Bonds of Cupidity (Heart Hassle Book 2)

I’m left to follow Duru to the servant bathhouse. The room is rather large and has several inlaid baths in a stone floor.

“All servants bathe here,” Duru says, still carrying a bag with her. “Get in, and pull that chain there. The water will come. It’ll be cold, so be warned.”

I groan. Cold baths. The bane of my existence.

I quickly strip off my soiled and very wrinkled dress and step into the stone bath.

Pulling the chain on the wall beside the tub, a plug is yanked out of the wall and cold water gushes out. When I have enough to bathe in, I quickly fit the plug back into the hole.

Duru wastes no time. She tosses me a bar of sweet smelling soap and I quickly wash my hair and body. I wish I could let my wings out and wash those, too, but I don’t want to risk someone coming in and seeing them.

Once I’m done cleaning, she pulls a bottle from her bag and starts pouring red liquid into the bathwater. When she empties the entire contents of the bottle, she nods at the bright pink water.

“Good enough. Dip under and let yourself soak for as long as you can.”

Taking a deep breath, I submerge myself in the water. I stay under until my lungs start complaining and then sputter up to the surface.

“Again,” Duru orders.

I do it again and again and again until Duru is satisfied that my skin looks pink enough to pass for high fae.

“Good enough,” she says again.

Looking at my arms, I see that my skin is no longer ivory but fuchsia-colored.

“Your hair turned a bit darker, too,” Duru says. “Get on out, but you’ll have to let yourself air dry. Wiping yourself off with a towel would only take off some of the color.”

I haul myself out of the tub and then stand here like an awkward rain cloud as I make puddles on the floor. I can’t help the shivers and goosebumps that rule my body.

“Is there a fire somewhere? I’m cold.”

I hate being cold.

Duru puts her fists on her wide hips. “Oh, sure. Let me just bring you up to the princess’s private rooms so you can warm yourself by the fire like a proper lady. Maybe you’d like a foot rub, too?”

I grin at her sarcastic tone. “That’d be great, thanks.”

She rolls her eyes at me. “You’re dry enough. Put this on, but be careful not to wipe the dye off. It will settle into your skin as it dries, but we might need to have you soak again in a few days.”

She tosses me a nightgown that fits over me like a burlap sack. It clings to my still-damp skin, but it’s better than being naked.

“What, no silk?”

She wants to smile, I can tell. I can also tell that the puddle of water left behind on the floor is killing her a little bit inside. As a brownie, her instinct is to keep everything meticulously clean.

“Come on,” she says, casting a longing look at the puddle. “We’d better get you back to your room. The guards do a sweep down here every couple of hours.”

She leads me back to my room and then empties the rest of the contents in the bag she’s been carrying. A smile immediately lights up my fuchsia-colored face.

“Duru, you really do like me,” I say, hurrying over. I scoop up the food she’s pilfered for me and start shoveling bread and cheese into my mouth.

Duru shakes her head at me. “Good goddess, you’re eating like a wild boar. I’m surprised you’re not grunting.”

With cheeks full of food, I look up at her. “If you’re trying to make me not like you, it’s not going to work. You fed me and insulted the prince. We’re practically best friends now.”

Duru rolls her eyes at me again, but it doesn’t fool me. “You like me, admit it.”

“Stop talking with your mouth full,” she reprimands. “Now, go to sleep. You’ll hear the servant’s bell in the morning to wake you. Get dressed in your uniform. You’ll find a pair of heels in the bag I brought you. It’s the best I could find in such short notice, and they may not fit exactly right, but you’ll have to make do. You’ll need them to make yourself appear taller. You’re much too short for a high fae. You have ten minutes to get ready once the first bell sounds. Then, you’ll have another fifteen to get to the servant’s dining area and eat. I’ll find you there, and I’ll escort you to the princess’s rooms for cleaning. You’ll be under my supervision.”

I give her a two-finger salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Don’t be late,” she says, pointing a finger in my face.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Good. Get some rest. The bell will be ringing in only a few short hours.”

Duru opens the door to leave when I stop her. “Hey,” I say, swallowing down a huge bite of bread. “Thanks, Duru.”

She levels a look at me that seems to weigh me down. “Don’t get caught, and don’t you dare betray my princess, or I will kill you myself. Understood?”

Wow. Death by brownie. And not the yummy kind, either. She’d probably smother me with some cleaning supplies.

“Umm, yeah.”

“Good. See you in the morning.”

She shuts the door after her and I quickly eat the rest of the bread before crawling under the covers and collapsing on the bed on my belly. This is much better than sleeping outside against a hard building.

I release my wings and stretch them out with a sigh. That’s better.

I’m clean, I’m fed, and I’m pink. I close my eyes and fall asleep wondering how in the heck I got in the middle of a fae rebellion when I all I want to do is protect my genfins, find a new way to anchor myself, fall in love, and have some epic sex.

I fall asleep still imagining the sex bit.

Right when things are getting good, there’s an annoying ringing sound going off that jars me from my dreams.

I grab the pillow and pull it over my head, trying to stifle the noise. I keep trying to shift back into that blissful state of sleep, but the ringing noise keeps forcing me awake.

Damn bell. Who rings bells, anyway?

My memory comes surging back to me and I sit up with a start. “Shit!”

I have no idea when the servant’s bell started ringing, or if this is the first one. I scramble to my feet and rip off my nightdress. I’d inadvertently ripped it last night when I let my wings out, but oh well.

I suck my wings back into my body and leave the torn nightdress in a heap on the floor.

Digging for the drawer under the bed, I quickly pull on the servant’s uniform I need to wear. The bells have stopped ringing, but I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing. I really need a clock.

The dress is made of thick, course material in a drab gray color. Fabric pools at my feet. I grab the pair of lace-up black boots that Duru left me and pull them on, noticing that the heels are at least four inches tall.

Ugh.

I get to my feet but it’s a struggle not to fall flat on my pink face. I pull my hair back so that the sides sit snugly over my ears and then tie it in place.

I don’t have a mirror, so I have no idea how silly I look, but I’m already at risk of being late, so I quickly go to the door and yank it open, only to almost collide with an exasperated Duru.

She steps away from my stumbling halt and scowls at me. “You’re late! You’ve missed breakfast.”

“Sorry! I’m not so good with bells. Or having to wake up.”

Duru throws her hands up in frustration and whirls around. “Follow me, and be quick about it.”

I scramble after her, trying to keep up, but let’s face it, I’m not even balanced when I’m walking barefoot.

My poor, newly corporeal body simply isn’t ready to run in four-inch heels.

My ankle twists, and I nearly topple down a set of stairs, only managing to stay upright by clutching onto the banister.

Duru shoots me an exasperated look over her shoulder. “Stop playing around and come on!”

“Duru, if this is playing to you, you really need to get out more,” I pant. Damn, for a short thing, she sure does move fast.

Once we get out of the servant’s corridors and into the main part of the palace, I see other people for the first time.

Guards and servants are busily working inside the grandeur of the palace. I get more than a few curious looks and even some outright sneers.

I rub my pink arm self-consciously, but it helps that I recognize most of them. They can’t exactly intimidate me when I’ve watched their secret lover’s trysts inside broom closets.

Okay, yeah, I caused those trysts. I got up to twenty-six in one day. It was a busy day for the broom closets.

I’m panting by the time Duru stops in front of a door and leads me inside a closet stuffed full of linens. She starts sorting through everything and then piles fabric in my arms. She doesn’t stop until the pile is taller than my head.

“Come on,” she says.

I nearly drop the pile as she pushes past me, and I can’t see over it, so I have to constantly move my head around to try to get a peek at her to make sure I’m still following her.

When I trip over my heels again, the whole pile of laundry nearly falls with me, but luckily, or unluckily depending on perspective, I run into Duru’s back, stopping my fall.

“Good goddess above you’re as unsteady as a newborn calf,” she hisses. “Don’t you dare drop those.”

I get a handle on them and straighten up again. “Nope, got it. Totally not gonna drop them.”

I hear her huff and then open a door so I follow her inside. “Put those on the chaise.”

As soon as I do, I’m able to take a look around. Princess Soora’s rooms haven’t changed. Her receiving room has a warm fire going, bookshelves, and a small desk with embroidery setting on it. Through the doors is her closet, her bedroom, and her bathroom. The windows are open, letting in the fresh air, and I can see a nice balcony filled with potted plants.

“Her rooms are my favorite,” I say.

Duru pauses gathering some sheets from the pile and narrows her eyes at me. “Seen a lot of rooms in the palace, have you?”

Yep. All of them. “Ummm, what? No. I mean, not really. I might’ve seen one or…sixty. This seems like the best, though, don’t you think? Very nicely decorated. Princess Soora has good taste, am I right?”

“Did you spy on my princess when you were invisible?” she asks me bluntly.

“Spying is such an ugly word. I prefer to think of it as observing.”

Duru scoffs and starts muttering under her breath about pink-haired tricksters.

A pair of servants come through the door and stop dead in their tracks when they get a look at me. They’re both brownies, too, but unlike Duru, who wears a dark purple servant’s dress, they’re both wearing white.

One is a male and the other a female, barely past their teens. The tight curls that stick out all over their heads help their short height. It gives them another six inches, at least.

“Who’s she?” the girl asks with a curled lip.

“This is Emelle,” Duru says without looking up from sorting the linens. “I won’t be needing you in here today. You two can take the halls. Be sure to get the carpets, too. I saw a speck on my way up.”

The boy tries to draw himself up higher. “I cleaned the carpets myself two days ago and there wasn’t a single speck.”

Duru levels him with a stare. “There was a speck.”

The boy’s cheeks redden slightly but he keeps his mouth shut.

Whoa. Specks are a serious business.

The girl crosses her arms. “What’s a high fae doing cleaning? They aren’t any good at it.”

Oh, gods. Brownie cleaning politics. “Hey, high fae can clean just fine,” I say defensively. I don’t even know why. I just can’t help myself.

She scoffs like it’s the most ridiculous thing she’s ever heard.

“Enough. You’re wasting time,” Duru says. “Go.”

The two brownies turn and leave but not before shooting me another look filled with disdain. When we’re alone again, I laugh. “Geez, I didn’t know I’d be getting into a brownie cleaning territory dispute.”

“Don’t mind them. They’re just put out. They get more of a power boost when they clean in here than they do in the hall. There are less shiny surfaces out there.”

Huh. Who knew?

“Well? Don’t just stand there. Strip the princess’s bedding. We have a long day ahead of us,” she says with an excited glint in her eye. Wow, brownies really do love cleaning.

She wasn’t kidding about us having a long day. We changed the linens in the bedroom and bathroom, scrubbed the floors and walls, dusted the shelves, washed the windows, and watered the plants, and there were a lot.

By the time the servant’s bells ring again, my arms are so sore they’re shaking and my feet are swollen and painful from being stuffed in uncomfortable heels all day.

Duru tuts at my disheveled and exhausted appearance. I look like something the cat dragged in. It doesn’t help that her brownie magic has made Duru look more energized than ever. I swear, she’s shed ten years. She practically glowed when she scrubbed the toilet.

She holds up my arm and shakes her head at my bicep. “Weak arms. No calluses on your hands, either,” she says, looking at my blistered hands with derision.

“Cleaning’s hard,” I whine.

She rolls her eyes at me. “You’d better get used to it and not look so obvious about your inexperience. Servants have been punished for less. Come, let’s eat.”

“Now you’re speaking my language.”

I follow behind Duru as we make our way to the servant’s dining room to eat. Gods my feet hurt. If it weren’t for the promise of food up ahead, I’d pop a squat right here in the hallway and call it a day.

Or maybe I can blow a bit of Lust in some guard’s face and get him to carry me the rest of the way?

Before I can find any guards and put my plan into action, we get to the servant’s dining hall.

There are over a hundred servants inside eating and visiting. There are several long tables with benches set up, including a long table filled with buffet food.

After grabbing a plate, I follow Duru and load up on as much food as I can fit on it. Since I missed breakfast, I’m starving, and the separation pain in my stomach isn’t helping, either.

Duru and I sit down alone, and I notice that even though we get a lot of looks, no one seems keen to approach us. Duru glares at anyone who stares for too long.

“I guess we won’t be getting an invite to the popular table anytime soon.”

Duru sips at her soup before answering. “They don’t like outsiders and you’re an outsider, same as me. At least you look high fae, though. You have that going for you.”

“Brownies are just as important as high fae.”

She snorts into her bowl. The steam has made her already curly hair even frizzier. “No other high fae will share your sentiment, so if you don’t want to blow your cover, I suggest you not say that again where people can hear you.”

I lower my voice and lean a little closer. “What do you know about the culling?”

She shrugs. “Nothing. I’ve never been here for them before.”

I sit back a bit with disappointment. If I can get some insider information to take to my guys, maybe they’ll get the upper hand.

“What about the prison towers? Is there any way inside?”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Don’t even think about it.”

“I need to see them.”

She shakes her head. “You’ll be caught. No one gets into those towers. The king himself set up the enchantments centuries ago.”

“But someone must go in there. To take the prisoners in and out. To bring them food and water.”

She pats her springy hair with her hand in thought. “Yes, I believe someone from the kitchen brings their meals.”

That was my way in. See? I’m gonna be an awesome spy.

Duru must see the gleam in my eyes because she shakes her head. “If you get caught…”

“I know, I know. I better not implicate your princess. Believe me, I won’t. I’m too scared you’ll drown me in the toilet bowl.”

She gets this look in her eye like she’s imagining doing just that. Dammit. Why did I have to go and give her ideas?

She looks around the dining room and then motions with her head for me to look. “The earth sprite, there. See her?”

I squint. “The girl with the sunflowers growing out of her head?”

“That’s the one. I’ve heard her talk of going to the cells before.”

So I just need to get in with flower power over there and hopefully she can get me into the towers to see my guys. I can totally do that. Probably. Like, there’s a thirty percent chance of succeeding.

Once we finish eating, Duru takes me back to my room so that I don’t get lost on my way. When I’m alone, I fall asleep almost immediately after slinging off my heels and pushing out my wings.

Being a servant sucks soapy balls.