Then Drostan pushed by the man and escorted me into the castle. Everything was bright and shiny; gold featured predominantly in both fixtures and furniture. It was a little hard to look at. I ended up squinting a lot and staring at the floor. So, I didn't see the next person who approached us. But I heard her voice.
“You're back,” the woman noted. “Good; the Queen has been asking for you.”
“I'll attend her shortly,” Conall said.
“You'll attend her now,” the woman growled.
Conall's expression went furious, but he held his tongue and nodded. The woman looked mollified and stepped aside. Conall brushed past her and led me through throngs of fairies, deeper and deeper into the castle. We climbed a long, twisting staircase—the marble cold on my bare feet—and then went down a glass-walled hallway. A lush garden spread out to either side of the hallway—which was more of a tunnel—and gleamed with bright blossoms beneath the morning sun. Finally, we came to a gilded door guarded by a pair of knights. The knights nodded to Conall and then opened the double doors for us.
We strode across a plush carpet, winding our way through luxurious and fanciful furniture, to stand before a throne set within the curve of a soaring, bay window. A woman sat on the throne; hair whiter than a snowdrift, skin like golden oak, and eyes like irises. She was more beautiful than any woman I've ever seen; on Earth or Tirne. A man stood beside her; leaning down to speak into her ear. But then she spotted us and smiled brightly. The man noted her distraction and looked up. He had a very similar appearance to the woman's; enough to mark them as relatives. It was startling to see her features in a masculine form; and even more startling to find that they worked. He was just as handsome as she was beautiful. He blinked his stunning eyes at me slowly; looking me over with what seemed to be shocked interest.
“Sir Conall,” the woman said with pleasure, “I'm glad to see that you've returned safely to my court.” Her eyes strayed to me. “And with a gift?”
“Uh...” Conall looked at me with widening eyes. “I've just returned, Your Majesty. I didn't have the chance to take my new slave to my quarters. My apologies. She's on loan from King Drostan and not mine to gift.”
“On loan?” The Queen looked me over again. “Let me see her.”
“I'm sorry, Riley,” Conall whispered into my ear as he pushed the cloak open and took the blanket away from me.
The Queen's gaze flicked over my body and lingered on the residue coating my thighs. “I see that you've made use of this loan already. So, you won't mind lending her out to me.”
Conall gaped at the woman.
“Sir Conall?” The man prompted with a smirk as his gaze flicked over my body.
“No, of course not, Your Majesty.” Conall removed his cloak from me as his jaw clenched. He lowered his voice to say to me, “Obey her, Riley; she is the absolute power here. I shall request your return as soon as I can.”
Conall helped me kneel before the Queen.
“Lovely,” the Queen purred. She looked off into a shadowed corner to command, “Have her bathed and then returned to me.”
A woman came forth and helped me to my feet. As she escorted me through a side door, I caught one last look at Conall's angry expression. I couldn't help feeling pleased. Conall hadn't been cruel to me, but he hadn't exactly been kind either. My instincts were screaming that I was better off away from him.
“Now, Sir Conall,” the Queen said. “What was King Drostan's response?”
The door closed behind us before I could hear the answer.
“You look as if you've had it rough,” the girl said kindly. “Are you all right?”
“You're human!” I had finally gotten a good look at her.
“Yes, but I ended up in service to Queen Tana,” she said. “I was lucky. If you're smart, you'll try to make her happy, and then maybe she'll keep you too.”
“I wouldn't know the first thing about making a woman happy,” I whispered in horror.
The girl laughed as she led me through narrow corridors. The corridors were empty and unadorned; I had the feeling that we were walking through hidden passageways.
“Queen Tana won't require you to service her,” she said. “She likes to have entertainment as her consort makes love to her.”
“Oh,” I whispered.
“You'll probably have to fuck one of the knights,” the girl went on. “But they're all handsome, and they'll treat you well; it won't be a hardship. Queen Tana doesn't allow any abuse of slaves in her presence.”
“Really?” I asked in surprise.
“This is Seelie,” the girl said. “It's a different world than Unseelie.”
“No kidding,” I muttered. “Hey, I'm Riley.”
