Page 100 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“I forget you are a stranger here, Grandson. They will be cared for as all those of royal elven blood are by the nannies and teachers we assign to them. They will be shaped and molded into erudite scholars and fearsome warriors. Some may even be chosen to be mages. The highest honor a female elf can have. Besides being blessed as a mother, that is.” He said the word as if it were a title and not a person.

How deep does their little test go? How long had they been perfecting it? Perfecting their bloodlines. And what did this mean for the future of their race? His eyes flitted toward Arendir’s children. They did not appear inbred, but he had not heard one of them speak. Could the purity of magic and blood have warped their minds? He didn’t want to stay and find out. He wanted to leave as soon as he could.

Tharan downed his wine and smiled politely as Arendir introduced the rest of the women. His head swirled. Elven wine was known to be strong, but he did not expect it to bethisstrong.

Arendir looped an arm around Tharan’s and hauled him to his feet. With his vision blurred, he looked desperately for Hopper and Sumac but couldn’t focus enough to find them in the spinning ballroom.

“Now, why don’t you get to know these ladies more? We can discuss your choice in the morning.” He led Tharan down the marble steps of the dais, where the women waited with open arms.

Tharan looked back at his mother in desperation, but she only smiled. Glee flickered in her green eyes. Had he been tricked again, or was this something he could easily get out of? The women did not seem particularly fierce, but you never knew with elves. They looked docile but could be deadly underneath.

The women led him up the twisting spiral staircase to another wing of the castle overlooking the city. Tharan tried to spot any exits, but his head felt heavy and light simultaneously. The women laid him on a bed of satin and poured him another goblet of wine.

Only the redheaded one did not join in.

“We’re so happy to meet you,” the blonde one said. Tharan couldn’t remember her name. His pulse beat in his ears. He smiled politely at her.

“Water. Please, I need some water,” he said, his voice harsh like gravel in his throat.

The redhead, Callini, rushed over with a carafe of water and handed him a glass.

“Drink. The wine is strong.”

The other women hissed and shushed her.

“What’s going on here?” Tharan asked after he chugged the entire glass and the redhead poured him another.

“We’re here as a sampling,” the blonde woman said, dropping her dress to reveal her naked body. “You are to have your pick of us.”

“I… I can’t,” Tharan said, sitting up straight. “This isn’t right.”

The blonde knitted her brow. “You have to. I can’t go back to fucking my relatives. I can’t go back to that life.” Her blue eyes were full of desperation.

Tharan shook his head, trying to get rid of the fog surrounding his mind.

The other girls chimed in, “Please, please, please pick me.”

“Pick me, Lord Tharan. I will be good. I promise.” Every word dripped with desperation. Every word a plea for a bit of kindness.

Tharan threw up his hands.

“I can’t do this with any of you. It’s not right, and I’m not some stud to breed you.”

“This is our only hope of escaping a life of bedding our relatives,” the pregnant woman said, crawling toward him.

Tharan’s heart broke for them. They just wanted to escape the nightmare they’d been forced into. Focusing, he tried to clear his head. “Stop, all of you.”

The women stared at Tharan.

“I will not be bedding any of you tonight.”

An echo of disappointment rippled through the women. Some started crying, others let out a sigh of relief, and the redhead said nothing.

Tharan forced his thoughts to straighten through the fog. He needed to get out of here, but he also couldn’t leave them. They were desperate for a way out, just as he was. What other choice did he have but to take them with him? This would not bode well for his kingdom’s relationship with the elves, but he’d rather die with a clean conscious than live knowing he could’ve helped them and didn’t.

“We’re going to get out of here—all of us. You can live in the Woodland Realm or wherever you choose, but we must be quick. Can any of you hold a sword?”

The redhead and the pregnant woman noddedyes, while the others shook their headsno.

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