Chapter 26

I'm sprawled in a messy heap on the furs of the bed. My silk robes are all undone and tangled around me. It seems Rhydian carried me over to the bed and dumped me in it after I passed out.

My mouth is so dry, I can't swallow. My muscles ache. My head is fuzzy. I'm all sticky and gross and covered in dried cum. But it is all worth it. I did it. Eventually. After many attempts. I did what Rhydian wanted me to do. I orgasmed in his arms while watching myself in the mirror. It was intense. Overwhelming. Strangely profound.

Groaning, I flop over onto my back. Rhydian is standing at the bottom of the bed, fully dressed, with a tall glass of water in his hand. I yelp and scramble up to a sitting position. My hands go to pull my undone robes over myself, but then I stop. Covering up in front of Rhydian is unnecessary. He has seen all of me before. And, I suddenly realise, I don't mind him looking at me.

He hands me the water and I take it gratefully. The coldness soothes my throat and clears my mind.

I glance over at the heavy curtains shrouding the window. Bright light is peeking around the edges. It's morning? I've lost all sense of time.

"I had to punish you," says Rhydian.

"I know," I reply calmly.

His gaze rakes over me. "Are you going to become all hysterical?"

My cheeks start burning before I've even registered what he has said. Memories of my reaction to being spanked come flooding back. Talk about dramatic. And talk about what a pervert I am. Here I am, all but brushing off a punishment because it was sexual, whereas physical discipline had me falling apart.

"No," I say, and it sounds sulky and petulant to my own ears.

I cringe and wait for Rhydian's displeasure, but he merely says, "Good."

I look up at him in surprise. He looks stressed. I can see it in the slight pinching around his beautiful eyes and in the tension around his generous mouth.

Shit. I've probably caused all sorts of problems for him to deal with. I've probably made him look weak or some bullshit like that. I don't understand politics, never have. Even when it was just the everyday office variety that I was exposed to. Like the time everyone was being super nice to the new HR woman, and I didn't clock why until Steve told me she was the one who would be sifting through promotion applications. The weaving politics of a fey court are far beyond my comprehension.

"Is everything going to be okay?" I ask.

Rhydian huffs. "Is anything ever okay?"

The bitter tone in his voice pulls on my heartstrings. It makes me want to hug him and hold him close and tell him that everything is going to work out just fine. But I can't do that, he wouldn't let me. And I don't make promises I'm not sure I can keep.

"Is Ninian's family going to be upset?" I ask instead, because gently steering the conversation in a different direction is the best I can do for now.

"Yes," he says curtly. "But not in the way you are thinking. They are mourning the loss of a chess piece."

I stare at him. "That's awful."

He says nothing, but his eyes say he agrees with me. He is far kinder than he will ever admit. I know he is. I didn't miss the fact that he knew Ninian's name. A lowly rhocyn of his court, and he still knew exactly who he was. Because Rhydian cares, he is just not allowed to show it.

He starts to turn away. "I need to save what is left of my reputation."

I'm falling out of bed and tripping over my half falling off robes in my desperation to reach him. I grab his sleeve and he freezes.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I plead.

I contributed to this mess, it is only fair that I help clean it up.

He regards me thoughtfully for a long, long moment. "Look well punished," he says eventually.

My lungs start working again. I hadn't realised they had stopped. "I can do that," I promise.

He gives me another long, lingering look. Then he clicks his fingers and Pinky appears with a bowl of warm water and a pile of washcloths. Rhydian watches me as I hastily clean myself up as best I can.

When I'm done, Pinky scurries away with the now dirty water and clothes. I look up at Rhydian as if seeking his approval.

He nods and starts pulling my robes up to cover my shoulders. Arranging them neatly in place and tying them snugly around my waist. I'm decent, but the silk is all crumpled. His hand runs through my hair, messing it up even more, and I shamelessly lean into his touch. He snatches his hand back and inspects his handiwork.

A slight frown is the only verdict he gives me. A leash appears in his hand and he clips it to my collar. I wish his fingers would brush over the skin of my neck, instead of the leather of my collar, but they don't.

I hang my head, hunch my shoulders, and do my best to look pathetic. It is depressingly easy.

Rhydian chuckles softly. "You are good at that, Little Pet."

I peek up through my tangled hair and flash him a quick grin. Something flashes deep in his eyes, and then his expression is carefully blank. He turns sharply on his heels and leads me out into the fey court.

My stomach rumbles in protest at the skipped breakfast. I ignore it. It really is the very least of my problems.

We wander around court for a while, seemingly aimlessly. It's surprisingly busy for so early in the day, but as I hear all the whispers and feel all the eyes on me, I understand why. People are up and about in the hope of gaining gossip. What assholes.

Rhydian takes me to a long, narrow room with high windows. I wonder if this is what's called a portrait gallery? The sound of running water makes me look up, and I startle. Right there, all along the middle of the room, is a babbling brook. Complete with mossy banks. It begins at one end of the room, seemingly out of nowhere, meanders the length of the gallery and disappears into the far wall.

The water is clear and unnaturally bright. The moss lining it is vivid green and peppered with mushrooms and ferns. Butterflies dance in little groups, here and there. I'm pretty sure this isn't an original feature of Buckingham Palace.

I watch transfixed, as various fey stand by the banks with long, cruel looking spears. An orange haired fey jabs her spear in, quick as lightning, and pulls out a wriggling bright silver fish. Her companions laugh and clap while she beams. She hands the fish and the spear to a waiting servant with instructions on how to cook it.

Suddenly, my view is obstructed by Mabon. I jump and step back. Where the hell did he come from? Thousands of tiny jewels are threaded through his lilac hair, which is mostly down, with a few complex braids weaving around his dark horns. He ignores Rhydian and looks right at me.

"So, tell me everything!" he gushes as he clasps his hands together as if in prayer.

His amethyst eyes are bright, and he is grinning broadly. He looks good, and it is good to see him. I could do with a friendly face right now.

Rhydian frowns, "Not now, Mabon."

Mabon's gaze flicks between me and his brother. Then he sighs heavily and glares at Rhydian.

"You are no fun at all!" he declares before stomping his foot and storming off.

A muscle by Rhydian's jaw ticks. "He will be visiting you for tea soon."

"I won't tell him anything," I promise.

Rhydian's gaze sweeps over me briefly, dark and unreadable. "You can trust Mabon with your life."

Okay, that's a surprise. I want to stare at Rhydian, to try to decipher more of what he is saying, but I'm here to look crestfallen and defeated and firmly in my place, so I lower my gaze to the floor.

"What about Dyfri?" I whisper so no one else can hear us.

"One day Dyfri is going to defeat us all and rule absolute."

Rhydian's tone is soft. Proud. If I was looking up at him, I swear he'd be giving one of his tiny, barely there smiles. Fey are so strange. Just when I think I have them figured out, they confuse me all over again.

"And your other brothers?" I ask.

"You can trust Tristan, but no one else."

Well, three out of five brothers isn't bad at all. Especially for a royal family. Rhydian really can't be that awful, if even his princely brothers like him, when surely it would be in their best interest to hate him and try to get rid of him?

But what the hell do I know? I'm just an ignorant human. A mundane one at that. Grasping the intricate ins and outs of a fey court will probably also remain beyond my ability. But that's not going to stop me from trying.

I'm going to help Rhydian. One way or another. And that is a promise that I am sure I can keep.