Free Claimed by the Elven King: Part One by Cristina Rayne Page B

cause me so much pain?
To what end?
    I never cry just for the sake of crying, but by the time they brought
me to a halt, I was damn near tears. But I didn’t give in. I nearly gave myself
a headache holding my tears back. I would stay in control of at least my emotions
if nothing else. At this point, it was either that or go mad with fear.
    Distracted by my internal battle to keep my emotions in check, it took
me a few moments to realize that I was looking at a large door of ornately
carved wood. My sight had returned!
    I immediately turned my head to catch a glimpse of my captors, but my
head was instantly turned back forward before I could see anyone. One of them
knocked on the door, so quickly that I didn’t even have time to turn my gaze to
see the action.
    “Enter,” a deep, muffled voice called.
    The door swung open as if on its own accord, and I was ushered through
so abruptly that I stumbled a bit as I crossed the threshold. I saw the figure immediately,
sitting in a large armchair before a blazing fire, but still somehow almost
completely hidden in the shadows. Only the light of the fire illuminated the
room.
    “Leave us,” the person said, turning his head.
    I still couldn’t make out anything other than the figure had the build
of a man, a useless observation when his deep voice had already given his
gender away.
    Rooted in place, I was watching him so closely that I didn’t notice
that my captors had released me until I heard the door shut behind me. However,
I couldn’t take my eyes off him to take advantage of this fact as I watched him
rise and step out of the shadows.

CHAPTER TWO
    “ Sidhe ,” I heard someone whisper as I stared at the entirety of
the man before me with a mixture of awe and alarm—then startled, realized it
was me that had just spoken.
    The man’s expression was also surprised. “Interesting,” he said, a
smile lighting up his face. “To know my people—I had not anticipated this.”
    In that moment, I couldn’t have spoken to save my life. What I had
unconsciously named him was more commonly known as an elf—and he was the most
beautiful being I had ever laid eyes on. His hair was a golden blond that
spilled loosely over his shoulders to mid-torso, the dancing flames behind him
casting a contrast of orange hues and shadow throughout the ludicrously long
locks that was almost hypnotic in its beauty. His eyes seemed to glow
yellow-orange in the gloom that surrounded him, but I couldn’t tell if it was
just a trick of the light from the flames. But what really captured my
attention were the two pointed ears that were peaking through his hair.
    This had to be someone’s bad idea of a joke. There’s no way that
elves could be real, that the ears I was currently looking at weren’t prosthetics.
There’s no way this beautiful, impossible creature that was now staring at me
curiously could be real in anything other than my dreams…
    To this day, I couldn’t tell you what he had been wearing. Once my eyes
had latched onto his face, it was like all previous thoughts and memories had
been seared away by the sheer realization that I was looking at a being
straight out of a fantasy story.
    “Do you know why you have been brought here, Emily?” he asked.
    My heart seized hearing my name coming from that mouth. This had to be
a dream, because there was no way he would know my name otherwise. Right…?
    I swallowed thickly. “I have a pretty good idea,” I replied more
steadily than I thought possible.
    And I did have a good idea. One quick glance around the room was all I had
needed. Why else would I have been brought to his bedroom ?
    To my surprise, he chuckled. “Perhaps,” he said. “Come to me, Emily.”
    I began to steadily back up until I felt the door handle press sharply into
the middle of my back.
    “I’d rather not,” I said tensely.
    Then quick as lightning, I reached my hand behind me, clumsily grabbed
the handle, and tried to jerk the door open. It didn’t