Captive of the Shadows (The Fairy Code Book #1) by Kaitlyn Weiss

Chapter Seven

"I want you to leave. Otherwise I might well be the one to get it."

"Do you like being a toy?"

Jioladh's red hair again brought to mind molten gold. And yes, he was like a bright ray of sun in the kingdom of darkness and shadows. No wonder I wanted to simply touch him. I dug my nails into my palm so that the pain would help me get a grip on myself.

"Enchantments," I said hoarsely, trying to look away. The shadow kitten walked up to me and rubbed its tail on my ankle. Strangely, I felt a little better.

"In the Seelie Court, they love mortals," continued the faery, now no longer Apollo-like, but still an amazing looking creature, even if no longer radiating sunshine.

"What of it?"

"There is always a choice, Rory."

And with these words Jioladh stepped out the door, after giving me a look as significant as if he'd just proposed to me. Yet I did not feel any lust; rather, it was like a strange kind of admiration.

Against my will, my glance fell on the tattoo that circled my wrist. So I had a choice? Sure, sounds good. But what kept me here was revenge and slavery. It's not likely that this brand-bracelet was a simple matter. More likely than not, it wouldn't let me stray beyond the borders of Ruadh. And neither would the ubiquitous Shadows.

I looked down the corridor and immediately spied Doran headed my way. And he wasn't alone. Aerona was with him. His regal sister looked strange. I couldn't even explain exactly what it was about her. "Follow me, Rory.

So, it seems they'd talked. I obediently followed them. Again I wondered why no other faeries were around. Was this some elite floor? The royal quarters?

The now familiar misty arch conveyed us to the laboratory. And there ... there I stopped and felt my eyes grow wide in amazement. In the center of the laboratory stood Kalvag, his chest swelling with pride, and next to him was a mound of instruments which defied description.

"What is this?"

"Instruments for your research."

I looked at Doran, not sure that I'd heard him right. He was the one so fixated on secrecy. Yet here he was with his sister and...

Then I was in store for another surprise in a morning already full of them. Aerona took a couple of steps so that she was facing me, and then she dropped to her knees. And clearly, she did this of her own volition. When she looked up at me, I almost dropped to the floor myself. The face which so recently was a model of arrogance and malice now reflected the deepest despair.

"Your first test subject," Doran said.

"If you can help me, then I'll do whatever I can for you," Aerona said, haltingly. "Whatever you want, understand? I mean it! Just help me, help!"

It was all so pathetic, really. I leaned over and tried to lift Aerona up. For whatever reason, though, she resisted, and she was much stronger than me.

"Enough of this show," Doran said. "So we have one test subject. How many more do we need?"

That was the King, always the picture of composure. I gave up my efforts with Aerona, and stood up to face him.

"Ideally, we should have dozens of each of your species. Healthy males and females. And preferably, they'd be couples united by the Tree, and also lovers in general. But I have no idea how to make this happen without causing a stir. I'd need more than just a drop of blood."

"I know," Doran replied, and Haedyn sighed and muttered something about having to "work around the clock again."

"We'll announce a games in the name of Chaos. Many will come to participate in them. And Haedyn will collect blood from whoever we need."