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

It was late. I didn’t want to think about why Ash wasn’t here. I snuggled into our bed, burrowed beneath the blankets, and closed my eyes. I left the fire and the lamp burning, hoping I wouldn’t burn the place down. Strange dreams crept up on me. They were worried, anxious dreams. Elfren’s taunts still rang fresh in my ears, but I didn’t care what my family thought. As long as I had Ash, I was happy.


Movement in the cabin roused me. I woke with a start, only to see it was Ash. He’d set down his bag and was about to pull off his cloak.


“You came back!” I sprang off the bed, launching myself at him. Had I stayed in human form I would’ve knocked him flying, but my body changed into a cat. I clung onto his chest with my claws and nuzzled at his neck.


“Of course I came back,” he said, gently prising my claws off. “Wulfie, be careful.”


Chapter 20