Bound by the Summer Prince: Guest Post by Mistral Dawn

Please welcome Mistral Dawn with her new release, Bound by the Summer Prince!

Blurb:

The Summer Court is in an uproar. The king has just been executed for unpardonable crimes, and the queen is prostrate with grief over his loss. This leaves the Summer kingdom bereft of true leadership; a problem which is compounded by the fact that the laws of Fairie require balance to be maintained by having a male and a female ruler for both Season Courts at all times. Uaine, the Summer prince, is the only one who can put things right, but he is without a mate. Knowing that he must take a bride quickly, for the sake of his people, even though he is struggling with his own feelings of pain and anger over his father's treachery, he goes for a walk in a forest near the palace to try to clear his head and determine how best to choose a female to rule beside him. 

While walking Uaine discovers a human female running loose in Fairie, which is against the most basic tenets of Fae law. Furious at one more problem he must deal with, he takes her prisoner and locks her in the dungeon; only to discover later that she is his soul-mate. The magical bond between them means they are meant to be together forever, but humans can't feel the magic of Fairie. Will Uaine be able to win her heart and convince her that she can trust him to keep her safe from all the dangers of Fairie...including himself? 

Roni is a human con woman and petty thief. Having run afoul of the local crime syndicate in the city where she is staying, she finds herself running for her life. Trouble is no stranger to her, but when she falls through a hole in a wall and finds herself in a world with carnivorous trees and rocks that eat people she realizes she may have found more of it than she can deal with. Rescued/arrested by the prince of the Summer Court, it doesn't take long for her to formulate a plan to use him to get herself home. Unfortunately for her, she soon finds that her heart, which she had thought long ago turned to stone, has begun to feel the love she has been playing at. Will she be able to overcome a lifetime of caution and allow herself to follow her heart? Can a criminal love a cop? 

Please be aware that this book contains explicit sexual scenes, depictions of BDSM, and anal play. If these things disturb you, then this may not be the book for you.

This excerpt is when Roni first starts to accept that she is in Fairie and learns about the magical bond that has formed between the Summer Prince and herself:

She was just contemplating leaving her comfortable chair, and disturbing the occupant of her lap, when the door opened and Uaine walked in. "I have questions for you."

"I would be disappointed if you did not." said Uaine, as he gently closed the door and walked over to take a seat across the table from his Anamchara.

Roni felt uneasy in the man's presence, and when she felt uneasy she always defaulted to aggression. "Why are you holding me prisoner?"

"You are not a prisoner..."

"Then can I leave?" She interrupted.

Uaine took a settling breath.  "I will explain everything to you in a moment, but first: is there anything you need?"

"I need my stuff back."

"We will also discuss your belongings momentarily.  Jillian mentioned that you had requested a dressmaker?"

"No, I told her I want my clothes back."

Sighing, Uaine prepared for the difficult conversation he knew he needed to have with his Anamchara.  It was obvious she was not inclined to make it any easier.  Not that her strength of will was a bad thing, in the long run, she'd need it to properly fulfill her duties as queen; but just at that moment he wished for a little less strength, and a little more willingness to be open-minded.  At any rate, delay would make it no easier.

"First, Jillian said she told you that you are no longer in the human world, is that correct?"

Roni looked at him warily. "She told me some cockamamie story about being in some magical fairy-land, yeah."

"But you do not believe this is true?"

"It's impossible!"

"Perhaps it may seem that way, humans do not seem to believe in the Fae as they used to, but are there not things you have seen that you cannot explain?  Have you not witnessed wonders that do not exist in the human world?"

Roni considered his words.  She knew that she couldn't continue to put off thinking about all of the strange things she couldn't explain.  Eventually she was going to have to deal with the fact that what she was experiencing didn't make sense under the rules she was used to, or in the world she knew.  In the forest she had decided to treat everything as if it were real, on the off chance that it was, because she'd thought that would increase her odds of survival.  It seemed as though using the same mental trick now might be a good idea. 

She still wasn't entirely convinced that she wasn't dreaming, or hallucinating, or even dead; but she needed to be able to function, and the only way she could think of to do that was to act as though she truly had, somehow, been transported to a mythical world.  If she operated under that assumption, it would free her mind to focus on other matters (like how to get back home) and allow her to respond to events and people in her normal, cautious manner.  She resolved that she wouldn't fully accept the notion, but her actions would, for the time being, be based on that premise.

"Alright, then how did I get here?"

"You do not remember?"

"I remember falling and then waking up in a jungle."

"You must have somehow encountered a portal that had opened.  Normally they require a spell to open them, but occasionally they will open on their own; only the goddess knows why or how.  You were not alone when you reached Fairie."

"No, I was being chased by four men.  They were all killed."

Uaine took a relieved breath.  If his Anamchara was not lying to him, he at least did not have to worry about more humans running around his kingdom armed with cold iron.  "Yes, the forests of Fairie are perilous.  It was only your possession of human-forged, cold iron which allowed you to escape unscathed."

"What do you mean 'human-forged, cold iron'?"

"There is an item in your bag made from such a substance.  It is an anathema to all Fae and protected you in the forest.  However, it is very dangerous.  I would like to return your possessions to you, including this item, but I must know that you will only use it to defend yourself.  I cannot allow you to have it if you will use it to harm my people."

"Well there's no trouble then, I won't be around your people because I'll be going home."

He sighed. "That is another thing we must speak of. You cannot leave Fairie.  This would be true regardless of any other circumstances, one of our oldest and most sacrosanct laws is to never allow humans with knowledge of Fairie to return to the human world, but it is especially true because a bond has formed between you and me."

She raised her eyebrow and gave him a dry look. "A bond?"

"Yes." He took a deep breath. "The great mother goddess created a magical bond which forms between two individuals when they have found their perfect match, their soul-mate.  We call this bond the Siorghra and our mates are called Anamchara.  The Siorghra is recognized and held sacred by all Fae throughout all of Fairie.  It is inviolable and unbreakable."

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