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“You’re not joking,” I deadpanned, cutting a glare at Cadoc. “This is going to take hours, and that's if they don’t decide to eat me first.” Some of the beasts were already eyeing me like I was a tasty treat for them to chew on. Something told me they weren’t quite as intelligent as Zephyr.
Cadoc shrugged. “That’s not my problem. You’re the one who wanted some responsibility.” He strode over to the waist-high wooden fence that separated the clearing from the rest of the wood. “Steeds are the backbone of the Wild Hunt. Without them, we’re nothing. They need to be cared for and looked after. They get fed thrice daily and watered constantly.” He crossed his arms over his leather-covered chest. There was a slash across his cheek that hadn’t been there the last time I saw him, but it was healing. I refrained from prying. “You asked to contribute, so here you go. Your job until the sun disappears tonight is to make sure their needs are met. What you do with your time when you're finished is none of my concern.” He stepped closer, crowding me against the tree trunk at my back. I had to crane my neck to meet his dark eyes. “Unless you’d like some company in the night, then by all means, summon me.”
I swallowed thickly, my belly flipping with excitement. He grinned down at me, and there was nothing soothing or reassuring about it. Cadoc was a predator down to his bones, and he wielded it expertly. I must have been slowly losing my mind, because someone like Cadoc should not have me salivating. I shouldn't feel so much attraction toward someone so…so primal.
His nostrils flared as he took a step closer, backing me up until my shoulders hit the tree behind me. A stinging sensation shot down my spine and I winced. Cadoc’s brows knit together, but he didn’t question me. Instead, he leaned forward, nostrils flaring as he breathed in my scent, a low, rumbling purr emanating from his chest. “You don’t have to rely on your dreams to make your cunt drip.”
I sputtered, “You can’t possibly…”
He grinned, flashing me his long fangs. “Oh, but I can. We all can. There’s not a thing the five of us don’t share with one another. When you’re with one of us, you’re with all of us. That’s just how it is.” His clawed hand skimmed up my waist, tendrils of his shadow rope curling up his arm. “How does that make you feel? Are you ready to run again?”
I pulled my face away from his until I could see his eyes, frowning up at him in confusion. “You said five. I still count four, unless one of you princes is purposefully avoiding me. There are five thrones in my bedroom, Cadoc.”
“Five thrones for five princes,” he said. “Erix is right, youareobservant.” I pushed on his hard chest, and to my shock, he released me from his hold against the tree. He pointed out a section of the clearing to the right, where an assortment of barrels sat in a shaft of sunlight. “You’ll find everything you need in there. I’ll be back for you…eventually.” He spread his wings wide. “Try not to get eaten. They do like their food fresh.” Before I could chastise him for blatantly ignoring my questions, he took off up into the trees, quickly disappearing into the shadows.
Grumbling, I stood there in front of the fence that separated me from the beasts, knowing that even on the other side of it, I wasn’t safe. I supposed I could try to outrun them if they decided to make a meal of me, but then I remembered that they were the steeds of the Wild Hunt and they could catch anything.
My back gave another strange twinge as I pried one of the barrels open. I cursed, dropping the lid on the mossy ground. The pain was getting worse every day, and my spine had begun to ache all the way up into my neck and shoulders. I probably should have asked my captors for help with the pain, but I’d refrained. Exposing any kind of weakness right now would be a mistake.
Trying to ignore the pain, I lifted the shovel and dipped it into the first barrel. Behind me, a few of the beasts began to grunt and grumble. Heavy hoofsteps shook the ground under my feet as they neared, scenting the rancid meat that filled the barrel to the brim. Smelling it, I gagged, spitting onto the moss to keep from vomiting.
“Saber meat,” came a deep, distant voice. I froze with the shovel halfway out of the barrel, ready to toss some of the lumpy meat over my shoulder. The sound of heavy wings catching air beneath them sounded over my shoulder, and then a hollow thump of a body coming to a stop. “You might as well tip the entire thing over and let them have at it.” I turned, tossing the meat into the crowd of beasts, and a frenzy ensued as they growled and swiped at each other, trying to get to the feast first.
A stranger stood before me, nearly blending in with the shadows of the clearing. His skin was so dark, it nearly looked purple, but not quite. His black hair was long enough that the individual beaded braids reached his waist, half of it tied back into a larger braid. The male was incredibly handsome, with a face that could have been carved from stone, rounded ears like a human, thick black horns that pointed towards the sky on either side of his head, and behind him, were two massive leathery wings. All it took was one look into his bright-yellow, slitted eyes to know what he was—a drach.
And not just any drach. He was the male from my vision, the one who’d been watching me from over Erix's shoulder. The fifth prince of the wild hunt.
“Have you been watching me?” I asked, shoving the tip of the shovel into the moss and letting it stand upright between myself and the drach. He stood a good distance away, but not far enough that I couldn’t tell how large he was, how he even towered over some of the beasts. Even they kept their distance.
I’d never seen a drach in real life, but I’d read about them in my father’s books. In fact, one of my favorite books that my father had lent me was a tale of two drach mates and how they’d conquered a kingdom together. They were powerful beings from the ancient times, back when the gods walked this world. There weren't many of them left after the old wars, so the fact that one of them was standing right in front of me had me both giddy with excitement and wary of his every breath.
“Given the fact that I am the master of beasts, perhaps I should be asking you that question.” He took a step closer, and the soft sunlight hit his dark skin. It looked both hard as stone and soft as velvet. It matched the armored vest he wore, which appeared to be made out of large iridescent black scales.
“I don’t know what that means.” I glanced between him and the steeds. They seemed to keep a healthy distance from the drach, but I noted that a number of them kept an eye on his position at all times, as if they were threatened by his presence.
His eyes glowed bright yellow, slitted right down the center like a snake, catching the light in such a way that they seemed to actually radiate it themselves from within. “I watch over them. I train them, and I keep them safe from…trespassers.” Coming even closer, I watched as he flexed his fingers at his sides, his nails beginning to lengthen into black talons. “Why are you attempting to feed my beasts?”
“I was stupid enough to ask the princes to give me a job to do that was useful, so Cadoc thought it would be amusing to make me do this.” I sighed, grabbing the shovel again. I was wasting time. “I have until the sun is on the other side of the sky to get them fed and watered.”
His lips curled in amusement. “Well then, we can’t disappoint the big, scary prince, now can we?”
I paused, eyeing him speculatively. “How come we haven’t met yet? I saw you in Erix’s little vision trick. Where have you been this whole time?” I was tired of faerie games, and I didn’t like feeling out of the loop. I was bound by an oath to all five princes, so I deserved to at least know who I was serving.
He was silent for a moment, taking the time to fold his wings behind him, he strode to the nearest beast, stroking his fingers through the fur of a lion with the tail and legs of a lizard. The beast dipped its head in respect and a light rumbling sound emanated from the creature. “You can call me Vazden.” I’d never heard the name before. It wasn’t native to any language I knew. The sound was guttural but still regal.
“Kyre,” I replied, though he already knew that. Shoveling out more raw meat, I avoided his eyes, but I could feel them on me. “You didn’t answer my question,Vazden.”
Several of the beasts shuffled closer to me as I flung more meat at them. My stomach rolled as a saber swallowed a large chunk whole, knowing he was eating his own kind. None of the beasts tried to attack me, which was a relief, but I still kept a healthy distance away.
“I spend most of my time in the skies,” he said finally. “Being indoors stifles me. I avoid it as much as I can.” He moved on to the chimera lying on the ground, shoving the beast with his boot, waking it from a deep sleep. It growled and snapped at Vazden’s foot, but in a playful way. “But don’t worry, Princess, I’ve been watching. Erix keeps me informed of your every move.” His eyes lifted, meeting mine as a slow smile spread his lips. The chimera rubbed its massive head against Vazden’s shoulder before joining the others.
I cut him a dry look, ignoring the insinuation. He clearly wanted to irk a response out of me. I nodded at the beasts. “They respect you.” Every few seconds, one of them would raise its head, seeking out the drach before resuming its meal, as if each of them were aware of his every movement.
“Drachs have owned the forest and the skies for thousands of years. My beasts know a predator when they see one.” As if to emphasize his point, he moved his dark wings, shaking them out as they spread wide.
“Shouldn’t you be with a colony?” I asked, not trying to sound rude, but I was curious. Drachs were pack creatures, and I had yet to see another so far.
Drachs tended to live with their own kind high up in the mountains, away from humans and faeries alike. They were creatures of solitude and war. They sought the company of other species unless it was to fight them for territory.
