A Court Bright and Broken (Age of Fae #1)

4. You Wouldn’t Understand

Chapter 4

You Wouldn’t Understand

R aewyn

Looking up at him again, I evaluated my companion’s bold facial features, high cheekbones, and powerful build, seeing him with new eyes.

Suspicious eyes.

I’d never been in close proximity to a Fae person, but I’d seen a few Fae craftsmen and women at a distance as they displayed their wares at various town markets. They’d seemed peaceful enough, and their handiwork had been excellent.

Unlike the majority of my village, I didn’t hate them all —just the cruel, greedy royal family and their court of noble lords and ladies.

If, in fact, my companion was not a very tall human man but a Fae one, it would explain the good smell despite his disheveled state. I guessed not all of them were wealthy and powerful. A surprise, that.

This man was certainly not one of the aloof and uncaring ruling class.

Still, everyone knew they were dangerous creatures. I had the sudden impulse to run away.

If I obeyed it, Sam would collapse here in the road. And if he fell, one of his broken ribs could puncture his lung, and he could die.

Even if he didn’t, who knew how long it would take for someone else to come along and find him? He could suffer for hours, helpless and alone.

Deciding I could not just abandon him, I kept moving. But I was nervous now. Conversation, which had come easily before, had dried up completely.

It was impossible to make small talk when my mind was full of questions I didn’t know how to ask—or whether I even should.

Finally, I could stand it no longer.

“Why did you not save yourself from those men?” I asked.

“What?”

“I thought your kind was supposed to be very strong.”

“My kind?” he repeated, darting those inhumanly beautiful eyes at me.

“Yes. The Fae. You’re Elven aren’t you? The books I’ve read said the Elves are the largest and most powerful of all the Fae races, even bigger than the Satyrs.”

His eyes when he looked down at me were wide, the mesmerizing pale blue nearly obscured by their black centers.

“You knew?”

“Not until we turned onto this road,” I said. “My kind usually avoids your lands at all costs.”

“And yet you’re still here with me. Why?”

I thought about that for a moment. In spite of my shocking realization about him, I didn’t feel a sense of impending doom as I would have expected when encountering a large Elven male.

This one at least seemed to have no desire to hurt me.

“As I said before, what kind of person would I be if I abandoned you, injured as you are? I’d hope someone would do the same for me. In fact, you may have prevented me from suffering a similar fate.”

“That was my intention,” he said.

Looking him over, I said, “What happened to you, if I may ask? How did you come to be in this… state? I thought all Fae were powerful. And rich.”

“Not all of us, but we have our advantages,” he admitted with a smirk.

“What is your glamour?” I asked, desperately curious. “That is what your powers are called, isn’t it?”

I’d heard of Fae who could trick you with their appearance, make you see things that weren’t there. It was said that some could control animals or the weather, and some could read minds.

“Not a very valuable one,” Sam said. And that was all he said. But his expression told me a lot.

After only a few minutes of truth telling, I was already seeing his race differently. It seemed there was a hierarchy with them, just as there was among humans.

This man was clearly on the lowest rung.

In spite of myself, I felt a little sorry for him. Perhaps the High Fae lorded it over and oppressed the lower Fae, just as they did my race.

We began to see a few estates and then entered a Fae village. I tried not to stare, but it was difficult to resist. Every villager I saw appeared to be Elven—and they were almost impossible to look away from.

The women had long, curling hair, and they were all quite tall. The men’s heights were even more impressive.

In some cases, their wavy hair was cut to shoulder length or shorter, but many of them wore it as long as the women’s locks. That was a big difference from the men in my village, but I doubt any of the chaps back home would dare to taunt one of these— every man I saw was muscular like Sam and moved with athletic grace.

And they were all… beautiful. There was no other way to put it. All of these Elves had such perfect features, I wondered if they had any difficulty telling each other apart.

Glancing back up at Sam, I wondered what he’d look like without all the blood and grime.

We must have been quite the spectacle, a human woman escorting a bruised and bloodied Elven man down the main thoroughfare.

Some of the Elves did stop what they were doing to watch, but no one rushed forward to offer help—or to accuse me of trespassing where I did not belong.

Still, I was uncomfortable under their scrutiny. I couldn’t have been more out of my element.

“Is it much farther?” I asked when we came to the end of the village’s central street.

I didn’t see any houses beyond it, only the imposing walls surrounding the royal city of Merisola and the enormous castle where King Pontus lived with the two wicked young princes and their sister.

Was he a servant living in the royal city then?

“Not much,” Sam said. “If you need to get back, you can leave me here. I’ll rest a little while then go the remainder of the way myself.”

“Don’t be silly. If it’s not much farther, why would I leave you now?”

He gazed down at me as if he’d never seen a woman’s face, studying every aspect of it at length.

“What?” I asked with an uncomfortable giggle.

“I think you’re probably the best person in the world,” he said.

“Certainly the kindest human I’ve ever met. And clever,” he added in a tone that told me it came as a surprise to him.

Unable to stop myself, I laughed. “Do your people think we are all dullards?”

“No of course not,” he said hurriedly, but I could tell he was lying.

Then he added, “My people very rarely think of yours at all.”

Now there was the truth.

“Only when it’s time to take our money and crops and livestock,” I said. “Your lords and ladies must be well fed indeed.”

My stomach picked that moment to let out an angry growl loud enough for Sam to hear.

“It must be past time for your midday meal,” he said. “I’m sorry I took you from the market before you had a chance to eat. When we reach the palace, I’ll send someone to fetch some food for you. Can’t have you traveling home on an empty stomach.”

A cold wave washed over my body, raising the hairs on my arms and prickling my scalp.

There were so many alarming things about his casually delivered words, I hardly knew where to begin.

Firstly, he’d said we were going all the way to the palace.

Secondly, he’d said he would send someone to fetch me some food.

I pulled away from Sam abruptly, causing him to rock back and forth before he managed to regain his balance.

“Who are you?”

His eyes flickered away, then came back to meet mine. “I told you, I can’t remember my full name.”

“You’re High Fae though, aren’t you?”

His refusal to answer was an answer in itself.

“What were you doing in the market?” I bit out. “Spying on people? Looking for disloyal subjects to report back to the King?”

He shook his head rapidly. “No, nothing like that. I was sketching. I find humans interesting.”

I made a disgruntled sound. “I’ll bet you do—like curious bugs you study before having them exterminated.”

Before he could respond, the gates opened, and a group of Elven guards came trotting down the path toward us.

Reaching us at shocking speed, they gathered around Sam, supporting him and inquiring after his well-being in worried tones.

“Are you all right?” one asked.

“What did this human do to you?” another shouted.

The guard moved toward me, obviously intending to strike me down. Or perhaps take me into custody, which would have been just as bad. Possibly worse.

There were tales of human women who were taken into King Pontus’ palace never to be seen again.

“Do nothing to harm her,” Sam commanded in a tone that brooked no disobedience.

A lordly tone.

The soldier stopped immediately, but I still felt as if I’d been struck.

This man, this piteous “beggar” I’d been traveling with, was not just High Fae. He was an Elven lord.

One of the rich who grew ever richer by taking from the poor, who’d taken everything from my family—including my mother.

“This woman saved my life,” Sam announced.

“You.” He pointed to one of the guards. “Bring her some food and a flask of water. Wait, no.”

Then he turned to me. “On second thought, come inside with me. I’ll have a feast prepared for you. It’s the least I can do to thank you for your help.”

My shock was so great that I didn’t stop him when he took my hand and attempted to lead me inside the gates of the capital city. Finally, I found my tongue and backed away from him.

“ Inside the palace? No, I couldn’t. I can’t. I have to get back to the market. I have to—”

The hand I’d pushed into my skirt pocket came out empty. I reached into the other one, a flurry of panic filling my chest and making my head feel dizzy.

“Where is it?” I started spinning in a circle, searching the ground around me.

“Where is what?” Sam asked. “Have you lost something?”

“My mother’s locket. It’s gone.”

“Do you think you dropped it?” he asked.

He ordered the guards to start searching the ground for a locket. They immediately complied, splitting up to move in several directions, including down the path from where we’d come.

“I must have,” I said.

I knew for sure this wealthy Fae man hadn’t taken it. I must have lost it on the journey. But there were no holes in my pockets. Not in this dress anyway—it was my good one.

A sick, hollow feeling seeped through my empty stomach.

“I have to find it.”

I was nearly in tears. The locket was the only thing I had left of value. If I didn’t find it, my family was going to starve.

Or I’d have to trade myself into servitude to feed them. I’d been trying my best to avoid it because if I had to resort to living in a pleasure house, who would take care of the girls and my father?

“When was the last time you remember having it? Was it in your pocket during our walk here?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, searching my memory. “I assumed it was, but I didn’t check for it until now. Maybe I lost it back at the market.”

The hollow sensation spread, tunneling through my bones and making me feel like I might collapse.

If I’d dropped the locket in the Rough Market, someone else had surely found it by now and was enjoying the proceeds for themselves.

“Perhaps the band of thieves pickpocketed you after all,” Sam suggested. “They did walk past you rather closely as I was following you. I didn’t see them take anything, but I was at a distance, and that is their trade, isn’t it? Sleight of hand?”

I closed my eyes and tilted my face to the sky. He was probably right. I’d felt someone bump into me as I was speaking with a merchant and had turned to see the thieves walking past.

At the time I’d breathed a sigh of relief that they’d forgotten about me and gone peacefully on their way. Now I could hardly breathe at all. Keeping my tears at bay took all my effort.

Apparently noticing my distress, Sam moved close to me, wrapping an arm around me—not for support this time but to offer comfort.

“If the locket was so precious, why were you traveling with it?” he asked.

Of course someone like him could never conceive of the idea of selling a family heirloom to stave off starvation.

Or sexual slavery. I wasn’t sure why I was even still standing here talking to him.

“You wouldn’t understand.”

I needed to get away from him. I was on the verge of a breakdown, and I really didn’t want to have it in front of an Elven lord and a group of soldiers who’d probably laugh at me.

“Try me,” Sam said. “You might be surprised.”

“I don’t want to talk about it. It’s gone. That’s all that matters. And you’re home now. You’re safe. So goodbye,” I barked, turning to leave.

“Wait. Don’t go yet,” Sam said.

Calling the guards to him, he commanded, “Empty your pockets and give her whatever you have.”

They immediately complied, each of them pulling out more coins than I’d ever seen in one place. Still, they were working men with families to feed—unlike this elite lord who was so comfortable usurping other people’s money that it was the first thing to enter his mind.

“I can’t take their money,” I said.

“They’ll be reimbursed. I’d give it to you, but I have none on me.”

“I can’t take yours either.”

The last thing I wanted was to be in the debt of a High Fae.

It was rumored that anyone who accepted a Fae gift would be in their thrall. That was why I couldn’t enter the palace gates and accept his offer of a feast, as much as my empty stomach was cursing me for turning it down.

Sam gave me a reassuring smile. “Believe me, it’s nothing to me.”

That I did believe—and it made me even more determined to refuse his charity.

“No amount of money could ever replace the locket,” I said. “It was all I had left of my mother.”

Seeing my tears, which were falling freely now despite my best efforts to control them, Sam reached out and touched my face the way he had when he’d first opened his eyes in the market and asked if I was an angel.

The contact sent a surprising crackle of sensation over my skin and deeper. I brushed away his unnerving touch, moving backward to reestablish the distance between us.

“Don’t fret, Raewyn. Please,” he said.

His voice sounded gruff, and he didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands, reaching for me again then closing them on thin air and pulling them back.

“These things have a way of working themselves out,” he said.

“In your life perhaps,” I said. “I have to go. I need to get home. The girls will be wanting their supper.”