Chapter 8 #3
He pushes past me, leaving me with the rest of the fae who are loitering by the alley, I suppose waiting for the Breach to open so they can go back to their Underhill homes for the night.
I watch them for a moment as I wait for Jak, wondering idly if I should just walk back to the cottage alone.
A few of the fae are standing in a group together, talking quietly.
'Why is there a slave training with us?' one of the females says loudly. 'My father is going to hear of this. What can she do to help the Underhill?'
'There are other humans who are spies, Mirabel,' the one I was fighting earlier says to her.
Mirabel scoffs loudly. 'The last male they sent died, I heard. The woman came back with horrible injuries. And her mind is in shreds. They say she’ll never be right again.'
Mirabel steps closer to me and lowers her voice an octave. 'They say her arms and neck were locked in a stockade and she was defiled by many, many males for hours. Days. Her only sustenance was whatever spend they shot into her mouth.'
I tilt my head at the fae female, unmoved.
Does she think that she can scare me with such tales of the Dark?
I frown. Some of the others in the group do look a bit upset by her words and it’s becoming apparent that these fae have no idea what sights await them.
What has their training with Voss actually been about if not to prepare them for the realities of the Dark Realms?
'It’s called a block,’ I say, keeping my eyes on hers.
She steps back uncertainly. ‘What?’
‘It’s not a stockade. It’s a block and human women are locked in them to be mounted daily. It’s a common sight in every Circle.’
Some of the group’ eyes widen a little and my frown grows.
‘Aren’t all of you in training to be sent there?’ I ask.
No one answers.
‘Come, come,’ Mirabel derides. ‘A likely story. Humans are so deceitful.’
Humans, not Dark Realmers.
‘They’re weak of body and of mind. You shouldn’t be training with us. Humans aren’t fit to breathe the same air as us.’
'Isn't the most powerful being in the Underhill a human?' I ask.
A few of them glance at each other, clearly having forgotten that Lia, the Harbinger, is a human, not a fae.
'What would you know of the Harbinger?' one of the males chortles and the others murmur their ascent.
I let out a chuckle of my own. They've clearly decided that I'm so far beneath them that I couldn't possibly have even met Lia.
I hear the hum of the Breach and turn away without another word, confused by the fae and their motivations now more than ever.
I see Locke standing in front of the Hall and I frown. Was he inside?
I trudge back through Halsford next to him, feeling more and more tired with each step.
I happen to see my reflection in a passing window and stop short.
I thought I was unhurt, but there’s a blackened bruise on my forehead and over my nose from where I banged into the ward. It only hurts when I touch it and it looks worse than it feels, but I’m afraid that Morgan will do something rash if I return to the cottage like this.
I was planning to take one of the healing vials when I got back, but now I see the flaw in my logic. Locke doesn’t seem to care, but Morgan will see the worst of it if I go back like this.
‘I need to stop at the apothecary,’ I say.
Locke merely nods and gestures for me to go in front.
He follows me as I make my way there, stealing through the side door, and into the healing rooms at the back.
I gulp a potion down, stare into the looking glass, and watch as the bruises and cuts on my neck and my hands knit back together and the swelling fades.
It's not perfect but, hopefully, in the dim light of the living area, Morgan won't notice.
I find Locke waiting outside the apothecary door and he accompanies me the rest of the way to the cottage, but turns away as I grab the latch.
‘You aren’t coming in?’
He shakes his head. ‘I have some other business,’ he says vaguely, and strides back in the direction of the Hall…and the tavern.
Does he go to meet a woman? I haven’t seen him with any but… I frowned at his back.
I don’t care!
I give myself a shake and I open the cottage door, resolving not to think of Locke or where he’s going. The smell of yet another delicious meal hits me, and I groan, my mouth watering. Roast chicken.
As I walk inside, I notice that there are only two plates on the table and Jak is nowhere to be seen.
Morgan gives me a smile, rising from where he’s sitting by the hearth.
I return it, feeling much better now that I’m back here, and in his company.
'Where’s Jak?' I ask.
He and Locke have a meeting with the Council now,' he says. ‘Jak was talking about going to the baths after that.'
I slide into a seat at the table wearily. I haven’t been to the baths yet. I’m not even sure where they are.
'How was today?' he asks, his eyes searching.
'It was fine,' I say, trying to smile as I think of it. 'Some bits were hard, but nothing like the pits.'
He gives my shoulder a light squeeze. 'I knew you’d be all right. But keep your eyes open when you’re with them. Never let your guard down.'
I give him a look. ‘As if I would.’
He gives me a grim smile and squeezes my shoulder gently once more.
We eat together, mostly in silence because I’m so tired, and Morgan seems content to watch me in the dim light from the fire. Afterward, he clears the plates away and takes his weapons out to polish them.
Again.
‘Shall I help you?’ I ask.
He shakes his head. 'Tomorrow will be harder. Sleep.'
I let out a sigh and almost retreat to my room, but then I turn.
‘Voss knows I’m not claimed properly yet,’ I say to him. ‘He said if it isn’t done soon, he’ll do as they threatened and lock me in his keep until I’m needed.’
MORGAN
I successfully keep from showing my anger, from flipping the table in front of me over, smashing the pieces against the floor, and bellowing like a beast, but only because Bryn is here.
'Fucking Voss,' I say quietly, hating that we're being forced into this before she's ready. 'Come.'
She shakes her head. 'Now? But I'm so tired. It's been such a long day.’
She looks exhausted, and I close my eyes for a moment, hating myself, Voss, and that cunt, Calder, for this entire situation. I’d hoped there would be more time for Jak to woo her, for her to come to terms with having to bed Locke.
'Come,' I say again. I take the cloak that I got for her off the hook and drape it around her shoulders.
'Where are we going?' she asks.
'You'll see.'
I take her down the way, out of the main part of the village toward the caves that are close to the boundary wards. I haven't shown her this yet, mostly because I wanted to be the one to bring her here, and I wanted it to be special. But thanks to fucking Voss, that's not going to happen.
Fucking tiny-pricked fuck.
I take her to the opening in the cliff face. Long, shallow steps curve down into the depths. She pulls back and swallows hard and I wince. Does this remind her of the pits?
'Do you trust me, my little human?' I ask.
She stares into my eyes, and then she nods, and my heart is filled with happiness. She is beginning to trust me, even after everything. Finally, my efforts are yielding results.
She lets me lead her down the steps. Wall sconces are carved into the rock, conjured by Dane to perpetually give out a calming light without lit torches.
When we get to the bottom, Bryn looks around in awe at the great cavern bathed in a blue glow, at the luminous waters that seem to shimmer thanks to Dane's magick.
Steam hovers over the surface of the clear, hot pool.
'What is this place?' she breathes.
'These are the baths,' I say.
She looks around. 'No one else comes here?'
'They do,' I reply. 'But there are times when it's very quiet, though that’s usually when Locke comes. I have a theory that he works some conjure to keep people away so that he can have the place to himself while he’s here.'
She smiles a little and goes to the water's edge, dipping her fingers in.
'It's hot!’ she exclaims.
'Natural thermals heat the river deep underground. Dane and Lia found this place by accident and the baths were built.'
'Would you like to bathe with me?' I ask.
Her eyes widen but she nods, albeit a little shakily.
'Yes,' she whispers.
At the side, there are some holes hewn into the rock. I take my clothes off and put my possessions inside. She copies me, wrapping one of the bathing sheets around herself bashfully. I don’t bother. I want her to see me.
'Come,' I say, leading her to the back. 'There's a private room. We won't be disturbed there.'
'Oh,' she says, going with me eagerly, and I grin in the knowledge that my little human enjoys the pleasures that I give to her.
When we get to the back of the first room and go through the short passageway, we reach a smaller pool, and Bryn stops at the entrance, seeing that Jak and Locke are relaxing there as I hoped they would be.
Jak is on one side, his arms out along the edge, his head resting on it with his eyes closed. Locke sits similarly on the other side.
I clear my throat, and both their eyes fly open. Their gazes immediately find Bryn. She stares back, her expression wide and guileless. She looks from one to the other and then to me in trepidation. She thinks it's going to happen now, I realize. All three of us.
But it's not.
‘Bathe,’ I say as I use the shallow steps that are cut into the pool to get into the water first.
Bryn comes closer to the edge but makes no move to enter the water. She looks at the others with unease.
That won’t do.
With an impatient growl, I rip the sheet from her and let it fall into the water. She tries to cover herself with a surprised cry, but I lunge up the steps and grab her hand, hauling her into the water with me. Half falling, she goes under in the middle, too short to reach the bottom.
She grips onto me, her nails digging into my arm like tiny claws as she surfaces with a gasp.
‘You’re safe,’ I murmur. ‘I won’t let you go.’