AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Time to fuck,” she elaborated. “We need our A game here, and I don’t want to have to worry about any other idiots with a death wish distracting you and trying to kidnap me. Besides it seems that you’re certain that this mating thing is inevitable. It would be best to just get it out of the way, right?”
That wasn’t the warm yielding and embracing of Ha’shena that he wanted, but he had to agree with her pragmatic observation. “It is distracting,” he admitted with a low, frustrated growl. “Not only because it makes you vulnerable in such a way, but my instincts are too focused on you while you are unclaimed.”
Her brows rose. “Oh! Wow. Okay, good to know. So… ah, mating will help clear that up, right? I mean, I love the way you’re willing to do what it takes to keep me and my kids safe, but I can imagine fewer distractions will work a lot more in our favor.”
A soft chuckle left him, and he smiled down at his mate, his heart warming at how adorable she was. For how infuriatingly exhausting so many beings could be, his mate had an innocence to her that touched the quick of him. “It would.”
“So about this fucking…”
Another laugh rumbled free from him, and he tucked her arm into his. “Later. We have all night. The carnival is opening, but you are on reprieve for one more night. You will accompany me where I can keep an eye on you, and then afterward…” he let his words trail off as his heated gaze roamed over her, delighting when he noticed that she shivered in reaction.
“Afterward,” she agreed breathlessly, and he grinned.
She was not as entirely unaffected as she tried to appear. It wasn’t just surrendering to the inevitable and what logic dictated. She wanted it as well. He drew in a deep breath, tasting the first hint of her arousal that teased the air.
Another growl rattled from her, and the scent intensified as her fingers dug into his arm, just above his leather guard around his forearm. Gods help him make it through the night.
ChapterTwenty-Four
The night was descending over the carnival quickly, its weight almost tactile as something stirred in the air that even MaryAnne couldn’t miss. Even in the middle of the day, air around the carnival was oppressive, the sunlight dim with banks of fog that crawled up from the water’s edge. But once evening neared it was like the outside world had been snuffed out like a doused candle and the carnival lit up with a hundred lights, drawing everything to its epicenter. As if it were an entity of the night itself, living and breathing as it whispered in a multitude of tongues to its guests who shuffled through the literal mouth of the entrance.
The carnival had somehow been a little off when it had stood near the children’s home, but Raskyuil was right—there was something terrible about it at The Bend. The people ambling through were nearly lifeless, though they smiled and laughed eerily. It reminded her of watching zombie movies in her youth, the way the corpses shuffled forward, desperate to grab hold of what they craved. In this case, however, it was like they were staggering forward reaching for memories of better times, desperate to hold onto them. The magic of the carnival made them into shadows of human beings. It made her glad to be just a spectator even if it was unnerving to watch.
She shivered at Raskyuil’s side. She recalled how the magic felt, how easily it overtook her body. And this was the usual wintering spot. How often had these people been subjected to it? How deeply had the magic of the carnival soaked into The Bend? She couldn’t even begin to guess. She was just thankful that he had given her a strange berry before the evening started with the promise that it would keep her safe from the carnival’s dark influence. She was certain that it was the only thing keeping her from wandering over to join them in a state of bliss.
MaryAnne glanced up at the troll at her side. His hard gaze skimmed the crowd, his jaw tense. Even the bared muscles of his chest appeared rigid with the tension flowing through them. Her gaze swept over him with frank admiration, grateful for the distraction. With his tunic stripped off, he appeared even more formidable than usual—a gimmick that Elwyn insisted on to thrill the audience. He certainly loomed over the humans who entered, and Elwyn over most of the fae as well. There were not so many of those, and unlike the humans their smiles were more genuine as they talked amongst themselves, skirting around the larger number of humans wandering through.
“Is this normal?” she whispered.
Raskyuil’s gaze flicked down to her, and he grunted. “Usually. But The Bend is a little worse than most places.”
“I don’t like it. It’s like everyone here is nothing more than a brainwashed zombie.”
“Zombies,” he drew the word out thoughtfully as if familiarizing himself with the word. His brow furrowed slightly. “I do not understand the reference.”
“Dead people walking. The body is moving, but nothing is ticking upstairs,” she elaborated as she watched a small group smile at the goblins in hideous clown makeup dancing around them.
“Ah. As I said before, fairy magic can have a strange effect on humans,” he murmured, his own gaze trailing after a goblin who slipped up close to a human woman at the edge of her group and looped his arm with hers. “It’s slow to take effect at first but usually does by the time they’re within the heart of the carnival. The more they come, however, the faster it acts on them. And they are always eager to return,” he added pensively.
“And that’s why these people aren’t even getting more than a few feet past the entrance before they’re lost to it.” MaryAnne frowned sympathetically as she watched a family wander by, their expressions bright but their eyes empty. “What does the carnival get for all of this?”
“Magic,” Raskyuil replied bluntly. “The coins that are given in exchange are pure fae magic, and it is what is used within the fae realms for barter. It can be easily accumulated and traded in that form or absorbed when one’s strength is low. But magic has to come from somewhere. Terror, joy… all of these strong emotions draw a current of magic around them. If it is not the ringmaster himself gathering it, then it is another skilled mage, another aelf most likely, who is doing it.”
Another shiver. “I hate this place. What it’s doing is just evil.”
To her surprise, Raskyuil hummed and peered down at her curiously rather than agree with her as she expected he would. Didn’t he say how disturbing he found The Bend? He hadn’t wanted to return at all if it weren’t for the fact that she’d insisted.
“What? You don’t agree? That’s a surprise considering that you don’t like this place either.”
He grimaced but didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he started moving, leading them on a winding path as he continued to watch over the guests. He seemed to be aware of everything at once, his nostrils flaring and ears twitching subtly as he watched whirling rides that shouldn’t be able to move at all without electricity. Torches and suspended lights danced and flickered, casting their beams and long shadows over performers and guests alike as the fog crept along the ground, undisturbed despite the flow of bodies moving through it. The music was faint, but she could hear it, and rather than inspire any sense of comfort or nostalgia as it had before it only made her skin crawl.
“It’s not evil,” he said at last, and MaryAnne gaped at him with shock and betrayal. The corner of his mouth curved sympathetically, but he did not retract his words. “The carnival is very much an entity of the night, MaryAnne. Just like trolls are. The night brings many blessed things. Comfort, reprieve, obscurity, healing, dreams. “
“Nightmares,” she interrupted, but he chuckled, which didn’t exactly endear him to her in that moment, and inclined his head in agreement.
“It has the potential for that as well. It gives life to good things and bad things, but the light of day is no better. It may be easier to hide in the darkness, but there are things that hide in plain sight even in the brightest of sunlight, their illusions crafted to hide their nature and appetites. Even humans are like this, yes?” he challenged, and she reluctantly nodded.
He had a point, as much she hated to admit it. There were plenty of people who hid their cruelty behind a friendly smile and a guise of normalcy, and even more importantly, that of solidarity and safety, which people depended so much on after the Ravening.
