Page 3

Severin

The beautiful witch gapes at me, her brown eyes so wide I could lose myself in them.

The power of her magic called to me as I flew overhead, and close up, she’s even more beguiling.

She’s taller than many of the other human women, almost as tall as a fae.

Yet she’s curvier than the women of my kind, so the open vee of her pink shirt offers an alluring glimpse of cleavage.

Her light tan skin blushes a fascinating pink as she snaps her mouth closed and swallows. Her every thought shows on her face in the most fascinating fashion. After years surrounded by calculating fae, her candor is refreshing. This one will indeed be fun to dally with.

“You want me to marry you…” she says each word slowly.

“For a year and a day.” Exactly the amount of time needed for the marriage to be sanctified as official in Faerie. And an official marriage is the only thing that will satisfy the fae leaders of the other realms that the shadow fae can be trusted.

The marriage will also cement my claim to hold land on Earth.

My eyes flick past the witch to the trees I called into being, ash and rowan and a local tree, whose seeds sang to my magic from within the ground.

Four-petaled white flowers cover its round shape in a profusion of blooms. The flowering bushes my magic conjured have blossoms the same rich pink as the witch’s vibrant blouse.

Earth plant life is so alive, so full of potential that it hums in my blood, a giddy song of growth and joy.

Today is the first time I’ve used my plant magic to its greatest extent, and I’m drunk on it and in love with this place already.

I set my palace down directly outside town, moving aside the plant life to create a denser barrier of forest around it.

So many trees in such a small area! The feeling is heady.

It feeds a need inside me long starved. The Dark God made my elfin ancestors shadow fae even as he stripped our realm of sun and life. I did many evils in his service, yet knowing he deprived me of the natural world that should have been my birthright makes him the true villain.

I need to remain on Earth.

And this pretty little witch can give that to me.

If it comes to it, I’ll seduce her. Our history is full of tales of humans succumbing to our charms, and she’s bewitchingly attractive with her obvious blushes and expressive eyes. Perhaps I’ll seduce her for the pure pleasure of it, whether it’s needed to seal the bargain or not .

“You don’t even know my name,” she says.

“Then give it to me.” I step closer, loving the way her pupils dilate at the movement.

“Hannah.” She squares her shoulders. “Mayor Hannah Wylde, since you’re clearly into titles.”

“Hannah,” I murmur. The lovely name slides across my tongue like silk. Being a palindrome, it speaks of magic and games. How appropriate for a fae queen, even a temporary one. “You may call me Severin.”

“So, Severin.” She gestures to the surrounding buildings. “If I marry you, you’ll protect the town?”

Interesting that she speaks of her town first instead of herself. I can make use of that.

“When you said no one else on Earth could know about magic, I placed a magical shield around the town.” My main magical power might be tied to plant life, but all shadow fae have a range of abilities.

“You trapped us here?”

“No.” I scowl, horrified by the thought. After being forced to serve the Dark God, I’d never imprison anyone against their will. “No one will be trapped. You have my word.”

“We can’t lose contact with the outside world.” Worry stains Hannah’s pretty brown eyes. “But we also can’t let everyone know about all this magic.”

“Fae magic can be quite complex. Anyone not magical themselves or accepting of magic will see a glamoured facade that appears completely mundane.” I gesture to some of the people behind her. “It’s already happening.”

She turns to take in the rest of the townspeople. Several, many of them younger women, have crept closer to the garden I just conjured. Others have already begun to wander off, brows creased in mild puzzlement. I relax the silencing spell for a moment.

“Why did we go outside?” an old man grumbles. “I thought we were having a town meeting.”

“I think the young people wanted to look at the azaleas,” a middle-aged woman answers.

“Why?” He snorts. “Those flowers were here yesterday, and they’ll be here tomorrow.”

“I don’t mind,” the woman says. “Our Hannah has done a lovely job restoring the town green. It deserves to be enjoyed.”

As they move out of earshot, Hannah turns back to me, wonder brightening her gaze. “They think the town green’s been like this? How the hell do they not remember that you did this only five freaking minutes ago?”

“Magic. In fact, everyone who can see magic now thinks it’s completely normal for fae to be on Earth.” I smirk, wrapping us in silence again. “They also think we’re having an adoring lover’s chat right now.”

“What?” she shrieks, spinning to wave a hand in front of the face of a short, blonde woman with pale skin. “Skye! Talk to me, Skye!” Then she gestures at a woman with freckled, light skin and red hair. “Autumn?”

Neither woman reacts.

“They can’t see the real you,” I say. “They think you’re standing right in front of me, staring at me with adoration.”

Hannah turns to face me. “Why?”

“No one can know our marriage is fake.”

“I can’t lie to my best friends!” She shakes her head, her long, straight brown hair swaying. “I won’t.”

Ah, scruples. How very inconvenient.

“I will allow you to tell two people.” I hold up the correct number of fingers to reinforce my point. “But the spell will not allow them to speak of it with anyone but you.”

Emotions flicker across her face in a fascinating display. Does she know she shows every single thing she’s thinking? Her look settles on one of determination. “Let me tell three people, and I’ll do it.”

“Agreed.” A part of me likes that she made a demand of her own. An entire year with a pushover would be boring.

“I’m going to release the illusion now. It’s time to start playing your part.” A pulse of magic radiates outward. I grip Hannah’s hands in mine and walk backward, pulling her onto the grass. Stopping beside a bed of tulips that match the bright pink of her blouse, I sink to one knee.

“Hannah, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

The look of shock on her face is perfect. She’s either a better actor than I credited her for, or she didn’t expect that I would propose so quickly. Yet I refuse to give her time to back out of our arrangement.

I squeeze her fingers, even as soft gasps come from the crowd.

“Yes,” she whispers.

Shrieks fill the green as I stand, and the other women surge forward with a babble of congratulations. They hug Hannah, some of them even crying a little, though these appear to be happy tears. In all my years of battle, I’ve seen tears many times, but never ones of joy. Goddess, it’s confusing.

Thankfully, none of the women hug me. A couple of them start toward me, arms wide. At my scowl, some long-dormant survival instinct kicks in, and they abruptly change their minds. Thank the goddess. I don’t do casual contact. I don’t do casual anything.

“Where did all of this come from?” Skye waves an arm toward the rest of the new garden. “The flowers, the trees!”

“I did it with magic. It’s my engagement present for Hannah,” I lie. “I wanted to propose to her in a beautiful place.”

A chorus of awws come from all the women.

“You can remember him remaking the green?” Hannah asks them.

“Like that’s something you forget,” Autumn says.

“This confirms that you’re both attuned to magic.” Hannah turns to the rest of the women crowded behind. “Everyone who can remember the way the green just came back to life, step closer.”

Several of the women huddle around her.

“There’s a lot we need to talk about. Can everyone meet at eight this evening at the bookshop?” When they nod, she turns back to me. “I’ll see you then. I need to talk to my… fiancé.”

Most of the women move away, heading into the garden I just created, but the blonde and redhead remain by Hannah’s side.

“Come.” I stretch out a hand. My shadows writhe under my skin, setting my tattoos dancing. They long to reach out and coil around her and snatch her to me. “We need to finalize our engagement.”

“Where are we going?”

“To my palace.” Moving my palace to Earth without any type of formal agreement was a bit of hubris. It cannot remain past today unless I bind myself to her to anchor it here.

“ You’re the reason there’s a new building on the outskirts of town? I should have known,” she says. “That land doesn’t belong to you.”

“On the contrary. I didn’t place my palace on your land.” Doing so would have destroyed far too many trees and other plant life. “I instead inserted it into your forest. The palace and its grounds are still part of Faerie.”

“That… that’s impossible.”

“No.” I smirk, extending my hand closer to her. “That’s magic.”

“I’m so happy for the two of you.” Skye clings to Hannah’s arm. “This is so romantic.”

“Does he have friends?” Autumn eyes me speculatively. “He’s got that whole bad-boy thing working for him.”

“Boy?” I rear back, lips curling from my fangs in a silent snarl. How dare she? I’ve conquered realms! Thousands have cowered at my feet, begging for mercy. “I assure you that of all the various appellations I may be aptly called, boy is not numbered among them.”

“She meant it as a compliment.” Hannah narrows her eyes at me. “And I don’t care if you’re a king. You don’t talk to my friends in that tone of voice.”

Magic sparks from her, strong for a human, even if no match for mine.

Yet I admire her willingness to stand up to me.

Not many would do so. Her words also remind me of where I am, who I am now.

I’m no longer a warrior king, no longer a fighter.

I left all of that behind once released by the Dark God.

I force my expression to ease and remember the part I’m meant to play. “I’m sorry, darling. I’ll try to watch my tone.”

Yells come from the green. One entire bed of tulips uproot themselves and run across the grass on root feet, waving their tall leaves like arms, their flower heads bobbing.

“Oh, god! Now we have flowers freaking running around? How can we explain them?” Hannah spins back to me, jabbing a finger toward the tulips. “Did you do that?”

“No,” I say.

Worry flares in her expressive eyes.

“Finalize our agreement, and I will protect your town.” I offer her my hand again.

Her shoulders go back, and her expression changes to one of determination. “Let’s do this.”

As soon as her fingers touch mine, a bolt of magic zips through me. My shadows leap from my skin, tendrils spooling outward to wrap around Hannah. My wings extend from my back, and I gather her into my arms.

She gasps as her human curves mold to me with bewitching softness, and the sweet smell of her fills my nose, something light and floral and as bright as sun striking water.

A chord thrums in my chest, an unusual feeling I cannot name.

My arms tighten around her as I leap into the air.