AllFreeNovel
Share Us
For a while, I was furious he would drag me back to Näkt Mir to be humiliated in this barbaric rite to become his—no, I could no longer equate being his mizrah to being his whore.
But in my mind, it wasn’t too far off. He might deem my womb important and therefore protect me until I gave him the child he so desired, but then what would happen to me in this unholy land where public fornication and biting were celebratory acts? Would I still be allowed Meck and Ferryn as guards when he cut me loose or sent me to live in a nearby tower?
“Mistress,” Hava asked. She knelt at my feet and took my hand, her brow pinching with a frown. “Your hands are cold.” Then she began warming my hand beneath her tiny ones, rubbing to stimulate circulation. “King Goll has asked to speak with you before the priestesses come to take you to Näkt Lykenzel.”
“No,” I said curtly. “Tell the king I will see him in the throne room at the Rite of Servium.”
She dipped her head while warming my other hand then placed them both in my lap. Her nearness was comforting. I knew that even our short time as friends, she truly cared for me and I for her. She was my only true companion here. I would carry that feeling in my heart—I was loved and I was a strong royal princess of the Issosian line—as I marched into their ceremony, hoping I’d survive.
She stepped to the table by the fire where I’d left my meal uneaten and returned to my side.
“Here,” she whispered, though there was no one there to overhear her. “Drink this.” She held out a chalice of Mevian wine. “I took it from the kitchens when the cooks weren’t looking. They’re too busy with the feast anyway. Drink it, Una.”
I took the chalice and gladly gulped down half the glass. “The feast they’ll be having in honor of their king taking his mizrah, I presume.”
“Yes,” she agreed quietly. “There is to be dancing and entertainment. Everyone will celebrate when you become the king’s mizrah.”
“I’m glad there are some who will benefit from the occasion,” I said bitterly.
She pet the back of my hair. She had spent hours plaiting tiny braids all along the front and twisting them in a unique style so that it was all completely bound tightly from my forehead and past my ears. The back was also twisted and plaited in multipleways until I had one long rope down my back that brushed my buttocks. She said it was the ceremonial way for every mate or mizrah at her ceremony.
Hava pulled me to my feet, or rather I let her as she was so much smaller than me. She flitted around me, smoothing out my cloak.
“What of other mating rituals?” I asked. “The union ritual between two mates of dark fae? Do they also have a Rite of Servium?”
“Oh, yes. It is done in a much smaller ceremony and less formal than the wraith king’s, of course. And there is no trial in Näkt Lykenzel.”
“Of course,” I added bitterly. “And do the wraith fae males take their women in front of everyone?”
Her brow pursed, her red eyes contemplative as she fiddled with my braid, placing it over the front of my shoulder. “No. They’ve likely mated many times before their ceremony anyway. That part is done behind closed doors.” She smiled gently. I could not return it. “But they do bite them. It is a sign of public claiming. That is the end of the ceremony, and it is time to rejoice. To feast.”
“Why does a king…?” I couldn’t say it.
Hava knew what I wanted to know anyway.
She spoke softly. “A king taking his female before his entire court is more than a symbol. It’s showing everyone that his seed already lives inside of her. It keeps any wraith fae competitors from trying to take what is his. If she is a worthy vessel for his heir, a high born like you, then they all must know he has claimed you for his own.”
He’d said something similar to me in the tent that night. About rivals.
“But the wraith fae seem so devoted, dedicated to him. His Culled would kill anyone who dared to attack him or…” I paused, realizing I thoroughly believed this. “Or his mizrah.”
She nodded adamantly. “This is true. But King Goll had to execute and expel many since he killed his father. There were many who had faithfully followed King Xakiel, who quickly switched allegiance at his death. King Goll showed some of them mercy, allowing them to prove their loyalty. They have, but there is always a chance a usurper wants his place.”
A soft knock came to the door. Hava and I turned to see Dalya enter, covered in a black velvet robe similar to mine. She wore a lacy black veil that draped over her horns and hair, and swept down to cover half of her face, only her lips visible
She curtsied reverently. “It is time, Mizrah.”
From beyond the door, I heard whispered chanting and smelled burning, spiced incense. I walked to stand in front of Dalya. “I am ready.”
She lifted her gaze, a look of both awe and adoration on her face. “You are,” she agreed, examining my expression. “Pardon me,” she said as she stepped close and pulled my mantel’s hood over my head. “Follow me, Mizrah.”
She went into the shadowed corridor. I followed. On either side of my bedchamber were two lines of ten wraith fae priestesses, all robed in black, singing a soft chant. I only caught the wordsancient,binding, andhome. The two at the front held lanterns with burning blue coal, which cast an eerie light in the hall. The two priestesses second in the lines held a gold chain attached to a ball where the burning incense billowed out, filling the air with a smoky haze.
Dalya stopped just ahead of the front priestesses holding the blue coal lanterns so that I fell in line between them. The chanting stopped. I took note that my guards were no longer in the corridor as they usually were. Neither was King Goll. No onebut the priestesses was anywhere to be seen. When I looked back into my bedchamber, Hava was gone as well.
Then we all walked together, the priestesses singing softly in demon tongue, the melodious sound hypnotizing as I was guided down the corridor and the staircase.
Below stairs, there was yet again no soul in sight. It was as if the palace were deserted.
