****Kailan's POV****
Breena skips ahead of me, a broad smile on her face. "Darling brother, I have never seen you so enchanted. And a human? I thought you didn't like them."
"I never said I don't like humans, merely the sport of taunting them."
"And then you claim the firstborn of the first human you make a deal with? You've stepped up the game, brother. The rest of us do parlor tricks in comparison." She turns back to me, eyes wide. "And you even got Queen Tatiana's attention, too."
Scowling, I grab her arms to keep her steady. "I don't care about any of that. If anything, it's a nuisance. Now I need to ensure Cara gets pregnant or they'll consider me a fool. What am I supposed to do when she can't produce a firstborn?"
She blinks, jaw dropping. "You should've told her in your deal. There's stipulations, always."
"Her mother was dying from an incurable disease. I took her firstborn in exchange for her mother's life. She has a year to deliver."
"Or?"
"Or what?"
Breena cocks her head, her silver hair shifting to reveal her smaller horns. Unlike my ram-like horns, hers are tiny like a new buck's, the humps fuzzy and tan in color. "Or you'll take her soul, or kill her mother off like she should've been," she replies pointedly. "Honestly, Kailan, if you're going to make deals, make it impossible for them to choose another way. If you hate bartering with humans so much, why did you choose her?"
"I..." I trail off, unable to lie and unwilling to tell her the truth. I had watched Cara with fascination for a few months, following her around without her knowledge. Most nights, I would hear her cries through her bedroom window and I would wonder why she was so sad. She seemed perfectly happy during the day, conversing with her animals and laughing with a few people she spoke with in the village. So why would she cry herself to sleep?
She became a mystery, and I wanted to solve it.
Then, on that fateful night, she emerged from her house, without a single tear in her eye, determination glinting in her green eyes as she strode toward the town. I wasn't trying to make myself known to her, nor did I have any intention of revealing myself to her. It happened on its own, as I stepped up behind her and released my glamour.
My voice did not sound familiar as I asked, "Is there anything I can help you with, lady?"
She shrieked, naturally, bending forward in her surprise before whirling around with wide eyes. Once determined, now they held apprehension, but not fear.
I cocked my head, and her eyes followed my hair as it fell from my shoulder.
"I've never seen you before. Who are you?"
"Someone who may be able to help you. Who are you?"
She hesitated. She should not have answered, but she did. "Cara."
"And what is troubling you, Cara? Why are you out at night, alone?"
She lifted her chin defiantly, pretending she wasn't afraid. But I heard her heart beating faster and I noticed the small step she took back to put some distance between us. "My mother is ill, and I fear she will not last too much longer. She's the only family I have left, and I'm terrified to be alone."
"How long has she been ill?"
"Almost a year. But she's been bed ridden and delusional for a few months, and it's getting worse."
"So you wish for your mother to be cured?"
Her large green eyes looked at me with hope, a little desperation, and the smallest hint of distrust. "Yes."
"I can do that for you, for a price."
Her face fell. "I don't have much money."
"It is not money require. Instead, I will need a piece of you. A life for a life."
"I... You mean my life for hers?" She stepped back now, fear coating her tone.
"That would hardly suffice," I reassured her, feeling better myself when she exhaled in relief. "You said your mother has been sick for a year. I will give you one year to bring me your firstborn child. And do not think about bringing me any other child, I only want your firstborn."
"But I have no children."
I shifted closer to her, this curious human who was obviously old enough to bear children and beautiful enough to enrapture any man. "You will have a year to birth a child then."
Her round, delicate face turned toward me, her eyes filled with an emotion I couldn't place. Dread? Acceptance? I couldn't read her. Humans were easy to read, which made them uninteresting, but she was different. Infuriating and curious.
"I will accept your deal." Her lips formed the words but it took a second for my mind to comprehend what she had said.
And then, a few moments later, when she said she would bear my children stunned me completely. Did humans make those kinds of deals normally? I had avoided them for so long, considering them dimwitted and boring, but maybe I had been wrong.
Maybe that was why, before I walked away, I gave her my name. As a test. To see if she knew just how valuable names were among the Fair Folk. But just knowing Kailan wouldn't harm me. She would need to learn my true name for that.