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After traveling over at least ten bridges and what felt like an hour of trudging past laughing, sneering faeries, I began to wonder why the hell Cadoc hadn’t just flown us the rest of the way to…wherever he was taking me. Maybe he just wanted to humiliate me by showing off his new pet. Anger coiled in my belly at the thought of being anyone’s pet. Was this truly the thanks I got for trying to save a life?
Twenty minutes later, I realized I hadn’t seen a single faerie in quite some time. It was quieter than it was before—no chatter, giggling, or hissing to be heard, just the gentle sway of the treetops in the biting wind. We rounded a series of empty trees with nothing atop them save for empty platforms. We must have been heading for the edge of the treetop city, where the population thinned.
Out of the shadows, I spied an archway of bent and twisted branches draped with hanging vines that were covered in violet thorns. Cadoc pushed them aside, and I ground to a halt, the shadow rope tugging on my torso painfully. I stared up in awe at the structure before me.
It was larger than any of the other homes we’d passed and spanned several levels up with intricately carved wooden staircases leading to each level. The house had several dozen glass-paned windows, each glowing with candlelight, and a wide, moss-covered roof that was so tall, it peeked out above the treetops. I imagined standing on top of it and being able to see for miles and miles.
“Is this where you live?” My voice was breathy as we approached an arched doorway. There was no actual door, but rather an entryway with hanging strips of gossamer fluttering in the breeze. Cadoc just grunted, so I took that as a yes. “This isn’t what I expected.” The moment the words were out of my mouth, I began toreallytake it all in. I gaped in horror at what I saw.
In the trees that canopied the structure, hung dozens and dozens of bird cages. They dangled from branches, swaying in the whipping wind, each one with one or two occupants inside them. Cadoc pulled on the shadow rope and pain shot through my ribs, but I was rooted to the spot, my mouth agape in shock. Fear like I’d never felt before hit me in waves. A sinking feeling inside me said that I was about to be shoved into a cage and hung from one of these massive trees.
“What is this?” I hissed through clenched teeth, tugging on the shadow rope despite the pain it caused. I took a step away from him, but he jerked me right back.
The cages were just big enough to fit several average-sized humans or one animal, and from here they appeared to be made out of either iron or steel. It dawned on me that a city in the trees ruled by The Wild Hunt had to have prisoners, but if there were no dungeons, where did they put them all?
My stomach lurched at the thought of what they did with the prisoners after leaving them out to rot like that. It was hard to distinguish what were tall tales meant to scare humans away from interacting with a faerie, and what was based in some truth.
Cadoc peered down at me with exasperation written on his face. Glancing at the cages with no remorse whatsoever, his lips twisted into a sneer. “Just merchandise. Come, I’m tired of you wasting my time.”
Merchandise…
Narrowing my eyes up at the closest cage I could find, I could just barely make out the form of a slender male with pointed ears and dark-brown hair leaning against the edge of the cage. He was shirtless and barefoot, and he looked tired. Even from here, I could tell he was a halfling like me.
“Are they all halflings?” I asked, my voice choked as I fought to keep my emotions tucked away inside.
He snorted as he yanked on the smoke rope one last time, causing me to stumble over my feet just to follow behind him. “Of course not. Some of them are human.” He didn’t bother to look behind him as we stepped through the doorway, but I could see the slight rise of his cheek from his profile and knew he was enjoying my discomfort immensely.
We entered the massive structure, and I realized it wasn’t really a house, but more of an estate. As absurd as a city in the trees was, something this large hovering so high above the forest floor was even more unbelievable. But it was gorgeous, in a wild and untamed sort of way. It was lit with natural light from open windows that blew sheer curtains in a light wind, and long, spindly tree branches poked right through where glass should have been. Vines climbed the rough wooden walls, twining together as if they’d been growing that way for centuries.
Splitting the room in half were two curving staircases that veered off left and right. I had the sudden urge to remove my boots and dig my bare toes into the soft moss that served as flooring, but he never gave me the chance. We headed for the staircase on the right, Cadoc dragging me behind him, pulling on the shadow rope unnecessarily hard.
We passed door after closed door and rounded so many long corridors that I started to think he might be taking me in circles just for the fun of it. At some of the doors, there were guards or sometimes two stationed in front of them. They didn’t so much as look at either of us as we passed by. They were all fae males, but not all of them were handsome or ethereal. One of the guards we’d passed had a horrible scar splitting his face, and another was missing one eye and one ear entirely.
I was reminded yet again that The Wild Hunt was made up almost entirely of exiled faeries who were essentially serving a life sentence.
After another round of staircases that led to more corridors, we ended up in another large room. Cadoc shoved the set of heavy double doors open, a waft of sweet smelling air blowing back my hair from my shoulders. The room only had three walls, while the far side dropped off into open trees with a waist-height railing like a massive balcony.
We were no longer alone. My mouth dried up and I immediately wanted to turn and run, or maybe leap off of the balcony and take my chances with the fall.
Haelo stood with his back toward us, looking out over the edge like a king presiding over his subjects. His long, pale hair was loose, blowing around his bare shoulders. He must have sensed our arrival, because he turned, pinning those glowing, white eyes directly on me.
“Pet,” he said, his voice like a low hum. His lips stretched wide as he strode forward, holding a metallic goblet in one hand before setting it down on a claw-foot table. He was barefoot, and the only clothing he wore was a pair of loose gray silk pants that slung low on his hips. “Has my brother been treating you well?”
I tensed as Cadoc pulled on the shadow rope, gritting my teeth against the sting. “Wellisn’t the word I’d use,'' I muttered, not sure if he could actually hear me. Meeting Haelo’s eyes was difficult, as it felt like staring directly into the sun. “Are you going to throw me in a cage and hang me from the treetops now? That’s what you do to halflings around here, isn’t it?”
It was better to spell it all out for him—my worries and my concerns. Haelo terrified me, but I also had that vague feeling that he was in charge around here, even amongst the princes.
“As Cadoc has no doubt already explained, you gave us no such stipulations as to what exactly we were to do with you once you signed your life over to The Hunt. The mistake you made was incredibly human, making me wonder if perhaps you prefer it that way.” He tilted his head, eyeing me from head to toe. “What was your plan? What did you think would happen once it came time to fulfill your half of the bargain? Surely you didn’t expect us to simply cut you loose in Faerie and call it an even trade.” Clicking his tongue, he continued closer on slow, steady feet. “No, you’re not that naïve, are you? Could it be that your need to save Prince Drystan made you overeager enough to sell your life away?”
I shuddered at hearing my brother’s name on his lips. Now that he knew who I was, he had an advantage over me. No doubt, he knew all about my exile from the castle. He likely knew every dark detail of my father’s passing and the subsequent transfer of power to his horrible wife, yet I knew nothing about them aside from rumors, nothing of substance.
“My life is significantly less important than his,” I said resolutely, and not weakly. I could practically feel Neera sighing at the familiar words. Had she been with me, she’d have been the first to tell me I was being unreasonable and roll her eyes. Haelo gave me a similar look, so I added, “I’m the king’s bastard halfling daughter. Drystan’s life is worth ten of mine, and Karn needs him. It wasn’t really a choice at all.”
“There’s always a choice,” Haelo said. He stood too close now, my head barely reaching high enough to see the tops of his broad shoulders. He sighed almost forcefully, like he didn't really feel it. It was just a show to him. “I do wish I had some words of comfort to offer you.” Reaching out, he ran his fingers through my tangled hair. I tried not to flinch. “But that’s just not how this is going to work.”
I stiffened all over as he continued to play with the coiled strands…studying them with feigned interest. Then I felt the shadow rope around my body loosen. It dissipated, allowing me to suck in a deep breath that made my ribs ache.
“What do you want with me?” I found myself asking, terrified of the answer. Cadoc chuckled beside me, but I didn’t look over at him.
