“Any other advice?” I looked up warily, hoping they had something I could actually use.
“Watch and listen.” Emmie smiled slightly. “You learn all sorts of things that way. They don’t expect their slaves to truly pay attention, and they’ll say things in front of us they don’t want known. You may see things that will give you an advantage as well. It’s all about staying on top of the politics, and then spinning that knowledge in your favor.”
I shook my head, feeling overwhelmed. I put my fingers to my temples and rubbed them in circles, hoping to dispel the ache growing in my head.
“It’ll be okay.” Emmie reached over and patted my knee. “You’ll find a way through.”
Would I though?
We stopped when it began getting dark to set up camp. The royals were to reside in big, luxurious silk tents for the evening, with actual furniture pulled out for them. I watched beds, vanities, tables, chairs, and sofas being hauled from a wagon by some of their human slaves. By the time they were done dragging and placing the furniture where the Fae wanted it, the poor humans were drenched with sweat and dropping onto the wet ground, fanning themselves.
The Fae had actual magic they could use for this, but still used their human slave labor to prove a point. I watched as the Fae stayed in their own, much more swanky transport. Lounging back on velvet seats and laughing amongst themselves as theydrank and gossiped over the event and their new acquisitions. As the humans began to drop from their exertions, the nobility merely laughed as the guards made their way over, whips uncoiling from their belts.
I shook my head; based on the Fae’s behavior here, I considered what my future might hold.
Nothing good.
That may be the only thing I was sure of at the moment.
At least they’d put up a magical barrier to keep out the rain. It blocked the torrents pouring down with what appeared to be an invisible bubble. Of course, that was done for their benefit, not ours. And it did nothing for the mud on our side of the camp either. I watched as they used magic to ensure their side was dry, but we were left to struggle through it.
A Fae did helpfully start a fire, since the logs were too wet to start one naturally. We were given simple bread and cheese for an evening meal. I could smell much more enticing scents in the air, the spices drifting in from the Fae’s dinner, that had me salivating. The Fae royals and nobility remained in their own separate part of the camp; the two different sides starkly contrasted.
We were given tiny, canvas tents in a drab tan color. Meanwhile, the royals had lush flowing silk tents in a shining dark gray with bright pink both along the edges and outlining a large pegasus on the side.
We were instructed to stay in our section, with stern looking Fae guards who lined the edges. After such a long time in the wagon following a seriously stressful experience, I felt entirely too restless. I figured that as long as I remained on our side of the camp, it couldn’t hurt to walk around. I started exploring around the edge of the camp, dodging puddles and the mud that stuck to my boots. When I looked up, I startled as I caught Prince Cyrus staring at me.
Old Gods, he looked so cocky, his smirk sliding into place. He didn’t take his eyes off me, and I’m not sure if he understood that it was fear inducing rather than enticing.
I shoved my hands behind my back so he wouldn’t see them shake. I refused to show any fear.
Prince Cyrus probably expected me to jump at the attention. I knew I should be following proper court etiquette—but what did I know of those? Before I did anything that could get me into trouble, like glaring at the pompous prince, I quickly turned away and headed to my tent, deciding that walking was far too risky, even if I was restless. I let the siren call of sleep lure me in, knowing it was the safer option.
And who knew how much sleep I’d get once we arrived at the palace and I was put to work? I’d have to take advantage on the way to Dusk. The capital was only a couple days away from the Neutral Lands, but I’d take that time to rest while I could and work on calming my nerves. I would enjoy the last bit of what almost felt like freedom, even if the royals, and their heavily armed guards, were corralling us toward our cage.
Chapter 3
Thenext day dawned with a break in the clouds. The rain had stopped falling long into the night, and finally seemed to be over. The sun sluggishly rose into the sky as the Fae packed us back into the wagons.
Emmie was a chatterbox the entire trip. Eris seemed to be ignoring it, but I was sat on Emmie’s other side today, indulging her. She was currently regaling me with all the court gossip she’d heard around the Dawn Kingdom palace or from her mother, who apparently worked for one of the queen’s ladies in waiting.
“Of course, there’s the scandal of the Day Kingdom’s prince.” She giggled in a low tone, and I remembered how unnerved I felt when said prince’s eyes caught mine.
“What scandal?” I asked, cocking my head to the side curiously. I’d never heard of any scandal. We did get visitors tothe vineyard fairly often, so even if we heard news much later than most, we did frequently receive word on other kingdoms.
“Old Gods, you truly are out of the loop!” She laughed, and I flushed a bit. We were in the middle of nowhere really—I knew that. The vineyard was surrounded by my village, a lake, and the mountain range—and not much else. We were near the Damaculous Ocean, so we could escape to the beach every now and again. The mountain isolated us from the capital, and it was too far for us to make any day trips when we had no horses or wagons. Those were only brought in to pick us up for Placement Day.
Life in Sonmathion had been peaceful for the most part, despite it being a prison all the same. Humans under twenty-one weren’t required to work, but we still had to attend our lessons, and a strict curfew was enforced for us. If I’d been caught sneaking out, I’d have been whipped for the infraction. The Fae who oversaw Sonmathion was more relaxed, but he was still exacting in his punishments.
Soren told me about when his father dropped a bottle once. A visiting Fae noble wasn’t looking where he was going and crashed into Soren’s father, causing him to drop it. He was blamed for it, despite it being obvious that the accident wasn’t his fault. He’d been whipped until his back was a bloody mess. Soren’s parents didn’t want him to see the damage and insisted on sending him out of the house, but he’d doubled back to look through the window. Even then, I’d had to swallow my rage to support Soren.
“Oh, I shouldn’t tease.” Emmie’s voice dragged me from my thoughts. “I’m sorry. But—okay, so you know how when the king’s sons are born, it’s usually the first born who is chosen as the heir?” I gave her a look, clearly indicating it was a dumb question.
Everyone knew that the magic of the gods chose the next king. It was usually the first-born male, but not always. Sometimes it was a different son.
“Well, Prince Arien wasn’t chosen.” Emmie was far too excited by her gossip, but I nodded to encourage her to keep going. “And King Aelius and Queen Aurelia haven’t had any other children. Nor does it seem they plan to with their current enmity. Some say that they’ve lost the favor of the gods. And if something happens to the king, rumors are that the power of Day Kingdom will go to another family.”
“Can that happen?” I tilted my head to the other side as I looked at her. I’d never heard of such a thing.
