Page 9 of The Beginning (Covert Moon, #1)

Eamonn

The Fae Realm

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U nlike the sunlit, wide, main corridor, this one was narrower, lit by a small, high window in the distance that shot a blinding beam of sunlight through the darkness.

It looked to be a dead end, but with fae castles, things weren't always what they seemed.

There were often hidden passages in places one would never expect.

There was indeed a young lady at the end of the hall, standing under the window.

And she was struggling with someone. Blinded by the sunlight, I shielded my eyes with one hand my other automatically moving to rest on the pommel of my sword.

As I got closer, I saw a man, a member of the court by his garb—expensive velvet doublet, fine leather boots, the kind of clothing that cost more than a guard's yearly wages—manhandling her.

He rucked up her skirts with rough, violent movements, and to my eyes, the intent was obvious and vile.

It was also obvious to the girl as well—who wore the light clothing of the kitchen staff, simple wool and linen that marked her as one of the many servants who kept the castle running—which would be why she was shrieking and carrying on.

The shrieks got louder once she saw me, desperation and hope warring in her voice.

I hissed over my shoulder toward Gavin. "Get Lady Annaliese down to the carriage!

I'll join you shortly!" I didn't look back to see if he listened or not—I trusted him to follow orders.

According to the king, there were guards waiting to take the Lady Annaliese off our hands.

The only thing Gavin and I had to do was to get her to the carriage yard.

The courtier hadn’t seen me yet. He was focused on pinning the serving girl up against the wall, using his superior size and strength to overpower her resistance.

Her eyes met mine over his shoulder, wide with terror and pleading, and she yelled, "Help!" The single word carried the weight of absolute desperation.

Her shout brought the attention of her attacker to me. He turned his head, annoyed at the interruption but not particularly concerned about being caught in the act.

"Mind your business, guard! Be on your way!" He returned his attention to the girl, putting his hand over her mouth to muffle any further cries for help.

"I'm sorry, my Lord, but that cannot be.

I must ask you," I stepped closer and grabbed him by the shoulder, feeling the expensive fabric of his doublet beneath my grip.

I knew that I would likely earn myself a thrashing for this, that interfering with a member of the court could cost me my position or worse, but I continued, "let the young lady go about her business.

" Maybe I'd get credit for being nice initially, for attempting diplomacy before resorting to more direct methods.

"How dare you?" he bellowed, shoving me back with indignation. "Do you know who I am?"

I stumbled back a step into the harsh sunlight. The man must have assumed I'd leave once threatened. He ignored me like I was a mosquito, some inconsequential annoyance to be suffered, and resumed his assault on the girl.

I didn't bother with words this time. A few steps brought me back to the struggling pair. I grabbed him by the shoulders with both hands and threw him from her, using all the strength I'd built through years of training. The momentum sent him into the opposite wall with a satisfying thud.

"My Lord," I put myself in front of the girl, placing my body between her and her attacker, my hands on my hips and standing up tall to make the most of my height and the authority of my position.

"I must again ask that you let the young lady get back to her duties.

" I let the intensity hang heavy in my voice, letting him know in no uncertain terms that I would be speaking to the king about this, that his actions would have consequences.

I glared at him, daring him to thwart or contradict me, to give me an excuse to escalate this confrontation further.

The meaning was clear. He'd have to go through me if he thought he wanted another chance at this girl. I grinned, anticipating a fight, welcoming the prospect of legitimate violence. It would help dispel the cloud that hovered over me all afternoon. The thought of a fight, any fight, was calming.

He peered over my shoulder at the girl, apparently trying to scare her into submission with his glare alone.

I continued to glower at the man.

Was this what the court had come to? Courtiers attempting to have their way with serving girls in darkened corridors? I couldn't draw my sword until he did something threatening to my person. That was a hard line for us. I sent up a wish that he would, in fact, do something threatening.

He met my eyes once more, and then his face changed.

His lips twisted into an expression of pure contempt and his brows furrowed with frustrated rage.

He spit on the ground off to the side. "She's not worth it anyway!

Don't let me see you again, girl!" He snarled like a dog and threw his hands into the air before stalking away.

I turned around and reached out to help the crying girl who had sunk against the wall, her legs apparently too weak to hold her upright any longer. Her face was pale with shock.

"You're safe now." I held out my hands to help her up, keeping my voice gentle and reassuring, and hesitantly, she took them. Her hands were small and rough from kitchen work, trembling with the aftermath of fear.

"Thank you," she said with a shaky voice that barely rose above a whisper.

"Of course," I said, meaning it completely. "And I insist. Should he bother you again, you do let me know. Understood?" I gave her a stern look, the one my mother called your father's look , and she nodded vigorously.

She bit her lips, clearly struggling to maintain her composure, and I could tell that she was holding back tears.

"Very well, get yourself to the kitchens. Let the cook know what's happened, and have her see to you," I said. “By the by, what’s your name?”

The girl didn’t answer as she brushed by me, whirling in such a way that her hair hit me in the face in her hurry to get away.

I smelled smoke with the underlying scent of meat.

We'd probably be having some sort of game for dinner.

My stomach rumbled at the thought. I watched her run away, and then turned back to look at the area where I found the pair struggling.

There was no way down to the end of this hallway except for the way that I'd come. What was she, a serving girl from the kitchens, doing here, in this space? How had she gotten here? We'd seen no one else in the hall with us as we escorted Lady Annaliese.

I looked back the way I'd come again and watched as she made the turn around the corner. The offending man was long gone. I wished I'd gotten his name, so I could let my commander know. I’d be sure to watch for him at court from now on.

But there was no sense in worrying over what I couldn't change. This could all go in my report to my commander later. I had to get back to the task of seeing Lady Annaliese off.

I jogged to the end of the corridor and turned to the left, intending to make sure that the wretched lady got where she was supposed to be.

I reached the stairway that led down to the courtyard, to the side door where the carriage waited.

As I arrived, I saw several guards from the castle working on securing boxes and trunks on top of the carriage.

Finished, the men leapt down from the carriage.

I breathed a sigh of relief. She had been delivered.

As I reached the bottom step, another guard closed the door and hit the side of the carriage twice.

"The Lady Annaliese is within?" I asked, raising my voice over the sound of the horses.

"Aye, the Lady Annaliese and the King's Guard accompanying her." The footman speaking didn't even turn around to look at me.

I stopped in my tracks. The King's Guard? The king gave us no direction to accompany her. Looking over at the carriage, and then around, I could see that Gavin wasn't in sight.

Where was he? My thoughts whirled stupidly, refusing to accept the truth.

Then I ran toward the carriage. “Gavin!” I yelled.

What was he doing? What in the name of all the rotten heavens? I ran the last few steps from the stairway out into the road. The carriage had already pulled away, and as I stared, I saw the faces of both Lady Annaliese and Gavin appear in the window and turn to look at me.

The carriage didn’t stop. Neither of them moved, only stared at me, eyes wide. Gavin’s face looked pale.

Why was Gavin with her? What was he... and then it hit me. Gavin's demeanor. Lady Annaliese using my given name, familiar in a way that surprised me. The intensity of her tears, of her “suffering”.

The Lady Annaliese would not be reaching the Lord Marius this evening.

My heart sank somewhere in the vicinity of my boots, and I knew with absolute certainty that I had been betrayed by my friend. Now it remained to see if my lucky prophecy would hold true, if I’d land on my feet after this.

I wasn’t so sure.