It took all my willpower not to snatch that finger and snap it.

“I’m not angry with you, precious one. You are not to blame. I know she has pursued you with persistent forwardness.”

Give me a break.

He blinked and looked at me. I crossed my arms over my chest and he pulled his face back from her touch. I think he recognized he was turning to a pile of mush like he always did in her presence.

“I wish to speak with ye alone, Khalistah. Please allow Robyn to return to the village.”

“I think not. I know what you wish to say. You are but a man and you have been led astray from the one thing you have always wanted. Does she know how you feel for me?”

McKale’s forehead creased and his eyes flicked to me. The FFG never glanced my way as she moved forward and began petting his face like she’d done in the trees that night. This time she even placed her hands on his bare chest, where my own hands had been minutes before. His breathing went ragged, but I had to give him credit because he stayed very still and appeared otherwise unaffected, allowing her to touch him for that brief moment before closing his eyes and stepping back from her again.

I, on the other hand, was having a difficult time retaining my fury. McKale pushed his hands hard through his hair as a shudder tore through his body. He began to pace with his hands behind his head, putting more space between Khalistah and himself. The FFG stood firm and calm, fueled by confidence as she spoke to him.

“Does she know about the years when you yearned for my presence and followed at my heels with childlike devotion? I had never met a living thing like you. Brave enough to seek me, yet too shy to touch me. Such a refreshing change from the arrogance of Fae males. I am here now to tell you that your years of dedication have paid off, McKale of the Leprechaun.”

“Khalistah.” He closed his eyes to muster courage before facing her again. “I was but a boy. I was reckless to seek ye as I did. I’ll always be grateful for yer years of kindness, but my future is here, in the village with my clan, bound to Robyn.”

Her eyes flashed hard with anger before smoothing again.

“Will you discard me so easily? Your first love?”

I nearly gagged at her crooning voice.

“What we had was no’ love.” McKale said it with extreme gentleness but I froze as I awaited her response to those strong words. The FFG blinked twice, the only sign that her composure was not solid.

“I know this notion of love that humans search for and abuse. It is easy to speak of lifetime loyalty when your lives are so bitterly short. If you were Fae you would become bored with Robyn and come crawling to me in less than a thousand human years.” Though she appeared unruffled, I had a bad feeling she was about to throw a major hissy fit.

“But I am not Fae,” McKale said. “And I cannot pretend to be. Neither of our people would accept a union betwixt us. What would yer friends say in the courts? And yer father? The Summer King will no’ be havin’ it.”

The Summer King? Excuse me? Holy crap! The FFG was a friggin’ princess? I covered my mouth, afraid I might be sick as the weight of the situation crashed around me, dimming like the evening sky.

The FFG waved a hand, dismissing his words. “Fae take human consorts all the time—”

He stepped back, a small bit at a time. “But not for purposes of love, Khalistah.”

Ugh, each time he pronounced her name so beautifully felt like a punch in my already upset stomach. She strode toward him, ever steady. As he lowered his head I saw his eyes dart from side to side, looking for the best escape route.

“There is no need for any of my fellow Fae to know what is truly between us. They will see you as a consort and nothing more. It will be our secret.”

“That is no way to live!” His voice rose. “And what of my people? The bloodlines of my clan? The union was ordered by your father’s own consort.”

“It can still be. I have a plan that should please all.”

Oh, no. She smiled up at him, running her fingers from his shoulders down the length of his arms until their fingers were together. He let her hold them for a second before pulling away and groaning with his hands behind his head again. A smile remained on her lips, but there was no warmth in it.

“Do not fear, McKale.”

“I will not go to Faerie.” His words were firm.

She lost her smile. “Oh, but you will.”

My stomach twisted and I had to swallow. I’d never before experienced such extreme fear as I did while I waited to hear her grand scheme for our lives.

“In three days you will bind with Robyn as planned, but when evening falls you will accompany me into Faerie. Everyone must know that you do this of your own device. Once we are in Faerie, all thoughts of her will be erased.” She glared at me before turning back to McKale. “You will live the life that other men can only dream; pleasure heaped upon pleasure will be yours, ours. Once a month I will allow you to leave Faerie to attend to your binding partner when she is fertile. She will be glamoured to appear as me, for that is the only way you will have her. In that way, you will bear children on her. And all will be well for your clan.”

His face had turned a shade of pale green akin to the moss under his feet. I fought to remain standing as I clutched an arm around my ribs.

“But he has the ability to see through glamour.” They were the first words I’d spoken in a while, and she turned her head to me. A wicked smile grew on her exquisite face.