Page 14 of Prince of Never

‘Sometimes,’ I said, studying her strange reaction.Her rounded ears and the fact that she was pretty in a human way, rather than an otherworldly way, confused me.‘Aren’t you human?’Maybe I was wrong.Perhaps there were a lot of different species of fae.

‘Oh yes, but I’ve been here since birth.I’m a changeling.The fae placed a baby with my family and I was brought here.’

‘What?’I asked, so stunned my mouth fell open.Of course, I knew the myths around fae taking human children, swapping them out for their own young.Myth and literature were ripe with the tales.But I’d always assumed changelings were just stories told to explain difficult babies and keep unruly children obedient.‘And you’ve been a servant this whole time?’I managed to ask as I tried to wrap my head around the whole barbarous thing.

‘Yes.It’s not so bad, really.Although, the master does have terrible moods sometimes.It’s best to stay away from him when he gets like that, if you can.’

‘Don’t worry, I plan to stay far away from him at all times,’ I muttered.

‘Oh.Well, why don’t we get started?’she asked hurriedly, picking up a few bottles and placing them on a trolley.

‘What was that?’I asked.

‘What?’

‘You reacted strangely when I said that.’She knew more than she was saying, and a sense of foreboding began to build in my stomach.

She sighed.‘You’ve been put on the dinner staff.’

‘What does that mean?’I asked indignantly as my brain struggled to grasp the thread of the information.

‘It means the master has requested that you serve him at dinner,’ Sarah said, an apologetic look on her face.

‘Oh really,’ I said, darkness tinging my words.So it wasn’t enough for him to kidnap me and make me a servant, now I was to serve him at dinner?Unbelievable.

‘Don’t worry, though.He won’t be home for dinner tonight,’ she said brightly, as if offering me a silver lining.Which I supposed she was.

‘Thank God for small mercies,’ I muttered bitterly, reciting words my mother often said with far more gratitude than I could ever muster.

‘Come on, if we don’t move quickly, Madam Hetia will give us the worst tasks to do.’

‘That the old crow’s name?’I asked.From her shocked expression, I took that as a yes.‘Right, well, I’d be happy to avoid her, too, so let’s go.’

Sarah nodded and pushed the trolley while I followed her, examining my surroundings closely.If I was going to escape, it would be good to know my way around this place.We were rolling down a long, wide hallway complete with vaulted ceiling and marble pillars.The walls were decorated with portraits of fae, some who bore a resemblance to Tarian and others who didn’t.I imagined these were probably relatives of his.How many were still living?How long did fae live?My curiosity grew despite myself.

‘I’ll answer your questions as best I can,’ Sarah said with a tentative smile.

I was going to have to work on my poker face.‘I hardly know where to start.Tarian said he was the Unseelie Prince?’

‘Yes, the master is the prince of the Unseelie Court.The Seelie Court is ruled by the Sun King, Solas.Though you should try not to mention that name around the master.There is a great animosity between them,’ she explained.

‘And Tarian doesn’t rule the Unseelie Court?’

Sarah looked around to make sure no one was listening.‘You really shouldn’t use the master’s name so freely,’ she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

‘Why?I’m not going to call himmaster.’I shuddered at the very thought.Hard pass.I’d rather eat snakes.

‘Then Prince Tarian would be fine.’

I wanted to argue, but it would be unfair of me to get her punished for my anger.‘Very well,PrinceTarian doesn’t rule the Unseelie Court?’

‘No, the Unseelie Court is ruled by his mother, the Shadow Queen.She’s even worse than him, if you can believe that,’ Sarah said, then clapped her hand over her mouth as if she was shocked at herself and I stifled a laugh.

She stopped outside a room and opened the door.It seemed to be a sitting area with expensive looking furniture that I assumed was the height of fashion in this realm.There were ashes in the fireplace and a book on a side table, but other than that, it didn’t seem as if the room was used at all.

‘Does his mother live here?’I asked, taking a duster Sarah handed to me.Cleaning was the last thing I felt like doing, but she was answering my questions so I felt obligated to help.I ran the duster over the mantle, the ornate clock, a collection of bottles containing who knew what.

‘No, she lives in the palace.This is the master’s home.Though she does visit a deal more than he would like, and it always puts him in a terrible mood.’

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