Page 7 of The Maleficent Faerie
“We’re heading to my camp,” he says. “We’ll spend the night there, then continue toward Ru Gallamet tomorrow.”
“And what are you going to do to me?”
A low chuckle rolls from him. His fingers skate along my spine, the claws scratching my skin lightly and raising goosebumps all over my body. “I believe you already know the answer to that question, Princess.”
We’ve been riding for over an hour, judging by the angle of the sunlight filtering through the pine trees. I’m strangely cold; it’s all I can do not to shiver as I lie on my belly, draped over the Void King’s steed.
My need to relieve myself is becoming more urgent the longer I’m in this position. I haven’t emptied my bladder since we left the summer palace this morning. We arrived at the Lifegiving Festival in a hurry and we left in a hurry, so there was no time.
Strange how, in spite of the greater peril, the immediate need of my body blazes at the forefront of my mind, driving everything else into the background. I’m going to have to ask the Void King to stop and let me piss. My other option is to soil myself, which I absolutely refuse to do.
“Can we stop for a moment?” He doesn’t answer, so I say it again, louder. “Stop for a moment.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to—relieve myself.”
He scoffs. “You think I’m falling for that? Think again, Princess.”
“Do you want me to piss on your—what is this thing you’re riding, anyway?”
“A type of Endling.”
An Endling—oh goddess, I’ve heard dreadful tales of those. They are demons of darkness the Maleficent One pulls straight out of the Void—hideous creatures of ash and smoke and teeth. In the years immediately after he cast the curse, the Endlings terrorized villages all along the border, until Dawn’s father built the walls higher with the help of my mothers and other Caennith Fae. They’d add to the walls, and the Endlings would swarm up higher, crawling over the top, until finally the Caennith Fae placed spikes of charmed crystal that must stay forever lit, forever glowing, to ward off the denizens of the dark.
And now I’m lying on an Endling. Which explains the cold that’s been seeping into my limbs since the ride began.
Fear and cold spike the need in my gut, and I bite my lip to keep from whimpering. “If you don’t stop, I really will piss on your Endling.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’d rather not soil my dress.”
He ignores me. After a few minutes I try again, desperation searing my voice. “Please—I won’t try to run. You offered me courtesy if I respect you.”
“I’ve seen no signs of respect.”
“I happen to be ungracefully bound to this monster. There aren’t many signs of respect I can perform in this position.”
“So in a different position, you’d be willing to perform a sign of respect?” There’s a darkly suggestive twist in his tone.
Is he—is he flirting with me? Or mocking me?
“I’ll do anything if you’ll pause and let me have a little privacy,” I reply.
“Fitzell,” he bellows to the female knight just ahead of us. “Ride on, and we’ll catch up in a moment. The Princess needs to piss!”
A guffaw bursts from the riders ahead, and my cheeks flush scarlet. The things I’m going to do to him once I don’t have to hide my magic anymore—
The Void King’s steed jerks to a halt, and the shadows binding me loosen and slither away, evanescing. I slide off the mount and scan the forest for some bushes—anything to hide behind.
But there’s nothing. Tall leafless trunks stretch high above earth littered with decomposing pine needles. No undergrowth at all.
The Void King dismounts. His steed remains motionless, ribbons of translucent shadow trailing from its ebony coat and fading into the air like smoke.
“Take care of it,” he orders.
Shooting him a glare, I step behind one of the trees, keeping my back to him while I pee. Relief washes over me afterward, but I stay in the same position for a few minutes, muttering a chant to reinforce the glamour over my wings.
