Fairy Ties

I stepped into the room. It was dark except for firelight, and my heart pounded as my eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light. The floor was cold and made of stone, and I felt goosebumps covering my body. I took another hesitant step, scanning the room.

It was surprisingly small. The main thing in it was the bed, whose frame looked like it was made of cast-iron stalactites. The covers on it looked soft and luxurious, which surprised me. I half expected that maybe he slept on the floor, or a stiff mat. Aside from the bed, the room was stark. The fireplace had been carved out of the stone walls, and it roared and crackled, pouring light onto the woven rug that sat at the end of the bed. Shivering, I approached the fire.

I crossed my arms, hugging myself. When he got here, I would demand to be let free. I didn't know what he was planning on doing with me now that I was his here, but I wouldn't be owned or kept.

I thought about my last encounter with the light and grimaced. They would be no help. But what about my light powers? Surely I should have powers, as a princess? I closed my eyes and tried to calm my beating heart. I breathed deeply, thinking about the meditation I had done in yoga. I thought of one meditation in particular, where you feel healing water cover your toes and slowly cover your body. I pictured it moving up my legs, hips, torso, and chest. I felt my whole body relax as I began to feel tingly.

"What are you doing?" The breath was light against my ear, and I shrieked, whirling around.

"Oh my god," I said, seeing Ronen smirking right behind me. My heart picked up again as he stood tall above me, his muscled form imposing. He reached up and touched my shoulder, and I flinched away from him. His dark eyes were amused.

"Calm down," he murmured. "I won't hurt you." He regarded me steadily as I tried to regain my composure. I had to make my stand. I had to tell him that he couldn't keep me.

"Were you trying to tap into your powers?" his lips curled up.

"No," my cheeks burned with humiliation. If I was fey, why was it that I felt completely human? I had no powers.

"They made a mistake," I say hurriedly. He arches an eyebrow. "The light," I explain, "they think that I am the princess, but I think that I am actually human."

He leans forward and breathes into my neck, and I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack. His breath stirs my hair as he inhales. "No," he says, and his voice is softened, "you are her."

"Either way," I say, trying to muster up my resolve, "you can't keep me here, it isn't right. I'm a free woman, and you can't just abduct me like it is the Middle Ages. It's barbaric! In my world, we chose who we marry."

I am expecting him to laugh at my ridiculous ideas about human liberty, but instead he looks annoyed. "Well," he says tersely. "This isn't your world, and you are not human. With the fey, there are rules and traditions that must be obeyed. You will stay with me tonight." As he finishes speaking, he strides towards the doorway and murmurs some words under his breath. I smell the burning scent of magic as suddenly the stone in the walls expand and grow until it looks as though a door never existed.

I think that my heart is in my mouth as his words and actions sink in. I feel myself shaking and my fists clenching, disbelief paralyzing my tongue. "What?" I finally manage, my voice strangled. Stay with him tonight? He wouldn't...he would never...

He comes back towards me, and something about the way he moves so smoothly seems predatorial, deadly. His eyes are unreadable as he comes too close, placing his hands at my waist. I try to jerk back, but his hands tighten as he leans his face down towards mine.

"You wanted this when you were human. And you still want it, don't you? I can feel your heart beating. You're trembling." His fingers trace my pulse point, and I shiver. My breathing is rapid and I feel myself becoming light headed.

"You wouldn't dare," I finally huff. "The light will kill you if you..." I can't get the words out, even as another thrill runs through me. "Without my consent."

His hand returns to my hip. "We are Queen and King," he says. "So you must sleep in my bed." Suddenly he hauls me up into his arms, and I struggle and flail but his arms feel like iron bands. He throws me onto the bed, and I scramble away.

"Where will you go, exactly?" he is amused again. My heart falls as I remember that the door is gone. I am trapped. He gets onto the bed and moves toward me. My eyes are drawn to the scabbard at his hip, and I think about reaching for it.

But could I hurt him? That face? I think of how kind he was, how gentle, as a human. I don't think I could do that. But I could hold myself hostage, all night if I had to. I lunge, but his hands intercept me, and he pushes me back on the bed by holding my wrists over my head. His face is smoldering.

"I didn't want to have to do this," he says, and I feel ice in my veins. Suddenly I feel soft material wrapping around my wrists. He lets go of me and I try to move my arms, but they are attached to the headboard. "No, no, no," I chant.

"Clearly I can't trust you not to hurt me or yourself," he says softly. He watches me as my rapid breathing slows down. What is he going to do?

I don't want him, not like this. But he was right. I did want him when he was human. But now, with his glowing eyes and his muscled body, with his aurora of power. You can smell it in the air, like electricity. It makes my hair stand on end.

"Roll over," he says gently.

I stare daggers at him. "Fuck you," I retort.

"Milah," he says, "the Fey have ways of making you do things you don't want to do."

My heart picks up again. He's going to...take me. And I have no choice. My mind fills with white noise as I roll over.

He whispers magic as his finger traces along the backside of my corseted dress, and I feel the strands undo themselves. His hands grasp the top of my corset, and he begins to drag it down my body. I stare into the covers, my face in darkness between my arms. I cannot believe that that nice human man could be so different, so cruel. My chest heaves into the bed as goose bumps cover my back. He drags the dress down my legs and tosses it onto the floor, leaving me completely exposed to him.

"There," he murmurs, and his finger traces down my spine. "Isn't that more comfortable?"

I think that I whimper, or sob. I feel his weight leave the bed and I hear him circle around it. I register surprise as I feel soft covers falling down over my body as his tosses them over me. I feel him come up to the headboard, and his breath tickles my ear as his hand touches my shoulder.

"Roll over," he commands again. My whole body thrums with nervousness. Why did he cover me? His eyes are almost black, and they seem dilated, animal.

The covers hide my body, to my relief, but his face hovers close to mine. "You may have heard horrors of the cruelty of the dark," the prince says, "but I do not take women who are unwilling. You will sleep in my bed, and you will be my mate, but not until you desire it," he stated it as a certainty. Relief washed over me, but it was short lived as he leaned down closer to me. My head pressed deeper into the pillow, but I could not escape his seeking lips as they pressed into mine. They were demanding, but my lips remained closed to his as he moved them over mine. His hand covered my pulse point as his lips caressed mine, but it moved down to lay against my collarbone. I felt heat flush through my body as he kissed me, and I felt as though I could taste the electricity on his skin. His hand travelled lower, touching the swell of my breast, and my heart raced. Surely, after all of that, he wouldn't...? But his hand swept the sheet away, exposing one of my breasts. His hand felt the weight of it and caressed it.

I tried to break away from his kiss. "Don't.." I tried to protest, but when his fingers closed around a dusky nipple I moaned, allowing his tongue to slip into my mouth. He was aggressive, exploring my mouth, and the heady feeling of his magic flooded me and invaded my mind. Echoing me, I heard him groan as he pulled away. I was flushed and embarrassed that he would see the effect he had had on me, and I was very aware of the nude body that lay under the covers.

"You are beautiful," he murmured, and he reached out as if to touch my breast again, but he merely pulled the covers back up. "Sleep," he commanded, and he strode towards the foot of the bed. I heard him sit and lay on the carpet, and I felt relief that he would not sleep with me. In an odd way, I realized the consideration of him giving me his bed. He whispered words of magic, and the fire died.

My heart continued to race. I didn't know if I would be able to fall asleep, with my hands tied above my head, my nude body accessible under the covers. I felt moisture trickle down my thighs.