Lord of the Hunt

Chapter 18




Taryn tried to get free of Felan’s grasp. Dark blood was trickling from a wound on Verden’s cheek. She knew the King and Verden were arguing about her, but she couldn’t hear the words. They were keeping the dispute private even though most had now stopped to watch.

“Keep still if you know what is good for you,” Felan muttered near her ear.

In truth, she didn’t know what she was going to do if she did get free. Run to Verden? No, that would look bad. Go to the King’s side? That is what she should do. But she knew her feet wouldn’t be able to move.

She should never have danced with Verden. Even now her heart was beating too fast and her skin was hot from his touch. She needed him. She loved him.

“What is going on?”

“He saw you dancing with Verden and worked out what is going on.”

“We broke up.”

“You didn’t look very broken up while dancing. It doesn’t pay to be careless at Court.”

She turned to face the Prince. “It was one dance.”

“It was more than a dance. When you were with him…” Felan shook his head. “I’m not blind and neither is my father.”

The King lifted his head to face the crowd. “There will be a hunt tomorrow in the mortal world to settle the dispute. I will not let it spoil the festivities of midsummer.” He flicked his hand and everyone turned away, not wanting to be caught looking after being dismissed.

But she could hear the whisperings.

People glanced her way. Did they know what the argument was about?

The King took his seat and then beckoned her forward. She shook herself free of Felan.

Felan grabbed her hand. “I can only help you so much now. Be careful. His temper is frayed.” Then he released her arm and followed at a distance.

Was he her ally or protecting his own interests in her father? She had to look after herself.

Taryn sat down next to the King as if nothing had happened, but the tension coiled around her and all of the humor in his eyes was gone. He looked cold and calculating and alien.

“You made me a deal with me. Did you intend to honor it?”

“Yes, sire.” She bowed her head. She would have kept her word even if it killed her. A fairy’s word was good—if it wasn’t, they quickly found themselves out of favor and out of Annwyn.

“Would you have been faithful to me?” He asked, his hand slapping on the table.

“Of course, sire.” But in her heart, she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. “I made the deal in good faith.”

“We shall see what color your faith is tomorrow.” He nodded to Felan to approach. “Taryn will be the doe in tomorrow’s hunt.”

“What?” She must have misheard. They weren’t actually going to turn her into an animal. Were they?

“You are the prize to settle the dispute. A deer is the traditional animal.” The King smiled and it was all winter and knives.

“That’s barbaric. You can’t turn me into an animal and hunt me.” Could he? Did he have that much power that he could turn her into an animal?

“I can and I will. The decision is made.”

“But I’ll get hurt.” How could he think this was in anyway a good idea to settle this?

The King shrugged. “Such is the price to be paid.”

That was her part of the punishment. Her stomach twisted and turned to water. “What about our deal?” She’d been so close to having everything she wanted. Her father’s pardon, freedom from the King’s interest, and she’d f*cked it all with one stupid dance. A dance she wanted to relive again and again.

He glared at her. “It can wait until after. I will not have the Hunter preying on what is mine.”

She bristled. She was no man’s property to be claimed and protected. “I’m not yours. I’m not anyone’s.”

“You accepted a seat at my side, my hand for the dance. When the King of Annwyn extends you that honor, you do not bite that hand by then accepting the favor of the Hunter.” He leaned closer, the antlers dangerously close to her face, and lowered his voice. “Just because you weren’t in my bed doesn’t mean you weren’t fulfilling the role of mistress.” He leaned back in his seat. “And even if you win our little wager, that doesn’t mean you won’t continue fulfilling those duties until I am relieved of my crown.”

She’d expected there to be an edge of bitterness, but there was none. It sounded almost like relief. Was he just waiting for all this to be over? Then why continue the charade and put her through hell? She glanced at Felan. Because he wasn’t ready. He had no human wife and no heir. Damn them all. But if Annwyn fell, there would be no mortal world—at least not as she knew it.

Felan bowed. “Would you like me to help in any way?”

The King glanced at her. “Escort Lady Taryn to her chambers and confine her there until the hunt. I wouldn’t want the quarry slipping out of Annwyn.”

She opened her mouth to argue, then thought better of it. At least if she were in her room, she couldn’t get herself into any more trouble. As she left the hall on Felan’s arm, she gave it one final glance. A beautiful, alien party. No matter how hard she tried, she’d never fit in; she was a human in fairy skin.


A better question was would the changeling like him after their first inauspicious meeting? Would he rub it in Verden’s face that he was now a Grey? But he kept his doubts to himself. He’d made the deal and now he had to live with it.

“Did you know that’s where my parents used to be Brownies?”

He blinked and looked down at her. Used to be. “You got the pardon? Well done.” He tried not to think about what she’d given up to get them home, even though the question was on the tip of his tongue.

She must have seen something in his eyes because she grinned. “It’s all okay. I won the King’s bet. My father got the pardon, but…Felan asked that I take their place after the power shift.”

Her words settled around him as he worked out what she was saying. They would be in the same house. Taryn was going to be released from Court. He picked her up and swung her around as if they were dancing again at Court. When her toes touched the ground, he kissed her again. “I hope that means what I think it means.”

She nodded. “We will be together.”

Was this some kind of trap he was failing to see the whole of? His mind raced with possibilities, but he found nothing.

“And the King? The fallout from the hunt?” By rights, the King should own her after winning the hunt. Verden shouldn’t be touching her and yet he couldn’t let her go.

She didn’t answer; she just looked at him with a faint smile on her lips.

What was he missing? “What is it? Just say it.”

“I am the Hunter. That is all that he asked.”

“But you are stuck at Court.” He covered her hand with his and rested his cheek against her hair. She smelled like flowers, sweet and tempting. “While I will be stuck in Charleston.” And a Grey.

She turned her head and brushed her lips against his. “But I can come and see you whenever I want. In fact, there is no rule that the Hunter must live at Court…” Her suggestion hung in the air like a tempting promise. It was almost too good. Too easy.

He drew in a breath. “You plan to live in the mortal world while being Hunter?”

She nodded. “Since my main job will be monitoring fairies in the mortal world, I can see no better place to be based.”

He kissed her again. His tongue tasted her lips before she opened her mouth to him. Her body melted against him, and for a moment he felt like the luckiest fairy on either side of the veil. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She rested her head on his chest.

In just two weeks, he would be free from Court and obligated to stay in the mortal world. And Taryn would be there with him.

That was all that mattered. Not status or deals. The one thing he could never have at Court was the only thing he wanted. Love.

She stepped back and pulled a set of silver handcuffs from her belt. “Ready?”

He eyed the enchanted silver cuffs, well aware of what they were. She was actually going to transport him like a common prisoner. Like a Grey. “That isn’t necessary.”

“You have transported Greys before.”

“Yes, but…” But nothing. Without the silver cuffs, he wouldn’t be allowed into Annwyn. He wouldn’t be able cross the veil. Once there, they would start burning him. He’d had one Grey run away only to come back screaming for them to be removed. And the only person who could remove them was the Hunter.

Verden held his hands out as Taryn placed the silver cuffs around his wrists. A thread of heat raced through his body as he remembered the last time she’d pinned his hands in the grass. She ran her finger around the edge of the cuff and then up his arm. A faint smile curved her lips. Was she thinking the same thing?

He lifted his hands and touched her cheek. “You know we could kill some time.” He smiled and gave the cuffs a rattle.

That made her laugh. It was the way he remembered, like bells ringing through the still night air. She didn’t care that he was a Grey and had no status at Court. She was here because of him. He looped his arms over her head and pulled her into an embrace that was more than a little awkward because of the cuffs. He pulled her close, so she could feel him hard against her belly.

Her lips brushed against his. “Not here. We’ll celebrate at the changeling’s house.”

He grinned and released her. “Lead the way, Hunter. I am yours to command.”