The priest cleared his throat while my uncle whispered to him. I squirmed as the Piper released my waist, tucking my hand under his arm again.
“Enough with the theatrics. I’m in a bit of a hurry. Speak the vows, Priest, so that I might take my new bride home. She’s had a long night and you choose to make it longer still.”
“A few items first.” My uncle cleared his throat. “You will be allowed to marry my niece if you agree to the following—”
“I will agree to nothing,” the Piper interrupted darkly. “I made my demands, and if you refuse to meet them, what happened in the past will become the present.”
I expected more from my uncle, but he blanched visibly and waved his hand. “Proceed with the marriage.”
The murmur of voices grew louder, as though the lords and ladies, servants, and guards couldn’t quite believe what was happening. I couldn’t either, but I could see no way out, and despite the tremor in my body, it was easier to face the Piper than my uncle’s anger.
Powerless to stop the marriage, I stilled as the priest stepped forward and spoke. It felt as though I were outside of my body, a mere spectator, watching the proceedings as horror twisted in my gut. The betrayal from my uncle stung, but it was not a shock considering how I’d been treated since I arrived. My aunt was too meek to speak out against her husband, and her silence was more infuriating than anything else. If my mother and father were still alive, they’d never let anything like this happen to me.
A shadow moved at the end of the hall, and Carter’s wide-eyed stare captured mine. Relief sang through me. Carter and his brother wouldn’t suffer for my mistakes. I gave the slightest shake of my head and he disappeared.
Words gathered like dust in my throat as the priest prompted me. “Tanith, do you promise to love and obey your husband to the end of days?”
Obey. That hated word. “I do,” I said, even though I didn’t. Words were simply words, right? There would be no harm in breaking a vow.
At the very end, when the priest intoned, “You may seal this wedding by kissing the bride,” the Piper turned to me.
Smoothly, he glided one hand through my curls, drawing my face toward his. My heart kicked, and a roaring began in my ears, so loud it almost drowned out his words.
“Let me kiss you,” he demanded, smirking.
Before I could say yes or no, his lips were on mine. They were soft and my pulse throbbed. A sudden warmth flooded my lower body, and instinctively, I leaned into him. His fingers tightened in my hair, his mouth possessed mine, stopping just shy of stroking his tongue into my mouth. Everything within me said yes, but the rational side of my brain screamed no. This was the Devil of Dowler. I shouldn’t enjoy his sinful kiss.
He pulled away as if he knew what I was thinking and turned his attention back to the hall.
“Now for the magic-thralls,” he announced, letting go of me completely.
I gasped for air to calm my racing heart, my mind still a whirl from that brief yet delicious kiss. In the spirit of defiance, I glared at him and wiped my lips with the back of my hand. I tried not to consider what would happen when we returned to his castle. Would he kiss me again? Longer? And why did my legs feel weak from his touch?
Lord Faren’s stern tone drove away those thoughts as he announced, “There are no magic-thralls, and even if they were, we would not free them. You’ve made your demands, now go.”
The Piper’s face hardened, and if I’d thought he was dangerously handsome before, my mind changed as fury seethed around him. Folding his arms over his chest, he said, “You’ve made your choice then. I’ll give you once last chance to reconsider.”
“No,” Lord Faren said with kingly authority in his baritone voice. “Now take your bride and leave.”
“Wait,” Aunt Matzie protested. “Let her have her things.” She moved toward me, holding a satchel she must have sent Uropa to pack. It was heavier than I expected, but as my fingers closed around the handle, my aunt squeezed my arm. Was she trying to tell me something?
Just as quickly, she slipped away while the Piper stared at my uncle. “Your choice has sealed your doom.”
Quick as a flash, he pulled out a flute, a long, thin reed of an instrument. The brown wood was carved with golden symbols that swirled and glowed. Without ceremony, he lifted it to his lips and played.
The entire court stood frozen, staring at the Piper’s underwhelming retaliation. For some reason, I’d expected him to pull out a weapon, not a flute. Then I remembered. He was the Piper. Of course he played the flute, for itwashis weapon. Dread coursed through me.
Faintly, I heard my uncle giving orders. “Guards, seize him!”
But the music flared out like a spell, a dance of notes tripping over each other like dancers gaining their balance after a lengthy time without practice. The notes intertwined, then surged across the hall like a wave, bouncing off the columns before sinking into the stone. A rush came, like the sound of many wings from afar, and the doors to the courtyard opened with a boom.
I jumped, spinning to face the blackness of the night as guards rushed the Piper. This would be over in a moment. They’d throw him in prison, and I’d have to face Lord Faren’s fury.
But the guards stopped just short of reaching him, as if repelled by some invisible force. They swung their swords to fight their way through, and the air was filled with high-pitched chirps and shadows.
6Tanith
The cloud of shadows soared into the hall, accompanied by a high-pitched chirping that made my skin crawl. I ducked, pressing my hands to my ears to keep from hearing that awful sound, but it was impossible to keep it out. Wings fluttered. Something velvet touched my cheek. I pressed my lips together, squeezed my eyes shut and waiting for it to go away. But it didn’t.
