Page 6 of The Heir the Fae Forgot
It wasn’t long after the door to my rooms had shut behind the servant at my side before his footsteps broke the silence behind us. I’d not even had time to sit on the edge of the bed, let alone explore the full suite of rooms, before his fist was beating on the door, calling out my name as he demanded to be let in.
The servant set her—I only assumed it was ashebased off the softer features of her face compared to some of the other’s I’d seen—basket on the ground and looked slowly toward the door. She lifted two fingers, as if preparing to snap them.
“Should I silence him?”
Her question caught me off guard.
It was the first time I’d heard one of them speak. I considered what she said, my eyes lingering on the fingers set at the ready. I supposed she mean to use some kind of magic, and though I was interested to see it firsthand, I ultimately shook my head.
“No,” I said, raising my voice loud enough that I was sure Shiel would overhead. “Let him shout himself hoarse.”
The flurry of muttered swears on the other side of the door reassured me that he had, in fact, heard me.
Though Shiel continued his attempts, no matter how much he rattled the door or shook the ceiling with his shouts, there was no sign of any of it giving way. In fact, the tree seemed to pulse with every jolt, the walls and door pulsing with it, as if the tree was feeding it, strengthening it with every flurry of blows.
I let out a soft half sigh, half laugh, too low for Shiel to hear this time.
Little did the Lord of the Western Court know, the harder he tried to get to me, the more impossible it became.
“I too enjoy watching the fae make fools of themselves for love.”
My head snapped towards the servant, now standing over a tub slowly growing from the floor.
Once again, the creature’s words caught me off guard.
“It’s notlove,” I spluttered, trying—and failing—to keep the rush of blood from coloring my cheeks. Once again, the memory of Shiel’s arms wrapped around me only the night before flooded my mind, unbidden. Like the door still strengthening beneath Shiel’s fist, the harder I tried to fight it off, the more impossible it too, became. “He only wants to use me,” I said, as if I could explain away the blush burning in my face. At least that truth seemed to finally cool the heat rising in me. I dropped my eyes to my feet, to the mud caking my calves and thighs and staining the tattered shift I’d borrowed from the woman I’d once called my mother. I’d forgotten, for a moment, how exposed I was.
No wonder all the creatures—fae and otherwise—had watched us so curiously when we arrived. We must have truly been a sight to behold. Three fae warriors half-dressed and one human-looking girl barefoot in a bloody, see-through shift.
“They all want to use me.”
A snap of the creature’s fingers once again drew my eye back to where she stood over the tub. The basin had finished sprouting from the winding vines and was now filled to the brim with water so hot the steam had already begun to fog up the glass of the window overlooking the court sprawling far below.
She waited, unmoving, until I finally understood what she meant for me to do. I fought the urge to hide from this strange creature and instead, made myself more vulnerable in front of her. I had to peel the shift away from where it clung to my body, a mixture of blood, mud, and sweat plastering it to my skin. I dropped it unceremoniously at my feet before climbing cautiously into the soapy water.
I had to fight the urge to let out a very inappropriate moan as the hot water rose to envelope me.
No sooner had I settled into the tub than the creature suddenly had a sponge in her hand, which she immediately drove straight into the depths of the water between my thighs.
I let out a small shriek and snatched the sponge from her with a speed I didn’t know I possessed. She gave me a puzzled look, as if I was the odd one for not wanting a clawed stranger poking around between my legs.
With nothing to occupy her otherwise, the creature returned to staring at me with her wide, unblinking eyes. “When you say they all try to use you, you speak of the lord of this court, too, do you not?”
The hair on the back of my neck rose again as I realized my mistake. My hands stopped working the sponge over my mud-caked legs and mouth dropped open, but before I could scramble together an apology, the creature’s mouth once again curled up in its imitation of a smile.
“No need to worry about your words reaching the lord’s ears, fae. Though we serve the master of this court, our allegiance lies only with ourselves.”
Relief washed through me, even as I reminded myself that she could be lying. Though, even as I thought it, I felt myself wanting to believe her. What motivation would she have for lying to me? I wasn’t about to confide my deepest secrets in her either way.
“Ourselves?”
The creature cocked her head at me. “I’ve never met a fae like you before. Are you sure you’re one of them?”
I glanced at the door where, I realized for the first time, the steady thud of Shiel’s fist against it had finally stopped. Part of me was surprised he gave up so easily—but then again, perhaps he finally noticed the door had already thickened to nearly twice the size it was before. Even Shiel knew when he was beaten, it seemed.
“I’m not sure of anything,” I admitted. “That’s why we’re here. To find out.”
Something inside the creature shrank back at that. She didn’t move physically, but it was as if some small light dimmed inside her eyes.
