Chapter 39 Reyna
REYNA
Never in a hundred years did Reyna Locke imagine she would find herself in the bathroom of a Zeneith nightclub with the Princess of Valtara and two Viper Shifters while they do lines of Pixie Dust and chat about which creatures they plan on fucking that night.
But then again, Reyna had not imagined much of what has happened to her since she fell in love with Khortland Hale.
The thing about being a Human in a world built for full-magic creatures is your primary focus must always be on staying alive. That idea is at the forefront of Reyna’s mind as the Princess offers her a line of Pixie Dust for the second time.
“You’re sure you don’t want any? It makes the night so much more fun.” Aerin gestures to the four lines of sparkling pink powder on the counter.
Reyna leans against the wall, shifting on her feet and cursing herself for wearing heels. “Humans don’t do well on Pixie Dust,” Reyna elaborates, since her refusal the first time wasn’t enough.
Aerin shrugs. “Your loss.” She leans down and snorts a line. One of the Vipers comes out of a bathroom stall while the other examines her features in the mirror.
The Vipers are an eerie type of Shifter.
Reyna is used to being around Shifters, but with the knowledge that even the meekest among them can break her neck with ease, Reyna always attempts to keep her distance.
The Vipers are almost silent in their movements and their appearances are almost identical.
She hasn’t figured out which is which. They cast a menacing shadow, a powerful background for the Princess, and Reyna supposes this is why Aerin keeps them around.
The one that comes out of the stall takes her line of Pixie Dust while they chat amongst themselves, debating the merits of fucking Yarrow Hale over a Lion Shifter. The idea of a Lion Shifter in bed sends a chill through Reyna’s body.
There are generally two types of Humans.
There are the Humans who give into the temptation of the full-magic creatures.
Who take tremendous risk, and whose lives generally end early.
Then there are the Humans who live and breathe caution.
Who stay as clear from the full-magic creatures as they can.
In Zeneith, the Humans live in small settlements outside of the walls, though she’s heard of entire Human towns in the West.
Reyna has always considered herself one of the cautious Humans, only coming into Zeneith when it’s required, never engaging with Fae, Shifters, or Mer outside of her work.
There are very few prestigious careers a Human can obtain, and Reyna’s position as a healer is one of them.
Humans hold no magic, which in the eyes of Fae, makes them worth less than gum under their shoes.
Reyna spent her life with her head down.
She’d been set to marry a kind farmer from her home settlement, have a couple of children, and live out her short Human life the way Humans are supposed to.
Instead, Khortland Hale stumbled into her clinic with a nasty head wound and a deadly smile.
Reyna’s life was upended, and she let him upend it—a series of small decisions that ultimately ended with her in this bathroom.
Aerin snorts the last line of Pixie Dust and rubs her nose.
“So,” she prowls, turning her attention back to Reyna. It seems the conversation about who the Vipers would sleep with tonight had concluded. “Tell me how you managed to wrap my Paramyr around your little Human fingers.”
The Princess says it casually, leaning against the countertop with a smirk playing across her features. Reyna knows this is an act; the Princess is lethal.
Aerin Tolvare is almost too pretty to look at directly.
While Shifters have an undeniable amount of wildness to them, Fae contain a deadly sort of stillness.
And for a species built on perfection, the Tolvare family is the gleaming ideal.
It almost hurts for Reyna to look at her, golden hair and golden eyes that glow in the dim bathroom lighting.
Her tan skin, long legs, and curves. Even the bow of her lips or the slight upturn of her nose.
Everything about Aerin makes Reyna outrageously envious.
Reyna attempts to hold the Princess’s gaze but eventually lets her eyes fall to Aerin’s shoulder instead.
“I don’t have Khortland wrapped around my finger,” Reyna disputes.
If anything, it’s Reyna who’s at his beck and call. She sometimes hates herself for it and yet, she always goes.
Aerin strums her fingers on her bicep. “Interesting,” she hums. Aerin’s eyes are assessing her, though Reyna doesn’t know what she is looking for. The Vipers narrow in, closing any path Reyna has to escape. Her pulse ratchets up.
“He does seem quite smitten with her,” one of the Vipers says.
When Reyna glances her way, she flinches.
The Viper is half-shifted, her eyes a daunting yellow and her pupils narrowed to slits.
Green scales pepper one half of her face.
Reyna swallows hard. She is suddenly very, very, aware of the danger she is in.
She decides quickly that she needs to take a calculated risk.
Leveling her gaze at Aerin once more, Reyna says, “Khortland Hale is smitten with what I give him. I think that is something you can understand, considering the two males that follow you around.”
It takes everything Reyna can muster to keep her voice even as she essentially insults the Princess of Valtara. The very same one who is rumored to change those who earn her ire into mice she keeps in cages.
Reyna waits with bated breath as Aerin narrows her gaze. She waits to be turned into a mouse or lizard of some kind. Waits to be smacked or tortured for insulting her. Instead, Aerin tosses her head back and laughs.
“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that,” Aerin says, turning to the mirror to adjust her hair. The Vipers take a step back, relaxing their stances. When Reyna glances at them again, they are both back to their Fae-like forms.
“At a certain point in time, likely sooner than either of us desire, Khortland and I will be Paramyr-bonded.” Aerin says it pragmatically, as if it doesn’t already keep Reyna up at night.
The Princess continues, “We both have…” Aerin pauses, pursing her lips. “More exotic tastes than most Fae.” She eyes Reyna once more, making Reyna feel like a bacterium under one of her microscopes. “I am more than amiable to a compromise, but only under certain conditions.”
Reyna swallows, regretting the question already. “What conditions are those?”
“There will come a time when I ask Khortland to do something he will not want to do. When that time comes, I will need you to support me against his wishes.” Aerin examines her nails, as if she isn’t a stranger asking Reyna to align with her against her lover’s interests.
As if her alliance would outweigh that of her loyalty to the Fae she loves.
“Why would I do that?” Reyna asks, a bit too haughtily, letting her anger get the best of her. She schools her features when Aerin flashes those golden eyes up to her.
“There is something in it for you as well, sweet little Human.” Aerin grins. Reyna swallows the bile that creeps up her throat. Reyna waits and Aerin smirks like she knows she’s won. “I can make you Fae.”
Reyna’s world rocks on its axis and one of the Vipers laughs at the dumbstruck look on her face. “Wh—How?” Reyna stumbles over her words.
Aerin shrugs, pushing past Reyna and grabbing the door handle. She glances back over her shoulder. “If the rumors are true, I’m the most powerful Fae in existence. And I’m always willing to bend the rules.” Aerin winks and then she’s gone, the Vipers following.
Reyna is left in the bathroom, struck by the offer she just received. She collapses against the wall, her Human body crashing from the adrenaline. Her feet slide out from under her and her bottom hits the floor with the thud.
Being a Fae. Could Aerin Tolvare really turn her Fae?
Reyna has never heard of such magic being possible, but her heart soars at the idea.
She would live much longer. She’d be stronger.
She wouldn’t constantly be in danger. She would never have to leave Khortland.
Never die by his side or worse, be abandoned by him as her frail Human body ages.
[Khort?] Reyna calls weakly down their bond. Her head is fuzzy, and her limbs feel weak. She grinds her teeth; she hates being Human. She hates it.
[What’s wrong? Where are you?] Khortland’s tone is full of worry. Reyna shows him bathroom stalls and tiled floors. Her white-haired Fae seems to be in front of her instantly. He sits next to her, cradling her in his arms.
“It’s okay, you’re okay. Here,” he murmurs into her hair.
He hisses as he uses his own canines to open two gashes in his wrist and brings them to Reyna’s mouth.
She drinks greedily, haze coming over her.
Khortland’s blood is the only drug Reyna allows herself.
The best drug she’s ever had. A few swallows and she goes from feeling weak to euphoric.
He pulls his wrist from her and Reyna whimpers at the loss.
“Shhh,” he coos at her. “I can’t give you more, not here.”
Reyna knows, far off in her head where her logical brain lives, that Khortland is right.
Their secret, this secret, could not be shared with anyone.
Khortland took a great risk to give her blood here and now.
If anyone found out that Reyna, a Human, has a blood-bond to a Zeneith Prince, Vitus Hale would terminate her without a second thought.