Chapter Twenty-Four

 

 

From that day on, Trenton and I stopped playing games. When we were in public, he still treated me as a concubine, but he slowly adjusted his behavior until I was more like his consort than his slave. When we were alone, he was able to be himself, and it was even more exciting than when he gave me control. It turned out that Trenton didn't need to leave Tirne to be free of his issues; he only had to confront them.

Every day brought new nuances to our relationship and revealed new facets of ourselves to each other. He was learning about me, and I was learning more about him. Prince Trenton of Seelie was the most honorable, kind, and sensitive man, who was also the fiercest, bad-ass soldier in all of Seelie. I hadn't known about the bad ass part until the day we wandered past the training courtyard.

Trenton had been wrapped up in me from the moment I was given to him, and he hadn't spared any time for his usual activities; including his knight training. He hadn't gotten those muscles by lying around all day. My assessment of his form had been more accurate than I'd known; my prince was also a knight; more than that, he was the Commander of the Seelie Army. It was yet another thing about Trenton that all of those courtly ladies secretly found distasteful, and was also what Queen Tana had been referring to in that odd conversation between her and Trenton, my first morning in Seelie.

Unseelie royals trained for battle and were admired for their prowess, but the Seelie Kingdom was supposed to be more genteel than its dark rival. In Seelie, they expected their prince to strut about like a peacock and order his knights to defend him. His job was to be a beautiful representative of the Light Court. But Trenton's parents had died in the last war because Unseelie soldiers had made it past their knights, and neither his father or his mother had known how to defend themselves. He had vowed to be strong enough to protect his sister, and not only had he sacrificed a life of luxury to achieve his status and skill, but he had also endured the disapproval and secret ridicule of his people.

It was no wonder that Trenton felt the need to punish himself, and that the women of Court couldn't get him off; Trenton knew that their desire was false. How could he find satisfaction with a woman who only wanted him because of his status? He was simply too honorable for that. I couldn't understand those dumb bitches; Trenton was the most gorgeous man I'd ever laid eyes on, and he was built like a Roman gladiator. I could hardly believe that he wanted me, much less that other women didn't want him. Although, the “women not wanting him” part had changed a bit since Trenton had fucked me savagely in front of the Court. Yep; he had drenched a few panties with that display. The ladies were looking at him differently now, and at me with a fair amount of jealousy. They had seen the appeal of their warrior-prince.

But—as I mentioned—Trenton hadn't taken the time to train since I'd come to Court.

We were strolling through the halls when we passed the training courtyard, and his fellow knights called out to him. We stopped, and Trenton took me over to meet them all. The Seelie knights treated me like I was a lady of their court instead of a slave, and I was both shocked and pleased by their chivalry. I didn't have a lot of interaction with the other members of the Seelie Court, and I had assumed that they all viewed me as a servant at best and a whore at worst. But these men were gallant and obviously friends with Trenton, not just his soldiers. Whatever the ladies of the Light Court thought of their prince, his knights didn't share their opinions. They teased Trenton mercilessly until he finally gave in and shucked off his fine tunic in exchange for a padded one and some shiny, fairy armor.

“This won't take long,” Trenton promised me as he led me to a bench against the wall.

“Okay,” I said as I took a seat.

My eyes strayed to the bits of silk and cords tied around the knights' belts. I knew what they were; favors. Ladies would give their lovers scraps of their clothing or ribbons from their hair, for their man to wear on his belt into battle. It was a symbol of their affection and was meant to inspire their men to greatness. The ladies may not have liked their prince fighting, but they still admired prowess in his knights, and every knight there had a favor on his belt. As contrary as the ladies of the Seelie Court were, I suddenly wanted to be one of them. I wanted to be someone Trenton could be proud to be with; someone respectable and worthy of his love and admiration.

I waited until Trenton was armored up, and then approached him. My hands started to shake as he lifted a brow in question. What if he was offended by my audacity? What if it was against some fairy law for a slave to offer her favor to a prince. I suddenly felt my low status sharply. I was a human in the land of the Fey, and I owned nothing; not even the scrap of silk that I was about to offer Trenton. But I had decided to do this, and I wouldn't back down. I pulled a green ribbon from my hair, and my curls tumbled down around my waist.

“Will you wear this while you fight?” I whispered; trying not to draw any attention to us, just in case I was making a faux pas.

Trenton's eyes went to the ribbon and rounded. My heart started to pound in my throat as I panicked. Fuck; I had done it now. I had embarrassed and shocked him. Maybe I could pretend that the ribbon had come undone on its own. I started to take it back when Trenton lifted his stunning stare to mine, and I saw the happiness inside it. He sank down onto one knee and accepted the ribbon.

“It would be my honor to wear your favor,” Trenton said in a clear voice that carried through the courtyard.

The other men went quiet and turned to give us their full attention. They didn't stare in surprise but out of respect; as if they wanted to bear witness to the moment.

“Oh, okay,” I stuttered with a nervous smile. “Great; thank you.”

Trenton took my hand and kissed it lingeringly. “May my sword and my strength bring you honor, Lady Riley.”

The knights smiled at each other and then at me. I felt like I should say something back to Trenton, but I didn't know what was appropriate. So—as usual—I just went with my instincts and blurted out what I felt.

“I'm not giving you this favor to gain honor, Your Highness,” I said tenderly. “That matters little to me.”

The knights inhaled sharply at what was no doubt a serious offense. But then I continued.

“I give you this to show you that no matter where you are, or what you're doing, I am with you,” I said firmly. “If I could, I would be the steel that guards your heart”—I laid my hand on his breastplate—“as well as that which slays your enemies.” I nodded to the sword on his hip. “I would be your strength, and I would gladly sacrifice the honor you offer me in favor of defending you. But you don't need my affections to inspire you to valor, Prince Trenton, and you certainly don't need me to defend you. You have already become everything that any knight could ever hope to be; wise, strong, kind, and chivalrous. You will always have my admiration, but this token is to remind you that you fight for more than my honor; you fight for my life because it would be over if you didn't return to me.”

Trenton made a choking sound of disbelief; his eyes misting as he swallowed convulsively. He shook his head in wonder as he surged to his feet and lifted me into an embrace. Trenton kissed me thoroughly as his knights cheered. When he lowered me back to my feet, his eyes were shining with pride, happiness, and...

“I love you, Riley,” he whispered.

“I love you too; it feels as if I always have,” I whispered back.

“Sweet Goddess,” Sir Ardel said. “What I wouldn't give to hear a woman say that to me.”

“Maybe we should start searching Earth instead of Tirne for a wife,” Sir Rannulf said.

“Don't bother; you'll never find a woman like mine,” Trenton said confidently. “Now, you fools, prepare to get beaten horribly. I cannot fail when I carry my lady's favor with me.”

“Indeed, Your Highness,” Ardel said, “perhaps you cannot. But your skills may have gotten rusty while you wallowed in her other favors.”

“All right, Sir Ardel, you can be the first one I crush horribly.” Trenton smirked.

Then Trenton proceeded to crush them all into the ground. They were still groaning when we left the training field, but they did so with smiles on their faces. You just couldn't help but be happy for Trenton when he won; even if it meant that you lost.