Page 8 of Owned By the Fae
I scowl at the implication that I want anyone to know how my skill has grown because of some prideful need. ‘With all the conjures Varrik has on the keep, there’s only one way in, and that’s to become a servant, a guard, or an elite. I don’t know how to be a servant, and there would be questions if I tried. I was disbarred from ever being a guard by Captain Vander after that prank went wrong that time.’
Grey barks a laugh. ‘Because you poisoned him!’
I roll my eyes. ‘That was a mistake,’ I huff. ‘I’d only meant for him to be on the chamber pot for a few hours so I could sneak off and get drunk with the others on the ale we stole. You know that. He wasn’t meant to drink it all and land himself in the healers’ tent for a week!’ I wave a hand. ‘Anyway, that leaves becoming an elite. If we prove that our skills have grown enough in power, we’ll have a seat at his table with Fiana, Vern, Rikoth, and whoever else is at the top these days. That means the wards will accept us into the keep and …’
I break off as Grey nods, frowning at him in concern. He’s not as in control as he seems. I notice the faint violet glowing of the beast behind his eyes. I don’t even think he realizes how close it is to the surface.
‘Will you show them everything?’ he mutters so low I almost don’t hear him.
I shake my head, knowing what he’s really asking. Do I trust Varrik enough to demonstrate everything I can do? Not even close.
‘Only enough to get noticed,’ I say just as quietly.
Whatever loyalty I used to feel for Varrik began to dry up a long time ago, I think. It was probably around the time he sent us into the Wilds and told us not to bother returning without her. The final blow to my allegiance, though, was when I got closer to Lia on our journey home. Varrik was certainly not her generous benefactor, even if he did bring me and most of the others here after our parents ...
‘She told me Varrik killed her da,’ I say, watching Grey carefully. ‘You were often assigned to Varrik’s hunting parties outside the fold around that time, weren’t you?’
‘Aye, but not often, and I was just a lad myself.’
‘Did you ever see him hunting humans or ... fae for sport?’
Grey’s expression shutters immediately, and he turns away. ‘Not for enjoyment,’ he says, ‘if that’s what you’re getting at. If a group of more than fifty came past the river near to the Gate, they were considered a threat. It was just after the Light Realm and the Dark were sealed off from each other. Everything was in turmoil back then. Humans and fae were stuck in the circles and looking for ways back or places to settle. They were angry, and they traveled in large bands. They were often destructive and lawless, half-starved and desperate. Varrik was afraid they could overrun us in the numbers there were if they found a way through the wards into the fold, so he and the guards and theother elites culled them when necessary. It was mostly humans, but I think some of our kind, too.’
I sit down on my bed hard. How did I not know of this?
‘How many?’ I ask.
‘It’s impossible to know.’
‘Did you ...?’
Grey shakes his head. ‘I was only there to put up tents, make fires, fetch, and carry. I wasn’t even there when the culls took place.’ He hesitates. ‘But I heard Varrik usually made it a practice for the elites and the higher Skilled to hone their abilities.’
I feel a little sick as I look out the window again. Those weren’t my people. My people were already long dead by then. It’s why I was brought here to Varrik’s fold. Why do I care what happened to some faceless vagabonds years ago? Except that Lia and her da were among the groups that Varrik slaughtered.
‘You knew this all along? Varrik and his inner circle killed countless humans and fae, and you still believeourhuman is safe up there in that nest of vipers?’
‘She’s not just a human,’ Grey argues. ‘Her skill is important. He won’t let her die.’
‘What about hurt? What about torture?’ I persist.
‘Torture?’ He snorts. ‘He doesn’t torture his Skilled. Whatever small hardships he makes her endure as her punishment for burning down his keep, it’s nothing she hasn’t been through before.’ He snorts. ‘Or have you forgotten how we made her suffer while she traveled with us for weeks? Varrik won’t do much to her besides some token discipline. Probably not even as much as Healer Reyn would have done to her if he’d got the chance. You know the Harbinger was always Varrik’s favorite.’
I turn away, looking back at the keep through the window. I hear Grey leave the room, trudging back downstairs.
He’s wrong, but he won’t listen to me until he begins to see as I did. The seeds have been sown, though. Hopefully, he and the beast will think about this conversation. It’s encouraging that he wants Grith dead, at least. I don’t think it’ll take long if the beast sees her as its mate, and once I have an ally in Grey again, it’ll be easier to get Lia out of the fold and away from Varrik. My skin crawls. I know something isn’t right. I want to see how my female fares with my own eyes. I want to hold her and tell her that I’m sorry for all of it. I should have protected her better.
I wince as I remember again how she looked when she saw Varrik as she came out of that cave. Her expression of abject betrayal is branded into my mind’s eye, and it makes me want to storm the keep, fight the elites, kill Grith, and steal her out from Varrik’s nose right now. That would be a mistake, though, an act doomed to fail. I’d never even get to her room, let alone make it out with her.
The bare bones of a plan begins to form in my head, a vague idea of stealing her back and escaping, of taking her to the far reaches of the Dark Realms and keeping her safe this time, of having her with me and destroying any who would try to take her away. Perhaps with Grey, if he can pull his head out of his arse.
I look back at the keep again, my eyes scanning the windows I can see. I don’t even know where her room is. I need to find out more.
I lay back on the bed. Tomorrow, I’ll show them some of what I can do. Enough that Varrik hears of my new and improved skill. And, once I’m granted access to the keep, I’ll be able to find out where she is. I might even get a chance to become one of the elites, and then I’ll be free to roam around as much as I like. I’ll be able to find her and keep her safe while I work on getting us out of the fold and away from Varrik’s reach.
‘I’m coming for you,’ I whisper, staring out at the keep and hoping I’m wrong about how my female is being treated now that she’s home.
Chapter Two
