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

“I’ve arranged with your human to meet us by the hornbeams,” Quiller said. “He should be there by now. Look for his light. Come on, let’s go.” He glanced this way and that as we crept our way forwards, looking far too guilty.


“I thought we were supposed to act natural?” I whispered.


Quiller seemed pensive. “That was too easy. Guess we’ll know for sure as soon as you try to cross the ring.”


We reached the nearest tree stump; the edge of the ring. Quiller stepped through first. “Come on, quick.”


Gingerly, I placed one foot forward. A burning, fiery pain shot up my leg and through my body. I whimpered, not sure what to do.


“Give me your hand,” Quiller instructed, holding both his out. I gave him my hand and he clutched on tight. His face twisted in a grimace as he fought the magic set in place, then yanked me through the invisible shield. I yelped in surprise. As I was pulled through, the pain stopped but I was reverted back to my own form.


Chapter 26