The wind sounded like it was speaking. She tilted her head in concentration and could almost make out the words.

A piece of her hair whipped across her face. She reached to pull it away and made a noise of surprise at the sight of her hand. Her hand was still her pale, freckled hand, but her flesh looked almost pearlescent. She held a hand up for closer inspection. Her fingers looked thinner and slightly longer. Her hair fell into her face again, and she thrust it behind her ear. Riona jerked when her hand touched her ear. Frantically she grabbed at her ears. There were points on both of her ears. Points like a Fae.

“What have you done to me?” she cried out.

“I’ve shown you a truth. You’re a Fae, just like me. No human could sing as you do. Your song drew me in, and then your glamour made me curious. Who put this spell on you?”

Riona held her hand out in horror. “I’m not a Fae. I’m a human—change me back.”

“You are a Fae. You were glamoured to look like a human. Who would do that?”

Riona fell to her knees as memories flashed. A memory of Riona and her mother standing in the very same clearing she stood now swarmed by a flock of butterflies as they sang. Her mother never joined them for church on Sunday. Another memory of the Widow Gares laughing, referring to her mother as the most honest woman she’d ever met. Her mother getting angry at her father when he’d brought in a project from his smithy made of iron. The final memory clicked everything into place with painful clarity the day her mother made her promise to never sing around anyone else but her.

She dug her fingers into the dirt beneath her, staring blankly at nothing. Her mother. Her mother the Fae. Riona had so many questions, and the person who had answers was gone. She threw her head up and cried out.

A hand settled on her shoulder, and she looked up at the boy who had gifted her with the truth. She laughed like all Fae gifts the gift he’d given her was a curse. She didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud until he responded.

“I won’t apologize. My gift was not a curse but a new beginning.”

“Beginning?” Riona laughed. No one trusted the Fae. Even her good-natured father was wary of the Fae. Now she was one of them.

“I’m not sorry for showing you who you really are.” The stranger’s eyes were hard.

Both of them turned at the sound of people approaching. Branches and leaves snapped as the villagers made their way closer. They would be here in minutes.

“Riona!” Her father’s voice was easily recognizable. She looked back to where the stranger stood only to find empty space and laughed bitterly. She would never forget or forgive him for the gift he’d given her. She never forgot the look of horror on her father’s face when he stepped into the clearing either.