Page 6 of Royal Captive
I didn’t know what to think anymore.
Prophecy … They kept mentioning a stupid prophecy. I didn’t believe in such things.
At a clap of the king’s hands, servants rushed in from behind the guards with rags and mops, a few men gathering the bodyand the head while the women cleaned up. With a start, I took in their rounded ears, downcast eyes, and quick efficiency.
Humans.
As Cassus slowly backed away from Fennis and Ferar’s body, the king had one last thing to say.
“I changed my mind, thanks to your hunter friend. Take the human and the half-breed to one of your manors.” He glared at me like I was nothing more than a bit of dung stuck to his shoe. So much for ‘honored guest.’ “I want her worked so hard that no one will ever mistake her for a queen. Perhaps I’ll start taking after my grandfather. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”
I had no idea what he was talking about, but the human servants in the room flinched and quickly found somewhere else to be.
Cassus grit his teeth but gestured to the two guards standing over me. They dragged me behind Cassus, despite my best efforts to dig my heels in. Two more guards marched Ellis behind me.
We passed through the massive front doors and down a short flight of steps, pushed and shoved the entire way. Where were we going?
Two
EVE
Sunlight exploded in my eyes as we emerged into daylight, but it was different daylight than I was used to seeing. The sun was a pink crescent moon in the sky, casting a golden and pink glow over everything as if it were in dawn’s first sleepy stretches. Greedily, I took in the sweeping landscape. A large mountain rising high to the distant west. Its peak disappeared into the clouds.
“You there! Move!”
I jerked back to reality as a man with an armful of crates clipped me. The courtyard bustled with activity, and I had stupidly come to a halt in the middle of it.
People tended to horses. Court officials and women bustled about with herbs and spices, breads and cheeses. Everyone moved with a firm purpose. Well, everyone who had rounded, normal ears.
So many humans.
I wanted desperately to ask my guard if they were all slaves, like Peri had said. While they were all clearly working class, theyall looked clean, healthy and well-fed with all their teeth, which was more than I could say for most of the kingdom back home.
Cassus barked some orders as a small human boy brought his horse out to him. The guards shifted, taking Ellis and me over to a large metal cage that was laughably similar to the one Viana, Queen of the Southern Realm, imprisoned Cassus and Ferar in.
The same Viana who’d betrayed us to Cassus and Ferar, and the reason we were here at all.
Fucking Viana.
And the cage wasn’t empty.
Thunder rumbled out in the distance despite the lack of any storm clouds. A stray breeze lifted my air, the change in the air tangible.
A wave of unease went through the market.
Ellis grunted in pain and I grit my teeth as the guards opened the cage and threw us in, sticking their swords after us so the dozen humans already inside didn’t rush through the door. It slammed shut behind us with a finality I felt in my bones.
“Oh gods, Lady Crestwell! No! They captured you as well?”
It took me half a second to realize the horrified voice was talking to me. I was Lady Crestwell, technically. No one had really ever referred to me by my title, though. Not much use for those back at the manor.
I spun around as much as I could while being pressed against a dozen other dirty, smelly bodies. Ellis bumped against me and tensed, like a string pulled so taut it was about to snap.
“Anne?! How did you get here?” I stared at the other sweaty faces, confused. Many of them looked oddly familiar. Was that the guard in the back who’d competed with me? “How didanyof you get here?”
Anne wiped tears from her face with the back of her hand. “It’s just like the black-haired fae said, isn’t it? The minute the … thing exploded or whatever it was, we all ran. I almost madeit back to the village before everything went black. When I woke up, I was here, with all of them.” She jerked her thumb behind her, but obviously meant everyone.
“You all got here like that?” I asked dumbly. Murmurs of assent greeted me.
