A Court of Blood and Courage

Part 6

Thea and Aileen made short work of my strawberry blonde locks, tugging it up into a braided crown atop my head. Aileen offered me a dusty rose dress, but I sneer at them.

"Hell no, I want pants." Both females' eyebrows shoot up at my strong words. They pause and look at each other then Aileen leaves to come back with pants and a tunic. The tunic is a soft, creamy orange with dark orange stitching. Its ornate and far too fine as it clings to me. My reflection sneers at the way you can see every inch of my body, as if I wasn't wearing anything. The pants clung to me in a similar fashion but before I could request another outfit, the two females were gone. I tugged at the shirt, trying to make myself look less naked. My bare feet make no noise as I walk out my door to look for a way to find food. Wings tucked in tight, I start to walk down the corridor when the smell of delicious food fills my nose. I follow it all the way to a grand door made of gold and bronze. Frowning up at the extravagance, I open the door to find a long table laden with food of all kinds. At least four different types of meats, fruits and vegetables I didn't even recognize. My mouth watered, I only had bland stew and bread my whole life in the camp. This could feed my whole camp for a day. I put the thought out of my head, they didn't deserve this. My eyes went to Helion who was watching me wearily, the male beside him was eyeing me with a smirk. He was darker skinned than Helion with black hair artfully tousled atop his head. This male wore a deep red tunic...dress...thing. I wasn't sure what they wore but it draped from his right shoulder to his ribs. Showing off his muscled body as well as my own attire showed off my body. With an awkward cough, I took the empty seat to Helion's right. The chair scraped across the marble floor in a way that hurt my ears.

Once seated, I try to situate my wings as best I can. It's awkward but I figure it out. Both males eye me and I try not to shrink away from them. My eyes went downcast though, I could not look them in the eye.

"so, Carina, is it?" I give a confirming nod to the male, who I assume is Helion's second. "How do you like the day court so far?" I frown at my hands.

"Your clothes are a bit...tight." Both males give hearty laughs at my words. I frown down at my hands, unable to look at them.

"Zavian, don't tease. She is unused to males like us." Helion says. I look to the high lord with grateful eyes.

"What kind of males is she used too?"

"Illyrian males." I say.

"I confess I do not know much about Illyrians." Zavian says. My eyes snap up to Zavian.

"Who are you?"

"Carina, this is Zavian. My second."

"Illyrians are a warrior race in the Night Court. Bred to kill." I spit. "Males are prized and sent through vigorous training to break them and remake them. Females' wings are clipped once they have their first bleeding then sold off for breeding."

"Did you run? So you wouldn't have to breed?"

"Yes and no. I ran because I was a dead woman. I ran because I was the only female willing to be a warrior."

"I-"

"Zavian, don't push her."

"Apologies, my lady." Zavian says. I snort at this.

"I am no lady. I am some nameless, faceless soldier." When I finally look up to the golden eyes of the High Lord, I lose all confidence and grab some food. The first bite of chicken caused a moan to come from my lips. I had never tasted such food before. Losing all sense of decency, I stuff my face with food. I was a warrior and I had a large appetite. Glancing up, I saw Zavian watching me with his jaw hung open. I slow my pace and look at the High Lord who is grinning at me. "What?"

"I have never seen someone eat so much." Zavian says. Biting my lip, I pull away from my food. "No, eat as much as you want. It's a turn on."

"Turn on what?" Zavian and Helion chuckle at me.

"I shall teach her later." Helion grins.

"Hands on?" Zavian's grin makes me blush and I don't even know why.

"I think I need to sleep." I say. I bolt away from the males to my room to avoid talking. The door slams shut behind me as I take a deep breath. But I still can't calm down. I need to move, to fight. Opening the door, I rush down the corridors. Not seeing anything I start running, only to almost crash into a female who is carrying laundry.

"So sorry! Can you tell me where the training room is?" She gave me some directions and I run as fast as I can. Sliding the door open I grab the nearest mace and start attacking a target. When I begin, there is finesse to my fighting. A technique to the way my mace landed upon the target but the more I hit, the more I saw Drevon and Cyrus as the target. The harder I hit, the wilder I became before a scream tears through my throat. The target splits in half at my last blow and I collapse to the ground, wings drooping.

"Deep breaths." I murmur. Shoulders hunched, I catch my breath then stand to put the mace away. But I decide not to and take it with me back to my room. The mace fit snuggling by my bed and safe from view. Feeling a bit safer, I flop down on my bed with a groan.