Page 25 of Fae Tithe (The Cursed Courts #1)
Then the Fae Tithe had taken all that from him.
Every time Eleanor’s name was mentioned or a thought of her crossed his mind, a bite of fear clamped around his chest. She was in danger, and he knew it.
He was desperate to get her back, and it dogged his every step.
It had also wounded his partner, his Helena, in way that split her heart in two and unleashed a seething fire of rage he had never seen in her before.
Lance’s breath hitched. They stole my daughter from me, before I even had the chance to ask to make it official.
The Merman had learnt briefly of the Fae Tithe.
In his teenage years, he had been educated about the neighbouring kingdoms of the Nautilus Sea Court he served.
Lance had run his webbed hands over the knotted histories in the library, reading all the knowledge he could with his sensitive fingers.
Each green strand was intricately weaved and braided into kelp lines longer than the Golden Spire of Solas was tall.
Despite the limited information, he had read of human families gifting their girls to the Fae.
Even as a youth, he had thought the practice barbaric, never dreaming it would affect those he loved the most.
Lance and Helena dismounted, handing their horses off to a short, skinny human who had stepped from the connecting stables. The silver-haired man waved them in with a smile, gesturing to the entrance of Bright Sun Inn.
The inn was busy, even before the lunchtime rush, filled with humans and faeries who all drank and chatted with ease.
Helena looked up at Lance. She smiled, the crinkly-eyed grin he adored.
He returned it, his pointy teeth showing, as he knew she sensed it too.
Bright Sun Inn would be a good place to begin their search.
They joined the end of the queue behind a pair of ram-horned, point-tailed faeries to book a room, order a drink, and hopefully find Tithe Manor. Lance saw Helena’s eyes squinting at the menu scrawled onto a blackboard. She rubbed the top of her nose and looked up to Lance.
He lowered his lips to her ear. He knew she sometimes struggled with reading numbers, especially when her spectacles were all the way back in the Clusters. “I think mead would be nice. Sweet and refreshing, we could do with that.”
Helena nodded and Lance placed their order at the bar, along with a request for a couple’s room.
They took a small table tucked into a corner of the bustling inn.
The air was warm, and the windows were open, allowing a cooling breeze to pass over their sweating faces.
Lance dropped his shoulders and gently placed his hand on Helena’s, where it rested on the polished wooden tabletop.
“Thank you.” Helena smiled as the young waitstaff with bright blue eyes placed two large meads in front of them. “Can we speak to the owner, please?”
The young man wrung his hands. “Did I do something wrong, miss?”
“No, no, of course not,” Helena reassured. “Just please get the owner. I need to ask them about the area, that’s all.”
He scurried away as she took a sip of the mead. Lance felt her hand tremble beneath his, so he gave it a tight squeeze. The Merman lowered his head to Helena’s and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Nearly there, Len. We will get her back soon.”
“Everything alright, lovebirds?” A tall faerie woman asked. “Sorry to interrupt.” She waggled her eyebrows at the pair. “My boy said you wanted me?”
Helena’s eyes widened. She had never seen her type of faerie before. The owner’s hair was bright blue. She had luminous moon-silver eyes with solid black pupils. The faerie stood tall and broad with a wide grin on her round face.
“Please, sit,” Helena said, gesturing to the third empty chair at their small table. “Your son?” she asked, nodding toward the young waitstaff hovering nearby.
The owner took the offered seat, lowering herself onto the red cushion.
“Yes. His father is out with the animal guests. You probably met him if you had horses to stable. To answer all the questions you are about to ask ahead of time, since I get asked this a lot, I am half human. My mother was a Blue Cap, from Forge of Solas. My father was a human out there working in the mines.”
“You have told that story a lot.” Lance chuckled before taking another sip.
The Blue Cap grinned and opened her mouth to respond. Helena took the moment to jump in and interrupt.
“Friend, do you know where Tithe Manor is?” Helena asked. “I need to get their urgently. I am worried about saying too much too loudly, just in case someone hears. But mother to mother…” She lowered her voice, her throat constricted. “…I need to know so I can get my daughter back.”
The owner’s eyes crinkled in concern. “I’ve heard a lot of gossip about the Tithe recently.
That the manor was up and running with more than skeleton staff, and the Seelie Lords had all come to Solas.
.. I am so sorry.” She turned her head to her son, waving him over as he wiped down an empty table. “Get us a pencil and paper, please.”
The young man scurried hastily to behind the bar bench and returned with a piece of rough brown paper and a charcoal pencil.
“Thanks, son. Off with you now.” He nodded and scurried away again. The owner leant forward. “He’s a good boy. Timid as a mouse though, just like his father,” she whispered conspiratorially with a smile on her face.
The Blue Cap began to sketch a rough map of the main streets of Solas, drawing the route they needed to take to Tithe Manor. It was within the boundaries of the rampart wall, but closer to the outskirts of the main city in relation to the inn.
“It’s about a thirty-minute walk from here. Be careful. There are more Solas Guards around these days,” the faerie explained. “Well, now we know why.” The owner pushed the map over the smooth tabletop to them.
“Thank you… sorry, I didn’t get your name?” Helena asked.
“Bethany. You can call me Beth, all my friends do.” The Blue Cap grinned. “And you two lovebirds?”
“I’m Len.” Helena smiled.
“Lance,” the Merman replied with a nod of his head.
Helena drained her mug and stood. Her legs wobbled after being put back to work so quickly after a long week of travel. She gripped the map in her grubby fingers, daring to hope. It bloomed in her chest as a grin spread across her face.
“Thank you, Beth I owe you one.” Helena beamed at the faerie.
The Blue Cap blinked her eyes and waved her hand dismissively. “Not at all. Get her back. Pay your tab. Nothing to be owed.”