The Raven Chronicles Ch. 04

I will endure this. I will survive, and we will be free. I promise you, my daughter.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

INISFAIL COURT

AZAR

Fechin loved her desperately. Or, so he said. But if he loved her, how could he do all those things to her? Why wouldn't he talk to her? He seemed sure to the point of arrogance that she would love him in return, but she didn't now. At least she'd been able to keep that much of herself to herself. 

She'd had a life he didn't understand where she'd had to work hard just to get enough to eat every day, and some days she hadn't eaten at all. Now she had no worries.

Except for her father. He was alone.

Except she was pregnant.

Except she was a prisoner, unable to remain angry with her kidnapper.

She had to do better.

This man wanted to ransom her father for a child. A baby he'd already created within her. How was she supposed to love someone who would use her body and her love like that?

The rooms were sumptuous, the furnishings lavish. The house she shared with her father would fit in the bedroom alone.

None of it appealed to her.

Especially when she touched the windows and balcony doors, but was rebuffed by a barrier that kept her safely indoors. She wasn't to the point of wanting to kill herself, but being able to go outside would be nice. She threw herself into a chair and thought.

A gentle tap on the door preceded its opening.

"Hello, Smiley." She'd resorted to naming the child-sized men for traits she could see when they'd explained they didn't share their names with anyone. They seemed like to like the nicknames she gave them.

The brownies were the only people she saw other than Fechin in the week since she'd arrived. They kept the fire lit and brought her endless trays of food.

The food, delicious and richer than anything she'd eaten before, could be another trap. What if there was something in it that made her more open to Fechin's suggestions? She couldn't starve herself -- she had to keep her strength up -- but missing one meal wouldn't hurt her, and it wouldn't be the first time she'd gone hungry.

She glared at the offerings. Meat. Vegetables. Bread. Cake. Water. Wine.

Azar carried the tray to the window. She couldn't leave, but air entered. Maybe the food could get out. She tore the bread into bits and tossed a scrap at the window. It passed through the barrier and landed on the balcony. 

She'd have to throw harder, or she'd have a pile of evidence showing her rebellion. Fechin would probably insist on watching her eat in order to protect his child.

The child.

Azar angrily hurled a second piece of bread. It arched over the balcony. A dark shape swooped through the air and snatched it out of the air. A raven! 

The bird landed on the railing and devoured its snack. It cawed, and more black birds perched along the balcony.

Azar cut everything into bite-sized pieces. As she prepared to fling the food outside, the ravens swooped into her room instead. They helped themselves to everything on the tray. She eyed the door in case Fechin returned, but the food was gone in no time.

One bird dipped his beak into the wine goblet. Azar laughed. "I don't think you should drink that." She gently pushed his beak away and poured the beverage down the sink in the bathroom.

Azar stroked soft feathers on glossy heads. "Thank you for your assistance. This had to be just between us, all right?"

Laughter answered her.

"See you at dinner?" 

The ravens cawed and flew out the balcony doors.

Did she feel differently now? Not physically, but she'd have to wait for Fechin to return to test her theory.

Azar stared out over the forest yet again. She would learn nothing about this place if she remained trapped in this tower. She had to get out of this room and figure out where she was if she had any chance of escaping and finding her father.

Wherever this place was. It was far from the desert oasis of her home. From her windows, she had a view of the ocean, miles of trees, and even snowy mountains in the distance.

She tried to ignore the opulence of the castle. She'd agreed not to fight, not that she wouldn't try to escape. It was merely a redirection. Like Fechin used sex with her. It had to seem real, though.

With a sigh, she opened the door to the closet and examined the array of fancy, expensive clothing awaiting her. If she sold a single one of these gowns, she'd have enough money to feed her father and herself for a month, easily. And there were so many.

Azar ran her fingers over the soft material. Some of the dresses looked too complicated. There was no way to get them on by herself. She pulled off her tunic and trousers. Settling on a green dress with only a few laces in the front, she lifted it from the hangar and slipped it over her head. The shiny material whispered over her body and swirled around her ankles.

The mirror showed her a girl trying to play dress up, and she frowned at herself. Is that what Fechin would see? That wouldn't help. She went into the bathroom and opened drawers until she found some combs adorned with brilliant green stones. Fancy hairdos proved to be harder to figure out than elaborate dresses, but she managed some twists that didn't look too ridiculous. A little color on her lips and cheeks, and she was done.

She practiced walking in a pair of high-heeled slippers so she didn't fall on her face until dinnertime, when Smiley delivered another tray.

He gave her a friendly smile. "You look very nice, Azar." He winked. "Green is Fechin's favorite color."

"Thank you." It was reassuring that she didn't look preposterous, but the Brownies probably would never say so, even if she did.

After he departed, she ignored the tray. She could always throw the food out the window later, if it came to that. She wrapped a blanket around herself and stood by the window to wait for her captor.

The door opened without a knock and closed with a click. Azar didn't bother to look up. It was Fechin. He never knocked, and his presence surrounded her.

"You've not touched your meal." He sighed. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't fight anymore."

She turned to face him and let the blanket drop to the floor.

He stared at her. While he didn't speak, his eyes ran up and down the length of her, like she was dinner.

Azar walked toward him, pleased when she didn't twist her ankle. "I don't want to fight, but I want to leave this room. If you want me to eat, take me somewhere else."

"Why?"

"You keep me here, come in for sex, and leave me alone again. If you want to have any chance of making me happy here, I want to meet others. I want at least the freedom to go to a library, or the kitchen, or anywhere else than the room you keep your bed in, because right now, it seems like that's all I'm here for."

He flinched like she'd slapped him.

Azar put a hand on his arm. It was the first time she'd touched him on her own. He realized it too, judging by his intake of breath and widened eyes. "I'm trying to meet you halfway, but you have to compromise, too. If I'm truly not a prisoner, don't treat me like one."

He stared at her hand on his forearm, then raised his eyes to meet hers. "Very well. Tonight, we will eat in one of the dining rooms with a few guests."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

INISFAIL COURT

SHISTI

Shisti strode through the rooms, gardens, and corridors, a beatific smile firmly in place. She'd been brought up to never show any annoyance, discomfort, or sadness. None of the courtiers she passed would know how her fury simmered beneath the surface of her skin.

Fury at Vilkos. The rape she could forgive. That was only about power after all, and she'd channeled that sex magic even as he thought he held all the control. She'd been nearly drunk on the level of energy created between them by the time his rut ended.

No, her fury was at the control he still wielded over her. As soon as she freed herself from his compulsion, he would regret daring to touch her, and he would die for planting a child in her womb.

Every time Vilkos had used her body while he was in his mindless rut, he thought he was dominating her. Overpowering her, but the magic he used to hold her down and fuck her, she saved, and would use to fuck him in the end.

Sex, blood, and death were the strongest ways to fuel magic. The life inside her -- created by sex, it held Vilkos' blood, and would soon die.

Perfect.

When the time came, she would harness it to kill him.

Courtiers' whispers carried on tendrils of listening spells reached her ears. 

A woman. The king has a consort! She's beautiful. An heir! Fechin will be king!

What was all this? She and Fechin had a deal. Casting an illusion over herself, she tracked the whispers through the palace to a private dining room and entered one of the secret corridors that riddled the palace. Servants used them to remain out of sight. Shisti had discovered them when one had attempted to escape passing her in the hall and hadn't been quite fast enough to disappear before she saw him.

Shisti nearly lost control of her emotions as she peered through the spyhole and caught sight of the woman sitting next to Fechin.

Petite. Beautiful.

His little whore smelled like sex. 

Like him.

Shisti knew Fechin's scent. She'd scrubbed it off her own skin often enough.

He'd broken their bargain. 

That meant she was free to kill whoever she liked. 

Fechin touched the woman's cheek and smiled at her. 

He'd never smiled at her at all, much less like that. One man had, before her father made him disappear. Tears sprang to her eyes, shocking her. She thought she'd cried for the last time years ago.

She watched them throughout the otherwise boring dinner, like hundreds of dinners before.

Fechin hadn't just had sex with Azar. He loved her.

And Azar... she did not love him. She tolerated his touch, but her face was a mask. Shisti recognized the false emotions. She'd worn them, too.

Shisti hid the laughter bubbling up inside her behind the tiniest of smiles. While the broken bargain allowed her to kill this consort of his, there was some fun to be had here if she kept the girl alive.

She could always kill Azar later. After Fechin had fallen even deeper in love. When it would hurt all the more and Fechin least expected it. After she turned the woman Fechin loved against him.

Some things were worth waiting for, and sips of revenge over time were something to savor.