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I raise my cup of wine to her in a toast. “I admire someone with spirit. I believe the moment you called me a ‘big old, winged bat’ guaranteed your safety.”
And then it happens. She smiles, and it’s breathtaking. I feel my black heart skip a beat, but I ignore it because I’m Dark Fae and while I’ve shown that I can care about humans—Zora and my daughter Thalia coming to mind—I know it’s nothing more than just a care. I’m too ancient and too saturated with an eternity of malevolence for it to be anything more.
But I am still curious. I saw her reaction when Jago grabbed her, and it was the first time I’ve seen her exhibit fear since meeting her on the bridge. “What did Jago say to you?”
“He said he couldn’t wait to try me out,” she replies, her eyes shadowed with disdain.
I set my cup on the table and lean forward toward Nyssa. “Jago is extremely dangerous. He’s a ravager fae, which means his entire makeup is programmed for violence. But he’s only one example of the dangerous creatures that are in this castle, in Otaxis, and beyond. You cannot leave the castle under any circumstances unless I’m by your side. Is that clear?”
“But you’ve told people to leave me alone.”
“I have, but I don’t trust anyone in this realm except Truett. Don’t ever forget that the Dark Fae aren’t just inherently wicked, they are incredibly powerful. While our original powers were stripped, the powers regained through stone magic have made many more potent than ever. But what makes them dangerous, most of all, is they have no morals.”
“Do you have morals?” she asks.
“Not many.”
She blinks in surprise, but I don’t elucidate.
Instead, I stand and motion for her to do the same. “Come. Let’s talk about your duties.”
I walk her through the suite explaining that she’s to care for it, including the laundering of my clothes. “I’ll have Calix show you what to do. You’ll also be responsible for bringing all my meals from the kitchen.”
As I enter the bedroom, I nod toward a trunk at the end of the bed. “Fresh linens are there. The bed is to be changed every day, and you’ll be responsible for ensuring the sheets get laundered along with the bathing towels.”
“Seems simple enough,” she says.
It’s very simple and all stuff that could be done by magic, but I need to keep her busy.
“I’m sure I’ll think of other things, but that’s the gist of it until I can figure out a better way for you to work in the castle without getting hurt.”
I work at the laces of my leather vest. Because I have wings, I often don’t bother with anything covering my torso, but I wore the vest to the council meeting in an effort to be a bit more formal. It’s cut low in the back to accommodate my wing roots.
“What are you doing?” Nyssa exclaims as I shrug off my vest. I try not to laugh at her wide-eyed stare at my naked torso.
I toss the vest at her, hitting her in the chest so she’s snapped out of her ogling. “I’m going to bed. One usually removes their clothes when they do so.”
My hands go to the laces at my pants and I start pulling them loose. Nyssa spins to face away. “You’re just going to get naked right here in front of me?”
“Oh, come on, little human. Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a naked man before.”
“I’ve seen plenty,” she mutters. “And you’re not a man.”
I’d like to hear more about that, but now isn’t the time. While her back is to me, I divest myself of my boots and pants, and with a grin, toss my pants at her.
They hit her in the back, and she turns to grab them. I see her struggle against it, but she ends up staring with no shame.
I stand naked before her, all six foot seven of me, way too curious to see how she’ll handle it.
Nyssa is mute, her fingers squeezing and crumpling the fine leather in her hands. Her eyes slowly travel down my body, lingering a bit too long on that part of me that makes me distinctly male. I might like how her eyes flare a little too much as she takes in my size, although I’m not even hard.
“Um…” She coughs to clear her throat. “Um… where will you be sleeping?”
I cock an eyebrow at her and nod toward my bed. “Right there.”
“Of course,” she stammers. “And… um… do you always sleep naked?”
“Always,” I reply with a grin. “I’ll have more clothes for you tomorrow, but you should be comfortable enough in that dress to sleep in it for tonight.”
