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When I released him, his eyes raked over me.‘Well well, don’t you look tasty tonight.And who is this little display for?’he asked, his voice turning conspiratorial.

‘You should know better than that,’ I said.I could count the number of times I’d dressed to impress a man on one hand.I didn’t date often.In fact, the number of boyfriends I’d had were even fewer than the number of times I’d dressed up, and none of them had worked out very well.I’d started to think I just wasn’t cut out for relationships.

He tilted his head at that.‘You’ve been spending too much time around the high fae.You’re starting to lie like them.’

‘I thought fae didn’t lie.’

‘They don’t.They evade and talk in circles.’

‘Well, I didn’t choose the dress, Ves did.’

‘Vesryn again?But he didn’t choose the dress for himself, did he?’

‘What are you getting at, Ethan?’I asked in exasperation.Usually seeing Ethan would make me feel better, but it didn’t then.‘Just ask what you want to know.When have I ever kept anything from you?’

He watched me carefully, his mouth drawn tight with what looked like worry.Which wasn’t an emotion I usually associated with him.‘Alright,’ he said finally.‘Are you the Unseelie prince’s mate?’

I blinked in surprise.‘Okay, first of all, how the hell did you come to that conclusion?’

‘He didn’t kill you, that was a pretty big clue.Then there was your little spat.’

‘How long have you been watching me?’I asked defensively.How much did he hear?

‘A while.It looked like things got pretty heated.I’ve never seen our prince of darkness looking so...feral.’

‘Well, apparently I have a hidden talent for being the bane of his existence,’ I snapped.

‘And for not answering my questions,’ Ethan prompted with a quirked eyebrow.

‘Look, I don’t know.I think I could be.Possibly.He hasn’t outright admitted it, but he didn’t deny it and it sounds like Ves thinks I am.It does sort of explain a lot.But what does it even mean?’

‘Oh, nothing much, really, other than that fate has picked you out for each other and you’re bound together for all eternity and he’s been hankering to put his hands all over you from the moment it snapped into place.’

I blinked at him, my mouth falling open slightly.

‘Your expression right now makes me think that hehasn’tput his hands on you.No wonder he’s in a bad mood,’ he added.

‘But...I’m human.Surely it doesn’t apply to me.Humans don’t have mates.’I hadn’t beenhankeringto touch him, had I?I thought of the spring and suppressed a shiver.Ethan gave me a one-shoulder shrug.‘What does that mean?’

‘It means that this is a power beyond anyone’s comprehension and who’s to say it doesn’t affect humans too, even if it’s not quite so intense?’

‘You aren’t exactly comforting me right now,’ I said irritably.I was hoping he’d tell me I was right and that I’d get over this...whatever it was that I was feeling and be on my merry way.To think that I could also feel this bond that Tarian didn’t want...I let out a groan of frustration, rubbing at my forehead.

‘You’re right, I’m sorry.Okay!’he said, becoming brightly animated and linking his arm with mine.‘Enough of this dreary topic.Shall we have some fun or go straight home?’

‘Are you serious?We can go home?’I could hardly believe what I was hearing.Back to my world, to my job, my apartment, back to my life.No Tarian confusing and hurting me, no one keeping me in a castle or making me scrub floors or wash pots or serve dinner.

Would Tarian come for me once I was out of the fae realm?Would I be able to stop him from dragging me right back again?

‘It wasn’t a trick question, Immy,’ Ethan said, the sympathy in his voice dragging me out of my thoughts.‘I can take you.’I felt like there was an end to that statement that he’d left off, something he’d decided not to say, but right then I didn’t care.He could take mehome.

I nodded.‘Yes, let’s go.’Maybe when I was home, surrounded by my own life, my own things, I could put this whole experience behind me.Maybe.

‘Good choice,’ Ethan said happily, patting my hand.A loud bang erupted in the night and a brilliant light was shot up into the sky.Ethan stilled suddenly, his whole body growing tense.

‘Ethan?What is it?’

‘We’ve stayed too long,’ he said, his face going pale.Then he started dragging me through the crowd.Suddenly the partygoers began to scamper around us, running as if their lives depended on it, fleeing towards the trees.Ethan held me tight, dragging me through the crowd, his sights set firmly ahead of us.