Page 49 of Courting the Fae Captain
Inside, a skeleton sat by a bolted-down table, its bones clamped with shackles at the wrist. Whoever it was must have been incredibly hated or done something unforgivable to deserve such treatment. I wrinkled my nose beneath the mask.Drowning … what a horrid way to go.
My attention turned to Raithe, who hovered below near a sizable hole in the rock wall. He gestured towards it, then sliced through the water until he disappeared from view. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach at the thought of what waited beyond … this was it.I might lay eyes upon my mother for the first time in years.And if she wasn’t there … I shook my head and forced myself to move. I didn’t want to go down that path. Not now.
The tunnel leading deeper into the cave beneath the island was dark, and it didn’t escape me that we’d never have found it without Raithe’s equipment. I frowned. At least one of us had their head on straight. Perhaps I was more nervous than I’d cared to admit. Still, I kept my eyes on Raithe and just kept swimming until the tunnel began to curve upwards and a light shone from beyond the surface.
Raithe waited for me a few metres from the top, gesturing once again, this time to tuck the pendant away.Right. We didn’t want to announce our arrival before we even made it inside. I slipped the pendant under my collar and nestled it between the girls, safe and snug for later.With that, Raithe and I swam to the top, breaking the surface ever so slightly a few metres from therocky shore. Torches rippled from sconces embedded into the rock walls, and a few crates and nets littered the cave nearby, but it appeared otherwise unoccupied.
We moved, silent and quick as we climbed out of the water and ducked behind the crates, both of our shadows in full play to avoid being seen. There was only one way through from here, so we crept forward cautiously, blending into the darkness where we could. I prayed to Brindere, father of luck, that no one would cross our path or notice the dripping trail of water we left. What I wouldn’t give to wield fire right now. A little warmth, a lot of hiding any evidence of our being here.
But we were shadow masters, and, honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. Especially not as voices rang out from up ahead, and we were both able to wield our power to conceal ourselves within the darkness. I held my breath as Raithe tugged me to him while two guards approached … then stopped right in front of us.
Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look.
The one on the left swigged from a canteen before smacking his lips. “So sick of being stuck on prison duty. Fucking Windaire has had it out for me ever since I witnessed him rutting that whore back at Domeratt.”
The other snorted as he popped an herbal chew smelling of clove and cinnamon into his mouth. “You’re lucky to still be alive if that’s the case. I hear he doesn’t take chances. I’m surprised he even bothered to stick his wife in this godsawful place instead of just killing her. Might have been the more merciful option.”
“Hmm.” Another swig of the canteen. “With the current Rite, I suppose we’ll be getting more females sent here soon. There’s already so many. Such a waste.”
“You know the Pentad would rather kill them than risk anyone learning what really goes on in them Rites. Where do you think all the coin comes from? All those nobles placing betsand buying wives. And that’s not even the worst part. All those females that are raped and impregnated, only for their babes to be stolen away and given to infertile wives.” My stomach twisted at that statement. Violently. The male continued, “It’s not right, even if they are females. They’re still Fae, noble Fae at that, not animals. Am I right?”
The first one sighed. “Nobody asked, Barnes, and nobody ever will. They don’t care about the females, and they don’t give a shit about the males guarding them either. We’re stuck down here for the foreseeable future unless Windaire carks it. They know where my family lives, Barnes. I can’t talk or leave my post. It’s my prison too. Best to just get on with it and look the other way.”
“Fuck, I hate it here.”
Silence for a moment. “Yeah, me too, mate. Me, too. Better get back to our rounds before the overseer notices we’re missing, eh? Shift’s almost over, at least. I still gotta finish up the cellblocks. I always need a break after walking through one before moving on to the other. Miserable fucking place. What about you?”
“Transit and the guards’ ward,” the other said. “Bloody mole work, checking everyone’s junk for contraband. What do they think’ll happen if a female somehow gets her hands on a book? She’ll be mildly entertained? Gods forbid, eh?”
“Yeah … it’s suffocating alright. Just don’t wake Morren when you check his room, or he’ll be pissed. The man’s been doing doubles since Allen fell off that fucking cliff.” The guards continued chatting as they peeled back the way they’d come, going their separate ways at a junction. I kept my eyes glued on the one set to patrol the cellblocks before he disappeared down the left walkway.Bingo.
A small part of me felt sorry for the guards. The Pentad weren’t picky about who they manipulated or forced into doingtheir dirty work, apparently. But then … if no one dared to take a stand, nothing would ever change. And I was done being someone else’s puppet.
“Let’s go,” I urged Raithe on, sneaking after the guard. He said nothing, but I felt his warmth at my back, never far from me. “Sounds like most of the guards are asleep. We should have a relatively clear path to the cellblocks.”
“Keep your guard up,” he whispered. “If anything happens, you take the first opportunity and you run, okay? They can’t do anything to me. But if they catch you…”
“I’m dead. I know.”
He grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I won’t allow that to happen.”
I squeezed his hand back, then we continued along the quiet tunnel for several minutes, careful to hang back far enough that the guard wouldn’t notice our presence, but close enough so we wouldn’t lose him. My nerves fluttered in my stomach, anticipation and fear both vying for attention. I was close to suggesting we turn back when the tunnel opened into a looming cavern with a small opening at the top. A waterfall trickled in through the crack, dropping to a half-moon pool at the end of the cave.And before it were rows upon rows of cells, all filled to the brim with hundreds of females in varying states of distress. My blood ran cold at the sheer number of them, and this was just one cellblock. The guard had mentioned two.
We crept forward and ducked behind a rock to keep hidden as we took a better look. The closer we got, the more my heart plummeted into my stomach. The conditions of the cells were horrible. Dirty, dishevelled cots and nothing but cold, hard stone beneath the females’ feet. And their clothes … scant more than ripped nightgowns and moth-riddled shawls to keep warm. There were braziers lit throughout the compound, but they would mean precious little in this colder weather. Withwinter here, they might very well freeze to death, unless there were other, more protected blocks that they switched between or a magical barrier of some kind. Some of the females I could see sported bruises and cuts visible even from afar as they held onto bars or paced their small living spaces. Other, more elderly females were curled up in their beds, not moving an inch.Tears pricked my eyes as I beheld them all.
“We have to get them out, Raithe,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “We have to.”
His white-knuckled fingers curled over the rock so hard I thought he might break it. “We will. And it kills me, but we can’t act tonight, Aeris. We need to know what we’re up against. As far as I can see, this is the only entrance and exit, and that’s a lot of females to sneak through a small tunnel. There’s no way we’d get them all out. Most of them are too weak to swim and would likely drown trying to escape. I don’t have enough equipment for everyone.”
I swore under my breath. “We can’t leave them like this. We?—”
A scream drowned out my words, and we both jerked our heads toward the sound as a female was dragged by her honey blonde hair out towards the crescent moon pool. The guard thrust her onto the ground, then backhanded her cheek. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but his lips were moving as he leaned in close. Then he ripped her nightgown open to reveal a back lined with red, raw lines. He raised a whip, ready to slash it against her skin. Another guard appeared from the side, dragging a female who thrashed against her captor. She was speaking, too, though it appeared her words were falling on deaf ears. She pulled and kicked, trying to reach the first female about to be whipped.
Raithe stiffened, his muscles forming a wall of impenetrable steel. I swore I felt the wrath emanating from him in waves, eventhough his shadows were locked away behind the invisible veil blocking our power.
“Raithe?” I leaned towards him and placed a hand on his arm. His eyes were glued on the females, on the one off to the side. I followed his line of sight, studying her dark brown hair and blue eyes, ones I knew so well in the male beside me. “She’s your mother, isn’t she?”
He nodded, almost imperceptibly, his gaze unwavering.
