Page 9 of Fae Tithe (The Cursed Courts #1)

E leanor worried her bottom lip with her teeth. I know I have always wanted to travel, but this is not what I had in mind.

The teenage girl had been stuffed into the back of a gilt carriage and sat on a red plush seat. Eleanor had so far spent her first morning of travel studying the fleeting landscape as it rushed past the small window.

How are we moving so fast? Bun and Ash definitely don’t move like this.

She felt a jolt of loss in her chest for the two fat ponies.

What if I don’t see them again? What if I don’t see my family again?

What if… She blinked back her stinging tears and took a deep breath.

No, that won’t happen. Look for a way out.

The huge, black horses that pulled her prison were faster than any she had seen before.

Eleanor had only managed a quick glance at the hulking animals before being packed into the compartment, but she had a feeling that they would look drastically different from her ponies as well.

The captain was constantly in her company inside the carriage.

She quickly realised that he was her jailer.

He sat opposite her, elbow propped on the windowsill and chin in his palm, gaze trained on the window.

“What kind of horses are they?” Eleanor asked.

His eyes turned to her face. “Seelie Stallions,” the Fae captain replied, “especially bred for the King and the Fae Lords of the Seelie Court. They have been loaned to the provinces during the Tithe.”

Seelie Stallions are especially bred for the Seelie Court. Eleanor continued to press, needing to know more. “Only stallions? So only the boys pull the carriages?”

He chuckled, a velvet sound in his throat. “You’re lucky I’m bored and find these questions a welcome distraction. Only the stallions pull the carriages because only the stallions are fast.”

If they’re so fast, I could steal one and ride away. She clenched and unclenched her sweating palms. “Where are the girls?” she asked. If the girls are nearby, they may be smaller, easier to ride.

“The mares are used for breeding only. They’re not as fast as the stallions.” The captain glanced back out of the carriage window as the landscape whipped by. “They’re kept nicely though, in near luxury. All they must do is behave and push out foals.” He smirked.

She curled her lip at him. What’s so funny?

Not knowing how to respond, Eleanor settled back in to examine the landscape as it whipped by.

The Seelie Stallions had dashed through various villages and towns much like those on the Clusters, all small, with humble limestone buildings pressed closed together in terraces.

The horses and carriage now hurtled down a stone-paved causeway.

The road ran parallel to Sol River and the carriage travelled in the opposite direction of the flow of the waterway.

They headed away from the coast and towards Solas, the capital of Seelieland.

Eleanor caught glimpses of Sol River teeming with life.

She had read in Economics class about how the small, trading barges were pulled inland using a chain-and-crank system to battle the flow of the current.

Eleanor laid her hand on her hammering heart as it pumped quiet panic throughout her body.

Taking a deep breath, she found some small comfort watching the laborious movement of the upriver barges compared to the easy downriver flow of the boats heading back to the coast.

As her mind tracked the patterns of the fleeting landscape, it went back to working on her escape plan.

Could I slip something into their drinks?

Poison them? Put them to sleep? She shook her head from side to side.

Where would I get the poison? I don’t know enough about plants to be able to find one that could do that…

and how would I get it in their water skins?

She dropped her eyes to the canteen strapped to the captain’s belt before turning her gaze back out of the window.

The landscape surrounding the waterway was flushed with green from the winter rains. As she looked over the width of the river towards the horizon, her eyes were met with emerald hills painted with trees.

One of the horses would be the safest bet. A stab of guilt spiked her gut. Here I am thinking about horses and escaping, when Miss Taylor is dead. The acid taste of bile rose in her throat. And they nearly killed Marina.

“I need to stop,” the teenager announced, feeling ill, her hands clammy.

“Absolutely not. We’ve only been on the road for a couple hours,” the captain replied bluntly, removing his chin from his palm and sitting up straight. “I am on a strict deadline.”

Eleanor met him eye to eye, glaring up through her curly eyelashes. “Fine, I’ll just vomit on your boots,” she threatened, face pale.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” The captain thumped on the velvet roof of the carriage. It drastically slowed and came to a complete stop. He stood, took a half step to the door, and flicked his wrist. The bolt unlocked itself.

Eleanor spilled out of her prison and into the green grass on the roadside. The fresh air hit her face like a slap as she gulped it down. She heard the thud of boots as the two other Portson Guards leapt from the driver’s seat at the front of the carriage as she rushed away to the river bank.

The teenager vomited again and again into the grass until only yellow bile came up.

Finally, once the waves of nausea passed, Eleanor stood up straight and wiped her mouth with the back of her shaking hand.

Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might burst. Remembering the breathing exercises her mother taught her, Eleanor laid a trembling palm over the frantic pace drumming in her chest. She breathed slowly in and out over several minutes, until her fluttering bird heart steadied its pace.

“Hurry up, girl,” the blonde Fae growled.

“How about you shut the fuck up, murderer,” Eleanor spat, spinning on her heel to face him.

“What did you just say to me?” The Portson Guard took two long strides towards her and raised his hand.

The captain caught his subordinate’s wrist before he brought it down to backhand Eleanor’s face. “That’s enough, Deon!” he snarled, stepping in between them. “The rule is that they are supposed to arrive at Tithe Manor unharmed.”

“You heard the little bitch, Captain!” he growled back in response.

The third guard, copper-curled and beige-skinned, placed his hand on Deon’s shoulder. “Come on,” he said, tugging him away. “It’s not worth it. Let’s get back up top.”

Once his two subordinates had returned to the driver’s seat of the ornate carriage, the captain turned to Eleanor. He ran his hands through his hair. “You’re a brave little thing,” he said, shaking his handsome head. “I’ll give you that.”

Eleanor turned to glare at him. She felt empowered by the knowledge that they were not allowed to hurt her.

The rule is girls are delivered to Tithe Manor unharmed.

They’re not allowed to hurt me… I can use that.

She scrunched her nose and tilted her head around him, focusing on the two massive stallions at the front of the carriage. “Can I meet them? The horses?”

They stared at each other for a moment, before the captain dipped his head in agreement. “You can, but no more vomiting. And enough of the fucking questions for today!”

Eleanor nodded stiffly. Her legs still trembled as she made her way to the pair of animals hitched to the front of the red and gold carriage.

The captain shadowed her as she approached one of the stallions.

Both were midnight black, their fur short and lustrous.

Eleanor was captivated by their eyes. There was a shifting sunburst of silver in them, proving her suspicions that they were nothing like her ponies back home.

Make it look like you’re fussing over them.

She held an open palm to the nose of the closest Seelie Stallion.

The animal towered above her, but he politely bowed his head.

He pressed his velvet muzzle into her hand, snuffing enthusiastically.

Eleanor found herself genuinely delighted at how gentle the huge, muscular horse was.

She stood on her tiptoes, reached up, and scratched the spot between his quicksilver eyes.

She studied his bridle and how it was attached to his head.

The Seelie Stallion leant into her nails and pressed his head into the friction. Eleanor chuckled, then stole a quick glance down his body as the horse exhaled a contented huff through his nose. He was secured with chains to his hitch, each wider than her upper arm.

I can’t get him free when he’s chained up like that. I’ll just have to run. Eleanor swallowed, her heart hammering in her chest as she took one side-step away from the stallion. She bent her knees, ready to sprint away. Now or never.

“Don’t even think about it!” Deon’s voice pierced her ears like a needle, and she felt his eyes burn the top of her head from where he sat on the carriage.

A hand clamped like a vice around her upper arm. She sneered down at in disgust, trying to pull away from the grip. “Let me go!”

“Miss Neycur,” the captain warned, squeezing her tightly, tugging her towards him. “Back in the carriage, now!”

She stumbled slightly in shock at the strength of his pull. “Fine,” she bit out. She took a glance back at the friendly stallion she had patted. I know I’ll get another chance. Hopefully I can take you with me.