by Allie Santos
“Because they are not mates. I’ve known Roark and Sabine for a long time like their sheep. This is all a show.”
I bit my lips to hold in my heartache and nodded. Even he thought it was just a way to show unity. Little did he know that Hag was going to use my blood to mimic a real bond, and I couldn’t even tell anyone. My shoulders slumped, and I blinked rapidly.
He observed me for a second, a confused expression on his face, but I wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Very well. We should not wait in here much longer. I would not want to raise suspicion,” he commanded, and I trailed after him with my head bowed.
We stepped through the smooth dark halls and down the stairs. My uneven gait slowed me, and the redhead Fae had to stop multiple times. He didn’t seem to mind, just patiently waited each time for me to be ready.
“How did that happen?” he asked so quietly I almost didn’t hear.
“Sabine thought it would be fun to toss me,” I said a little bitterly. “Roark had to set my bone back in place. I’m positive it’s sprained, and continuous walking hasn’t helped.” My voice got quieter with each word.
His eyes almost imperceptibly narrowed. He said nothing else as I stepped down the last stair. My hands fisted with nervousness as we turned the opposite way from the direction I’d walked in with Roark earlier.
I couldn’t help but hope I wasn’t being led to my death. Even if this guy was truthful and he was going to help us escape, what about Roark? Would he stay with that conniving psychopath?
A small part of me considered telling Roark and asking him to run with us, but I quickly discarded it. I couldn’t put the lives of the girls on the line like that.
Besides, Roark felt like he had a duty, and I wasn’t anyone to get in the way of something he had been working toward for decades. He didn’t even know I was his mate. And I fully intended to forget about all of this once I got out of this shithole.
We took the first turn out of many, into a long hallway with only one door at the end. The ominous feeling intensified as I took in the long stretch.
“You’re not going to lead me to my slaughter, are you?” I asked, only half-joking.
He chucked, but I couldn’t see his expression as the hall led us deeper into the darkness. As we got closer, my doubt compounded, my breathing picked up, and my hands got clammy. Shit, maybe I should run the opposite direction. At least try to escape, right?
Before I could freak out even more, we arrived at the door, and he pushed it open. The sound of water cascading and splashing intermingled with light chatter. I pushed past the Captain.
“Rae!” Rosalind exclaimed.
She climbed out of the rushing pool, and water slushed down her wet clothes that remained plastered to her body. She spared the Fae a wary glance before she approached me and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. “I hoped you were okay.”
I squeezed her back. Her hug somehow reminded me of my sister and sent a pang of homesickness through me. When she released me, I saw the other girls smiling at me as they stood in the pool, all except for Jasmine and Selina. They both sat staring off.
“Why do you guys have your clothes on?” I asked.
“Because they stunk and needed a wash,” Thea said, straight to the point. “I’ve been here the longest, and I was only allowed to wash at the beginning, and I think that was because of Bran…” She trailed off. “After he started screwing Sabine, the kind gestures went away.” She shrugged with a smile that hid the pain.
Eliza decided to interrupt the uncomfortable silence that descended. “Yeah, and I doubt washing machines exist here.”
“That was true… but I guess with magic who needs anything when you could make things happen,” Rosalind said lightly.
“That’s not how magic works,” I said. “I guess each Fae has a specific ability.”
“We have our clothing hand-washed,” the Fae interrupted. I wasn’t sure if he was joking. Every pair of eyes turned to pierce him with a hateful glance. His face remained perfectly impassive.
“I will step out and give you all privacy.” His gaze remained strictly straight forward as he stepped back, but then he seemed to change his mind and turned to me. The girls all inhaled sharply, and I felt their fear.
“I find that in front of the waterfall, words are more muffled,” he said, leaning close to my ear. With that cryptic comment, he turned and walked out.
The bright light seemed to go off above my head. I shucked my clothes off until I was in my underwear and bra, then walked into the water, clutching my dirty clothes. I dipped them and let them float to the top before I grabbed them again and waved the girls in the direction of the falling water.
“What—” Thea started, but I pushed through the water to clasp my hand over her mouth, interrupting her sentence. She seemed to get the unspoken demand in my eyes and nodded.
I motioned for her to take her clothes off and walked to stand in front of the waterfall. If anyone came in, they would just think we were rinsing our clothes off.
The smooth ground under my feet felt slippery, and I almost fell several times. I looked up and saw that the water fell from a slit hidden in a crevice. I looked down into the clear water and to the sides where the drains were. The water was filtering through, I realized.
Everyone but Selina and Jasmine surrounded the falling water and mimicked my rinsing movements.
“Selina and Jasmine, rinse your clothes now, please,” I said, an urgent tone to my voice. Selina nodded mechanically and joined our circle. “Jasmine,” I bit out a little harsher.
She looked at me, pissed. I swore, if we were in any other situation, she would have walked over to sock me in the face. Instead, she had all the other girls staring at her, waiting. She sighed and slushed through the water toward us and took her clothes off.
Then, all gathered together, they stared at me.
“We’re getting out of here.”
22
The words spilled out of me in a rush as I told them everything. What the redheaded Captain disclosed and his offer of help. Even the explanation about the melding spilled from my lips. I was stunned until I recalled what Sabine ordered. She said I couldn’t tell Fae.
Thea looked concerned. “They’re getting married, er, melded?” she exclaimed.
I nodded, trying not to show how much it hurt.
“What a turd,” Camilla muttered. Thea and Rosalind nodded sympathetically.
“Can’t trust any man,” Eliza commented with a shake of her head. “How do we know this Fae guy is for real?”
I was at a loss on what the right thing to say was. “We don’t,” I said honestly. Quite frankly it could all be a sick trick. “But what other choice do we have?”
“True,” Thea chimed in. “But we should have a backup plan if it goes south.”
“I’ll look through Roark’s room when they take us back there. He has to have weapons lying around. I haven’t seen any Fae without at least a dagger.”
“Take us back there? What, we aren’t going back to the pits?” Camilla wondered.
I shook my head. “Roark said we would rest in his room.”
Saying his name sent a simultaneous shock of longing and betrayal through me. I told the longing to stuff it.
“Once we’re taken to the room, we can search it,” Jasmine agreed tightly. Her words sent a collective shock through all the girls. I could see it reflected on their faces.
“Yes, but remember, don’t speak of any of this. If anyone is trying to listen to us, it’s being muffled by the water. Out there, Fae hear everything.”
Everyone nodded grimly at my words. I stepped back with a short nod to them and began washing my clothing, carefully walking to the edge of the pool when I was finished to lay them out to dry.
Apprehension loomed in the air. I finished washing my body and wished there was shampoo. I knew I was clean but there was something about scrubbing myself with processed lavender fragrance that comforted me.
“I
forgot to mention, you guys, mermaids are real,” I said conversationally.
Almost finished cleaning her body, Rosalind turned with her mouth open. “No way!”
When I nodded, the other girls gave each other looks with a little fear intermingled. “I met a baby one. They turn evil when they get older. At least that’s what Roark said.”
“I knew it,” Eliza exclaimed. She turned and stuck her tongue out at Camilla.
“Gosh darn it,” Camilla exclaimed, looking a little disappointed. “This is a constant argument we’ve had since we found out all this existed.”
“Yeah, and now you have to do a dare of my choice when we get out of here,” Eliza said, satisfied.
“If we get out of here,” Selina said from her spot. That quieted us all down.
A couple of minutes later, a pounding knock on the door sounded and the Fae’s voice came through. “Five minutes until we move.”
I scurried to don my damp clothes, hating the way they clung to my body. The others did the same. Exactly five minutes later, the door swung open.
I stood staring at him. He stared back at our group, and his head tilted in a little bow, almost imperceptibly. Budding hope lit up in almost everyone’s eyes. Two, however, wore expressions of skepticism.
He straightened and stared ahead. “Follow.”
He turned on his heels, and we trailed after him, once again going up the stairs. We stopped a level lower than what I had expected, though.
“This isn’t the level Roark’s room is on,” I said, confused.
“King Roark has ordered a different room to be ready for you and your companions.”
What? Why would he do that? Before I could fall into a spiral of doubt, the jackass who fed us that goopy oatmeal in the barn approached, his strides long and purposeful. His onyx hair was the same color as the granite walls, almost the same shade as Roark’s. He stopped a few feet away from the Fae.
“Captain,” he said.
“Kean,” the Captain replied.
“The future Queen requested you bring these”—he sneered at us—“humans to the King’s chamber as formerly planned.”
“Roark told me to bring them here,” the Captain said.
“Well, your future Queen said otherwise. She likes exhibitionism. I’m sure she wants the little whore to listen to their melding consummation.” Kean smiled wickedly. “Unless you’d like me to tell her you will not follow her orders.”
The redhead’s teeth clicked together. “No need.”
Kean smiled victoriously and turned, sneering at our group as he passed.
“Come,” the Captain said, and we started back toward the stairs. Sabine really hated me. This was another level. Making me watch them get melded and then having to listen to them have sex. Again.
My throat felt like it was closing. I was so panicked at the entire concept that I hadn’t realized we had gotten up the stairs and to Roark’s room until the door shut behind us. Thea’s hand squeezing my shoulder snapped me out of my bitter musings.
When I focused, I noticed the dresses lining the bed. Seven to be exact. Lavender. The exact color of Roark’s darker eye. My stomach pitched again, and I tried to bury the onslaught of emotions. That bitch really wanted to rub it in.
Itching to get this wet clothing off, I roughly yanked off my shirt and pants and threw them on the ground. I grabbed one of the dresses that seemed like it would fit my long body and shoved it over my head.
It was hideous, fitting more like a sack than a dress. The only nice thing about it was the color, and that was only because they were the same as a specific someone’s eyes.
“Are you okay?” Rosalind asked worriedly.
“I’m fine,” I bit out. I took deep breaths and rolled my head, trying to inconspicuously scrub the tear that had slid down my face.
“These dresses are horrendous,” Eliza said, redirecting the conversation as she grabbed one and tugged it on. I loved her most in that second.
“Tell me about it,” Camilla drawled, donning her very own sack. “I didn’t know they had a Bags‘R’Us around here.”
“Sabine probably went to the closest person and was like, ‘Hello, make me the ugliest dresses. The closer they are to a potato sack, the better.’”
We all exploded into nervous giggling at Eliza’s dry comment. I then remembered about the adjoining room and put my finger to my lips and pointed at the door. They nodded at me in understanding.
While they finished dressing, I wandered the space, trying to see if I could find something, anything really, that could be used as a weapon. Considering there wasn’t much in the room, I realized how stupid I had been to think there would be anything useful. I noticed the other girls going to every corner and running their hands on the wall as well.
“You know, if mermaids are real, I wonder what else is,” Thea mused. She was smart. If we were chatting, they wouldn’t be wondering what the stupid human girls were doing.
“I wonder if werewolves are real,” Camilla said. “And if they’re sexy and rugged or scary and people eating.”
“One, eww, that would be gross. Imagine making out with a werewolf, and he ate people. Blech, much?” Eliza said. “What about leprechauns? They would be classified as mythical, right?”
“I’m more intrigued to find out if vamps are real,” Selina said, surprising us.
“Looks like Selina has a biting fantasy,” I sang.
She smiled at me and rolled her eyes. “I mean, who wouldn’t?” she said, sounding like herself.
“Um, me,” I replied. “I mean, vampire’s suck blood for a living. That penny taste really isn’t my thing. Roark told me all creatures you could have ever heard of exist in some way. Although some aren’t what we think, and they’re called Unnaturals not supernaturals.” I remembered the other creature I saw. “Like, I met a centaur, or Taurus is what they’re called.”
“That must have looked trippy,” Eliza said.
I nodded, remembering the odd-looking beast.
“Well, I hope I never get to meet anything. If we survive this, I’m going to become a recluse,” Jasmine said. She was standing by the bed, holding up the bed covers.
“Tell me about it,” Rosalind said.
I made my steps as light as I could and walked over to the bed. I then realized the entire bottom was metal. My eyes traced to the side, and I noticed the poles had leaf-like decorations that sprouted upward to create the headboards. I reached over, grasped one, and pulled. An inch-long scratch opened my hand when I tried to pull the feeble metal.
Nose crinkling, I looked up at Jasmine. She rolled her eyes and wrapped her hand around the covers before trying to pull.
“Did any of you guys have a significant other before you got taken?” I asked loudly, desperately trying to cover Jasmine’s exertion.
Everyone shook their heads.
“I did,” Thea said.
“Me too. I found mine cheating on me with my friend right before Sabine took me. I took it as a break-up,” I said.
“Yeesh, that sucks,” Camilla said.
I placed my hands over Jasmine and pulled with her. Something finally gave, and we fell backward.
“You know what we haven’t considered?” Rosalind said almost yelling, managing to cover the thump our bodies made. “We have Fae blood.”
That shut us all up. Would we get magic and become inhumanly strong?
“That’s moot because don’t they need our deaths for us to have our magic?” Jasmine said, opening the blanket. “Either, we’re dead and we never come into our powers when magic is unbound. Or they don’t kill us and don’t unleash the magic.” In her hand was a bent shard of metal. I pumped my fists, happy to see it.
Jasmine stood up again and started on another metal leaf. Her words went around in my head as we filled the room with inane chatter and worked until we had four shards. Soon, everyone but Rosalind, Eliza, and Selina had a shard bunched up in a piece of my shirt inside our bras.
&n
bsp; Whoever said bras weren’t multifunctional had never been desperate.
23
After covering the crime scene of the torn-apart bed frame, we lounged, trying to seem as innocent as possible. Everyone was lost in thought except for Camilla and Eliza, who were arguing over what creatures were most similar to human lore.
My stomach dropped more and more as I watched the sky darken. The ceremony would begin soon.
We all tensed and looked to the door when the Captain strode in without warning, blankly staring past us. When another Fae walked in behind him, I realized why he hadn’t bothered to knock or give a warning.
“The melding begins in moments. Follow,” the redhead said. He must really like that word.
We marched out in a line after him, the other Fae falling in after Jasmine at the end. Thea grasped my clammy hand and gave it a squeeze. I realized she knew how it felt to care for someone who was with another.
We went through the hall and down the stairs for the second time. My ankle screamed. The pulsating that shot up my leg begged to be dipped in warm water and given a massage. I focused on that ache to forget the one in my chest.
I followed the Captain as he took the turn like he had when we went to the baths, but instead of continuing down the hall, we kept on forward. I fisted my hands nervously as we passed more hallways until we turned down the last one where two of the largest doors were shut. The ornate circular handles were the size of my hands, and my hands were anything but dainty. The Captain didn’t move to open them, and we stood there for what felt like forever before they opened from the other side.
I tried to contain my awe at the gothic architecture that was unveiled. There were windows for walls that wrapped around the room. The little light that was left outside filtered in and reflected off the surface of the onyx floors. The effect was striking. On top of that, black candelabras lined the walls. Each held a white candle that flickered soft golden light over the area.
