Eleven

ELLIS

If I hadn't been so out of my mind with worry about Eve and what horrors she was currently facing, I would have felt bad for Feyanna.

Clearly, she'd been ordered to babysit me. After Fennis's dismissal, she led me back to what I supposed was now my room, sat herself primly on a velvet chair, and watched me.

Not that there was much to watch. I paced relentlessly, and when that failed, tried to interrogate her.

It was no use.

Fennis had picked his guardian well—a fae that couldn't speak my language could hardly give anything away, could she? I couldn't fathom striking or hurting her to escape; she was so tiny! It would be wrong to hurt her, and Fennis knew it.

Frustration welled in my veins. I was stuck in this gilded cage while who knew what was happening to Eve?

"Fennis promised he would protect her. How is he supposed to do that while she's in a goddamn pleasure house?" Smoke curled from underneath my fingertips, but Feyanna didn't seem alarmed by it at all. In fact, her eyes flashed with interest and she shot me a smug grin.

I didn't know why my magick was strengthening and getting harder to handle. Well, that wasn't entirely true. It was likely because of my presence in the fae realm. But what good was any of it if I couldn't save Eve?

Glancing at the walls, I considered a holocaust of frustration and pain. I could burn down this entire manor, but how far would I get? I'd hurt Feyanna and countless other fae, though whether they were classified as ‘innocent' was still up for debate to me. Any society that took part in something as brutal as the Royal Hunt had no pity or sympathy from me.

But there were innocent humans here. Slaves. And if I let my magick rage out of control, many of them would get hurt. Many of them would die.

I was done losing and watching everything being taken from me. I'd proceed with caution from now on, but with no less determination.

I sat on the bench in front of the large bed with its silk sheets. A few weeks ago, I would have considered them luxurious, but now they only looked hot and cloying.

Glaring at Feyanna wouldn't help, but it made me feel better in the interim. Her head tilted to the side as she watched me, dark hair and silver eyes twinkling like mad. Her pink lips pouted naturally, and she had high cheekbones and a long, tapered nose.

If I squinted, I could half-convince myself she was Viana.

But she wasn't. And we weren't in the Northern realm or the Southern.

"How do I know Fennis will keep his promise? Eve could be dead for all I know."

Feyanna gave me an understanding smile as if she comprehended every word I said. That only infuriated me more.

"Mang. Vo sent mie," she offered brightly, beaming at me and gesturing behind me.

I whirled around, knowing for a fact that the tray with a steaming bowl of soup and a warm loaf of bread hadn't been there a moment earlier. I needed to be wary; I was an infant when it came to harnessing my magick, and Feyanna had grown up with it.

The smell was divine. Was it magick that made the fae food smell so good or had I simply been on the run too long now? When had I last sat down with a normal meal with my family?

I couldn't remember. I didn't want to remember. I'd missed so many moments with them because I'd been away from home, gallivanting across the realm and trying to deal with my own demons. Well, the demons had finally come to me, out in the open.

Grabbing the spoon with more force than necessary, I kept my back to Feyanna as I twisted around on the bench and ate from the tray, using the bed as my makeshift table. If she thought my manners were lacking, I didn't care. Regardless, I'd need my strength to survive in this court and plot my way back to Eve.

So I ate the delicious potato soup, trying not to enjoy the rich, creamy flavor and failing. The bread had some kind of a sweet nut in it, yet wasn't sweet enough that I couldn't enjoy it with the swipe of butter that dripped down into the grain from the crust.

Stupid fae and their stupidly good food.

I hoped Eve ate half as well. When I was a child, Mother had always sung a nonsense song about never accepting food from the fae, but clearly it was a joke. This was some of the best food I'd ever eaten in my life! That was probably the true moral behind the story: taste the fae food, and willingly go to their realm forever. I would bet my life the song came from that, and nothing more.

"Bie! Mai boi."

Turning back around, Feyanna held out a golden goblet to me, and I was mostly sure she hadn't budged from her spot on the velvet chair to get it.

More magick.

Eyeing her suspiciously, I stood and crossed the distance between us, peering down into the chalice. The rich scent of wine wafted in front of my nose, spiced and potent with hints of pomegranate and another fruit I didn't recognize.

Every urge and vice from my life before I'd met Eve swirled in front of me, a cacophony of jeers and urges so loud in my head I was momentarily stunned. My hand reached forward of its own volition, the soothing rationalization already taking place as my mind whispered to me.

Just a few sips won't hurt.

The moment the burgundy liquid touched my lips, I regretted my charitable thoughts about all of fae food and beverages. The wine was awful!

"What is this?" I asked Feyanna, forgetting for a moment she couldn't answer me. Holding the chalice out as though it were likely to bite me, I considered how to give it back to her without seeming rude. The wine tasted of dirt and rotten fruit.

Feyanna gracefully accepted the cup back, a troubled look on her face as she sniffed the wine

Well, at least it wasn't just me, and she wasn't upset with me. That was something, wasn't it?

I yawned, suddenly exhausted.

"I'll just … rest my eyes for a moment, if you don't mind."

Her ears twitched. I climbed clumsily into the bed. I didn't make it far enough to even slide under the covers as an odd lethargy settled in my limbs. It was like the high of drunkenness, but everything in my vision changed. Colors were brighter. Sounds were sharper.

Another female had entered. She looked a lot like Feyanna, who looked a lot like Viana … unless I was seeing double?

And Feyanna … where had she gone? I tried to sit up in bed, but Viana was suddenly there, pushing me down and smiling at me.

****TRIGGER WARNING

"You've been naughty," she whispered into my ear.

Goosebumps erupted across my skin even as a groan released from my lips. Viana had been the only one who'd known how I struggled with drink and had offered me solace in her kingdom and through the worst of some of the lowest points in my life. I didn't know if I truly loved her or felt indebted to her, but part of me always wondered what could have happened between us.

Her lips ghosted against mine and I stopped breathing, unwilling to move a fraction in case it was all a fever dream, and the slightest movement would pop it like a bubble.

"Viana …" I muttered.

You didn't have time for fun. You needed to get her to help you plan and get back to Eve.

Oh fuck, Eve.

I tried to push Viana away, but my hands were heavy. It was as if they had swords strapped to them.

"You have strong magick," she whispered in my ear. Her tone was off, strange and yet familiar at the same time.

Her hand slid down my chest, hooking around my belt and sneaking underneath my breeches.

This didn't seem right, and yet … hadn't I always secretly wanted this? I'd fantasized about what it would be like with Viana, having been half-obsessed with her since childhood. We could have been an ultimate power couple, and since I wasn't the heir back then, no one would have batted an eye when she made me king of her realm.

Our marriage would have been the ultimate political goal.

If she would have liked males, that is.

Remembering this tiny, important detail shocked my brain into overdrive. My eyes snapped open, and I forced myself to concentrate, trying to focus on who was above me.

****END OF TRIGGER WARNING

It certainly wasn't Viana.

Viana didn't like males.

Viana wouldn't have her hand on my … my member, doing things that—

"Arre! Qu fa ta!" Feyanna cried out in alarm, and the woman above drew her hand away from me as if burned, whipping around.

"Game is up. Go to sleep."

There was a stinging sensation in my wrist, and then I was instantly out, just a candle being snuffed with no control over its own flame.