"I had heard a rumor of a gorgeous human among us," the queen states plainly. "I am curious how, after showing no interest before, you come to bring a human into my court on the night of the full moon."
"I did not a bring a human into your court, Your Highness."
Her thin brows rise. I know enough about faeries to know they can't lie, which is why they speak in riddles, to avoid lying while skirting around the truth. "Does your guest have a name?"
"You may call me Selene, Your Majesty," I answer, offering a curtsey.
"Pretty name for a pretty girl." Her vibrant green eyes look me over. "Such a shame you came tonight. Humans aren't allowed to witness our full moon ceremony."
"Please, Your Highness," Kailan begs, flinching the smallest bit. "She owes me a debt. Let her return home before we begin."
"What debt could she possibly owe you?"
"Her firstborn, Your Highness."
An audible gasp travels through the room and whispers grow louder. Queen Tatiana raises a hand, silencing the room. "How interesting. Especially when the girl isn't pregnant. Does she have children?"
Kailan looks at me.
"No, Your Highness, I don't."
"How interesting. You have piqued my interest, Kailan. I am curious on how this will turn out. Go. Take the human to her dwelling. I wish for constant updates." She turns to me again. "As for you, you'd better get started. Babies take a while."
"I will, Your Highness," I respond, face flaming with shame. Everyone in here knows our deal, the deal I made without a second thought. And the queen is interested in developments. I feel like a cheap whore, in front of the Fair Folk.
Kailan bows again and Queen Tatiana turns away with a smile. He escorts me back around the room, this time with faeries moving out of our way. The exit is clear now, the door adorned with floral decor shaped like a faery dancing on water.
My brows knit. How had we missed it? It's lit up with a string of lights surrounding the door jambs.
Kailan leans down to whisper in my ear. "She must've glamoured it when she saw us enter. I don't know how the news spread that quickly, but she had to have known of your presence."
"And now you have to keep her updated on our bargain. Is that usual?"
His jaw flexes. "No."
"So why--?"
"Because despite being Unseelie, I haven't shown interest in a human before, let alone making a deal with one. It's my own fault."
"What's Unseelie?"
He stops beside the door, fingers wrapped around the handle. "Seelie and Unseelie courts? Seelie are the calmer faeries, while Unseelie are the more rambunctious, always messing with humanity. Do you know anything?"
"I don't know very much," I admit. "We have faery tales but I always thought they were just stories, and my mother never elaborated."
"My, how you would've been the perfect victim for any other Fae." He opens the door, shoving me through. He leads up the sloped earth, back out into the forest. The music from behind follows us, the only sound in the dark night.
"Why is it so quiet?" I whisper.
"Because even the animals know to remain hidden on the full moon when faeries are in the area." Kailan looks at me pointedly.
I duck my head, clasping my hands in front of me. I take his slight but I don't feel guilty.
Kailan walking me through the woods seems to go a lot quicker than when Gaelish did. He warns me of thorny bushes and tells me to mind my step so I don't tear this gown. Before too long, the moonlight peeks through the trees and we are at the farmstead.
"Will you wait here while I change? My mother will ask too many questions if this gown is in my closet."
He stares, eyes shifting over me once again, and then nods.
I sneak back through my window, change quickly into my nightdress, and bundle up the gown, admiring the fabric longingly. Oh, how I wish I could keep it. But I can't, I know I can't. Climbing back out my window, I stroll over to Kailan, handing him the gown. He accepts it with a small frown.
"You're forgetting something."
I cock my head, about to ask, "What?" when my hair shifts. The horns. Reaching up to pull them from my hair, I find them stuck. My head burns from the pain of having nearly half my hair pulled out. "Will you take them out? You did a fine job of securing them."
"You may keep those." His gaze is dark but it warms me, my blood rushing faster. Looking between my eyes and the horns, he adds, "They suit you. All you have to do is deconstruct the braids."
"My mother--"
He touches my chin, silencing me. Leaning closer, his face intimately close to mine, he whispers, "Keep them. I insist." Kailan's eyes lock with mine and I don't dare breath. He's so close. One small shift and I could kiss him.
"Kailan."