“Fine.” She sighed. “Let’s start at the top. Define ‘willing companion.’ What does that entail?”She had worked a summer interning at an architectural firm between her sophomore and senior years of college. She thought that she’d be working on drawings. No, she was just printing and collating contracts. Which was really boring, so she spent a lot of time reading them.
She was suddenly very grateful for those few months reading boring paragraph after boring paragraph.
“Hm.” Rig took a step away from her and began to pace as he talked. It was fascinating to watch him move, she had to admit. There was grace and beauty to him, with his inhuman legs.
She understood the allure of the “fair folk” in all the stories, now. How easy it would be to get suckered in by one of them. It was easy to roll her eyes at the old tales or when watching movies, to mock the people who made the stupid decisions. But now that she wasinit? Experiencing it? There was a power in the air around them that drew her toward them, even as she knew she should be running the other way.
“Well, first, let us begin with theobvious.I would not expect you to physically service me in any way that you found unpalatable. I am not a monster, despite the rumors.” His tail flicked back and forth. “And I find no joy in lovers who do not desire my touch.”
“A good start. But what else?” Great. It was nice to know that he had a bar. Lovely.
“Simply to be at my side as a friend. An ally. Someone who I can trust to speak honestly.”He placed a palm to his chest. “You would live in my abode. Sit at my table. Read by my hearth. Play games with me.”
“A pet.”
“Too simplistic a word.” He clicked his tongue. “You would be as free as anyone in this gods-forsaken pit of despair. You would be free to associate with others. If you wished to travel theWeb, to make friendships with others, to take lovers as you saw fit, I would allow it. If you chose to warm my bed, then I would be glad for it. But you would call my home yours. And I would hold your allegiance.”
She smirked. “An indoor-outdoor cat.”
He squinted a little. “If I knew perhaps what you were referencing? I think I gather your meaning.”
That made her chuckle. “Sorry. A modern phrase. I get the feeling I’m going to confuse a lot of you.” She ran a hand through her hair. It was the only thing keeping her from panicking. “It means I’m still a pet, but I get to roam.”
“There are worse fates to suffer. And there are many of them that await you. When our wardens seek out the one who holds the grimoire, and find that I hold your leash, they will leave you be. When the darker souls that lurk within the Web come knocking, they will not risk angering me.” Rig smiled faintly. “What I am offering you is beneficial to both of us. I do not wish for your soul. I am not seeking to corrupt your mind. I do not want anything but yourhonestcompanionship. Your friendship.”
“Friendship can’t be purchased, though. That’s the problem. What if we decide we hate each other?”
His smile turned dark. “I am not concerned. ‘Hypnotism’—what a lovely, curious word, you must tell me more about it—is not my only means of being convincing, little Ava.”
There it was. “Do I want to know the specifics of what you’re threatening me with?”
“I would propose that you do not. And I would rather not trouble you with thoughts of what may be, when we have not come to that particular river. Let us cross it when we reach it.” He took a step toward her.
When. Not if. When. He was assuming she was going to say yes. She could tell her time was starting to run out. “I verymuch appreciate your offer, Rig. And I think it is a fair and wise proposal. I would like twenty-four hours to consider it.”
That made him pause in his approach. Tapping a finger on his chin, he thought it over for a moment. “While I would love to oblige you and start this new arrangement of ours off on one of pure mutual kindness—I will have to refuse. Much can happen in the Web in twenty-four hours, and you might be caught up in other business within the hour, for all I know. And, as I said, I have already made up my mind. You will belong to me.”
Fuck. Shit, fuck,damn it.
Think, idiot! Think!she screamed at herself in her head.Use your head for something for once in your stupid fucking life!
Then it hit her. She had one bid for a few moments. A few moments, and one pathetic attempt at tryingsomething.Because she only had one weapon she could use.
If it listened.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to give it a try. “It seems to me, then, that the only question remaining is simply whether or notyouwant to go forward into this contract forever knowing that I had no choice.”
“Pardon?” Rig frowned.
“There are three paths forward, as I can see. One, where I leave here bound under this contract and I am oblivious to the fact that you forced me to say yes. Two, where I leave here bound under the contract and Iknowthat I had no choice other than to say yes.” She was counting out on her hands.
She paused. This was the gamble. This was the risk. “Or, a third choice—which is you give me a few minutes, literallytwo, to think over your proposal. And if I say yes, then we can go forward with a clean slate. Any worry of our friendship being based on a lie will be erased. And if I say no, you can simply erase the memory of this exchange, and we’re back to where we began.”
He studied her in silence for a long moment. “Two minutes?”
“Two. Everything’s just been…I’m not used to any of this.” She shook her head. “I’m overwhelmed, to say the least, and I just…need to think this through.”
Rig looked off into the distance. She was struck again by how damnhandsomehe was. Well, if her spell failed, and didn’t do anything, she supposed being friends with—and likely getting railed nightly by—a mind-controlling, terrifying satyr Unseelie fae wasn’t the worst way to spend the rest of her life.
