“And you allowed it?” Conall asked in horror.
“You would have preferred war?” Drostan snarled.
“This message is very important, King Drostan,” Conall said as he got to his feet abruptly. “I think you were right to want to receive it first. If you would follow me to my guest chambers, I'd be happy to present it to you.”
Conall widened his eyes at Drostan meaningfully.
“Very well,” Drostan said crisply. Then he turned to me. “I'll just be a moment, Riley.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“You'll be fine.” Drostan kissed my cheek, stood, gave Conall a grim look, and led him out of the hall.
I fidgeted nervously as the entire court watched the men leave and then turned to look at me. I grabbed my wine and took a deep swallow as a group of women got up from their dining table and approached me.
“Fuck,” I muttered. “What now?”
They sidled over and posed in front of me; one of them leaning her elbows on the high table to get a better look at me. I glanced at the group; four women total, and all of them stunning. The one on her elbows flicked raven hair over her shoulder as she rolled her eyes.
“I told you,” she said to the others. “She's nothing special.”
“She's got pretty hair,” one of the other women said.
I tried to ignore them; they were obviously baiting me.
“Maybe she's good at sucking cock,” another woman suggested.
“Shut up, Finella!” A little man—no bigger than my hand—fell from the ceiling and landed on the table between the women and me. He pointed angrily at the woman's face. “You're jealous. All of you are. You want to be sucking Drostan's cock yourselves, but he's chosen a human over you, and that just burns your airy assholes, doesn't it?”
The women gasped, turned about, and fled.
“Yeah; that's right, run away! I can hear your loose pussies flapping as you move; it's no wonder that the King doesn't want you,” he called after them. Then he turned and looked me over. “I'd fuck you. You know; if you were my size.”
“Thanks?” I chuckled.
“You're welcome.” He prowled over to my plate and checked out the fare. “You mind if I... ?”
“Help yourself.” I waved a hand at the food. “You just saved me from a nasty altercation. Have whatever you want.”
“Thanks, sweet-lips,” he drawled. “I'm Hugo.” He bowed, and his strawberry-blond curls fell forward over his face. Then he straightened and smiled brightly; soft brown eyes glittering with mischief. “Don't worry about those bitches. As you just saw for yourself; it only takes a little courage to put them in their place.”
He unsheathed a sword and sliced a piece of potato into manageable chunks. After wiping his blade on my napkin, he sheathed it, picked up a potato chunk, and started to munch on it happily. Hugo wandered over to a butter dish and climbed onto the crystal lid. He thumped his heels on the lid as he ate and watched me.
“I'm a little out of my depth here,” I admitted.
“No shit,” he huffed. “I'll help you; I ain't got nuthin' better to do.”
“Thanks?”
“Do you always thank someone in the form of a question?” He teased me.
“Only when I'm not sure if they deserve my thanks,” I shot back.
“Oh ho!” He chortled. “We'll get along just fine. Now; your first lesson; do not let them see your fear. Fairies are like sharks; they can smell blood in the water. Bleed, and you become prey. Become prey, and you get eaten. You understand?”
“Got it.”
“Good.” He nodded. “Lesson number two; Know your role. You're a concubine now. I know that can be hard for humans to accept, but you seem to be adjusting to it faster than most. That's also good, because the ones who resist, don't last long.” He waved a hand toward the humans along the walls; being used randomly by the court. “Those are the lucky ones. The ones in the corridors or out in the courtyard—strung up for anyone to abuse—are on their way out. One more rebellion and they will be executed.”
