He stared at the bundle of floating lights hovering around the border of the Fey made lake with a grimness that rivaled his normal dark disposition. Some of the lights had been ferried over the water and were making slow but steady progress to him, while others were braving the mountains and enchanted forest along the Southern Kingdom to try and travel around the wet obstacle.

“He’s never contributed before.” The Thief of Souls murmured as he closed his eyes and rubbed small circles with his middle finger on his forehead with Chay’s calm smile flashing through his mind.

“Why would the Fey interfere?”

He stood up and began to pace, ignoring the eerie unified breathing of 256 pure humans slumbering in his cave.

They were alive, just…

More pliable than most.

They were the start of his plan. He needed more of them, but he also needed more time…

“Perhaps I shouldn’t have commanded such a large group of them so soon…” He pondered as he touched the long chestnut brown hair of a young woman. The woman lay in a pile of other pure humans, all of them blissfully unaware of their situation.

“But, I don’t know how much time I’ll have… At least that… fiancé of Sean’s is occupying him. It’ll distract him until most of them have arrived.” The Thief of Souls turned towards the bright entrance of the cave and squinted.

In a matter of weeks now, there would be a new pure human to add to his collection. He had seen the floating light drawing nearer through the mountains, and he relished the thought of another young woman capable of producing more pure humans joining his ranks.

As he turned to hobble back to his glass orb, the faint sound of rocks shifting drew the Thief of Souls’ sharpened instincts.

Without a word, and moving far more smoothly than seemed likely for his age and decrepit form, he slid towards the front of his cave, and once at the edge, silently cast out his magick to sense any being with a drop of human blood near him.

He was startled to find himself sensing a young Beast Awares with black feathers, green eyes, and a bright yellow beak climbing towards the lip of his cave.

His upper lip curled.

In three strides he stepped to the edge of his cave, bent down, clutched the young Beast Awares by the scruff of his neck, and dangled him over the edge of what would be his death should he fall, with shocking strength.

“Who are you to trespass on my home?” He hissed, his icy blue eyes flashing as the young Beast Awares eyes widened.

“M-My name is Tadrick sir.”

“I don’t care.” Opening his hand, the Beast Awares fell, and the Thief of Souls turned back to his cave, immediately wondering why none of his alarms had been triggered, when a ruffle of feathers brought his attention back to the mouth of the cave.

As he turned around slowly, he took note of the woolen cap atop the young Beast Awares head, and the faded pink woolen sweater. He wasted no time in raising his pale bony fist, and then watching as the Beast fell to his knees.

“I… Want…. To… Help!” Tadrick clutched his head that was ringing, causing spots to dance in front of his face.

“What?” The Thief of Souls gripped his hold over the Beast Awares mind until the young lad felt like his brain was about to explode.

“I… Can… AH!” He let out a shout that sounded more like a high pitched chirp, and after a moment, the Thief of Souls released his hold.

After a few gasping breaths, and while grasping his head, the Beast Awares raised his bright eyes to the Thief of Souls piercing blue ones.

“I want to help you.” He whispered still feeling light headed.

The Thief of Souls frowned, and slowly prodded Tadrick’s mind. He saw a single room shack in the mountains closer to the Southern Kingdom, he saw its decrepit wood paneling, his Beast Fey father blindly blinking at him, forcing ground meat down his son’s throat until he was choking.

He saw the boy’s human mother curled up in the corner, trembling at the creature she had created.

The Thief of Souls watched from Tadrick’s eyes when he began to learn how to mimic his mother’s whispered shuddering words, she slowly taught him how to speak.

He learned his father had carried her off from her village and forced himself on her countless times, until she had born an egg, no larger than a human baby.

She was his prisoner. His shiny object to keep.

His son she begrudgingly named, and feared until the day of her death only 3 years back form the present.

He saw how Tadrick tried time and time again to escape. To save his mother, but he never grew to be as strong or large as his father. The Fey blood in his father could call gale force winds so that even when he tried to fly away, he was battered against the mountains until near death.

It hadn’t been until his father had died a mere 6 months ago, that he had finally been able to enter the world.

“What is it you think you can help with?” The Thief of Souls was intrigued.

“I… I heard about you. I heard how you tried to banish all Beast Fey and Beast Awares to Tara, to replenish this world with proper humans. I think you were right to do that… Beast Awares… we… not all of us are bad. The ones that are, or just don’t know better though, are too dangerous. They hurt people. They have too much power.” Tadrick shivered, and the Thief of Souls saw the pale terrified face of a woman with missing teeth and dark circles under her eyes. The boy’s mother.

“Why is it you think you will be of any service to me?” The Thief of Souls didn’t dare turn his back for a moment.

“No one knows who I am, and I-I can report back to you what is happening in the North King’s Settlement.” He suggested, his tone beginning to brighten. He risked a quick look at the Thief of Souls, then thought better of it as he squeezed his eyes shut.

The Thief of Souls slowly walked towards Tadrick, glaring down at him.

“No.”

The Thief of Souls bent down and clutched the Beast Awares face, and slowly the life began ebbing away from him.

He was helpless to struggle against the force closing in on him, shoving him in to darkness, pulling him away from his body.

“Before I let you leave, how did you find me?” The boy’s large feathered body was growing heavier, and his eyes were nearly completely milky, but he still answered faintly.

“Declan… and Bonnie… innkeepers near Willowedge.”

“I shall have to discover how they found me.” The Thief of Souls pulled what was left of the Beast Awares spirit away from his body, and dropped his face to the ground.

He then slowly used his staff to push the body over the edge of the cave, and watched as it plummeted down.

“A pathetic end, to a pathetic life.”

***

Aggie wasn’t sure what had woken her, only that there was a small fire still burning at the campfire, and a series of grunts and moans near her that had disturbed her sleep.

As she blearily sat up, she saw Arlen beside her doing the same. As they both blinked in the darkness, it wasn’t until their eyes adjusted properly that they saw the source of the commotion.

A few sleeping bodies over, the Queen and Keynan were entwined and naked. Her leg was lifted over his, and was lying on her side as her mate balanced on his knees, his back straight as he thrust his hips forward and back, driving into her harder and harder. Their faces were slackened and lost to the pleasure they both felt, as Keynan slowly drifted his hand over her bare side, and the Queen gripped the blankets she lay on and arched her back at the motions.

“What… the fuck?” Aggie whispered to Arlen, finally tearing her eyes away from the couple.

“Minkies mate whenever they find the time, and with little to no regard for privacy.” Aggie opened her mouth to let out an angry sentiment, but then saw that Arlen’s cheeks were burning brightly, and he slowly moved his eyes from the couple to Aggie.

“You find it uncomfortable too?” Aggie asked surprised. Arlen was generally incredibly composed around questionable behavior and sights, so to see him flustered made her think of questions she had no right to ask.

“I have seen… forms of love making before, but not quite this… open. Or…” Arlen was cut off as there was a final set of groaning from the couple, and Keynan withdrew from his mate, and lay beside her on the fur blanket.

It was Aggie’s turn for her cheeks to grow red.

She had just seen a penis for the first time.

“Do… all… men look like that?” She whispered lying down and tilting her chin to the ground so that Arlen couldn’t see her expression.

“Men’s ah… genitalia vary from individual to individual, but it will be some variation of that, yes.”

“I’ve heard from… from my mother that it hurts.” She said feeling childish at her lack of knowledge.

“For the first few times, yes. It would hurt you.”

“Was the Queen in pain?” Aggie asked curiously, the Queen’s face hadn’t looked to be strained, and in fact she seemed to enjoy what Keynan was doing to her.

“No… I suspect the Queen and her mate have been doing something of the sort for many years. She would only feel pleasure in it now.” Arlen stared at the stars, trying to pretend that he wasn’t blushing fiercely.

“It feels good after a while?” The note of shock in Aggie’s voice was almost comical.

“Yes. If you want it, it feels good after a while.” Arlen risked a quick glance at Aggie, and saw the embarrassment fused with her inquisitive side. Her eyes were round and bright, while her cheeks were a deep vermillion.

“I-I think I want to avoid that.” Aggie whispered as she screwed her eyes shut.

“That is beneficial to your lack of desire to have children, my Lady.”

“It’s Aggie, and that’s good I suppose.” She sighed wearily. She had never liked talking about making love, and she had never once imagined talking about it with Arlen.

The desire she had felt for Chay had been unmistakable, but whether or not the desire she had felt would have swept her to the moment of laying with him was debatable.

When her mother had sat her down before leaving on her journey, she illustrated very briskly what was expected to happen between her daughter and Sean O’Farrell, but she had become annoyed quickly, and the conversation had ended with;

“He’s old dear, do it once or twice then find yourself a more pliable knight. It’ll be far more enjoyable.”

The conversation hadn’t been an encouraging one, nor did it make Aggie any less dour when thinking about her coming nuptials. The final straw had been when she found out that she was only bringing her governess, and a couple of members of their household to her wedding. Neither of her parents would attend.

Her father had his annual tax assessment to handle, and her mother had said the after party at the wedding would no doubt be stiff and boring. It was the most alone Aggie had ever felt in her life, and she found she couldn’t find any comfort in her novels or supervised walks.

“I think returning to sleep might be best.” Arlen’s soft voice carried over to Aggie, but she was already almost completely lost to her dreams already.

Arlen studied her peaceful face for a few moments as he thought more seriously.

He wondered if Aggie would ever change her mind about lovemaking and family, and if she did; what kind of mate she would choose for herself? He wondered if he would like her mate…

For some reason, the thought of having to interact with her mate twisted his insides with worry, and found himself tossing and turning for the rest of the night, unable to settle his mind.

He tried telling himself that it wouldn’t matter, that his bond with his Mistress as her Servicer bore no effect on the romantic partner she would choose, but it didn't quell the roiling in his gut.

He tried to be comforted by remembering that her mate had already been chosen, and that when the time was right, the Ruling Family would ask him to orchestrate the match to a successful union.

Then a more troubling thought occurred to him:

They would have known that he had deviated.

They would debate his disobedience and the consequence of his actions.

Fear gripped Arlen's heart, and he felt a sharp aching pain echo through his chest. He hadn’t thought about his deviation in lieu of worrying about his Mistress, but as the realization settled in, bigger concerns arose for him.

His mother, his brothers, his sisters… they were all in jeopardy.

Arlen realized that Aggie had been right.

He needed to return to his home.

He needed to argue on behalf of his kin, and hope that their fates hadn’t already been decided.

Otherwise, he was already too late.

***

Ida sat on the edge of her small twin size bed, and gazed at the bleak stone walls that made up her chamber.

Aside from the nightstand with a white porcelain water basin, there weren’t any decorations such as pictures, or a rug anywhere. There was a small square window that would not have been big enough to allow anyone entry or exit to any average sized human,

The only semblance of color was the bright yellow quilt with its whirling patterns over the bed. A gift from a former student of Ida’s that she had not mentioned to the Ruling Family, knowing that if she had reported it; Celestine would claim it for herself.

Ida’s back was ramrod straight, her hands were clasped neatly in her lap, as her heart pounded inside her chest, and she reviewed what she knew.

Arlen had deviated.

They couldn’t find him because he was with the Minkies with his Mistress.

The Ruling Family still didn’t suspect herself as being deviant. They merely wanted to know why Arlen desired more for himself.

They had momentarily forgotten about the father she had informed them about in light of the card she had played very carefully.

She had saved her children, but only after playing one of her best attack plans. She had to use her weapons as sparingly as possible now, or else she would draw unwanted attention.

They would investigate the Thief of Souls for weeks, months if she were lucky, by which point she hoped Arlen would make it to Tara. If he did… there was still a chance.

He could save them all.

Ida let out a long breath.

Then allowed her mind to turn to Quirinus, her mate for a night, and dear friend whom she owed everything to.

He had died at the hand of his own Master, but had slaughtered dozens of powerful Servicers. Servicers that were abusing their Masters and Mistresses, or that were manipulating them, or blatantly threatening them.

It hadn’t been until the Thief of Souls had realized that though some of their goals had previously aligned, his Servicer was not working to aid his greater goal of ridding the world of Beast kin, but to rid the world of Servicer’s and the Ruling Family that he destroyed his greatest ally.

That had been when Sean O’Farrell had defeated him at the side of the now North King.

Yes, despite Arlen knowing nothing of this history… he would find the truth.

He would free them.

After all… it was only a matter of time before he found out everything about his father, about his Mistress, and… about his own Mother.

Soon he would know that none of them were as they seemed.