by ERIN BEDFORD
I cocked a brow in question. "I thought you couldn't lie?"
“Not outright,” Cailean gave me a sardonic smile, “but Fable was leaning to the right, so it wasn't quite one."
I nodded in understanding. I was warned before I left that the fae were tricky. Even if they told the truth, you never took it as the complete truth. They would trick you with every breath they took, and you would never know it.
"Thank you." I sighed and settled back into the seat. "To answer your earlier question, I don't do well on carriages or horses for that matter. Anything really that I could fall off of."
Cailean laughed, a gurgling sound. "A bumbler, eh?"
I flushed and lifted my shoulders. "All my life."
He hummed and turned his attention back to the road. The countryside around us was gorgeous. It was nothing like back in the bog. Large trees of green and crystal lined the roads. The roads themselves made of pink and purple bricks that glimmered and shined with an internal light. I would never know all the mysteries that were Elphame, not in my lifetime in any case.
However, as much beauty as there was around me, I knew there were far many more dangers, unknown and mostly unseen. There were creatures who hid in the shadows and would kill you before you even knew you'd been in danger.
My eyes slid back over to Cailean, and I chewed my lower lip. I wanted to know what he was, but you weren't supposed to ask. It was considered extremely rude, and the last thing I wanted was to offend one of my only allies.
"Kelpie."
"Huh?" I cocked my head to the side.
A small tilt of his lips drew my eyes. "You were wondering how to ask what I was without offending me. I'm a kelpie."
"How did you know that?" I gaped at him and filed away what a kelpie looked like. We didn't get many kelpies in the bog. Mostly trolls and the occasional ballybog. Most fae didn't want to be around the stench and mud that covered everyone and everything. You wouldn't catch a brownie within ten miles of Boggsville. Not on purpose.
Cailean shifted his eyes from the road to me and then back. "You aren't the first human to wonder. We kelpies don't usually stray very far from the water, but I'd always been more comfortable on land than in the ocean."
My mouth gaped and then a tiny giggle that I quickly suppressed with my hand came out. "That's unusual."
"We all have our burdens to bear.” Cailean nodded and shrugged a shoulder. “Mine happens to be a kelpie mother and an elven father. He was afraid of water as well."
"How did that work out?"
A sad look crossed his face. "They live separately now, though my mother visits on occasion."
I hummed but didn't ask anything further. We came around a bend, and I sucked in a breath of awe. The palace was everything I'd heard it was and more. Tall towers of shimmering white and gold stood high above us. Windows filled with multicolored glass shone in the light and almost blinded me. A large wall surrounded the palace, the stones the color of a newborn baby in its pinkish and grey hues. It separated the palace from the road leading back into the village and the woods around us. The gate in the middle of the wall, white and gleaming, had sharp teeth which raised as the guard above saw us approaching. Clearly, they knew the king's carriage regardless of any markings on it.
The anxiety from the ride faded and was replaced by excitement and wonder. I struggled to take everything in as we moved down the streets. The stone here was the same pink and purple hue as the main road, but the buildings leading up to the main part of the palace was every color of the rainbow. Yellow cottages and green bungalows lined the streets, bunched together tightly as if to make as much room as possible for everyone.
I knew people lived in the houses surrounding the palace, but I'd never expected so many. I would think the royals wouldn't want anyone that close to them. Then again, the servants had to have somewhere to live.
"The yellow homes are those of the fae nobility." Cailean pointed out with a nod of his head. "The purple for the fae servants in the main parts of the palace. The green belongs to the fae servants who work the other parts of the palace, those that don't require interaction with the royal family."
"And the red houses?" I pointed to the section of red that stood alone from the others. "Who do they belong to?"
"The humans," Cailean answered on a gruff note. "As you can tell, the fae want to know exactly where your kind are at all times and that includes when you're sleeping."
I stared at the red houses, the color dark and deep. The color of blood. Did they really think so badly of us? And if so, why employ us at all? And finally, why the hell was I there?
Shifting uncomfortably in my seat, I forced my eyes to the front. I would worry about it later. If the king had anything to say about it, I'd be sleeping on the streets. No need to worry before I knew for sure.
Cailean lead the carriage to the side of the palace where a fae man stood with a matching silvery coat and periwinkle blue scales lining his skin. His pupils were slitted and the iris a deep yellow-purple. Those eyes glanced at me for a moment with curiosity before turning back to Cailean.
"New meat?"
With a grim expression, Cailean jerked his head towards me. "Leave her alone. I can tell the king already has his eye on this one. No need to add to her burden."
This peaked the fae's interest even more, but something in his face showed that he pitied me now more than anything. Uncomfortable under his gaze, I moved to get off the seat, but the ground was too far away from me. I ended up with my legs dangling from the side of the carriage. As I sucked in a breath to steal myself to let go, an annoyed sigh came from behind me, and large warm hands encircled my waist.
"You're going to get yourself killed before I can even have a chance to have my fun with you." Balefire's words rumbled through me as I fell back against him.
My spine stiffened, and for a moment, I didn't breathe before scrounging up my courage and spinning on him. "Then maybe you should have thought of that before picking me. There were plenty of others who would be delighted to be the source of your amusement. I'm not one of them."
I sniffed and spun on my heel, ignoring the gaping servants surrounding the carriage as I made to grab my bag which someone had already unpacked from the back of the carriage. Picking it up, I smiled sweetly at Finch.
"Where do you want me?"
Finch, dumbfounded, shot a wary eye to Balefire and then back to me before clearing his throat. "This way. We need to get your housing set up first, then we can tour the castle."
"No."
Our heads whipped in Balefire's direction. Mine in annoyance and the rest a mixture of fear and curiosity.
Finch frowned. "What do you mean no? I suppose we could do the tour first then find housing but it's near dinner time and I would think you'd want to—"
"No, she will live here." Balefire crossed his arms over his massive chest, his eyes glittering with mischief. "In the palace. I want to have her in shouting distance."
I paled. In shouting distance? When the king had said he planned on breaking me, he hadn't been kidding. I wouldn't even get a moment of peace if I was that close to him. Finch clearly agreed with me.
"I'm not sure that is a good idea. The others..." He trailed off when he noticed we had an audience and then straightened. "We don't want to show favoritism."
A full-toothed smile filled half of Balefire's face, but none of it was kind. "Exactly." Without another word, he spun and left us the servants scattering out of his way as he passed by.
Speechless, I watched him leave, my mouth opening and closing like a kelpie out of water. Except now that I'd met an actual kelpie out of water, that figure of speech didn't really work anymore. I turned a pleading gaze to Finch.
"He's not serious, is he?” I asked. “I can't live here. In the palace. I'm human. They'll kill me." I eyed the fae servants around me. They were already filling with animosity and distrust. So much for making friends.
Sighing as he shook his head, Finch placed a ha
nd on my shoulder and steered me toward the palace. "Unfortunately, once His Majesty has an idea in his head it's near impossible to change it. We'll just have to make the best of it. Come along."
Clutching my bag to my chest, I allowed him to lead me into the palace only briefly gaping at the interior which was even more breathtaking than the exterior. The chandelier glowed like a million starbursts and flowers decorated everything. In light of the king's personality, it was pretty funny to see such feminine decor. It certainly didn't scream Balefire.
We marched through the palace and up a wide staircase which nearly spanned the length of the entryway. The banister made up of white vines and gorgeous purple flowers brushed against my fingers as I held on trying my best not to smash any of the foliage.
I never felt more eyes on me than that moment, not even when I'd caused that fire back in Boggsville. It's not my fault that they'd let me near the bonfire during the harvest. They should know better than to trust me with rekindling the fire. I was a hazard to myself just by walking down the street. Giving me a weapon was just asking for trouble.
The eyes following me now were filled with the same mixture of emotions I'd gotten back home. Horror, disbelief, and finally anger. I forced myself to walk tall and proud, not letting their looks bother me as I was taken through the maze of hallways. They were so immense and complex that I quickly gave up trying to memorize right now. We stopped before a large door made of vines and flowers melded together to make a solid piece of wood. The door handle was clear crystal and turned with ease. Finch pushed the door open and gestured inside.
"Here you are." Finch stepped to the side and didn’t enter the room with me. "Someone will be by in a bit to show you the kitchen."
"I thought you were going to give me a tour?" I stepped into the room and turned back to him, my brows furrowed. I didn't want Finch to leave just yet, to leave me alone in this strange place.
"Unfortunately, no.” Finch's lips pinched into a sad smile. “Don't worry. You'll be fine."
"Promise?" Hope etched my voice. He must believe I'll be okay if he said it. He couldn't lie.
Lacing his fingers behind him, Finch inclined his head to me. "You will come to no physical harm, I promise." Then he was gone.
I twisted my eyes back to the room and scanned my new home. No physical harm, huh? There was a lot of grey area in that statement. Enough to have me building a wall back around my heart.
Let Balefire do his worst. I’d be ready.
Chapter 5
Balefire
A long-aggravated sigh came pouring out of me as I tossed my pen on my desk. Dragging a hand over my face, I slumped back in my chair. I couldn't focus on any of my paperwork. There was an uprising of troll wreckage on the south border near the Summer Court. Queen Tatiana was riding my ass about getting them under control before they crossed into her fields.
It wasn't my fault the trolls were in heat. They had to do their mating dance somewhere.
I cringed and tried to shake off the thought of the large hairy creatures shaking their butts and swinging their cocks in the air like a windmill. Nobody needed to see that crap, and I'd never gotten it out of my head after the one time I'd accidentally walked into one of those mating dances.
I shuddered in revulsion and had to get that image out of my head. Right now. My eyes moved around my office, a large room with walls of books lining almost every inch of it. The only place to sit beside my desk was a tall, plush dark red chair which had been placed meticulously on a deep brown rug next to the fireplace at the exact distance to not be too cold nor too hot. It kept unwanted distractions from staying around longer than necessary.
At times like this, my mind would drift to a book to read, this time it slid over to the mirror on my desk. It wasn't a large mirror. No, it was one of those handheld ones with a long ornate handle of gold decorated in vines and flowers. It had been my mother's, and she'd given it to me when I became the king.
"So, you never forget where you came from," she'd told me with a kiss to my cheek that had made me scowl at her even though my heart had warmed inside. She never did care about who was watching. Sometimes, I wished I'd be more like her.
Picking up the mirror, I peered into the surface and wondered what my parents were up to, but it wasn't their image that poured out of the surface. It was the human, Ericka Burner.
Her shirt sleeves were folded up to the elbow, and her dark mahogany hair was once more dragged up into a messy bun on top of her head. She scrubbed rigorously at a large cast iron cauldron, so deep that half of her arm disappeared each time she reached into the cauldron.
The left side of my lip ticked up. While I might have a kingdom to run, I still had enough time to send a message to the head cook. Jasmine was a water nymph, and she had no problem with my request to give Ericka as many menial tasks as possible and to never let her near the oven or cooking areas.
I had to give the human credit. She was far more stubborn and resilient than I had thought before. It'd been four days, and still, the human had not complained once about the tasks that had been given to her. She'd been given work from washing the dishes to scrubbing the floors. Once, they even had her organizing the utensils in a precise and ridiculous pattern before 'accidentally' knocking it over, so she had to start all over again. I was sure she would have quit by now or at least run to Finch to tell. But nothing came from the girl. Not one complaint.
It was starting to irritate me. I'd have to find something even worse for her. Hard labor apparently wasn't doing it.
A snort of a laugh poured out of me. Somehow, the human caused a collision while standing in one spot. Several of the human and fae servants glared at her in annoyance as they helped each other to their feet, while Ericka gave a sheep shrug of apology.
"There you are."
Finch's voice made me jump in place, and I quickly sat the mirror face down on my desk. Picking up my pen again, I pretended to be reading over the new policies for the troll's mating rituals.
"This is my office,” I muttered. “Where else would I be?"
Finch eyed the mirror on my desk and then sniffed. "Certainly not where you're supposed to be. Did you forget what today was?"
I cocked my head to the side as I tried to bring to memory what he was talking about. "I cannot think of anything pressing at this moment."
Just then a short, pudgy fae came barreling in behind Finch. A tinkerer fae with small beady eyes and brown hair that stuck up in all directions, he pulled a pocket watch from his vest, a vest that was on the verge of popping its buttons at any moment and scowled.
"Your Majesty was supposed to meet with the Fall Court's ambassador's daughter twenty minutes ago," the tinkerer yelped.
My nose scrunched up in distaste. "Oh, that." I sighed and sat back in my chair, waving a hand. "Can't you just handle it, Randolf? Isn't that your job as the head of the council? Why do I have to be there? It's not like it's the ambassador himself."
Randolf rolled his eyes, his hands on his round hips. "You know very well that it isn't my job. And the reason she is here is to meet you. As a potential bride."
I lifted the mirror and thought of the fae in question. The surface shimmered and then a tall willowy woman with a meek expression appeared. She was pretty enough, I supposed, but just looking at her made me want to yawn. Putting the mirror back down, I shook my head.
"Tell her I'm not interested but thank you for coming."
Randolf gasped with a hand to his chest. "I will do no such thing. Lady Nico came all this way to meet you. Not me. I will not be your patsy."
"You will because I told you to.” My eyes narrowed on the larger fae before me and my voice lowered to a rumble. “Or am I not king anymore?"
This time, Finch stepped in. "Bale, really. You can't stay single forever. You need an heir to make the people feel more secure in your reign. Your father married your mother as an arranged marriage, I don't see how this is any different."
I shot him a glare
which caused Finch to quiet, but he didn't stiffen. He knew me too well to be afraid of my ire. I grabbed my pen and scribbled my name on the document before me. "I'm busy."
"Not too busy to spy on Ericka, though," Finch snorted.
My pen froze in mid-air for just a millisecond before I picked up the next page. "Who?"
"Yes, who?" Randolf asked, turning his curious gaze to Finch.
With a slow grin, Finch explained to the waiting fae. "Balefire hired a new human baker."
Brows furrowed, Randolf clearly didn't see the problem which was perfectly fine with me. No need to give the wretch more ammunition against me to push the marriage deal. "And we don't trust her?"
“Oh, no.” Finch shook his head with a chuckle, mirth filling his eyes as he watched me. "It's nothing like that. Bale has a crush."
My pen paused again my lips pressed into a thin line. "Where would you get an idea like that?"
Finch lifted a shoulder and dropped it. "Well, why else would you pick the worst cook of them all just to pick on her?"
I opened my mouth to deny that very thing, but Finch beat me to it.
"And don't think I don't know what you're doing to that poor girl. You should see how worn out she is by the time she gets back to her room, a room that you insisted be near yours. Or have you not even noticed her nearness?"
I had in fact. While I didn't meet her in the hallway, that would be ludicrous, I watched her walk back to her room and collapse on her bed every night. She rarely wasted time to bathe before falling asleep. I assumed she bathed at some point during the night. She was fresh faced and ready to start the day by the time I woke up. However, Finch's chastisement made guilt eat at my stomach. Perhaps I had been too hard on her.
Lifting a calculating gaze to Finch, I shoved my chair back and stood. "Very well. Randolf." The tinkerer stiffened to attention. "Tell Lady Nico that I am unable to meet her at this time, but I would be delighted if she would join me for dinner."
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Pleasure surged over his face and Randolf nodded his head eagerly. "Right away." Randolf hurried away, but Finch stayed standing where he was, suspicion lining his face.
