Taliesin sipped the wine and pulled a face. “This might be a little strong for you,” he warned as he passed it back to her. “Don’t let them bully you into overindulging.”
“We don’t bully,” squawked the little birdlike creature that had been part of the pair. “We offer and folks accept.”
“And if they don’t, we ask over and over until they accept,” snickered the pixie now perched on her shoulder.
“I’ll be careful,” Rhiannon promised. She wasn’t much for drinking anyway. She’d learned by watching others that too much could and would lead to trouble.
After the first sip, however, Rhiannon saw that it would be a difficult promise to keep. The fairy wine was sweet like juice and had floral notes that sang of spring. She tasted no alcohol, yet it warmed her from the first swallow. A pleasant buzz bubbled in her veins.
Though concerned, Taliesin returned to playing at the insistence of the fairy queen. His voice rang throughout the hall. It made Rhiannon dizzy...or was that the wine? His voice always made her feel far away and floaty. She took another sip of her drink, and then another. When her goblet emptied, her tiny companions refilled it.
While the music danced around them, someone knelt before her. She blinked up at a handsome face. “Care to dance?” asked the stranger. Rhiannon hesitated. She’d never been particularly good, but when her only partner had been...been... Her brow scrunched in mild confusion. Who had she always partnered with? It had been someone she disliked, she knew, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember anything about that unpleasant person. Not his face, nor his voice, nor the reason she detested his company.
Seeing as the gentleman still waited for an answer, she blushed and mumbled, “Sure.” No sooner did she place her hand in his did he pull her up, and the world swam. She fell forward into his chest. “Sorry,” she murmured.
“It’s quite all right.” The face seemed to blur, and when the haze cleared, a different one replaced it. Rhiannon blinked a few times. Surely, she was seeing things. He hardly noticed. “Shall we?”
He led her to the center of the clearing, and she couldn’t take her eyes off his face as it swirled and changed. Dark hair replaced what had once been blond—she was sure of it. The gray-blue eyes tinted green. It looked familiar.
The gentleman spun her around and around. Laughter twinkled in the air about her. Rhiannon wobbled on unsteady legs, dizzier and dizzier. She fell against the gentleman’s chest when she stumbled. He smiled down at her. “You seem tired. Shall we find someplace more comfortable for you to rest?”
He tried to lead her away from the party toward the trees among which other couples vanished. Ahead she could hear giggles and flirtatious cooing, and Rhiannon found herself suddenly frightened. She wasn’t supposed to leave. Someone had asked her to stay here with him. She wanted to stay with that person. Rhiannon tried to pull away, but the gentleman held firm. She stumbled again.
“Let me go!” she cried. He ignored her. Desperate, she slapped at him, only to miss his cheek and hit his shoulder.
“There’s no need to be shy,” said the gentleman. “I’ll take good care of you.”
A hand caught her by the wrist. “There you are.” Taliesin smiled down at her. His other hand pried the stranger’s tight fingers away from her delicate wrist. “I’ve been looking for you.”
The gentleman’s lip pulled back in a snarl. Any illusion of the friendly face so much like Taliesin’s vanished. “She’s mine.”
“She doesn’t belong to anyone,” Taliesin replied mildly. “I would appreciate you not trying to force the lady into circumstances she doesn’t wish.”
“I’m her perfect match.” With each passing moment, the gentleman looked less and less human. Rhiannon drew back. Her back hit Taliesin’s chest. “Come with me,” he cooed. It did little to rescue his image in her mind. “I’ll show you a lovely night.”
Shaking and suddenly sober, Rhiannon said, “I-I can’t. I want to stay here.” Her eyes darted about, searching for the Seelie Queen to come to her and Taliesin’s rescue.
Taliesin wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder. “You heard the lady.”
The fairy gentleman’s inhuman eyes narrowed as he stared at Taliesin. Then he made a guttural noise that sent a chill through Rhiannon. “If you change your mind, just say the word and I will spirit you away from this mutt.” He spun on his heel and stalked off.
Rhiannon’s knees went weak, and Taliesin caught her once more. “It’s all right,” he soothed. “You’re all right.” But she couldn’t stop shaking. It had been so much like earlier with Brodrick. So much like every minute she’d had to spend time with that knight. She’d forgotten. She’d forgotten him and the lapse in judgment had almost...almost...
Taliesin helped her back to the tables laden with food and drink. He poured another goblet of the spiced cider and held it to her lips. “Drink,” he coaxed gently. “You’ll feel better if you do.”
Rhiannon sipped the spiced drink. The spreading warmth did little to soothe her. She forced a tight smile. “Thank you.”
The little quivers of anxiety didn’t escape his notice. “There’s no need to thank me.” Taliesin led her to the soft grass the other party guests had gathered upon to rest and gossip. “I only did what anyone ought to have done.”
“Most wouldn’t,” she noted bitterly. Not without want of a reward, and even then, only if they thought they would succeed. No one succeeded with Sir Brodrick around.
“I promised you, didn’t I?” Taliesin replied gently. He traced a thumb along her cheek, wiping away tears. When had she started crying? “I won’t allow any harm to come to you.”
Rhiannon pulled away. He let her retreat. “But what if you got hurt?”
“The Fair Folk here hardly scare me.”
“What about knights?”
“Knights don’t scare me much either,” he replied. “You’re safe with me. I promise.”
Rhiannon laughed quietly, scrubbing at her cheeks with the heel of her palm. When she thought she had the tears somewhat under control, she sniffled and picked up her goblet of cider once again for another sip. The hot liquid warmed her belly. Rhiannon swayed where she stood.
Taliesin took the goblet from her with a frown and sipped at it himself. Again, he made a face. “Sorry,” he said, “I seem to be failing at protecting you right now.” More to himself than Rhiannon he muttered crossly, “When did they swap the cider for alcohol?”
“There’s no alcohol in that,” chimed the tiny pixie from before. Then with a wicked grin, he added, “There is some heart beet juice in it, however.”
“Heart beet?” Taliesin groaned as he set the goblet aside. “Do you fairies plan for these situations?”
“What’s heartbeat juice?” Rhiannon slurred. She frowned, mildly confused.
“It’s a common component for love potions,” Taliesin explained. “It doesn’t affect fairies and such, but it can make humans feel drunk and, well, like they’re in love. Its effects are worsened when combined with alcohol like wine, but it can’t make you feel things that aren’t there in the first place. You should be fine if you—”
His eyes widened when Rhiannon leaned against him. “Miss Sofia?”
“I want to stay close to you for some reason,” murmured Rhiannon sleepily.
“That would be the wine and juice talking,” he said gently. “Get some rest. I’ll take you back to the inn when you’ve sobered up a little, all right?”
Rhiannon shook her head. “I don’t want to go back.”
“We’ll have to eventually,” he pointed out. “Most of our things are still there.”
“But if we go back, then we’ll have to keep traveling, and if we keep traveling...” She shook her head. “I’ll get to the end of our journey.”
Taliesin tilted her chin up. “I would rather our journey didn’t end either,” he said, “but someone is waiting for you.” He released her, but Rhiannon snagged his hand and held it to her cheek. He chuckled sadly. “If you do things like that, it makes it harder.”
Rhiannon surged up to capture Taliesin’s lips. Surprised, he went still before melting into her. His lips tasted sweet like the cider they’d been drinking, and the way they moved against hers made her dizzier than the wine. Her fingers dug into his shirt for want of something to hold on to. She needed to keep him close so he wouldn’t pull away. When his lips parted from hers, she chased them.
Strong arms wrapped around her and held her close. She leaned into his touch. The world around them grew hazy with his murmured reassurances and gentle stroking of her hair. Her hands fell away with the sudden drowsiness that overwhelmed her. Taliesin said something she barely understood. Sapphires glittered in the diffuse lights of the fairy party. Gold met her blurry gaze when he lifted her from the grass.
Maybe it was the wine, but with her head resting against his chest and her eyes closed, she felt like she was flying. Cool wind tickled her face, and then she knew no more until sunlight streamed through the window.
Confused, Rhiannon rubbed sleep from her eyes. When had they returned to their room at the inn? She frowned. Or maybe she hadn’t left at all and had dreamed everything? Heat flooded her cheeks. If that were the case, then what about the part where she kissed Taliesin? Had it been real? Her imagination? Either way, how was she supposed to face him?
The door to their shared room opened, and Rhiannon dove under the covers to hide her embarrassment. Taliesin blew the bangs from his eyes. “I want to apologize for last night,” he began. “Wine or no, I shouldn’t have kissed you like that. I don’t know what came over me.”
So it wasn’t a dream. She stammered, “It’s all right. I didn’t mind.”
“Whether you minded or not,” Taliesin insisted, head bowed, “it was still wrong of me to do so.”
“We were both drunk. And I started it...”
“Please don’t make excuses for me. It only makes me feel worse for allowing that situation to happen in the first place and letting it escalate the way it did.” He combed back his tousled bangs. “I’m glad you don’t hate me for it, at least.”
Rhiannon peeked out from under the covers. “I don’t hate you,” she said. “I could never hate you.”
They shared a look, something slowly unspooling between them. Rhiannon opened her mouth to say more, but just as quickly, Taliesin averted his gaze.
“Then if you are amicable to it, please allow me to escort you to your destination.”
Her heart sank. “Right. My destination.”
What had unspooled between them frayed to nothing, just like the words that could now never be spoken.