River BlackTamsin didn’t give her a chance to respond to his proclamation, he just took her by the hand, leading her up several flights of stairs and down winding hallways. River felt dizzy. Everything happened so fast. She didn’t know what he meant by mate. Did he mean...wife? She wasn’t ready to be married and besides, she didn’t even -know- him. Sure, he was handsome and charming and a prince, but it didn’t seem like she was being given a choice.Maybe things worked differently here, she thought, though that was no consolation at all. She did notice how perfectly her small hand fit in his much larger one and the way he looked at her with his beautiful, sea green eyes did make her heart skip a beat or two, but no, she would have her say and her choice.River stubbornly stopped walking, forcing him to accidentally pull on her arm. Frowning, Tamsin turned around.“Something wrong?” he asked. &ldq

Aelnith EventideJust that little drop of River’s blood on his tongue, her sweet body on top of him, pressed against him, told him much and empowered him more than he thought possible. Even with dawn pinking the horizon, the burning sun rising into the sky, he found he could move, he was awake.He was very weak, true, but he wondered how much he could move during the day if he’d had just a little more of her blood, or more, if he made her his queen. As with his brother, Tamsin, his curse had another side to its coin too. With a queen by his side, inflicted with the same curse as he, bound to him for all of forever, the sun would no longer immobilize him. It could still burn his flesh, true, but he could move indoors or underground. He also wouldn’t need to feed but once a month on the night of the full moon. As it stood now, he had to feed every night, or he would descend into madness, becoming a mindless ghoul that fed on whomever he

Tamsin EventideFinally, the flint sparked and the tinder lit. He held the lantern aloft, but didn’t see anything amiss. At first.River was gone.He searched the kitchens, the rooms that lead to the kitchens. He scoured the entire manor in a rage, looking for her. He doubted she ran, but he supposed it was possible.No, he could feel the lingering magic in the air. Tamsin knew it couldn’t be a coincidence that the fires wouldn’t light.It struck him suddenly, the answer. Cinder. The Witch Queen’s consort. He was master of flame and hearth, a nasty little bastard from the Winter Court, betrayer of his own kind, former consort of Queen Mab. Slick and charming, clever and without scruples, Cinder was the one who brought human tithes to the Dain. If he had River, she was in very real danger.The more he frantically searched the manor, the less control he had over himself. If Cinder had spirited her away,

Tamsin EventideIt had never happened before, in the decade since he’d had his curse. He’d never lost control before the full moon and transformed. But like all the times before, he lost control of himself utterly. He could see and hear, he could think, but it seemed like his body was not his. He watched himself tear through the forest, his skin replaced by thick, silvery white fur that mimicked the moon’s light.He could feel branches and bramble tear at his skin through his heavy coat, but any pain only spurred him on, encouraged him. Tamsin had found River’s scent, like springtime, like fresh waters and lilies, sweet and good. Cinder, he could smell the treacherous Fae, wood smoke and copper. He’d find him, and he would tear him to pieces.He’d find River and claim her. The desire and urge to do so was all consuming. His primal cry tore through the chilly evening air, calling others to him. He may have been a cursed prince

River BlackShe must have dozed. She woke with a start, coming messily out of sleep. A soft glow emanated from across the small room. Cinder had propped himself on a pile of silk cushions and seemed to be asleep himself, his eyes closed, a little candle flickering on a low table near him.River heard it then, what woke her. An anguished scream. Nothing human could make that sound. It sounded like someone was killing a dog. Or a wolf. And while it made no sense, she felt, she knew it was Tamsin. He was in trouble. She shouldn’t have cared. He wasn’t her friend. Just a beautiful stranger in an even stranger land.When she heard the scream again, muffled and far away sounding, it sent shivers all up and down her skin and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She had to help. She wasn’t sure why. She just had to.Carefully, River crept around the room. She had an idea, though it wasn’t great, and she was pre