Page 64 of Terragnata and the Heir of the Earth

I covered my face with a pillow and groaned into it. Cas’s words rang through my head, the truth in them searing. What did I want?

Fayzien dead, Gia safe, Leiya and co returned, my family back, Cas’s respect.

Ezren’s naked body tightening around me, his soft co?—

I stopped the image before it consumed me, removing the pillow to see Olea hovering over me. “Yes?”

“Here ye go,” she extended her hand towards me. In her palm, she held a long and round glass object, resembling a small cucumber.

My face scrunched. “What is it?”

She raised her brows, and then it dawned on me—a tool to pleasure oneself. My cheeks reddened.

Olea giggled. “Ah, yes, I forgot yer former ken es ‘uman! And they dinna value female pleasure.”

I just looked at her in disbelief, and she continued. “Though, I dinna know ef the Fae would either, ef there wasna need for et. But et isna like ‘umans—ye canna bed a male once an’ swell weth a babe. For the Fae, they say et takes an average a’five hundredtimes. The males realized them females had te enjoy et, ef they were gonna get em’ te do et ‘at many times! Many a couple use thes fer… how shall I say, starten’ the fire. Dinna worry, thes canna crack, the glass es the strongest made. And, et es spelled te move weth vibration when ets en ye.”

At that point, Olea must have been tired of my gaping at her extended hand. She put the glass object into a table drawer next to my bed. “Yer nervous, ets okay. But I’m tellin’ ye, ets normal for a female te take her pleasure en her own hands. Ye canna think straight unless ye relieve yerself. I’ll leave et here, ef ye wanna try.”

With that, she winked at me and pulled me up from the bed, bringing me to the bath.

“Do the Faealways insist on bathing this frequently?” I asked, hiding my wince at the hot water on my still-healing foot. “Or do I just particularly smell?”

Olea giggled as she brushed my dry hair, which fell out of the copper tub. “Naye, te either. But ye’ve been a bet down since ye came here, and my ma’ always said baths are key en settin’ the mind right again.”

“Olea, where are you from? Your accent… reminds me of someone.”

“I’m from the North, miss! Panderen born n’ raised. Me voice es akin te the, ehm, well the lower classes. Ets got a’ bet more grit n’ es a bet less refined.”

“I’m not sure if this is a personal question, but do you have magic? Like some Fae do?”

“No mess, I dinna have Fae powers. They say only the Fae weth the ol’ blood have the magic en em. But, ef yer askin’ me, et seems to be random,” she answered, resign in her words.

“I see.” I sensed she didn’t want to continue on the subject. “I have a favor to ask, a bit of an odd request. Is there a way for me to go underground? As you know, I spent the last few years in a forest, surrounded by Earth. The Earth calls to me, and here, well, I’m surrounded by stone and sea. Even if it’s just a dirt pit in the ground under the castle, being closer to the Earth would comfort me, I think. It would help me to, em, how you put it, get my head right.”

I closed my eyes and prayed to the gods that she wouldn’t see through my request. She stayed quiet a moment, either considering me or evaluating any ulterior motives. But she huffed and said, “I dinna know ef et will work, but me thenks there es an old chamber, deep under the palace, ‘at was used by practitioners a’ the old ways. I dinna know ef ets blocked off now, but I’ve ‘eard of Faeries playin’ down there in the dirt. Ef ets not blocked off, et could work for ye. But what’re ye gonna do there? Just sit alone en the dirt fer hours?”

I smiled at the convenience of her question. “Hmm, now that you mention it, perhaps I could read? Is there a library anywhere around here?” I asked, feigning all the innocence I could muster.

Olea putme in a simple riding dress, not free of a corset, but at least complete with a set of britches beneath the skirt, which I could tie at the hip if needed. Several layers of gauze also padded the britches to catch the flow. I faked a grateful smile when she gave them to me, cursing my choice in illness, for I realized I’d have to sacrifice a bit more blood if I were to keep the ruse up.

Apparently, the prince had requested I be dressed and delivered to him when ready, but since I awoke much earlier than usual, I would have a few hours until he expected me. And while the thought of speaking with Cas again made me see red, my mind wandered elsewhere.

Olea waited for me at the library entrance, which was marked by sweeping brass doors, citing that serving maids were not permitted to enter. I frowned at the rule but didn’t spend much time considering it. It only made my task easier.

I breathed in the scent of the parchment, and a wave of nostalgia came over me. I hadn’t been in a library since I’d come here last, and like typical Faerie children, Cas and I used to play hide and seek amongst the stacks. I would chase him around, trying to plant kisses on his cheeks, and he would run solely for the purpose of making me pursue him. The memory sent an ache through my chest.

Quiet stillness commanded the library, given the early hour, which meant any noise echoed through the large hall. The wide room housed maybe a dozen rows of books that ran towards the back of the hall, which quickly went from light-filled to dark, as the upper levels covered the back half of the room. Massive stained windows that told stories of the old Fae, casting prisms of color over the bookcases, adorned the front half of the library. In the middle of the room, separating the front from the back, a spiraling wrought-iron staircase wound up to the second and third floors. And if I remembered correctly, a trapdoor hidden somewhere in the library led to the lower levels.

I had spent much more time here than Cas. Books had been an escape for me even then, as they later were in Argention. I climbed to the second floor, sensing an undisturbed layer of dust upon everything. Luckily, I found a lit torch I could take to the back of the level. Just like I remembered, a sign marked the final shelf.Maps.

I let my fingertips brush the fading spines. Bunches of maps on parchment were bound and organized by region or topic. I found the Valfalla section, the largest booklet labeledCity Layouts Over the Years. I opened it and flipped to the last page, the most recent city map. I ripped it from the string binding and tucked it into my corset. I kept looking, letting my eyes run over each spine, each section-marker, but nothing near what I needed appeared. I almost gave up, wandering through the other aisles, not sure what to look out for. Eventually, another section-marker caught my eye:Architecture and Buildings.

I picked out my next target—The Palace of Valfalla and Its Thousand-Year Transformation. The booklet had many iterations of palace blueprints, but I settled on one from the mid-millennia, when practicing the old ways was commonplace. I scanned the parchment, finding three underground chambers similar to what Olea described, connected by a series of tunnels.

I tucked the paper under my corset with the other map and made my way through the stacks. As I turned the corner, I ran smack into a firm body I identified right away by the sinking feeling in my stomach. My blood went cold, and I looked up to piercing blue eyes.

“Well, hello there, Princess,” Fayzien purred.

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