Free The Frost Maiden's Kiss by Claire Delacroix

chance to speak,
    never will you return to your own country.’”
     
    “That is how it is,” Mairi informed Malcolm solemnly. “If you eat or drink at the Fae court, you can never leave. In every tale, it is the same so it must be true.”
    “I know it is true.”
    “How do you know it?”
    “Because I have seen it.”
    “ Here ?” The girls squealed with delight when Malcolm nodded, though Catriona’s eyes narrowed slightly.
    “But you must not have danced. If you dance, you will dance for years when you think it mere moments,” Astrid informed him with equal seriousness.
    “Indeed. It is wisest to stay away in the first place.” Malcolm knew more than sufficient of such errors. He was spared the need to elaborate when Catriona sang again.
     
    “She blew her horn, took the reins,
    and to the castle they did ride.
    Into the hall rightly she went;
    Thomas followed at her side.
    Harp and fiddle there they found,
    the gittern and the psaltery;
    The lute and rebec there did sound,
    and all manner of minstrelsy.”
     
    “It seemed a fine place,” Mairi explained to Malcolm as if he might fail to understand the lesson of the tale. “But it was a Fae trick played upon True Thomas.”
    “They are deceitful,” Malcolm agreed and Mairi began to sing again.
     
    “One morn, his lady spake to him;
    ‘Thomas, here you may no longer be.
    Hasten yourself with might and main,
    I shall take you to the Eildon Tree.’
    Thomas said with heavy cheer,
    ‘Lovely lady, let me take ease,
    for scarce have I savored this place;
    merely seven nights and days.’”
     
    This time Mairi shook her finger, mimicking Catriona before she continued.
     
    “‘Forsooth, Thomas, I tell you true:
    You have danced seven years and more!
    You must here no longer dwell;
    I shall take you home therefore.’”
     
    The girls sang the last verse along with Catriona.
     
    “He has gotten a coat of even cloth,
    and shoes of velvet green,
    but ’til seven years were past and gone
    True Thomas was never seen.”
     
    It was a fine tale and finely told.
    Had Catriona chosen it on purpose to reveal that she had seen the truth?

 
     
    Chapter Three
     
    “Is that what happened to you?” Mairi demanded of Malcolm. “Have you truly been to the Unseelie court?” This eldest girl was clearly the boldest of Erik’s daughters, and Malcolm could see in her eyes that she was no fool. Her hair was of a chestnut hue and fell in waves down her back. Astrid had hair even darker than that of her older sister, and Malcolm assumed that this came from their mother, for Erik was fair. Catherine’s hair tended to reddish gold, while both William and Euphemia had hair of brilliant red.
    “First I was at war. It was on my return to Scotland that I heard their music, but I did not dance,” he said, crouching down beside Mairi. He felt Catriona watching him and knew she wondered whether his tale were true. He dropped his voice as if confiding a dark secret to the children. “For I had a nursemaid so wise as to warn me of the danger, when I was no larger than your brother William. Your Catriona does you great service to warn you of the perils here at Ravensmuir.” Malcolm wagged a finger at the girls. “And so, you must pledge to me that you will remain in the hall when you are alone.”
    “What if we will not?” Mairi asked. “I should like to run here in the bailey.” Her gaze slid to the masons and their workers, more than one of whom was watching the small group of girls. Malcolm leveled a stern look at the men he was employing, his single glance sending them back to work with gusto.
    “While there are men abroad and work being done?” Catriona chided, her thoughts having followed the same course as his own. “I think not.”
    “I confess I agree with Catriona,” Malcolm said. He straightened, towering over the girls and doing his best to look imposing. “You must recall that I am Laird of Ravensmuir and you are guests in my hall. Should you