Page 9 of Given to the Fae (The Dark Realms #3)

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I can’t stop looking at him. I want to but I can’t.

I take in his chestnut hair and the masculine look of his jaw and nose, the cut of his brow, the small scar on his chin that gleams when the light catches it.

Aye, he’s fine to look at, but they always are, these fae.

So perfect to our eyes especially when compared to orcs and demons and pixies and goblins, and whatever other Dark Realm creatures that may cross our paths.

But the fae’s beautiful faces and strong bodies are but sweet-smelling handkerchiefs over the nose that block out the smell of shit, the cruelty and the depravities they heap on us because they can. Every slave knows it.

I glance at Bell and Ila, still recovering from last night. They probably will be for a while…if not in body then in mind.

My eyes find the fae who’s the object of my thoughts. I heard one of the others call him Jak.

Jak hurt me. There’s a visible bruise from where he grabbed my arm. There’s a raised egg on my forehead from how hard he threw me into the cart.

But fate didn’t punish him just as it didn’t punish the other one. Locke. This has never happened before and now twice in as many days. Why? I’m hurt, they’re hurt. That’s how it’s always been…and it’s the only protection I have.

I continue to watch the fae male I wish I didn’t keep noticing was handsome, hoping to see something that will tell me how he was able to escape fate.

At the very least he should have tripped and fallen awkwardly or stubbed his toe hard enough for it to break.

But I’ve been watching him, waiting for something to happen. Minutes have crawled by and there’s been nothing just as yesterday in The Barrack with Locke.

I force my gaze to the other two girls again.

Neither of them has spoken to me. After what they endured last night, I don’t expect them to again for a while.

Bell will know that Bere wouldn’t have been able to do anything to me, not unless I wanted him to.

I almost laughed aloud when he came out of his tent pretending he could remember anything after that bump on the head.

At any rate, my safe night in the warm furs was nothing like Bell and Ila’s was in the hands of those rough fae.

I suppress a shiver…and the guilt that creeps in.

Instead, I think of the question that’s been sitting on the fringes of my mind like an insidious spirit.

Two times. What if I’m not Kismet anymore?

Even thinking it hits me like a bludgeon. What if they’ll be able to do anything they can think of to me now with no comeuppance?

My heart pounds hard at the mere thought.

Fate has kept me safe, but what if it isn’t anymore?

I hadn’t thought I’d been taking it for granted, but I realize now that I have been.

I’ve been safer than any other human in the Dark Realms for years.

I’ve experienced some of what the others go through, but I’ve largely been a bystander, a witness to the cruelties of the masters while barely being touched by them.

If I’m no longer Fate Touched, how long before these things are done to me?

Not long if last night was anything to go by.

Stars dance before my eyes and I shut them tightly, swallowing hard. I feel as if I’m about to lose the morning meal of stale bread I shoved hastily down my throat when I woke.

Only thoughts of how weak it’ll make me look in front of the others keeps the food from making a reappearance.

It’s only happened twice. Perhaps there was some reason why the fae males weren’t harmed. Perhaps they’re Kismet, too. Perhaps they have some magick that keeps them safe, a charm or a conjure.

I glance at Jak, still plodding behind the cart on his horse while he scans the trees.

I’ve never heard of any others, but there must be…

or at least have been …for there to be a name for what I am.

..mustn’t there? I latch onto that thought.

There’s a reason. There has to be. The other explanation is too terrifying to contemplate seriously, and Bere was hurt when he slapped me last night.

It worked on Bere.

That thought alone succeeds in calming me down before I start breathing too fast and lose consciousness. I’ve always made sure that I’ve been alone when that happens. It’s a rarity, but it’s yet another weakness I have to keep secret so that it isn’t exploited somehow.

We keep going at a steady pace for a few hours. At midday, the fae don’t stop, but they do eat a light meal while they sit atop their horses. Even the bulls are allowed to partake, I suppose because they’re being forced to walk. Bell, Ila, and I get nothing, not even water.

And then I see it. The stone circle rises ominously out of the hill ahead. We’ll be going through the Breach again soon. I clench my fists, hoping that I don’t hear all those awful sounds again, or feel as if I’m going to die.

‘Get ready. It should be soon. We’re lucky we got here in time. Any later and we’d have had to wait until tomorrow.’ Bere laughs. ‘And by the looks of the females, I doubt they’d survive another night out here!’

The guffaws have Bell and Ila surreptitiously clutching each other’s hands where no one can see but me, and I raise a brow at Bell. She’s not usually one to be friendly, after all. She narrows her eyes in response and says nothing.

I look around for Jak though I don’t know why I can’t simply forget about him.

I find him closer than I expect. His horse is at my back and he’s watching me.

Our eyes lock and I hear it, the whistle of the Bridge opening.

My stomach does a summersault and something must show in my expression, because he frowns at me. I twist away quickly.

We move forward, the cart bouncing hard over the path as the terrain begins to get rougher near to the Ring. I breathe deeply through my nose as it passes under the carved stone arc. At first, I think that the last trip was a one-off, but then I hear them.

Whispers assail me, moving as if they’re coming from tiny creatures flying around my ears. Are they Dark Realm? Ghosts of those who’ve been lost to the Breach?

I put my hands over my ears and cower in the cart, not caring if anyone sees. The sounds get louder, screeching and screaming. They become deafening and my head feels as if it’s going to split open. I think I scream as well, and then all goes dark.

The next sounds my ears pick up are fae in origin.

‘Gate Sickness,’ are the first words I hear clearly as I open my eyes and sit up.

I’m still in the cart. Ila and Bell are staring.

I jump as a hand darts through the bars to turn my head roughly.

I cringe when I see it’s Bere, lowering my eyes immediately.

What’s your name, girl?’

‘Bryn, my lord.’

‘You,’ he points at Bell.

‘Bell, my lord,’ she murmurs breathily.

Bere snarls at her. ‘I mean, is Bryn this female’s name, you half-witted cunt.’

‘Aye, my lord,’ Bell mutters, no longer acting the seductress.

‘How many fingers, Bryn?’

I look at the hand that’s in front of me. ‘Two, my lord.’

‘Where are you being taken?’ he asks, letting go of me finally.

‘To market, my lord.’

‘Whose cock is the biggest you’ve had?’

‘Yours, my lord,’ I answer without hesitation, thankful that I’ve woken with my wits intact.

Bere chuckles and then guffaws. ‘She’s well enough,’ he announces. ‘Locke, have two of the men take her to the healer.’

‘Aye,’ his second murmurs, not looking at me.

I glance around and see that we’re in a stable. The two bulls have been put in separate stalls and have been fitted with iron collars and chains. Both are eating meat and aren’t focusing on anything but the food in front of them.

‘What Circle is this?’ I whisper, looking up at Bell once I’ve made sure the fae aren’t close enough to hear me.

‘Dunno. But the town is bigger than I’ve seen in a while.’ She sounds almost excited.

Ila frowns at her. ‘Aren’t you afraid?’

‘Of what? A rich master? One that keeps me in private rooms to pleasure him or her at their leisure?’ Bell scoffs.

‘We are what we are, and this town is much better than The Barrack. This place will have wealthy fae, orcs, goblins. Perhaps even mages. Count yourself lucky that you might be sold here, girl. It’s more than you could have hoped for two days ago. ’

Ila seems to consider Bell’s words for a moment and then nods.

‘Is that what they intend?’ I ask. ‘To sell us here?’

‘I heard them say the bulls will be. That’s why they’re being fed. They need to look virile. I’ve heard that females...non-human ones, I mean, buy them sometimes, not to breed their humans, but so they can pretend to be human and find themselves mounted by force!’ She giggles behind her hand.

‘The wealthy,’ Ila mutters with a pained look as she shifts. ‘More coin than sense.’

I nod in agreement.

‘I suppose if we’re meant to be sold as well, they’ll make sure we’re fully healed,’ I say.

Bell shrugs. ‘Not you. You’re for the pit fighters. Especially after you put me on the ground so forcefully.’ She almost looks pityingly at me.

My eyes narrow a fraction. ‘You should be thanking me. Whatever they did to you... You weren’t awake for it.’ I glance at Ila, who seems to deflate next to Bell, and I wince. Bell swears under her breath and looks daggers at me.

She nudges Ila. ‘Sometimes it’s like that for us,’ she says. ‘But if you’re lucky, you’ll be bought by a wealthy lord, and it never will be again.’

Ila nods a little and brightens a bit while Bell gives me another pointed look.

‘Yes,’ I say, as if I know something of true slave life outside The Barrack. ‘You must catch a lord’s eye. Do what Bell does. She’s skilled in the arts of seduction.’

Bell sits up and preens a little. ‘For once the Kismet is right. Do as I do, girl. I won’t lead you wrong.’

She glances down the barn at where the fae males are talking to the stable hands and scowls. ‘I hope they don’t leave us in this cage all night. I need to piss.’