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Upon arrival, he made himself invisible to the human still strapped to the table while he scraped his claws across the stone walls. The human flinched and groaned as Ciaran’s glee grew. He made his way to the table and peered over at the disgusting human. Right as his face was mere inches away he became visible and cackled all over again at the look on the human’s face. A shrill scream came from the prisoner.
“Miss me?”
“P-please…let me go,” the man groaned out. “I promise to not speak of her again.”
“Well, of course you won’t, but I cannot let you go. You see I have a desire to hear all there is to know about this Shephard and the Beings of Light you speak of, and once you have answered all of my questions, I will indeed release you from this room.” Ciaran did not find it necessary to tell him he would release him into the waiting arms of Findara.
The man’s eyes lit up at the prospect of freedom. “Y-yes of c-course. I will gladly share the word of light. What is it you wish to know?”
“The Word of Light.” Ciaran could not help the booming laugh that bubbled out of him and echoed around the stone room. “My dear silly human, this is the Night Court. What need do I have of Light? No, I wish to know more interesting details, such as when did the Shepherd arrive in your realm?”
The man appeared confused by his question. Had he still not realized he was not in his realm any longer? “When was he born? I-I do not know.”
Ciaran was getting agitated; he went over to the small knives arranged along the far wall. The man saw what he was going for and began to try to break free from his bonds. “No, p-please! I will answer your questions!”
“I have no doubts you will, human. A little incentive never hurt anyone – well, I suppose this brand of incentive may hurt you. Oh well!” Ciaran took the small sharp blade and used it to cut the tunic from the man.
He began screaming immediately. “My gods man, if you scream over your shirt being ruined I can’t wait to hear the sounds you’ll make when I ruin your skin. Now stop being ignorant. You are no longer in the Human Realm, and I am sure your Shepherd hails from my realm – the Fae Realm. I know you have heard stories of the creatures from the other side of the veil. I heard Etain scold you for your stupidity in the woods two nights ago. Now, when did he arrive?”
The look on the man’s face was rather humorous. It seems it had never occurred to the man to believe the old stories, yet he readily believed whatever his Shepherd told him. Etain had it right, this man was a fool.
Ciaran lowered the blade to the man’s chest; he would brand the man a fool by carving it across his flesh. Every time the man looked down he would never forget what his foolishness cost him. He wondered briefly if Etain would enjoy seeing her attacker bleeding and branded. Perhaps he would also dismember him so he could never attempt to hurt her in such a way again.
Over the course of several hours he had finished carving the word into the man’s chest and was confident he had gathered as much information about the Shepherd and the Beings of Light the man could give. The Shepherd arrived in their village several years ago, and it seemed his main concern was locating witches and bringing them “into the light” as the man called it. Ciaran thought it obvious the Shepherd was taking witches into the Day Court. Try as they might, the Shepherd and the man could never get Etain to “come to the light.”
Perhaps they need the witches to be compliant, and that is why they attempt to make them zealots. Or perhaps since Etain had never crossed the veil and tapped into her power, the Shepherd thought her a simple human hedge witch. Either way, it looked as though the Day Court was collecting witches and possibly searching for a specific witch. It was no stretch for Ciaran to guess Etain was the witch they were seeking, for he had never met another witch with as much raw power. What a coincidence she wound up in his care and with some kind of bond between them, making him desire to protect her at all costs.
Ciaran did not believe in coincidences. He also knew he was still missing pieces of the puzzle. Just then his stomach rumbled; torture always made him rather hungry. The night after the Lunar Ball would be the right time to talk to the nymph and see what she could tell him about the Day Court and its collecting of witches.
He left the man still strapped to his table groaning. Blood streamed from the word “fool” on his chest that Ciaran had carved in a scrolling script; he considered it art.
Twenty
Kesreceivedamessagefrom Ciaran on his spelled parchment to meet them in his study for dinner. He had been out gathering all the things required for the blood oath: a dagger made of obsidian, the herbs to burn, different herbs to mix into the blood, a spelled parchment which would bind their agreement, and a chalice to mix their blood and herbs.
The palace and the surrounding city were alive with preparations for the following night’s Lunar Ball. He knew he was being watched, and the items he was collecting were noted. It would not take long for word to spread that he was preparing to make a blood oath. If there was something this court loved nearly as much as being wicked, it was gossip. By the time of the celebration tomorrow night, the court will have concocted some kind of ridiculous story about the type of oath and with whom he was making it. Entering with Anin would likely start a whole new theory.
It had been a long time since Kes had seen a blood oath performed, and he had never performed one himself. He had done everything in his power to never be beholden to another, yet here he was about to be beholden to a nymph from the Day Court. He knew tomorrow night, at the Lunar Ball, most of the court would be able to piece together who he had taken one with. They still wouldn’t know the specifics, but they would be more interested in Anin than he would like. He had no doubts in the coming nights he would have to make some kind of show of violence to let the court know what would happen if they dared touch a hair on her head.
While feeling rather put out being tied to another with such an oath, he found himself wanting to keep Anin safe from harm anyway. The idea of any other creature being tied to her made his blood boil. He would take great joy from peeling the skin slowly off any other being who tried. The prospect both thrilled and angered him. Something about being tied to her in any way felt right, while the Night fae side of him rebelled at having any such feelings towards a Day fae. He found himself wanting, and that never went well in the Night Court. Wanting anything gave others something to exploit to their advantage. Still, he wanted her. Even if he couldn’t understand why, it didn’t stop him from always being pulled towards her. He couldn’t seem to make heads or tails of these feelings. They were too new to him, and he could not say he was exactlythrilledabout it.
He was the last to arrive in the study. As he strode to his seat, in between Anin and Ciaran, he stopped behind Anin’s chair, brought his mouth to her delicately pointed ear and said, “Hello, my darling nymph – did you miss me?”
She huffed and swatted at him, which only made him laugh. He enjoyed nothing more than getting under her skin. They both appeared to be waging a mental and physical war against each other. He knew she was struggling with the same pull he was. It felt as though the more he fought it, the more he wanted her.
When he took his seat, he looked over at Anin and caught her gaze. They both stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments before Kes gave her one of his heated smirks. He was rewarded with an eye roll and the flush of bright green across her cheeks. Anin tried to act unphased by him, but he knew she was just as affected.
“Did you have any trouble procuring all of the items necessary for the blood oath?” Ciaran inquired.
Kes listed off the items he gathered, where he got them, and then filled him in on the many eyes watching him with calculating curiosity. He shared a look with his cousin, both of them unwilling to admit the fear that coursed through them. Neither one of them wanted to share either female with anyone else, and definitely not with their court. Kes knew it was necessary, particularly if they were here to stay. They would need to teach their court they were off limits, and anyone who pushed the limits would be used as an example.
“Would it be possible to witness this blood oath or is this something done in private?” Etain asked.
“All of us will be there to witness it, although it is typically something done in private. Since most of the oath on Anin’s part is about information she’s agreed to give to me, I need to be there to make sure the terms we agreed upon are followed through,” Ciaran told Etain. His cousin always had trust issues and rarely left anything to chance.
Kes had not yet informed his cousin of the bargain he’d made with Anin, for five truths from her. He knew his cousin saw the matching black inky rings around their fingers, but had not inquired about them. Kes planned to hold onto those five questions. They were only to be used when he knew he could not get the answer from her any other way. He also had a feeling using any of the five would be a violation to Anin in her eyes.
“Anin told me some rather colorful stories to prepare me for what to expect tomorrow night during the Lunar Ball. Truly, will we be required to wear a collar and a lead as if we are some kind of animal?” Etain asked with no small amount of disgust lacing her voice.
