Chapter 1
Chapter
One
Hours of foraging in the woods yielded nothing. Her cold fingers gripped the rough wood of the empty basket. Riona sighed in disappointment. If only she’d been able to find something. Everyone in the village was starving. If she’d been able to find food, it would have helped. They would have been kinder to her if she’d brought home a full basket instead of an empty one.
Why was she lying to herself?
The villagers wouldn’t be kind to her even if she returned with enough food to last them for the end of the season. They needed someone to blame for their downfall; instead of blaming themselves for their poor decision or their angry patron, they blamed her since she was the half-Fae living among them. It was irrational for them to blame Riona, but she understood it was easier for them to take their anger out on her by their sharp words and mean looks. She was an easy target that wouldn’t retaliate against their anger.
With every look or deed, she wanted to scream, “It’s not me. I didn’t do this, and if I were full Fae and had magic, I could fix it!” but she didn’t.
She ignored their looks and pretended they didn’t bother her because what could she do? Riona didn’t have anywhere else to go. Even though the Fae protected the humans, they were not trusted. Fae were only seen as an unwelcome necessity, and half-Fae were hated more than full Fae. Humans saw half-Fae as abominations since most humans considered it taboo to interact with Fae intimately.
But no matter how cruel the villagers were, Loch-Gaar was her home. She’d often been told that no nearby cities or villages would allow her through their gates with her unmistakable half-Fae looks. That the villagers still let her live within their walls was a miracle and one wrought only by the respect they had for her late father. Now that he was dead, she wasn’t sure what was going to happen to her. She walked down the dirt road, worrying about her fate.
When she reached the outskirts of the village, she stopped and looked out across the blighted fields. The crops were shriveled and colorless. Every single row.
Riona sensed him before she saw him. Somehow, she always knew when he was close. His presence caused her pulse to beat faster and her stomach to do little flips.
She hated him.
He was the reason she was going to starve. He was the reason her village would suffer many losses this winter. The Fae male strutting toward her was the author of her past, present, and future misfortune.
That afternoon in the forest, when he’d stripped her of her glamour and exposed her secret—a secret she didn’t even know she had, was something she could never forget. He was the reason the entire village had treated her like a pariah since she was a teenager. She’d gone into the forest as a human and come out with pointed ears and skin that almost glowed in its unmistakable Fae vitality thanks to him.
Long, confident strides carried him closer to her across the blighted fields. No longer was he the lanky teenager with sun-kissed skin she’d met fifteen years ago. He’d grown into his tall form and filled out. He’d lost the wild, untamed look about him and become almost painfully polished in his appearance, from the cut of his dark, beautifully tailored clothes to his shiny black boots. Even his skin had lost its earthy golden tan, and he was now pale as moonlight.
Riona tried to ignore the powerful muscles that bunched across his thighs as he moved or the thick arms that could easily lift her in the air without a thought. She wanted to scratch out his mesmerizing gold eyes the second he got within arm’s reach. She wanted to slap his handsome, chiseled face, and she certainly didn’t want to sweep that wayward lock of hair behind his ear. His long, silky black hair that whipped in the wind was the only bit of wildness about him anymore. And the expression in his golden eyes when he fixed them on Riona.
Instead of slapping him, she pasted on a smile. After all, he was their Fae patron, or at least he had been until the harvest.
“Well met, Aiden,” Riona said in her friendliest voice. She cursed herself. Subterfuge wasn’t her strong suit. Her voice clearly belied her anger.
Aiden laughed, and Riona tried to ignore how a jolt of heat shot through her body at the rich sound.
“Is it well met, Riona? I think I’m the last person you wanted to see this morning.”
She wasn’t going to take his bait. Not today. No, today she was going to be pleasant to him. “Why would you say that?” She widened her eyes in faux innocence.
Aiden raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t accepting her kind act one bit. “Your eyes are shooting daggers at me.”
“My apologies. It has been a bad morning, but seeing you is always a pleasure.” Her words were ash in her mouth. Riona tried to smile, but she failed. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep up being kind to her tormentor. But it would do the village no good for her to antagonize Aiden. They needed to get back in his good graces after what the Elders had done.
“What is with the kind act today, little bright eyes?” Aiden crossed his arms and shot Riona a look.
Riona shrugged and smiled, not trusting herself to speak.
Her basket caught his attention, and she could have sworn his smile lessened, but it was so quick she must have just imagined it.
“Ah. Do you think a few moments of kindness from you might make me decide to do something about your charming village’s recent bad luck?” Aiden asked silkily.
“Of course not. Now, if you will excuse me.” Riona tried to walk around him. If she spent one more second with Aiden, she would probably say something she regretted. His hand reached out and landed on her shoulder to stop her retreat. She cursed silently at her body’s traitorous response to his touch and then looked up at him, hoping her face didn’t betray her strong emotions.
He had a concerned look on his face. This was new.
“Come with me,” he said.
“What? Go with you? Where?” Riona wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly.
“Away from here. You don’t belong here. Come with me to the Unseelie Court. We would welcome you. Stop living among these people who hate you. You could be so much more.” Aiden’s eyes burned into her. She saw something there that she told herself she didn’t like. Liar.
Riona put distance between them, needing the space. Being so close to him made her feel like she would go up in flames. What was he offering her?
Aiden didn’t say anything else. He just stared at her, waiting for her answer. The silence stretched out between them. Riona was surprised at Aiden’s offer. From time to time, Riona had thought about possibly seeking out the Fae, but she knew very little about them. Fae didn’t interact with humans except to receive their tithes and protect the humans from the draugar and other dangers.
For the most part, Fae stayed in the woods and their courts. Humans stuck to their cities and villages, or so she was told. Riona had never left Loch-Gaar farther than the woods surrounding the village.
She wasn’t sure what kind of reception she would receive from the Fae if she’d tried to seek them out. They might hate the half-Fae as much as humans did. She didn’t know since Aiden was the only Fae she ever interacted with. The previous patron before Aiden had never interacted with her or acknowledged her.
She scowled at Aiden. He wasn’t offering her salvation out of the kindness of his heart. He wanted something from her. He had to. There was no other reason he would make her an offer unless he gained something in return. That was the way of the Fae, and she wanted no part in it.
“Do you think since I’m desperate, I’ll consider your offer? Since I have nowhere else to go? Is that why you asked me?” A wave of anger washed over her, and her tone was brittle.
“I’m not trying to take advantage of you. I’m trying to help you. Would you have even considered leaving your father to live with the Fae?”
Some of Riona’s anger evaporated with Aiden’s response. “No. I would never have left him.”
She would never have left her father’s side, no matter how welcoming the Fae were to her. After his initial shock of finding her in the forest that fateful day, her father had always supported her and fought for her acceptance within the village. In his last days, he’d done everything he could to ensure her safety after his death. They had both known he was dying. Riona had done everything she could to wipe away the fear in his eyes, knowing he was leaving her. Just thinking about him caused her eyes to mist over. She missed him so much. He was her rock, and she was now lost without him.
“I didn’t think so. Come with me now,” Aiden said quietly.
What if she did go with him? Aiden did present a good solution to her problems, but she would be leaving behind everything she’d known her entire life. But what if she hated living among the Fae and wanted to come home? How would the villagers react? She had a pretty good idea of how they would react. They would not want her to return. She was barely accepted now. And Aiden wasn’t doing this out of kindness. What would he get in return? She had an idea of what he wanted.
She looked up at him. His golden eyes burned with unconcealed desire for her. A shiver ran down her body. No, running away with Aiden wasn’t a good idea. Not at all. She realized what he wanted from her. The thought didn’t repulse her. Instead, a tendril of desire threaded through her.
They stared into each other’s eyes. Aiden didn’t speak. He was waiting for her response. She finally spoke, “What would you expect from me if I went away with you? Would you drop me off at the Unseelie Court’s door and be on your merry way?”
“No, I wouldn’t drop you off like a parcel for delivery. I would help you acclimate to your new life. You could stay with me until you felt ready to be alone.”
There it is.
The benevolence in his smile made her want to snarl. Did he really think she was so gullible? “And if in the time I was living with you, we happened to get close.”
Her voice took on a sultry cadence when she spoke the word close. She ran a hand along his chest and tried to ignore how good her palm felt against his hard warmth. Aiden’s eyes widened in shock. She smiled the same smile that had sent her father’s last apprentice into the smithy door. “You wouldn’t say no to becoming close, would you?”
Aiden blinked and then swallowed. She smiled up at him and batted her lashes. He narrowed his eyes at her and stepped away from her. She’d overdone it with the coquettish behavior.
“And if I were to say I would like that, what would you say?” He started to circle her. Riona tried to turn to face him, but he kept circling her like a predator.
Almost soundless footsteps stopped behind her, and his gravelly voice whispered in her ear. “What would you say if I told you how close I wanted us to become? What would you do if I told you that I would like nothing more than to tear that drab little dress off your body and lay you down right here and now and show you how close we could become?”
A breath hissed out of Riona at the thought of Aiden lowering his big, powerful body on top of hers and pressing himself inside of her. Her knees almost gave out. But instead of turning into a puddle on the hard winter ground, she steeled herself. Aiden had hurt her once, and she didn’t doubt he would hurt her again.
“I think I would tell you I’m not interested in that at all.” She was proud of the strength of her voice when she spoke.
“One of the benefits of being a half-Fae is the ability to lie. No matter how unbelievable the lie may be.” Aiden laughed.
“Keep telling yourself that, Aiden.” Riona punctuated his name with a sharp smile full of teeth.
“I’m going to enjoy the day you admit your lies.”
“That day will never come,” Riona replied.
“We’ll see,” Aiden said with a smirk.
Riona looked out at the barren fields, and bleakness filled her. Aiden was one of the Fae, and he’d done this. He’d brought this blight onto her village. She ignored the little voice telling her he wasn’t entirely to blame and hardened her heart.
“I doubt we will.”
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but your village can’t treat me like they did and expect me to forgive them. I gave them the harvest they deserved.” Remorse tinged his voice. Aiden stood beside her and stared out at the empty fields. There was unmistakable sadness in his golden eyes.
“The decision was made by the Elders, not everyone in the village. The children are starving.” Aiden closed his eyes against her words as if he were trying to block them out. She continued, not sparing his feelings. “You’re hurting everyone, not just the guilty.”
“Your village withheld my share to attract a different patron. What did they expect me to do?” Aiden sounded tired.
Riona hung her head. The village Elders had acted rashly. During the harvest, instead of giving their pooka patron his share, they had withheld it and, when he came, denied him entrance to the village in hopes they could lure a new Fae patron. One that could bring them more prosperity than what Aiden offered, which was good harvests and wellbeing. Loch-Gaar had gotten greedy and failed. Once they realized that failure, they’d called Aiden, and he’d accepted their apologies with disdain but hadn’t blessed them with a good harvest. Instead, he’d sent a blight that had killed their crops in the field and rendered their stores unusable.
“I don’t want to die, Aiden.” Riona’s statement surprised her. Aiden raised his hand and stroked her cheek. Riona didn’t pull away. She wanted to lean into his touch, but she held herself still, hoping her emotions weren’t leaking through her expression.
“Go to the Elders and convince them to prepare a festival in my honor on the eve of the full moon. I’ll come and settle this if they are truly penitent,” Aiden said softly, letting his hand fall back to his side. Riona missed his touch the second he stopped.
“Thank you,” she whispered. That was less than a week away. They had time to prepare, but it wasn’t too far away that things would get much worse.
“Don’t thank me yet.” Aiden’s gaze was unreadable.
“I’ll get them to agree, and this will all be behind us.” The Elders would be more than willing to host another festival if they could survive and regain Aiden’s patronage.
“My little bright eyes, this is only the beginning.” His response sent chills down Riona’s spine. She turned to ask him what he meant, but he’d disappeared. His laughter echoed in the air.