Page 64 of Wingless Crow: Part 1

“You think so?”

“Why not? King Tiane likes to play. Libelle told me the best sex they had was when he chased her. She flew out of his bedroom and he grabbed her so hard, he scratched her leg, drawing blood.”

“Blood?” I repeated, hoping I’d heard her wrong.

“Just a scratch from his nails.” She waved a dismissive hand. “It was an accident. She said he grew so hard, he fucked her out on the patio, not even bothering to get back inside. Come to think of it,” she tapped her bottom lip with the tip of her slim finger, “that was the only time she told me about them having sex. Maybe the king prefers the chase to the actual deed.”

If he only had sex once during the three-month relationship with Libelle, it might explain why he never got anyone pregnant yet. Chasing alone didn’t result in babies.

I didn’t remember the king ever getting hard for me, not even when he fondled me. Sitting in his lap, I would’ve felt if he did, wouldn’t I? Did he even find me attractive?

Or maybe Dove was right, and he was postponing us getting together to savor it for longer. Maybe he knew once we’d do it, he’d lose interest quickly. Either way, with his track record, I couldn’t count on remaining in his favor for long. I had to use something other than sex to keep the king’s wandering attention.

After I’d come back to my room that evening, I thought about the game War of Kings again. I had to learn how to play it, and not just because it’d give me more time to spend with the king. I had to become a worthy opponent for him to enjoy playing it with me.

Being King Tiane’s lover would never be enough. I had to become his friend, someone he’d need at his side for decades to come. When he’d lose any physical attraction for me, when I would inevitably grow old, the king would still have to find me irreplaceable—as a friend, as a companion, as his new jester. Whatever it took, I’d do it.

It was clear to me that there wasn’t anything else I could do in the palace that mattered. Whatever chore I tried around here could be done faster and better by anyone else.

If my purpose in life was to entertain, then entertain I must. I should become the king’s best friend. Someone he would never send away from Elaros or lock in the menagerie.

“Brebie?” I asked when my snappy housekeeping angel delivered my dinner that night, along with a briefing about the royal celebration I was to attend upon the return of the hunting party. “Do you know how to play War of Kings?”

She huffed. “Why would I? I have enough things to keep me busy without wasting my time on silly games.”

“You see, but that’s currently the favorite game of King Tiane. If I could learn how to play it, it may gain me more attention from him.”

My mentioning the king’s name made her take my words more seriously. “You really think you’ll need to know how to play it?”

I released a long breath. “I’m afraid I need any help I can get at this point. Do you know about the king’s menagerie?”

The way her eyes leaped from me to the wall told me she knew all about the place that waited for me if I failed in Elaros.

“It’s not a suitable place for a sentient being,” she muttered under her breath.

“You think?” I smiled without any mirth. “Trust me, I’ll do anything to avoid being sent there.”

She tapped a hoof against the floor, giving me a sideways glance.

“You know who is really good at that game? So good that he isn't even welcome to play with the king anymore?”

“Who?” I asked eagerly.

“High General Voron.”

“Oh…him.”

My enthusiasm dampened.

She propped her hands on her hips. “Something happened between you two, didn’t it? Did you have a fight?”

“No.” I rolled my eyes with more drama than was necessary. “We aren’t close enough to have fights. Why would you even think that?”

“Voron has been acting weird lately when I tell him about your day.”

“You tell him about my days?”

She nodded. “Every morning after breakfast since the day you got here.”

---