Siofra stared in horror at the beautiful man before her. “Lysa—”
“Lady, do not speak names in this place.”
That wasn’t even his full name. Why did it matter?
“I am owed payment,” the bard insisted.
Lysander completely ignored him. “I thought I told you never to remove that.” He pointed at her pendant.
“I didn’t. I couldn’t…but I don’t have coins…or spells.”
“Then you should not have engaged his services.”
“A greater tale,” the bard added with a little too much self-satisfaction.
Lysander rolled his eyes, gritting his teeth.
Siofra stood. “Couldn’t you just…give him something…for now?
“The debt is yours and non-transferrable.”
Siofra nearly groaned. She was going to hear about this infraction when, and if, she got away from this bard.
Wait. She had the coin from Mrs. Sgot. She reached in her pocket and held it out on her palm. “This is more valuable than—”
The bard snatched it from her hand and rose to leave.
“A moment,” Lysander’s voice sounded of steel. “We will make a trade.” He pulled some river pebbles from his pocket and held them out.
The bard sighed, but he scooped up the pebbles and dropped them in his pocket before placing the coin on Lysander’s hand.
As he walked away, Lysander whispered, “Heavy.”
The bard’s pants dropped low on one side.
He rounded on Lysander, scowling. “Totally unnecessary. I wasn’t going to eat her.” When he stalked off, Siofra heard him mutter, “Light,” and he tugged the pants up.
Siofra covered her mouth to smother her chuckles. “Did you make those rocks so heavy his pants fell down?”
“Maybe. That is not the conversation we will have, young lady.”
“Did he mean that about not eating me? Does that mean he could?”
Lysander took her hand and massaged it with his own, as if reassuring himself of her well-being. “Always with the questions. Not eat your flesh, and really, his abilities are extremely low level, but you have no abilities…therein lies the problem with entering this realm unaccompanied. What were you thinking?”
Siofra looked up at him and could have swooned from his beauty. No wonder he wore a glamour. It toned down his apparent power. “Why do you look so different? Do you not wear the glamour here?”
He stared, his eyes going from a scowl to a glare, then utter amazement as he shook his head. “No, it isn’t possible. You can see me? What do you see?”
Siofra felt her face go hot. “You are…very pretty. Prettier than any lady of my acquaintance. And much taller than you let me see. And your hair is not black. It’s…glorious, like the moonlight. And your eyes—”
“That is enough.” His voice sounded gruff. Was he embarrassed?
“Lysander?” The green-haired beauty sidled up to him, her brows furrowed, concern all over her face. How come she was allowed to say his name?
His head bobbed. “Keeper. I…must attend…something. Would you…” He flicked his head in Siofra’s direction. “No more bartering with…anyone!”
His eyes met Siofra’s for a split second before he stalked away. Siofra shivered. She’d never seen him truly angry with her.
“That was unfortunate,” the Keeper said. “I tried to warn you.”
Siofra turned her attention to the taciturn woman before her. “I guess you did.” If that’s what she called raising an eyebrow. Siofra sat on the cushions, uncaring if she appeared rude. At the moment, she felt like a child sneaking away from a parent, a child who had gotten caught inches away from getting crushed under a carriage. She also felt silly. She’d just told Lysander he was pretty!
“I could help you.” The Keeper sat beside her on the cushions.
“Ha! No, tha—no. I don’t have items of trade for your shop.”
“What’s a conversation between friends?”
Siofra studied her face. She had that same uncanny glowing eye trait. A fey trait, perhaps? “Your offer, though kind, is not something I can accept because I have been told not to trust the word of anyone.”
“The fey never lie.”
“But they don’t always tell the truth, either, do they?”
“Let us make a bargain. I will tell you one truth, then you can tell me another. No questions. You decide on the truth you tell me.”
That sounded so very uncomplicated, almost too easy. What could go wrong? A number of things. Lysander didn’t want anyone here to know anything about her. But this tree nymph knew the name Lysander and was allowed to say it. Could Siofra think of some innocuous truth to share with the Keeper?
“Alright. Do we shake hands?”
“Your word has already bound you to the bargain. That is a truth, but you asked a question, so it doesn’t count. I will offer the first truth.”
Siofra nodded. Her eyes traveling to the “customers” meandering around the shop and back to the Keeper. Could she really take time away from guarding the doors?
“Pay them no mind. I’ll know when I’m needed.” She placed both her hands on her lap. “The Unseelie Court welcomes all with even a trace of the ancestral blood. It tolerates those from the Shadow Court and even the free fey. Those, like us, who have no allegiance. The Seelie Court is more particular. Only those of the purest blood may hold positions in the court, though the Queen has the final say in any matter, but proven friends are welcome.”
Which creatures were allowed in the Seelie court? Ogres? Unicorns? Hobgoblins? And what made someone a proven friend? But Siofra could ask no questions. It was her turn to speak a truth. “A brownie lives in my kitchen.”
The Keeper smiled, but it made Siofra feel young and naïve.
“Shall we continue the exchange?”
Siofra had learned much and offered very little. She could do this. She nodded.
“You must speak the word.”
“Yes.”
“When passing through fairy terrain, it’s highly advisable to keep some part of your clothing turned inside out. This confuses them. They can’t clearly sense your presence, so they can’t spell you to lose your way. The fairy itself will get lost, so it would behoove you to travel a different way on the return. They’ll want revenge.”
“That is fascinating. I can’t eat strawberries. They make me sick every time. Between you and me, I break out in red splotches.”
“That is fascinating as well. Shall we continue?”
“Yes.”
“Certain denizens of the Seelie don’t care for red clothing. It clouds their thinking and allows you the upper hand. Some, it even makes angry, like ogres. They lose control, which gives you control.”
Which denizens? But she couldn’t ask. “Very helpful, though I don’t have red.” She picked up her satchel, opening the flap to offer a view of the contents. “But I do have leaves in my bag.”
The Keeper peered over the edge then froze. “How did you get those?”
“Umm, no questions? That was my truth.”
The Keeper stared at Siofra, her eyes blank. Was she angry, afraid, embarrassed? Finally, she nodded. “I have broken the bargain. I will give you a boon.”
She rose and skirted her customers, then bent low to a shelf, reached in, and returned to Siofra. She held out a cascading red sheath. “You can wear it around your neck, and it will always be visible. Or, you could use the element of surprise and keep it hidden until needed.”
Siofra tucked it inside her bag because she wasn’t about to wear something like that without first asking Lysander. He was angry enough.
She pulled out a leaf. “Isn’t this a pretty leaf? I was walking toward the store, and the leaves floated around my head. I tried to shove them away, but they formed a swarm and blew around my face. When I held up the open bag, they flew inside.” Siofra shrugged. “I thought I should probably keep them.”
“You should most definitely keep them.” She pointed at Siofra. “You have been chosen by the tree.”
Siofra heard the same words from a voice beside her. Lysander stood at her elbow, shaking his head. It seemed a habit now. Would she always confound him in this world?
He held his hand out, and all the sudden, they were hidden by a wall. “How did you get here, Siofra? No one can hear us now. What did you do?”
Siofra glanced from the Keeper to Lysander. “First, I waved my hand at the usual location of the bridge. I know you said the magic doesn’t work that way, but I tried it. Then I told the bridge to come. There was a shimmer of light, but no bridge so I said, Bridge, I know you’re there. Come, at once.” She looked at the Keeper again. “I couldn’t see anything, so I tested the ground, and it was solid.” She moved her head to watch Lysander. “I tested each step all the way across because I never saw the bridge. It was solid all the way, so I kept going.”
“The matter I had to attend was an unexpected growth of the tree’s roots all the way across the bridge to the other side. When you called, the tree responded.”
“And then it gave her leaves.” The Keeper rose, and the wall fell away as she left them.
Siofra felt a wave of sadness. She jerked her head around in vain, searching for some sad creature.
“It is the Keeper.” Lysander placed his hand on Siofra’s shoulder. “She is going to die, and the tree has chosen you as its replacement.”
Siofra’s breath came out in a whoosh, and she slumped against the cushions. She absolutely did not want the care of a giant tree, nor did she have the desire to be a shopkeeper. And the Keeper…dead?
“I’m sure lots of people pick up leaves.”
“The tree never sheds its leaves. It is never winter here, nor is it fall. New leaves replace the old, but it doesn’t shed. The Keeper, however, has a supply of leaves that she sells in the shop. There is no other way to obtain the leaves. They can’t be traded by anyone else after they’re bought. They disintegrate. After the buyer uses them for magic or medicine, they disintegrate. It’s impossible for you to have these leaves unless the tree wanted you to have them.”
“What if I gave them back?”
“Have I taught you nothing, Siofra? There is no such thing as a free gift. You accepted the leaves. The bargain has been made.” He grabbed her shoulder and stared into her eyes. “Why didn’t you wait for me? Did you bother to call for me?”
He already knew the answer to that. She hadn’t. And now she’d ruined her life. She burst into tears, and every fey in the building rushed for the door, or doors, whichever one they were nearest. Which made her cry all the more.
Lysander heaved a sigh. “Here.” He shoved a piece of cloth her way, but Siofra eyed it blearily. “Is it safe to accept?”
“Now, you ask?” He sat and wrapped his arms around her. She would have felt uncomfortable, but they were now completely alone. He patted her hair, and she turned into his chest. He pulled her closer. He may be an otherworldly, insanely beautiful man, but he knew how to offer comfort. “I must tell you some things. When the wolf came, and you tore your shirt to bind my wound, you gave me your clothes, your essence. You placed my blood on it. We are bound.”
She jerked her head up to look him in the eyes. “You mean you are friends with me merely because you have to be?”
“Don’t be ludicrous. I saved you before that, didn’t I? It means that I cannot hurt you, and you cannot hurt me. Thus, it is safe for you to accept my handkerchief. I cannot use magic against you.”
“What about when you say my name?”
“Ah, that was done beforehand. It doesn’t apply. However, I cannot tell you to do something that will harm you…or our relationship.”
What did that mean? What relationship?
She chose to ignore it.
“How long has she got?”
“She will never grow old, nor will she ever get sick. She could live forever.”
Siofra sat up and pelted his chest with her fist. “You should have led with that.”
“Though…it is odd the tree chose another, which lends one to consider the possibility of an impending death.”
Egads! She glanced around the shop. “Oh. Where has everyone gone? Too weak to watch a woman cry?”
“They are afraid of your tears. They are a gift—strong emotion is the truest form of truth. It wells from the inside and reveals the heart. Your tears, given freely, form attachment with those who have elicited such great emotion.”
“That would be you. Yet another way we’re chained together.”
“Practically unbreakable.”
“Then you won’t lose me in here.”
Lysander’s light chuckle brightened his entire face. “There is that.”
Siofra’s heart swelled with emotion. She had to control her thoughts. She squinted and held a hand between his face and her eyes. “Could you tone down that perfection a little? The rest of us mere mortals may faint from your beauty.”
Lysander burst into laughter. The second time she had made him truly laugh. She cherished that more than all the rest.
He nudged her shoulder with his own. “If I am completely honest, I feel the same about you.”
And once again, he offered her ambiguous fey truth. Either he thought her beautiful, which would be nice, or his heart was in danger. She was fairly certain she’d already lost hers.