Caged by Dance and Desire (The Fae Court of Casakraine #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

ANDREIEN

I paused in the mortal's bathroom, using the meat of my palm to turn the faucet with a grimace, and not only because of the cloying, overly sweet scent permeating the apartment. Not that I was particularly fastidious, but even the lowest ranked warriors must maintain standards.

The male was obviously too lazy to clean his domain, and too stupid to hire or bargain for the labor if he wasn't inclined to it himself. My Anah's dwelling was immaculate, though her meager lodgings dissatisfied me.

I'd address that soon, however. There was a townhome in the city, conveniently close to the Sahakian Arts building, where I could house her. Palace quarters were out of the question. She'd live in vicinity of the Court, giving them daily access to her, over my dead body.

. . .Anah was right. I was going to have to allocate my dead body. The Dark in my bloodline wasn’t strong enough for more than one.

I smiled faintly, washed the blood off my hands and exited the bathroom where Constin awaited me, having already wrapped the head in a sheet he'd ripped off the bed. It stank of human. Dead human. Nothing like Hasannah's enticing scent. I marveled again because there was almost something Fae about her, made all the more obvious the longer I stood steeped in the stench of unwashed human male.

Constin flicked his gaze at me, then up in the direction of Hasannah's apartment. It wouldn't be her dwelling much longer, but I required a few hours to make arrangements.

“Are you going to tell her about this?” my luudthen asked. “She won't like it.”

We left the apartment, heading out of the building. “She won't care.”

He shook his head. “Is that what you think?”

I understood her well, despite so short an acquaintance. “As long as it doesn't interfere with her ambition, she'll ignore the death.” Though I doubted she'd encountered death of this kind in her short life. I had to remind myself of how very young she was, a baby in Fae terms. “I don't think she's squeamish.”

And even if she was, he'd threatened her. He'd threatened her after I had made an obvious claim. If I'd been inclined to let the petty offense go, I couldn't. There had been witnesses to his disrespect.

And even had I been inclined to let the petty offense go, attempting to sell my bonded out to the Lord of Coal District sealed his fate. What would it say about me if I couldn't protect my consort from a measly human? It would say plenty of the wrong things, and have me embroiled in opportunistic challenges all season when I should be seducing my human's thighs open.

Constin made a noise in the back of his throat, half skepticism, half approval. “Then she is almost Fae.”

“Well, she'll need to be. Casakraine is not a human toddler's playground.”

Which was one of the reasons why we had strict rules regarding the presence of humans in our city, and kept them confined to Coal District unless they were bound to a House.

“He was hopped up,” Constin said in a low voice. “That new shit.”

I’d seen it too. Blown out pupils, overweening courage when I’d appeared on his threshold. He hadn’t feared me, at all. Not because he was courageous. Unfortunately, his death hadn’t been nearly as painful as I would have liked.

“Lord Ashlyun will answer for that as well,” I said. “He’s losing control of his District.”

“You're going to leave her in that hovel now that her identity may have been compromised?”

I pursed my lips as we jumped into the coach, Constin giving orders to take us to the home of the District Lord.

Each warrior left to guard her would give their lives before they allowed her to come to harm. Even if they weren’t already personally loyal to me, they well knew the consequences of failure. Death defending Hasannah would be gentler than what I would do to them if she came to harm under their watch. It would hurt me to kill them, but I would.

“The human only sent the message in the last hour,” I said. “If Ashlyun read it instead of setting it aside for a servant to handle, he’d still need more time to respond adequately.”

Lord Ashlyun was not known for hasty action. He ruled this District of humans haphazardly because he simply didn’t care about their welfare other than to maintain some semblance of duty for when he was called to Court. The District's underworld was where he truly spent his time. My mother turned her head. Delegation, she'd informed me when I was younger and had protested the seeming permission her silence gave the male to conduct his unlawful activities.

“No one likes spiders in their house, my son, but they control the other pests. Lord Ashlyun is my spider, and as long as his little empire serves our interests, and he maintains his fealty, we will overlook his activities no matter how distasteful.”

“No matter how distasteful?” my sister had asked.

“He knows the limits. He will not cross them.” Mother gave us a thin smile, blue-gray eyes coldly amused. “And if he does, he will not do so in a way where I will be forced to respond. This is why we never let stupid people hold power. They only create more work. Ashlyun is not stupid. And even better—he is cautious in his ambition. We watch.”

“He could be behind the synthesis and distribution of Ixnie,” Constin said. “And that show the other week was for your mother.”

“She considered that, but. . .no. He has yet to disobey a direct order. He dislikes disorder, and drugs are extremely difficult to micromanage. I don’t think he’s behind it. I don’t even think he’s trying to take advantage of it.”

But I was willing to keep an open mind to the possibility.

I gave Lord Ashlyun no warning of my arrival, though my sudden appearance on his doorstep could be rightfully construed as aggressive.

He wasn't a twit, however, and his refreshing lack of idiocy was reflected in his servants. The warrior at the door didn't blink a lash, bowing smoothly before she escorted us to an antechamber to wait. Stupider Fae would have challenged our presence.

I sighed. I really was aching for a good fight.

Constin gave me a sidelong look, speaking though his lips didn't move. “Just fuck her already. You'll be unbearably emotional until you do.”

The need to disembowel him evaporated when the door to the antechamber opened and Lord Ashlyun stepped in.

He was old Ninephene by lineage, though he'd resided long in our city. Tall and pale skinned with angular single lidded eyes and hair so black it was like looking into an abyss, falling down his back in a smooth sheet of silk. Narrow jaw and slashing cheekbones, full lips and graceful control over his body. On the surface so lovely and civilized, one wouldn't know he was responsible for the majority of the vice trade in the city.

He wore scarlet robes sashed in gold, the sleeves long and wide and impractical—but the clothing wouldn't impede him in a fight. A certain caste of their warriors trained for battle in their draping, dramatic layers of cloth, making a pretty art of killing.

I'd have to take care never to introduce my Anah to him. I'd been hard pressed to say no a century ago when he’d offered me his bed—a human would never be able to resist his lure.

“High Lord Andreien,” he said with a bow, dark eyes impassive. “Lord Constin. I’m honored by your presence, however unexpected. Is this a matter of some import?”

I matched his chill hauteur. “Are there matters not of import to which I turn my attention?”

“I see. We will converse in the room where I receive guests of note.” He glanced around. “This one is not suitable.”

I stifled a grimace. Ninephenes and their convoluted social customs.

Constin and I strode after him as he led us to a different room in the house, one minimally but artfully appointed in the fashion of his people, who made a practice of refined beauty. My own city leaned towards the wild and the overindulged.

When we were seated on cushions, he offered tea and sliced fruits and cheeses, sipping as Constin and I shook off our manners and accepted the offerings.

He hadn't, in theory, had time to poison anything. I pretended as if I believed that, and tasted the tea. He pretended as if he wasn't aware of my suspicions.

“I have little time this evening, Lord Ashlyun,” I said, setting aside the tea cup once I'd taken the obligatory sip. “Forgive my bluntness.”

“Then let us adopt haste,” he said in an equally pleasant tone. “Why are you here?”

I fixed him with my gaze. I was younger, and in theory less powerful though we had never tested each other; but I was still city Heir.

“Tonight, you may have received a message from a human in your District informing you of my interest in a female technically under your jurisdiction.”

I used the feminine noun to denote a Houseless mortal woman, and the inflection that made technically a matter of easily overlooked custom.

Not a single lash flickered to betray his thoughts. “Oh?”

“I request you disregard the message. The female is mine, and is under my protection. I will soon be removing her from Coal District. If any touch her, there will be blood in the streets, Lord Ashlyun, and at this time that would only take your attention away from more important matters.”

“I see.” He paused. “I received such a message, and as my week has been somewhat quiet, I bothered myself to read it. The human was presumptuous.”

I gave him a thin smile. “The human is dead.”

Ashlyun set aside his tea cup. “Undoubtedly. Such is the fate of pests who overstep their intelligence. What do you want, Andreien?”

“What I want, Ashlyun, is simple. Keep your knowledge of her existence, her import, to yourself. Do not speak of her. Do not cast your gaze in her direction.”

His expression remained calm, neutral. “You are young, Lord, if you will forgive me for saying so. May I offer you my advice?”

I didn't move, didn't shift my gaze from his. “You may offer.”

He rose. “Kill the girl. Gently, if you care for her, but kill her. These liaisons never end well. For us, or for our human concubines, and in the end a gentle death is all we can offer mortals once pleasure is spent.”

Historically, he was right, so I didn't argue. I stood as well, Constin at my side. “You will hold your silence.”

“I will.” Ashlyun inclined his head. “I have little interest in matters such as this, and you and I are not yet enemies, nor do I see any advantage at this time in us being so. You mentioned another matter.”

It was not an idle question, though he spoke lightly. I held his gaze. “The human displayed signs of Ixnie addiction.”

Ashlyun’s eyes, already dark, went black. “I. . .see. My remaining week will not be so quiet after all. Perhaps my previous warning wasn’t as widely received as I had hoped, proving mercy oft backfires. I will bestir myself to insist my District be cleansed of this nuisance.”

He also disliked unnecessary work, and the few times in the city’s history he’d been moved to focus . . .I almost pitied whoever fell afoul of him while in this mood.

“Our Lord is gratified by your attention to this matter,” I said. “She isn’t fond of narcotics.”

“No, as we all well know.” He returned my thin smile with an almost sweet curve of his lips. Constin stiffened. “I am pleased to release the human female to your care, then, in light of the difficulty in my domain. I may call upon you for a small favor in the future.”

“Of course you will.” I bowed, not low enough to indicate deference, but low enough to indicate respect. “Lord.”

Ashlyun returned the bow. “Lords.”

When Con and I entered the coach, I said, “Ashlyun is losing control of his District. I want this narcotic rooted out and the labs destroyed. And I want to know if it’s being distributed at the Arts.”

“Do you think your mortal knows?” Con asked softly.

I shook my head. “No. I’m certain she doesn’t.”

But if the drug was being dealt in the Arts building, when Hasannah’s connection to me was revealed, she would be in danger whether she knew anything or not.