As the last Fay, a tall, imposing figure, left the room, a guard, his face etched with a stern expression, slammed the door shut behind them. Left around the table, the rest of us were left behind. The young woman, who introduced herself as Thyra, claimed this was a private affair- highlighting that we would surely understand that outsiders were expected to stand this round out.
Flabbergasted, we started as she invited the rest of the distinguished fay men to join her on a private tour. Holding onto lord Asher's arm, she leads them out of the dining room, talking in a high-pitched, sweet voice about their plans. Her entire being beamed with pride and eagerness, and I could not for the life of me understand that this woman could be Eir's sister.
Looking around the room and the ones left on the table, I saw in their faces what I felt. Disbelief, disgust, shock, and utter confusion. The only ones left were from Tew's pack, people I've lived with for years, and they all stared at the door, mouths halfway open, and nobody uttered a word. Good. So, it's not just me that struggled to understand all of this.
"What just happened?"
One of Tew's men broke the silence first, pulling our eyes and focus away from the door and across the table at him. He still stared at the door. Tew cleared his throat and ran his fingers through his hair. Now, after all these years, I knew this was something he did when he was either nervous, unsure, or agitated. He grabbed the glass and emptied it all in one gulp before he cleared his throat again and answered,
"We just met Eir's sister…"
"No, that is not what I mean… what? Are you sure? Her?!"
I didn't blame the man; I felt the same way. It couldn't be, no. Nobody said they only brought one girl back; that can't be her!
" I can't be 100%sure. She has no beast scent we could recognize or call familiar, but still, there is something there I can't explain. "
"Okay, I struggle to believe that or agree to that. If there is anything there, it is the magical phenomenon of a beating ice heart. But put that aside for a moment. Did we just witness the upper-class Fay, and their king agreeing on making their females into enslaved people? I mean, that is what I gathered from all this. Obedient, willing females stripped for their own opinions. That is essentially a slave, or am I missing something here? If so, please enlighten me because, of now, all I want to do is let Atlas take over and burn this horrid place down."
"Amon! Shush!"
Tew scolded me, and we all scowled towards the guard, who looked away grimly.
"Remember where you are and watch your tongue! But yes, that's how I understood it. However, I can't understand it, and the Fay people have always prohibited brothels from selling females. Not only that but intimate contact has also always been frowned upon, seen as a couple's dark little secret. This sudden change in behavior and mindset baffles me."
Tew narrated, and my brows lifted in surprise.
"Frowned upon? What the hell is this? A welcome back to the Stone Age mindset? They do understand how to make kids, what orgasms are, or do we need a serious intervention, not to mention forced schooling on the people here in this goddess-forsaken land?"
I huffed in annoyance. I knew for a fact that the Fay is not that illiterate, not that I would ever say it out loud, but they have always been a step or two ahead when it came to developments. So how could they be so incredibly narrow-sighted?
Have so much hatred for females? How does one go about to look at another being and think of it as nothing but a tool? A tool for happiness, labor, and lust? It is so disgusting I don't even have words for it! Not only that, but they are also even worse than the Viking pack when it comes to accepting that the human females brought knowledge and resources with them. Because of what?
"Dick and beard!"
My cheeks burned as the stunned grimaces around me made me realize I had just yelled it out loud and started mumbling while the deep red warmth spread up my neck and face.
"I mean, it is the only difference! Boobs and chest hair, dick, and yeah... You know what I mean!"
You could hear a needle drop, and the silence threatened to suffocate me before muffled rumbling and laughter filled the massive dining room.
"Amon, my dear friend. You can't just yell out things like that, especially not in the king's dining hall in a foreign kingdom!"
Never have I ever had more use for this rolling your eyes-thing than this moment! Tew did poorly using his "big-boy" voice while struggling to hold his laughter back. Waving my hand, shushing his nonsense away, I shifted my focus to my glass, picking at it.
"I won't make a habit of it! But what are we to do now? Wait around? We should do something! Stop this so-called development, and we need to talk to that girl, Thyra. We need to know if she is the girl Eir has been looking for! You know, as well as anyone, that Eir would not be sitting around waiting forever. "
Tew's demeanor changed, remembering why we were here in the first place.
"We can't interfere; this is a private matter and does not concern us. And,"
He lifted his hand to hold me off, "Before you start, that does not mean I agree or like anything about this. But now is not the time. We are here for other reasons, and this matter must wait. This new development is also a case for the high council, not for me or us as guests to handle. First, we need to focus on the matter at hand: The human girl, Eir's sister, my sister. How should we go about this? "
"Shift in front of her and let Hunter decide!"
The suggestion was thrown out from the other side of the table. I'm not sure by whom, but in my ears, it sounded reasonable, considering that is how Eir recognized her family, her father.
"It might work; her scent will be harder to recognize, but it could be possible. However, the Fay kingdom has a rigorous shifter rule. Not even their own people, who have several shapes, are allowed to shift at will. Remember the Turul clan? The mythical birds of prey? After the young boy shifted to save his and his baby brother's life, the Fay king and council decided to clip his wings. Not only that, but his entire family had their wings clipped, and after the young boy died of the injuries, his family fled. They were never seen again, and the clan is considered extinct because we all know they ran away to die in peace as their little boy just did right in front of them."
Slow clapping echoed off the walls, calling for our attention, and there she stood. Thyra, with a sly grin and arched brow.