Page 10 of Stolen Threadwitch Bride
The fae lifted his chin. “I claim this woman.”
I must’ve heard wrong. Must’ve. I blinked at Rose, but her frozen expression remained and now made a horrible kind of sense.
Beyond her, everyone gaped. And well they might be surprised—I was twenty-three and unmarried, just edging into spinsterhood. They had all dismissed me as left on the shelf with my strange hair and lack of dowry.
I had to be in shock, because their stares didn’t make me want to run or hide anymore.
The stone circle was still, as though the world waited on my response.
I claim this woman.
I wasn’t… Why would he pick me?
That was insane. Impossible. And… and…
I shook my head, casting off the daze. A fae lord was trying to claim me as his bride, to steal away beyond the wall? No. That was ridiculous. “You can’t,” I whispered. He arched an eyebrow at me, a flicker of amusement on his lips that made me want to punch him in that pretty face. “I didn’t put myself—”
“Are you already wed?”
“What? No, I—”
“Then under the terms, you are eligible.” He raised one shoulder, dismissing my arguments like they weren’t even an inconvenience. Like I was a buzzing mosquito.
Oh, gods. Mama was right. He didn’t care what I thought, what I wanted.
I was nothing. Had one of his kind treated Annon likeshewas nothing?
“Say your goodbyes.” He took a step back, glancing at the Hawthornes.
If not for the tightness in my throat, I would’ve laughed: he thoughttheywere my family.
Goodbyes, though. Eyes brimming with tears, I tugged at Rose’s cloak as though she might have the answer, some way of making this not goodbye.
Because no one came back after they were taken in the Tithe.
No one.
Her shoulders shook as she lifted me into a hug and squeezed the air from my lungs. I clung to the cloak, to her, like she might keep me here.
Beyond her, Lady Hawthorne glared at me, and several other women had joined in. Some watched the fae from beneath lowered lashes, like this was their last chance to catch his attention. Maybe they just enjoyed the view.
They were fools. They thought a bargain like the Tithe would keep them safe from the fae’s power. Oh, no,theywouldn’t be like the men and women lured away to eat and drink and dance beyond the wall. The times those folk did come back—because often they didn’t—they were changed. They’d return days, sometimes weeks or months later, feet bleeding from dancing night upon night and hearts sore for a taste they couldn’t remember or regain. They were lost to fae madness.
“I’ll find you,” Rose whispered.
I gasped, pulling away and finding tears on her cheeks. “No.” Choking on sobs that I couldn’t let out, I gave her a shake. “No, you can’t. You mustn’t. It’s dangerous. It’s—”
“We need to leave.” The look the fae gave us was unreadable, his expression flat. Bored perhaps?
I gritted my teeth. Of course he was bored—stupid humans’ goodbyes or tears didn’t mean anything to him. The heat flaring up my back made me square my shoulders. I kissed Rose’s cheek and whispered, “Don’t come after me. You’ll be killed. You understand me? I can’t have that on my hands…” Not like Mama and Papa.
She bit her lip, eyes over-bright. I think in that moment, she knew what I thought but had never said: that it was my fault… that I’d failed them.
I swallowed past the sobs clawing their way up my throat. For once, I was thankful for the years of quashing panic on an almost daily basis. “I’ll find a way out. I’ll make a bargain—Lady Hawthorne said we were good at that. I—I’ve learned from the best.” With a smile firmer than I felt, I nodded, squeezed her hand, and backed away.
The fae gave Rose a long look before turning to me. “Now, human,” he said, voice as soft and dark as night, “brace yourself.” One side of his mouth rose, and that damn dimple appeared as his gaze trailed to my lips.
Brace yourself?If he thought he could kiss me, he could go and—
