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

And yet I found myself saying, “I…I’ll return by morning.”


Idiot, I chided myself. So much for having the upper hand. Annoyed, I changed into a rook, then perched on the ledge, ruffling my feathers. Cashel watched me, waiting. Impatient to leave, I tapped the window. I’d break through it if I had to.


“As you wish,” he mumbled. “I will see you…tomorrow, then?”


I cawed, as Cashel opened the window and stood back, and I flew off into the night.


In an old hornbeam tree, I perched on a branch and tried to doze. Sleep wouldn’t come. The moon shone, reviving my energy, but I only felt frustrated. What was the matter with me? Why couldn’t I get himout of my head?


This is ridiculous. From a fleeting desire to play with a pretty human and trick him into trusting me, he now had me running errands like a common servant, and feeling irritated for no discernible reason.


And I didn’t know what to do about it.


Chapter 48