After Caynin left Zoey in her room, he went to the kitchens where he found Fleur. She was a cheerful servant who spent her life trying to please Caynin almost as much as she tried to capture his attention. She never quite fit in the Eternity Kingdoms, because of her past. She was cleaning the kitchen counters, moving candles as she did so, and smiled when she saw him.
“My prince!” she exclaimed and curtsied.
“Hello, Fleur.” Saying her name made her feel important. “I have something to ask of you.”
“Anything, my prince,” she said eagerly. Her dark brown eyes reflected the candlelight.
“I have a human living in one of our spare rooms by the gardens,” he said, and watched her brows rise and lips part slightly. “She is injured. I need you to take medicine to her as well as clothes. Bring her something nice – that she can wear to breakfast tomorrow. See to it that she is comfortable.”
Fleur opened her mouth wider but then closed it again without saying anything. It was not her place to question the prince, and Caynin certainly didn’t have to explain his actions and choices to her.
“Yes, my prince,” she said, with a smile much tighter than the first, and bustled off.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Rane said from the door that led to the hallway. Caynin turned around to face him, and admired Rane’s ability to sneak up on him. “You’re sending a Fata to tend to a human! It should be the other way around.”
Few Fata would talk to him like that, but Rane was his best friend, and he often took his advice. “Rane…”
“What are you going to do with her?” Rane asked, irritated. He entered the kitchen – which was room temperature so that the food kept inside didn’t freeze.
“I’m going to study her,” Caynin said. “There is something different about her.”
“Do you care to elaborate?” Rane asked.
“When I found her in the woods, for a second time, I tried to compel her.”
“Humans are weak minded, and it’s easy to control their minds,” Rane said, and then realized what Caynin was saying. “What do you mean by ‘tried’?”
“I mean my compulsion did not work on her. My mind control had absolutely no effect.” He had told her to stop being scared, but she had not calmed – she had remained terrified.
Calm down and let me help you.
Stop being scared.
No matter how much weight and magic he had put into those words, they had no effect. Caynin was not used to being powerless against a human.
“You’re one of the strongest Fata alive,” Rane pointed out. “If you can’t compel her—”
“The others can’t either,” Caynin said. “One of the Fata at the wine market tried to compel her to drink his wine. It did not work either – not even almost.”
“Was she wearing iron? You know if she was, compulsion would not work.”
“She wasn’t wearing iron.”
Rane thought about this. “I can see why you find her interesting, but that doesn’t mean she deserves the royal treatment.”
“There is something special about her, and I intend to find out what it is.” Caynin drummed his fingers, with the blue-stone ring, on the onyx kitchen counter. He did like her – he’d never thought he’d like a human. He liked her enough to tell her that she was cursed after touching the globetrot tree and had to stay.
“Can’t you focus on more important things?” Rane asked. “The Red Festival is two full moons away.”
Caynin had hosted the festival before, and with experience on his side he wasn’t losing any sleep over it. “Don’t worry, the festival is a success each year. I know it’s an honor to host it, and I do look forward to seeing the others. But for now, I have a human to focus on.”
Rane groaned and stalked away, but not before he said, “The Fata will never accept her – not unless she passes the three trials.”
“I’m not going to put her life on the line just so that others can approve of her,” Caynin said. She was here as his guest and not for the faeries’ entertainment.
Rane responded, “She touched the Globetrot-tree and survived.”
Caynin watched his friend leave and did not say anything else. He had stopped drumming with his fingers.
***
Zoey woke the next morning, warm and comfortable between the silk sheets. She sat up and looked to her right, realizing she had been so tired the previous night that she had forgotten to close the curtains. The sky outside was a dark grey, and snow was falling while the faeries strolled in the gardens. With her curtains open, everyone who was walking around in the garden could see her.
Her cheeks warm, she jumped out of bed and saw two females staring at her as if she was an animal in a zoo. She strode over to the windows and closed the curtains abruptly. The room wasn’t much darker, as the fireplace was the main source of light. The logs hadn’t burnt up, and that there weren’t any spare logs. No doubt the fire would burn non-stop.
She wore the blue satin nightgown the servant had brought, that hung over her feet. It was plain, but beautiful, soft, and unlike anything she had ever slept in. At first, she had been reluctant to put it on but now that she found females staring in by her window, she was glad she had. She’d rather be seen in a silky night gown than naked.
Zoey then put on the other dress and thought about how amazing the herbs had worked. She didn’t have any aches or pains, as if she had spent a full day being massaged at the spa. Once she was clothed, she studied herself in the mirror. Her dress was a beautiful purple, long-sleeved garment with bare shoulders and a halter top. It looked more like an evening dress than something to wear around the castle. Zoey considered wearing her clothes from yesterday but decided against it as she did not want to insult Caynin’s kindness.
Zoey slipped on the purple moccasins the servant had brought, which fit perfectly and matched the dress. She did not have a watch, so had no way to tell the time. Had she missed breakfast? Where must she go?
Even while she wondered if the dress had been enchanted to keep her warm, the cold hit her like an avalanche the moment she opened the door. It was certainly not enchanted. She closed the door and put on her coat. Perhaps the dining hall would be warm, and she’d be able to remove it. Zoey left the room again, missing her gloves and considering putting on her snow boots, although they did not match the dress. She would stick with the moccasins, though after walking in the garden her feet turned pink, and she regretted her decision.
“Excuse me,” she said, teeth chattering, to a passing Fata who gave her one look and walked away. Baffled, Zoey continued through the garden. If she was not so cold, she would have taken the time to admire the ice sculptures, but with the cold creeping up her bare legs, she hurried to ask for directions. Plenty of Fata were strolling around, so she approached the closest one, who was trimming the hedges. He wore a black shirt made of material that resembled crow feathers, with lime green pants.
“Excuse me.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “Can you tell me where I can find the prince?”
He stopped cutting and studied her dress, which stuck out at the bottom of her coat. “You have some nerve dressing in purple, human. What do you think you are? Royalty?”
Zoey was not going to explain herself to some judgmental Fata, so she decided not to argue with him and walked away. The faeries in the gardens ignored her, and she turned around, toward the closest female. “Excuse me—”
Before she could say more, the female hissed at her. Zoey stood there, dumbfounded. This female and her friend were the two who had been staring into her room. She wasn’t used to such feral behavior, and she was not sure how to react.
“Maybe you shouldn’t scare the prince’s pet, Kismet,” said the female who had not hissed.
“Oh, Delia,” Kismet responded, “he said we weren’t allowed to kill her. He never said we had to be nice.”
Kismet had full lips, narrow hips, and round breasts that were pushed up by her corset. Her clothing made Zoey feel underdressed, and she was jealous that the faeries didn’t feel frozen. The material was unlike anything Zoey had ever seen before; it was as if the garment was made from water – flowing around the faerie’s slim figure. There was no doubt about it – the Fata was beautiful.
They were not going to help her, and Zoey did not want to get into a fight on her first day either, so she walked away for a second time. As she went, Kismet whispered something to Delia, and they both started laughing. Zoey tried her best to ignore them.
She wandered through the gardens while trying not to look as lost as she felt. The cold had crept up to her knees, and the bottom part of her dress was wet. Her shoes were soaked, and her toes had gone numb.
Most of the Fata ignored her, and no one offered to help her. A flock of Twixies was dancing on the blossoms of a nearby tree as if they were bumblebees. She liked the Twixies – they had helped her home once before; maybe they could help again.
She approached them and spoke, although she was not sure if they understood. “Hi.”
They burst into cheerful conversation she could not follow but made her feel as if they were glad to see her.
“I have a favor to ask. I need to find the prince. I am joining him for breakfast, but I don’t know where.”
The Twixies started flying away from the iced tree, and she trailed after them. They pushed and chased each other, as if they were children, and led her past the throne room into a hall which led to the dining room. A long, oval-shaped dining table carved from wood stood in the center of the room, with multiple chairs around it. On the table were delicious foods that included bacon, cheese, eggs, ham, yogurt, and fruit. There was plenty to drink as well – both Caynin and Rane had full wine goblets and glasses of water. The food didn’t retain her attention as her eyes came to rest on Caynin, who was sitting at the head of the table with a dirty plate in front of him. He had already finished eating. Crap. To his right sat Rane, glaring at her.
“Thanks,” she mumbled to the Twixies. They clearly liked being appreciated and began flying in a whirlwind around her legs. Moments later, her clothes had dried, and her feet had warmed.
“You’re brilliant!” she exclaimed, clasping her hands together. Cheerfully, the Twixies left the dining room, and she was left with much poorer company.
“You are late,” Rane snarled.
“I didn’t know where to go,” she said calmly as she approached the table and sat at Caynin’s left.
His eyes were all over her. “That’s a bold choice.” He gestured to her purple dress.
“It’s arrogant,” Rane objected. “So what? Do you think because the prince invited you to breakfast you are suddenly worthy of royalty?”
“I did not choose the dress,” Zoey said. “The servant Fata gave it to me.”
“The servant has a name,” Rane said, and she realized that whatever she said would displease him.
“A name I don’t know since she was so rude.” Zoey regretted her words. She remembered how Caynin had reacted when the Fata at the market had tried to make her drink cursed wine. She didn’t like the servant but didn’t want her harmed either.
“Fleur has every right to dislike you,” Rane said.
Zoey glared at him because his intense dislike for her was becoming really irritating. “I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me here,” she said.
“Then leave!”
“You know if I leave, I’ll die!”
“Stop it,” Caynin ordered.
Rane sat back in his chair but still glared at her.
“Eat something.”
Zoey looked at all the delicious food, and her stomach rumbled. Humans could not eat Fata food. She could be poisoned, enchanted, or become addicted to it.
“I can’t eat Fata food.”
Rane laughed at her mockingly. “Do you think the prince brought you here only to poison you?”
The truth was she did not know what she thought. She wanted to trust Caynin, but a small voice in her head told her she would be a fool to do so.
“Caynin has the power to let you stay here, like the freeloader you are,” Rane pressed. “Just like he has the power to ensure that our food will not harm you. But he does not have the power to make me or the other Fata respect you. I wouldn’t even respect you if you passed the Three Trials.”
Zoey had had enough. Who did this guy think he was to bully her like this? She had never done a single thing to wrong him, yet he was treating her as if she was the worst person on the planet. She had walked away from two fights already, one with Fleur and one with Kismet, and she was tired of walking.
“If you don’t respect me, I will not respect you.” She reached over the table for his glass and flicked her wrist so that the water splashed onto his face.
Rane was outraged – as if she had thrown oil onto him and was about to set him on fire. He shot to his feet and knocked over his chair in the process. His canines showed as he hissed at her. She was on her feet as well now, glaring a challenge into his eyes, despite her frantic pulse.
“Bitch!” Rane cursed and then glanced at Caynin, who was clearly not coming to his aid, before he stormed out of the room. Zoey had a feeling that if Caynin had not been there, Rane would have ripped out her throat. Literally.
Zoey looked at Caynin, expecting him to be angry for her insult to his Waerie, but he was leaning back in his chair, comfortably, and held his wine goblet in his right hand.
“Good human,” he purred. “You’re finally standing up for yourself in the castle.”