Chapter 6
JESSAMINE
As we walked side by side into his village, Wolf behind us, I realized I’d pictured it completely wrong.
When he said there were no taverns or inns, I believed that meant they were simply a private community made of residential houses only.
There were no houses at all. At least, not ones like in my home Morodon, where white stone buildings covered the seaside city.
Or even the Borderlands, where Haldek’s tavern was made of wood and stone.
This village was lined with tents, similar to the one Redvyr camped in, though many were bigger and certainly well-made. The beast fae gathered along the path that we followed through the village, greeting Redvyr while staring at me. Their expressions ranged from curious to unwelcoming.
One rather fierce-looking beast fae walked directly up the path toward us, his hard expression cracking as he smiled at Redvyr. He stopped us in the path and held out an arm to Redvyr who then clasped his, their forearms aligned.
“Good to have you back, Lord Redvyr,” said the newcomer.
I started and looked up at Redvyr. I knew beast fae used the title of lord for their kings. He was the king of this clan?
“Good to be back, Bezaliel.”
Three other warriors stalked up the path directly toward Redvyr, gathering around and greeting him. They all wore similar clothes—hide vests and trousers or skirts. One of them wore his hair in a long braid down his back. Their casual manner told me they were close to the beast lord.
“It seems your hunt was fruitful.” Bezaliel glanced at me with a sly grin.
Bezaliel was almost equal in size to Redvyr, though not quite. His bare chest was exposed beneath a vest of red-brown hide. Runes swirled over his muscles, and his four black horns curled out of his head in a magnificent sweep. He was an impressive beast fae.
“Wolf dragged her into my camp half frozen two nights ago.”
“Did he?” Bezaliel actually grinned at the giant wolf standing behind us.
“She has a request that we need to put forth to the council.”
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” asked one of the leaner beast fae with a handsome face.
“Leifkyn,” Redvyr addressed him then pointed to the other two, “Dayn and Brohm, this is Jessamine.”
The three newcomers gave me a slight bow of the head in greeting.
“Pleasure to meet you.”
Bezaliel sobered, then nodded. “I’ll gather the council members at the kella'mir. In the meantime, she looks like she could use some tending to.”
Redvyr turned to look at me, frowning. “She was attacked last night by a dryad.”
“A dryad?” he asked.
“He had the black madness,” Redvyr added in a low voice.
“But in a dryad?” Bezaliel asked.
“We’ll talk more later. The game was also scarce this year, but there is a buck of red deer packed on Wolf.”
“I’ll see to it.”
“Hi.” I interrupted and thrust out my hand for him to shake since Redvyr hadn’t properly introduced us yet. “I’m Jessamine.”
Bezaliel took my hand in his rough, large one. “It is a pleasure, Jessamine. I am Bezaliel, chief warrior to Redvyr of the Vanglosa clan. It seems you’ve had an adventure.”
“She’ll be in my tent until the council is ready,” added Redvyr.
“I’ll send Tessa.”
Redvyr grunted in agreement then marched ahead. “Follow me, Jessamine.”
Ignoring the stares of the other beast fae who watched with open wonder as we passed, I followed him until we came to a giant tent at the end of the path.
Once inside, he marched to a large woven basket and pulled a pair of black hide trousers from inside as well as a leather vest. For a moment, I thought he was going to change in front of me, my heart picking up speed suddenly.
Redvyr quirked a brow at me. “Afraid of something?”
“No,” I snapped.
His mouth ticked up in amusement. “Stay here. Bezaliel’s mate will be here shortly and will tend to the scratches on your face and neck.”
I touched the tender skin on the side of my neck, having forgotten that I’d been scratched in the tumble to the ground with the dryad.
“What is the black madness? What was wrong with that dryad?”
He didn’t answer me and marched for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To bathe in the stream. I’m a bit soiled if you hadn’t noticed.”
Between his hunt of the deer and his killing of the dryad, his trousers and body were indeed soiled. He looked every inch the wild beast fae. But he was the king of this clan. How interesting.
There was little in the room other than his very large bed of furs. Several hand-woven baskets lined one tent wall, and each basket was made of a pale weave with a darker thread woven into intricate patterns—leaves, a great tree, and a wolf. There was beauty and art here.
I walked to the left where a tufted cushion backed against the tent and a rug, also woven with delicate patterns of ivy spread out beneath a low table.
There was enough pillowed seating for many.
He must have others dine with him here. I wondered for a moment if he had a special female amongst his people.
The tent flap opened and in stepped…a light fae female. A wood fae. I blinked in surprise as she walked toward me, smiling, a basket on her arm. She wore a dress of red-deer hide and a baby was snuggled in a cloth sling across her chest.
“Hello. It’s Jessamine, isn’t it? I’m Tessa, Bezaliel’s mate.”
“Yes.” I stared as she stopped in front of me, her dark hair braided down her back, her tiny, pointed ears exposed and tipped pink from the cold.
“You’re a wood fae, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” She laughed. “Come and sit.” She gestured toward the lounge area.
I sat on one of the cushions and she settled beside me, setting down her basket. “First, you must eat something. I passed Redvyr coming in, and he told me you don’t eat meat or fish. Or rather, he grumbled it.”
“He does tend to grumble a lot,” I admitted.
She laughed. “He does. But I have bread and cheese here.” She set something wrapped in muslin aside. “Salted fish. I’ll save that for myself later.” She then unwrapped a thick round of pale bread and soft, white cheese. “Here you are.”
I didn’t hesitate, falling into the meal heartily. “Thank you so much,” I said between chews.
“You’re welcome. I have some salve as well that may help with those scratches.”
Her baby squirmed and mewled. “Quiet now, Saralyn. This is my daughter,” she said to me, pulling wide the sling so I could peek at the sleepy-eyed little girl with long lashes and hazel eyes. Her skin was much fairer than the beast fae, but her hair was dark, two nubs of horns showing on her head.
“She is lovely,” I admitted.
“She is a handful,” laughed Tessa. “Here, this paste will help you heal quickly and numb any pain.”
I let her dab the paste of salve onto my cheek and neck, while I continued to eat. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was. The bread was crusty on the outside, soft on the inside. The cheese was salty and creamy.
“Delicious,” I muttered as I shoved the last bite of cheese into my mouth.
“We keep some mountain goats for the cheese. But we can’t harvest our grain this far north.
It simply doesn’t grow well here. We trade with southerners for it.
” She put the salve away and wiped her hands, her baby now sleeping soundly against her chest. “We are able to grow some delicious vegetables here though. I’ll ask Shearah to make you a hearty soup. She runs the hearth guild.”
“That would be lovely. Thank you.” I wiped my mouth on the rag that the bread had been wrapped in. “You have guilds here?”
“Oh, yes. We have one for each area of need in our community. Each clan member learns what they are most skilled in and what brings them the most joy. Then they join their guild of choice.”
This surprised me. “Everyone decides on their own? Your clan leader doesn’t appoint them?”
“Lord Redvyr?” She laughed. “No, he wouldn’t want anything to do with that. How would he know what guides another’s heart?”
I could hardly fathom what she was telling me.
“We have a ceremony of celebration, of course,” she added, noting my confusion, “when someone reaches an expert status in their guild.”
In Morodon, my father would often speak to the heads of the masonry guilds and such to make decisions on what new temple or bridge or palatial villa to build next.
We had guilds for artisans and merchants for villagers to be appointed to in order to learn a trade.
But it was always my father who would assign guild appointments.
The good appointments often depended on the family’s loyalty and tribute to the crown.
“It’s unusual to hear that your clan have a choice in the matter. That’s not how it’s done where I’m from.”
She smiled sympathetically. “I don’t come from a village that supports one another either if that makes you feel any better.” She rubbed a hand along her daughter’s back over the sling. “I’ve found that we live in harmony for the most part here in Vanglosa.”
“For the most part?” I asked.
“Beast fae are emotional fae, so there is the occasional disruption.”
“Like a foreign fae invading their camp?”
She laughed. “Well, when I did, it certainly stirred things up for a while.” She pressed a kiss to her babe’s head. “But they came around eventually.”
Handing the salve back to her, I said, “I can help Shearah. I learned to cook a few things when I worked at a tavern in the Borderlands.”
It was far more than was ever taught to me at home in Morodon. It wasn’t proper for a princess to cook. Or learn anything of good use.
She stared at me curiously. “You lived in the Borderlands? That’s so far from the skald fae.”
I nodded. “Yes.” But I didn’t add more, wanting to keep my reasons secret for a little longer. I had a feeling I’d need to confess more than I wanted to in order for this council to allow me to stay, but I wasn’t ready to divulge that yet. “And how did you come here?”