Page 27 of Gilded Curses

But none of that mattered as the Golden Ones surrounded them while their friends emerged to join them in the hall.

“Our Lord has a fun day planned for you.”

Sahira glanced at the woman who had mostly worked with Orin yesterday. Her white-blonde hair hung in a plait over her shoulder as her dark brown eyes surveyed him. The woman wiped an invisible speck of dust from his shoulder before brushing by him to lead the way down the hall.

Sahira fell into step beside Orin as Zeth and Elsa fell in before them, and the brownies trailed behind. They were led down the staircase, along another hall, and into a smaller dining area, where they were served a breakfast of eggs, meat, fruits, and bread.

As many guards as possible filled the room and stood against the wall to watch them. Coffee flowed endlessly as Sahira alternated between it and a sweet juice she’d never tried before, but it was delicious.

Despite her rumbling stomach, the food felt like a weight going down her throat, and she barely did anything more than pick at it. When they finished, the servants led them out of the room and into the garden.

Sahira had seen them last night and again this morning, but being amongst the trees overflowing with flowers and shrubs of every color imaginable enchanted her. They strolled beneath a thick canopy of limbs laden with yellow leaves that created a tunnel for hundreds of feet.

She could almost forget they were trapped here as birds flitted from one colorful plant or tree to another. The larger birds were vivid shades of red, yellow, and orange, while the smaller ones were mostly blue or yellow. She hadn’t seen any birds since arriving in the Cursed Realm and loved seeing them now.

“I missed birds,” she whispered.

“So did I,” Orin said, “especially crows.”

There were no crows here, but hearing the songs of these birds warmed Sahira’s heart. The guards hung back as the servant women guided them through the trees; their simple white dresses stood out starkly against the colorful garden.

They passed a massive fountain with two horses rearing. Their front legs nearly touched as the beasts fought each other. The statues were as golden as the fountain beneath them.

As they walked further into the garden, a distinct clicking sound caught her attention. At first, it was too far away to be more than a curiosity, but the deeper they moved into the colorful, lush garden, the louder the noise became.

“What is that?” Elsa inquired.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Like always, they ignored her as no one answered the question. Sahira tried to place the noise; it sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

Finally, the meandering dirt path they traversed opened onto a field where the sun hung high in the clear blue sky. Green grass stretched on for at least an acre before it ended in perfectly manicured, ten-foot-tall hedges that lined the entire area.

Sahira couldn’t see beyond those hedges, but she could now see the source of the clicking as two men, dressed all in white, parried back and forth with their fencing swords. It had been years since she’d seen a fencing match, and while she’d always enjoyed them before, this wasn’t going to be one of those times.

At the start of the match, their white clothes were most likely pristine, but now slashes of red and big circular blotches of blood marred them. The men didn’t wear any protective gear as they danced back and forth across the lush lawn.

Their movements should be elegant and entrancing, but this bout was brutal. Sahira winced as one of them struck another blow, and a fresh stain of blood spread across the surface of the other’s clothes.

Whenever someone landed a blow, a small gasp or murmur of disapproval ran through the crowd sitting on a stage. Gathered there were all the brightly dressed dagadon. Their colorful clothes stuck out against the green grass, hedges, and the white of the servants surrounding them.

Sahira resisted tearing the maroon dress from her. She didn’t want any part of that crowd.

The dress grew tighter by the second, and she swore the bodice was crushing her ribs. She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath while listening to the battle progressing before them.

Feeling like she could breathe a little easier again, she opened her eyes. One of the fighters lunged forward and sank the tip of his blade into his opponent’s shoulder. The man cried out as he staggered back, freeing himself from the weapon.

This was going to be a battle to the death. And what a drawn-out battle it would be as the points of their fencing swords were too small to inflict enough damage to kill instantly.

Unless someone managed to strike a lucky blow straight to the heart, and even then, it might not kill these immortals. They might be like the dark fae, who could only die from a sword composed of fae metal.

The swords weren’t thick enough to chop off someone’s head, so these fighters must go until one collapsed from blood loss or exhaustion. And then what happens? Does the other continue to poke and hack at them until they die?

Sahira gulped back the breakfast rising in her throat. She wished she hadn’t eaten what little she choked down.

“This way,” the blonde-haired woman said.

Sahira dug in her heels when she realized the woman was heading toward the four empty seats at the front of the stage. They were to be front and center between Desmond and Renaldo.