“To marry me?” The bear’s voice did not give him much room for expression—most of what he said came out hard and angry—but those three words were filled with disbelief. Disbelief and, I could imagine, hope. If he really needed to marry someone to stop himself from being a bear forever, surely he would hope that I wasn’t too afraid of him to volunteer.
I nodded and stepped closer to his giant face. “Unless you lied about being stuck as a bear if you don’t marry someone tonight?”
A burst of warm air flowed out of his nostrils as he huffed. “I cannot lie. I am fae.”
“So…” I glanced at the sun sinking toward the horizon. “You have maybe an hour to marry someone or be a bear forever?”
“Yes.” Now I could imagine an apology in his voice. What did his face look like normally? Was he really as harsh as his bear voice made him sound? “But I do not want to pressure you into a decision that will change your life when you do not have all the information. And we do not have time for all the information.”
I licked my lips. The transition from freezing cold to summer heat had dried them out, and they were as distracting as the thoughts I was having. This bear—thisfae—had protected me when he didn’t need to. And he was willing to give up his natural form because he didn’t want to coerce me into a marriage. And then he brought me here, to a place he thought would be good for me. I…
I could live with a marriage to a person like that. Especially if I didn’t have to hunt for work and steal for food and beg for a bed every night. I did not have to trust him; I only needed him—a creature who could not lie—to commit to not hurting me. I could deal with anything else.
I took a bracing breath and reached a hand up to the side of his face. His facial fur was softer than the fur on his back, and he held perfectly still while I touched it. “Will you keep me safe?” I asked.
“I will.” He did not even hesitate. “I vow it.”
A warm ripple danced through the air, and magic stronger than anything I’d felt from the elves pressed into my skin. He could not lie. I would be safe.
That realization lifted a weight off my soul that I hadn’t realized had burdened me—a weight that had been my constant companion for fourteen years. Safety! What could possibly hurt me when an unnaturally huge, magic bear was on my side? There would be no more hiding from soldiers and no running from traitorous friends who didn’t age as fast as me.
The relief was so enormous that a laugh burbled out of my throat. The bear raised a brow, and I shook my head. “It’s… nothing,” I said. “Let’s get this done before you run out of time.”
“It will have to be a human wedding,” the bear said. “We do not have time to arrange a fae binding. Is that acceptable?”
I rubbed my ring, unsure of what he meant. “Human weddings are fine—I don’t know anything about a fae binding.”
The bear nodded and lifted his head toward the bald man. “Magistrate.”
The man took a step backward. “Technically, it’s notmagistrate. I’m themayor.”
“Are you authorized to perform a wedding?” Cursed Fae asked. I should know his name before I marry him. Though… that should be part of a wedding. Maybe waiting a few more minutes would be less awkward than asking him now.
“I—” Themayorshifted his expression around, as if looking for someone. The grey-haired woman next to him elbowed him, and he faced us again. “I, yes, that is, I am authorized to do so. But I’m not entirely comfortable wedding a woman to a…” His eyes skirted around again.
I glanced at the sun. It was not far from the horizon, and I did not know how this deadline worked. I jogged up to the mayor and heard the bear follow slowly. “Sir,” I began.
The woman next to him interrupted, setting a hand on my elbow. “This is Reginald,” she said, ”Mayor Reginald Browning. And I’m Abigail, his wife.” Her eyes twinkled. “I make sure hemayorscorrectly.”
I chuckled. “I’m Auria. Behind me is a very nice fae who is stuck looking like a bear right now.” It was as much truth as they needed. “We need you to marry us immediately so we can take care of some very important deadlines.” Reginald’s brows popped up. “It’s really a life or death situation,” I added. “Don’t think of it as marrying me to a bear. He’s a very kind fae.”
Abigail pressed her lips together and pulled me around her so that she separated the bear and me. “Auria. Dear. There is no such thing as a ‘very kind fae.’ They can’t lie, but they are devious and manipulative. I’m afraid he’s tricked you into this for a reason that is far more malicious than you expect.”
Risking a glance over my shoulder, I saw that the bear had not come any closer since Abigail had moved me. But his shoulders had drooped, and his eyes were on the ground. He’d heard every word from Abigail, and he expected me to agree with her.
He expected me to leave him as a bear.
A rush of emotion I didn’t have time to analyze burst through me. Abigail, who clearly did not like fae, admitted they could not lie. That meant that the shortest, clearest things the bear had said were true. He was fae. He would be stuck as a bear forever if we didn’t marry very soon. And he would keep me safe.Andhe possessed enough humanity—or fae-manity orwhatever the fae called in-born goodness—that he was still willing to walk away. He even assumed that I would change my mind now.
But I would not leave a man—or fae—stuck like this when he had already saved my life. And offered me a much better version of life than I currently had.
With the hand not holding Rat, I gripped one of Abigail’s shoulders and spoke louder. I did not want the bear—fae—to miss any of this. “Abigail. I’m grateful for your concern. But I’m sure we both want this. I need your husband to help us. Isn’t that what humans do? They help each other?”
Maybe that was pushing it. I didn’t know anything about these humans, besides their unwelcome stares.
But maybe not. Abigail was trying to convince me not to marry a bear. Surely that was out of some kind of sweet camaraderie. She clenched her teeth and twitched her head in a jerky nod. “Yes,” she said, as if convincing herself. “Yes, we do. You’re sure this is what you want?”
I threw one arm around her neck in a quick hug and then stepped back. “Yes. I am. And we really are in a hurry.”
