Page 36 of A Dance with the Fae (Mistress of Magic #1)

As they began to descend the golden spiral staircase, the music stopped and the faerie court stared silently at its king and his lover.

Faye looked down at herself. Any wisp of self-consciousness she might have had was gone, and she felt a wild joy at being in Murias, with Finn. She felt as though she belonged; as if a long-suppressed, shadowy part of herself had finally been allowed to be seen.

A coral-pink gown made of a slightly iridescent, translucent silky material was open to the waist to show off her elaborate necklace and naked breasts.

Jewelled straps looped loosely over her shoulders, glittering with opals, pearls and diamonds, and a plain rose gold circlet sat on her forehead, covering her third eye.

Her auburn hair had been magically braided around the circlet, and the rest of her hair was a mass of wild curls that spilled over her shoulders.

The skirt of the dress swept the ground at the back but was open to the waist at the front, showing her thighs and the triangle of jewelled thong that sat comfortably against her flesh.

A light breeze blew the gauzy material against Faye’s skin, and she was aroused by the sensation of the silk – and Finn’s hand on her back.

She wore flat slippers that seemed to be woven from a soft gold material that was nonetheless spongy and strong when she walked, and protected her feet from the cold marble floors of the castle.

Finn took her hand and bowed before the upturned faces of the court.

‘May I present the king’s consort, Faye Morgan,’ Finn announced to the hall, his voice loud and commanding, then he turned to Faye and, kneeling before her, took her hand and kissed it. ‘This ball is in her honour,’ he said, smiling up at her, and Faye’s heart thrummed with ecstatic joy.

The crowd cheered, and Faye bowed to them.

As they continued down the stairs, the music started again and Faye felt her toes twitch.

It was enchanted music; it made her want to dance and scream and laugh wildly, to pinch and bite and kiss.

And, yes. To fuck wildly, like an animal, as she had done the last time she’d been in Murias.

Finn grasped her around the waist and swung her into the throng.

He had changed out of his amour and into a formal outfit; the light from a thousand or more candles glowed gold on his epaulettes and buttons.

His eyes were wild, like hers must be, too, she thought; joining the dancers was like going under a magical wave, and not needing air.

Large golden bowls of water alight with floating candles sat on top of numerous gilded pillars around the edge of the wide hall; as they danced, Faye felt the fragranced air on her skin like kisses.

Hanging from the ceiling above were strange decorations; some she recognised, like seashells and starfish, and brightly coloured coral that seemed to grow out of the ceiling.

The creatures at the ball were varied, as they had been on the faerie road.

Faye sighted human-like faeries like Finn, some with huge, colourful wings and some with scaly skin, like mermaids but with legs; she wondered, for the first time, why Finn had such a human appearance, when the vast majority of denizens in his kingdom were very far from human.

There were blue-skinned, naked female creatures with webbed feet and long, sharp teeth; faeries with long, green hair that wrapped around their drowned-white bodies like shrouds; and frightening, monstrously large sinuous eels that slithered around the ballroom.

‘What are the names of all these creatures?’ she whispered to Finn.

‘The faerie court of water is legion,’ he replied, spinning her around until she was dizzy. ‘There are dream-weavers, sprites, nixies, river maidens, topsy-turveys. There are frog queens and kings, undines. Many more that have not been given names by humans.’

Yet, as Finn danced Faye around the dancefloor, she started to notice other, more disquieting details.

Among the coral and the roots that hung from the ceiling were charms made from knotted hair and bones.

They twirled lazily in the air, animated by the movement of the dancers.

As Finn danced her past one of the creations – she guessed it was a charm, though she didn’t know for sure – Faye reached out for it, curious and yet with trepidation: it had a dark energy, and yet she wanted to touch it.

Finn grasped her hand and held it.

‘Do not touch, sidhe-leth ,’ he warned as they twirled away. ‘That is not for you.’

‘What are they?’ she asked as they danced. Faye was feeling more and more giddy, and yet she didn’t want to stop. The dance was intoxicating.

‘Magic.’ Finn smiled mysteriously.

‘What kind of magic?’ She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to centre herself, trying to focus.

‘Faerie magic,’ he replied, laughing. ‘It is not your concern.’

‘But I am half fae, so you tell me. Aren’t I allowed to know? Did my mother know?’ Moddie had been taught the faerie magic, so Finn had told her. ‘Is my mother here, now?’ The thought suddenly struck Faye, and she opened her eyes, gazing around her at the blur of faces and bodies for Moddie.

‘No,’ he answered crisply.

‘No, she isn’t here, or no, I am not allowed to know about faerie magic?’ she needled him, trying to find clarity in her thoughts. Some deep part of her knew that she was under enchantment, and that while she was in Murias, she could get Finn to answer her questions…if only she remembered how.

‘Both,’ he answered, and kissed her cheek. ‘Enjoy the dance, my sweet one. You do not need to ask any more questions.’

Again, the lull of faerie descended on her, as if it was a drink and she was getting more and more intoxicated. Faye felt a rush of pleasure fill her as Finn kissed her, and she melted into his arms once again.

As they danced, the panoply of faerie creatures continued to amaze Faye.

A frog creature, a naked, otherworldly beauty dressed only in an elaborate crown of pearls, with webbed feet and glistening green and brown spotted legs, danced delicately yet unrelentingly fast with a slim young man who wore a baroque face mask that was as jewelled as her necklace, and a jewelled band around his neck that suggested a collar.

He was human, Faye was almost sure; other than the mask and collar, his chest was bare, and he wore loose trousers in a dark green material. His chest puffed in and out rapidly with the effort of keeping up with the faerie.

Faye watched the frog mistress for some moments as she toyed with her human pet. At the edge of her awareness, Faye felt a sense of unease, but she was so far submerged in the lull of Murias that she was unable to examine her feelings any further.

Finn smiled and bowed to the frog queen and her partner as they passed. Just before the frog queen grasped him by the shoulders and leaped into the centre of the crowd, laughing, the young man’s outstretched hand glanced onto Faye’s palm, and his eyes, through the slits in the mask, met hers.

As soon as they touched, Faye felt a jolt of pain all the way through her body, like being cut in two.

She pulled her hand away. Panic filled her; the eyes that had held hers, she could swear, were full of pain.

Was there an entreaty there, a cry for help?

But before she could say anything, or hold on to him, the frog queen had dragged him deeper into the crowd.

‘Who…who was that? With the frog queen?’

Finn smiled, stroked her face and took her hand. His touch calmed her immediately. ‘Her consort, just as you are mine,’ he replied simply. ‘Do not worry. They come here willingly, like you.’

Then, Faye recognised Finn’s sister, the faerie queen of Murias, Levantiana, approaching.

Levantiana danced with a young human man – barely more than twenty, Faye guessed – who seemed frail, but who still gazed at the faerie queen as if she was the gleaming spark at the centre of all things, and he couldn’t believe his luck that he was the one holding on to her brightness.

He wore a mask, as did many of the faeries.

‘Good evening, sidhe-leth .’ Levantiana nodded at her brother, but she addressed Faye. ‘How delightful that you are joining us at the faerie ball.’

‘I am…I am honoured to be here,’ Faye replied, unsure of what she should say.

She gazed at Levantiana’s dance partner, wanting to reach out to him, wondering if he was here of his own free will, wondering who he was and how he, too, had made contact with the fae realm and its queen.

But the young man avoided her eyes. Under and among her intoxication at being in Murias she sensed a black thread of doubt weaving itself silently; she felt the tug of its shadowy teeth, and felt uneasy.

‘Indeed, you are.’ Levantiana raised an eyebrow. ‘Brother, I can see the appeal of this one. She makes a comely whore.’

Rather than defend Faye’s honour at his sister’s insult, Finn merely nodded. Faye felt as if she had been slapped in the face.

‘How dare you!’ Faye exclaimed, but Levantiana merely chuckled.

‘I dare, sweet one,’ she replied condescendingly. ‘This is my realm. I may do and speak exactly as I wish.’

‘You know so little of us. Stay. Absorb our ways, our culture. Until you know us, you cannot understand,’ Finn cautioned Faye.

‘My sister expresses herself in a particular manner. Remember that you are my consort, not hers.’ He kissed her, and though Faye spluttered with anger, she felt herself growing wet again, and felt the shameless urge to submit to Finn in whatever way he pleased.

‘You are my comely little whore,’ he murmured as he kissed her, and Faye was deeply ashamed at the arousal that his use of the phrase sparked in her.

She was aware that Levantiana and her young male dance partner were watching them kiss.

Desire washed over her, and she parted her legs readily as Finn slipped his hand between them and stroked the jewelled triangle that only barely covered her.

‘See? Dressed like a whore and ready to please,’ he chuckled, his voice thick with desire.

‘I might have to have you here, now, while everyone watches. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?

’ he asked, as he slid his finger into her.

She gasped and arched her back against his hand which pressed firmly against her lower back.

‘Yes,’ she breathed, shameless and burning with desire.

As she opened her eyes, her gaze alighted on one of the cages that dotted the vast ballroom. They were big enough to hold a person, standing up, and, inside, naked dancers gyrated to the music.

At first, Faye had thought little of it: she knew of nightclubs in the human realm where similar things were a feature and people vied to dance in them.

Yet, as she revelled in the pleasure of Finn’s touch, she realised that, unlike the dancers, none of the creatures in the cages were fae.

They were all human. And though some of them danced, many of them looked exhausted, gaunt and starved. The cage closest to her held an inert, decaying human body.

Faye shivered in horror.

‘Finn! Stop!’ she cried out, pushing him away. But though he stopped pleasuring her, he continued dancing Faye around the ballroom, while she fought and struggled in his arms.

Finally, she broke free of his grasp, pulled off the opal ring and all of the jewellery that he had draped her in, ripping off the silk dress, too, until she was completely naked, standing in the middle of the vast ballroom.

She had no idea why she was able to remove the ring and the rest of it here, when she hadn’t been able to back in the human world.

But she was grateful to be able to tear it from her hand.

Free of the jewels, Faye’s head cleared, and she knew that she had to leave.

Without looking back, she ran through the dancers, naked, out of the castle and towards the faerie road.

She heard Finn call after her, but she knew that he had no power to keep her in Murias if she decided to leave. And leave she must. Immediately.