The Winter Court Series 3: The Fae's Bargain
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M. L. Smith
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Calliope is out of time—and out of options. When her mother’s life hangs in the balance, she marches into the snow-covered woods and strikes a deal with the last creature she should ever trust: the Bargainer, a dangerously magnetic Fae with a reputation as twisted as his bargains. Swept into a realm of glittering magic and veiled threats, Calliope finds herself walking a knife’s edge between survival and surrender. The deeper she falls into his world, the harder it is to tell what’s real, what’s a trap, and what her heart is really after. She thought she was making a deal to save someone else. But what if the real cost is her own?
The Fae
She’d been traveling for hours on foot, hoping to find the mythical creature lurking in the woods notorious for making deals with people. So far, she’d been unsuccessful, and as the snow fell in waves around her, Calliope didn’t think she would ever find what she sought.
A chill racked her frame as she walked, her booted feet sticking in the heavy snow. Her clothing was threadbare, leaving no room to block out the chill as she bent almost double against the wind.
She could have been seeking the elusive Bargainer for riches beyond her wildest imagination. Instead, she’d come to plead for her mother’s life.
Her mother had been sick for most of the year. First with a terrible cough that never seemed to dissipate, and now she was constantly vomiting, unable to keep even the thinnest broth down. Over the past few months, her mother had been reduced to skin and bones.
The nearest healer had declared her on death’s doorstep, but Calliope wouldn’t accept that. She couldn’t. Her mother was all she’d ever had, even if the woman was bitter and jaded by life. Even if she didn’t love Calliope the way a mother should.
She didn’t begrudge her mother her feelings, but she would do anything and everything to see her well.
Although the villagers tended to shun her, Calliope had talked to a few of them, quietly asking if there were any ‘creative’ ways to save her mother’s life. After a handful of hushed whispers from the local drunks, she had discovered—just that afternoon—that something, or someone, lurked deep in the woods. A man.
No, not a man.
A creature.
The Bargainer.
And for a price, he would grant any wish. No one had told her the price of such a wish, only that the Bargainer was as elusive as he was greedy.
She thought maybe he was a warlock, but she’d been told he was far beyond their conception of magic. The existence of such a being seemed highly unlikely, but desperation had Calliope nearly freezing to death as she searched anyway.
Calliope cast a wary look around as howls sounded off in the distance, alerting her to the fact that though the Bargainer might not be real, other predators were—and she was all but defenseless.
Why had she been so foolish as to seek the Bargainer at night?
She had simply been too impatient to wait for morning, not when she sensed she was on the brink of saving her mother’s life.
She had only a small lantern to guide her through the darkness, and she hoped the oil would last long enough to get her home, though she knew a simple light wouldn’t protect her from what hid in the woods.
“It is unwise to seek the Fae.” A deep masculine voice seemed to echo all around Calliope, startling her enough that she almost lost her grip on the lantern’s handle.
“You are but a scared little mouse and I, the lion, sent to devour you,” the man whispered in her ear, and Calliope jumped.
She spun around, the skirt of her dress tangling in her legs, but there was no one behind her. Only the trees and their branches whipped in the cold wind, creating a low whistle that grated on her nerves.
“You’re the Bargainer?” Calliope’s voice wavered. She sounded frightened even to her own ears.
“I’ve been called many things, mouse. What is it you seek?”
Calliope’s mouth was dry, her eyes frantically scouring the area from which the voice had come. But she saw nothing. Was he moving too quickly to detect? How could that be?
“I—” Her throat closed, fear keeping her from finishing her sentence.
A sigh echoed behind her, and she whipped around. More darkness greeted her, and Calliope took a hurried step back, bumping into a solid object.
“Why are humans always so frightened when they find what they have been searching for?” a sensual voice murmured in her ear. Fingers gently caressed Calliope’s white-blonde curls, and she sucked in a startled breath.
The lantern fell from her fingers, landing in the snow with a small thud. The flame flickered, casting an orange glow over the ground.
“Are you frightened of me, mouse?” Warm fingers found her throat, stroking her cold skin.
Instinctively, Calliope sank into the warmth, pressing into what she now knew was a hard chest at her back.
He must be tall.
She could feel his chin brushing the crown of her head as he bent, his fingers wandering toward her collarbone.
“Wh-why are you touching me?”
“I find you intriguing. Typically, the only humans who seek me out are greedy and pompous, their bravado easy to see through. They don’t smell like lilacs or look so…innocent.”
He inhaled deeply, a long sigh riffling through her curls. “Nor do they smell so unique.”
Humans…?
“You’re—a Fae?”
Calliope had heard of the Fae before, but only in horrific, disturbing stories. They weren’t real. They couldn’t be.
And yet…
“What did you expect? Did you think a mere mortal would be the key to saving your mother’s life?”
Calliope’s frame shook at his question, his warm breath skating along her cheek. He was so close to her. Too close. Yet she leaned back even further despite her fear, hoping to stay in the embrace of this mysterious creature.
“How did you know I was here for my mother?”
“It’s a gift I’ve acquired over the decades—this instinct for a well-timed bargain. And your soul tastes of such sweet innocence that I know only an ailing family member would bring you to my door.”
“I’ll do anything for her,” Calliope whispered, and the Fae behind her laughed. The sound was deep and melodious, melting some of her fear, though she was sure he intended quite the opposite.
Fingers brushed her cheek, and she turned her head, needing to glimpse her tormentor and savior. Fingers caught her chin in a tight grip, keeping her from looking in his direction.
“Humans are all the same, mouse. Of course you’ll do anything.”
Lips brushed the side of her head, and she shivered, though she was unsure whether it was because of the cold or something dark within her responding to the callous treatment of the Bargainer.
“There is something about you…” His words trailed off, leaving her feeling oddly bereft.
“What is the price? To save her?”
“You will give me your firstborn child.”
Wait… He wanted a child? From her?
“I—”
Fingers found her throat again, squeezing gently when she stopped talking. His thumb slid over her flesh, teasing her rapid pulse, and Calliope sucked in a shallow breath, her thighs clenching at the light caress.
“Is the price too high for such a sweet, innocent mortal?” He murmured the question, and Calliope quickly shook her head.
No, it wasn’t too high. To save her mother, no price was too high.
“I’ll do anything,” Calliope repeated, her words full of conviction and only a slight tremble.
“Good, mouse.”
A pale, masculine hand appeared in front of her face, a vial full of glowing liquid held out. His arm emerged from the folds of a thick black cloak, the edges lined with fur. Envy flared in her. How she longed for a garment like that, something to shield her from the cold.
“Give this to your mother—the entire potion. She’ll be well by morning.”
Calliope reached out, her fingers brushing his. A small shock passed through her when their skin touched, and her mouth dried even as, out of the blue, desire pierced her heart.
His hand disappeared from her line of sight, and a flare of magic encompassed her, binding her to complete the bargain between them. Calliope’s fate was sealed.
“Our bargain is struck. Your mother healed for your firstborn child.”
“When do I come back to you?”
There was a slight pause.
“When you’re ready to deliver your end of the bargain.”
Calliope wasn’t sure how long she stood there, her lantern stuck in the snow and her heart in her throat. Long enough for the thick atmosphere of the Bargainer to dissipate. Long enough for the cold to seep into her marrow and for frost to cling to her lashes like crushed starlight.
***
“I’ve brought you some medicine, Mother.”
Calliope hurried inside the cottage, pulling back the curtain they used for privacy.
Her mother was pale, her lips cracked and stained with dried blood. She could barely sit up, but that didn’t stop her from staring warily at Calliope and moving away when she sat on the edge of the bed, holding out a cup of tea laced with the potion.
Her mother had always kept Calliope at a distance, as if affection were a thing to be rationed. And oh, how it hurt.
Calliope had been born after her mother was assaulted by a man who broke into her cottage, and though she knew there was love in her mother’s heart, it would never be the kind she truly needed.
Despite that, Calliope was determined to see her well.
“Come now,” Calliope chided gently, slipping a hand behind her mother’s head to lift her. “The healer told me you’d be as good as healed by morning, but you must drink.”
Healer, Bargainer…close enough.
Her mother sighed wistfully, her eyes fluttering shut as she obeyed. When the last of the tea was gone, she lay back down, her body sinking into the thin mattress.
“Nothing will make me better, child, but I’m grateful you tried.”
“Nonsense,” Calliope said. “I’m sure you’ll be well by morning.”
And then Calliope would leave, returning to the looming forest in search of the Bargainer.
Calliope was uncertain how long the Bargainer would wait for her to bear him a child, nor what terrible thing would happen if she didn’t fulfill her side of the deal.
She didn’t want to risk any delay, so she promised herself that as soon as she was sure of her mother’s recovery, she would find him and complete her end of the bargain.
“Always so optimistic.” Her mother coughed, her small frame shaking the flimsy bed.
“Rest.”
Calliope smiled softly, waiting until her mother fell asleep before running a hand through her graying hair, smoothing the frayed ends tenderly.
Calliope and her mother didn’t look alike. Calliope had perfect white-blonde curls, creamy skin, and pink, plump lips. Her eyes were a vivid blue, so clear that people often thought she’d sought a witch to enhance the color.
Her mother was quite the opposite. Olive skin, blackish-gray hair, dark eyes—and she was naturally tall and thin, while Calliope was short and curvy.
A soft snore came from the bed, and Calliope stood slowly, carefully backing away before crossing to her side of the room. She kept her movements quick and quiet as she dressed in a nightgown and lay down on her thin mattress.
The blankets did nothing to keep out the chill in her bones, but carnal dreams of a Fae male as pale as the moonlight kept her warm well into the morning.
