And when we discovered that I was a syrenskyn, she’d muttered, “I should have known. Your body has always been too curvaceous. Too buxom.”
I’d been taught that my body was bad, that my beauty was distasteful, and that my ability as a syrenskyn was an embarrassment to the family. My father had made it clear that that was why I was being married off to Lord Gael who lived far away from Morodon, and the Nemian Sea, and the rest of the family. I was a shameful secret that they wanted to get rid of.
So I took care of it myself. I disappeared and found myself a place where for the first time, no one seemed to give a damn what I looked like or that I didn’t look the way Ioughtto. The Borderlands were full of fae kind from across the kingdoms. And while I’d certainly had men look at me with lust in their eyes, it wasn’t the same way Redvyr looked at me, the way he was watching me now.
Desire was there, yes, but something more. If I didn’t know him better, I would call it admiration. But I’d done nothing for him to admire. I’d fled into the woods and nearly frozen to death, then I fell into his lap and became his responsibility. Then I’d nearly gotten myself killed by a maddened dryad stag and was now his burden for the rest of winter.
Still, that golden gaze flared brighter as I drew nearer, and it gave me more confidence for what I was about to demand.
The talking stopped altogether, the four males watching as I came to a stop in front of Lord Redvyr. I knew Bezaliel. The other two males were two of the three I’d met on my first day in the clan’s camp—Leifkyn and Dayn. Both were well-built like their chief, though not as big as Redvyr. One had red eyes with lighter bronzed skin. The other had piercing orange eyes, the tip of one of his four horns chipped. He wore his long hair in a leather tie down his back.
“Good morning, Jessamine,” Redvyr greeted me casually, and yet it sent a tingling thrill down my spine.
“Morning. I would like to go with you all to Hellamir.”
One of his dark brows rose. “It is best that you travel on with the clan to the Vale.”
“I could help Tessa with the babe, and I could go into the town with her.”
We were both light fae and could blend with the townsfolk with ease.
“It would be safer as well for her to have another pair of eyes with her,” I added.
“Hellamir is a safe village,” said Bezaliel, his brow furrowed into a frown. “Otherwise I would not let her go.”
“When was the last time you traded in Hellamir?” I asked pointedly.
Redvyr scowled at me now. “Early spring.”
“Before King Gollaya joined with Queen Una as monarchs over Northgall and Lumeria.” I scoffed. “You must understand that not all of the light fae cities and towns in Lumeria are happy about this merge.”
“Of course they aren’t.” His tail twitched behind him. “But Tessa is a wood fae. There will be no trouble for her.”
“Look, I know I don’t know much about the ways here in Meerland,” I said to all of them, “but I’ve traveled all the way across Lumeria from Morodon and have been to many cities andvillages in between. Trust me when I tell you that the war might be over, but many of the light fae are hostile and volatile. The target of their anger isn’t always the enemy, there is a great deal of unrest and violence within the lands.”
Redvyr turned to look over his shoulder at his men. “Leave us.”
I could tell that I’d upset Bezaliel, but they must know that the war had changed things. I readied myself to be chastised for raising such fears. What I wasn’t ready for was Redvyr’s angry concern when he wrapped a hand around my upper arm.
“Who hurt you?” he demanded to know.
“What?”
“On your travels,” he pointed out coolly, “who hurt you?”
“Oh.” I hadn’t thought he would read into it. And now I couldn’t think of a reason not tell him. “It was nothing.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” He dipped his head lower toward mine, golden gaze fierce. “Tell me when and where and who.”
Blinking quickly at the rush of memory, I told him. “It was in a small village on the edge of the Myrkovir Forest called Wyngolsen. I’d been running for a few days. Anyway, I found an inn that seemed safe.” I huffed a laugh. “But I was still dressed in a gown of my own. And I carried a purse attached to my belt. There were a few men in the tavern I was worried about, so I bolted the door and put a chair beneath the knob for protection.”
“But they got in anyway.” Redvyr’s voice was low and menacing, though I knew it wasn’t for me.
“One of them did. Came through the second story window somehow. I awoke to him taking the pouch sitting on my bedside. I should’ve just let him take it, but I was terrified. Without that money, I had nothing and no way to continue on. So I jumped out of bed and fought the brute.”
I touched my cheek where he’d slapped me across the face, remembering the sharp pain. It had stunned me. No one had ever hit me before, least of all a grown male twice my size.
“What did he do to you?” Redvyr’s timbre had gone soft, gentler, though there was a touch of steel beneath it, as if he knew he needed to be calm if I was going to tell the rest.
