Page 65 of First Snow
Arttu shudders, because Jareth is right. He was willing to do a lot of things to make Jareth stay. What the hell is going on? He hides his face against Jareth’s shoulder again, because otherwise he doesn’t dare to express what he wants to say.
“Maybe it’s your closeness that I needed? I was losing my mind without you.”
“It must be the thrall. It makes you feel like you depend on me.” Sighing, Jareth cups Arttu’s face between his palms and coaxes him back into eye contact. “I swear to you, I’m going to fix this. I must deal with Lord Briar first. But once that scum is no longer a threat, you’ll be free again.”
“What? No! What are you talking about?”
“I’ll break the spell and you will be free of your infatuation with me,” Jareth says, as if it were the most sensible thing in the world.
Arttu growls in frustration. “You idiot. You should convince me that this magical bullshit is real. You better make me believe you’re not a delusional serial killer. I don’t care about your stupid little love spell. It’s a tad late for that anyway.”
Is he still trying to convince Jareth that he’s bought his outrageous lies, or did he fall for Jareth’s crude story about magic? Arttu doesn’t dare look too closely at the answer.
Staring at Arttu unblinkingly, Jareth goes very still.
“Are you trying to tell me you’ve fallen in love with me, sweetheart?”
Did he say that? Is that what Jareth took from his statement?
“Umm, I—How did you—”
Jareth puts his hand over Arttu’s mouth, cutting his rambling short.
“Hush, you don’t have to answer me. So you want proof that mymagical bullshitis real, yes?”
With Jareth’s hand still covering his mouth, Arttu merely nods. Hell, this feels almost as good as being choked.
“Okay, let’s see. What could convince a reasonable detective that magic is, in fact, real?” Jareth seems to ponder his own question for a few seconds. “Would you like to see my glamour? You’re used to seeing my true form by now. But in human company I usually look like this…”
It’s like watching a mirage. The air around Jareth shimmers, and from one blink to the next, the antlers, pointed ears, and sharp canines are gone. He’s just the human Jareth again. Arttu gasps. He fumbles for the antlers, but all he can touch is Jareth’s soft hair.
“Do that again!”
Jareth chuckles and gives him a mischievous smile. It’s full of pointy teeth again. Arttu touches his ears next, prodding and pulling, though this time much more gently than the first time he tried to remove the antlers. He ends up with his fingers in Jareth’s mouth, testing the sharpness of his teeth. Arttu only realizes what he’s doing when Jareth bites down on his hand gently, his tongue curling around Arttu’s fingers.
“Sorry!” Arttu hurries to pull back before Jareth gets any funny ideas, like biting his fingers off, for example.
Jareth only smirks at him. “Well, what do you want to see?”
Arttu bites his lips, contemplating the offer. “What did you call yourself? Half-Fae? Can you manipulate the elements like…like a forest spirit or something?”
Jareth gives him a radiant smile. Arttu wishes he could see him like this more often.
“My father was a Fae Lord, my mother was human. Often half-blood children grow up with their Fae families, but my mother didn’t want me to be raised in the Kingdom Beyond. She hid me with my foster parents and went to lead my father and his family on a merry goose chase.”
Jareth opens his palm between them and an orb of light flickers into existence. The will-o’-wisp floats casually around them. Its light illuminates Jareth’s features, lending him something almost demonic, but in a sexy way. Arttu is so screwed.
“Have you ever met your parents?” Arttu asks, to distract himself from his rekindling arousal.
“On a couple of occasions. Neither of them were exactly what you’d call likable. And my father never got over the fact that I rejected the family legacy.”
Arttu watches the shadows playing over Jareth’s face as if in a trance. He’s enchanted by Jareth’s story and the display of magic. So often has Arttu wished he could have the same simple belief in a magical realm beyond everyday experience as his mother and many others he grew up with. But it was always too far-fetched for him, too unbelievable.
“So you decided to stay in the human world,” Arttu whispers.
Jareth smiles wistfully and caresses Arttu’s back.
“I don’t really fit in there very well either. But the Kingdom Beyond… It’s vast, empty landscapes, populated only by a few remaining beings. And my kind is malevolent more often than not. The stories aren’t exaggerating when they say that the Fae like to bring beautiful humans to their realm to keep them as their lovers. And other creatures who live here are more like wild animals.”