Part One
Chapter 1
Whatdid it say about me that I walked so willingly into my own doom?
Today was Placement Day, what I oh-so-affectionately called Imprisonment Day.
My duties as a slave would officially begin after the Placement as soon as I was assigned a new kingdom to serve. Freedom would forever remain a far-off dream, never given a chance to experience.
I didn’t rage and fight, causing a scene as I wanted to, and instead, I found myself walking meekly into this next chapter of my life. I let myself be led to the future, where a new, unknown master would own me forevermore.
I liked to consider myself amongst the few who disagreed with the enslavement of us humans under the Fae, but it was only now I realized just how powerless I truly am. We’re just animalsbeing corralled into their cage. The sickening thought of what would happen should I try to escape that cage, kept me from reacting outwardly.
I spent the first twenty years of my life under Fae rule with a more relaxed version of control than I’d heard other humans experienced. Jehohanan, the master of the vineyard my parents were forced to work in, gave those in our village a modicum of freedom. We kept our own little ramshackle houses. We were given time to ourselves once harvesting and bottling were completed. Children weren’t allowed on the work floors, and when I was little, I never saw the punishments dealt out. My mother told me they were less harsh than most places, and the pride in her voice over that fact rankled. Still, they were allowed to raise a family inrelativepeace—it was a rare thing in this world.
Once I hit twenty-one, however, it was all over.
The arena loomed ahead as I stepped out of the rickety wooden wagon that brought us here—to the neutral lands where no kings held dominion. This side of the neutral lands hosted the ancient arena used for this vile event. Lore stated it was here that the agreement was forged between the six Fae kings of old, binding their celestial kingdoms with one another. The continent of Celesterra was shattered and war-torn before that historic truce. Now, the Fae kingdoms cohabited in peace and prosperity.
The smell of grass and old stone hit me as I inhaled a deep breath, trying to brace myself for what was to come. I wasn’t sure there was any amount of preparation that would adequately prepare me though.
The sound of a whip cracking made me look over my shoulder to where a slew of wagons littered the grass in front of the arena. Those like me who would be assigned a new kingdom today and their families who had joined them all tumbled out of the wagons one after another. The different types of clothing mademe blink rapidly. Some were dressed in what amounted to rags, while others were wearing clothing of fairly decent quality, but one and all were being shuffled into place by the Fae.
The sound of the whip cracking once more was enough to force a meek-looking boy forward, tears streaming down his cheeks. Boy was no longer an accurate term, I realized belatedly. He was like me, up for placement now that he was an adult—he was considered a man now, despite the look of him.
I winced, looking away from his struggle and focusing back on my own. I searched around the wagon I had been corralled in, hoping to spot Soren and his family, but instead, I came face to face with a burly Fae, who glared down at me.
“Move. Now.” He grunted.
My mother quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. Her face was scrunched in worry, with wrinkles lining her forehead and nose as she hurried me toward the entrance, my father rushing to bookend me on the other side. I couldn’t catch a glimpse of his face, but I could practically feel the tension coming from him, his body ramrod straight as his hand landed on my back, pushing me forward faster.
Tall limestone obelisks lined my vision, looking especially foreboding as we made our way toward the opening that led us inside the circular arena, a large stone stage set in the back. The obelisks flanked the back of the open arena, behind the stage, and around the sides, enclosing everyone, except for the front entrance gap where we entered.
The arena was a sea of drab gray, with only splashes of green from the grass adding hints of color to the place. It felt fitting that such an uninspiring palette painted the landscape of the location where we were traded away. It deserved to be a place without color, leached of joy.
In a world of powerful Fae, humans were at the bottom of the food chain. When we reached the age of adulthood, it would beour turn to attend the bi-annual Placement Day. My twenty-first birthday passed on the Sommer Solstice, and now it was my time to be placed…whether I liked it or not.
The Fae allowed our parents to raise us until it was time for Placement, and then we would be turned over to an entirely different kingdom, never to see our families again. The Fae viewed human children like grazing cattle, allowing parents to raise the calves until it was time for slaughter. They needed humans to reproduce to make more slaves and this system had allowed the population to boom. The illusion of family life offered like tantalizing bait when in actuality, there was no choice at all.
I walked as slowly as I could, dragging my feet against the current threatening to sweep me away into a future I wanted no part of. My mother clutched my hand tightly, pulling me along and ensuring I kept moving forward. I fought against placing one foot in front of the other as other humans streamed in and around me and towards the entrance. The Fae hustled everyone in as fast as possible.
The press of humans was so chaotic that as the Fae maneuvered us forward, I couldn’t distinguish one face from the next. The press of bodies was just too much. I struggled against the feeling of suffocation it brought as the mass of people surrounded me, bumping into me and my parents from all sides, stepping on my heels as the Fae kept us moving.
My mother continued to drag me through the entrance, and I felt my spirit screaming inside with nowhere to run. Causing a scene by running would result in nothing but pain—a whipping if I were lucky. Stories were still told of what happened thirty years ago to a boy from Sunrise who attempted it. He got his wish in the end, not having to attend Placement Day. Though, I doubted he rejoiced about that when the sword took his head for treason.
I sighed with a near-silent breath, taking in the space before me. The large stage towards the back was made of the same limestone as the spires surrounding the space, and chairs were set up on ornate rugs covering the grass in front of the stage. Who put down rugs over grass? I could only assume the nobles didn’t want to dirty their precious feet.
The humans ahead of us began making their way up to a spot before the stage, the Fae surrounding them. The mass of people that had swarmed into the arena behind them meant we came to a standstill as we all waited to be sorted by the Fae into groups of those receiving their Placement and the families attending with them.
My father’s hand landed on my shoulder, and I turned to face him. His face crinkled with age as he smiled, proof of laughter in a world determined to prevent it. His brown eyes were warm as always, but I could see his body trembling. He quickly spoke, taking advantage of the lull, low enough not to be overheard.
“Be smart. Be safe.” He whispered close to my ear. I quirked a brow at him, indicating I was listening. “Mind your anger, Asteria—don’t look at me like that. Listen to the Fae. And please, don’t act out.”
Hearing his voice tremble and crack wrenched painfully in my heart. I wanted to reach up and throw my arms around his shoulders, to feel his own squeeze me tightly to him. The mention of my temper did cause me to bristle a bit, but he was right. I couldn’t risk angering the Fae. I merely squeezed his hand tightly in return. “I promise, Father. I’ll do my best.”
I felt his body slowly stop trembling, a sigh punctuating the release. He knew this was the best I could promise. My anger over our situation was palpable, and I’d ranted to my parents many times over the unfairness. And still, neither agreed with me, they’d long been resigned to life as it was.
Or was it just that they were simply too scared of the Fae to say otherwise? How many of us were too frightened to speak our minds or make a move toward the freedom we all deserved? How many humans would prefer to remain in the dubious comfort of what they understood?
