Page 91 of Knight's End
One of the guards nodded to the other, and the younger man trotted off to verify Connor's statement.
We waited. And waited. And waited. My anxiety grew. I kept my face calm and confident, but I mentally asked Blue,Can you read any thoughts beyond this guard’s? What are they doing in the castle? Can you tell?
It seems like this is pretty much their standard intimidation technique. It also looks like they typically have the waterfall overflow the bridge once we pass, making visitors feel cut off. They’re discussing that in the guard tower right now.
Lovely. Good thing we have gargoyles.
They’ll ask us to leave those behind.
My stomach sank.What do you think our chances are? Shite. We need this. I need this.
This is just another head game. Don't let her win before we even see her.
I took a deep breath. He was right. I gave myself the pep talk that my mother used to give me, one I used to roll my eyes over. She used to say it when I’d lost a battle and typically wanted to toss her war map with all its little figurines across the room. “Perseverance wins the day. Not magic. Not strength. The ability to endure agony and keep fighting. That's what separates the wheat from the chaff. It's the difference between the strong and weak. Suffering is inevitable. But some people let it destroy them. Others use it to become more. You have to become more, Bloss.”
I am more, I chanted to myself.
We waited for more than an hour, when finally, and entourage seem to approach. Queen Shenna set atop a liter carried by four nude fairy men.
My eyes immediately tried to focus upward, on the queen and her white gown. Her blue hair was streaked with silver and her eyes were the large, luminescent orange many part-fae had. She herself didn’t have wings. I had to struggle to keep my eyes on her face because her nipples were clearly visible through her gown. The men who carried her litter were insanely attractive, young and oiled so their muscles gleamed. Their wings were folded against their backs, but I had no doubt they could take flight in an instant if a threat arose.
As I looked square into her eyes, I gave a small smile. She was clever, this doxy. It was quite a unique way to intimidate her more prudish visitors. Instead of a show of strength, she put on a blatant show of sexuality. There were no weapons on her or her fairy men, she showed an utter disregard for any threat we might pose. That in itself felt dismissive.
But I caught a flicker of movement in the sky behind her. It made me certain she had archers flying somewhere.
Perhaps I needed to take a leaf out of her book.
Blue interjected.I told the men your thoughts. Quinn’s the only one who’s in favor of nudism at the castle.
I fought a laugh.Of course, he is.
We watched the young men lower the Queen and help her alight from the litter. Her dress had slits up either side, that revealed a great deal of skin as she stood. Two of the men prostrated themselves before her and began kissing their way up her ankles, past her knees, toward her thighs. The other two started their kisses at her wrists and worked inward.
Shenna merely watched me as they kissed her.
This is sarding awkward,I thought.
Be careful, Dove.
Shock buzzed through me. Quinn’s voice in my head nearly made me fall over. I felt a hand on my waist and my hand automatically went down to cover it. I could feel him!
Holy sarding hell.
You have the world’s worst timing!I thought, as I stroked the back of his hand.
Are you joking? I came back just in time for an orgy,he laughed in my mind.
I turned to look up at him. His hands were on my waist, and though he laughed, his eyes were full of tears.
My chest tightened and my eyes drank in the sight of him hungrily. For the first time in nearly a week, I could see him. His pointed ears, his dark hair, his naughty grin. I pressed my lips together.That wish cost too much.
But he gave me a slight head shake.Let’s think of other things.
He was right. We had an audience. I had to stay focused.
I turned my head back to Shenna, but thought,I love you.
I love you, too, but be aware. I recognize one of them. He was originally from Lored. He's another mind-speaker.
