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"I can understand that," he said in response to my explanation. "I would certainly want to know more about my potential bonded if I could." He scoffed. "Not that it's likely we'll win, at this rate." His gold eyes met mine, and he sat up, gesturing with his mug before taking a sip. "Go on, miss Rina. Ask your questions and I'll answer honestly. Though I'm afraid you and your employer might not like the answers."
I sipped my drink, soaking in the heady spices and sweet apple flavor that almost hid the alcohol. "I thought only female highborn have wings," I said, diving right in. I hated the bluntness, but I couldn't quite bring myself to waste time being coy. Besides, I was curious about how he would handle my directness. Not everyone was impressed with my honesty.
Mirri tilted his head, studying my face for a moment before answering with a question of his own. "Is there a reason the tournament rules specified contestants must be male?"
I sighed and shook my head. While some fae had preferences around the sex of their intimate partners, most were more open-minded. Concepts about which genders were allowed to enjoy each other were mostly a notion brought to Elfhaven by the humans who came to live here, and one that they abandoned pretty quickly when they got here and experienced all the variety and freedom our primal revelries had to offer.
"The king and queen wish for the Prize to provide heirs in the not-too-distant future," I said, careful not to give too much away. "While the Prize could adopt an heir for her estate, she would prefer the option of having her own children. That's the only reason for the gender requirement." I couldn't help my faint blush as I added, "I think you'll find the Prize is open-minded when it comes to romantic matters. She prefers males in general, but I believe she's had female bed partners as well." I absolutely had. Gender really did not matter, it was the person that compelled me.
He smiled faintly. "If she's open-minded and hoping for a clutch of children in the near future, I suppose that explains the quest for multiple mates, hmm?" But he seemed to relax knowing the reason for the gender requirement.
"Mirri," I said softly, glancing around to see that my guards were giving us privacy, and to make sure no one else was nearby to overhear. "Are you a woman? Were you hiding your wings because you're female?"
He didn't look overtly feminine, but that wasn't really any indication when it came to a person's gender or their anatomy. "Or…” I said softly, “perhaps you are other-called?"
Some people's gender expression didn't match their reproductive characteristics. Humans had another name for it, but I preferred the fae term, as did most people I had met who were other-called.
Mirri sighed. "I didn't intend any trickery or anything like that," he said evenly, looking down at his strong hands, clearly bracing for a bad reaction. "Where I'm from, people know me and are used to me. But when I travel, sometimes I encounter…less enlightened reactions, especially in places like the capital where there are more humans coming and going. It just makes things easier if I hide my wings when I'm around strangers or in unfamiliar surroundings." He bit his full bottom lip, hesitating for a second. Then he reached back and shifted one side of his cloak away so I could see his folded wing. It was shaped just like all female highborns' wings were—like a combination of a dragonfly wing and a butterfly's wing, but far sturdier than either.
I reached out, but didn't touch, outlining the intricate patterns in the air above his wing. "They're beautiful," I said honestly. "I'm sorry you feel the need to hide that part of yourself."
He nodded in acceptance and twitched the covering back into place. "I'm not entirely male or female, mistress," he said in a soft, almost shy voice that gave away his nervousness. "I was born a little of both. I have male and female attributes. Though for all intents and purposes, I mostly prefer to present as male. At least publicly."
"Oh," I said slowly. "I see." Nature was full of so much beautiful variety. But this was the first time I had met someone like Mirri.
He chuckled, not offended by my silly reaction. "The officials were a bit confused when I applied for the tournament, but they said…uh…" A faint blush bloomed across his cheeks. "They said as long as I could sire children, I was male enough for them."
I snorted. It sounded so archaic and barbaric when you put it that way. I covered my laugh with a cough and a sip of cider. "And can you?" I blurted. "Sire children?"
Magic and moonbeams, Kat. What a question. Why was I just blurting stuff out like this? Maybe I was embracing my gossipy tea spiller ruse a little too enthusiastically. "I'm so sorry," I said immediately. "I don't know why I said that. That's invasive. Don't answer."
He patted my knee gently and huffed a soft laugh. "The cider really sneaks up on you, doesn't it?" Then he shrugged. "I appreciate your sensitivity, but you are here to gather information. And I have to admit that given the situation, it is pertinent." He sighed. "I'm not exactly built like some males." It was hard to tell in the firelight, but it seemed that the tips of his pointed ears had gone red now. He took a breath and soldiered on. "But it all works." He huffed. "I can't say for certain, since I've never been a father before, but I have no reason to think I couldn't fertilize a clutch of eggs if, uh, the opportunity arose."
I ran a hand through my hair and let out a breath, trying not to dwell on the fact that it was technically my clutch we were taking about. My eggs he'd be fertilizing. I chugged the rest of my cider, suddenly wanting to be as drunk as possible. "Thank you for the information," I said stiffly.
Mirri chuckled. "Is there anything less awkward you'd like to know about, while you're here?"
I giggled at the absurdity of this entire conversation. And at the way I somehow didn't mind looking like an awkward fool in front of Mirri with his warm, sunshine aura and open, inviting smile.
"I do have another question, actually," I said as he took my empty mug for a refill. "I was wondering why you didn't just grab Adder and fly him out of the tar swamp during the event today. It would have been faster than the way your team retrieved him, I would think."
He nodded as he handed me my refill and sat back down. "It would have been hard to pull him out that way, to get the right amount of force, but I could have done it, yes. The thing is, I didn't want anyone saying Adder cheated by having me do it for him. It's probably pointless now, but I didn't want anyone to see my wings and say they give me an unfair advantage. I wanted to win on my own merit." He sighed. "Now everyone will whisper that I'm a freak and my extra attributes are the only reason we're still in the running."
I frowned. "Nonsense."
He just shook his head. "It's the same reason Fife usually refuses to use his magic during challenges. While we all have innate magic in us, and we all have some magical strengths, it's kind of an unspoken rule that we keep an even playing field during this sort of thing, unless a challenge is geared specifically to assess our magical abilities. A cleric would be at an unfair advantage since his talents are so broad and varied. That potion bead he gave Adder today was the only thing that kept us in the running. If he hadn't acted, we would have had to forfeit to keep Adder from suffocating in the tar."
I nodded in understanding. They all seemed like men with strong moral compasses. Of course they would worry about fairness, even in this. "Then why did he use his magic?" I asked curiously. Given what I knew of Raven team so far, I could absolutely see them forfeiting that challenge rather than risk the accusations of cheating, even if it was pretty understandable why a guy might react without thinking if it was to save his friend from a potentially dangerous situation. Instinct wouldn't immediately remind a person that there was an official standing by to help.
But Mirri's brow furrowed, his gentle features turning sharp with anger. "He was mad," he said flatly. "Someone threw a spell from the stands to knock Adder off that plank. They weren't careful about it, and it caused internal injuries when it hit him. Our Fife might be a tad bit protective of the rest of us, especially Adder. And he has a temper on him. I guess he figured if someone else used magic to ruin our chances, then he was damned well going to use his magic to make sure we finished the challenge."
His gold eyes met mine, and he grimaced in apology. "I probably shouldn't be quite that honest. I don’t want it to reflect poorly on us. I swear, Fife's a good guy, usually. Not some unhinged ball of rage. But everyone has a boiling point, you know? And today, he reached his."
I brushed off his concerns, since I was angry enough to toss around curses myself right about now. If only I had that kind of magical ability. "I can't believe someone is still daring to attack competitors," I ground out.
Sure, some harmless interference was to be expected. Most citizens in Elfhaven were magical beings who loved mischief, after all. And this competition was a big deal for the noble Houses who were sponsoring a team. Alliances would be made or broken based on the outcome, depending on who the Prize really was and what political mess the king and queen were trying to avoid. But to actually injure a competitor was an enormous risk. If they were caught, the consequences would be severe. They could end up magically castrated, exiled, or thrown in prison for the foreseeable future.
"Damned moon-crazed idiots," I muttered.
