Page 12 of The Wild Hunt (Sold to the Fae Duet #1)

After the High Lords leave the clearing, we are instructed to sit and stay, like fucking dogs.

And we do just as we are told. They even give us treats.

Firsts and Seconds walk amongst us, distributing plates of fruits, cheeses, and crackers, and ice-cold cups of water.

I down mine greedily, regretting it instantly as the sun continues to bear down upon me like a great, imposing beast.

Pairs of female fae walk amongst us too, though these groups stop and count our stones.

At least that’s what I think they are doing.

When a pair gets to mine, they tip it out unceremoniously, their smirks growing as my pile continues to rise.

How many fucking stones did I get? And what were they even for?

As the females sort through them, I realize each stone is unique.

The colors, shapes, and sizes all vary, though I know instantly which is his .

It’s white, yet pearlescent, so that it shifts to the color of his eyes at certain angles.

The females gasp when they spy it amongst the others and chatter urgently to one another. They look excited.

The females record the stones in their little books. It takes a while, what with the quantity of them. When they have finished, one of them pockets Draekoh’s stone.

“Hey!” I say, before they can move even a step away. “That’s mine .”

The female is pissed. She opens her mouth, likely to hiss at me some more, but another female nearby says something to her.

She swears loudly and tosses the stone at my face.

It hits me just below my left eye, and I cry out, knowing full well it has split the skin and would undoubtedly leave me with an ugly bruise for the next week.

Bitch.

I force myself to smirk at her, however, because we both know who really won this round. The stone was mine .

As the females turn and move on, I plop back down to my butt and pocket the stone without letting myself ogle it any further.

The sun is setting by the time they herd us back into our tents. I’m fucking exhausted and burnt to a crisp. A lot of the other women are similarly pink and parched.

I don’t bother waiting in line for food and water. As hungry and thirsty as I was, tempers were rising quickly, and I sure as hell didn’t want to be a part of some stupid brawl, which I had no doubt I would evidently cause.

So I head straight to my bean bag and fall into an undignified flop. Soon after, a loud groan and the sound of a human collapsing into a bean bag beside me alerts me to Akari’s arrival.

“What a day !” The poofy lump beneath her muffles her moans.

“That was only one fucking day?” I exclaim sarcastically back, my voice also muffled from the bean bag I am currently face-planting. “It felt like a fucking eternity!”

Akari huffs a half-hearted laugh.

“Up you get , ladies,” Anya’s voice says from beside us. “Let’s get you both fed and hydrated.”

My head rises quickly from the suffocating bean bag, and my senses are immediately enveloped with the aroma of roasted meat, vegetables, and -

“Is that gravy?!” I gasp.

Fuck yes! Faerie had gravy!

I stumble like a newborn foal as I try to get out of the damn bean bag’s embrace. I hear Akari struggling in a similar predicament.

“Thank you, Anya!” I exclaim. “You are my guardian angel, I swear!”

Akari mumbles something along the same lines, but her mouth is practically overflowing with food. A glob of gravy dribbles down her chin, and I have the strangest thought to lick it up myself before she swipes it away with an absent hand. I scoff silently to myself. What a waste of gravy.

“It was nothing,” Anya says. “I remember exactly how it felt leaving the Selection field.”

I point my fork at her and say with a mouthful, “Yeah, you so have some explaining to do about that .”

She blushes and looks down. I immediately feel guilty for my comment, because I know she couldn’t have told us. Not without risking her life, and whatever comes after . But maybe now she could explain it?

“I’m sorry,” I apologize. “I know you couldn’t have told us. It must have sucked more for you than us, knowing exactly what we were walking into and not being able to tell us.”

Her blush deepens, and I get the sick feeling that whatever is going to happen next is going to be the worst trial of all. But I hold my tongue. She literally can’t warn us.

I fill my mouth before I can say anything else to incriminate myself, and Anya takes the opening to fill in the blanks for us .

“The Selection is an opportunity for the male fae to inspect the Chosen closely, to choose one human woman they would like the chance to… own. I… can’t explain further, but you will find out on the morrow.”

“So the stones…?” Akari asks, paling.

Anya nods. “Yes. If a male has chosen you as their conquest, they will place a stone in your pot. How many did you each get?”

“Four,” Akari says.

They both look at me when I remain silent.

“Delta?” Akari asks, concern lacing her voice.

“I, uh…” Fuck . I look away. I can’t meet their eyes right now. I am so completely fucked. “My pot was full. Almost overflowing, if I am to be completely honest.”

“I was worried about that,” Anya sighs. “They like the strong and free-spirited women.”

I take a deep breath and look back at both equally devastated women. Because who cares how many stones were in my pot when just one of them completely overthrew the entirety of the rest?

I pull out the opalescent stone and hold it in front of me. Anya instantly pales, her eyes growing wide.

“The High Lord of Light chose me,” I tell them. “Lord Draekoh wants to own me.”