Page 72 of Joy Guardian

Elaine met the insult with a defiant glare.

Maria crawled from her cage, scrambled to her knees, and ran into the dark night of the desert.

“Get her!” Watrat ordered, sending two of his thugs after the woman.

I rooted for her. Even knowing that only death waited for humans out there, I’d follow Maria in a heartbeat if given a chance. Whatever these fae had planned for us could be worse than death.

Peter coughed and gagged, spattering the shimmering golden tea that ran down his face.

“Did he swallow any?” Watrat asked.

“He sure did.” Tazm got up from Peter’s chest, then wrung the spilled tea out of his skirt. “Fucking human. He messed upmy clothes!” Ripping the yellow flowers from his makeshift armor, he got down, shoving his knee into Peter’s chest again. “Eat these, too, since you can’t drink tea without making a mess.”

He stuffed the flowers into Peter’s mouth. The syrupy juice from the thick, semi-transparent stem of the flower trickled out from the corners of the poor man’s mouth. He stopped struggling, staring straight up into the starry sky with a pensive expression as if trying to see in the stars something no one of us could see.

Maria’s scream pierced the night, and my heart sank into my stomach.

They got her.

One of the Watrat’s fae carried the woman back to the cages, holding her under his arm like she was no heavier than a kitten.

“Where do you want her, chief?” he asked Watrat. “Back in the cage?”

Tazm had already stuffed the lethargic Peter back into his cage.

“Yeah, may as well. Give her some of the tea too,” Watrat ordered. “He may tear her to pieces otherwise. We’ll get more pleasure from two Vessels than one, anyway.”

Elaine and I exchanged worried looks.

As the other two fae held Maria, Tazm grabbed her chin, forcing her to open her mouth, then shoved the spout down her throat, making her gag and drink.

“It’s all gone now,” Tazm announced after a moment. “The stupid human man spilled a lot.”

“Well, this should help. Here you go, Sweet One.” Watrat ripped the flower from his chest, too, then stuffed it into Maria’s mouth, despite her tears and protests. “Eat it. You’ll have more fun this way.” Watrat smirked, shoving the woman into the cage with Peter.

“What are they doing? What are they doing?” Elaine chanted under her breath, with her eyes opened wide in shock. “Stop it!”

Piara scowled at Elaine. “Shut up. Or you’ll end up in therewith them. He drank enough hyacinth juice to handle both of you in there.”

Peter groaned, arching his back. His long, beige tunic bulged over his crotch. His hands fisted the blanket on the floor of their cage.

“Peter?” Maria crawled to him. “How are you doing?”

She placed her hand on his chest, and he jerked his head up, staring at her. His pale, hazel eyes had turned dark like night with golden flecks flickering in his dilated irises like fire sparks in the abyss.

“Peter?” Maria’s voice trembled, but she didn’t move away.

He fisted her blonde hair on the back of her head, then pulled her in for a kiss.

She gasped when he grabbed her hand and pressed it to the bulge between his legs.

“It’s working.” Watrat clapped his hands once, then palmed the handle of the sword on his belt. “One tendril each. Or I’ll cut your head off myself.”

The fae gathered closer to Peter and Maria’s cage. The smoky tendrils extended, one from each person, as per their boss’s order. They reached for theleilathasof the human couple. But there were more than twice fae than the eightleilathason the harnesses.

“Tazm and you…” he pointed at a fae next to Tazm, then singled out a few more from the crowd. “You. You. Runel too, and…” he selected a couple more. “And me, of course. We’re staying here, so we get the first turn. Piara and the rest, you’re leaving tonight. So, your turn will be at the next camp.”

Piara spat on the ground with a disgruntled groan and stepped back, followed by a handful of others. Watrat, Tazm, and the rest slithered their tendrils between the bars of the cage in search of Peter’s and Maria’sleilathas.

---