Page 11 of Fae Mates

Pokeweed stepped away from the bed, robbing me of a chance to study his expression. It was hard enough to see what he was thinking or feeling underneath all that fur, but the stiffness of his back and the tight set of his shoulders only spoke of restraint.

“I will return in a moment with a fresh poultice,” he replied as he walked out of the room.

My heart spun like an out-of-control sycamore seed and the muscles of my core pulsed. As Pokeweed strode through the mezzanine with the used poultices, I ran a shaky hand through my hair and blew out a long breath. That had been… dangerous.

Tiny footsteps padded into the room, and McVittie leaped onto the bed. The cat’s eyes blazed with fury. “What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?”

I reared back. “Huh?”

“You think I can’t smell it?”

My lips tightened. Did this old man masquerading as a cat think I made myself aroused on purpose? “Mind your own business.”

McVittie glanced over his shoulder, presumably for signs of Pokeweed. I balled my fists, ready for a fight.

“Oh, no you don’t,” he hissed. “You’re going to rescue those princes, mate with them and use that wishbone to free Pokeweed and me from our curses.”

“That’s what I’m trying—”

“You were doing the cat equivalent of sticking out your rear end!” he snapped. “Well, let me remind you that curses go on for generations. Mate with a cursed faerie, and your children will be cursed.”

My brows drew together. “McVittie, did you mate with a—”

“Never mind that!” The cat gave me three sharp raps on the thigh. “While you’ve been sleeping here like a princess whose pea rolled onto the floor, that bloody Gala has been hatching plans to form a mating bond with your princes.”

“What’s she done?” I asked.

“She’s put blocks on her friends’ magic, and now all three of them are in the remedial class, not just the one who got turned into a spider.”

I nodded. That was the least those three girls deserved after what they did to Helen. “What else?”

“She went to the remedial class and boasted to Lady Gazania that she’ll mate with all four brothers by Beltane.”

“When’s that?” I asked.

“In seven days.”

A boulder of dread dropped into the pit of my stomach, and I gaped into McVittie’s little face. Normally, I would say that such a feat was impossible. Female faeries went into heat every four years, and Lady Gala couldn’t be older than eighteen.

But then this was the faerie who had slaughtered a unicorn and traded Helen’s magic for a chance with the princes. And goodness knows what she did to turn them against me this time.

“Are there any enchantments that can force a female into heat?” I asked.

“None that aren’t ridiculously depraved.” McVittie settled onto my lap. “Pokeweed checked all his books. He can’t find anything. I’ve rifled through Gala’s room but can’t find details of her nefarious plans.”

Pokeweed returned with a white gown slung over one shoulder, holding a tray of poultices, and a steaming bowl of water. I flashed my eyes at McVittie in a silent message for him to leave, but the wretched little beast stared up at me with defiance blazing in his eyes. He probably thought we needed a chaperone.

“This will hurt a little.” Pokeweed walked to the side of my bed, balancing the two large poultices on his palms. “I’ve removed all traces of the curse, but something might come out while I’m healing your wounds.”

“Alright.” I sat up and let the sheet slide down to my hips.

McVittie padded to the end of the bed and sat.

A breath heaved out from Pokeweed’s broad chest and through his parted lips. I stared up in his eyes and only saw the reflection of a bare-breasted, blonde faerie whose iridescent wings fluttered but didn’t glow.

Maybe Pokeweed also saw the same thing because his slack expression morphed into a look of determination, and he pressed the poultices on both sides of the wound. “Unity, I’m sorry.”

“What fo—” Needle-prick sensations stabbed through my insides, sending jolts of pain across my torso and down my limbs.