I wondered if there were Fae who were equally fascinated by us. It didn’t seem like a distinct possibility, not considering how haughty and holier-than-thou they always acted. They believed themselves superior in every way, and even when they visited or lived in our realm, they seemed to look at us down their noses. Like Kryn and the prince.
“Interesting. I wouldn’t mind talking to one of them.” Jeondar’s comment seemed genuine. “I’ve heard of a settlement on the way to Mount Ruin where a number of humans live. It’s called Fylahexter. Perhaps some of thesefascinatedpeople you mentioned couldn’t resist the allure and came to stay.”
“Interesting.Iwouldn’t mind talking to one of them myself.”
Jeondar chuckled. “Perhaps you will.”
The comment quickly brought me back to reality. It might be interesting to talk to the humans living in that settlement, but not if it didn’t happen on my terms.
“Dinner is ready, I think.” Jeondar stood, stretching.
Roasted rabbit, cheese, bread, and wine were passed around, along with fig preserves that went perfectly with the meat. The prince and Arabis never came back from wherever they’d gone, but no one seemed to worry or wonder about it.
My watch vibrated, telling me it only had ten percent battery power left. I cursed inwardly and set it to “save battery” mode, wishing I’d thought to do it earlier. I noted it was 6:30 PM, early for dinner. I was used to eating closer to eight or nine, but my appetite didn’t complain. Riding a horse was more physically demanding than I’d imagined.
“Are you going to show us a good time in Imbermore, Dear Jeondar?” Silver asked, sucking on a bone. “We’ve been too long on the road and I… desire some company.”
I could only imagine what type of company he was referring to.
Jeondar’s mouth twisted sideways. “This isn’t a leisure and pleasure trip such as you’re used to.”
“Pity,” Kryn put in.
Cylea poked at the fire with a long stick. “Of course you would say that.” She glanced in my direction. “They’re worse than dogs, the two of them. They would fuck a dragon egg if it came with a hole for them to stick their cocks in.”
Jeondar let out a hearty laugh while all I could do was feel the blush of shame on my cheeks. I was no prude, but I didn’t know these people, and in my experience, jokes of this kind were not thrown out until there was a certain level of familiarity. Though I’d never had any Fae friends, so maybe they were different.
“You and I can go shopping,” Cylea declared, pointing at me. “What do you say? Imbermore has some of the best silks in the realm.”
“Is that a tradition here?” I asked. “Taking your prisoners shopping?”
Jeondar raised a dark eyebrow as he cut a sliver of rabbit meat with a small knife, brought it to his mouth, then distractedly stabbed the knife into the ground.
Cylea batted a hand at me. “You’re not a prisoner. You’re a… fellow traveler on a journey to save the realm.”
“A what?”
“You’re going to scare the boots off of her.” Silver’s face and platinum hair seemed to glow under the light of the fire.
“She needs to know why she’s here,” Cylea argued.
“That’s up to Kalyll to divulge, not you,” Jeondar said, his expression stern.
She rolled her eyes. “I hate the secrecy.”
Jeondar shook his head. “You know it’s necessary, and we can’t trust just anybody.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She seemed tired of it, as if it were something she’d been dealing with for a while.
Just anybody.
I caught the not-so-veiled insult in Jeondar’s words. I wasn’t to be trusted. They didn’t feel they owed me an explanation, even if they were uprooting me from my life, destroying everything I’d worked so hard to attain.
“You can shove your secrets up your ass,” I spat.
Kryn, who had mostly stayed out of the conversation, chuckled quietly. The others peered at me with wide eyes. I’d been a good girl today. They probably thought they’d squelched my spirit, and maybe I should have let them believe that, but I was tired of their pompous asses.
No one responded to my comment. Instead, they set out to gather things up. While they were distracted, I snatched Jeondar’s knife from where he’d left it. As quickly as possible, I slipped it under my tunic and crossed my arms, trying to look angry rather than nervous.