Page 16 of The Endless Dance

Blinding sunlight and a sun-kissed breeze greet me as I stumble away from the High Lord of the Light Court. I lean over a fence of driftwood-like rails adjoined to sandstone pillars. I squeeze my eyes closed as the cool lick of air soothes my spinning head. It takes a couple of minutes for the vertigo and nausea to wane, and I wait a moment after it passes before opening my eyes.

I suck in a sharp breath. The fence I was leaning over was, in fact, a railing encircling a vast veranda overlooking the most beautiful city I had ever seen. I mean, it had to be a city, though it was nothing like those you would see on Earth.

No, this city was wide and open and earthy and green and so alive I could scarcely catch my breath. Between the buildings were parks, fauna, fountains, ponds and tiny rivers. The pathways curved with the land in a calming pattern, not like the sharp, angry and direct roads and footpaths of Earth. There were massive, natural boulders and stones immersed in soft, beach-like sand. Even the homes seemed as if they had grown from the ground beneath them of their own accord.

The sighing of the sea pulls my attention to the railing to my left, and I dart to it without a thought. Below, cast in the shadows of the cliff, was a vast bay of crystalline ocean. The sand was oddly beautiful, what with the white, blue, purple, pink, and even green grains, each colour curving and swirling against one another before reaching the kissing tendrils of a pristine turquoise sea. Whilst the bay below was calm and lovely, I spied jagged rocks further to the left where the waves crashed and filled the air with their song.

“Breathtaking, is it not?”

I startle. I had been so enamoured by the beauty and life around me that I had forgotten the who, where and why. Reluctantly, I turn away from the view, only to gape as I take in the castle behind me.

The castle offered an open and airy atmosphere. From my vantage point, I believed almost half of the building was roofless and open to the elements. Tall trees, like those that had surrounded the clearing, loomed among the sandstone towers. I spied darting neon lights amongst the trees and thought immediately of my pixie friend, Pixel. I wondered if she lived here, or whether she ever visited.

The castle, almost a city unto itself, spanned up the walls of a mountain, but it wasn’t overbearing or intimidating in the least. In fact, it looked like it belonged there.

I swallow and turn back to the High Lord. Draekoh leans on the driftwood beside me with his arms folded causally across his broad chest, the loose fabric doing nothing to hide the firm muscles beneath. He cocks an eyebrow as a lazy grin melts across his lips.

“And no,” Lord Draekoh croons before I can even say anything. “Still not compensating.”

I roll my eyes, remembering the conversation we had shared on the field of the Choosing Ceremony. I’d commented on his crown, how ridiculously long it was and sassed about the size of it compensating for something. My cheeks heat as I remember exactly just how truthful he had been when this morning he had carelessly stood naked and hard in front of me. My eyes drop, but I quickly force them back up, even as my insides tighten and heat.

Draekoh’s grin widens. Then, with the gentle encouragement of a small breeze, I feel caressing my suddenly goose-bumped flesh; he freezes. His nostrils flare as he scents the betrayal of my body.

“Little bird,” he growls, low and dangerous. “You need to learn how to control your emotions here in Faezgard. I am not the only male who would throw you to the ground, here and now, and dip my tongue into your sweet, sweet nectar just to know exactly if your divine scent matches the taste your body promises.”

I slam my legs closed, refusing to rub them together just for a touch of friction to ease the sudden molten moisture that coats my inner thighs. My cheeks are fucking burning, and I stutter, completely at a loss for how to respond. Men on Earth were fucking disgusting. It was easy to fling words at their faces in battle as they demeaned and sexualised me. But Draekoh? His words were not selfish or crass; they were bold, honest, and promising. And I was at a stupidly high risk of falling to his whims.

Before I could gather my thoughts, a small creature scampers into view. I have to bite my tongue before I shame myself any more by squealing like a terrified strumpet who had just spied a mouse. But this creature was no mouse. No, it was nothing like anything I had ever seen before.

It was a curious, squat being, standing no taller than my knees. It was thin and covered with a coarse coat of hair, like that of a wild boar, over an almost skeletal body of a deep brown tone. Its head was slightly too large for its tiny body, with pointed ears that stuck out at the sides and a long nose to match. The skin on its face was loose and wrinkled, and mostly hairless, bar six thick eyelashes, three on each side, that overlooked its wide and completely brown eyes.

The creature wore a pointed hat, kind of like what Santa’s elves wore in the movies, bell and all.

Its clothes were all a sandy beige; a simple wrap around what must be the creature’s breasts, though its chest was completely flat, so I couldn’t be sure if it were male, female or genderless even, and, around its genital area was what could only be described as one of those reusable cotton diapers that had way too many layers of cloth folded into puffy bottoms.

Its feet were long and two-toed, with chipped, squared nails. I also spied a thin, hairless tail snaking out from behind it, the tip ending in a nub.

“My Lord,” the creature squeaked, “I am so glad you have arrived home safely. I take it the Hunting went well this year?” The little creature’s massive eyes didn’t budge from the High Lord, but I knew it was now focused on me.

“Indeed, Faarshayal,” Draekoh replied coolly, but he didn’t elaborate. Much to the creature’s disappointment, if its falling shoulders were anything to go by. “And how fared everything in Aurelia?”

Aurelia? I could only assume that was the name of the city.

“Quiet, as all Hunts tend to be, My Lord,” Faarshayal squeaks back. “Shall I prepare a chamber for your… guest?”

I refrain from rolling my eyes. I guess this Faarshayal wasn’t going to let the elephant in the room go unnoticed.

Lord Draekoh glances casually my way, then turns back to the creature.

“Yes,” he says. Faarshayal bows and turns to leave when Lord Draekoh speaks up. “Put her in the Orb Suite, would you?”

Faarshayal trips over its long toes. It quickly rights itself and turns back to the High Lord, not even trying to mask its mouth that was wide with shock.

“The… Orb Suite, My Lord?” it squeaks. Its tone is decibels higher, as if frightened to ask but needing to know it had heard right.

Draekoh sighs. “You heard correctly, Faarshayal. The Orb Suite.” He says it slowly, enunciating every syllable so there could be no misunderstanding. “Take her with you, if you please.”

With that, he turns and marches through the doors Faarshayal had appeared through earlier.