Black Crown (Darkest Drae, #3)(83)

“I was wrong.” Ryn climbed out of the water and grabbed her plane tunic, keeping her back to me the entire time. “You are nothing like your mother. She would be ashamed of you.”

Even if the words weren’t true, they stung. I sat in the water as Ryn gathered the rest of the female Drae together, whispering about my ineptitude and cowardice. Her cruel comments burned the back of my eyes.

“It’s not a whisper if I can hear everything,” I called to them.

You were right to refuse her, Draedyn said, his pride pulsing through our connection.

Get out of my head, I snapped. I hate you. Now the women are all against me.

I felt his chuckle at that, the greasy revolting pleasure he had in my pain and that of the other Drae. But I focused on my private bubble, holding my breath inside and out as I dipped under the surface to wash new tears from my face. Was it working? Surely the game would already be up if not.

“Ryn?” Draesi called from the doorway. “Come on. Your aunt will forgive you. We’ve all had a run-in with her over the last century. This place, our numbers, they are too small to hold grudges against one another.”

Seemed to me people should count to ten before hurling hurtful comments then.

I dunked under the water again, rinsing the rest of my pain into the sulfurous liquid of the caverns. I steeled my heart. I needed to not feel, to not allow my emotions to rule my actions. I climbed out of the water and pulled my tunic over my wet body and dripping silver hair, fixing my face into an impassive mask.

“It’s fine,” I said to Draesi. “Her disappointment and frustration are her problems. I’m tired of having people, human, Druman, Drae, and Phaetyn, all try to use me to their ends. I will not be anyone’s tool.”

Except mine, Draedyn reminded me.

I rolled my eyes.

We crossed to the exit, and Draesi’s shoulders dropped, along with the corners of her mouth. “I understand why you feel that way.”

Well, that was a first. I appreciated that she didn’t push.

Draesi led me out of the caverns and back to my room. I changed into a dry tunic and offered one from my closet to the other Drae. The beautiful blond-turned-black-haired woman brushed out my hair and plaited it. Before I could offer to do the same, she gathered her dyed hair with nimble fingers into a braid, drawing the long length forward over her left shoulder. I couldn’t believe Draedyn made the women dye their hair to look the same. That was ten levels of sick. I wondered if he was trying to make them look like someone in particular.

“There now,” she said. “Let’s go have dinner. You hardly ate a thing at breakfast, and you slept through lunch.”

What a nice way to say that Draedyn had taken over my being, and I’d passed out and then gone through a whole bunch of weirdness over a bath. My stomach rumbled, reminding me of a lesson from the dungeons of Irdelron’s castle: hunger made even the smartest human or Drae foolish. I needed my wits about me.

We returned to the dining room where the other Drae sat around the rustic table, waiting. The scent of seared meat made my mouth water, and my father waved me to the head of the table, saying, “Thank you, Draesi, for your constancy. Heir, by me.”

Maybe that was why he didn’t call me by name, to avoid confusion. Nice. I trotted over to him like a good little daughter.

My father carved a large roast, the smells of garlic, rosemary, and fresh bread reinforcing my previous memory. As soon as the loaded plate was set in front of me, I reached for my knife and fork.

Someone sniffed, and I halted with the utensils in my hand, but the silverware was still touching the table.

With my head still down, I glanced left to see Draedyn now still, his hands frozen mid-slice of the thick cut of meat, and out to my right Draelys shook her head, her hands in her lap.

Seriously? I let the thought slip through. “Excuse me,” I said tightly and returned my hands to my lap. The food would just get cold.

I waited for everyone to be served and then raised my attention from my clenched hands. The large glass plates were laden with food: a thick slice of the meat, still pink all the way through, was surrounded by roasted root vegetables. Seeded brown bread sat to the side, and a crock of butter was being passed around the table.

I watched carefully and mimicked what Draelys did opposite me, all the way down to the way they buttered their bread.

And still no one ate. What was this torture? Give me pain, take my will, but do not get between me and rosemary potatoes.

“In honor of your fidelity, heir, we are having beef,” Draedyn announced. “Now, don’t worry, unlike some of your precious cattle, you did not know this cow.” His dark eyes gleamed.

“Was that meant to be a joke?” I gritted my teeth. Doubt about the origins of the meat in front of me held me back from the thick slice of steak. There was no reason for him not to hear my thoughts or feel my disgust, and I let my revulsion of his insinuation the meat was human flow freely to him.

A low growl rolled out from his lips across the table, making the glasses shake and the silverware rattle against the wood.

I straightened, squaring my shoulders. Even knowing he would feel the insincerity of my humility, I kept my gaze down.

“Yes,” he said. “But even with the insincerity, your actions are moving in a more desirable direction. And, you misunderstand me, heir. I would not have us be enemies. I don’t see any difference between humans and cattle. You have made your opinion on the matter quite clear.”