Page 15 of The Jester

I stumble to step over Rawk’s legs as he moves me.

“Alana...” Kayan tries to meet my gaze but I can’t look at him.

“I’m all right,” I whisper. But I’m not all right. None of us are.

One by one, the others are processed, stripped of their dignity and their freedom. When it’s done, the slavers leave, their laughter echoes through the halls, and the cell falls quiet.

“What do you think happened to Rosalie?” Kayan whispers.

I swallow hard. “Perhaps she escaped.”

There is a long pause, then Kayan whispers, “You don’t believe that, do you?”

I do not answer him; the truth will do us no favours tonight.

Chapter Six

ELDRION

Below, Luminael descends into the gloom of yet another twilight. I have seen too many nights in this city, yet it is mine to command. So, I cannot leave it.

Once a shining beacon of all that was good in the kingdom, the city now lies in a state of decay and despair. Even from this height, I can smell the stench of poverty and hopelessness wafting up from the slums.

It was not always this way. There was a time when Luminael was a place of beauty and enchantment, when fae of all kinds flocked to its gleaming spires and lush gardens. But that was long ago, before the world turned cold and cruel, before the darkness began to creep in.

A knock on the door interrupts my brooding thoughts. “Enter,” I call out, not bothering to turn around.

The door creaks open and I tighten my grip on my whisky glass.

“My lord . . .”

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. “What is it, Finn?”

The jester has a habit of interrupting me when I most want to be alone. When he doesn’t answer, I turn around, allowing my large black wings to unfurl, understanding exactly how intimidating they are for a Shadowkind who has no magic and stunted wings.

Dipping his head low and bending his body into a bow, Finn mutters, “I bring news from the outskirts.”

I pace towards him. “News?”

Finn swallows hard, and looks up at me from beneath his mask. “There has been an incident, my lord. One of the forest villages was raided by the Gloomweavers. They... they took all of the fae.”

I frown. “An entire village?” Then I chuckle. “The Gloomweavers are getting brave.”

“My lord –”

I wave a dismissive hand. “The forest folk are nothing to me, and we need the Gloomweavers to keep trade moving in the city. The trade in lower born fae is something that has sustained us for generations.” I narrow my eyes, taking in the piercings on Finn’s wings that tell the story of his centuries-long servitude to my family.

“Yes, Lord Eldrion but –” he swallows forcefully and draws himself up. From beneath his dark mask, his eyes snag on mine and cause me to allow him to speak.

“My lord, it was Alana’s village. She was one of them.”

Her name hits me like a physical blow. Alana. I turn slowly to face Finn, my eyes blazing with a fury that makes him cower. “What did you say?”

“Alana, my lord,” he repeats, his voice barely above a whisper. “She was among those taken.”

“Alana is with the Gloomweavers?”

Finn nods, steepling his fingers together and worrying his lower lip with his teeth. “I believe she will be traded at tomorrow’s market.”

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