Page 9 of Courting the Fae Captain (Romancing the Realms #4)

‘Sea Serpents, while majestic and mystical beasts, should be given a wide berth at all times. If you come across one, the chances are you’ll be dead within minutes. Steer clear and never underestimate their power. Alone, they are mighty, but in groups, they are unstoppable.

Hunters of Mithria: Volume I

F ifty females had originally participated in The Rite.

Sherai and I had learned that after being escorted from the underground passage into what appeared to be an opulent sitting room.

Having come from the dark and dingy dungeon we’d awoken in, the place seemed overly bright, with its merry fire crackling away and numerous velvet chaises dotting the room.

But it wasn’t the furniture that piqued my interest, nor even the occasional female in mirrored disarray to my own ghastly appearance.

It was the gilt-framed mural spanning the length of the room, nestled comfortably above the fireplace.

I glanced across the room at the female who’d tried her hand at killing Sherai and me.

She watched me from her position by the window, her blue eyes shining with the promise of death.

Despite the blood splattering her slim frame, she still seemed put together, with her glossy raven hair and perfect poise.

I wondered what her father had promised should she win the Rite.

Or if the ambition—the violent determination—was all her.

There were others dotted around the room who seemed cloaked in that same darkness, but mostly the other females looked shocked and utterly devastated.

All were beautiful in their own way. And all were decidedly alive.

Fighters. Survivors. If tonight had proved anything, it’s that we were all capable of brutality when our lives were at stake. I supposed that was part of the point.

Had the hosts of tonight’s delightful entertainment been watching us this whole time?

Laughing as we fumbled in the dark or fell to teeth and claws?

I bet they gambled on our lives, too. Like we were simply horses in a multi-round race to the finish.

The thought sent white-hot rage roaring through me.

I was a number to them. Not a name or an identity but a price tag.

My life was meaningless to these people.

And yet, there were females in this room who would still do whatever it took to gain the captain’s hand.

Was the male part of all this? Was he watching, too?

So much of The Rite was steeped in mystery.

I swallowed back the bile rising in my throat.

It was sick. Vile. And if I ever made it out of here and was forced to marry that bastard?

I’d kill him the very same night. Such violent thinking, but it brought an idea to mind.

A very dangerous, very reckless thought.

The more I dwelled on it, the more room it took up until the roots of something bigger began to take place.

So, as I sat against the wall beside a tired Sherai, her head drooping with every passing second, I began to plot.

Her face eventually plopped onto my good shoulder.

The closeness was uncomfortable at first—or rather, allowing my guard to drop so thoroughly was—but I let her sleep.

She’d proven an ally tonight. For now, that was enough.

I shifted slightly, studying the female as I gently cradled her head down to rest on my leg.

She snored lightly, a little bit of drool escaping her full lips.

She was even prettier than I’d thought. Beneath the blood, her skin was smooth and brown, and her long hair was tawny and coiled.

Her ancestors might have been among the first Fae who’d sailed centuries ago across the Strait of the Sea Serpent—a stretch of water named for the deadly scaled beasts that frequented those depths—and found themselves in the Shadow Court.

I found my thoughts drifting, streaming through unconscious musings about such places.

Most Fae avoided those waters for obvious reasons.

They’d claimed countless ships that now rested in pieces at the bottom of the ocean.

Pirates and other unscrupulous sorts still tried their luck from time to time—a calculated, if rather stupid, attempt at ferrying black market goods or, worse, slaves, from port to port.

No one would dare attempt such a thing around Domeratt, though.

The city soldiers and the captain’s naval officers kept a close eye on all ships coming and going from their docks.

The city had come a long way since olden times, of course, but the great passage from the Fae of old was still a feat continually respected and admired.

I recalled stories told of the battles waged between the Shadow Court Fae and those of the western lands.

Numbers were lost on both sides, until a pact was eventually formed and the Yuranai tribes were given lands and titles worthy of their proud people.

Now, the descendants of those Fae were seen all over Mithria, though many remained in the Shadow Court and populated the seafaring capital of Domeratt, where I now found myself.

My tentative ally snorted loudly, startling herself awake and cutting through my stream of consciousness. “What?” she asked, alarmed. She sat up straight. “What’s happening?”

I smiled. “You’re safe. We’re inside the castle.”

She sagged in relief and wiped her mouth, her cheeks reddening as she quickly shifted off me.

When she was settled with her back against the wall beside me, her eyes moved around the room, falling on the female who’d tried to kill us underground.

“I won’t feel truly safe until we’re long gone from this place. ”

“Didn’t realise what you signed up for?”

“Didn’t sign up in the first place,” she corrected.

“Ah.” I ran a hand through my matted, bloodied hair and grimaced. “Let me guess, your father forced you into this mess against your will?”

She frowned. “Aunt, actually. My parents are dead.”

My heart panged a little. “I’m sorry.”

Sherai shrugged. “Don’t be. They died when I was young. My aunt is cruel and cold, but she’s looked after me all those years when she could have thrown me to the wolves.”

“So, she offered the bare minimum of common decency, then.” Sherai looked away, and I realised I’d struck a nerve. “Sorry,” I said. “I’m not very good at this. My father made it a habit to … remove anyone I ever got close to.”

She looked at me and smiled tentatively.

“We have that in common. And really, I should be thanking you. You could have left me back there. You had the opportunity to run when you had that knife; instead, you stood up for me. It’s likely you’ve now painted a target on your back with stabby pants over there. ”

I chuckled as I glanced at the female in question, who seemed to sense the attention and made a point of hissing and showing me her canines.

“Stabby pants would have made her mark eventually. That one doesn’t care about the sanctity of life or others.

She sees only obstacles in her way. Be careful around her, Sherai.

We are never safe in a place like this.”

Sherai considered for a moment. “In the crypt, when she said your name … she seemed to know you. Or know of you. But you didn’t seem to know her. What’s that about?”

I grimaced. “I have no idea. But I’m betting nothing good.”

Sherai nodded at a mural I’d been studying earlier. “A rather macabre piece, don’t you think? What do you make of it?”

“I think,” I said slowly, “that the first test we survived was just a taste of what’s to come. I think I’m happy to have an ally moving forward.”

“An ally,” Sherai said with a nod. “And a friend?” The tone of her voice lifted at the latter, almost like she was asking for confirmation.

“Sure.” I smiled and, for the first time in a while, the notion felt genuine. Natural. I held out a hand. “Friends.”

She took it tentatively with hands that were soft and smooth, and relatively clean.

It felt like a sin, somehow, to take that innocence in my bloodstained hands.

Gods only knew what the other females thought of us right now.

I’m sure we looked quite gruesome, with our faces painted scarlet.

Our battle armour, of sorts. A mask to hide the real fear that lingered beneath.

Because, as comforting as it was to have a friend in this place—to know I wasn’t alone—I couldn’t ignore the portraits that had been struck out on the wall.

And to know that there was a very real possibility that I could be next.

I must have dozed off at some point because I woke to find males in black robes flooding the room, their faces covered with their cowls.

Each of us was plucked up from our resting places like spring chickens and dragged out of the room, some kicking and screaming.

My instincts told me to fight them, but Sherai shook her head subtly.

She was right, of course. Best to comply for now.

There was nothing we could do except allow ourselves to be guided wherever we were led.

I took note of every room we passed and every turn, just in case.

The place was gigantic, but the exits were few and far between, unless you counted the windows, which I, for one, did.

Eventually, we were deposited into a large foyer, lit by decadent chandeliers and overlooked by an arched balcony above two grand staircases curving down from either side.

The guards took up residence around the room, watching us with dark and glittering eyes barely perceptible from beneath their hoods.

The obvious wealth of this castle made my father’s look like a hovel by comparison. Lord Windaire and his son were clearly not wanting for anything except, oh, I don’t know, a harmless bout of bloodletting and butchery. Fuckers .