Chapter 41
Maddox
“Love is a wasteful emotion that can ruin even the hardest fae.”
— Surviving the Unseelie Lands, Author Unknown
Part of me expected the Chieftain to force me into the hole with the Seelie prisoners. Instead, she escorted me back to the home I shared last night with Nia.
Was it only last night? Already, the world feels darker, emptier, than when she was by my side.
Before I can climb the ladder, three different females bring forward plates of food—everything from roasted meats to fish to some sort of green paste mixed and mashed in a clay bowl.
“I am not hungry.” My loud stomach reveals me for the liar I am, but I do not care.
My response makes the Chieftain frown. “You will need to keep up your strength.”
“For what? Waiting?” I can become like the slugs on the ground and lay in bed until Nia comes back.
Her frown deepens. “Your Seelie will not return.”
The confidence in the Chieftain’s tone cannot sway me. “You do not know my Nia.” Nia Quill is a loyal fae. She will not leave me or anyone else behind. She is probably on her way back already.
The Chieftain’s hand falls to her silk skirts, smoothing them into place. “You think us ignorant, Mad-dox, but I have known many Seelie fae. They are frivolous, wasteful creatures. A Seelie promise is sure to be broken. The female will forget you the moment she reaches her city.”
That is not true. Nia and I have chosen each other.
“She will prove you wrong,” I say, knowing in my heart that it is the truth. All the other things she has said are only words. They bear no weight, and I refuse to let them steal my hope.
I climb the ladder and return to my cell. The home that felt so warm and welcoming only a handful of hours ago now feels empty as the canyon.
One thing I have learned over the years of being alone: A home is not a home without those you care about nearby.
I am still sitting on the bed when the Chieftain appears in the doorway some time later, a large platter of food in her hand. “These gifts are from me. I had many years with my mate and do not wish to find another. This I promise you.”
Perhaps her word is not to be trusted. These could be gifts from other females, and I would not know. Unfortunately, her warnings about keeping my strength up ring true. I will be unable to climb the ladder to this house, let alone one to the top of the canyon, if I do not eat.
By the time the plate is empty, my stomach has stopped aching.
My hope fades with the day. It is strange how simple it feels to cling to hope when there is light in the world and how easily the darkness snuffs it out. These stones closing me in do not help my mood.
I must leave this place or else the bad thoughts will win.
I climb back down the ladder, meeting two female guards at the bottom. They do not stop me from leaving, but they follow as I traverse the village.
Many females sit around fires sewing and mending clothes while listening to and telling fantastical tales of adventure.
Not so different from our own clan, only the voices here are higher, lighter.
I turn away, toward where the Seelie hostages are being kept in a cramped cavern. Here, there are no fires and no light, just three more guards and a hole in the stone.
“Have the Seelie been fed?”
The guards exchange looks. The tallest one answers my question in a clipped tone. “We have given them food, yes.”
There is something in the careful way she says those words that does not sit right in my gut. They may have given the Seelie food, but this does not mean they have eaten. Nor does it mean they have given them enough to fill their soft bellies.
“Are there problems here?” The Chieftain walks toward us, followed by the healer from the caverns.
There are many problems this day, all caused by the woman in silks. “If you wish for any male to remain in your village willingly, I suggest treating them with a bit more dignity.”
The Chieftain whispers something to the healer. Fawn nods and then ventures into the hole. A handful of moments later, the Seelie emerge. The men are covered in filth, their cheeks gaunt and eyes sunken.
“When were you last fed?” I ask in their language while the others look on with furrowed brows.
“Two days ago?” the one at the back croaks.
This is unacceptable. “Are any of you wounded?”
“Just a few small cuts and scrapes, and Roger has a broken finger.”
These males look to be more dirt than fae. I glare at the healer who was so quick to treat my wounds. Yes, they were life-threatening, but even small cuts can become infected if not properly cleaned. “They have wounds that need tending, and they need to bathe.”
This obvious statement earns me more frowns but no action. Do they not see the merits of treating their hostages with even the most basic decency?
The Chieftain folds her arms across her chest, her colorful silks fluttering with the movement. “Many of our females are quite taken with you, Mad-dox.”
What does this have to do with the hostages?
I do not wish to speak of other females when I have one of my own. “I have told you—”
Her hand slices through the air, cutting off my protest. “For each request, I have one of my own. We will feed the Seelie and let them bathe, but in return, you will meet our females.”
“I have met them.” Since we arrived, they have been introducing themselves, shoving food at me, and flashing their coy smiles.
“Individually. Give them a chance to impress you. We have many great beauties. Strong females who can give you sons. You may well have change in your heart.”
I could meet them a hundred times and my heart would not sway.
Is there harm in humoring her? At least the Seelie will be treated better.
“Feed and clothe the Seelie and let them stay somewhere clean, and I will agree to your request.”
The Seelie are led to the river while I am brought to the Chieftain’s home. Her table is not empty. There is a female there, her glossy black hair tied back with a leather queue and her chest bare.
“You have met my daughter, Raven,” the Chieftain says.
She has already returned from the top of the canyon? Why did no one tell me this? “Hello, Raven. I was not aware that you would be back so soon.”
“I am very strong and can climb without tiring.”
I do not care how strong she is. I want assurance that my Nia is safe.
“She is as brave as she is beautiful,” the Chieftain says with a pat on my shoulder. “I will give you time alone to speak.”
The Chieftain leaves us, and I sink onto the stool across from Raven, steadying my heart. “I assume the Seelie reached the top of the canyon safely.”
Raven’s chin lifts, her gaze meeting mine with defiance. “They were alive when I left them in their world. After that, I cannot say.”
My hands bunch into fists. While the Seelie lands are infinitely safer than ours, there could still be dangers on the journey to Rosehill. The wolves have breached the canyon before; there is no telling if this could have happened again.
The way Raven folds her arms pushes her ample chest higher. This is meant as a distraction, but I do not take her bait. I would rather stare at a worm than this female.
“You are handsome, and your body is not soft like the elder males in our clan,” she says. “I would agree to mate with you.”
This directness is meant to sway me? “I have a mate.”
“The Seelie?”
“Her name is Nia Quill.” Raven knows this because I have told her many times. Continuing to call her “the Seelie” is meant as a slight to my Nia. One I refuse to allow.
Raven unfolds her arms and then withdraws a short dagger, using the tip to clean her nails. “I wonder . . . Does your Nia Quill understand what it means to be mated?”
“Why would you say this?”
She shrugs. “Nia Quill and the Seelie male seemed very close. They shared many intimate embraces.”
How intimate does she mean?
It does not matter. Nia has told me that she does not love the Nolan any longer. Of course, this does not mean that she loves me, but I have faith that someday, I will hear those words fall from her lips.
Raven switches hands. “If the male was my mate, I would not like to see him kissing another female.”
“Nia would not kiss him. That is a lie.”
She slams the blade into the wooden tabletop, making me jump. “You dare accuse me of lying when I saw them?”
Raven does not smile at me, but I can see the flicker in her eyes. One that says I am a fool for trusting a Seelie fae.
There must be an explanation. I know this.
But I have never been chosen before. Why would a female as beautiful and as perfect as Nia settle for a male like me? Alone. Abandoned. Untrustworthy.
Ripping the dagger free, Raven levels the deadly tip at my face. “Seelie are not faithful, and to pursue one is folly. Surely you have heard the tales of our destruction at their hands.”
I have heard the tales, yes, but they are told around bonfires alongside those fantastical great adventures. Stories that bleed out truth as they are passed through the ages, leaving an empty husk that serves the purpose of the one doing the telling.
I know the truth about the Seelie, have seen them with my own eyes.
Let one into my heart. There are some who are evil and wicked, yes, but they are outweighed by the kind.
Like Kerris and Nia. Madame Ella who makes the fancy dresses.
The stable hands who tend to Dusk. The farmer who sells me corn for my Biscuits.
In this, Raven will not change my mind.
“My closest friend is mated to a Seelie fae, and I have seen their devotion to one another. I do not care that Nia is Seelie.” I would not care if she were a goat. “She owns my heart, and I trust her to keep it safe.”
Raven shoves back from the table, her stool clattering to the stone ground. “Then you are a fool.” She stalks out of the room, leaving me in peace.
Until the next Unseelie female arrives.
My night and the following day continue this way.
There are many names, but I do not learn them.
There is no point when Nia will be returning tomorrow.
The females are deft with dagger, sword, and bow.
It is intriguing that they are allowed to hunt and protect their clan when our females do not venture far from camp for fear they will be lost to the wolves.
Here, it is the males who are left behind.
Except for the Chieftain’s mate and the young males who were killed by falling and flaming debris. A tragedy, but one that was not meant to happen.
I am given many gifts, from unique shells to polished stones to an entire flank of venison. None of these gifts I keep.
Still, it is difficult not to wonder if I would have been content to remain here if Nia and I had not met.
Perhaps.
The fact is, I did meet her.
I met her and fell in love as deeply as I fell into this canyon.
Although the terrible voice inside my head whispers that I am a fool, I shall remain a fool until I know for certain Nia has chosen someone else.
Maybe even beyond.