3. Evanee #3
His heavy footsteps thundered after me until he was in my peripheral.
I side-eyed the male—Fae of course. I’ve had both Fae and human males come on to me when I first arrived.
I shut that down rather quickly. A swift punch to the throat and a kick to the groin had gotten the message across.
Of course, I had lashings from those times too.
Lashings were one thing, but unwanted attention from a male was another demon entirely. I’d done a pretty damn good job keeping my head down after those few instances, but this brute was about to ruin it for me.
“Slow down, darlin’,” he drawled. Fingers dug into my shoulder, yanking me back.
“Let me go.”
“Don’t you want to keep me company? It would be a step up for you, I’d imagine.”
“There’s a brothel ten miles north of here.” I swallowed thickly, silently begging to the moon that another being would walk past. “They—they have beautiful females, I hear, and stout ale,” I said through gritted teeth.
We were utterly alone. I could scream—but then he might just take what he wanted and kill me. Fae wouldn’t care if anything happened to a human slave. Especially if it were by the hand of a King’s guard.
“Did you not hear me?” He jerked me around to face him.
From the acrid stench of his breath, he’d already gotten into something stronger than Ale. He stared down, close enough that his round belly bumped against me. Foul air shoved its way up my nose, choking me. I recoiled, turning my head away from him.
“I said it’s been a very long journey. Do you think I want to ride ten more fucking miles for a brothel when I have something far more exotic right in front of me?”
Disgust made my lip curl as my gaze whipped back to him.
“You won’t get one damn thing from me,” I growled.
“I tend to get what I want. And you, darlin’, are something I want.” He licked his lips. Panic spread as I tried—and failed—to look for a way out of this.
“I’ve never seen eyes like yours…” He trailed off, ignoring me as I struggled to escape his grasp, his vice-like grip yanking me toward him.
Cracked lips crashed against mine.
I reeled, pinning my lips together as his wet tongue speared for them.
He pulled back for a breath.
I put both hands on his chest and shoved with every ounce of strength I could muster.
He faltered, letting me go, but quickly righted himself and lunged at me with a snarl.
I took the heel of my hand and shoved upwards with everything I had, the exertion leaving me breathless.
Crack.
He cursed and stumbled back from me again, blood flowing between his fingers as he held his broken nose.
The corner of my mouth tilted up, satisfaction burning alongside adrenaline.
“You bitch!” he roared.
I didn’t wait.
I ran.
My feet pounded against cobblestone. If I can just make it to that hole in the wall—
“Don’t turn your fucking back on your betters!”
I glanced over my shoulder.
White fangs flashed.
My dress was suddenly yanked back.
Blood pumped hot beneath my skin as I faced my attacker.
“When I see someone better, I’ll keep that in mind,” I snarled.
He backhanded me.
Stone rushed to meet me. A muffled cry slipped out as my hands caught the brunt of my weight.
He growled, “I’ll teach you some respect. Starting with that fucking mouth.”
The sound of buckles shattered the control I’d fought to keep.
With a war cry, I rolled onto my backside and kicked his legs as hard as I could.
He landed on his knees with a surprised grunt. I scrambled up and kicked him square between the legs.
He howled in pain, his hands covering his manhood.
“Asshole!”
I turned to run, but with his Fae swiftness, he jumped up, grabbing my arm. A string of curses left his mouth as he tried to grab me with his other hand.
My elbow jammed into his eye.
He let go, growling like a rabid beast before he lifted his leg, landing a push kick right into my back, sending me crashing back down. It wouldn’t have been bad, had I not already had the ache deep within.
Blinding, sharp pain shot through my back, making me cry out. The moon’s light cast the male’s shadow over me, sending a cold fear skittering across my spine.
He laughed, low and cruel. “This will be fun.”
“What’s going on here?” Another male’s voice cut through the pounding of blood in my ears. I still lay frozen on the ground from the pain, but managed to look over my shoulder—it was the male from earlier. The male who spoke to the Queen was standing right behind the guard.
“This bitch attacked me!” The grizzly guard answered, with one hand over his eye, the other checking that his balls were still intact.
I fought a smirk, keeping my expression carefully blank. This situation was dire. No one would believe the word of a human, no matter how despicable another being had acted.
A pulse of pain rippled down my spine, stealing my breath. The younger male’s attention flicked to me, and panic made my skin clammy. His stare was intense—I wanted to buckle beneath it. Instead, I straightened, holding my head high. He looked back at my attacker, and I let out a shaky breath.
“I see,” he said, his tone threatening.
He clasped his hands behind his back and slowly circled the seething guard until he stopped at my side. My jaw worked as he towered over me. I braced for more physical pain. Finally done it now.
The male didn’t inflict any pain, physical or verbal, but instead extended a pale hand to me, his gray eyes bright in the dark.
I just stared at it. This… offering he was making.
“I won’t harm you,” he said firmly.
Trust was not something I knew how to give, even for such a small gesture. But I tentatively let him help me up, gritting through the pain in my back. What kind of sadistic game is this?
“Are you okay? Can you walk?” he asked, something like worry in his expression, which didn’t make sense. I nodded slowly, brows drawn—
“Captain, she attacked me! A royal guard. It’s treasonous! That whore—”
One moment, the captain looked at me with concern.
The next, icy rage settled over his features as his hand shot out and wrapped around the guard’s throat. Black talons tore from his fingertips as his lip curled back, revealing sharp, elongated canines. I stumbled back a step, the hair on my arms standing on end.
Whatever he was, he wasn’t Fae.
He slowly turned his head toward the older male, the latter’s feet now dangling above the ground. Blood dribbled where talons pierced flesh, the guard frantically clawing at the captain’s hand.
“You should go back to your quarters, miss.”
The words were guttural.
Dangerous.
I didn’t thank him. I didn’t say anything as I turned and ran without looking back.
I’d never seen a being who transformed like that.
I’d heard of Dragon Shifters that make up the Southern Realm, but they didn’t come here.
Sarah said they closed their borders when the Western Realm fell.
Could he be one? Is that how he ended up as captain?
Maybe a Shadow Stalker? Whatever he was, I needed to stay far away.
I took gulping breaths as I reached the doors to my quarters. Raucous laughter rang out from within. Great. The only way to the stairs was through the tiny dining area, where it sounded like everyone was currently gathered. I opened the door slowly and stepped in.
“—and I told the old crone if she expected me to empty chamber pots in the servants’ quarters, then I would rather go take my chance with the skurs,” Lyra said animatedly, her laugh similar to a donkey.
Her brown hair stuck out beneath her bonnet in every direction, brown eyes scanning the table until the other girls laughed in response.
“It’s not fair they won’t put working toilets out here!” she whined, bouncing in her chair, making her tits jiggle. She refused to wear corsets, always walking about the room with her breasts on display, saying her ladies preferred freedom.
She kept at it until she saw me, then froze.
Everyone quieted.
“What happened to you?” Clara—one of the youngest at ten—asked me with wide eyes. I could only imagine what I looked like.
“You look like shit,” Lyra cackled. “Maybe they’ll finally put you with the pigs where you belong.”
The other girls laughed. The pain in my back had grown worse, and it was an effort to stay upright in their presence. I didn’t have the energy to do this.
“I walked behind that stallion by accident. Wasn’t paying attention.”
“You weren’t at the stables today, I was. You trying to do extra work to stand out or something?” Lyra responded in an accusatory tone, her arms crossed. The other girls glanced between us, a few sneering.
“So what if I am?” I bit back.
A deafening silence settled over the small room, suffocating me. They all looked at me like I was a monster. As I dragged my gaze over their faces, I saw fear, disgust, contempt. I couldn’t handle it. Not tonight.
I loosed a breath, shoving their chairs, some squealing dramatically, as I squeezed past to the stairs.
My stomach growled as the smell of broth wafted up, but I couldn’t bear to sit with them all. Not now. My skin tingled, and my back screamed with every step I climbed. I embraced the pain for once, using it to block out the mental images replaying in my head from what had almost happened.
The sound of laughter and chatter resumed as I reached our rooms, and I quietly closed the door.
Once I stripped off my clothes and washed my face, I braved a peek at the vanity. My physical appearance wasn’t too bad—only a reddened cheek and slight discoloration on my cheekbone.
The real marks were hidden deeper.
As I climbed into my bed—pulling the threadbare blanket to my chin—my back finally eased, yet I trembled, the weight of the night washing over me. I hid beneath the scratchy fabric, as my eyes burned.
I hadn’t cried in the past three years, but tonight, three years’ worth of tears silently fell.