She considered disputing that remark, but why bother?“Dy and Phin—Dy’s wife—are in love.Have been almost from the beginning and no signs of it flagging.So, yeah, I guess I do believe in romantic love, in the staying power of a love like theirs, anyway.”
He didn’t comment.Since it was unlikely he was restraining himself out of courtesy, or some sensitivity regarding not wanting to stomp on her opinion, she figured he was thinking it over.“Why do you want to know what forced me into that marriage?”he finally asked.
She had to think back, having lost track of the conversation.“I had a point, I’m sure I did, about everyone being the same, having to do stuff we don’t want to in order to survive.But also, I’m interested.We’re kind of friends now.”
“Your definition of friendship differs from mine.”
“Check.Not friends.So, don’t tell me.But we’ve got a drive ahead of us.Want to pick a different topic?Or you could sing me a song.”
His head jerked around, as if in shock.“I’m not going tosing, now!”
Jeez, you’d think she’d asked him to disembowel himself.“Fine, fine,” she said placatingly and lapsed into silence rather than provoke him further.
The Obsidian landscape rolled past, growing decidedly more fae with every league.Despite the implications of a word like “border,” the demarcation between human and fae lands wasn’t—to coin a phrase—black and white.With the failure of the natural barriers between the magical and non-magical realms, the landscapes had begun to overlap, rather than jutting precisely up against one-another.The phenomenon created a kind of bleed, where fae stuff filtered into the nearby human lands and where the non-magical world diluted the magic of the fae realm it abutted.
This mostly happened between Obsidian and neighboring Gypsum, though Cha had heard of other places in the world where magical realms had drifted up against the human ones.She didn’t know what it was like in those places, but Obsidian was more or less like a human realm with a bit of a funky spin.And, contrary to what some stories assumed, not everything there was black.The black pixie dust did have a tendency to infiltrate many aspects of the realm, but mostly concentrated in certain places and objects.
Thus, the trunks of the surrounding forest were a gleaming black, but the canopy was green, if a deeper tone than in human lands and with occasional sweeps of black leaves.Same for the other foliage.Some of the flowers that bloomed in the meadows and the fruit hanging from the trees shone a disconcerting glossy black, but otherwise it was more or less human-normal.The road signs and ambrosia stations were a bit on the twisted side, but mostly familiar.It helped that she’d been there so many times.Moonstone would be much stranger.
“Family,” Azul said, breaking into her thoughts.When she raised a brow at him, he shrugged, looking uncomfortable.“Family obligations are why I agreed to wed…her.I might not have to be employed for a living, but a life such as mine doesn’t come without its pressures.There are some ways in which I must do as I’m told.”
He sounded so bitter, in a most familiar way.She knew that particular flavor.“So, walk away from your family.”
“Excuse me?”He sounded so astonished and offended that she nearly laughed.
“Cut ties.Lots of people do it,” she told him, not quite able to interpret the complex rush of emotions across his face.If she had to put a name to it, she’d call him tormented.“If your family is shit to you, then you owe them nothing, let alone your loyal obedience.Cut ’em off.Go your own way.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“It never is,” she agreed.She knew that better than most.“But sometimes it’s necessary.”
They were quiet for a bit, this time more companionably.Cha suspected Azul was deep in thought.“That guard,” he said finally, “the Obsidian fae guard at the border, if he had requested actual sex in exchange, would you—”
“Let me stop you right there, Your Highness, before you piss me off.I like sex; I make no pretense otherwise.I’d be interested in finding out if what they say about fae lovers is true—just mentioning that to you, putting it out there—but I indulge on my terms, for my own pleasure.Notas a commodity.Does that answer the invasive question that’s none of your business?”
“Yes.”He might have sounded a bit chastened, but then he asked, oh so casually, “What do they say about fae lovers?”
“Have you lived in a cave your entire life?”
“No, a palace,” he returned immediately, expression so perfectly deadpan that Cha couldn’t tell if he was yanking her chain or not.“We don’t get a lot of gossip there,” he added.
“Sounds stultifying.Nasty family.No gossip.What do you do all day—lie about on velvet settees and send servants running to bring you things you don’t need?”
His perfect mouth twitched, annoyance or amusement—it was a toss-up.“Something like that.Come on, spill.I’m curious and we have a long drive.”
“I can see you’re learning from me,” she replied without rancor.
“You’ve created a monster, indeed.What do they say?”
“Persistent little devil on this topic, aren’t you?”
“I have an interest,” he replied, almost primly.
It would be nice if that interest was related to her, but he sure hadn’t taken her up on the fairly blatant offer.Not that she had time, but…A girl could dream.“Well, you’ve heard the old tales—that to be seduced by the fae is to lose all sense of yourself.Their lovemaking is utterly sensual, enveloping every sense so that you think of nothing else but the moment.”
“And that’s appealing?”
She slid him a look, but he seemed to be asking in earnest.“There’s a reason human beings fall into doing stuff like drugs and alcohol.Yeah, not thinking and losing yourself entirely to the pleasure of the moment has a definite appeal.What wouldn’t we give sometimes to have only pleasure and forget our cares?”Her words fell between them with a little too much weight, so she bared her teeth in a salacious grin and added, “And then there’s the special features like claws, wings, tails, extra appendages, and who knows what all.”
