Page 24 of Royal Captive
“Assist me,” she called out, glaring at me.
Guards stepped forward and took over as I struggled and bucked.
“Yes, keep it up. I know a few who will pay double for a girl who still has her spirit,” commented the woman airily.
I twisted in the guard’s arms, desperately turning back to Alihandro. His face was a careful, blank mask as they carried me down the stairs. Voices were all around me. The ‘customers’ had already arrived.
Holy gods, there were so many people gathered.
Fae, human, male, female … How had a hundred people crowded into the downstairs parlor in such a short amount of time? Music played lightly from somewhere in the room, at odds with the frenzied excitement of the crowd.
A tiny girl with mousy brown hair gaped at me, an appetizer tray in her hands from serving the patrons. Hungrily, I eyed the small morsels of tightly rolled fish and sauce, trying to remember the last time I’d eaten. It smelled kind of bad, but I was hungry.
“Don’t you dare; you’ll get whipped,” she cautioned me, her brown eyes widening as she turned away. The blonde woman glared at her, then clasped her hands together with relish at the awaiting crowd.
“Sit and wait for the show to start,” she commanded me.
I thought about telling her where to shove it, when the brown haired girl was back, but this time without the tray.
“Smile stupidly and keep your eyeson the floor,” she whispered fiercely, voice hard for someone of such small stature. She spoke with an air of authority and experience that I’d be foolish to ignore, so I did as she said, stretching the corners of my mouth out into what I hoped was a smile and not a grimace.
“Yikes. OK, well, just keep your eyes downcast.”
The girl adjusted the gauzy fabric around me, fretting here and there until making a noise of satisfaction. She sat herself down on the armrest of my chair, crossing her legs and putting her arms over her chest to push her breasts up. Not that she needed to—the bright red, low-cut top already practically pointed to them. “My name is Thazel. We’ll get you through this. The first week is the hardest.”
Keeping my eyes down was hard when I wanted to take in everything going on around me. A few glanced my way, but Thazel was magnificent, drawing attention to herself andalways redirecting the ‘customer’ to another girl across the way. Hopefully not Annie or anyone else I knew.
“I heard the princess was due to arrive soon. This her?” The fae male in front of me reminded me of Ferar, but was twice his size. His flaming red hair was long. Several hoop earrings glinted from his ears and nose.
I glanced at Thazel, but she was still busy with the last male who’d come at me.
“Barthos! There you are! I haven’t seen you in weeks!” I started as I recognized Shyllon, gliding across the room like my personal savior, a keen gleam in his eyes. Barthos gave a bow of his head, hand tucked into his chest. He allowed Shyllon to lead him away, giving me a longing glance.
Shyllon ignored me, the bastard.
The blonde woman kept me there for at least an hour. I was sick with anxiety and fear. Dread and guilt filled my empty stomach as I watched Thazel disappear upstairs with a fae male.
From somewhere in the depths of the house, a bell tinged lightly. The blonde woman glided to the middle of the room, throwing out her arms dramatically. “You all know what this means! If you are not staying the night, it’s time to go! But before you do, we have a little show for you all!”
All around the room there was a slight mad dash as fae grabbed at males and females alike in a last-minute, desperate bid to snag someone for the night.
I stood from my little makeshift throne on shaky legs, unwilling to believe I’d made it through unscathed. I should run. I should hide. I—
“Put on a show another time. I’m paying to keep her to myself tonight. Gotcha!” Shyllon’s friend Barthos was back, wrapping a massive arm around my waist and grinning down at me as he tossed the blonde women a bag of coins. He was large enough that next to him, for the first time in my life, I felt like adainty woman. His eyes were glazed over with drink. “Come on, sweetheart. I got a present for you! I won the bidding war!”
Barthos sniggered uncontrollably at his own joke, gesturing crudely to the bulge in his pants. He gestured wildly over to a group of fae males including Shyllon, who all wore grumpy, pissed off expressions. Alihandro was at Shyllon's shoulder, listening intently as Shyllon whispered into his ear. I blinked and Alihandro was gone.
The blonde sniffed but walked off, weighing the pouch of money in her hand.
What did I do? Surely I wasn’t expected to …you know.
“Barthos! One last drink for good luck!”
Shyllon clapped Barthos on the back like they were old friends, shoving a goblet under his chin. Barthos grinned and downed it in one go.
I tried to beg Shyllon with my eyes to intercede, but his gaze was glued to watching Barthos down the drink.
“Up you get.” Barthos swatted my backside hard enough to jolt me, and my feet moved forward of their own volition as I was forced to leave Shyllon behind. We joined the line of girls and others ascending the stairs for the night. Most of us paired off with fae partners. The ones that didn't peeled off to the right. All those with partners went to the left.
