Page 73 of Shade of Ruin

Cole steps out of the building then, the door shutting behind him. “It’s set up. Just go in there, and they’ll take care of you.”

I know that Lee’s wondering why I’m bringing Sia with us instead of just ignoring her like most people that are against slavery would do. It would have been easy enough to ignore her even if I hadn’t wanted to use her powers. We could have sent her back to wherever she lives and come here.

But she’s not treated like a living person. Like someone who deserves kindness or happiness, and I don’t even know what we’re going to do. If Lee thinks I’d enjoy it, I’m sure that Sia will too. At least more than she’d have enjoyed that steel collar around her neck. Even if it’s just an excuse for her not to wear that collar for a few more hours.

“Thanks, Cole. Now, you and Darian go do boy things.” I give him a smile and lead the way into the building, not at all afraid of what I’m going to find. It’s an unusual sensation, trusting Cole and Lee. Not knowing what I’m walking into but walking in without any fear at all.

Even in Draenyth.

Which is why it’s so surprising when a satyr is standing behind a desk at the end of a hallway. Inside the extremely large building is just the one hallway with dozens of doors branching off and ending at the satyr.

The walls and doors are made of a bright white wood that’s been stained. Symbols are marked on each of the doors in what looks like blood, but I barely notice them. The satyr’s eyes are focused on me, and I walk straight toward him. Lee and Sia are right behind me, but the satyr’s eyes don’t turn to either of them.

He looks indecent with his bare chest moving down to a fur-covered abdomen as his human-like upper-half blends withwhat appears to be a goat’s hind-quarters. I try not to stare at the obvious erection that keeps him from standing too close to the desk.

“Good afternoon,” he says, his voice smooth and stately, not at all what I’d imagined when I’d seen him. “I assume that you are Lord Cole’s betrothed?” he asks.

I nod, and it’s only then that his eyes move to Lee and Sia, and on Sia they linger. “You have a djinn?”

“Yes, will that be a problem?” I say it with as much coldness as I can muster. I have no idea whether the satyr sees through my attempt at seeming noble. Most likely he does since it’s not only High Fae that can tell that I’m a Wyrdling, and there’s no way that any Wyrdling was brought up to act like a noble.

The satyr continues to stare for a few moments before shaking his head. “We do what we can for the House of Flames. Its patronage is how we manage to pay the best nymphs in all of Draenyth. Even if catering to a djinn would be insulting to any other ecstatic springs, we will make sure that evensheenjoys herself.”

I almost lash out at him, but Lee’s hand on my wrist stops me. The satyr walks around the desk, and that’s when I notice the overflowing cloth coin purse on the desk in front of him.

My other hand balls into a fist, my nails digging into my palm, as we follow the satyr to one of the doors. My anger is buzzing inside me like lightning in a bottle, and I have to remind myself not to let my emotions steer this boat. I’m not in Blackgrove or the middle of a forest. I’m in Draenyth, where my magic will get me executed.

He puts his hand against the wood, and the symbol shimmers and fades. The door swings open, revealing a room with a large pool inside of it. The floor is paved in smooth river stones, and a haunting melody reverberates through the room, soft and demanding.

It’s so much darker than I’d imagine, the edges of it barely lit at all by the candles floating above the pool. Under the water is nothing but inky blackness, the current flowing from one side to the other almost like a…river.

There are water nymphs hidden in a room behind where the satyr stood! That’s why he called it the ecstatic springs! The song they sing and the water they bathe in is known to make people forget everything else. Everything except their lust and ecstasy.

My eyes open wide, but it seems that I’m the only one who didn’t know what this place was.

When the satyr says, “Place your hand against the door when I have gone, Lady,” no one seems perturbed at all. “This will lock it to everyone except you and me,” he continues. “When you are ready to leave, simply get dressed, and put your hand on the door. It will open at your touch.”

He nods, not giving me a chance to say another word, and shuts the door behind him. I glance around at Lee and Sia, both of whom are still acting extremely awkward. There’s nothing I can do, but maybe getting into the water and letting some of the nymph’s magic wash over us will help them both to lighten up.

I put my hand on the door and turn to them. “I… I haven’t ever been around nymphs. Since I’m a Wyrdling…”

Lee chuckles. “Don’t worry about it, Maeve. You may end up a little more lost than us, but I won’t let anything bad happen.”

I nod to her, and she walks to the edge of the darkness. Sia walks to another side, the darkness enveloping her as well. Then I hear boots being kicked off and realize that this is a bath. That means no clothing. I’m beginning to rethink this entire idea. At least it’s just the three of us and Cole and Darian aren’t here.

I figure that if I can’t see them, they can’t see me. I back against the wall and begin to take off my clothes. The simple gown, in comparison to the one I’d worn to dinner with Casimir, is much easier to remove. Sure, there’s still some corset strings,but compared to the layers and layers of last night, this is easy. I toss the silk and satin dress far away from the water, and quickly pull my undertunic off, tossing it on top of the dress.

I hear the soft splash of someone sliding into the pool and it helps me to get up the courage to do the same. I sit down on the edge and put my feet in the water. Warmth like I can’t remember flows through my feet and up my body. It’s nothing like a normal bath or dip in the river. My body is drinking it in, and there’s no way I’ll ever have enough. I slip the rest of my body into the water and let that warmth flow through me.

The song that floats through the air seems louder. Soft melodies sung by multiple nymphs. I don’t know the words. I don’t even know if therearewords. The only thing I’m sure of is it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. My back rests against the lip of stone as I sit on a boulder that provides the perfect seat in the dark water.

Every muscle in my body seems to release the tension in it that’s been building for two months. Ever since that first day that I accidentally tried to kill Hazel. A memory flashes through me that I haven’t thought of in a very long time.

It’s the day I moved in with Aunt Prudence and Uncle Trevor. I’d nearly forgotten that day. Vesta had been with me, her expressionless face had stared down my Aunt and Uncle. She’d forced them to take me in. This was before they’d had money. It was before they’d begun receiving the money set aside for me by my mother, the Queen of Shadows. They’d been poor back then. They’d had a small farm, but neither Trevor nor Prudence had been good farmers, and mostly they grew food that even they didn’t want to eat, much less that anyone would want to buy.

Their livestock was slightly better off, but they had little enough of that, mostly just goats. My father had always helped them out, and I think they depended on his kindness much more than they ever let on.

But that day, I’d shown up with tears barely dried on my cheeks after my father had disappeared three days before. I’d spent those three days living in the trees, trying to survive the heartache that filled me. My father was gone, and even Vesta couldn’t tell me where he was.

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