Ten

EVE

The next morning I woke with another pillow to my face.

"Up and at ‘em, Princess. You're on toilet duty."

The woman in front of me had strawberry blonde hair and a gleeful expression. It was like she'd been waiting a long time for this day and was ecstatic to finally have someone below her on the pecking order.

My eyes narrowed as I swung my legs out of the bed and onto the floor. If she thought I was a dainty little thing who'd faint at the sight of some shit, she had another thing coming.

Instead of the ridiculous garment I was still wearing, she had on a rough, brown dress and boots similar to what I'd been wearing when I got here.

She pointed. "Clothes are at the edge of your bed. Retrieved them from Cassus's suite." The begrudgingly impressed look on her face only lasted for a minute before it twisted again into gleeful spite.

That was likely to be the theme of my time here at the pleasure house.

After Annie and I got dressed with the rest of the girls in our room, we were split into chore groups. Two girls stripped our sheets and took them down into the basement for washing, along with all the clothes worn for the week. Two other girls went to the kitchens to help the cooks prepare for the week and another group scattered to go downstairs to the parlor, armed with brooms.

That left Annie, two other new girls, and me.

"Toilets. Out back. Stuff is out there."

Miss Strawberry Blonde twirled around and sashayed out of the room, heading downstairs to the parlor.

I eyed the other two girls, gave Annie a shrug, and headed down. Through the parlor, girls were sweeping, cleaning windows, and dragging out the heavy rugs to beat out in the biting morning air.

And yet, the mood wasn't downtrodden or heavy. It was … light. Joyful. Girls teased each other and took playful swats with the brooms, chasing each other around with dirty rags as they did their chores with smiles and laughter.

Annie and I led the charge out the back door behind the kitchens. The morning air was biting as I inhaled, my breath coming out in large, white puffs. My dress wasn't enough for this weather. Overhead, the sky churned, threatening yet another storm. Thunder rumbled off in the distance.

"Maybe we'll earn cloaks or something," I muttered to no one.

Annie snorted next to me.

The urge to run seized my heart and clenched for a split second, but was gone just as easily. Where would I go? Nothing but harsh, strange woods surrounded us, and who knew what kind of wildlife existed in this world? Plus, it was far too cold. I'd freeze my bits off before the air heated for the day. Assuming one of the many storms didn't take me out.

There were an awful lot of storms in the fae world.

One of the new girls pointed to a separate building just a few paces from the back porch. Her short, fuzzy hair flew around her face. "I guess it's that?"

We cautiously entered the building, which was still bigger than most casual homes back in the northern realm. The smell hit us immediately—urine, vomit, and who knew what else.

I sighed and rolled up my sleeves.

"Let's go, ladies."

We returned around midday to the manor, covered in questionable stains but with a clean outbuilding to show for it. One of the new girls who had brown hair and a slim form cried through most of our cleaning, gagging and sniveling as we cleaned up vomit and excrement. Another more squat girl did her part without any word of complaint.

I ignored her whimpering.

"Where do you think you're going?" We paused at the back kitchen door as a large, busty woman with a white apron leered down at us with a disgusted sneer.

Like it was our fault we were covered in unmentionables.

"Uh … we finished cleaning. So—"

"Come into my kitchen? Like this? Disgusting heathens!" she shrieked, her voice rising in pitch with each word.

I saw her point—it couldn't be sanitary to have us traipsing through the kitchen.

"Strip and leave your clothes. I'll have the laundry girls collect them. Go bathe in the lake."

She pointed over our heads, across the backyard to where a dark, black pond sat.

"It's too cold!" the squat girl protested immediately.

Annie went white.

The other girl simply clenched her fists in her skirts, clearly preparing to put up a fight if forced to strip down.

I took a deep breath, and pulled my dress over my head in one go, letting it drop in a disgusting pile on the steps in front of the woman. Her lip curled as the soiled edges brushed her boot. Staring her down, I ignored the goosebumps that broke out along my skin.

There was a moment of stunned surprise from the others, then Annie followed, stripping and throwing her dress into the pile. I was keeping my boots on, no matter what was on them. I could clean them in the lake. The squat girl grumbled but went next, leaving only the slim girl left, her fists still balled in her skirts.

The kitchen woman put her hands on her hips, lifting an eyebrow.

"Don't be a baby," I grumbled at her. "No one is out here. The quicker it's done, the quicker we go in!"

My stomach growled with hunger.

The girl's eyes flicked to me nervously, but she shook her head obstinately.

"You either do it yourself, or I get someone to do it for you," the woman threatened.

The girl's eyes went wide with fear, but she stayed frozen.

"Emroy! Lexus!" the woman called over her shoulder. Two large, hulking men appeared, wiping their massive hands on dish towels and looking down on us curiously.

I made a snap decision, not caring if the girl hated me or not. I turned to her and ripped the dress down her body.

She shrieked and tried to kick me, but she was no match for my larger frame. The woman huffed and dismissed the men with a wave of her hand. Trying not to freeze, I tightened my grip on the girl's upper arm and dragged her toward the lake on the far side of the field.

Annie's chattering teeth were right in my ear as we all huddled close for an attempt at warmth.

Creaks and metallic groans filled the air behind us, followed by whoops and hollers from males and females, fae and human alike. My face flushed bright red, but the added heat was at least something.

"They're all staring at us!" The tiny girl sniffed, abandoning her fight against me as I dragged her forward.

"And those guys would have done worse had you continued to refuse!" I snapped back. "Where do you think you are?"

Thick, fat tears streamed down her face. "I want to go home!"

The squat girl snorted. "Oh yeah? Why? I get fed here. The work isn't any worse than anything back home. In fact, it's a lot warmer! I don't care if they all want to fuck me."

She strode ahead of us, abandoning her boots at the muddy bank and throwing herself into the water.

Annie hesitated at the edge, but I knew there was no way to ease into this. I used my body weight and tumbled me and the tiny girl into the water.

My first instinct was to scream at the icy cold that seized my chest, but I couldn't. It was too cold. I let go of the girl in reflex, then frantically waved my arms through the water to find her again. What if she couldn't swim? The water wasn't that deep here in the shallows, but panic did weird things to people.

A limb hit me in my stomach and I snatched it, setting my feet in the mucky bottom and pushing up as hard as I could.

FWOOSH.

We both broke the surface, sputtering and coughing. The girl sobbed hysterically as I pushed her toward the bank. She crawled to the edge and collapsed, shivering uncontrollably.

Squat girl splashed me and grinned, her limbs shaking with cold through her smile, lips already purple.

"Good thinking back there. I'm Bally. The crybaby is Canne. You're Eve, and the other is Annie?" Her voice shook, but she got it all out.

"Yeah. Thanks. I just … didn't think it'd go well if those guys got ahold of her, you know?"

Bally sniffed. "It's gonna happen, eventually. Might as well get it over with sooner than later.

She did a backstroke through the water back to the bank, doing a convincing job of not looking like she was freezing to death.

I was from the fucking Northern Realm and already struggling to feel my fingers and toes.

Time to go.

I scrubbed my head quickly to get any other nasties out and surfaced, only for something to grab my ankle and yank me back under. Bubbles erupted from my mouth as I let loose a scream no one could hear. Cold water rushed into my mouth as I got dragged deeper and further out into the lake.

Whatever had a hold on my ankle was slimy and colder than the water. I couldn't kick or struggle; I was moving too fast and concentrating too hard on not inhaling any water.

WHUMPF.

I hit something hard and solid, and blessedly warm. It grabbed me and held on, even as the thing on my ankle pulled and yanked on me. Both forces struggled for what seemed like an agonizing length of time as my lungs burned and the instinct to inhale strengthened.

The force on my ankle snapped, and the figure holding me exploded upwards. I gulped air greedily, vowing never to take it for granted again. I clutched tightly to a large, warm chest, and looked up into Cassus's unforgiving face.

I panicked and smacked him in the chest, hard.

It was as effective as a butterfly kiss. His gaze sharpened on my lips, a ferocious grin curling his lips. "Your lips are blue. Is that bad?"

That fucking fuck. He knew it was bad.

"What was that t-thing?" I pushed out, my teeth chattering uncontrollably. I couldn't feel my hands or feet, but it wouldn't have mattered. He had a vice grip on me.

"Kappa. Nasty little things. They don't normally bother us, but humans rarely wade into these waters."

Wonderful. I made a mental note to get back at that kitchen wench. I'd poison her with her own soup.

He picked me up like I was the same size as Canne and strode through the thigh-high water to deposit me on the shore. Annie was the only one left, her lips blue and skin nearly translucent.

"T-the others l-left," she sputtered, eyes wide at seeing Cassus.

Who was naked, I just realized.

Cassus peered at both of us, looking furious to be forced in our presence.

"I don't think humans are supposed to be this color."

I would have laughed if I could feel my chest. Or any other part of my body.

"Get inside."

He didn't need to tell Annie twice. She shoved her boots on her feet and fled; her plump little behind wiggling behind her as she ran. My own boots were heavy from water and my feet sloshed in them a bit. The moment she was gone, Cassus's face flattened, his eyes deadening.

"Tell anyone and I'll poison your little prince's dinner," he snarled at me. "Get out of my sight. Our debt is repaid."

What a pleasant man. Fae. Whatever.

Wait, what debt?

I tore out of there, back to the house.

Kitchen wench was sad to see me, a knowing glint in her eye as she stared down at my foot. I glanced down and jumped, seeing a severed, webbed hand still wrapped around my ankle. Shaking it off and trying not to look like my spirit had almost lost my body, I scowled at her and went my way back to my bunk. A worn but thankfully dry dress awaited me on my bunk, and I gratefully put it on.

Thankfully, the rest of the day was filled with easier chores and no more bone-chilling lakes. The cold lingered in my bones, though, and I couldn't get warm no matter how hard I worked.

And I couldn't help but shake the feeling that Cassus's ‘rescue' would have deep reaching consequences.

Eventually, another bell dinged somewhere in the house's depths, signaling an end to chores. Men and women alike cheered, everyone heading back toward the kitchen.

My stomach growled loudly.

"Thank the gods. I'd eat the thing in the lake," Annie remarked next to me. Together we put our hands on the massive wooden banister, and ran down the staircase to the main hall, following the crowd to the back of the house toward the kitchen.

My nostrils flared at the reminder, but she didn't seem to mean anything by it.

The kitchen was warm and smelled amazing, drawing me to it like a fly to honey. A line formed, and I got behind a blond male with green eyes. He turned and gave me a look like I still had shit on me from earlier today.

"Newbies to the back of the line," he grunted out.

I was itching for a fight to warm my blood.

"Make me," I growled back, taking a step forward to get in his face. I had at least an inch on him, and as we went toe-to-toe, worry flickered in his eyes.

He saw it too.

"Eve, come stand with me?" Annie's eyes begged me to follow her to the back. My eyes narrowed. I couldn't show weakness. I couldn't back down.

WHAM.

Blondie went down hard, clutching his face and squealing like a pig as I punched his nose. I tucked a stray hair from my braid behind my ear, purposefully ignoring my throbbing knuckles.

"I'm going to the back of the line because I choose to, not because you're making me," I sneered, eyeing everyone else in line.

Their eyes shifted away from me, looking anywhere else.

I followed Annie to the back.

"Why did you do that? You're going to get in trouble?" she whispered frantically.

A laugh escaped my throat. "I've been in trouble my entire life, Annie."

The line moved slowly but consistently. Men and women passed by us on their way out with steaming bowls of soup, and thick, meaty sandwiches. My stomach churned and growled.

Finally, it was my turn. I made it to the front, which was unfortunately manned by the same kitchen wench who'd kicked us out to the pond. Her expression flattened when she saw me.

She readied the next plate, then leaned over me and gave it to Annie.

"I—"

"Bowen is my son, you little bitch," she trilled brightly, a malicious gleam in her eyes. At my blank look, her eyes narrowed. "The blond man you punched. Go starve."

I stepped forward, but Annie grabbed my arm. "Don't. Please. You can have half of mine. It's no big deal."

The kitchen lady laughed. "Half? That horse of a woman needs more than half!"

I flushed red, anger burning in my veins. Only Shyllon could call me a horse and get away with it. Barely.

Turning away, I stomped out of line and tore through the house. Most people were sitting on the couches and the floor in the parlor, eating their meals. I didn't care about them. I was looking for one man in particular.

"You piece of shit."

His nose was busted, with black and blue rings already lining the bags of his eyes, but I had no problem making it darker. He stood so quickly when he spotted me coming that he spilled his soup into another woman's lap. Her shrieks drew everyone's attention.

This was probably a terrible idea.

But I was hungry. So hungry.

I lunged, but so did others.

Arms and hands grabbed me, larger and stronger than me. Fae men.

Unfair.

"No fighting!" they called out gruffly, yanking me back. I lost my goddamn mind. Fear, anxiety, anger, and hunger combined into a powerful cocktail fueling my adrenaline.

I fought.

I kicked.

I screamed.

Until they dragged me up the stairs and threw me into a room devoid of anything—no curtains, no bed, no window, and no hope.

There was nothing to take my anger and my hopelessness out on. It drained out of me in one fell swoop, my knees giving out as I collapsed to the floor. My knees came to my chest as I hugged them hard to me, fighting to keep the tears back.

I wouldn't cry. I wouldn't give them that power.

Some time later, a knock sounded at my door.

I opened it, Annie standing there with half her lunch. She thrust it forward.

Sighing, I took it and stood aside and let her in.

She sat on the floor.

"You're going to get us both into trouble, you know," she said quietly, taking in the empty room.

"You don't have to hang out with me, then," I grit out, but with no real venom. I wasn't even sure who I was still mad at, to be honest.

"Well, I didn't come only to feed you," she continued, her tone worried. "They're talking downstairs—everyone. You're being labeled as a danger and volatile by Giselle and the others in charge. They're plotting something. The other humans think you're amazing, though," she finished with a grin. "One of them gave me this tray for you specifically, hope you don't mind if we share."

I quelled the urge to laugh again. People had been plotting against me my entire life, it felt. My father, Lord Cadgan, the fae, and even Ellis, in the beginning. A sandwich didn't make up for all of it, but it was a start.

"Thanks," I said. I took half of the sandwich and saluted her with it, leaving the rest for her. Quickly I ate it.

"Don't worry about me. Northern Realm girls are tough. They won't break me."

Annie didn't look comforted, but left me to my half meal.

Cassus's cold stare from earlier went through my mind, and I shivered again.