Page 40 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

Somehow, it never occurred to me that any of the golden boys would have families, let alone younger siblings. I lifted my head again to study Seb. Even standing among the other high fae, he stood out by sheer attractiveness, only matched by Gareth and Jasper. I felt a twinge of sympathy for him, as well as an inexplicable desire to take his hand in mine and tell him that everything was going to be okay. Maybe it was because, despite his anger, he just seemed so vulnerable.

Had he lost anyone he particularly cared about? Was that the reason why he had ingratiated himself with Jasper, despite their court rivalries? With Jasper disowned, he was in a strange position himself. Maybe the two of them formed this alliance to protect themselves.

“Are there any students from Court Manilow in the Academy?” I asked Penry.

“A third-year student, Rusco. He and Seb have had a few dustups. They’ve been asking for permission to duel, but Quincy keeps refusing them,” Penry whispered.

“Which one is Rusco?”

Penry subtly pointed him out. Unlike the more androgenous fae who were visiting us, Rusco was very obviously male. He was built like a brick barn, with massive shoulders and a sharp jaw. A small group of beautiful women with powerful auras stood around him.

“His harem?” I asked sarcastically.

Penry nodded. “To carry a child of Court Manilow would be to carry a powerful future ruler,” she said. “Though so far none of his liaisons have produced children.”

I thought of the discussion I’d overheard with Flora and Savannah. Were any of those women hoping for a quick graduation from the Academy in the same way? It made sense, I supposed, considering the fae’s population crisis. It was more prudent for powerful fae women to have children than to kill them off in the Academy.

“Our inspection will be completed in a few days’ time,” the leader of Court Manilow said to Quincy. “You understand. With the increased number of undesirables allowed into the Academy, we want to make sure standards have not fallen.”

Undesirables. Like everyone standing over here, not permitted to sit or eat. I closed my eyes and deliberately blocked out the conversation.

I was good at spending time in my own head, so I wasn’t sure how long it was before I felt a small tug on my wrist. My eyes opened, surprised to find Freta standing in front of me. The Court, the staff, and high students were all standing again. It looked like Manilow was greeting the high fae students. Freta tugged my wrist again, and I turned to follow her from the great hall. Penry and Silas were already ahead of us.

“Won’t they notice that you’re missing?” I asked Freta once we’d gone around the side of the huge, black building.

“They’ll notice, and they’ll debate later on whether I was rude for leaving or polite for removing my disgraced self from their illustrious presence,” Freta answered. She let out a heavy sigh as she shook her head. “Let’s just find a place to be away from everyone else.”

Penry pointed at the gazebo. “What about there? It’s a pretty spot.”

“That’s Flora’s favorite spot,” I said. I almost added about the space beneath allowed for spying, but bit back at the last moment. I didn’t trust Penry with that just yet.

“There’s a space near the trees that will work,” Silas said.

Penry bit her lip. “Is it safe to be so close to the forest?”

“It’s safe enough during regular hours.”

We made our way to the spot Silas referred to. It was nothing much special, other than having plenty of shade, and the trees were spaced just far enough apart that if we had hammocks, we could string them up. As it was, we sat on the cool grass. Freta passed out a few dinner rolls she’d snagged from the meal.

“Thanks,” I said, wolfing mine down.

Penry picked at her roll, looking shaken.

“Are you alright?” Freta asked. “I noticed you kept getting paler and paler.”

“Oh.” Penry flinched. She glanced over her shoulder, then let out a heavy sigh. “I haven’t been entirely honest with you all. I said that my mother was rumored to be the illegitimate child of Court Xandes? Well … my mother had an affair with someone who said he was from Court Manilow. When she tried to make him claim me as his child, he had her arrested.”

“Arrested?” I repeated.

Penry nodded. “She had to withdraw all claims that she’d slept with a man from Manilow before she was released. My father—her husband, that is, my stepfather—took her back. But I’ve always been a source of tension between them.”

“So you might be related to them by blood?” I asked, frowning. “I thought the fae were having a population crisis.”

“Court Manilow insists that strong breeding is more important than a larger population. They’re very picky about who they allow within their court.” Freta rubbed her eyes and looked up at the sky as though she was trying to hide tears. “If the fae acted according to their policies, all of us who are weak-bound or unbound at our age would be sterilized.”

At this, Penry let out a soft breath. “I’m worried if they see me here, they might take it as a personal insult.”

Silas put a hand on her shoulder. “The names of the students are public. They already know you’re here.”