In the 17th Century, the ancient sprawl of Epping forest is bursting with magic and those who go unseen by human eyes: the elves who rule the summer court, and the goblins who rule the winter court. It is said that if a human catches the eye of one of the fey, they are either doomed or blessed. Contains the stories: Wulfren and the Warlock: When Wulfren wakes from a strange dream of a human captor with long silver hair, and grey eyes, his brothers tell him they rescued him from a warlock, and take Wulfren back home to the goblin king's palace. But Wulfren isn’t so sure the matter is that simple. Why was he missing so long? What are the strange dreams of the beautiful man with the silver hair? Dalliances with humans are severely frowned upon, especially by Wulfren’s father, but Wulfren is willing to risk the scorn of his family to find the human who haunts his dreams. Quiller and the Runaway Prince: After a hard winter, Quiller is sent deep into the forest on a family errand, and is surprised when a human stumbles into his path. Quiller swoops in to pester him, perhaps even eat him, but there is something special about the human: his scent is royal, though he protests that he is not, and soon Quiller finds himself agreeing to help the human with his troubles—in exchange for a kiss.

Goblins

“Ah, Wulfren.” She smiled absently, still entirely focussed on her hair.


She hummed a song, combing out a knot in her hair. It was always hard to keep her attention. I waited patiently, trying to blink through the fog in my head. As she hummed to herself, I sidled closer.


“Help you?” She looked at me, her green eyes sparkling. “With what, dear?”


“I feel…strange. Father had Sel and Quill give me a mushroom after they rescued me. I can’t remember anything, but I’ve been having these strange dreams. I don’t feel right.”


“Oh? Let’s have a look at you.” She held out an arm and I leaned against her, sighing heavily in the embrace. “So melancholy?” she soothed, dancing cool fingers around my neck, pressing them on my throat. “You feel warm. Look at me. Now, say ‘ahh’.”


“Ahh…” I opened my mouth and rolled my tongue out at her. She felt around my neck, frowning slightly. “Hm, you’re very unwell, Wulfren.”


Chapter 11