Page 43 of Courting the Fae Captain
“It fits with the riddle. She’s been right in front of me this whole time,” Raithe said. Something in his tone wavered. I turned and took his large, calloused hand. “I’ve been looking for her—for all of them—in all the wrong places.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Jaren said, coming up to look out the window.
“I should have known,” Raithe said. He took a breath and closed his eyes. “All these years spent in his shadow, observing his every move, but he’s still always one step ahead.” Raithe’s shadows curled out, as if enacting the rage quaking through him.
I placed my hands on his face and reached up on my tiptoes. “Look at me.” The pressure from my fingertips turned his head just so until he could only see me. “You’re going to find her, and we’re going to save her. She’s going to be okay.”
He blinked, then placed his hands over mine before dropping them from his face. He gazed out the window once more and sighed almost regretfully. “We are going to find them. But notyet. Let’s get through tonight, then we’ll see about freeing those females.”
I smiled softly. “I imagine the females might be a little pissed to see the lord’s son looking back at them when we do. Especially when his father might very well be one of the Pentad.”
Raithe smirked, and I felt my heart breathe a sigh of relief at the dark humour in that one subtle gesture. “Good. I’m counting on it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
‘There is nothing so easily inflated as the male ego. When in doubt, praise and pamper it with everything you’ve got.’
Journal excerpt, author unknown
The den where the gentlemale’s club took place was crowded with leering males at every turn. I tried my best to keep my chin up and shrug off the stares, but I could feel them skittering over me like a thousand tiny spiders. My skin itched from the weight of them, but I shoved the oily feeling of dread deep down into my stomach and forced a smile to my lips.The space was decadent and cosy, scattered with velvet lounges and cushions that took up every corner. The Fae lights cast a dim, amber glow over the room and its denizens, adding a sense of mystery and allure. I was never more grateful for the low light as I padded around in my scant clothes. Despite the fire crackling in one giant grate, it was cold, and the thin underwear and gown I wore did little to hide that fact.
Males laughed and gambled and drank at every turn. One group played darts with dark magic. Another pair played a game of five-finger fillet with a knife made from their shadow.Idiots.I served the males their drinks wordlessly and clamped my jaw to avoid any obscenity from slipping past my lips at their derogatory statements. The females in this room, alongside me, were not people to them. We were objects. Here to be looked at and not to speak or be spoken to. Here to entertain but not to partake in any joy.
I might have handled it better if Sherai hadn’t been among the chosen females to serve tonight. It was bad enough to deal with on my own, but knowing she was forced to be here as well was almost unbearable. If they touched her … No. I couldn’t think of that. I wouldn't think of that. The only saving grace was the fact that Jaren had assured me the males were forbidden from touching the merchandise—from ‘spoiling’ them before the captain had his bride.
It didn’t end there, of course. Because this wasn’t just a night of fun for the males, it was a means of surveying potential partners once the Rite was over. Jaren had informed me earlier that any male in attendance could have their pick from this curated selection, meaning if we were still alive at the end of the Rite and unpicked by the captain, we were effectively up for auction.
The females who weren’t invited? They were destined for the island, presumably. I couldn’t decide which was worse—being offered up on a golden platter, to be sold and used by these males as they wished, or to be imprisoned on the island for our immortal lives.
Every ounce of feminine rage rippled through me. Everyone in here, besides the females, was the very epitome of what was wrong with the world. If I could catalogue every name and face, I would, but they all wore masks to hide their identities. A ruleof entry, it seemed. As if we females would ever have the chance to tell anyone about who attended. As if every one of the males in this room weren’t bound by secrets and shame. I imagined most already had partners or wives—even families. Most were probably esteemed nobles, upheld by society for their various deeds.
They could all rot in Ryvia’s realm of hell.
I searched for Raithe among the masks, trying to spot his bulky form amongst the unfamiliar patrons. It wasn’t hard. My instincts led me to him, even if my eyes could not. It was like my body felt his shadows, his very being, and was drawn to him by something deeper than my senses. He lounged in a velvet chair against the wall, looking every inch a king on his throne as he crossed his legs and rested a lazy arm over the chair’s back. His presence seemed to exude power, which appeared to keep the other males a healthy distance away. I approached him, taking care to keep my lips from curving, and bent, giving him a smirk as his eyes roved over the cleavage spilling over my lacy bra.
“Drink, Captain?”
A trickle of shadow caressed my ankle, then climbed my calf. “Should I check for poison before I take a sip?”
A sly smirk crossed my lips. “If itwerepoisoned, I could be persuaded into giving you the antidote.”
“And where might I find such a thing?” he said, his eyes pinning me from beneath the bird mask he wore. A lark, I realised with a small ounce of satisfaction. “Here?” he asked as the shadow climbed up my thigh. I gasped at the cool touch of his magic. “Or perhaps here?” My body shuddered as that shadow slipped dangerously close to the junction of my legs.
“Be a good guard dog until this is over, and perhaps I’ll let you find out …” I said breathlessly.Surprised by not only his forwardness, but my welcoming reaction to it.
“Continue teasing me, and maybe I won’t be able to resist searching you myself,” came his husky reply.
My core heated at the idea of him taking me into some corner and doing so many dirty things. His lips curled, as if sensing where my thoughts were headed, but I smiled again with rouge lips. “Aw, poor captain. If you can’t wait, I might wonder at the endurance of your own ship ... in rough weather. Now sit still and enjoy the view as I walk away.” With that, I served his drink with a plume of shadow and turned on my heel.
The low chuckle that followed bounced around in my head as I continued serving drinks. And that damned shadow … I felt the phantom touch of it long after I’d crossed to the other side of the room. It reminded me of the moment we’d almost kissed and what it would be like to feel those lips on mine. What it would be like to feel all of him on me … inside me. The shiver that snaked down my body had nothing to do with the cold. The bastard would be having the time of his life if he knew how he affected me.
“Okay so far?” a voice whispered to my left as I waited at the bar for my tray to be refilled.
I didn’t look at Sherai. Instead, I kept my focus dead ahead as I waited, careful to appear casual for anyone watching. “As well as can be expected, given the company. But all hands have remained to themselves. You?”
She huffed. “I had to fend off a drunk male and his obnoxious friends, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“‘Atta girl,” I said, collecting my full tray, and turned to again circle the room. “Stay safe.”
