AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They’re keenly intelligent,” Crescent explained. “A shame to keep her locked in here.”
I looked at him with surprise. “Why are they kept here?”
“For the queen’s amusement mostly. The menagerie has always been an indulgence of the royal family. Though I know Prince Kairos finds it distasteful.”
“Oh, he doesn’t like the idea of keeping wild creatures contained, does he?” I murmured ironically.
I stepped up to the next stall where two small deerlike creatures stood side-by-side. They had emerald-green fur and long, curling antlers. As I watched, one lifted a dainty hoof, then raised its head and let out a melodic haunting call.
“Verdantail,” Crescent offered. “They’re considered a delicacy.”
“Don’t you mean ‘delicate’?” I corrected him.
He paused. “No.”
I curled my lip. “Oh.”
“The last emperor had a special predilection for verdantail, but the queen does not seem inclined to...” Crescent paused as if trying to find the right words.
“To eat these ones?” I supplied. “I’m sure they’re very grateful.”
I walked past the verdantails then stopped abruptly. “Oh!”
In the dimly lit far corner of the menagerie cage, a colossal feline sat hunched.
Cloaked in a velvety coat of obsidian, the creature's fur was accented with bold, golden stripes. But the once sleek and lustrous fur was matted and unkempt, the dark black and gold stripes dulled by neglect. Its once powerful limbs seemed weary, and as it shifted its weight slightly, the exmoor's movements seemed to lack the grace and agility I had taken as its hallmark.
Familiar amber eyes glowed with intelligence, but also held an unmistakable glint of anger and bitterness.
“I don’t understand,” I said, taking in the forlorn beast’s faded magnificence. “This isn’t. This can’t be...”
“This isn’t the exmoor you brought back,” Crescent said hastily. “That one is being trained by the prince in another area of the palace. At least, he’s working on it. I understand exmoors are very challenging to train.”
“So this one is...?”
“This one has been in the menagerie for, oh, since shortly after the prince was banished. One of the nobles brought him back after an expedition to a far region of Myntra.”
Crescent watched my face as I studied the exmoor. The sight of the obviously neglected feline sitting huddled in the shadows tugged at something in my heart.
“His name is Nightclaw,” Crescent said helpfully. “Prince Kairos has named the female Sunstrike.”
“He’s a dangerous beast,” a voice barked. I heard a thumping sound and turned to see a grizzled older man approaching. He held a heavy wooden cane in one hand, which he was using to hit the ground. “Make no mistake. He’d take your head off soon as look at you.”
I glanced at the exmoor. As the man had approached thumping his cane, the creature had seemed to shrink further back into the shadows.
“Really?” I said, my voice cold. “I’ve encountered exmoor before. This one doesn’t look very dangerous to me. Simply neglected.”
“This is Master Rodrick, the menagerie keeper,” Crescent said quietly.
“I tried to mate him with the female the prince brought back,” Master Rodrick growled. “Unsuccessfully. He shows no interest in breeding. Useless lump of a creature.”
My eyes passed over the grizzled menagerie keeper coldly. “Hardly surprising considering how dejected he looks. When was the last time he was allowed to roam freely?”
“Roam freely?” Master Rodrick scowled. “The last time I let him out of that cage without a muzzle, he took a chunk off my leg.” He lifted a trouser leg and gestured to a scarred welt. “He can die in there as far as I’m concerned. Miserable beast.”
“How many exmoor are there in Myntra?” I asked bluntly.
“Only the two now as far as I know,” Crescent answered quickly.
