Page 44 of A Kiss from the Fae (Mistress of Magic #2)

‘You are with child. I assure you of that.’ Moronoe nodded her head.

‘Who is the father, then? Rav or Finn?’

Moronoe narrowed her eyes, and Faye felt as though she was being stared through, that Moronoe could see her bones, sinews; nothing was hidden from her.

‘I do not see any fae in this baby apart from that which you bring to it. He will look like his father, who is dark-haired. If he is born. Which cannot happen.’

Rav. She was pregnant with Rav’s baby . Faye suddenly felt the need to sit down. In her bones, she knew Moronoe was right.

She was pregnant. The sickness hadn’t been entirely due to the effects of Murias. She’d felt different; her whole body felt softer, stranger. Rav’s baby .

Faye genuinely had no idea whether that was better or worse than the baby being Finn’s. She felt a wave of relief that she wouldn’t have to explain herself to Rav that it wasn’t his – but that relief was immediately shadowed by the realisation that she and Rav were no longer together.

But this is different. This will change everything between us. For the better, perhaps , she thought. And then, another thought came: Do I want it to?

And what about Finn? Faye was ashamed of the thought that followed, but nonetheless it came: Will he still want me?

‘If you have the baby, Levantiana will want it. You made the bargain with her. And, in fact, I imagine that you getting pregnant in the first place is her doing. She wants what is owed to her, and she will stop at nothing to get it.’

‘But she won’t be able to just steal a baby away from me!’ Faye protested, but she could hear the weakness in her own voice. ‘And how…what would she do? How could she make me pregnant?’

‘Your grandmother told you the stories of the fae. Of them taking babies from their cribs in broad daylight. If you have the baby, she will take it. And have no doubt that she will have cast a fertility charm on you, so that it took as soon as your lover lay with you. Doubtless she would also have sowed desire in you for him and vice versa. Murias is famous for such things.’

‘What about Finn? What will he do?’ Faye couldn’t meet the faerie queen’s stare in response, but she needed to know. He would be angry. What would he do if he found out that his lover was pregnant by her human lover?

‘You already know what he will do. Rage at you. Hurt you, perhaps. Finn Beatha is tempestuous and foolhardy. He lives by desire, and desire only.’ Moronoe rolled her eyes.

‘The faerie kings are so emotional. They overreact. They conduct wars; they hold dramatic grudges and then change their minds. The queens are, for the most part, far more rational.’ The faerie queen sighed.

‘He may try and harm you in jealousy. Or he will try to harm your human lover again. He is predictable in his unpredictability. However, you are under my protection now, and as such, he cannot harm you or the child. However…’ She mused for a moment.

‘If Finn found out that his sister had helped you to conceive another man’s child, I have no doubt that it would cause some friction between them.

’ She smiled then, like a fat, satisfied cat.

‘And, Levantiana is responsible for your escape with the human in the first place. Interesting.’ Moronoe was watching her shrewdly.

From time to time as they talked, an animal would emerge from one of the many holes and burrows in the wall and curl up on the queen’s lap, or nestle in the folds of her capacious gown.

She stroked them absently as she talked.

The rabbit creature, Hermione, set a rough stone cup in front of Faye. In it, a clear liquid steamed. Faye picked up the cup and frowned at the dried herbs that floated in the water.

‘I am your aunt. I called you here because I want to protect you.’ Moronoe picked up a squirrel by the scruff of the neck and set it carefully on the dirt floor where it found the crumbs of food she’d dropped and began feasting on them.

‘Drink, and all will return to the way it was.’ The faerie queen watched the squirrel, smiling as if it were her child.

‘But this baby is mine and Rav’s. Doesn’t he get some say in the matter?’ Faye appealed to the faerie queen, who glared at her in response, her mien changing suddenly, from indulgent mother to terrible queen.

‘Does he deserve to know? He has not treated you honourably! It is your body that will bear the child; grow it; feed it and nurture it. And you will care for the child when it is born. His opinion is moot!’ Moronoe cried. For a brief moment, the ground under her shook.

‘I…it seems right that I should at least tell him,’ Faye stammered.

‘No!’ Moronoe shouted, and her voice was the grinding of rock on rock.

‘It would be one thing if you had intended the child together, if you had brought it forth in love and with plans for the future. But this Rav , whose opinion you hold in such high regard…’ Moronoe made a dismissive noise and reached for a black mirror in an ornate gold frame that lay propped against her throne.

She passed her hand over it and tilted it so that Faye could see.

‘This is the truth. Though I understand that my brother has taken the girl now, so the way is clear for you to reunite with the human, should you wish to. After your problem is dealt with, of course.’

Reluctantly, Faye looked in the glass.

Mallory and Rav lay entwined in Rav’s bed, sleeping. Mallory’s arm was draped over Rav’s chest, and moonlight slanted through the curtains, bathing them in its blue-white glow. Faye closed her eyes and pushed the mirror away. He had denied it, and he’d lied. It didn’t matter now, but it still hurt.

‘Moon tea. Pennyroyal, rue and blue cohosh. You will bleed for a few days and have sickness, but Levantiana’s control over you will be gone.

Drink.’ Moronoe’s voice was firm, and Faye felt a kind of fugue come over her, a little like when she was with Finn.

She felt herself lift the cup to her lips.

The stone was cold against her mouth. ‘It’s better this way, niece.

You will have a baby in the years to come, another child, free of obligation to the faerie realm.

But not this one.’ Moronoe’s voice spun a charm around her. Faye felt terribly tired.

‘Drink it up. There’s a good girl.’ Moronoe’s voice was soft and persuasive and Faye tipped the cup towards her lips.