Caom spat a vile curse at him. I jumped when an apple flew past me, straight for Odran’s face. He ducked it and quirked a black brow.
“Such a child.”
“Fucking water horse—”
I could hear Caom scrambling up, no doubt to vault out of the cart and launch himself at the kelpie. I took the opportunity to shove myself up and off the side of the cart, landing with a pained thud. Odran gazed down at me, but I didn’t stick around to find out what he’d do. I scrambled to my feet, skidding over the damp earth, and ran.
My heart was pounding in my chest. I kept losing my balance thanks to my arms being tied behind my back, but I gritted my teeth and ignored the jeers and cruel laughter from the procession of creatures who watched.
I grunted when a huge arm scooped me up, my eyes bugging out of my head as I looked up and saw a long, deer-like face peering back down at me. The creature was huge. It towered over everyone else, with long, trailing limbs and dark, leathery skin.
“You can’t escape, little one,” it told me in a deep, grating voice. “You will fulfil your role for all of us.”
“What?” I stared up at it in horror. “I—”
“I’ll take him back to the cart.”
Odran’s calm voice made me flinch. The creature dipped its great head in a nod and handed me over to the kelpie, who set me on my feet with wet hands. I tried to jerk back, but he held my shoulders in a firm grip and led me away.
“I’ll tell him,” he whispered in my ear as he urged me back to the cart, where I could see Caom and Idony peering over. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell him.”
“Who?” I snarled. “Tell who? Just fucking help me. Where are they taking me?”
“Unseelie land. The Carlin’s court. She wants you.”
The blood drained from my face. “Wants me?”
“Not as a lover.”
Odran fell silent as Caom jumped off the cart and snatched my arm, jerking me to him. I fought his hold, but he was as freakishly strong as Odran. All of them were.
“What were you saying to him?” Caom snapped, hoisting me back onto the cart, making my face flame with indignation. They were passing me around like a sack of fucking potatoes.
When Odran said nothing, Caom snapped sharp teeth at him. “Fuck off back to your lake.”
Odran ignored him, giving me one last look before he turned and walked back towards his lake, which was behind us now. My eyes snagged on his pale, flexing backside before I could help it. I looked away quickly.
“Oh,himyou want?” Caom snarled, throwing himself back down beside the sack of apples in the cart. “Typical.”
“I don’t want anyone,” I gritted out. “I want to go home.”
“We’re taking you there,” Idony said, still sewing. “Your new one.”
I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek as fear flooded me, the sharp pain bringing everything into terrifying focus. These things had kidnapped me and were taking me somewhere through the woods. I was fairly sure I wasn’t dreaming at this point. Which meant they were real. This was real.
The Folk were real.