Bartered to the Fae Lord

by Rylee Winters

  “Are you sure his father and aunt would be okay with that? I would be plucking the boy away from his home…also, most of the staff here reside in the garrison, and only get a chance to return home once a month to see their families.”

  “His aunt could visit whenever she wanted…” Elise countered, desperate to convince him.

  “And his father?” Callum arched a brow. “What about him? I doubt he’s going to agree to this arrangement.”

  There was a moment of silence, and Callum watched as Elise cleared her throat awkwardly. “That’s where I was hoping you could use your influence…” she said hesitantly, finally having the grace to look embarrassed.

  Callum barely managed to stop the smile threatening to stretch wide across his face. “My influence? What exactly do you mean by that, my lady?” he asked in a smooth, innocent voice, even though he already knew the direction her thoughts were heading.

  Elise blushed a pretty shade of pink, but she retained her composure and stared back at him with unwavering eyes. “You are the commander of this garrison, are you not? Certainly, you would hold significant sway over the nearby villages and towns given your status and the protective services you provide them.”

  Callum grinned, his eyes dancing as they glimmered under the light. His wife was shrewd and smart, he’d give her that. “Perhaps it could be arranged if I pulled in some favors…” he said. His eyes glinted devilishly. “But what would I get in return for bestowing such a favor?”

  Elise frowned; the conversation taking an unexpected turn. “The boy’s a child…what could he possibly give—” She stopped abruptly as the true meaning of his question dawned on her.

  Her eyes rounded and she stared back at him in dismay. “You want something…from m-me?” she finally stuttered out, swallowing hard.

  “I think it would only be fair, don’t you think? Afterall, you’ve told me plainly you don’t see me as your husband, and I doubt you consider me as a friend, so why else would I perform this favor for you?”

  Elise had the grace to blush; recalling how she’d rejected Callum harshly that night...

  What he’d said was true, and despite her feelings of righteousness over the matter of Gideon’s welfare, she couldn’t deny that Callum had a point...

  “What do you want from me then?” she ground out the words like they were shards of glass.

  Callum eyed her. He found it very interesting watching Elise trying to restrain herself, especially when it was clear she’d like nothing better than to throw something directly at his head!

  To Elise’s credit, she managed to calm herself despite Callum’s provocation.

  For some reason, he found it fun poking and prodding the fiery beast inside her! It was something he’d never really felt with anyone else…

  He enjoyed the challenge of trying to get a rise out of her, and when he did—it lit a spark inside him, making him feel younger and much more alive!

  Callum tried to cover his smirk behind his hand, but Elise caught the movement and narrowed her eyes. “So, what is it?” she bristled, repeating the question. “What do you want me to do?”

  Callum thought for a moment…there were many things, in fact, that he wanted Elise to do... Unfortunately, most of them were inappropriate for him to ask for right now. Perhaps at a future date, maybe…

  It was fortunate for Elise she had no idea what Callum was thinking right now, otherwise she would have blushed crimson red to the very roots of her hair.

  “Hmmm…” Callum drummed his fingers against the table, then sighed, disappointed he’d have to settle for asking Elise something more practical and mundane.

  “I am going to be away for a few days,” he informed her. “While I’m gone, I need you to promise me you’ll obey Aiden’s instructions. It’s his job to keep you safe, so you would be wise to listen to him. In conjunction to this, I also need you to promise me you won’t go doing anything brash again—like jumping into a freezing, cold lake.” Callum grimaced at the memory of Elise almost drowning, as it flashed inside his mind. “Are you agreeable to this?”

  Callum finished speaking, and to Elise’s credit, she bit her tongue, and didn’t utter a word of protest. She did however, roll her eyes at him, thinking he was being rather overbearing, but in the end she gave him a nod of her head.

  “I need you to say the words, Elise,” Callum pressed, insisting on getting her verbal agreement.

  “Fine. I promise I’ll stay out of trouble and listen to Aiden while you’re gone,” she answered in an exasperated tone, grousing at being ordered around. As soon as the words left her lips, she felt a zap of electricity. She jerked back a little in surprise “What was that?” she asked, her eyes turning as wide as saucers.

  “Binding magic,” Callum answered brusquely, getting up from his seat. “When you make a promise in this realm—especially to a high Fae—you are bound by magic to uphold it.”

  “You used magic on me?” Elise spluttered incredulously, indignation creeping up her neck to color her cheeks.

  Callum strode over, and stopped directly in front of her. “You will come to learn, little one, this is tradition and part of the law of these lands. You can neither fight it nor change it…it is what it is and has been so for millennia.”

  Then he narrowed his eyes at her. “Besides…were you planning on going back on your word?”

  When Elise didn’t reply, he added, “So, you’re one of those humans…” He snorted derisively, stinging Elise with his insult.

  “I’m not a liar—if that’s what you’re implying,” she snapped back.

  “Then, there’s no problem, is there? It’s just a little magic, and there will be no harm since you intend on keeping your end of the bargain.”

  The disgruntled look on Elise’s face told Callum she vehemently disagreed. But he pretended not to notice. Grasping her arm gently but firmly, he started to guide her out of his private study.

  Although he enjoyed verbally sparring with his beautiful wife, there was important work he needed to finish, and he still needed to go out to the training fields later in the afternoon to inspect the progress of the recruits.

  “Aiden,” he called out as they neared the door. His trusty lieutenant was reliable as always, and appeared at the threshold in a moment’s heartbeat. “Please escort Lady Elise to the drawing room—or library—whichever one she would prefer. She’s not to go outside today, and is to remain near a warm fire as much as possible to ensure she doesn’t catch a chill. Her body’s still recovering from her escapade at the lake a few days ago.”

  Aiden bowed, accepting the command as Callum pushed her out into the corridor. Meanwhile, Elise made a sound of protest, but Callum stemmed any possible argument by interjecting first. “Enjoy your day, my lady,” he said, smiling obnoxiously at her. “I’ll keep my word about the boy Gideon, and have everything arranged. In return, please stay out of trouble.”

  He then quickly shut the door on her, leaving her alone with Aiden. Vexed at being dismissed so abruptly, Elise made a dissatisfied noise, then there was a low murmur of conversation before Callum heard the sound of retreating footsteps as his lieutenant led her away.

  He smiled triumphantly as he walked back over to his desk, feeling rather pleased with himself.

  It seemed at least for the duration of when he’d be away, Elise would behave.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “Aren’t you going to say farewell to his Lordship?” Melody asked curiously from behind Elise, as she stared at her mistress peeking through the curtains to the cobblestoned courtyard beneath.

  Elise spun around, surprised she hadn’t heard Melody approach, and hastily flung the curtains closed in an attempt to hide the fact she’d been secretly spying on Callum who was preparing to leave with his small entourage of soldiers outside.

  “No…why would I want to do that?” Elise asked, pretending not to care as she moved away from the bay window, ashamed she’d been caught red-handed spying on the Fae lord, and u
nable to hide the blush of embarrassment blooming high across her cheeks.

  “Well…” Melody coughed, trying to be discreet. “It is customary for wives to bid their husbands farewell before they leave on a journey away—particularly in the noble classes.”

  “Is that so…?” Elise asked, muttering as she chewed agitatedly on her lower lip. She looked at Melody carefully, screwing up her eyes. Was the young maid trying to give her an excuse to see Callum off in a way that still allowed her to preserve her dignity?

  Elise looked at the chambermaid with a troubled expression. Ever since her conversation with Callum yesterday, she’d been experiencing a gamut of strange and unusual emotions…

  She knew part of it, at least, was due to her feeling grateful towards Callum for agreeing to help Gideon…the entire situation after she’d thought over it from beginning to end, had made her realize Callum was indeed a good and honorable man.

  At the same time, this realization was causing her a fair amount of grief and internal conflict—she felt guilty for not having thanked him for his help, but annoyingly, the stubborn part of her just couldn’t bring herself to express this to him!

  Worse of all, she suspected she was starting to develop a soft spot for the man…

  Despite being trapped in this realm by him, she noticed he took great pains to make sure she felt comfortable and safe—it was far more than any of her previous boyfriends or her own father had done for her in the past.

  Elise couldn’t deny part of her felt anxious at seeing Callum about to depart; leaving her alone with his staff and troops inside the garrison. For some reason, even though their time together had been limited, Elise felt a degree of comfort knowing he was present inside this place. Soon he wouldn’t be, and she’d be here all alone, without his protection…

  Of course there was Aiden and Melody—but that was different…she really couldn’t speak openly with them and argue with them properly since they were only obeying Callum’s orders.

  Elise breathed out a sigh, and Melody glanced sideways at her, noting her mistress’ gloomy expression. “Perhaps you should go out and see Lord Callum before he goes…I mean there may be some things he might wish to say to you,” she said slyly, encouraging her to go outside.

  “Fine. I’ll go,” Elise’s grumbled, pretending to be grumpy. She tried to act like Melody had worn her down with her badgering, leaving her no choice but to agree to her suggestion. In reality, she was pleased the chambermaid had given her the excuse she needed to see Callum off.

  Holding her head up high, she walked primly out of her room like she was doing this solely out of obligation.

  She thought she heard Melody stifle a giggle from behind her, but when she turned back, all she saw was the chambermaid’s deadpan face.

  To Elise, it seemed to take ages for her to walk through the main quarters and down the various corridors—which had become more familiar now, before she finally found herself stepping outside.

  No one noticed her at first; everybody was busy running around trying to secure bags of supplies on the horses saddled outside, and exchanging parting instructions with their riders. The servants nearest to her saw her first, and quickly parted to make a clear pathway for her.

  Elise swallowed nervously, but kept her head held up high, trying to retain a mask of indifference on her face. One of the higher ranking officers speaking to Callum noticed her presence and abruptly stopped speaking, his eyes widening in surprise at seeing Elise approaching them.

  Callum’s eyes followed in the direction of his officer’s gaze, and his eyes glimmered, shining in secret joy, as he caught sight of Elise standing a few feet away, patiently waiting for their conversation to finish since she felt uncomfortable interrupting them.

  “I’ll pass the message on and ensure your instructions are followed, my Lord,” the officer said and swiftly departed, his eyes flickering curiously over at Elise as he passed her by.

  Elise pretended not to notice the officer’s inquisitive stare, and kept her face impassive as she approached Callum, who seemed both surprised and pleased to see her here. When she stopped beside his horse, he shifted in his saddle and bent down, hunching over so his chin was level with Elise’s forehead to enable them to speak more privately.

  “Is everything alright?” he asked, keeping his voice low so others near them wouldn’t be able to hear, wondering why Elise had come out here by herself.

  “Er, yes, everything’s fine,” Elise replied, fiddling with her fingers in the way she usually did when she got nervous. “Just wanted to have a look at what was happening out here…” she half-lied.

  Callum arched an eyebrow, taking a quick glance around, but noting nothing out of the ordinary that would be of interest. “Well, has your curiosity been sated, then?” he asked, not entirely believing her explanation.

  Elise’s eyes flickered momentarily to the line of soldiers on horseback behind Callum, standing by in rows of twos, waiting for their commander to issue the order to set out of the garrison. A few servants were still busily bustling about making sure all the necessary preparations were complete.

  Her eyes fluttered back to gaze at Callum’s amused face. “It’s the first time I’ve seen something like this…” she said lamely, then cleared her throat. “Is it a long journey where you’re going to?”

  “It’s about two days ride,” Callum answered, casually shrugging his shoulders. It seemed he was used to travelling like this and for weeks at a time. “I should be back mid-next week—at worst it’ll be a fortnight.”

  “Oh…” Elise responded, feeling somewhat disappointed, her gaze dipping to the ground. She didn’t know why, but for some reason the thought of Callum being away for a whole two weeks left her heart feeling a little empty.

  Callum picked up on Elise’s despondency, and even smiled. “Are you worried about me?” he teased.

  Elise’s head immediately jerked up. “No!” she blurted out loudly, forgetting to keep her voice down. Biting her lip, she quickly glanced about her to see if her outburst had caught anyone’s attention. She found that a few of the soldiers were looking furtively in their direction, but they looked away as soon as she met their gaze.

  “I-I…just wanted to know how long you’d be away for, so I can plan how I’m going to enjoy my free time without you,” she lied, trying to hide her embarrassment. In truth, Callum had guessed correctly: Elise was worried about him…and feeling a bit lonely since he was about to depart. But she would rather fall into the mouth of an open volcano than admit to it.

  Callum stared silently back at Elise for a long moment, his eyes trying to penetrate past her protective shields to read her hidden thoughts.

  Her eyes skirted away from his probing stare, uncomfortable with the intensity he was examining her with. Anxiety and fear gripped her heart, and she prayed he wouldn’t be able to see through her and read into her subconscious thoughts.

  The moment ended, and Callum pulled back. “If I am delayed for longer than expected, I’ll send word. Aiden, Melody and the rest of the staff will take good care of you regardless of what happens.”

  His words struck an uncomfortable chord inside her heart. “What do you mean by that?” she frowned. “You’re speaking like you’re expecting something bad might happen.”

  For the first time in their conversation, Callum’s face turned serious and his eyes took on a solemn look. “Bad things can happen unexpectedly—it’s a part of life. That’s one thing I’ve learnt over the years of being a soldier.”

  Elise’s face paled. “But I’ve seen you practicing in the training fields. Your fighting skills are formidable! Any enemy would be hard pressed to defeat you,” she argued, her voice becoming weak.

  “The winner of a fight isn’t always determined by skill alone; sometimes luck or misfortune can drastically change the outcome…” Callum smiled a little sadly, as if he was recollecting an unhappy memory from long ago.