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I sighed. “Hawthorn found his way to the Unseelie Court,” I went on, as the elder’s brow wrinkled further. “He came before Queen Mab, begging her to allow him to be part of her guard, that he would be honored to serve as one in her court. When Mab refused, he demanded a duel, to prove himself the strongest warrior. He swore on the lives of his kin and tribe that he would be victorious, and that if he won, he would be allowed to serve her. Mab was amused, and allowed him to fight one of her warriors.”
“I don’t understan—”
“Hawthorn was defeated,” I continued softly, as the elder’s face went from deep brown to the color of toad stools. He stumbled back, falling to his knees, mouth working soundlessly. Drawing my sword, I started forward, as gasps and screams began to rise from the huts around me.
“The lives of his kin and tribe are forfeit should he lose. I am here to collect on that debt.”
“Mercy.”
The human stared up at me from where he knelt in the snow, an arrow piercing his calf, dripping bright mortal blood onto the ground. Trembling, he clasped his hands together and raised them beseechingly at me, eyes filling with tears. Pathetic human.
“Please, lord of the forest, have mercy. I didn’t mean to trespass.” I smiled at him coldly. “The forest is forbidden—your people know this. Venture within our territories, and we have leave to hunt you down. Tell me, human, why should I be merciful?”
“Please, great lord! My wife, my wife is very sick. She is having…birth-ing difficulties. I needed to take a shortcut through the forest to reach the doctor in the town.”
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“Birthing difficulties?” I narrowed my eyes, appraising him. “Your wife will be dead before you get home. You will never reach her in time, not with that wounded leg. You’ve killed them both by trespassing here.” The human began to sob. His glamour aura f lickered blueand-black with despair. “Please!” he cried, pounding the snow. “Please, spare them. I care nothing for myself, but save my wife and child. I’ll do anything. Please!”
He collapsed, crying softly, in the snow, murmuring “please” over and over again. I watched him for a moment, then sighed.
“Your wife is lost,” I stated bluntly, making him moan and cover his face in hopeless agony. “She cannot be saved. You child, however, might still have a chance. What will you give me if I save its life?”
“Anything!” the man cried, gazing up at me in earnest. “Take anything you want, just save my child!”
“Say the words,” I told him. “Speak them out loud, and let the trees witness your request.”
It must have dawned on him then, what was happening, for his face went even paler and he swallowed hard. But he licked his lips and continued in a shaken but clear voice: “I, Joseph Macleary, am prepared to offer anything for the life of my child.” He swallowed again and looked straight at me, almost defiant. “Take what you wish, even my own life, as long as my child lives and grows up healthy and strong.” I smiled at him as the invisible strings of magic wove around us, seal-ing the bargain. “I’m not going to kill you, human,” I said, stepping back. “I have no interest in taking your life now.” 281/387
Relief crossed his face, for just a moment, before alarm f lickered in his eyes. “Then, what is it you want?” still smiling, I faded from sight, leaving the human to gaze around the empty woods alone. For a moment, he knelt there, confused. Then, with a gasp, he whirled and began limping back the way he came, leaving a speckled trail of blood in his wake. I laughed silently, sensing his panic as he realized what he had promised. He would never get home in time.
Glamoured and invisible, I turned my steps in the direction of a small shanty on the edge of the woods.
The Samhain festival arrived at the Winter Court, and with it the gifts and favors and goodwil blessings for the Winter Queen. Mab was extremely pleased with my gift that year; a dark-haired baby boy, and the look on Rowan’s face when I presented the child to her was unfor-gettable. The boy grew up, healthy and strong, in the Winter Court, never questioning his past or his heritage, becoming a favorite pet of the queen. Eventually, when he got a little older and weaker and not so handsome anymore, Mab placed him in an endless sleep and encased him in ice, freezing him as he was forever. And so the bargain made in the snow the night of his birth was fulfilled.
“Enough!”
Slammed back into the present, I lurched away from the Guardian, the faces of the lives I had destroyed staring at me from the shadows of the room. Hitting the wall, I squeezed 282/387