"Why do I need to wear this?" I asked, scratching my scalp under the wool flat cap that hid my hair. It was itchy. Paired with the baggy clothes I wore, I probably looked like a boy.

"The lords will need to publicly introduce you to society soon. This keeps anyone who you'll have to meet then from recognizing you," Timothy said looking over his shoulder at me as he led us through the crowded marketplace. "You can never be too safe," he said flashing his teeth with a grin.

"Introduce me?"

"Yeah," he answered dogging a man with a stack of boxes in his hands. "As Lords, it's tradition to introduce their spouse to society with an extravagant party. I think it's just an opportunity for the one percent to flaunt their wealth and power."

"And I have to be a part of that?"

Kai snorted. "You are their wife, aren't you?"

"So I've been told..." My words trailed off as I caught sight of a woman dragging a man behind her on a leash.

"With that look on your face I'd think this was the first time you saw that shit," Kai remarked. His eyes also followed the couple, reflecting sadness and disgust.

I quickly schooled my features, Henry and Ezra's warning playing through my head.

Clearing my throat, I replied. "No, I was just admiring the collar. I think I might get one for Jaxon," I joked, irritation still bubbling in my veins. If what I'd been hearing was true, then I should be able to collar the asshole. I'd love to see how he liked being dragged around and called slave.

Timothy burst out laughing. "He'd burn you to a crisp before you could get anywhere near him with one. I once saw him set a lady's skirts on fire because she tried to grab his ass. Imagine what he'd d if you tried to collar him."

Even though I would say he was justified to set a molester's clothes on fire, it had me worrying if his pyromaniac tendencies would be used against me if that was one of his tactics to deal with people he disliked. Baked on dirt I could handle. Baked me, not so much.

"I'm going to go see if they can fill our feed order," Timothy said, turning to face me and Kai. "You two grab the other supplies. I'll meet you back at the truck."

He crossed the cobbled road lined with old and new storefronts, dodging a car driving down the wide road.

"Come on," Kai said continuing down the street. I followed him as he turned down a narrower street that also had stalls and carts set up selling food, fruits, vegetables, and various knickknacks. I'm pretty sure the guy in the large coat near one of the dark alleys was selling drugs, too. The people walking up to him and shaking his hand didn't appear to be...sober.

I couldn't help but admire everything as I passed. I wasn't used to the sight, even before I was trapped in a psychopath's house. Streets like these were ones I only ever read about in books as a child or witnessed in fake sets in movies. Even they couldn't prepare me for all the hustle and bustle, the noise, and the delicious smells that witnessing it in person come with.

Vendors sold various hot and cold foods, cooked from storefronts, stalls, or carts. My mouth watered as we passed by a stall that was selling meat on a stick. The scent was so tantalizing that I didn't even care that I had no idea what a lavellan was. Some fruits and vegetables I could recognize while others seemed alien. Beside a stack of oranges, there was a hot pink fruit that looked like a mango. Beside that was a navy blue melon, cut in half and on display showing the beautiful sky blue inside.

The jewelry on display seemed intricate and delicate and held gleaming, beautiful gems. They didn't seem like something that you would find in a street market. A few of the men and women manning the stalls were exaggerating and fabricating stories to those who passed by of why they should purchase them. One was currently telling the tale of how she acquired the intricate jade bangle in her hands from the royal jeweler in the Capital.

I tried to suppress a laugh as the older woman bought into the tale and pulled out a coin purse. I didn't feel bad that she fell for the lie. While the stall owner wore worn clothes that had a few visible holes, the woman was wrapped in lush fabrics that looked soft and brand new. She had a man, who I was assuming was her husband from the collar he wore, trailing behind her with arms full of bags. The look in his eyes had me wishing the vendor had swindled her out of more money.

"I'm going to grab the raw ingredients and spices we need and swing by the butcher before grabbing fresh produce," kai said, drawing my attention. "While I do that do you think you can manage to grab some fresh bread and pastries from the bakery? It just down the street."

I look down the street littered with men and women. It was just as shocking as the first time seeing all the collars, leashes, and nudity along with the wide range of clothing. There were less extreme scenes like the woman whipping a man that I had witnessed before, but there were one or two that came close.

I was starting to see why men hated or were so afraid of women.

"Yeah," I answered. "What's the bakery's name?"

"Annie's Bakery." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pouch. "Here," he said ripping off the bottom of the paper and handing it to me along with the small, black, velvet pouch. "This is the list of what you need to get and the pouch should have enough coin to cover the cost. When you're done you can probably find me in there," he said pointing towards a brick storefront that had an animated pig on the window. "If not, then just wait for me out front while I finish up."

Parting ways, I made mine down the street, peering into the jingling pouch of silver coins. I poured one out onto my palm to get a closer look. It was heavier and thicker than the coins I was used to. On one side was a coat of arms that I was guessing belonged to the royal family. The other was inscribed with the queendom's name and had an engraved flower with the year it was minted stated below.

Slipping the coins back into the bag, I looked up just in time to narrowly avoid crashing into a woman.

"Watch where you're going, brat," she sneered, spittle flying from her lips.

"Sor-ry," I sarcastically said under my breath as she continued to stomp away. I wasn't the only one with eyes.

Speaking of eyes, mine got caught by a beautiful ruby necklace at a particularly rough cart. It felt like it was calling to me, pulling me towards it. I walked up to the cart that held an odd assortment of jeweled and well-made items. There were necklaces, bracelets, brushes, and combs, silver wear, and daggers. I'm pretty sure I could even spot a golden tooth behind a carved, wooden, box.

As I got closer, I noticed the seller, a woman with a large hood over her head. She wore old, worn clothes and kept looking around like she was paranoid. If I had to guess, the mismatched assortment she had laid out on her wooden cart was stolen. It would explain the suspicious glances she kept throwing around.

I stepped up to the cart where the ruby necklace lay. The blood, red ruby was set in a cold metal frame that consisted of fine, delicate lines that twisted and curved to draw one's eye to the stone. The frame tapered into a thin chain towards the top, giving it the appearance of sharp wings that slightly curved up. The metal appeared black from some angles and sliver when the light caught it just right.

"That, there is a blood ruby from the land of the Fae. It's said to attract those that are pure of heart and mind," the woman explained.

I wanted to snort at how ridiculous that was. There wasn't anything pure about me. Maybe it was defective since it was attracting the likes of me.

"Rumour has it that it belonged to a noble fae in the light fae kingdom." She picked it up to give me a closer look. "It's a fine piece that could win the heart of any lady. Are you interested, boy?"

At first, I thought she was talking to someone else. I was about to look behind me to check if I was in someone's way, but then I remembered the flat cap I wore. I was the 'boy' she was talking to.

I held my hands up and shook my head. "Sorry, no. I don't have money to buy something like that."

Her demeanor completely changed. She grumbled something under her breath before putting the necklace back in its place. "Then move along! You're blocking the way of paying customers," she said, shooing me away with her hands and a glare.

With one last glance at the necklace, I turned to continue towards the bakery. I only made it a few steps.

"Ow!"

I reached for the back of my head as I tripped forward more from shock than pain. A small, hard object had hit me. I turned around looking for the offender. I found no one but noticed a small pebble bouncing away. That was probably what had hit me.

Furrowing my brows, I rubbed my head and turned back around to keep walking. I only made it one step before I was pelted with another pebble.

I whipped back around. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure dart into a dark alley near the jewelry cart.

"Hey!" I shouted after them.

In a moment of reacting without thinking, I followed after. If I had taken a moment to think about it, I'd probably conclude that I wasn't so smart to follow a stranger down a dark and dreary alley. But I didn't.

I chased after the small cloaked figure. They ran down the alley that quickly turned into a sight of poverty. The ground turned from cobbled stone to packed dirt. Small windows with broken and hanging shutters lined the buildings. Rotting doors or hanging sheets marked the entrances to homes. Some led into crumbling apartment buildings, others were doors to tents or makeshift houses constructed with pallets, tarps, and other junk materials. In narrower alleys that veined off the one I was on, I could see huddled figures and young children playing.

Just as the noise from the mouth of the alley started to die down and we reached an area with no prying eyes, the cloaked figure stopped and turned to face me.

My jaw dropped as my eyes landed on the boy I saved in the alley weeks ago.

He pulled off his cloak, revealing his electric blue hair, and gave me a toothy grin. "Hi," he said with a wave.

"You-"

"Sorry about the rocks," he said, cutting me off before I could reprimand him for it. "I wanted to catch your attention, but didn't know how else to."

I raised a brow at him. "You could have walked up to me," I stated the obvious.

"No, I didn't want anyone seeing me. It's why I have a cloak," he said while pinching it between his fingers.

"Well, you have my attention now, what did you want? Those girls aren't still bothering you are they?" I asked in concern. Maybe that was who he didn't want to see him. I knew it was a good solution at the moment, but it wasn't a long-lasting one. They could have always gone after him later, especially if they knew where he lived.

He shook his head. "No, no," he stepped closer to me while biting his lip. "I just wanted to say thank you."

"Hey, stop biting your lip so hard! You're bleeding," I said as I saw blood bloom under his teeth.

He smiled deviously, creeping me out a little. That kind of smile on a kid wasn't cute, not since horror movies had been around at least.

He suddenly stuck his hand out. I jumped back in surprise. It took me a moment to realize it was to shake mine.

"Thanks, Nea. For saving me that day."

I hesitantly reached out to shake his hand. Something seemed off about the boy. I was proven right the moment my hand met his.

Grasping my palm in his, he pulled me forward with unnatural strength.

"What the he-"

My words got cut off by my own pained scream.

The little shit bit me.

I ripped my hand away from his mouth, falling on my ass as I overestimated how much strength I needed to use.

"What the fuck!" I yelled at him as I held my hand close.

My anger grew when I found him just standing there, grinning at my hand he had just bitten. That anger turned into open-mouthed shock when he took off into the ruins of poverty. Not as a boy, but as a damn fox.

He had shifted before my eyes. He leaped forwards like he was going to crawl away on all fours, but before his body landed on the ground his limbs blurred, snapped, reshaped, and set. In his place was a white fox with nine tails. Each tail ended in the electric blue colour of his hair. He darted away and vanished from my sight in seconds.

A tingling sensation on my hand drew my attention, stopping me from staring wide-eyed in disbelief in the direction he left in. I pulled it away to see the damage that he had caused and gasped at what I found.

The bite was healing before my eyes.

A delicate web of fine fibers seemed to be putting the skin back together. It pulled, knitted, and sealed the wound, healing it. When the last part of my skin stitched itself closed and healed, a bright blue light flared at the site. It pulsed a few times before fading. In its wake, a barely visible silver mark was left.

A mark of a fox head with nine tails visible behind it.

I cursed as I tried to wipe it off. When that did nothing I tried scratching it off. Failing, I glared off in the direction the boy left in as I got to my feet.

What the hell did that little shit do to me?

Frustrated, I wiped the blood on my pants and tugged my sleeve down over the silver mark before I turned and headed back. I still had to go to the bakery and I had already wasted more time than I should have.

I also didn't want to think about another asshole, albeit a smaller one, marking me with a stupid tattoo without my consent again. Just thinking about it made the maroon circles on my inner wrist burn.

My feet came to a stop as a sudden realization hit me, sending a chill down my spine.

He knew my name.

Not just my name, but the nickname that Ezra had given me. The only other people I could think of who knew about it or used it were Henry, Kai, and Timothy.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat and continued forward with clenched teeth. There was no point drowning in my panicked thoughts. He was gone. Plus, he was a kid. What could he possibly do?

I watched my feet religiously as I stormed towards the mouth of the alley. I didn't want to catch anyone's eye or see something that would worsen my mood. I was a woman on a mission and that mission was to get pastries from Annie's Bakery.

Just as I was about to exit the alley, someone, a man judging from the pants and shoes, blocked my way. I tried to step around him, but he stepped with me, continuing to block me. My anger and frustration had reached a boiling point. After everything that had happened in the last five minutes, this minor inconvenience tipped me over the edge.

"Move," I rudely demanded. I placed my hands on the man's chest to push him out of my way but froze at the sound of his voice.

"What are you doing here, Ms. Riar?"