Bear it.

Wyrn had spent the better part of the day preparing her room—their room. As he made a fuss there, Vadde panicked in silence. Bitter silence—save for the laughing fairies that followed her around, making bets as to how she was going to pull this off.

“I bet you they eat her,” Matax teased.

The two of them were awful sometimes, but Jeze had her moments of clarity which made her rather sweet. “Oh, stop it.”

They floated on either side of Vadde as she wandered the houses. There was no one to ask, not while she remained on this hill. But how far did the magic extend? To the very town? To the very valley? She didn’t know. Beyond that, who would she ask? And wouldn’t asking mean she bring risk to them?

A time or two, she considered finding rescue from these very fairies but thought better of it due to Wyrn’s panic once they were alone this morning. His words still rang true even now.

He’d held her face, looking into her eyes as he begged, “Do—do not under any circumstances—engage with the Fae. They are our enemies. They are cruel, and should one lay finger on you, I will kill it. Our people fought theirs till both were near extinction. They are treacherous and can’t be trusted. And while they cannot harm me right away due to the iron on my back, they can, and will, do terrible things to you should you provoke one. So, swear it to me. Swear. Please.”

And she’d sworn because after she’d agreed, he hadn’t let her go. It was only once she muttered the words, “I swear it,” that he kissed her, pulled her close, then went off to ready their room for the night.

That was tradition. But Vadde circled the entire little hill village with no clue as to what was going on, what they were, or what was to happen tomorrow.

“They will eat her,” Matax affirmed. “They will surely eat her. I bet you two fucks.”

Jeze giggled. Once she crossed Vadde’s nose and reached her lover, they shared a kiss.

“Wait,” Matax said, “did she just react to you?”

“Hmm?”

“When you flew by. She paused for a minute.”

Had she? Vadde probably had.

Matax zipped past and Vadde kept walking. She kept walking more and more and it was only when they finally believed she couldn’t see them that she realized she was well into the forest.

She met upon a wall. The tower was amazing. It reached even further than the trees. It had an odd shape to it, too. And it wasn’t the only one. There were several strange towers, with a round base and a slim top, that formed a circle. In the center, a boulder rested.

“Oww. Look. She’s found our home.” Jeze, holding Matax’s hand, laughed. “Perhaps she will move that rock and unleash us all.”

The rock.

It appeared to be a boulder like any other. If not for the strange towers, she might have rested atop it for a spell. With them here, however, they served as a warning.

Vadde hadn’t expected the silence. She was sure to keep her eyes on the boulder as she circled the huge towers. There were no openings.

She soon learned the source of the awkward mood.

“Matax? Have you heard me?” Jeze pleaded.

“Those dirty ~~!” the fairy grumbled. “It’s because of them we have no queen.”

Jeze came to a stop by his side, her wings fluttering furiously. “Or king.”

“Blast the king! We don’t need a king. But a queen would more than serve.” He leaned his head back and let out a shout.

The ground shook in his fury and Vadde paused in her stride, unsure if she was supposed to be aware of it.

Once Matax calmed, so did the quakes.

“The Living Goddess. The Living Goddess. The Living Goddess! What Living Goddess, you monsters! That was our queen. Our queen that you’ve trapped in mortal form, you beasts!”

Jeze held his face then allowed their foreheads to meet.

Matax’s tears were too small to see but his voice quivered. “Should they attack us now with no guidance, it’d be the end of us.”

“Shh.” Jeze stroked his face. “There are few of us on this side of the door in this form, Ma. But that won’t last if you continue to lose your temper. You’ll shed your wings and you can’t return to me. And what will I do all alone? All alone here by myself?”

Their kiss was brief at first then languished and Vadde felt more at ease upon knowing more about them.

Matax was a bastard from what she could tell. Jeze was someone who enjoyed his bastard behavior. And they touched and petted one another at a constant. Through them, Vadde learned far too much about Wyrn’s brothers’ and their wives’ lovemaking.

Jeze complained, “By far the very most boring was Bonn and that creature.”

Matax shuddered. “Agreed. Watching her trying to force love nightly makes my loins flaccid.” He grinned and fluttered closer to Vadde. “So it’s with luck this one’s arrived. Their love is strong and pure too. That, and she’s got awfully pretty breasts.”

Nose raised, Vadde bit back a derisive snort.

With a laugh, Jeze went to his side. “Would you prefer hers to mine?”

After a moment, Matax said, “Yes. I think I would. That, and the hump of her backside is also nice.” The pitch of his voice rose. “And the fact that she could accommodate the member of a~~ that easily was also nice. Supposing she could take mine?”

Vadde nearly slowed in shock but instead scanned the tree line for smoke and started for home. The idea of being held captive by the fairies came and went, as did Wyrn’s warning, and she wasn’t taking any chances. Not with her current luck at least.

“And he did enjoy her,” Jeze agreed, “despite her being so stiff.”

Stiff? Vadde wanted to turn and step on them both. She hadn’t been stiff. She’d been…lying there mostly.

With a groan, she rubbed her face and tripped.

Once she recovered, she looked down to find something that stole her very breathing. A skull.

“Oh. Suppose she’s found it, then. Their burial ground.”

The shape of the skull confused her. It wasn’t human at least, but that gave little comfort.

She wasn’t the only one interested. “It’s Fae all right.”

But it was the size of a human’s. The only difference being the forehead which sported ridges. Wyrn had been right—fairies could take on human size. The very palpable image of being held down and violated in this forest came to her.

“Blasted ~~” Matax growled. “At least we can watch one of them hurt. Because the minute this dummy can’t complete the ceremony and her husband’s ordered to kill her, he will, and he’ll lament it to his dying day. Considering who he is to them, it’s more than perfect.”

Vadde’s heart beat faster but she left the skull untouched and walked on. She met her husband at the edge of the forest. Or rather, he met her, face creased with panic.

“What has kept you! Where have you been?”

She caught the hands extended to her.

His fear meshed so greatly with the awful words of the fairies.

But deep down she could feel it—the significance of this night. There was more here than she could identify.

“I found some strange towers,” Vadde said, trying to think on how to approach the issue of the curse or the oath she couldn’t take.”

“The obalixs? You’ve been that far!” Wyrn tried to step past her, but she held him at bay.

“Please. It was awful there.”

Wyrn met her gaze. “Darling, there’s a boulder there. You did not touch it, did you?”

In this, she could put him at ease. “No. I did not.”

The evening was coming to a close. They’d spend the night together at least, after they washed.

Dinner was tense. No one spoke. Not even Shaza who usually vied for Bonn’s attention.

Wyrn didn’t eat much. Vadde could stomach the thought of nothing. All throughout dinner, Wyrn held onto her left hand.

This act felt akin to someone trying with all his might to keep her from going over a cliff…being dragged along with her to his doom

They were the last to leave the meal. For a long while, Wyrn didn’t move—he didn’t appear to breathe either.

It was Vadde who tugged him to stand. “Come. We can watch the stars a bit.”

“No.” Wyrn lumbered to his feet and told her. “There is something we must do in the light of day. And I—I want to do it. It will be our only chance. I won’t cower.”

She was unsure of his meaning. The day’s light had all but faded when they came to her door. Wyrn held her hand before she could walk in.

Perhaps he was thinking what she’d been thinking—could they run? How far could they reach on their own?

“You can leave,” Wyrn said instead.

She, not they.

Vadde turned to him, and he explained, “A~~ away from his people will fall into dark ways. And besides…there are many reasons I cannot leave here. I cannot leave my family.”

At the next instance of him opening his mouth, Vadde said, “I will not leave without you.”

Wyrn watched her. He wrestled with something then opened the door and ushered her in. The room was simply amazing. Small candles lined every surface. But the most confusing thing was the curtain hanging before the bed.

After closing the door, Wyrn explained, “It’s tradition that we show our true form for one night.”

Vadde’s heart fluttered. She could see them. Even the fairies said she could remember their form.

“But I’m not yet comfortable…showing you how I look. And besides, with the state of my back, should I take the shield off for long, it’ll likely worsen. And it’s dangerous. But a moment would be fine I think.” A shiver ran through him, and he swallowed hard.

He didn’t want to do this.

Surely, he wanted her, but…not this exposure.

Perhaps he cared that the fairies could see.

Perhaps only she would witness him in a state no one else had.

Perhaps…this was beyond him.

Wyrn focused on her chest then her eyes and said, “If you see me and you change your mind—”

“I won’t change my mind.”

“Let me finish.” His words held no malice nor anger, just a sadness that weighed his voice down. “I am to be the next leader. I am the youngest. Humans give to their eldest, we give to the one with the most years left. Without a wife, I would have no way to carry on our line. That was my father’s biggest concern.” He held both of her hands, squeezing them. “So, I cannot leave here. I am very important when we do battle.”

Those words held embarrassment, but she waited.

“But now, now that I can perhaps carry on the line, perhaps we’ll be in luck and our children won’t be like me. It is a chance I have to take.”

He wrestled with something, and Vadde wondered if he’d avoid what the fairies mention.

“I must take your life if we fail tomorrow.”

She flinched but mostly at his directness.

“And if I can’t, my father must take mine or…vanish you.”

“Vanish?”

Wyrn took a deep breath then met her gaze. “It’s a rejection spell meant to punish disloyal~~. It makes it so that I cannot perceive you.”

Though the thought was still unappealing, she asked, “So I’d become invisible to you and be cast out?”

He didn’t answer until he squeezed her hands and said, “It’d still end in death.” Using his thumbs, he made circles on the backs of her hands but he didn’t look away. “So we need to make this work. By any means. By all means. Please.”

Vadde began to tremble. Tears stung her eyes and she hated herself. Could she confess to him now? Everything? Everything when there was so little time left?

But before her mouth obeyed her, he pulled the curtain back and ushered her behind it. “So, you undress, and I will do the same and then we stand before one another.”

Her readied protest faded with the two pained blue eyes settled on her.

Instead, she nodded and did as instructed. Once she was bare, she covered her face to keep from crying.

What was she supposed to do? If she confessed and he took her beyond the valley and told her what they were and she could hear it, then she was their enemy. And should she not hear it, then she was cursed and he’d know.

This realization sent a wave of calm rushing through her. There was no winning that way. Not unless she found someone else to say what they were.

For a moment, something insane popped into her head. The fairies. Could she catch one? Get on a horse or donkey and force it to answer her once she was beyond the valley?

And that would break the promise to Wyrn. But perhaps that was worth the risk.

Or…perhaps she could guess.

“Husband?”

Ages passed before a voice came. “Yes, wife?”

A smile formed on Vadde’s face but faded when she became serious. “May—may I ask some questions?”

“Of course.”

“It’s about your—your people. Your men.”

This answer came slower. “All right.”

“When you say kill me? H—how would I die exactly?”

“Please don’t ask something so terrible. And you will not die because I am prepared to do whatever’s necessary.”

Vadde hung her head. Damn his nobility. She tried a new angle. “All right. Am—am I allowed to ask if your kind…has…has ever, perhaps, eaten people?”

“Eaten people?”

From where had those words come? Vadde slapped her own face.

“Well, yes, I suppose.”

Her right eyebrow raised. “They have?”

“Hm’hm.”

“Commonly?”

Wyrn sounded thoughtful. “Well, we don’t now. Though I know Father hadn’t when younger. I don’t think he’s given any of my brothers, either. He’s always said once a~~ has a taste for a certain flesh, it’s hard to stop. In fact, my grandfather’d nearly wiped out a village by the time those people took him down. And he was a force. And I’m not even angry at them, because it’s common to revisit a feeding ground until it’s all depleted.”

Body going numb, Vadde rubbed her face. She allowed her jaw to drop, taking little comfort that he couldn’t yet see her.

He could sense her anguish though. “Wife?”

Vadde cleared her throat. “Yes?”

“Do…do you have any more questions?”

She swallowed hard and said, “Just one. How—in the past—how exactly did your people dispose of a human—a human woman who knew your secret but would not join you?”

“I don’t want to talk about that,” he said.

But she couldn’t help it. “Please tell me.”

For a long while, Wyrn didn’t answer. Finally, he confessed, “That is the first taste of flesh most get. And then the sorrow helps fuel the rampage.”

Vadde let out a weak laugh. “Oh, I was afraid you’d say that.”