Page 41 of Owned By the Fae
‘There's always somewhere,’ Kal murmurs. ‘We just have to find it. Varrik has an extensive library in the keep, did you know that? Full of books on the Dark Realms.’
I shake my head. Those things hold little interest for me now. Even during our years in Alcana when I was a teacher, my time was rarely spent poring over books if I could possibly help it unless I was helping the scholars make copies of texts. Oddly, dusty books were more Dane’s calling than mine.
‘I'm going to see if I can find anything in his map books when I check on Lia.’
‘Don't get caught,’ I say very quietly. ‘They won’t like you snooping even if you are an elite now.’
‘They won’t know I was ever there,’ he promises. ‘I'm not staying in the fold, Grey. No matter what. Not now.’
‘Something's different than it was before,’ I say, understanding immediately what he means.
‘Aye, but this place hasn't changed, nor Varrik. I think we did.’
I incline my head. ‘But not Dane.’
‘No, not Dane,’ he agrees.
‘Then we leave him.’
Kal nods, albeit a little hesitantly. ‘Yes, we leave him.’
Kal turns away from me and leaves the house quickly. I'm left to my own thoughts once more. Dane has been a good friend to me. We've been allies for longer than we were enemies, but it's because of him that Lia was brought here.
As it stands now, he won't be coming with us when we leave.
Chapter Six
Lia
Ipace as I try to think, mostly to keep moving because I’m so cold. Requests for a fire, or even for more blankets, have been met with apathy and cold looks, with outright anger and sneers from the fae guards and the servants I’ve asked. I’m starting to miss the old Pixies who used to serve Varrik. This isn’t his punishment; it’s thefold’s.
I was never well-liked here before, but the outright hostility is new. I shouldn’t be surprised, though. I did hurt them, not only by almost killing their beloved lord but by burning part of their home as well. No one died in the fire. I’d have heard about it by now if they had, but they easily could have, and I suppose their tents and all their possessions were destroyed in my escape as well.
I deserve their anger.
A plan is slow in coming to me, and I was hoping the Harbinger might have something to contribute to our shared safety, but it's abandoned me again.
I’m on my own, and I’m out of time. I thought I might be able to endure Rikoth, but as the hours go by, I know I can’t. I need to get out of this room, and I need the Harbinger’s help.
My mouth curls in disgust. All these years, all I wanted was to not feel it, and now, in my time of actual need, it's nowhere to be found. I know it’s not its fault. The binding is sapping its strength. But Rikoth will be here soon.
I've truly been given to Rikoth.
I swallow hard, my hands shaking. I was hoping he was lying before.
I hear the door and whirl towards it, only to see servants bringing in a bath.
My lip curls in anger. Does he actually think I'm going to bathe myself for him?
I sneer at the guard, who just shrugs and waits for the servants to be finished. I clench my jaw and try to think of a way to keep Rikoth at bay.
They leave me in peace after the tub has been filled and I stare at it for a long time, not wanting to get into the water, not wanting to be clean for him, but I don't have any other choice. Taking off my green cotton dress that’s too thin for the time of year, at least in this room, I fling it over the back of a chair.
I get in the bath, hating myself for it even more when I realize it’s stone cold. I gasp at the freezing temperature I should have expected, but I still wash in it as best I can, knowing that, despite what he said, if Rikoth has any complaints about my lack of cleanliness, he'll take them straight to Varrik and Ryon will suffer for it.
I hear the door, but it’s just a servant with another sparse tray of unpalatable food, so I stay where I am and wait for her to leave.
When I’m finished, I dry myself and belatedly find that she’s taken my dress. With nothing else to wear, I wrap my shivering body in the small bath sheet, and I wait for the inevitable, my heart pounding in my chest.
