“And you think a scrawny hatchling like yourself can stop me?” Rachis smirked at me, folding her arms across her chest. She was broad in the shoulders and chest, and towered over me by at least a foot. I think she might have even been taller than Einar. A hefty sword hung from her hip, and I had no doubt she could cleave me in two with it.
“I…” I hesitated. What did I even care anyway, if Einar wanted to have sex with a harpy? He certainly wasn’t mine, and I didn’t want him, either.
“I’m flattered by the offer,” Einar said smoothly, saving me from having to finish the sentence. He’d shifted out of his half-dragon form, wings and claws tucked away so that he looked like a fae once more, minus the pointed ears. He gave Rachis a flirtatious wink that made the jealousy monster in my chest snap her vicious teeth, and I scowled, annoyed at my internal reaction. “But if I remember correctly, harpies kill their mates when they finish with them, and I, unfortunately, would like live.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Rachis purred, her lips curving into a lascivious smile. “You look like you might have enough stamina to live through at least one mating season.”
My mouth dropped open as my mother’s tales about the harpies came rushing back. “I remember why the air fae hate you so much. You raid their villages once a year and steal their young males, then force them to mate with you over and over until they die from exhaustion!” The harpies secreted a special pheromone that drove fae males wild, forcing them to copulate repeatedly until their hearts gave out. I remembered how horrified I’d been when my mother had told me about it.
Rachis shrugged. “It takes a lot of seed to fertilize harpy eggs,” she said. “And the males do enjoy it, despite the terror of their impending death.” A regretful look crossed her face as she turned her head and stroked the cheek of the skull perched on her left shoulder. “I do miss this one though, sometimes. His cock had the most amazing shape, hit just the right—”
“Eww, gross.” Leap interrupted, his face screwed up in an expression of distaste. “Can you not talk about screwing my fellow air fae to death while I’m standing right here?”
“Careful, hatchling,” Rachis sneered. “The only reason we haven’t done the same to you is because the queen has a soft spot for you.”
“And because he hasn’t entered manhood yet,” Aria pointed out.
“Andbecause we do not harmhatchlings,” Eleerie reminded them sharply, glaring at both Aria and Rachis.
“Wait…those are the skulls ofyour dead mates?” My gut curdled as I spun around to stare at the three harpies, looking at the skulls mounted on their shoulders in an entirely new light.“All of them?”
“Of course.” Aria patted the skull on her right shoulder fondly, which sported a crown of tiny roses painted around the base of its scalp. “We honor the sacrifices of our mates by wearing them proudly into battle.”
“That’s…barbaric.” I said.
I glanced at Einar to see his reaction, whose expression was surprisingly thoughtful. “It’s terrible, kidnapping males against their wills and forcing them to sacrifice their lives for the sake of your offspring,” he said eventually. “But I respect the way you choose to pay tribute to them.”
I shook my head. “Unbelievable.” I looked over Einar’s shoulder at Leap, who was sitting cross-legged on his cloud. “How can you live with them, when they prey on your own kind?”
Leap looked away, his shoulders hunching in. “They took me in during a rough time.”
The unexpected flash of vulnerability in his eyes made me feel a little guilty for being so judgmental. Leap was just a child—the fact that he was out here, living with the harpies, meant that some tragedy had separated him from his parents.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to judge you.”
“I’ve had enough of this conversation,” Eleerie declared. She raised her voice so that the rest of the harpies in the room could hear her. “The queen needs to meet these fae, so they are not to be harmed during their stay here.” She turned to Wynna. “Show them where they can wash up, and fetch some food for them while I find the queen. They must be starving.”
* * *
Despite our less thanwelcoming reception from the harpies, Einar and I were treated well. The harpies showed us to a communal bathing chamber so we could wash, gave freshly roasted meat and root vegetables to eat, and even tankards of ale to wash it down.
After we bathed and ate, Wynna escorted us to the queen’s throne room at the top of the tower. It was a large, circular room with round glass windows set at six-foot intervals in the walls, allowing sunlight to stream in from all angles. Pairs of preserved harpy wings in a variety of colors were mounted between the windows, and a throne cobbled together from what I strongly suspected were either fae or harpy bones sat near the back of the room. Eleerie and Aria were already waiting in front of the throne, their winged arms folded behind their backs, heads raised, shoulders back and proud, and several guards were stationed along the walls, ready to defend their queen at a moment’s notice.
Perched on the bone throne was a muscular harpy with white-tipped golden feathers. Her leather armor was gold and white to match, and even the skulls adorning her shoulders were painted with golden starbursts. A crown of jagged opals sat on her feathered head, and resting in a holder to the right of her throne was a long alabaster staff, with a pure white stone set into the top. A faint spark glittered in the center, and I narrowed my eyes as I recognized that familiar glint—a primal stone.
“You are in the presence of Makani Windrider, Queen of the Harpies,” Wynna informed us. She stopped in front of the throne and bowed. “My queen, this is Adara and Einar, the trespassers we found in our territory.”
I sensed Einar stiffen next to me, and my stomach tensed. She was introducing us as intruders? This wasn’t good.
“Trespassers?” The queen’s golden eyebrows darted up her prominent forehead. She has narrow, almond-shaped eyes, a hooked, beak-like nose, and a wide mouth with full lips. Hints of crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes were the only indicator of her age—and considering how brutal harpy lives were, any sign of age was a testament to her strength and wiliness. “There must be something unusual about them if you brought them to me alive.”
“They healed Aria from an infected shadow creature wound,” Eleerie said, drawing the harpy queen’s attention to her. “But also…the male is a dragon, and the female can use fire magic.”
“A dragon and a fire fae?” the queen’s eyes widened, and she studied us more closely. A dubious look came over her face as she took in my features. “You look like a water fae. Everyone knows water fae can’t use fire magic.”
I shrugged. “This one can.” I snapped my fingers, and a flame sprang to life along the edge of my forefinger. A gasp flew from the queen’s mouth, and steel rang through the room as the guards drew their weapons.
“Relax, relax!” I held up my hands, the fire snuffing out immediately. “I was just giving a demonstration. I mean you no harm.”
