For Your Heart (Hill Dweller Retellings) by A.L. Davroe Read Free Book Online Page A

breeches.  I take hold of her wrists.
         A scowl pulls at her mouth.  “You're no fun today, Tam,” she whines.  Leaning back, she fixes me with a glare that speaks little of the fickle, spoiled twenty-something that she looks and acts like, and more like the hundreds of years old, shrewd faerie queen she is. 
         I knit my brows, trying to think of a way to explain that I let a mortal teenaged girl rip out one of her prized roses.  Sorry, I got caught up staring at her incredibly tempting lips?   No, that wouldn't work.  That would inflame Roxel's jealousy.
         Before I can think of what I'm going to say, Roxel demands, “Why are you late?”    
         “Uh,” I breathe.  “Sorry. Leah gave me trouble again.”  It isn’t a complete lie. 
         Roxel growls.  “That thorn in my side little bean-sidhe !  How many times have I told her that you have leave to come back and forth through the Summer Gate whenever you please?  Honestly, I let her guard the Carver Hall sidhe and she thinks she owns the world.”
         “She does let me through,” I mutter.  “Just for a price.” 
         Sometimes I wish I wasn’t part of the Summer Court.  It’s better than being part of one of the Unseelie Courts, but the constant merriment and promiscuity is starting to get boring.  I can’t speak to anyone in this court without wondering if they’re going to paint me into a corner and turn me into some sort of glorified cabana boy.  With the way these Aos Si act, you’d think I’m a white stag or something. 
         Well, I guess in some ways, I am.  To my knowledge, there’s only one other Aos Si like me – a girl born to full Aos Si parents – who also doesn’t have a lick of Aos Si trait or Talent.  I’ve heard it said that her parents moved the whole family to Earth to keep her from the machinations of their Court.  Perhaps that’s why Roxel sends me to Earth so frequently.
         Roxel traces her finger over my chest.  “You know she only wants to play with you ‘cause you’re mine.”
         I roll my eyes toward the ceiling.  Roxel can give me any number of faerie gifts and knight me, but I’m reminded on a daily basis that my disability makes it so I’m nothing more than a toy to the courtiers in the Summer Court….Even Roxel.
         “Whatever,” Roxel shrugs and smiles.  “You're here now.”  She leans into me and trails kisses down my neck.  Her hands slip up my stomach and, despite being tired from dealing with Leah’s infatuation with me, I don't bother pulling them away.  I’ve learned the quickest way to get to and stay on Roxel’s good side is to let her do her thing. 
         I watch, detached, as the few lesser faeries in attendance make themselves scarce.  The only one that remains is Twyla, who sinks into the shadows and watches with eerie interest.  I turn away, uncomfortable with her constant presence.
         I wait another few minutes, letting Roxel wrestle me out of my bracers and my shirt, before speaking.  “I have something I need to, uh, ask you,” I whisper, distracted by her tongue tracing its way around my ear.
         Her nails rake along the ridges of my back muscles, gouging into my skin and making me wince.  “Hmm?” 
         My voice comes out strained.  “It's about the rose garden.” 
         Her fingers have reached their southward destination and she slips them between my waistband and my skin.  “What about it?” 
         I close my eyes, needing to focus beyond her hands in my breeches.  The image of the girl standing in the sunlight pops into my head.  My breath catches and I pitch forward, unprepared for how my body reacts.  I grasp Roxel’s shoulders to ground myself. 
         Roxel takes my reaction as a favorable response to her and her fingers clench until she's pasted against me.  She kisses my collarbone.  “What about the roses?” she whispers