Page 66 of Heart of the Cursed
“No,” he shook his head. “I believe Agnarr has been after her for a lot longer than that.”
Taredd stared at him. “You know why he was after her, don’t you?”
“Yes,” he said. “Well, I have an idea why he wants her.”
“And that would be?” Dain asked.
Arun sighed. “To be part of his harem.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me?” Taredd said.
Arun wished he was, but he wasn’t.
“My brother has a thing for Human females,” he said. “It doesn’t matter their colouring or anything. It’s all about age to him, and Selene fits that bill. At least, in appearance. She’s actually older than she appears.”
“What’s a harem?” Natalia asked.
“It’s a group of females that belong to one male,” Dain said. “Mostly, they are Human females that have been bought.”
“That’s horrible,” Amberly said as she covered her mouth with her hand.
“We’ve got to help them,” Natalia said.
Their hearts were in the right place, but it wasn’t as simple as they might think.
“It’s not that easy,” Dain told her.
Amberly frowned. “Why not?”
“Because most are heavily guarded,” Arun answered for him. “Usually, the people who buy them are from wealthy families.”
“Is your brother?”
“Yes,” Arun nodded. “My family is one of the wealthiest among the Fae.”
“Why do you think we keep him around?” Dain said jokingly.
Amberly elbowed Dain in the stomach. “Don’t be so mean. That’s not why you stay with him, and you know it.”
“Mostly,” Dain said as he rubbed his stomach. When she gave him a dirty look, he held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, that’s not why we keep him around.”
“Better,” she said, smiling up at Dain.
“If harems are heavily guarded,” Natalia said. “Then doesn’t that mean your brother’s will be as well?”
“Yes, and he’ll be expecting me.”
Arun quickly filled them in on the note he’d found, but he told them it was in the living area and not on the bed.
“That’s how you know it was him that took her?” Natalia asked.
“Yes,” he nodded. “If it wasn’t for the note, I wouldn’t have known who had taken her.”
“Which means he wanted you to know,” Taredd said.
“Yes.”
“You know it’s going to be a trap,” Dain added.
