Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Benedict sucked in a deep breath to cool the thoughts of kissing swirling in his head. Beatrice yanked away from him as if burned, even though he hadn’t touched her, despite the temptation to rest a hand on her waist. He exhaled slowly, gathering his thoughts from where they’d scattered.
As tempting as it was to let himself fall for her, she wanted to break the fated mate bond.
More, he had to keep his wits about him here at the Faerie Market. The Wild Fae Primrose was bound to be here. Everyone knew the Primrose targeted the captive humans that fae dared to bring to a Market within the borders of the Court of Knowledge.
All Benedict had to do was spot the fae lord beneath whatever disguise he wore.
Or would he even bother to wear a disguise? Perhaps the Wild Fae Primrose would simply stroll the Market openly, given that the Market was currently in his Court. There would be nothing suspicious about a noble from the Court of Knowledge visiting the Market.
“If you’re done, get off the stage!”
The shout made him jump. Benedict forced himself to face the audience and bow. Beside him, Beatrice swept into a stilted curtsy.
The two of them hurried off the other side of the stage. When he glanced over his shoulder at the next act, he grimaced. A fae man was leading a string of captive humans, likely intending to make them do something terrible.
As they reached the ground, Beatrice, too, glanced at the stage. She hugged her arms over her stomach, all of her earlier adorably ruffled ire fading into something more vulnerable. “Could we maybe…”
Even though she trailed off, he nodded, understanding what she meant.
He steered her around the gathered crowd, heading for the back to put some space between them and the stage.
It would make snagging another time on the stage more difficult, but right now her feelings mattered more than their job.
Besides, standing at the back of the crowd would be good for his mission as well. If there were captive humans here, then the Wild Fae Primrose might not be far away. Benedict would have a better view from the back.
As they reached a quieter spot at the edge of the square, their backs to the wooden side of a haphazardly constructed booth, Beatrice released a heavy breath, her shoulders shuddering slightly.
Benedict stationed himself beside her, positioning himself to partially block her from the view of those passing by.
He scanned the fae around them, both in the audience jeering at the humans being forced to crawl on hands and knees and in the bustle along the walking paths at the edge of the makeshift square.
Was that fae male over there paying a little too much attention to the humans on stage? Or what about that other fae who seemed to duck out of sight?
Beatrice yelped and jostled into him.
He whirled to her, his hand dropping into the pocket of his librarian coat where he kept his sword.
Instead of a person, a large brown dog sat at Beatrice’s feet, tongue lolling, eyes fixed on her as if begging for more attention.
“Uh…” Beatrice still leaned back against Benedict, probably not realizing she did so, her hands held high out of the dog’s reach.
“Daisy!” The shout was accompanied by a sharp whistle.
The dog’s ears perked, then she leapt into motion, nearly bowling both Beatrice and Benedict over as she raced past toward someone behind them.
Benedict looked over his shoulder, shifting slightly to better see behind him while still keeping Beatrice steady.
A fae woman with black hair and tan skin, dressed in leather, stood next to a pale-skinned, blond-haired man who was nearly a foot taller than her. The man’s rounded ears gave away the fact that he was human rather than fae.
Benedict might have guessed that they were one of the rare fae-human couples, except that he caught the glint of a three-fold cord stretching between them. Despite the easy way he stood, that human man was just as much a captive as the humans on the stage.
As if sensing their gazes, the human gave a small smile and a wave in their direction. Then he was forced to turn and hurry after the fae woman, who was striding toward one of the alleys across the way, her dog trotting at her other side.
When Benedict turned back to Beatrice, she still stared after the fae and human, her arms hugged over her stomach once again.
When she spoke, her voice was low and almost tired.
“I’ve had it so good that I sometimes forget—perhaps I like to forget—that my experience isn’t the normal experience of humans in the Fae Realm.
This is my home. The place I feel safe. Yet for most humans, this realm is filled with nothing but terror and torment. ”
He swallowed, not even bothering to try to refute her statement.
Sure, the fae would do the same to each other if given half the chance.
He had experienced that himself. But fae could only torment each other if they managed to gain power over one another.
It wasn’t the widespread thing that it was when it came to humans.
The fae were pretty much always more powerful than a human, so they always took advantage of them.
“My family was extremely fortunate with Basil.” Beatrice still stared unseeingly into the distance.
“Meg went into the forest that night intending to bargain herself away to the first fae that came along. She expected cruelties for herself. All she hoped was that she could bargain for enough gold to save the rest of us from a similar fate of cruelty that awaited us in the Human Realm.”
“And instead, she was snatched by Basil.” Benedict kept his voice low. She normally didn’t confide in him like this, and he wasn’t ready to break the vulnerable moment.
“Exactly. He’s Basil.” The curve of a smile broke through some of her pensive expression.
“Instead of cruelty, he gave her love, a marriage, and a home. Not just for her but for all of us. We were on the verge of being sold into the Human Realm’s version of fae captivity, and then the next thing we knew we were brought into the wonder of the Great Library. It was the purest magic.”
He could imagine how that must have felt for young Beatrice, going from terror and poverty in the Human Realm to the beauty and safety of the Great Library.
A stab of pain filled him, making him edge slightly away from her. Thanks to him, her first days in the Fae Realm hadn’t been completely free of fae cruelty. Yes, he had been encouraged by his parents and older brother, but the actions, and thus the responsibility, had been his.
“I hate to see the place I love so much tainted by such evil.” Beatrice finally turned her gaze to him, pain lingering in the depths of her eyes. “It makes the good fae like King Theseus, Queen Hippolyta, Basil, and so many others stand out all the more.”
“Like the Wild Fae Primrose?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, her expression shuttered before she turned away from him. “Yes, like him.”
Benedict wanted to reassure her that he approved of the Wild Fae Primrose’s work.
But he couldn’t. Doing so would jeopardize everything.
Instead, he reached into a pocket of the green librarian coat he currently wore and pulled out two slim volumes. “Here. We probably should fight our way back into the crowd for another turn on the stage.”
Beatrice took the book, then scowled at him, the fire returning to her eyes. “You had this the whole time. Why torture both of us with that other book?”
Why, indeed? He smirked as he strolled past her, hoping she couldn’t read the edge of regret in his expression. Torture had been right, though likely not the kind of torture she’d meant.
After two more turns on the stage—and a few rotten fruits tossed their way at the tameness of their reading—Benedict led the way into the press of the crowd once again until he found a somewhat clear section of grass. “I’m ready for a break. And some food. What about you?”
“Yes to both.” Beatrice swiped a rag over her face before she turned to him. “Did I get it all?”
“You have a little…” Benedict pointed, resisting the urge to take the rag and wipe the dribble of purple juice from her face himself.
Beatrice’s cheeks colored pink before she shook herself and followed his pointing finger to scrub the side of her forehead. “Is that better?”
He cleared his throat and nodded. “Yes.” Forcing himself to turn away, he gestured at the alley ahead of them. “Shall we? Are you craving anything in particular?”
“No. I’ll just try whatever smells and looks good.
” Beatrice fell into step with him as they worked their way through the bustle of the various alleys and meandering aisles between the Market booths, carts, and tables.
At least Beatrice’s earlier pique and pensiveness had disappeared into her usual cheerfulness once again.
“I see. The Market tells you what you’re craving.” Benedict grinned at her before he side-stepped to avoid a tall dryad striding in the other direction.
“Exactly.” Beatrice smiled back for a moment before she seemed to remember what she was doing. Her smile dropped, and she faced forward once again.
They halted by some of the food booths and tested out a few things.
Each time, Benedict eyed the food, making sure it was safe for a human to eat.
Here in the Faerie Market, the normal safety provided by the House and the Court didn’t apply, and it would be too easy for Beatrice to accidentally eat something that would poison her.
Partway down the next path, Beatrice halted and sniffed. “Hmm. That smells really good.”
“I think it’s coming from that booth.” Benedict pointed across the way.
This particular booth was larger than most, almost a small tavern with an open area packed with tables beneath a roof supported on posts.
Fae mobbed the tables and the area beneath the roof, creating such a crush that he couldn’t even see the food at the front.
Beatrice grimaced and shook her head. “I don’t relish trying to force our way in there.”