Most Fey silk, like Kenric’s Fey clothing, is conjured, created through magic by wish and will. Fey silk is lovely, almost miraculous stuff. It’s buttery soft and will turn a blade as well as iron. It’s warm when the weather is cold out, but it stays cool in the summer. It comes in every color you can imagine and takes well to embellishments like embroidery and beadwork, if you have the proper scissors, thread, and needle. It even takes special looms to weave it.
That’s why most of us magic up whole garments. It’s a lot simpler than trying to collect all the special supplies you need to work with the material to create a garment. I listen to them going back and forth over quantities, pricing, payment schedules, and availability. They cover nearly everything but delivery schedules. Every time delivery schedules are mentioned, the king skillfully changes the subject, misdirecting them like a maestro. These men fall for it. Every single time. No wonder Ellisar looks bored. He’s not even having to work at this. Even though they’re negotiating for entire bolts of silk, no one’s mentioned the scissors or the needles or the thread. Without the scissors, you have lengths of cloth that you can’t cut.
No one has mentioned negotiating for the thread or needles, either, and so there won’t be any sewing of this Fey silk. What are they planning to do with it? Drape statues? None of this makes a bit of sense to me, except that Ellisar will likely make them pay dearly for these supplies so that they can use the silks they’ve been negotiating for all morning. Figures. Tricksy son of a banshee. This really is a robbery by other means. It would be cleaner if he just had his guards shake them down for whatever’s in their pockets. Finally, a temporary halt is called so that we can all take a break and have some lunch. I give my future husband my notes on the trade agreement so far.
I don't think the men with him will listen to me about anything, but they might be willing to listen to him. The other men file out, but Kenric remains behind. Ellisar and his officials are still gathering their things, unwilling to leave any of it behind, even for a short break like lunch.
Kenric smirks at me. “Daughters, eh?”
I shrug. “If they’re willing to sell those girls for some Fey silk, they’ll be better off here. We need females. They’ll be loved and appreciated by Fey males. If we don’t, who knows what trinkets that lot will trade those girls for? Mostly, I wanted to see if they were as bad as I thought.”
Kenric chuckles. “And?”
I frown at him. “They’re even worse. They didn’t even hesitate to throw their own children onto the bargaining table.”
I see Ellisar give me a speculative look as he considers what I’ve said before the Fey also file out. If I’m to consider living among these barbarians, I want to know what they’re like. I can see that Kenric isn’t like them at all.
Kenric chuckles and smiles at me when I wave the sheaf of papers at him. “Lots of your clauses in here mention payment schedules, but none of them have a delivery schedule.”
Kenric looks thoughtful and starts sorting through the pages before muttering a curse. I tell him that their current negotiations also don't include a delivery schedule for the goods they just spent all morning negotiating for.
That leaves it up to the king to decide when to deliver the goods. I inform him that this is a loophole you will want to close. Otherwise, you'll be at his mercy to get the items you've already paid for.
His eyes crinkle as he smiles at me. “That’s a good catch. I’ll bring it up with the others.”
I nod. “They don't seem willing to listen to me.”
Sighing, he agrees. “Women, where we come from, aren't included in things like this. Most don't even know how to read. Most men think women are incapable and should focus on the home and family. You are not what they're used to, since you're capable in your own right. Just give me what you find and tell me what you observe. I’ll handle it from there. Please don’t use your magic around them, either. It will only frighten them.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
I informed him about the grievous insult the king had delivered by sitting in front of him instead of the highest-ranking male on his side.
He smiles at me. “That's easy enough to fix. I'll switch seats.”
I have him explain their ranks to me. God above! He’s one of the lower-ranking humans present. This is a disaster! I have misjudged all of them. I start to panic again, and he takes my hands, looking into my eyes. The calm returns as he asks what’s wrong.
I explain that I've misunderstood everything, and his clothing is inappropriate. Among us, he’d have carved a path through the court. His looks and his prowess in bed alone would have made him popular and highly ranked. If he has any skill at all in battle, he’d be highly valued. If he’s even a hint of magic, he’d be valued even more.
It seems that these humans place great importance on lineage, arranging their marriages to merge bloodlines, as if they were all herd animals or racing hounds. I will have to see what I can do to help him rise above these dull-witted idiots. He dismisses the clothing issue. The way he's dressed is just shy of the royal family.
For context, our royal family is large, with many cousins and other extended branches. Kenric is at least smart enough to ask for help and to find the one person with a vested interest in providing it. I explain all this to him. He asks what I dressed him in the night before. Blushing, I admit that he was dressed as a prince because I wanted to see how he looked.
He smirks and asks what I think of him. I tell him he looked glorious, divine, and entirely edible. He quirks a brow at this and laughs when I lick my lips. We discuss the rest of his group for a few moments. The others with him strike me as foolishly arrogant. They aren't clever enough to realize that they're out of their depth. They know about Lawless and Lawful Fey, but still refuse to believe in magic. If they were at court, they would have seen me shift and still refuse to believe in magic. They watched us summon elemental magic and still refuse to believe in it.
He says magic frightens them, and they have many nonsensical ideas about it that he’ll explain later. These humans are a strange lot, disturbed by many things they don't understand. Fearful men are dangerous, since they will attack what they fear. We go to join the others for lunch. I remain silent and close to him as we eat. I catch some of them watching me, and I don’t care for how closely they watch me. I don't know why they watch me so closely.
Do they expect me to do them some violence? Do they think I'm going to sabotage their negotiations? Do they find me so strange? Why do they watch me so closely?
I take a bite of food, and the smell hits me. A few of them are drawn to me simply by my presence. They want me for themselves. They are jealous. Based on what I’ve heard about their wedding customs, most of these men are married. Their rings show it. Suddenly, I want to run away from these men, but I’m smart enough to know that running will only make them chase me. I see someone I know pick up a plate and head for the gardens. Many of us eat there. They're nicer than the dining room, and it's a good place to gossip quietly. I whisper to him that I'd like to introduce him to one of my friends and ask if he’s okay with it.
He agrees, so we grab our food and head to the gardens. We find Amer at a quiet table, holding court and gossiping as usual.
Amer laughs when he sees me. “Yávi?, lovely girl, it’s great to see you. We were talking about your latest adventures. Come and tell us firsthand, and tell me who this delectable male with you is. He looks delicious.”
Amer Bellem eyes Kenric as he sniffs, and his smile widens. “It seems like you’ve already had a taste. How was it?” I smirk, and he laughs. “Good for you. It’s great to see you finally getting better. I assume we have you to thank for bringing our lovely Yávi? back to herself.”
Kenric tries to sit me next to Amer, but Amer waves that idea away. “No, darling. You sit next to me. I’d much rather have you, you gorgeous thing, sit close so I can at least bask in the reflected glory.”
Stifling a chuckle, Kenric sits beside him. I introduce myself, and soon my friends fill me in on the latest gossip.
Amer snickers, “We all saw your little display on the way out. I thought the king was going to have to change his underclothes.”
I frown. “They had me put out with the trash the last time I came to petition.”
Amer nods. “I know. It was shameful. I can’t imagine what the king’s thinking, but at least that’s over now. So, tell me, how did you two meet?”
Kenric smirks, “The gods favored me that day. I was talking with our ambassador, and he mentioned that the king wanted some of us to take a Fey wife. We were walking back to our lodgings when I looked up and saw the most beautiful, captivating creature I’ve ever seen. We locked eyes, and something in her just spoke to me. I knew she was what I wanted and that no one else would do. I had the ambassador find out who she was and locate her parents. Since she’s apparently well known, he was quick, so I went straight there and started negotiating for her.”
Amer laughs. “Oh my! Love at first sight, like the old tales. It's a good thing you moved quickly. Darling Yávi? has many admirers. Most wouldn't come forward because she was feral, but now that she's not, she’d be highly sought after.”
I shake my head. “If I wasn't good enough when I was feral, then they’re not good enough now. Had they spent the time and care on me that he has, I might not have still been feral.”
Amer smirks and nudges Kenric, “So this transformation is your doing. I knew it. There have been rumors, you know, that sex and touch can bring the feral ones back to us. It's all a bit scandalous, so no one really wanted to put much stock in it, but I can clearly see the effect on you. It's only been two days since I last saw you. It's hard to deny it when you see it firsthand. He’s done quite the job of marking you, too.”
They negotiate for bolts of Fey silk, a marvelous, rare, dangerous, magical silk and then… forget to ask for thread. Or needles. Or scissors.
This is equivalent to buying a warhorse without legs.
Ellisar keeps changing the subject, skillfully, like a bored fox toying with chickens, and they fall for it every time.
She sits quietly taking notes while men who cannot negotiate their way out of a wet paper bag pat themselves on the back.
She catches every major loophole, including the crucial “delivery schedule” disaster these geniuses missed entirely.
Ellisar is sweating.
Kenric is impressed.
The delegation is unaware a Fey woman just saved them from being financially eaten alive.
The King—Ellisar the Asshat—tries:
- intimidation,
- snippy remarks,
- passive-aggression,
- social games,
- verbal poking,
- aggressive sniffing (for reasons),
and everything bounces off Víl? like hail off a dragon.
She answers him with the energy of “Do you want to die today, or are you just bored?
He is absolutely not used to this.
He hates it.
He hates that he likes it.
He hates that he can’t stop it.
He listens.
He adapts.
He understands.
He praises her intelligence.
He values her instincts.
He responds with care, not ego.
He comforts her when she panics.
He actually fixes the seating insult.
Jealousy, Hunger, and the Realization That Víl? Is… Extremely Attractive**
Multiple human men start staring at her far too intently—
some with hunger, some with jealousy, all with poor decisions brewing in their skulls.
These men are married.
They are idiots.
And they are about to die if they make the wrong move.
Víl?, sensing she is being eyed like a dessert, does the smartest possible thing:
she removes herself from the situation before someone gets turned into a corpse.
Amer sees Víl? arriving with a man who looks like a snack and immediately begins:
- gossiping,
- cackling,
- sniffing Kenric,
- interrogating them about sex,
- and congratulating her return from the Feral Side? at breakneck speed.
He joins in with absolutely zero shame and 100% enthusiasm.
Bless him.
The way he tells the story of their meeting?
SCANDALOUSLY romantic.
The way she looks at him?
Predatory and adoring.
The way Amer reacts?
Delighted shrieking.
Chapter 12 is a delicious blend of:
- political incompetence,
- Fey brilliance,
- royal irritation,
- silk-based trickery,
- and a romance that keeps getting hotter,