Page 26 of Wolf Caged (Bound to the Shadow King #1)

“No. Do it yourself. I don’t answer to you.” I folded my arms across my chest, weathering her glare as she turned it on me, refusing to do what she wanted even when that tang of magic filled the air around me.

Kaeleron had warned me to keep my fangs sharp, and now I was beginning to understand the reason why.

Not all in his court were as accepting of my presence as him and Neve.

This fae looked ready to gut me where I stood, and I felt sure that if I hadn’t been Kaeleron’s pet, she would have gone through with it.

“Elanaluvyr, let me pick it up for you,” the petite one hissed, a little desperate as she glanced from me to her friend and then the guards.

“Let the mutt pick it up. She is here to serve, is she not? Or is it only our king you serve on your knees?” The third one grinned at me as I tensed and my gaze shot to her, hearing her speak to me that way startling me enough that my guard slipped.

“Oh, she is a little whore. I am surprised he let you leave his bedroom.”

“I am not a whore,” I snapped at her, my fangs emerging as the way she was looking at me, as if I was filth and disgusting, unworthy of her king, set fire to my blood.

“Then what are you?” Elanaluvyr stepped closer to me, darkness marring the beauty of her fine features as she scowled down at me and almost snarled, “How did you come to be here, sullying the Shadow Court with your presence? Were you a gift to him? A servant? His mistress? I will know.”

I wasn’t sure why she was so desperate to know how I had ended up in her precious Shadow Court, and I didn’t really care.

All I wanted to do was leave, but I couldn’t now.

Leaving would show weakness, and I had the feeling that if I showed any weakness around this particular female, that I might find myself in grave danger.

She might seek to remove me from the court in a permanent, life-ending way, regardless of how Kaeleron would likely punish her.

Her eyes were wild as she waited for my reply, as if her sanity hinged on me easing her mind and denying I had anything to do with her king.

Especially anything involving the bedroom.

“If you want to know,” I countered her, stepping right up to her, almost nose to nose with her as I clenched my fists at my sides and stared her down, “he sullied your precious court when he bought me at a black-market auction.”

Her dark eyes widened as her head inched back and then she burst out laughing.

“Why in the name of the goddess would our king buy you?” She laughed in my face, and then towards her friends, and the two of them joined in, the sound ringing in my ears, mocking me as fiercely as their words. She swiped a tear from her eyes. “How ridiculous. Our king has no need to buy females.”

I was beginning to get that impression, and that this female despised me so much not because I was an interloper and something other than a fae, but because she felt threatened by my presence.

She wanted Kaeleron.

“Ask him.” I shrugged and smiled at her, my prettiest smile. “Because I am fairly sure that paying someone a million gold coins for me counts as buying a female.”

I turned away from her.

“Such a filthy little mutt. Lying about our king. I shall have your head for that.”

“Elanaluvyr,” the petite one hissed in warning and I looked back at the trio to find her holding Elanaluvyr’s arm, stopping her from coming at me.

Elanaluvyr flexed her fingers, her nails like talons as they raked through the air, her eyes dark as midnight and filled with rage and hunger.

My wolf side had me turning my front to her again, every instinct I possessed warning me that this female meant to attack me with more than words, and all because I had spoken the truth about her precious king.

That precious king appeared in view, crossing the twilight-sun-kissed courtyard, his strides long and hurried as if he was trying to escape the males and females who stood as he approached and said things to him, all of them fawning over him.

Elanaluvyr was quick to scurry over to him, her two companions rushing on her heels.

Kaeleron’s expression remained as cold as stone as she greeted him. He didn’t even slow.

“Poor Elanaluvyr. How she longs for my brother.” That gentle and familiar female voice had me spinning on my heel, eyes widening as I came face to face with the beautiful owner of it.

She was tall and striking, her fall of black hair like satin and her silver eyes bright with amusement as she mocked the female who had been threatening me moments ago.

“You shall have to forgive her. She has been chasing his heels for almost a decade now, and I am still not sure whether she wants to claim his heart or is like all the others and simply wants to claim his crown. One is not his to give and the other is something I doubt anyone could claim.”

Which was which? Did he not have the right to give his heart or his crown?

I struggled to recall her name, feeling a little flustered as I realised we were alone. There was no sign of the guards. Had they disappeared when this female had approached me? How much had she heard?

“I am Jenavyr.” She dipped her head in a short bow.

I fumbled a curtsy, unsure what the correct greeting was for the sister of a king. “Saphira.”

Her smile was warm and genuine as she leaned towards me. “Would you like to see a more charming side of this city?”

“Yes.” I couldn’t say that word fast enough, and not only because I wanted to see more of it.

The thought of escaping all the vicious looks and horrible remarks that had left me feeling I needed to watch my back and couldn’t let my guard down had me leaping on the chance.

The opportunity to see more of this place was only made all the more appealing by the fact it would be the king’s sister acting as my escort.

“I thought you might say yes.” Jenavyr cast a fond look at the castle and the gardens, and her brief smile made me look over my shoulder in the direction Kaeleron had been heading.

He stood at the edge of the garden, looking right back at her.

At me.

For a crushing moment, I thought he might come and demand I return to my room, but then he dipped his head, and disappeared from view beyond the castle wall, a trail of nobles following him.

“Come then.” She took my arm, draping it over hers, and patted it. “Let us find some peace and quiet away from the court politics and desperate females, and see if perhaps we can discover a place that is more… us .”

I blinked at her. More us .

It hit me that she had seen right through me as we walked down the gentle slope towards the imposing castle gatehouse. I looked at the garden behind me, at the highborn coming and going, and that feeling cemented within me.

I didn’t belong here.

These noble fae weren’t my world—my people.

My gaze drifted to the larger area of the town, beyond the black and grey stone walls that had no doubt been constructed in part to separate the highborn from the commoners.

Those were my people. I tracked the cobbled road that snaked through to the town until there was nothing but open, wild land in my sphere of vision. That was my world.

Jenavyr led me towards the main gate, towering over me and making me feel small, drawing glances and elegant bows from the nobles we passed. I looked from them to her, as curious about her as I was about the town I was finally going to see up close.

She didn’t dress like the highborn.

No elegant gowns for this female.

She wore black leather pants and a royal blue long-sleeved blouse that matched mine, but beneath her breasts she wore an onyx leather corset over her blouse. Her outfit was rugged and made for work, not something I had expected the sister of a king to be wearing, certainly not in this world.

She looked far from a beautiful princess.

She was a striking warrioress.

Right down to the sword sheathed at her hip.

She noticed me staring at it and loosed a soft chuckle.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect the sister of a king to dress as you do… like I am… let alone carry a weapon.” I grimaced through my apology, sure it wasn’t enough.

“Ah, so I should be wearing hideous dresses and be keeping my hands clean and soft?” She gazed down at me, silver eyes bright with amusement as she half-smiled and I grimaced again, feeling terrible for what I had said as she added, “Many in this court believe the same, though they would not dare to mention it beyond secret whispers between trusted allies. My brother saw to that.”

“How?” That question left my lips before I could stop it, curiosity pulling it from me as I openly stared at her now, the thought of learning more about the king making me want to press her for the answer.

She simply said, “He executed those on his council who were against my being allowed to earn a position within his army.”

I halted beneath the arch of the smaller gateway between the highborn and common districts. “He executed them?”

For speaking out against his sister and daring to believe they knew what was best for her.

“It was a rather bloody affair, but then court politics often ends that way.” She seemed rather blasé about her brother murdering people merely because they hadn’t agreed with him.

“What happens if I don’t agree with him?” My mind raced, filling with gruesome images, and my heart galloped with it.

A sigh rolled from her as she patted my arm where it rested over hers.

“My brother can be… ruthless . But he only does what he believes is necessary to maintain order within his court, and this court is not as bad as some of the others. Kael can be… I am sure he is often conflicted about the things he must do as king. But there are many things we do not agree on and he has not killed me yet.”