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“Hey,” I say, blowing on the porridge on my spoon.
“Have you seen the prince yet?” Beatrix’s uniform looks brighter and more crisp next to mine. She’s been here just as long, but her life differs from mine drastically. With two working parents in her household, they’re still not rich by any means, but they never go hungry either.
My gaze runs over her as I take a sip of my porridge. Her full face and body make me feel gaunt. She’s soft and supple where I’m angled and thin. Her hair shines while mine feels dry, like straw.
If she wasn’t my best friend, I’d hate her.
“I had a run-in with him in his room.” I don’t offer anything else, not wanting to recount the incident.
Beatrix eyebrows rise. “A run-in?”
I’m aware that there are far too many ears in this kitchen, so I choose my words with care and lower my voice. “I literally ran into him. I finished in his room, and I ran right into him on my way out. His body felt like a brick wall.” I leave out all the talking I did. She doesn’t need to know that.
“I wouldn’t mind running into him,” she says practically purring.
My mind wanders over the memory of him in his underwear. “Running into him, or–?”
“Cassia!” she says with a little gasp, her face bright pink.
“Maybe you want to run into him? Over and over again?”
She looks like she wants to crawl out of her skin. “Stop…”
“Maybe just a little naked and soapy?” Oh oh, when did me teasing her turn into my very own fantasy? Fuck, maybe I should have found an excuse to clean his room longer during his bath.
Not that the royal prick asshole would even give someone like me a second look.
“He’s royalty,” she sputters. “And the prince. Regardless of all the dirty talk from the servants, that’s all it is, just talk.”
I grin, taking another bite of my food and burning my mouth. Karma and all that. “I know. I’m just teasing you.”
She grabs a bowl of porridge and shoves herself close to me and out of the way. “Isn’t it exciting having all the royalty in our palace? There are so many beautiful fae from all four courts. Have you seen their clothes? Their women? Theirmen? Though, the Winter Court can’t be comfortable here. Don’t they live in ice castles?” She’s babbling, but then Beatrix has always been far too fascinated with the fae royalty. It’s like she’s the only one who didn’t get the message that they’re a pack of assholes.
“They look so out of place with their bright white hair and heavy clothing. They seem like the most uptight of all the courts.” The misery on the faces of the members of the Winter Court shone clearly to everyone. They were not acclimated to any terrain except for their own.
“I heard they make their rooms cold by forcing a lesser fae to touch the walls of their rooms and keep them cold the whole time they’re here,” Beatrix whispered.
I believed her. If the summer fae were cruel, it was nothing compared to the chill of the winter fae. “That must be why they all stay in the Queen’s old quarters. They must have a few lesser fae keeping the place cold around the clock. I’d hate to draw that straw. What a bore.”
Beatrix shushes me and looks around for anyone listening in. One of her strengths is restraint. I need to be around her more and let it rub off on me.
“What’s your favorite court?” Her face lights up as she asks me.
I’ve never thought about it. “What’s yours?”
“Oh, that’s easy. It’s the Fall Court.” She gets a faraway look in her eyes and a half smile appears on her face. “They’re just… something else.”
“It’s the red hair, isn’t it?” I ask, picturing the few people from the Fall Court that I’ve seen in my life. I get it. It’s kind of hot.
“It’s the red hair, and the hunting for their own food. A man who leaves the house to get food to feed his family issosexy to me.” She moans a little and closes her eyes. “They embody fire. I bet they’re wild in bed.”
I laugh. That’s not at all what I thought she’d say. I really thought she’d talk about the weather and the landscape, but she went straight to sex. I get it. A fiery man in bed sounds absolutely delicious. It takes more than just being from a certain court to stoke passion, though.
Survival tops my list. The hunting aspect of the Fall Court is attractive now that I think of it. If I had someone in my life who could hunt, we could eat. It would solve so many of my life’s problems. But I don’t have anyone to do anything for me, so I dismiss the idea from my mind.
“I’ve never been to another court, so I don’t have a favorite. They’re probably all the same anyway with their hierarchies and ridiculous wealth for only a select few while the rest of their court starves to death and dies of illnesses only money can cure.”
Fuck. I killed the mood.I don’t like games like this. There are no fantasies in my world most of the time. I live in a painful reality that’s hard to escape; I’m a human in a fae world. So, it wouldn't matter what court I lived in, my life would still be the same.
