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She truly sounded it. Rolling through that exceedingly normal, quiet town was enough of a shock to my system, but now this? Faeriken were mindless, bloodthirsty beasts. A scourge on our land, and the cursed shame of our race. Never did I think I’d be this close to faeriken, let alone allow one to take my hand and lead me somewhere that wasn’t to my death.
“You will not be serving tonight,” Aeris told Eadaoin. “Our lady doesn’t require you. You may have the evening off.”
“Thank you, Aeris.” Eadaoin’s gaze flicked over my shoulder.
That was all the warning I got before a tall, pine-scented figure brushed past me, and tore her clothes off.
“Ahh!”
The armor-clad guard shoved Eadaoin against the wall, unheeding of my screams. Kissing down her neck and chest, he sucked her nipple in his mouth, tearing a moan from her lips.
A flush rose to her furry cheeks. I expected her to kick, slap him, demand he carry her somewhere private!
Her legs spread—both knees touching the wall. “Ah, yes, fuck me!”
That was all the permission he needed to tear his pants off too. One look at his gray, leathery bottom, and I was gone.
I had no idea where I was going. I simply needed to be somewhere I understood.
What is this cold, strange place? Why is nothing as it’s supposed to be?
I took off down a dark, rounded hallway. It reminded me of an owl’s undergrown burrow. Or the burrow of a creature much less cute. Somewhere in this rat cave there had to be an empty room with a door I could slam shut and lock. This was all too much for me. I needed a quiet place to think.
Rapid footfalls chased me down. “My lady, you’re going the wrong way, silly. Your chambers are this way.” Aeris grasped my shoulders and spun me around. “Don’t worry. Talulla has gone ahead to prepare your feast. It will be waiting in your chambers, along with a fresh change of clothes. I’ll take you to your bath now.”
I didn’t know what to say as she led me past Eadaoin and her lover. He now had his sheathed sword in his hand, and was furiously fucking her pussy with the hilt. Something told me that wasn’t his commanding officer’s intention for the sword when they issued it to him.
Aeris led me down another circular hallway to a pair of double doors. Sweeping them open, she wasn’t there to catch my jaw when it fell.
“What... is this place?”
“Welcome, Queen Emiana.” Aeris passed through, holding her hands to the ceiling. “To Castle Riagin.”
I took a step, then another, then one more. Getting closer didn’t make it more real.
Days ago, I was forcibly confined in the most opulent, beautiful, richest palace in the faelands.
It was a steaming pile of dog shit next to Castle Riagin.
Everywhere I looked, were diamonds and gold.
Diamond chandeliers clung to the domed ceiling, raining rainbow rain on my slippered feet. Golden statues lined the wall—each a different immortalized fae-beast. Were they important people in Wind and Wild history? Did they have a real, documented, and celebrated history?
The strange, dark walls remained in this place, but somehow, it was a perfect contrast to the gaudy golden lounges, diamond pedestals, and deep plush carpet. It was normal and simple beside the obscene and jaw-dropping.
“What is all of this doing here?” I wheezed. Did Alisdair steal it? When? For a century, we’ve brought the fight to him. He’s never had the chance to raid Rajadom, Sarabai, Quatassa, or Lyrica. There’s never been a report of him plundering our wealth.
“All of this? Oh, you mean all of the statues and diamonds and gems? It is a bit much, but it serves a purpose. Castle Riagin is the exclusive employer of bird faeriken.”
“What does that mean?” I asked as she led me off again.
“They— Well, we,” she corrected. “Are overly attracted to shiny things. The urge to possess them only gets stronger as we—” Her jaw worked, but the words didn’t come out.
Of course. The cursed can’t speak of their affliction.
“Anyway, it led to a lot of thefts and tensions in the village, so in his wisdom, our lord and master brought all of us here, and hired us as his servants with free room and boarding. Now, when something shiny goes missing, it is no matter. It is still somewhere in the building.”
It was my turn to open my mouth, and say nothing. I had to admit that was an elegant solution. Also, a diplomatic and bloodless one. No other king would consider hiring a race of thieves to work in his palace, but he more than anyone should know they were suffering from a curse not of their making.
