A Stranger Sort of Fairy Tale by Cherry Pickett

Author:Cherry Pickett [Pickett, Cherry & Pickett, Cherry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LGBTQ fantasy, LGBTQ romance, gay romance
Publisher: Ink & Bleed Press
Published: 2019-08-28T16:00:00+00:00

13

Pick Your Poison

It took some time, but many hands made quick work of the tents, which were staked down three times as firmly. The wind tugged at them nonetheless, threatening to lift them clear of their inhabitants. The beasts were given food and water, then laid over with blankets and settled between the tents. They bowed their heads to avoid the gritty air.

Viridian was shivering when Tarquin returned. The fey was alone in the tent, sitting on the sand in front of the low-burning fire, the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Tarquin sighed and sat down beside him. “How do fey survive the wicked northern winters?”

“Many layers, thick fabrics, velvets, fires, and furs …”

Tarquin leaned in. “Fascinating. Tell me more?”

“I’m still mad at you.”

Heat flared in Tarquin’s chest, a flash of anger he thought he’d forgotten. “And I’m mad at you. I told you to stay put. Instead, you put yourself directly in harm’s way, where you could have been killed—”

“Fey control energy. I had perfect command of the situation.”

“Viridian, the beast was wild.”

“And on a singular mission to kill you!” the fey cried, throwing the carpet off his shoulders. “And the one who brought this beast, who gave him his evil deed still walks among us—”

“I have many enemies,” Tarquin replied evenly. “It is unsurprising to me that there are some, even among us, who might wish to do me harm.”

“You must root him out,” the redhead insisted. “We can’t have a traitor in our midst.”

“No one came forward to claim the beast. I can’t do much more—who knows? Perhaps they’ve fled into the desert and they’ll die in the storm. We’ll have to wait it out.”

Viridian hugged his knees. “I’m scared to lose you,” he murmured.

Tarquin huffed and sat down in the sand. “We scarcely know each other.”

Viridian glanced at him, then away again. “I love you though.”

“You say that, but—”

“You don’t understand,” the redhead continued. “I was sent away from Fiddach, to Rus, when I was so young. I don’t even know what my parents look like anymore. I can’t recall what they sound like. They’re more strangers to me than you.”

“Yes, but—”

“I was alone,” Viridian whispered. “Fey need nothing while in their cocoon—and they locked me in that room, left me there. For years. I have no idea how long it’s really been. I heard no one, I talked to no one, I …

“They’d told me about you, you know. Before I cocooned. Every day, it was ‘Viridian, sit up straighter. Viridian, you must speak softly. Viridian, you must walk gracefully. What do you think the crown prince will think of such a rough-and-tumble bride?’”

“Of course,” Tarquin murmured. It wasn’t unusual at all, for a person of Viridian’s station to be groomed as such.

The redhead looked away, his hand curling around the silver pendant hanging about his neck. “And then they left me alone, for ages, and all I had to think about was that when this was over, I’d go to Arubio and be your bride.

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