Faye recoiled from his anger. She knew that what he was saying was, in itself, a lie: faeries were by nature deceptive and, by human standards, amoral, but she said nothing. She waited for his anger to pass, her gaze flitting from his face to his clenched fists until they relaxed.
‘Promise that you will never see him again.’ He stood facing her, and traced his fingertip on her cheek. His voice was calm again, and he kissed her cheek softly, as if she had imagined his outburst. Like it had never happened.
Faye looked up into his ocean-tossed eyes. She knew what had happened, and a part of her felt alarm; there was a warning here, and she knew she should take it. Finn was dangerous; his temper was explosive. But the power of Murias was too strong, and Finn, so close to her, was bright as the sun. Her enchantment was complete; she fell under the waves.
‘I promise,’ she whispered.
‘So be it. I will allow one mistake, Faye. But only one.’ He was gentle now, and Faye wondered if she had imagined his anger. He had been hurt. He was emotional. He loved her. That was the truth. Wasn’t it?
‘The lovers of faerie kings are richly rewarded for their adoration.’ Finn Beatha smiled widely and turned her around so that she could look at herself in the mirror.
‘They’re beautiful,’ she murmured, touching the opals. Finn’s hand closed over hers, and he traced her own hand over her breasts, her waist and her bottom. She leaned back into him, and felt his arousal against her.
‘You are beautiful,’ he breathed into her ear, and Faye sucked in a deep breath, feeling her desire for him wash over her like a tidal wave.
‘Come.’ He held out his hand to her and, at his touch, she felt the seductive, sleepy wave of faerie break over her again, wrapping her in its seawater bliss. ‘The faerie ball awaits.’
‘So you weren’t…aren’t…?’ She indicated his armour. ‘You look like you’re ready for battle.’
‘The battle is over, for now,’ he replied curtly. ‘No talk of war now,sidhe-leth. Listen to the music. Don’t you care to dance?’
‘Like this?’ Faye hugged her arms around herself, vulnerable. It was one thing to be dressed like this, here with Finn, but quite another for the whole of Murias to see her dressed only in the intricate rose gold chains. ‘I…can’t I get dressed? For a ball?’
He smiled and kissed her. ‘You are the king’s lover. In the faerie kingdom of Murias,sidhe-leth, I am all-powerful. And you…’ He kissed her neck, watching her in the mirror, ‘You are the object of my desire. And I desire them to see you as I do. More beautiful than the stars on the night sea. You may wear whatever you please. What do you want?’ He caressed her naked breasts softly.
‘Something magical,’ she replied, and a sudden delight in her own body bloomed like a dark blood-red rose. She remembered the sensation of being watched as she had made love with Rav on the beach, the intoxication of eyes being on her as she claimed her pleasure. ‘I want them to see me. Want me as you do.’
He clicked his fingers softly, and Faye felt the softest kiss of silk caress her skin.
‘Then you shall have it,’ he murmured.
25
As they began to descend the golden spiral staircase, the music stopped and the faerie court stared silently at its king and his lover.
Faye looked down at herself. Any wisp of self-consciousness she might have had was gone, and she felt a wild joy at being in Murias, with Finn. She felt as though she belonged; as if a long-suppressed, shadowy part of herself had finally been allowed to be seen.
A coral-pink gown made of a slightly iridescent, translucent silky material was open to the waist to show off her elaborate necklace and naked breasts. Jewelled straps looped loosely over her shoulders, glittering with opals, pearls and diamonds, and a plain rose gold circlet sat on her forehead, covering her third eye. Her auburn hair had been magically braided around the circlet, and the rest of her hair was a mass of wild curls that spilled over her shoulders.
The skirt of the dress swept the ground at the back but was open to the waist at the front, showing her thighs and the triangle of jewelled thong that sat comfortably against her flesh. A light breeze blew the gauzy material against Faye’s skin, andshe was aroused by the sensation of the silk – and Finn’s hand on her back. She wore flat slippers that seemed to be woven from a soft gold material that was nonetheless spongy and strong when she walked, and protected her feet from the cold marble floors of the castle.
Finn took her hand and bowed before the upturned faces of the court.
‘May I present the king’s consort, Faye Morgan,’ Finn announced to the hall, his voice loud and commanding, then he turned to Faye and, kneeling before her, took her hand and kissed it. ‘This ball is in her honour,’ he said, smiling up at her, and Faye’s heart thrummed with ecstatic joy.
The crowd cheered, and Faye bowed to them. As they continued down the stairs, the music started again and Faye felt her toes twitch. It was enchanted music; it made her want to dance and scream and laugh wildly, to pinch and bite and kiss. And, yes. To fuck wildly, like an animal, as she had done the last time she’d been in Murias.
Finn grasped her around the waist and swung her into the throng. He had changed out of his amour and into a formal outfit; the light from a thousand or more candles glowed gold on his epaulettes and buttons. His eyes were wild, like hers must be, too, she thought; joining the dancers was like going under a magical wave, and not needing air.
Large golden bowls of water alight with floating candles sat on top of numerous gilded pillars around the edge of the wide hall; as they danced, Faye felt the fragranced air on her skin like kisses. Hanging from the ceiling above were strange decorations; some she recognised, like seashells and starfish, and brightly coloured coral that seemed to grow out of the ceiling.
The creatures at the ball were varied, as they had been on the faerie road. Faye sighted human-like faeries like Finn, some withhuge, colourful wings and some with scaly skin, like mermaids but with legs; she wondered, for the first time, why Finn had such a human appearance, when the vast majority of denizens in his kingdom were very far from human. There were blue-skinned, naked female creatures with webbed feet and long, sharp teeth; faeries with long, green hair that wrapped around their drowned-white bodies like shrouds; and frightening, monstrously large sinuous eels that slithered around the ballroom.
‘What are the names of all these creatures?’ she whispered to Finn.
‘The faerie court of water is legion,’ he replied, spinning her around until she was dizzy. ‘There are dream-weavers, sprites, nixies, river maidens, topsy-turveys. There are frog queens and kings, undines. Many more that have not been given names by humans.’
Yet, as Finn danced Faye around the dancefloor, she started to notice other, more disquieting details.
