"Do you remember when Oberon had that affair with a human? Wasn't there a child from that union?"

"That makes me half Fae."

The words circled around Kiran's brain repeatedly, consistently nagging at his thoughts. He hadn't paid much attention to the gossip of the Courts, ever, and he naturally shrugged off Breena's comment. Why should he care about the prospect of Oberon's bastard? Queen Titania definitely would've had it killed by now if it were true.

Except...

He turned slowly on his heel to look at Cara again, at her plain human features. To look at her, to study her, no one would suspect she was Fae. There was nothing to indicate it. Dull eyes, rounded ears, limp hair. Obviously, she didn't have wings. Her figure was very much that of a mortal woman, not ethereally aesthetic in the slightest. Most Fae females were thin, bony creatures. Cara had meat on her bones, though she lacked ample curves.

Enough studying the girl, he told himself. He wondered if he should bother taking her to the Seelie Court. It would be the equivalent of dropping her off in a wolf's den. Titania would certainly gouge her eyes out, to start. Who knew what she would do to rid herself of her husband's bastard. Although Fae rarely are sworn to one, it's an even slimmer chance to procreate when participating in acts of sexuality. But for the King to have proof of his infidelity...

Cara's hand was feather light as she touched his arm. "Kiran...? Is everything all right?"

He hadn't realized she had approached him. He couldn't lie but he didn't want to seem like he cared for the girl either. Steeling his expression, he frowned and clipped, "Let's keep going." Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he turned back around and walked down the road.

He could tell Cara had never been beyond her little town. She gawked at everything as if maple trees differed from inside the village versus in the world. She inhaled deeply. Did the air smell different too?

It was the same air, he knew, but he still breathed a little deeper himself, smelling the dew on the grass that accompanied the dawn.

It has been a while, he realized, since he had taken in the small delights of the world. He no longer cared to watch the sun rise or fall, about the first snowfall that left frost over everything and turned the earth crystalline. In the autumn solstice, when the leaves changed and fell, he used to love that the most. The smell of the dirt as it prepared for the frost, absorbing the fallen remnants of the trees to insulate itself. The blistering wind that would whip through the forest, almost like a young sprite glad to be free.

What had happened to his sense of wonder?

He watched Cara, and he smiled. His first real smile in decades. The innocence on her face was so refreshing after spending so much time with snarling, conniving Fae.

She turned to him as the forest thickened on either side of the path, the most radiant grin on her cherubic face. He adopted a scowl before she could witness his peace. A sharp pain stabbed his chest, like a knife piercing his heart, when her face fell.

"You must think me childish," she murmured. "But the truth is I'm enraptured because all I've ever seen is my town before I met you."

An iron knife, burning his entire chest cavity as it sunk deeper. How boring her life must be if she was enthralled by forests. Pity filled him and he reminded himself the girl owed him a favor. He may have a soft spot for humans but he had never felt any real feelings for them. Even half Fae humans.

So what is it about this girl that evoked feelings out of him? Half Fae. And not just any Fae. A spawn of King Oberon himself. A bastard in the eyes of royalty but powerful nonetheless–if she possessed magic. Half Fae. He knew he hadn't gone soft. What were the odds the human he struck a bargain with was King Oberon's daughter?

Did Queen Tatiana know? Is that why she was so interested? A bargain for one of Oberon's kin, from an unsuspecting Fae who rarely made deals. It would make a fantastic story among the courtiers, and Unseelie loved gossip.

Soft, joyful music played on the wind. Cara noticed it and stopped, clutching his arm. "What is that?"

He heard the fear in her voice. "That would be the portal to the Seelie Court. Welcome home, princess. It sounds like we're just in time for the party."

***They're arrived at the Seelie Court! What wondrous--or disastrous--things await Kiran and Cara now?***