Page 19 of Fae Tithe (The Cursed Courts #1)

Helena and her family had been preparing for the better part of a fortnight for their trip to the Spring Equinox Festival in Portson.

She and Lance had fallen into an easy routine of harvesting pearls in the mornings, crafting jewellery for the stall in the afternoons, and making love in the evenings while the rest of the household slept.

Her Merman had told Helena he loved times like these.

Thank the Fae for Lance, he’s shown me what real love is.

It was so different with Peter. When he wasn’t drunk and ignoring me, he was yelling and breaking things.

To think, I thought it was normal. She was so grateful for the way the Merman folded into her life with ease when he came home and seemed to find his own peace in the day-to-day life at the villa.

The day of the festival came. The sun had not yet cracked the horizon when Helena roused the family to start the trip to Portson.

Wrapped against the early morning chill, Helena tapped her boot impatiently as she waited for the others to get dressed.

I wish they would hurry up! I want to see El.

No letters from her, as usual, at least not when I checked at the post office a couple of days ago.

I will have to remind her about sending them…

again. She huffed through her nose, steam rising into the air around her as she chuckled. Typical teenager.

Helena had woken in the early hours long before the rest of her family.

By lamplight, she had tacked the ponies and hitched them to the cart.

She had loaded in a canvas shade sail, a flat wooden board, and two crates.

The crates held various homemade pieces to sell, which Helena and Lance had spent much of their time crafting.

She was about to return inside to bark at them to hurry up, when finally the family stumbled out of the villa, spilling into the still-dark morning.

Lance, rounding up the twins, led them to the cart.

The night before, Max and Zac had been bubbling with excitement about the trip, but now their feet dragged and large dark circles bagged their eyes.

Helena watched Lance, his expression soft, as he dealt with the boys.

He tucked them carefully into the remaining space in the cart, where they promptly fell asleep.

Her stomach butterflied at the sight and Helena gave him a wide grin when their faces met. Lance returned a tender smile.

Rose brought up the rear of their group and threw a scowl at Helena, hair trussed and dark circles under her eyes. “Don’t ever get me up this early again.”

Helena snorted in response. “Good morning to you, too!”

The two ponies plodded at a decent pace down the familiar roads pulling the laden cart behind them.

The adults walked alongside the animals.

When the sun finally spilt overhead, they finally entered the city.

Portson was coloured with a rainbow of tapestries and flower garlands, the streets already thrumming with life, despite the earliness of the day.

Helena steered the group through the crowded laneways, grateful that she had left the dog at home. Biscuit would be a nightmare here. She finally spotted an ideal area for them to set up their stall. “Here!” Helena pointed. “This will do perfectly.”

She sent Max and Zac sprinting ahead to stand obstinately in the spot.

It was at a busy corner at a crossroads where street performers had set up a small round stage in the centre.

They claimed the space. Helena instructed the twins to look after the ponies.

She kept one eye on the boys as they unhitched the animals and tucked them slightly back from the street.

They left the blinkers on, sliding food bags over the ponies’ noses, stuffed with oats as a reward for their hard work.

The boys also rubbed Bun and Ash down with cotton rags to rid them of their sweat.

Lance insisted on unloading the cart, lifting down the crates and canvas.

She and Rose then emptied out the wares, placing a long board over the crates to form a sturdy table.

Within the hour, the two women had decorated the table with the beautiful merchandise.

In the meantime, Lance had set up the four weighted poles and canvas shade sail, protecting their heads from the bright morning sunshine.

The pearls glinted in the filtered light, in a rainbow of colours and a range of sizes.

They stood alone or bejewelled veils, armlets, bracelets, and necklaces.

Helena had sent Rose and her boys off to enjoy the festival for the morning, while she and Lance worked the stall. They had agreed that they would then swap at lunchtime so she could collect Eleanor from school. Quickly, Helena let a few customers through to purchase her beautiful creations.

Most of the customers had been human mothers with their teenage daughters.

They were ready to bedeck their daughters in pearls and trot them out in front of potential suitors in time for the marriage mart in late spring.

By the fifth mother and daughter pair, Helena’s chest heaved and her heart rate spiked.

Helena remembered painful flashes of her girlhood.

The picture of her own mother wrapping her in a veil they had bought together at a vendor.

Then, the image of her father accepting her Bride Price whipped through her mind.

Finally, she remembered Eleanor’s father hurting her in every way possible when Helena was still a child herself.

She pressed the heel of her hand to her temple, trying to squeeze the flashes from behind her eyes. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks as she turned away from the departing customers at the stall.

Strong golden-brown arms enveloped Helena from behind, wrapping her securely in a tight embrace.

Lance lowered his lips to her ear. “Never for El,” he whispered.

“She will never go through what you went through. Len, sweetheart, you drew your Circle around her. By doing all you do, you have made sure that it will not happen to her. I am so proud of you.”

Helena shuddered and exhaled at his words, the Merman’s soothing voice a balm to her anxieties.

She turned around, still locked in Lance’s arms, and looked up blearily through tear-stained eyelashes.

The tender look he gave Helena nearly split her heart in two.

She could see his eyes were shining, as though the Merman felt her pain as his own.

She knew that Merfolk could not cry, Lance had told her as much, but she wondered if that meant they simply suffered more.

She pressed the side of her head to his lean, solid chest, the Merman’s clearly not-human heartbeat soothing her further. Helena’s panicked tears ebbed and her heavy breathing eased.

“I love you,” she sighed, the anxiety evaporating.

He pressed a kiss to her head and whispered, “I love too, Len.”

Helena heard a gentle cough behind her. She whipped around and found a customer waiting for her. “Sorry, sir.” She blushed, wiping her face with the back of her hand. “I was having a moment.”

“No problem.” He chuckled. “We all do.”

He was a tall faerie with stag horns spiralling from his head.

His russet-brown face had kind golden eyes.

His upper lip and nose reminded Helena of a rabbit’s.

He was very tall, nearly Lance’s height, though while the Merman was lean across his chest, the faerie was broad beneath his purple tunic.

He selected a braided leather armlet adorned with a single violet pearl.

Helena had seen his kind before, the peddler who had sketched her great aunt’s portrait back in the Clusters.

“For my husband,” the Cernunnos explained as he dropped a mixture of golden Seels and silver Sels into Helena’s money tray. “Purple is his favourite colour,” he said, looking down with a smile at his own bright purple clothing. He chuckled. “If that were not obvious.”

“Lucky man.” Helena smiled warmly, her tear tracks drying on her cheeks. “What’s the occasion? Or just because?”

“This is for his Name Day, but I am a big believer in ‘just because’ gifts as well.” The Cernunnos grinned, revealing sharp canine teeth. He beamed as Helena handed over his purchase in a neat leather pouch.

“That’s lovely! Happy Name Day to your husband.” Helena inclined her head slightly at her customer. “Thank you, sir.”

The faerie returned the gesture with a slight bow of his horned head before heading off into the crowded streets.

There was a lull after the antlered faerie departed, so Helena dashed opposite her stall to purchase some breakfast for herself and Lance.

She returned with a pie each – spiced goat and peas for her, cheese and potato for him.

She giggled as she watched the Merman close his eyes in bliss as he bit into it, a string of gooey cheese dripping onto his stubbled chin.

The pair watched the performers on the circular stage in the centre of the crossroads as they ate.

The troupe, consisting of two humans and a faerie, wore matching skintight clothing of indigo embroidered with stars.

Helena watched in awe, mouth open, as they contorted their petite bodies in ways she could never have imagined.

Upon each completion of a difficult combination of positions, the faerie, a Lumo, would glow brightly beneath the canvas shade sail under which they performed.

Helena and Lance stood and clapped loudly as they bowed, thoroughly enjoying their act.

Helena grinned at Rose as she returned to look after the stall shortly after lunchtime.

Her arms were laden with sweets and toys as Max and Zac bounced behind her, snacking on sticks of fruit drizzled in honey.

Rose planted herself behind their half-empty table and shooed Helena and Lance away so they could visit Eleanor at the boarding school.