Chapter 1 #2
“Nice use of the word,” Asterius said, his laughter a stark contrast to the deadly blade shimmering beneath the glow of the flames.
“Yeah, the King’s attaché called me quaint last week,” Connal explained. “Of course, Tyson intended it as an insult, but it is a good word.”
“Don’t pretend you didn’t have to look up the meaning.
Speaking of good words, though, I like moist,” Asterius said.
Then he laughed again as a few of the minions managed to gain control of the tentacle.
“In more ways than one. But mainly because humans apparently dislike the word. Why is that, I wonder?”
“Who knows?” Connal shouted, then laughed at the jovial expression on Asterius’s face. Oh, his brother did enjoy a good fight, and it looked like they were about to have one. Nothing improved Connal’s spirits as much as a good, hard fight.
“Are you two done with your court jester routine?” Zer snapped.
“Unlikely.” Avaneel returned to her position on Zer’s shoulder, drawing gasps from the minions.
Odd. It was almost as if they’d never seen a pixie before.
Asterius reached the same conclusion as Connal and was unable to resist another jab at the minions. “Has your mistress kept you so under her thumb that you’ve never seen a pixie in the flesh?”
Avaneel scoffed. “I would never show myself to humans, Asterius. I only appear to them now as my place is by Zer’s side. Do not insult me.”
It took Connal a beat too long to process Avaneel’s words.
Humans.
But wait…
These creatures looked nothing like…
The red-skulled minion whipped off his…skull?
No, not a skull.
A helmet of some kind. Hiding the very human-shaped head of a very human man.
On the bright side, at least they weren’t fighting a band of one-eyed minions bound to a water demon.
“This is not good,” Keir groaned.
On the bad side, they’d broken the King’s very explicit command and revealed themselves to humans.
“Nope,” Avaneel squawked before wrapping herself in Zer’s hair and laughing maniacally.
Damned pixies.
Connal groaned into his goblet of ale, wishing the King permitted the Queen’s Court enchantment that refilled a container with a simple tap against its rim. “I don’t understand humans. Why did they intentionally design their...what were they called again?”
His brothers were equally into their cups as all of their egos were bruised after the tongue-lashing they'd received from the King.
“Firefighters,” Asterius replied. “An apt name for a human who provides such a service to their realm.”
Connal grunted. “One of the few such names we’ve encountered so far in this blasted confusing realm.”
“We must do better.” Zer slammed his goblet onto the table, sloshing ale all over the polished wood.
Connal quickly searched the public area for one of the brownies that always seemed to appear the moment any of them made a hint of a mess. The King had an affinity for cleanliness, particularly in the common rooms of the castle.
Sure enough, a brownie popped into existence and wiped up Zer’s mess. His brother ignored her censuring glare, then growled and lifted his goblet to his lips once more.
“How do you propose we do better?” Connal asked. “We’ve taken lessons with the Consort. We wear their clothes and learn their ways.”
How were they supposed to obey King Silenus without abandoning their reason for being trapped in the human realm? Connal couldn’t see a way to be loyal to both arms of the fae royals.
“We must find a way,” Asterius said before emptying his goblet and releasing a belch worthy of the Lady.
Keir pushed back from the table, his chair scraping loudly on the stone floors. “I’d rather be stabbed with a thousand needles than receive another lecture from our King.”
A hearty laugh from the doorway drew another groan from the depths of Connal’s soul. The King Consort’s laugh was unmistakable, especially considering the number of times it had been directed toward them. He pushed to his feet, along with his brothers, and bowed his head to the Consort.
“Oh enough with the formality. You all look like whipped pups. It’s going to be fine, but Keir, I have a sneaking suspicion that you should prepare for a lot of needle pricks if you’d rather have those than another of my mate’s sermons on your behavior.”
Keir’s scowl darkened. “My deepest apologies, Consort Cosmo, for my insult to your mate and my King. Please name my punishment.”
The words sounded like Keir had to force them past a thousand needles in his throat. Connal glanced to his nearly empty goblet. Perhaps another round would soothe his frustrations.
“Keir, as I’ve told you before, we don’t work like that here.
You’re allowed to express your frustrations within the safety of the castle.
Hell, King Silenus does so himself on an hourly basis.
The human realm is different from our home, which is why I’ve been trying to teach you how to navigate here without drawing... heated attention.”
Connal chuckled. “Heated. Like the firefighters.”
“I meant like the hellhounds, but your way works too.”
Throwing back the final dregs of his ale prevented Connal from emitting a swarm of curses.
The hellhound champions of the human realm had been the bane of their existence since their arrival.
What kind of realm required rules as to why their kind couldn’t reveal themselves to humans?
Didn’t the humans have sense enough to know all sorts of creatures from multiple realms roamed their lands?
Connal huffed. Luckily, the King had negotiated with the champions on their behalf; otherwise, they’d have gone to war with the hellhound pack.
Such an act would have highly angered Consort Cosmo, however, as he somehow considered the hellhounds friends.
Connal shivered. He couldn’t imagine such a horror. Friends? With hellhounds?
Would the horrors never cease?