Page 39 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

Flora laughed as she drove the knife downward toward my neck. I lifted both my hands, catching her hand in my crossed wrists. She kneed me in the spine and I threw myself back, knocking into her stomach. I cut her wrist, then whirled around and punched at her face. She avoided the blow, but when she moved to slash me, her grip faltered.

“What the—” she gasped. She shoved me off her and got to her feet.

The potion was working. She stumbled. Her eyes widened as she struggled to maintain her posture. I jumped to my feet and came at her again. Flora slashed at me, but her hand went limp and her knife clattered to the floor. I spun my knife in my hand and cut across her cheek.

“Wha—wha….” Her jaw went slack and her tongue lolled out of her mouth. Slowly, Flora keeled over, dropping to the floor. Her good leg kicked and her uninjured hand came up to her face, but as I stood over her, all she could do was flail.

“Miss Azriel is our winner,” Lotmas declared.

Gareth’s attention was fully on me as I was escorted to the winner’s section. Silas opened his mouth as he leaned forward, but I shook my head slightly. Behind me, Flora clutched at her face, a deep hatred in her eyes as she glared at me.

I sat down and tried to ignore the attention on me. This was a good thing. It meant they would think I was a force to be reckoned with. And that meant they wouldn’t suspect that I was full human. Right?

Lotmas stepped up to announce the next duelists as Penry, Flora, and the other girl were taken away. But as he did so, a young woman I didn’t know came rushing into the room. She ran to Mr. Quincy and whispered in his ear, and he got to his feet.

“The rest of the day’s duels will be postponed,” he called. “Court Manilow is on their way.”

Chapter 18 - Azriel

After the announcement, all the students were rushed out of the dueling rooms. Those of us who were injured, no matter how severe those injuries were, were healed. Not just the potions, either, but the nurses used healing magic on us. I realized that’s what they’d been doing for Red, Jasper, and Seb. Unlike with the potions, there were no lingering aftereffects to the healing magic.

Once healed, we were sent to our dorms to change into fresh clothes, with strict instructions to look neat and presentable for Court Manilow. Freta was pale, either from the fight or the court coming. I didn’t ask.

Court Manilow had been the subject of one of Miss Wren’s classes. It was sometimes referred to as “Special Court Manilow,” which led me to believe that among the royal courts, it was more royal than the others. They were possibly the most powerful court, though they didn’t seem to have the same sort of singular beast like other courts.

They had risen to power a few years back, though their origins were a little hazy. Or maybe it was my memory that was hazy. That class had been after one of the more brutal ‘private mentoring’ lessons from Seb. I’d caught him off guard by hiding a second knife in my boot, and he’d retaliated with a punch to the stomach that made me throw up.

I checked the small pouch that I now carried my broken amber pin in. After the punch, he’d made me drink a healing potion and told me to go to the nurses to ensure I didn’t have internal bleeding. It was very thoughtful—of himself. After all, if I died from a ruptured spleen, he would face the consequences.

After we were dressed in fresh, wrinkle-free uniforms (that had been supplied by the school to ensure nobody was slovenly), we went to the great hall for a special assembly. Freta was pulled aside by the teachers and made to stand with the other high fae while the rest of us were told to stand in neat lines near the back of the great hall.

Penry stood next to me, but Silas was a few people down. The high fae students were all given seats, though they stood at attention.

When Court Manilow entered, I gasped. I couldn’t help it. There were a half-dozen in their party, and each one was blindingly beautiful. If they had been introduced as gods, I would have had a hard time disbelieving. They all walked tall, each one androgenous in identical robes, with long hair styled in elaborate braids. The aura that pulsed from them was also blinding, as powerful as anything.

“Court Manilow, we bid you welcome,” Mr. Quincy greeted. He and the other staff were dressed impressively. They bowed, after which the high fae students bowed. I started to bow as well, expecting that it was our turn, but Penry caught my arm.

“We do not bow unless we’re acknowledged,” she whispered to me.

Right. Now I remembered that from the etiquette classes. If it wasn’t an assembly like this, we would be expected to bow first. But there were different rules for different circumstances. I studied the newcomers as they exchanged words with Quincy. It could have easily been one of them that came to the orphanage for me, but I couldn’t know for sure.

Realistically, it could have been Quincy himself that came. I hadn’t been able to look at the fae directly, too overwhelmed by their aura.

I glanced at Freta, finding her blank-faced, standing as tall as she could. Her hands were clasped lightly before her, and just looking at her, one wouldn’t suspect any nerves on her part. I was impressed by how carefully blank her face was. Normally she wore her heart on her sleeve, something that I both envied her for and worried about. But she was more familiar with the game than I was.

Unbidden, my gaze turned to the three golden boys. Jasper was likewise blank-faced, no sign of injury or weakness from the duel left on him. Gareth lacked his normal smirk, though his stance was somewhat more relaxed than the other students. What caught me off guard was the open hostility on Seb’s face.

His lip was pulled back in a silent snarl, eyes narrowed as he viewed the newcomers. He drummed his fingers on his thighs, only stopping when Jasper nudged him. The tension between them was still there, but not as intense as it had been at the duels.

Penry leaned her head toward me. “You’re staring at Seb.”

I quickly averted my eyes. “Just wondering why he looks like he wants to kill someone.”

“He probably does.”

Court Manilow sat at a long, elaborately decorated table, and once the staff had taken their seats, the high fae students sat. This time, I didn’t expect to sit myself. Instead, we low-born students remained standing as the rest of them ate.

“Court Manilow and Court Laurel have been in a feud for years. Before Manilow showed up, Laurel was pretty well the most powerful court. And recently, there was an assassination attempt on Seb’s whole family. A few of his father’s kin were killed, and one of his younger sisters is said to have been disfigured. Nobody’s seen her in public since. The assassins all killed themselves rather than be captured, but everyone knows that Court Manilow sent them,” Penry whispered.