The males acted too relaxed to be in this room. In this unit. And in this realm. Which meant that they were clearly faking it. Which also meant that they were smart enough to keep their senses sharp and hopefully, help me with my plan.
I scoured the unit for information about the Wind delegation, I went to Veronica, who, as always, had no interest to discuss something that would benefit me and started asking questions about the fae male locked in my room and how tempting it would be to jump on that dick.
Yeah, girl…already done that. And look where it got me.
I went back to Michael, my friend, who for once was off duty and I had to walk all the way to the Eastern side dormitories to find him, running through whistles and all sorts of name-calling and promises of what they would do to me were we alone. In another situation, I might have been terrified to walk through there on my own, to open every dorm room and potentially find naked and horny men who didn’t care one bit about my safety or pleasure, but not anymore. Determination urged me to kick open door after door, until I reached my friend.
He laid in his bed, covered in an old grey duvet, with an open book and had started dozing off on his pillow, a large lump of spit dripping from the side of his mouth.
“Is that how you spend your days off, Michael? I expected more.” The sound of my voice made him jump. He scanned the room for a second, probably not understanding how a woman’s voice got in his head, but as soon as he saw me, his gaze settled, the back of his hand wiping away the drool while his cheeks blushed a warm shade of crimson.
“Ellyana,” he murmured my name, surprised to see me there. I took it as an invitation and planted my behind on his mattress, leaning forward as I sat so my head wouldn’t bump against the bed above him.
I pitied him, getting the lower bunk sucked.
“What do you know about the Wind delegation?” I didn’t have time to dwell, so I went straight to the point. Plus, the man was on his day off and if he wanted to spend it drooling on his pillow, who was I to stop it?
“What do you mean?” he frowned. Then it clicked. “Wait, how do you know about them? You’re supposed to be locked away with a faerie.”
“Michael, believe me when I say I don’t have time to explain and that if you help me with this, I will owe you big.” I tilted my head slowly and arched my brows to suggest how big the favour would be.
“I don’t know much,” he shook his head, fingers scratching at his forehead as if it would stimulate more memories. “They are guests, invited by the territorial commanders and hosted here for some reason. They spent a morning with Milosh and received the tour, but they mostly come and go as they please. Always with an escort, one of the high-ranking guys.”
High ranking guys. Alarm blipped through my brain. The same ones that took pleasure in kicking in my ribs. The ones who came for Galenor that very morning.
“They take their lunch here, though. Every day,” Michael added, and a choir of angels sounded in my ears.
“Where?” I placed my hands on his shoulders and shook him a little, as if the information would drop out of him.
“The canteen by the garden.”
“My friend, I owe you big time,” I grabbed the side of his head and leaned in to stamp a massive kiss on his forehead before I hurried to the gardens. Lunch was reserved for two hours, from one till three, which gave exactly forty-three minutes to get to them and ask for help.
And there they were, eating, drinking and chatting away, acting like they had the most wonderful time of their lives. Clearly a facade to anyone who knew better.
Several males huddled together around the only round table in the cafeteria, not wanting to display rank or disloyalty towards their comrades. They all stood tall and even though I could only see the faces of three of them, they all looked extremely handsome. With human features and their elegant stances, it wasn’t hard to understand why all the women coddled them with attention and kept bringing plate after plate in a desperate attempt to please them. I couldn't even understand how the unit had allowed fae males to be left on their own in the company of women, especially judging what had happened with Galenor and I.
My best bet was to engage in conversation with the fae males. Judging by their flowing sexual energy, they were guaranteed to give me more attention than their group. Thanking my lucky stars that the waiters were all dressed in our daily uniform, which I was wearing as well, I skittered through the tables and grabbed a canister of wine and a few glasses, placed them on a tray and made my way to the round table.
“Two more dinner parties and we’re out of here,” a blonde male with tanned skin cheered to his comrades as I approached, downing his glass of wine. And giving me the perfect opportunity.
“Let me refill your glass, my lord,” I slowly bowed my head in reverence and motioned to my tray to the full carafe I had grabbed.
He didn’t even acknowledge me, acting like I hadn’t even uttered a word and continued talking to his colleagues.
“If we manage to leave in one piece and Fratnuk doesn’t piss off the lieutenant-general again,” a gorgeous chestnut haired, blue eyed male chuckled.
“Fuck off, Valeyan, you know how I can’t stand these bastards,” the man defended himself while he continued to cut into his steak as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“What matters is that we leave here alive and well. All of us,” the third fae male spoke. Impulse pushed through my mouth before I had a chance to think. As I heard the words coming out, I realised that it was too late, that I had laid myself completely at their mercy without having a plan B. I was gambling both our lives on their whim.
“How would you like to get one more out of here?”
They turned to me in unison, seven sets of eyes drilling into me. Filled with observation and curiosity. It took them a few beats to react, time during which I remained frozen. It was the man who enjoyed his steak, Fratnuk, that addressed me first.
“How dare you speak to us, human? Did you not receive the orders?”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. These men…males…could kill me in the blink of an eye. My knees buckled and I had to lean against the table, pinning one hip against the round surface for extra support. What the heck was I getting myself into? My first instinct was to vanish, to run away as far as I could and put myself back to safety. After all, they couldn’t get to me. Not yet at least. They didn’t know my name or what I wanted. Worst case, they could report a waiter blabbing around their table.
