Hi friends! If you're new, you probably should go back and read the preceding chapters. Comments and feedback always welcome! Cheers!
***
Feldspar looked between the two Lords of the Wood, grappling for reality. Just seconds before, his Lord had had him pressed up against a tree. He was still a bit dazed from the delicious things his Lord had been doing to him. Now a second Lord had appeared with his human lover in his grip.
It took only a fraction of a second for Feldspar to act. He wrapped an arm around the closest Lord's neck, cutting off his airway. He drew his knife and pressed it lightly just under the Lord's ribcage.
"Not another word," he said calmly as the Lord thrashed in his grip. Feldspar kicked him decisively in the back of the knee, knocking his feet out from under him.
Feldspar locked eyes with the wide-eyed human woman just down the path from him. Sometime during the scuffle she had drawn her knife and was holding it shakily between herself and the Lord who gripped her arm. "Which one do you reckon?" Feldspar called out.
The Lord holding Daniella's arm loosened his grip, allowing her to move her knife more fully between them. She looked up at him. His jade green eyes were dancing and his posture was relaxed. He didn't seem the least bit concerned about the knife she was pointing at him or his perfect twin writhing in Feldspar's grip.
Daniella scanned back through the entire day. She had been with her Lord the entire time. How could Hemlock have made a switch? Her stomach plummeted as she realized how pointless it was. Hemlock could have replaced her Lord days or weeks previously. He had done it to Nephrite. She would have to sort out who was who based on what she could glean right now.
"Should we kill the other one?" she asked the Lord holding her arm.
He smiled wryly. "I doubt any in the Wood would grieve Hemlock's demise, but I prefer not to break old alliances over a bit of mischief."
She looked at Feldspar's Lord. He was thrashing like a wet cat. She almost smiled at the easy way Feldspar disarmed his every move.
"Little One," murmured her Lord. "I am going to let you go now. Please do not stab me." He released her arm with an apologetic rub over the mark he had left.
"Slave — " the other Lord choked out. Daniella glanced at her Lord standing beside her. He knew she wasn't just a slave. She was his Little One. But Hemlock didn't know that.
Daniella locked eyes with Feldspar. "He's Hemlock," she said, nodding toward the cursing faery in his arms.
Feldspar tightened his grip on the faery's neck, squeezing a gurgling cry from him. Feldspar's golden hair and eyes gleamed like they were on fire, and the muscles in his arms bulged as he flexed around the helpless faery's throat. He was glowing with fury and power.
"Feldspar," her Lord said, a clear note of warning in his voice. "Do not kill Hemlock."
The faery was beginning to sag in Feldspar's arms. Feldspar sank his knife into the faery an inch. The Lord in his arms went deathly still. Feldspar smiled. It was a smile Daniella hoped she would never see on his face again.
"Of course, my Lord," he said almost sweetly. "I am only reminding Hemlock of his manners." He twisted the knife and the faery screamed. At last Hemlock dropped his glamor, revealing his face. Feldspar shoved Hemlock to his knees. The pale faery roared in pain as the knife slid out of him. He landed on his hands and knees, panting and wild-eyed.
"Have Oleander see to your wounds," the Lord said in dismissal. Hemlock pushed himself to his feet and clamped a hand over his wound. He gave a mocking nod to the Lord and blew a kiss to Feldspar before stumbling down the path.
Once he was out of sight, Daniella let out a long exhale. She reached for her Lord. She needed to feel him and know that he was solid, unharmed. Her hand met empty air where he had been standing moments before. He was already striding down the path toward Feldspar.
Feldspar was cleaning his knife was jerky movements, compulsively wiping each side over and over. "Feldspar," his Lord said gently, placing a hand on his.
Feldspar looked up. The righteous fury was gone from his expression, replaced by devastation. The Lord took his knife and placed it back on his belt with steady hands. He took Feldspar into his arms and held him for a long while.
"I'm so sorry, my Lord," Feldspar said. "He was — "
"Hush, Feldspar. This is what Hemlock does. You have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to be sorry for." The Lord placed a hand lovingly on Feldspar's cheek and stared deep into his eyes. He leaned in and kissed him softly. Feldspar melted into his arms with a whimper.
Daniella tore her eyes away from them. Unexpected tears prickled at the corners of her eyes. It wasn't a secret that her Lord was involved with Feldspar. But knowing was different from seeing. Seeing the way he comforted Feldspar, she couldn't deny the love her Lord had for him. She couldn't pretend that just because things were getting serious with her, her Lord had made things exclusive. She didn't even know if monogamy was a thing among the faeries. She wiped her eyes quickly and took a few steadying breaths. Now was not the time to fall apart.
That evening in the Meeting Tree, Daniella knelt in her usual place beside her Lord's throne. Her body was used to the posture now: legs tucked under her, back ramrod straight, hands folded over thighs, eyes staring unseeing straight ahead. Usually when she wasn't serving as entertainment she spent the time dissociated from her body, thinking about her ecological research or experimental design.
Her Lord sat on his throne of living vines surveying his people. The evening was just getting started. Most of the faeries were eating, drinking and talking in clusters. The band was playing a lively jig for a few dancers.
Feldspar and Nephrite were across the room at a banquet table. They picked at plates of food listlessly under Gneiss' watchful eye. When she had heard what had happened, she had insisted on staying by her lover's side in case Hemlock tried to torment him further. This had left Nephrite no choice but to come to the Meeting Tree for the first time since the envoys had arrived. Daniella scanned the room uneasily for Hemlock and Oleander. She dreaded the moment they realized Nephrite was out of hiding.
Her Lord shifted restlessly in his throne. Daniella glanced at him and followed his gaze to his friends. To the casual onlooker he looked completely at ease, bored even. Over the last few weeks Daniella had learned to read him better than almost anyone. She noticed the way he followed his friends' movements a bit too closely, the way he scanned the room constantly for threats. She saw the tiny furrow in his brow, the subtle clenching and unclenching of his jaw, his unnaturally still posture.
"My Lord," she whispered without looking up at him. "Just go check on them already. I'll be fine."
He went still for a moment, the only sign that he had heard her. After a few minutes he slid off his throne and glided down to Feldspar, Nephrite and Gneiss. Daniella watched the familiar way he touched Gneiss in greeting, the gentle pat he gave Nephrite's shoulder, the peck on the cheek he gave to Feldspar. Each easy gesture of affection sparked a tiny pang of loss in her. She knew their charade as slave and master was meant to mark her as off-limits to Hemlock and Oleander. There was no way for her Lord to treat her lovingly in front of the faery envoys. It still sucked.
She tried to think about other things. She puzzled over how the stream in the Wood had gotten contaminated and devised various experiments she might perform if she had the equipment and reagents necessary. She considered whether getting additional samples might be wise so she could determine whether the levels of contamination were increasing or decreasing. She thought about the food chain that relied on the stream, and the fragility of various species up the chain.
Her eyes slid back to her Lord. He was speaking intently to Feldspar, one arm clasped around his back to pull him in close. Daniella looked away quickly. There was no reason to torture herself. She forced herself to think about friends and family back home, making up stories for what they might be doing now. Was it Thanksgiving yet? Had the trees started turning colors? Who was hosting a holiday cookie exchange, and were they stressed about providing vegan, gluten-free, nut-free and kid-friendly options?
Daniella's thoughts refused to stay on safe topics. Instead she found herself searching out Hemlock and Oleander again. This time, she found them. Hemlock was laughing amongst a small group of faeries. Oleander was next him, whispering conspiratorially in Garnet's ear. The pink haired faery woman smirked at him in response, leaning toward him. Daniella fought the urge to roll her eyes. It was amazing that any faeries of the Wood would socialize with the two envoys despite her Lord's warnings about their true nature.
As if they could feel her gaze Hemlock and Oleander looked over at her in unison. Daniella knew she should lower her eyes to the floor. She gave them each a hard stare instead. Hemlock turned to Oleander and Garnet and by some agreement the three of them started wending their way across the tree toward her.
Daniella looked for her Lord immediately, unease flooding her. He was gone. Feldspar, Nephrite and Gneiss were nowhere to be found either. She scanned the dance floor. Faeries had mobbed it and were twirling and leaping in a lively jig. They weren't at any of the feasting tables either. Her eyes darted to the balconies and lounging cushions around the room. There were too many places they could be.
Hemlock and Oleander mounted the steps of the dais and circled her. Garnet hung back at the foot of the steps, uncertainty plain on her face. She knew better than to disrespect her Lord at the foot of his own throne.
"How careless the Lord has become," Oleander said, fingering the hilt of his knife.
Hemlock smiled cruelly. "I do believe my little farce earlier upset him. He must be off drying his fucktoy's tears."
Daniella looked straight ahead, pretending she could neither see nor hear them. It took all her self-control not to react as they circled behind her.
"Perhaps he is just upset you can fuck his boy better than he can," Oleander drawled.
