Page 18 of Stolen Threadwitch Bride
Once I’d finished, I flung my spoon in the bowl, fresh heat surging through me. How dare he? How dare he steal me and then have a life that was so much more comfortable than mine that he called this “roughing it?” How dare he kidnap me? And how dare he then have the gall to be annoyed when I asked one simple question?
Grinding my teeth, I glared into the fire. If I thought it would burn, I’d have tried to push him in it.
Except, no, when I shoved him yesterday, he hadn’t budged an inch. I couldn’t even do that.
A sigh blasted from him. “Did it cross your mind that I’m not exactly thrilled at the prospect of you trailing me around for the rest of your days?”
I bristled, muscles crying out. The rest ofmydays. Because he might well live forever and I was a gnat.
“I didn’t want this. I was ordered by my queen to call in the Tithe.” He scoffed, a sneer wrinkling his nose. “What use have I for a mere human?”
“Ah.”A mere human.Worth nothing, not even a name. I smiled, the tightness in my cheeks baring my teeth. “And there it is. What you really think. I knew it. Mama was right.”
“I’ve tried to look after you—”
“Look after me?” I snorted, but something like a growl came out with it. “I’m not a pet, whatever your demented kind might think. But I’m terribly sorry to besucha burden to the great fae lord.”
With a low sound, he looked away and shook his head. I wasn’t worth arguing with.
The quiet stretched on for long minutes until I creaked to my feet and chucked my plate into the cabinet he’d used this morning. Still nothing from him. Behind the screen, I changed into my nightgown.
Mere human.
Fine. I’d be the “mere human” who escaped him. His queen wouldlovethat.
When I emerged, he sat staring into the fire, the shadows under his eyes darker than they’d been this morning. I paused, gut twisting.
With a deep sigh, he raked a hand through his hair. The way his shoulders sank, I’d have said he was tired. Did faegettired?
I huffed. I shouldn’t even care.
As I folded my clothes and replaced them in the chest, which he’d explained would return them clean and fresh in the morning, he cleared his throat. “You should have some of this.” He lifted a green bottle from beside his chair. I looked at it, not at him. I couldn’t stand to meet his gaze right now. “It’ll help with the soreness.”
I closed the chest and said nothing.
“It’s elderberry wine. No poison, curses, magic, etcetera. No harm to you other than the usual effects of alcohol.”
I had to lean on the chest to stand and my thighs still screamed at the strain. Why the hells did peoplechooseto ride if it felt like this?
“Admittedly,” he went on when I didn’t respond, “I believe it’s stronger than you might be used to.” Sure enough, his long legs stretched out before him, loose, and a rosy glow that was nothing to do with the fire painted his cheeks.
If I didn’t reply, he was going to keep going, wasn’t he? “No, thank you,” I bit out. “Good night.”
I slipped into bed, taking the far side. But I didn’t shuffle right to the edge this time. What did it matter if I ended up close to him? I’d already spent the whole day cradled between his thighs.
Groaning, I sank into the mattress. The covers weren’t quite over my shoulders, but I couldn’t bring myself to move.
In every possible way, I was stuck here. My body was too stiff and sore to even consider escaping tonight.
I must’ve fallen asleep within moments, because the next thing I knew, it was dark. The blankets were tucked around me, and a presence that had grown familiar over the course of the day lay inches from my back, radiating warmth.
In those first days I’d spent alone, after Mama and Papa had gone, Rose had stayed with me. We’d shared a bed and she’d been a warm, steady presence.
Rose. A soft whimper came from my throat.
Iwouldsee her again. I wouldn’t let some outdated bargain that I hadn’t even been party to keep me from the person I cared for most. Certainly, no fae lord, however handsome, was going to stop me.
I clung to that thought and the comforting fire of righteous anger, but sleep was a strong tide. It tugged on my eyelids, pulled on my grip.
