Five

by Christie Rich

  Zach took me on so many roads, I could have been in Kansas for all I knew. He pulled down a dirt driveway that wound through some trees. We stopped in front of an old farmhouse. The moon shone brightly, highlighting the peeling paint. More than a few shutters were missing, and the rest were hanging by a nail or two. I almost laughed because it looked like a haunted house.

  The front door creaked loudly when he opened it. I followed him through a foyer into the den. I liked this study even better than the one at Roger’s, although they were very similar. Mahogany bookcases lined the walls here, too, but they were simple, not ornate. The leather chairs were old and worn in. The musty smell of aged paper and ash surrounded me.

  Zach sat on his haunches, arranging logs and kindling as though he had been doing the task his entire life. Before I knew it, a blaze roared in the hearth. There was something about the way the fire licked at the wood that was more satisfying than the artificiality of gas.

  I lowered myself to the couch. He settled in next to me and pulled a blanket over our legs.

  “This place has a lot of drafts. Let me know if you get cold.”

  With him next to me, that was impossible. I didn’t want to start over so I summarized what I had read so far before I continued.

  My captor took me to the fae capital. I still didn’t know his name or what he was going to do with me. I have never seen the likes of that place. The streets are paved in gold. The air is ripe with heavenly spices and the sweet smell of the springtime blooms that line the roads in every color of the rainbow and others the human eye can’t quite see.

  He was right. My body did adjust to my new surroundings. My eyes became accustomed to the intense glow emanating from everything. Even the dust glittered in infinite hues.

  He took me to the high priestess. Her appearance shocked me. Twiggs and leaves adorned her matted white hair. She wore layers of animal skins. Her eyes were the color of frosted glass. Her skin was as pale as a new fallen snow.

  She circled me, sniffing the air like a bloodhound. I could not take the intensity of her gaze after one look. She could see my soul. I kept my eyes locked to the glowing earth while she touched my hair, inspected my nails, and held my face in her tiny hands.

  “This will be a good union,” she announced to the crowd that had gathered. “She has abundant power and will aid the light court for many years to come.”

  The people cheered. My captor took my hand. “Come,” he said. “Tonight, I make you my queen.”

  Two of the lords stepped forward formally. “We bear witness that this woman was taken of her own will,” the tall, dark one said.

  I planted my feet. “I was not,” I said, but no one listened.

  “We acknowledge Taveon of Uldran as the rightful claimant to this Elemental,” the other one said.

  “Don’t I get a choice in any of this?” I asked, but, again, I was ignored.

  I looked up at Zach. His face was dispassionate as though he was bored.

  “How awful,” I said. “Can you imagine not having a say in who you marry?”

  Zach shrugged. “Plenty of societies throughout time have used arranged marriage for social gain.”