Page 60 of Lord of the Hollow Court
Katty felt her whole body tightening. “How am I supposed to protect the court? We don’t even know where Lord Braamis!”
Rineke shrunk in the chair. “I’m sure he’s turned up by now.”
“What else are you keeping from me?”
Rineke chewed her lip. “Maybe his lordship could explain—”
“Maybe myfriendcould explain.” She stopped herself before adding,I barely know his lordship. I can’t tell when he’s keeping something from me.Rineke, though—in little more than a week of sharing a room and cleaning beside each other all day, they had learned much of each other’s quirks. Katty could read Rineke like the cover of that book she’d tossed aside—the title of which proved unspeakably dirty.
Rineke swallowed, brushed her hair back, and fidgeted with the edge of one of her wings, which made a sound like stroking velvet. Finally, her decision made, she crinkled her nose—that trait they shared. “Listen. The Court of Claws is ruled by High Fae. They don’t think much of low fae like us, including your husband. We might be long-lived, but not like they are. We don’t get sick like humans, but our bodies wear with time. In the eyes of a High Fae, we’re little better than humans.”
Katty placed her hands on her hips. “And what’s wrong with humans?”
“Nothing.” Rineke wrinkled her nose again. “Except you’re weak, fragile little things who somehow take up most of the world. To snooty fae like Lady Fenna de Groot, you’re little more than an upstart from the animal kingdom. And probably repulsive, too. Sorry,” she added quickly.
Katty huffed. “From the sounds of it, I was nearly lunch.”
“Exactly!” Rineke’s brows flew high. “That’s the thing with High Fae like her and her awful daughters.” She tapped a finger on her temple. “They detest base things, because they’re guilty of base, animal behavior, too. They can’t control their prey dive when they detect humans.” This time, she tapped her nose. “It’s a side of themselves they’d rather forget.”
“So mysmellis going to keep this de Groot person away?”
Rineke nodded. “In addition to your status. A human is too low for Fenna de Groot to acknowledge, let alone associate with in any respect. That’s the bet his lordship has made. He’s holding up a mirror to them, reminding them of what almost happened on Samhain. The de Groot Ladies might not’ve come, but several of their courtiers did. It’s an embarrassment to them.”
Katty wrinkled her own nose. “And that’s going to keep them from taking over? A little embarrassment?”
“Not a little, Katrina. Utter humiliation. The High Fae pride themselves on being better than everyone. That pride is worth a lot in their courts—and costs a lot to retain. High Fae have given up far more than the lands and river access of the Hollow Court just to keep that pride.”
Skeptical, Katty folded her arms. “Like what?”
“Like the world.” Rineke swept her arms outward, her glassy wings rippling. “Low fae tend to keep their courts close to humans. We don’t have their animal flaw. So we give tithes to a High Fae court somewhere—in our case, Lindendam—”
“Where?”
“Holland, Katrina! Try to keep up.” Her eyes twinkled devilishly. “The truth of it is, if the High Fae weren’t so attached to the superior image they’ve carved of themselves across the ages, they’d have hunted every last human a thousand years ago and probably moved on to the animals. It would be a desolate world that way.”
“So they...separate themselves?”
“Now you’ve got it.” Rineke nodded. “Plus, the gods were mighty pissed—”
“Gods?Plural?” The minister might have something to say about that—the one she’d never thought to inquire after. She didn’t even know whether he’d been returned home in one piece.Lord help us all. I’m already terrible at this,she thought.
But Rineke only shrugged. “You might have a different definition of that word, too. When a fae says ‘gods,’ they’re talking about the most ancient fae, the first ones. They’re like gods compared to us.”
Katty crinkled her nose. “How do you know all this?”
“The stories. School. And I read.”
Katty folded her arms. “I didn’t go to school. I sat in with Katrina—the girl I was a companion to—when she was tutored.” With a thump of her heart, Katty was reminded again how inadequate she was as a Court’s Lady. “One of the tutors only taughtdancing.”
Rineke cackled. “I think we’ll be keeping you away from music for a while.”
“At least the creams helped,” Katty said with a sigh from deep in her bones. “Did the minister return home alright?” She was almost afraid to ask, and cringed as she did.
“Of course. The fae wine should be out of his system by now, just in time for tomorrow’s services.”
Katty reached out, poking Rineke’s shoulder. “How doyouknow about Sunday services?”
In an instant, Rineke stood on her knees in the chair, wings fluttering and eyes wide. “I was hoping you’d ask.” She pointed to the book. “It’s about a human minister who takes up with a low fae courtier’s wife. I just reached the part where she discovers she’s having his child! Do you want to borrow it when I’m done? I got it from Bibi.”
