"I didn't expect you so soon," Cara remarked, beginning to walk again without looking back. "I said I'd meet you tonight."

"Tonight is important to the Fae. As is every full moon. And I don't appreciate you summoning me like a trained dog."

"I have a question."

Their footsteps were the only sound for a long moment. Finally, when the town was within view, he asked, "What is it you seek now?"

"You somehow healed my mother. She seems ungrateful of your service. She told me I should have let her die."

"And?" Kiran pressed, irritation lacing his tone.

"Can you make her sick again, and cancel our bargain?"

He laughed so hard he had to stop walking a few paces. "I can make her sick again, yes. It will not cancel our original bargain, only add an additional favor you will owe me."

She turned to him, hesitating when she saw his ethereal beauty. Skin as fine as porcelain, hair like spun silver falling down his back, eyes as sharp as any predators. "I will grant your favor. But I will only bear your child."

He cocked his head. "Fae and human do not often copopulate."

"Not often, but they do."

"Are you...attracted to me?" He stepped closer to her and grabbed her chin with slender fingers. His touch was cold, his eyes studying hers. His breathed fanned her face, smelling of mint and roses.

Her pulse quickened. She stared into his eyes, unwilling to look away. His lashes seemed impossibly long, shadowing his eyes, making them appear darker. He was attractive, far more than the human men in the village and around town.

"Do you want to kiss me?" he purred. His voice was different, shifting to an even lower pitch, a seductive pitch. Intoxicated, she did want to kiss him.

"I can't kiss you here. We're close to town and we are unmarried."

He blinked, releasing her chin harshly and stepping back. "How curious."

The air felt warmer, the chill he had radiated dissipating with his distance. Cara took a step back. Kiran closed the gap between them again. "Cara."

"If I tell you I'm attracted to you, will you bear children with me?" she pressed. "It was your bargain after all. I have no prospective husband, and you're the only male I talk to."

"Cara, the benefit of taking your firstborn is you don't have to be married. No one will know of your misdeeds except yourself. And me, of course." He continued to stare, blinking slowly. "Find a willing human. I'll be back in a month's time to check your progress." He strolled away before she could say another word, his steps barely making a sound against the gravel.

Her mood fell. Why did he resist so much? She walked to town slower. By the time she got there, people bustled about in the streets, arms already full of groceries they needed for the day. At high noon, she headed home, only having sold three eggs. Damn Kiran. If he hadn't shown up, she would've beat the crowd of vendors.

Thankfully, her mother had been sick for almost a year. Cara doubted she would remember how many eggs were sold on a given day.

Upon her return home, she tucked the remaining eggs under a hen, cleaned out Betsy's stall and brought her in from the pasture, brushing her down and untangling her mane. She grabbed an armful of hay and dropped it into Betsy's feeder. She knickered, kicking the dirt in thanks.

"How's the little one?" Cara asked her, rubbing her belly affectionately. "Do you get excited thinking about having a foal or is it just some instinct to you?"

For the first time since making the deal, she wondered what she would be like pregnant. In town, the women seemed to radiate a beautiful glow, gently rubbing their swollen stomachs, smiling at anyone who compliments them. But there were a few who would snap at anyone they saw, irritated for no reason at all. She prayed she would be the former.

Then again, she wouldn't be able to see anyone when she was pregnant, or else they'd ask about the baby. And she wouldn't be able to give a response.

She paused in Betsy's stall, glancing at the mare as if she had come up with the best idea. Tonight was the full moon. Kiran said it was important to the Fae. Every full moon, he had clarified. When she was a child, the faerie tales always warned of the full moon, saying it's a night of magic and mischief. Small parties were held on their account amongst the bravest of people.

She couldn't wait a month for Kiran to check up on her. And she knew no man would bed her for the sake of getting her pregnant. She didn't want that anyway. As she had told Kiran, it was his bargain. They should keep it between themselves. She hadn't seen many of the Fair Folk, but he was still far more handsome than a human man.

"Wish me luck, girl," she told Betsy, patting her neck. She was going to that party tonight, and she was going to bear Kiran's child whether he knew about it or not.

***Cara has another idea on how to persuade Kiran. Will it be effective?***