Page 1 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

Chapter 1 - Azriel

“Azriel Jones, report to the head office,” came a loud shout from somewhere outside.

Even nestled as far back into this old, abandoned supply closet as I was, I still winced. Being called to the office was never a good sign for the orphans here, especially when they were as old as I was. Depending on why I was being summoned, it might be better to just go and face whatever it was. On the other hand, I wasn’t going to be here much longer. Did I really have to keep appeasing the head matron?

The supply closet was a good hiding place, but if I was found here, I couldn’t claim that I didn’t hear the summons. At twenty, I was allowed off orphanage grounds unaccompanied. I closed my eyes, mapping out the dilapidated building and the overgrown forest nearby. If I could get through the back passage and out the mudroom, I could conceivably get out into the forest without being seen.

Then I’d just hang out in the brush for a few hours, and when I came back, I’d just tell them all that I didn’t hear the summons.

I stuffed my book into my small messenger bag, creeping to the doorway. My tunic was wrinkled, as I had just stuffed it into my dresser drawer without ironing or folding it, but at least it was a dull gray. All the clothes provided at the orphanage were dull colors. Presumably it was to keep us humble and promote unity among the orphans.

Unity. Yeah right.

As I made my way through the passages that had once been servants’ corridors, I considered the orphanage. It had once been a manor for some rich family, but through some vast misfortune, it had become a home for the unfortunate. Among which I was one.

Technically, I wasn’t an orphan. I was a ward of the state. My mother, whoever she had been, was dead, and my father was in jail. He’d killed a high fae. How a human like him could have done it, I didn’t know. Equally bewildering was why he’d been put into jail instead of having a very public, very gruesome execution.

The fae didn’t bother with humans often, other than to have a bit of fun with them. But they took their superiority very seriously. As such, even among humans I was treated like shit for being the kid of such a terrible person. It was hinted at more than once that my father was allowed to live so that he could witness my brutal murder before his death.

Scum and a burden, that’s what I was.

It didn’t make sense why the fae would wait for me to be an adult before they murdered me, if that was in fact their plan. Fae sometimes came to the orphanage. I’d seen them from afar, and they all had the same arrogance and disdain for humans. I had no doubt they wouldn’t blink at killing a child.

I made it to the mud room and carefully scoured the back yard. The forest was only a few yards from the house, and what had once been lilac bushes had grown into a line of scraggly trees that I could duck behind on my way to the safety of the brush.

“Azriel Jones,” the voice yelled again. By the sound of it, it was the head matron now. She must have been using her voice trumpet—loud enough from where I was, but it also sounded like she was on the other side of the house.

I took the chance and bolted, crouching as I ran behind the lilacs. When I got into the brush, I darted around the trees until the manor was no longer in sight.

Just as I was about to relax, a twig snapped behind me. I started to turn and something hard and fast shot into my stomach. The air was driven from my lungs as I dropped, wheezing. My vision blurred, but the shoes that filled my vision were all too familiar. Unlike the plain black uniform shoes, these were bright red and meticulously cleaned.

Kili.

He moved to kick me and I rolled away, evading the blow. Still struggling to breathe, I scrambled to my feet. My palms tingled and I snatched out the small knife I carried with me everywhere.

Kili sneered at me. He was black-haired with a pallid complexion that made him look unhealthy. He apparently had a grandparent who was fae, but they’d never claimed him. All the same, he was still quarter-fae, and for that he was treated as though he was better than the rest of us.

“Where are you going, Azriel?” he taunted as he feinted to the left. “And what do you think you’re going to do with that little knife? You know what the penalty for spilling fae blood is.”

He came at me again. I swung while stepping back, but I still couldn’t open my lungs. Black swirled over my vision and I stumbled. Kili was able to easily disarm me. He threw the knife away into the foliage and twisted my arm behind my back savagely. He laughed as he kicked my feet out from under me and twisted me to the ground.

The pleased smile on his face made me wish my vision would black out again. I struggled, more to test his grip than to try to escape. He held me fast and I went still, forcing myself to focus on my breathing.

“Let me up,” I wheezed, making myself sound weaker than I was.

As soon as I’d been brought to the orphanage, he’d made it his mission in life to make my life miserable. It wasn’t just that he thought he was better than me. He thought he was better than everyone, but he singled me out for special mistreatment. He’d beat up all the little kids, and the workers made some efforts to protect them. Me, though, I fought back. So Kili was determined to break me.

That, and I was certain he thought that hurting me was some sort of homage to his fae grandparent. As though if he hurt me enough for the crime my father committed, the fae would take notice and embrace him. Then he’d get out of his shitty hellhole and have a better life than what every kid in this place faced.

“Didn’t you hear, the matron wants to talk to you,” Kili jeered. His grip tightened. “I wonder what that is about, huh? Maybe she’s finally decided to kick you out.”

I bucked, nearly throwing him off. His face distorted with anger as he regained his balance and a fist came at my face. I twisted. This time, he was so distracted by wanting to hit me that I managed to unseat him. His punch grazed my chin, but it was still enough. I freed one hand and drove two stiff fingers into his throat.

As Kili keeled over, coughing, his face red, I scrambled back to my feet. He lunged for me and I danced out of reach, then jumped back over him, stomping on his back with one foot.

A crack rang through the forest, followed by a scream. I hoped I broke his back this time. I didn’t stick around to see if he’d recover. I spun on my heel and raced off, deeper into the trees. The sound of him cursing after me quickly faded, which gave me hope.

I zigzagged through the familiar paths. I knew this forest out of necessity. Ever since I first arrived, I’d been coming out here and tracking the various paths and landmarks. Knowing the forest had saved me a lot in the past. I skirted around the Big Rock, then down the bank to where the marsh hollow was. One year, I set up a scarecrow in here that looked like a hanging body and told Kili a ghost story about the area. He’d been terrified of it ever since.