Chapter 3

THREE

Cassia

The first thing I see when I open the door to the Gold Bedroom is Lady Takara's naked, bouncing breasts as she reverse-rides Lord Cirrus on the pale golden sheets I'm supposed to be changing. Her eyes are closed, and her mouth is opened in a slight O formation. His hands cling to her waist and he slides her up and down on his dick like he's using her to start a fire on his cock.

I freeze, unable to move for a painfully long moment before my brain catches up to what's happening. Taking a step back, I start to close the door, but the damn thing squeaks. Their gazes snap to me before I manage to back out of the room. Neither of them stops what they're doing, but they definitely saw me.

Fuckity fuck.

Lord Cirrus just so happens to be married to a viper of a woman. Some of the fae cheat like dogs in heat, but others demand faithfulness. His wife is the second kind of fae .

I've heard she'd cut off a woman's nose for touching her husband.

Some gossip is fun to know. This kind is not because it's the dangerous kind. I'm just hoping everyone involved keeps this incident to themselves. I sure as hell won't utter a word about it. I value my life more than that.

I shake my head, wondering why I didn't have the forethought to knock on the door. The room wasn't assigned to a guest, but still, I know how horny the fae are. An empty room is more temptation than they can handle.

Stupid. I am so damn stupid.

"Fuck!" I whisper-scream, scurrying down the hall.

I just have to hope the two fae, infamous for being arrogant assholes, won't feel the need to remember what a maid looks like. Hell, I'll have to hope they're the kind of fae that see the help as furniture versus actual people. Because if they see me as a threat, my body might be found in the river by tomorrow.

I groan, pick a couple halls at random, and finally slip into a dark corner. Taking deep breaths, I look down and see that I'm shaking. Damn it. I want to be calm. I want to be smart. But those two things don't come easily to me.

"You didn't do anything wrong," I whisper to myself. "They did something wrong… you just saw it. You're okay."

And I'm talking to myself again. Great. Just great. I need to get a hold of myself and act like everything is fine. But if I do what I'm expected to do, I should be going back to that room to clean it.

Nope, that won't work. I need to do the only thing I can: report to the Head Maid. Tell her as little as possible, because this secret needs to stay with me. I'll either be assigned to another room or be sent home early .

Please let me be sent home early.

Slipping out of the corner, I step right out in front of someone who was rounding the corner. "Fuck!" I startle, then bow my head, and say, "I mean, excuse me." I give a little bob, then slowly look up, praying it isn't Lord Cirrus.

Instead, I find myself staring into Prince Sulien's face.

He lifts a brow. "You like running into people."

"I'm not sure what to say, since you weren't asking a question," I tell him, bouncing a little on my feet. Ready to run the hell out of there, since I'm no doubt going to win a medal when it comes to getting into trouble.

"And who are you talking to?"

Fuck. He heard me talking to myself?

I tear my gaze away from his soul-sucking eyes, but when they shift to his chest, I'm suddenly distracted by the memory of him shirtless. "You see, Your Highness, I have a habit of talking to myself because no one else seems to want to talk to me." I sneak a glance back up. Does he look amused? "Although, I blame everyone else. I'm delightful to talk to."

He clears his throat. "You…"

I realize he's struggling to remember my name. Which is, you know, fine. It's not like we grew up together. No, wait, we did. "My name's not important, Prince Sulien. I'll try harder to stay out of your way."

Before I lose my nerve, I give another bow and dart around him, heading toward Head Maid Alexi's workroom. Although I swear, I can feel his gaze on me as I run for it.

It's not until I'm nearly to my destination that I risk slowing down. I have two horny fae to avoid and one princely one. As a maid, my job is to be invisible.

I can do that. Even though it's not exactly my skill .

Darting down the hall containing the small rooms of the maids who live at the palace, I head to the very last room. Alexi isn't going to want to hear anything except that I'm done with my work for the day. She takes few excuses, but this one is actually an acceptable one.

Tapping on the door, I debate about exactly what to say, knowing who she is as a person. Alexi isn't a terrible boss, but she doesn't care about anyone or anything. She just wants the job done. So, how do I approach this without saying too much or not enough?

"Come in!" I hear her say.

Stepping inside, I instantly feel a strange pang of envy. I don't want to be a maid, so I sure as hell don't want to be the Head Maid. But seeing Alexi with her feet up, papers in hand, and the relaxed look on her face, it's hard not to want what she has. My kind of work will quickly erode my body and my beauty, but not hers. We're the same age, but in time I have no doubt she'll age far better.

"All done?" she asks, not looking up from her lists. She lives for a list. Her desk is littered with them. A checked-off list is the only thing I know that'll make her smile.

I'm not about to make her smile.

"My last room for the day is…" I trail off, trying to find the right word. "It's currently occupied."

Alexi shuffles through her list and finds the one with my name on it. "No, it shouldn't be. They haven't arrived yet. I just got an updated list of our guests." She picks up another list and runs her finger down it. "Nope, they aren't here yet."

I let out a low sigh. "I understand. But the room is occupied." I raise my eyebrows to give her an indication of what I mean by occupied, but she still hasn't looked up at me. I pinch the bridge of my nose. I can't tell her that two high fae are fucking in the room. I definitely can't tell her I barged in there without knocking and saw them fucking.

"Well, it shouldn't be occupied, but we can't do anything about that now. Go to the next wing and clean the Purple Room. Someone's occupying it, but I know she won't be back in it for another couple of hours after lunch. I'm sure it could use a refresh. Take care of that, and you can call it a day."

Relieved, I head to the Purple Room, named so because of the decor, but also because it's the most west-facing room with a large window that catches our gorgeous purple sunsets. Something about the sky in the Summer Court amplifies the purple in the sunsets here. This room blazes a brilliant purple every single day. It's one of my favorite rooms in the palace.

Knocking this time, I enter after waiting for a response for longer than usual. Walking in on anyone else today just doesn't sound appealing. Jewelry covers every surface of the room. Whoever rooms here brought every ring, necklace, and bracelet she owned with her.

I laugh at the idea that she feels she needs this many choices for the few days she'll be here. These superficial fae make my stomach churn. The value of one necklace… I shake the thought out of my mind. There's no use in whining about their egregious wealth. You're born into it or you're born human. I'm the latter.

I spruce up the room, avoiding all of her jewelry. Some people are meticulous about the placement of their belongings. I don't want to disturb her process. I remake the bed, open the curtains all the way, and pick up anything that doesn't belong on the floor—an easy last task of the day.

I open the door, smiling because I'm done for the day and also because I've got some food to take home. These spoiled, over-indulged fae will have their party tonight, and I'll spend the evening with my family, who I'd choose any day over the fae. I head towards the closet they make us leave our regular clothes and belongings in, the one they search regularly, to grab my bag.

Glancing behind me, I see Lady Takara and Lord Cirrus lurking at the end of the hall. Lurking . Fae don't usually lurk, they saunter, and they don't hang out near the servants' quarters. Something clinches around my heart. Are they planning to threaten me? Slit my throat on my walk home?

I'm tense as I continue past them, but neither of them stops me. I unclench my ass cheeks just a little when I start down the stairs, and they don't stop me. Still, I think I might find someone to walk me home today.

Downstairs, I see Alexi and a fae I don't know. She's from the Fall Court with their signature shiny auburn hair falling in waves down her shoulders. The woman's face is scrunched up, looking irritated, but she says nothing. Alexi points at me and then signals for me to approach, which is weird. She'd usually be waving for me to get the hell out of there in front of an important guest, but who knows what the woman wants?

Coming to stand in front of her, I hesitate, then decide to just ignore their awkwardness. "I finished cleaning the last room."

I don't acknowledge the fae. There's no point. Not only am I just the help, but I'm also a human. She wants nothing to do with me.

"And everything was as expected?" she asks me, choosing each word carefully .

Damn, this woman has her really wound up. "Yes, ma'am."

She sighs, then shakes her head. "This is the guest from that room. Her fire opal necklace is missing, and… you were the last person in her room."

My stomach drops. "What are you saying?" I want her to say it, to verbally accuse me of stealing. Otherwise, I'm not going to suggest it. If this is some kind of trap, I won't be lured into it.

"I need to search you," Alexi says in an almost whisper. She looks everywhere but at my face.

"Because you think I stole it?" I ask coldly.

"Because it's valuable, and we need to be sure," she answers, her voice almost kind.

I want to argue, but that would only make me look guilty. Glancing over at the fae woman, she glares at me, and it takes everything in me not to stick my tongue out at her. I don't know what her deal is, but if she thinks just because I'm human, I'm a thief, she's about to learn a lesson.

"Of course," I say, my voice sickly sweet.

I drop my bag on the floor and lift both of my arms out to make a T with my body. The first pocket she reaches into is the one with the food I've stolen, which I'd forgotten about until that very moment. Fuck, okay, so I'm a little bit of a thief, but not one who steals jewelry.

It's hard to keep my face steady, not admitting any guilt or regret as she finds it. Taking food shouldn't be a huge offense if none of the fae knows about it. She holds the food in front of my face and frowns. I look past her at the sconce on the wall. The fire in it flickers even though it's midday.

Of course, the one day I've taken so much as an olive, I'm caught.

That's just my luck. But at least I didn't steal the jewelry. I'll be punished for the meat, but I won't lose my job. Not if the fae woman doesn't know what the meat pile means. Alexi will keep this between us, I think.

She returns the food to my pocket with a little sound of disgust, probably not wanting to handle the old food any longer than she has to, and reaches into my second apron pocket. I hear the unexpected jingle of metal. Shifting my vision down, I watch as she pulls out a gold necklace with orange gemstones.

Tears sting my eyes, and I shake my head. No, no, no. I didn't do this. Alexi knows this. She has to know that the fae used their powers to plant this on me. I force air into my lungs through my nose, not wanting to let anyone know how much this hurts me. I need this job desperately. My family needs me to have this job.

"I didn't take that," I tell her. "I wouldn't. It'd be pointless. Who would even buy a necklace like that from a human? I'd be reported immediately. You have to know I'm not that stupid."

Oh, the irony. I hate this job, but I need this job. And now, after all my screwups, I'm about to lose it over something I didn't do.

If Karma is real, she's a twisted bitch.

"I knew it," the fae says angrily, ignoring my words. "Filthy human scum."

I bite back the urge to call her a bitch. "It wasn't me. I know how this looks, but it wasn't."

Please. I need this job. I need something to go my way in this stupid life.

"Then how did this get here?" Alexi asks, staring .

I draw my shoulders back. "I saw two fae fucking. One of whom is married to a very dangerous person. Then, I saw them lurking around the corner just before you found that necklace on me, so they must have used fae magic to put it in my pocket, to frame me and get me removed from this job, so I can't tell anyone. Not that I planned to tell anyone."

"Lies!" the woman shouts. "How dare you accuse a fae of such treachery?"

Alexi drops the necklace, her expression genuinely upset. "We don't tolerate larceny in the palace. You need to leave right now. You've forfeited your pay for the week, and you aren't welcome back." Her anxious whispers are replaced with fire on her tongue.

She looks back at the woman, handing her the necklace and apologizing profusely. They both stare at me like I'm the lowest kind of scum. Which shouldn't bother me, but it does.

I meet Alexi's eyes, glaring now, and bend over to snatch up my bag. Angry tears threaten to escape my eyes, but I hold my head up high as I leave.

However, at the end of the hall, I see Prince Sulien standing with his arms folded across his chest. I glare at him, lift my hand to flip him off, debate for a minute, and drop it. I've already lost my job, no need to lose my head too. Instead, I march past him, hating him and all the fae with every ounce of my being.