Twenty-Seven

EVE

Stupid men. Stupid fae.

Where had the line of prisoners gone? When were they coming back? Screams and yells erupted from the yard but I was powerless.

A new guard was at my door, a wary human slave holding a tray in front of him.

"In. Make sure she eats it," the guard ordered him.

I stood back as my door opened and the human entered. He was a man of middle age with brown hair and kind eyes. The wooden tray he held had a steaming bowl of vegetable soup, a thick hunk of golden bread, and a small bowl of butter. It shook slightly as he held it out to me. He acted as if I had a contagious disease.

"H-here, I—"

I didn't let him finish. I snatched the tray and took it to the opposite side of my cell, just in case my guards would change their mind and demand it back. Hunching over the food, I devoured the bread, soaking it straight into the full vat of butter and barely chewing before swallowing.

The large lump of bread didn't go easily down my throat, and my eyes were watering as I tried to force it down my throat.

Slow down. Easy.

I took the soup more slowly, picking up the bowl and drinking it since there was no spoon.

"Er … do you like it? It's a new recipe I tried, and …"

He went silent at the glare I shot him, probably realizing I wasn't in the mood for polite conversation. At least not while there was food to be eaten. I tried to remember the last time I'd eaten, which would have been back at Shyllon's palace. They'd been odd about the food there, too, but at least he'd kept me fed.

"Um, sorry. Bad day," I gave a weak chuckle, trying not to be a total bitch. And likely failing. "Yes, it's very good."

He beamed a bit, pride likely restored. Only after I'd literally licked the last traces of soup from the bowl did I finally lift my eyes to the nervous man, who stood there wringing his hands at me. Blushing, I wiped my hands on my dirty dress and offered one to him.

"Sorry again about earlier, I was starving. I'm Eve."

He eyed my hand curiously, leaving it dangling. I pulled it back in, self-conscious.

"I know. You're the princess. Or queen, depending on who you ask."

"I never got a crown—" No matter how many times I said it, it didn't matter to anyone. I'd been given this title, so I was stuck with it. "Can I go now? Out with the others?"

I moved past the man and wrapped my hands around the bars of my cell, trying to peer out into the hallway and down toward the yard where the rest of the prisoners had gone. More shouts and cheer erupted from down the hall, but I couldn't see into the yard.

The fae guard chuckled next to me from outside the bars. "I wouldn't ask to be let out. They're in the middle of a game."

My eyes narrowed. "Hayida said you wouldn't make them play games since the last Hunt just happened."

The guard shrugged. "We follow orders. The king says to train the prisoners, so we train the prisoners."

"And who cares if we die, right?" I sneered bitterly, but the guard didn't answer. I turned back toward the human man, who had already picked up my tray and stood awkwardly behind me, holding it out.

"Do you have a name?" I asked, trying to remember my manners. Princess indeed. I took in his modest clothing and clean appearance. His tunic was a deep russet and made of linen, not silk, and though his breeches and leather boots showed signs of wear, they were in good condition with no holes. He looked hale and more healthy than most people back home in the northern realm, let alone a slave.

"Desmond, head baker," he replied as the guard turned the key in the lock and let him out. He skedaddled without looking back at me once.

Smart man.

"Pleasure," I grit out at his retreating back, my cell door slamming shut behind him.

One of these days I'd get alone with another human here and be able to have a real heart-to-heart about freedom, slavery, and privilege.

Today, however, was clearly not that day. I turned as the guard paused at my door.

"Ah, good. You ate. Would you like out?" he asked, an odd lilt to his voice that had nothing to do with his accent.

"Uh, yeah. I'd just asked that, hadn't I?" I clarified, not trusting the sudden courtesy after being warned what the others were up to. I wanted to make sure Ellis was OK, but no one else could get to me while I was in here. It wasn't something I had really considered until the guard in front of me gazed at me hungrily.

"The others said you were in a pleasure house. I could let you out to entertain me now that we're alone. In return for a few extra … perks."

My face flushed at his implication. "I am not a whore," I snapped. "I—"

"You fucked the princes, yes? Why are you upset? We both get something we want out of it." He grinned, flashing fangs at me. "I am not a terrible lover, I assure you."

My mouth snapped shut at his genuinely incredulous tone. He truly didn't understand why I wasn't thankful for such a generous offer. My flabbers were gasted.

I licked my lips, wrapping my hands around the bars and cocking my hip out as I considered it. It could be my only chance to get important information.

"I might be open to negotiations," I started shakily, giving him a good once-over. He was handsome with dirty blond hair braided away from his face. His silver eyes sparked with interest.

"Name your terms," he said succinctly.

I blinked, not expecting it to be that easy. "I … uh …"

"I can think of a few." He unlocked the door to my cell, the clink of the lock giving oddly loud.

I took an involuntary step backward as he moved into my cell, but he shook a finger at my face. "Oh, don't be bashful now. Hurry and name your terms, or they'll be up to me."

My brain spun frantically, but I couldn't come up with anything. All I could focus on was how his eyes glowed, how his hands reached for me, and how plump his lips were.

"Alihandro is notoriously picky about his bedmates, so you must be quite good." His breath was in my ear, sending shivers down my spine as his finger trailed gently down my throat. How had he gotten so close so quickly?

Fae speed, you moron.

I should scream. I should call for help. Would it matter? I'd agreed to this, after all. Quick! Think of some goddamn terms!

Those lips descended toward mine and I lost the ability to think any coherent thoughts. Desperately, I twisted my head to the side, and his lips landed directly on the mark Alihandro's teeth had left.

An electric shot nailed both of us.

"Fucking shit!" The fae dropped me like I'd burned him. He covered his mouth with his hands, eyes screwed up with pain.

Oh great, now he'd get pissed and hit me. "I don't know what that was—"

"Get the fuck away from my human, Quarros."

Alihandro himself rounded the corner of my cell like an avenging angel, leaning against the bars casually as though he'd been here the whole time, lurking and watching me.

And maybe he had been. Dick.

The fae spat on the ground. "How was I supposed to know you marked her? Stupid fucking humans. Not worth the trouble."

Alihandro's head tilted to the side. "Your parents are nobles, aren't they?" He gave the other fae (Quarros) a brief glance from head to toe. "Odd that their only son is a prison guard, of all things."

Quarros flushed red. "I have more fae blood in my veins than you, according to the rumors flying around the court. Someone must take the shit jobs when the king forces all his bastards into the good ones. I got what I could."

Rather than get angry, Alihandro just smirked. "And it had nothing to do with your piss poor exams, I'm sure. Dismissed."

He turned his back on Quarros as the fae looked fit to burst, instead focusing his attention on me. Quarros mumbled something in the fae language and fucked off, leaving us alone.

"Have you found out any useful information?" Alihandro asked with a no-nonsense tone, though his eyes fixed on the mark on my neck.

To say I was a bit surprised at this abrupt change in topic without addressing what had just happened would be an understatement.

"I … uh … well, Ellis seems convinced Hayida is the head rebel, but—"

Alihandro snorted. "Of course. Hayida was the head rebel, technically. When you get deposed and forced off your throne, you are defacto the head rebel, whether you wish to be or not. Why do you think he's in prison? Of course that means there is now a new head rebel. Not him, of course."

My brain ground to a halt, and my heart sank. Ellis had been right, but so, so wrong.

Hayida was the deposed king; the one who supposedly made Fennis look like a teddy bear.

Fennis's father.

Oh my gods.

Alihandro leaned in, and I took a half-step away, which pushed my back up against the cold stone wall of the corridor. His head dipped down as his nose brushed the place where he'd bitten me with his fangs, sending a jolt across my skin. I should punch him for that. I—

His tongue swiped across it, and the electric jolt turned into a surge of need that shot straight to my core. My knees went weak, but Alihandro already had an arm around my waist, holding me up.

"Why did you give me this? It hurt," I growled at him, still feeling betrayed. "And you taunted Ellis about us being together in front of everyone."

He snorted against my neck, the warm puff of air tickling my throat. "I do what I must so Fennis doesn't suspect me."

My heart nearly stopped beating in my chest. Suspect him of what? Did that mean what I thought it did?

"You're the head rebel," I breathed out.

Alihandro threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, Princess. This is why I like you. So inquisitive, yet also jumping to so many wrong conclusions faster than an arrow in flight. I am in the rebel faction, but I am not the head rebel. That's much too serious work for me."

I sucked in a breath. Alihandro was a rebel, but not the one Fennis was interested in. Still, wouldn't that be information important to Fennis? That his own blood was conspiring against him?

"And don't think about turning me into Fennis," he warned, popping my idea like an inflated pig's bladder.

"One tug of my magick on the little mark on your neck, and you drop dead. And that would truly be a pity." He leaned down and kissed me before I knew what was happening, slipping his tongue between my teeth. It was a full few seconds before I realized he'd just threatened my life and I pushed him away, my hands ineffectively shoving against his chest.. It was laughable since his strength was superior to mine, but he backed off, smirking.

"Why so glum, Princess?" he mocked.

"You just said you'd kill me," I replied weakly, trying to press myself harder against the wall to put some space between us.

One hand cupped my face and traced the edge of my cheek, his lips ghosting over my eyelids.

"Fair is fair. You were considering telling Fennis that I was a traitor. If you try to kill me, it's only fair I kill you. Now we are even, you see."

It made sense in a really fucked up way.

"Take the mark off," I pleaded instead. "I won't tell Fennis. Why would I expose someone who is helping my cause? Ellis—"

"Will do whatever keeps his little princess safe," Alihandro cut in. "And get rid of your mark? Are you sure? You haven't even experienced the full range of its … effects."

My lips parted and I inhaled a breath, but that was all I got before his stroking hand reached down and he pressed on the mark with the pad of his thumb while wrapping his other hand around my throat.

A jolt of hot, thick arousal hit me so hard I moaned. The hand around my throat went down, down, slipping under the neckline of my dress and fondling a breast. I pushed up against him automatically, wanting more.

"Easy, Princess. That isn't all. Blood magick is something that's forbidden, but I've been dabbling. Turns out it has nothing to do with what's in your blood. It's all about intent."

His words sounded important, but it was so hard to focus.

Alihandro's left hand stayed on my mark, but his lips replaced his other hand on my breast, biting down and sucking on my nipple. His right hand kept going, flipping under the hem of my dress and seeking the heat between my thighs.

I should stop him.

Instead, my legs spread automatically for him.

"Good girl," he purred, stroking his way into my folds.

Oh, fuck.

Wetness soaked his fingers, and I closed my eyes, embarrassed but unable to say no.

"And if I did the magicks just right …" His voice was nothing but a hoarse whisper as he finger fucked me like a god, slowly and methodically pushing in and sliding out, while deftly circling around that little nub at the top.

He clamped down on that nub and squeezed at the same moment that he pressed hard on the mark on my neck. His mouth covered mine to muffle my scream as I came harder than I ever had in my life, soaking his hand as I spilled my release down my legs and into my dress.

"Mmm. Gorgeous."

He slipped his hand from me and eased me down to the ground, since there was no way I'd be standing on my own. My leg muscles were a quivering mess.

"Tasty, as well."

He licked his hand clean while gazing straight at me, my mouth dry. Guilt, sleepy satisfaction, and confusion all whirled together in my chest.

"Get … away …" I managed, still trying to catch my breath from the best orgasm I'd had in my life while trying to not look like it.

He smacked his lips unapologetically. "Shyllon is coming. And your prince. Do try to pull yourself together. Shall I tell Fallon to suck him off so you're all even?"

I lashed out half-heartedly with my fist, which he caught with a laugh. He gave my hand a kiss and a pat and leaned back, getting ready to watch the show.