A Court of Night and Shadows

Chapter 5

The next afternoon I lay on my back in the grass, savoring the warmth of the sunshine filtering through the canopy of leaves, noting how I might incorporate it into my next painting. Lucien, claiming that he had miserable emissary business to attend to, had left Tamlin and me to our own devices, and the High Lord had taken me to yet another beautiful spot in his enchanted forest.

I wished Rhysand could see this. The bond was mostly dormant since I'd last seen him, the newness and the distance making it weak, but I knew even without his playful pulls that he would find it funny the way they played matchmaker in the Spring Court - forcing Tamlin and I alone together as much as possible. Though I would laugh along with Rhysand, I also wouldn't say I was complaining. I was enjoying Tamlin's friendship, despite knowing I was riding a fine line.

There were no enchantments here - no pools of starlight and no rainbow waterfalls like the other stops on Tamlin's romantic tour of his homeland. It was just a grassy glen watched over by a weeping willow, with a clear brook running through it. We lounged in comfortable silence, and I glanced at Tamlin, who dozed beside me. His golden mask glistened bright against the emerald carpet. The delicate arch of his pointed ears made me pause.

He opened an eye and smiled lazily at me. "That willow's singing always puts me to sleep."

"The what of what?" I said, propping myself on my elbows to stare at the tree above us.

Tamlin pointed toward the willow tree. The branches sighed as they moved in the breeze. "It sings."

"I suppose it performs limericks, too?"

He smiled and half sat up, twisting to look at me. "You're human," he said, and I rolled my eyes. "Your senses are still sealed off from everything."

I made a face. "Just another one of my many shortcomings."

He plucked a strand of grass from my hair. Heat radiated from my face as his fingers grazed my cheek. "I could make you able to see it," he said. His fingers lingered at the end of my braid, twirling the curl of hair around. I thought of Rhysand holding my hair back while I wretched and tugged at the bond in my chest. "See my world - hear it, smell it." My breathing became shallow as I sat up. "Taste it." His eyes flicked to the fading bruise on my neck.

My pull was returned by a soft squeeze. I exhaled deeply. "How?" I asked, heat blooming as he crouched before me.

"Every gift comes with a price." I frowned, and he grinned. "A kiss."

"Absolutely not!" The bond went slack, but my blood raced. I had to clench my hands in the grass to keep from touching him. "Don't you think it puts me at a disadvantage to not be able to see all this?"

"I'm one of the High Fae - we don't give anything without gaining something from it."

I thought of Rhysand, of what he might think of this. Part of me felt wrong, so wrong, for being here enjoying Tamlin's company so much when I knew I had a mate. A mate who was under the thumb of a woman who let people spit at him and grope him in a crowd. And then I was cold. I reached for the bond and pulled, but there was no response.

Steadying my resolve, sticking to the plan, I said, "Fine."

He blinked, probably expecting me to have fought much harder. I sat up so I faced him, our knees touching as we knelt in the grass. "Close your eyes," he said, and I obeyed, my fingers grappling into the grass. The birds chattered, and the willow branches sighed. The grass crunched as Tamlin rose up on his knees. I braced myself at the brush of his mouth on one of my eyelids, then on the other. He pulled away, and I was left breathless, the kisses still lingering on my skin.