Page 5 of Wolfkissed
“Cousin Rosie.” Elsie takes my hands and squeezes them. “It’s been a while. You’re looking good.”
“Love the fashionable hair ornaments,” Mina says. “They suit you.”
“Cousin.” Orlen bows, always so formal. “I trust you have been well.”
“I’m fine, thank you all.” I see pieces of my mother and myself in their faces, their smiles, their postures. It warms up my frozen heart. “It’s so good to see you. What decided you to come?”
“Your stepfather insisted. He said you will be leaving soon to join your husband-to-be and that he was preparing this great party in your honor.”
“Myhonor?” I frown, already shaking my head. “He never said this banquet was about me. You must be mistaken.”
“Isn’t it true you are leaving soon?” Elsie asks.
I nod. “Yes… Yes, that’s true.”
“Do you know what prey Lord Sinen of the House of Fireflies is supposed to have captured? Everyone is whispering behind their hands and fans, some looking uneasy and others thrilled.”
“I don’t know anything about it,” I say hesitantly. “A rare animal, perhaps?”
“Perhaps,” she concedes.
Gods, I have a bad feeling about this.
Then again, it’s hard to trust it because the bad feeling has plagued me for years, and sadly, it’s never wrong. Bad things keep happening.
Tonight, though, my stomach is tied into a knot, heavier than usual, making me queasy.
More servants enter, more trumpets blaring fanfare, the dogs barking a storm, winding around the tables. My skin feels too tight, my chest too small.
“My lords. My ladies.” A tall, broad-shouldered fae lord strides into the manor and makes straight for us.
“Lord Sinen,” Stepfather says, looking pleased. He spreads his arms. “Welcome to my humble abode.”
“Lord Liam.” The fae inclines his head, pale hair tumbling over his shoulders, his pointed ears decorated with gold. “Well met.”
“You made a promise to me with this hunt?—”
“And we have kept that promise. As you can see.” The fae lord waves a hand behind him. “We did as we were bidden, thereby repaying our debt to you, as you’ll have to acknowledge.”
“Debt? What debt?” I whisper.
“I will acknowledge the debt erased when I see him,” Stepfather nods. “Where is he?”
“Bring him in!” the fae lord hollers. “Hurry this up. We have wine to drink and a feast to enjoy.”
My cousins flank me as yet more servants enter the manor, carrying between them a cage on poles, and inside…
“Now we’re quits,” Lord Sinen says, his grin wide and sharp. He throws his hands in the air. “Play some music. Let’s celebrate a successful hunt.”
“What…?” My cousin Elsie sounds strangely distant. “What is that in the cage? It looks like a man.”
“Can’t be a man,” Cousin Orlen says. “Why would they capture a man when?—?”
“Oh, Gods, that’s not a man,” Mina whispers. “It’s a monster.”
“Dark fae,” Elsie breathes. “It’s a dark fae.”
“No,” I whisper, shaking my head even as I observe the cage being carried deeper into the hall. No, they wouldn’t do this to me. Why would they? It makes no sense.
