Page 18 of Fae Tithe (The Cursed Courts #1)
The King straightened, towering over the seated Eleanor and Gavson.
His eyes still studied the teenage girl’s face.
Her forehead and chest grew hot with irritation, as though an invisible palm had taken a handful of coarse, wet sand and rubbed it across her skin there.
Then, as the Seelie King continued to stare down, the irritation prickled into pain.
Eleanor felt as though a fishhook sliced through the skin of her forehead and chest. The invisible hooks pulled her towards Rian on an unseen line.
She found herself squirming in her seat as the line grew taut.
Eleanor’s pain dissipated as she saw the King open his mouth to speak.
“I respect your loyalty, Miss Neycur. It is an important quality of character, as is the ability to recognise when information should not be shared.” He smoothly offered Eleanor an arm.
The sleeve of his red overtunic was embroidered with gold, the thread detailing images of wings and flames.
“There are lovely gardens here. I believe you have not had a chance to stroll through them properly yet. Take a walk with me.” There was no request in his tone. It was an order.
Eleanor could not control her trembling.
The teenager stood and managed to link a shaking arm through the crook of Rian’s elbow.
She managed to stay on her feet despite feeling her head spin.
She looked up at the King and he gazed down at her with a faint smile on his lips.
Eleanor watched as he turned his head to the Interviewer.
“You may call in the Seelie Lord of Archipelago. It is his turn to witness the interviews,” he ordered.
“All the Tithe girls have now been interviewed, Your Grace. I will have to start the process over,” Gavson explained with a downcast face. Eleanor wondered if he, too, sensed the power of the King’s gaze and felt compelled to lower his head.
“Then do it, Mr Gavson.” The Seelie King laid a hand upon Eleanor’s and guided her from the Interview Room.
The linked pair said nothing as they made their way outside.
The teenager breathed deep the sunshine and roses of the palatial gardens.
The ornamental fountains sent pleasant sounds to her ears, combatting the noise of her loud, panicked pulse.
Eleanor’s trembling eased slightly, as though the sunshine had begun to melt her frozen terror.
“Lovely, is it not?” King Rian purred.
“Yes, Your Grace,” she murmured, keeping her eyes on the gravelled path beneath her feet.
The massive arm she had linked hers through scorched her skin. It seemed to Eleanor that the King was fuelled by some kind of internal forge. The Seelie King has the magic of the Dragon Flame. The Dragon Flame was gifted to the First King by the Last Dragon. Is that why he’s so warm?
“I am intrigued by your schooling. It seems you are well educated?” the Seelie King asked her casually, as though he was chatting to a friend.
“Yes, Your Grace,” Eleanor replied. She angled her head upwards so she could see his face.
“Fascinating.” Rian had not torn his eyes from her, as though she truly was fascinating. “Tell me about yourself, Miss Neycur. Any friends? A sweetheart?”
“I…have one friend at school.” Eleanor wrinkled her nose. “I do not have a sweetheart, though. I want to see the world, make my way, so I don’t really have time for one.”
“Ambition?” The King’s lips plucked upwards in a perfect white smile. It reminded Eleanor of a predator baring its teeth. “I like that, very much. You’re quite… diverting, Miss Neycur, compared to the other young ladies staying here.”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” she replied.
“You are welcome. Now, indulge me. Please tell me what you know about the Tithe?”
“The five Fae Lords and King of the Seelie Court of Solas exert their right to Tithe,” Eleanor recited from memory, the knowledge gleaned from the book gifted by the Governess. “They may take their choice of young human ladies from the aristocratic houses once in a Fae generation.”
“Correct, Miss Neycur. Tell me why?”
“The Tithe is to give these noble human families the opportunity to ascend themselves by having their daughters serve in the Seelie and Fae Lord Courts.” Eleanor felt emboldened by her recital. “But… what is in it for the Fae?”
To Eleanor’s surprise, King Rian threw back his head and laughed, his white teeth flashing in the sun.
“That is very insightful Miss Neycur!” He seemed to mull for a moment before continuing.
“The simple answer is we do it to replenish out bloodlines. Our numbers are dwindling. Men are more common amongst my kind than women, and children are even rarer again. The few women amongst Fae-kind have not produced children in decades. Nor have we had a Tithe for even longer than that, as my father did not see it fit to hold one. Please understand, this is the first Tithe I have ordered, an experiment of sorts, to see how it all works. This is so that my unwed Seelie Lords and I have the first pick of eligible girls. I will run as many as I have to, so the Fae Lords and Ministers have wives as well.”
Shock swept through Eleanor, her heart hammering in her chest. She had no idea that to serve meant to serve in marriage .
A shiver of disgust travelled up her spine.
She could not believe that the powerful Fae took human children to breed with.
It all snapped into place for her: the predatory glances, the teasing of the captain, the probing questions of the Interviewer and the King.
This was what they had stolen her for, to participate in the creation of the next generation of the Fae.
Rian laid his giant hand upon Eleanor’s, gripping hers tightly.
It trembled on the crook of his elbow as they strolled through the decadent gardens.
The blooms amongst the briars looking like skewered hearts on the thorns.
She was acutely aware of the gravel scrunching beneath her slipper-covered feet, the pale blue silk being scuffed by the pebbles.
“I have no Queen. Without a Queen, I have no children. Without children, I have no heirs. This essentially undermines my rule as I have no legacy. Without this legacy, how can I call myself King?”
Eleanor knew, she knew, and she fought back the tears that threatened to fall. She had no retort, no comeback. She felt so utterly helpless in that moment.
Rian raked his fiery eyes across her face and her blue silken bodice again. He smiled his predator’s grin. “My dear Miss Neycur, I think I could call myself a King with you by my side.”