I'd been at Mountiel Camp a week. Here my days dragged on more than those at Windhaven. I'd get up and do two hours of training, followed by a jog or sometimes a fly around the mountain the camp was at the base of. And then I'd just wander the town. No females invited me to help with their cleaning or chores here. No one seemed to want my help at all. The number of females training hadn't increased for days and I was beginning to wonder if being here was even worth it. My time would have been better spent in Windhaven.

I glanced up from the rock I was perched on to see some of the males heading into the golden forest, ready for hunting. Elric and Logan among them.

"Fancy a hunt?" Logan smirked. "I'm sure we can find you a doe to play with."

"I'm sure we can," I murmured, standing up and following them. It was better than sitting around and doing nothing, I supposed.

The forests were so similar to those at home. Although, I supposed, I wasn't too far from where Thornhill had stood. Just two hours in the air, I figured. There was a river near to the camp. Fast-flowing with a waterfall and a ravine that reminded me of the Blood Rite. Either side of the river was the golden forest that seemed to glow in the early afternoon light. The warriors spread out, splitting off into different parties. Leaving me with Elric and Logan.

We were treading carefully. All quiet. And then-

"What's the history between you?" Logan asked. I straightened myself up and looked at the Lord.

"There isn't any," I replied.

"None at all," Elric agreed.

Logan smirked at him and then back at me, "Interesting."

Interesting? What was that even meant to mean?

But Logan held out a hand before I could make a snide remark. Ahead of us was a stag. A white stag. It was possibly the most beautiful animal I had ever seen and in the sunlight it seemed to glow. I watched it in awe as it looked around, checking for predators.

Logan was fast. I gasped as an arrow shot through the air with Illyrian speed and hit its mark- right between the eyes.

"It's not the doe I promised you, but it'll do," Logan grinned at me and then headed towards our prey. We crouched down beside it and I tried not to mourn the quick death of the beautiful creature before us. At least it had been quick, I supposed. "This will be perfect for the feast tonight."

"Feast?"

"Didn't you wonder why so many of my warriors are hunting today?" He retrieved his arrow and the blood soaked the fur of the stag. "I'm having a feast for my best warriors… and as Captain, you're expected to attend."

I glanced over at Elric who gave a nod, "Is there a dresscode?"

"Females are required to wear dresses," Logan responded, giving me a once over, "Do you need my sister to find you one?"

"I've got one," I replied, turning back to look at the stag. I ran my hands over his smooth antlers, carved by the Gods.

"I look forward to seeing it."

I wished Azriel was here, I thought as I looked at the beautiful silver sapphire ring sat on top of the dresser. I hadn't worn it here, not wanting the questions that came with it and wanting to hold my own. But now… Now I considered wearing it as I looked at my reflection. It was my first time in this dress, one that I'd taken from my wardrobe in Velaris on my last visit there. The wardrobe filled with clothing that Azriel had purchased for me when he'd first known I was his mate. This was just one of the dresses and I'd brought it with me just in case… Now I was glad I had.

It was ideal for autumn- a black flowing gown with sleeves and a slit up the side of one of the legs. Around the chest, moving up to my neck were bandages of black leather. With my hair in thin braids on one side of my head, the rest of it long and flowing. My make-up was careful, kohl framing my eyes, exactly how Mor had taught me, and then there were the small strappy black heels I wore. It was a dress for Velaris. A dress for a warrior. I spread my wings out behind me as I fastened the cuff that held my siphon around my wrist.

I strapped the knife onto my thigh hidden by the dress, threw on my black cloak, and then I was ready to go, leaving the ring behind.

Logan's house wasn't much smaller than the tavern and, I supposed, it was probably the reason there were more tents than buildings in Mountiel. Because it took up several plots. Far bigger and more impressive than the house I'd been raised in. Far bigger than the house Devlon had in Windhaven. Two warriors guarded the doors, both heavily armed, but they moved out of my way as I approached and I entered through the wooden door.

I found myself in a large reception room with stone floors and stone walls, where torches were hung. There was a fireplace and an impressive light feature overhead. One side had armchairs and sofas where people were already sat, drinking, and tucked towards the back was a large wooden table, laid with cutlery and crockery, ready for the feast. Someone played music in one corner, some traditional songs I recognised from festivities in Thornhill, and a few females moved around with drinks, serving the party attendees.

"Mayar, so glad you could make it!" Erein appeared in front of me. She took the cloak I was now holding and hung it on a spare hook by the door. Then she stood back, looking at my outfit, "That's definitely going to turn heads."

My cheeks were rosy as I took in what others wore. Men wore leather or cotton trousers with fine tunics or shirts and velvet and wool jackets. Female attendees wore gowns of black, grey, silver, navy, and the other dark colours often representing our armies. Erein wore a dress of light silver, practically glowing under the light, and more jewels than I'd ever seen an Illyrian female wear.

Erein looped her arm through mine, reminding me for a moment of Mor, "Let's give you the tour."

The house was large, I realised, because it wasn't just Logan and his sister that lived there. A few other warriors lived there too, and not the tents surrounding the barracks, although I noted that only those with high enough positions lived there.

When we finally returned to the reception room, which was by far the grandest room in the house, Logan was sat on an armchair as if it were a throne, females I'd never seen before perched on each arm. He was never short of female attention, so it seemed.

"Well, Captain, you certainly scrub up well," A feline smile there that most warlords appeared to share as Erein led me towards him. I stared him down, warily, as his eyes wandered over my body, from my shoes, along the bare thigh, over my chest and then up to my face. It felt as if he were undressing me and it made my stomach churn. "Erein, have you not offered the poor female a drink?"

"I'll fix that," She smiled and disappeared. Her brother stood up and the females found somewhere else to be as he moved to stand in front of me.

"You have a lovely home," I told him. "Much bigger than I expected."

"Well size is everything," A smirk, "I hear Devlon's is little more than a cabin."

"Devlon isn't really one for hosting parties," I replied.

"And your father?"

My heart clenched in my chest but I kept my face composed, "In Thornhill we certainly enjoyed celebrating, although most celebrations took part in the square."

"What a shame not to grow up in such a place as this," He waved his arm, signalling to his surroundings.

"My home may not have been quite so grand, but it was a wonderful place to grow up," I told him.

"Save me a dance later," A command, I noted, and I swallowed as he sauntered off, draping his arm around a female on his way.

I was thankful when Erein returned with a drink and I resisted the urge to gulp it all down in one. I took a sip straight away.

"He's not a prick… not really," She said with a smirk that almost resembled his. "He just enjoys the company of females… and their appearances too." I narrowed my eyes and she grinned again. "And I suppose, like most of us, he finds you intriguing."

"I'm really not that interesting," I murmured, taking another sip of wine.

Erein laughed at that and turned back to face me, "Oh, but you are."

She soon led me to the table as the Illyrians started to find their seats. Of course her brother was head of the table and Erein seated us near enough to his end, although several seats down. Elric appeared beside me then, eyeing the empty seat at my left.

I tensed and he gave my outfit a quick once over, "Wow, Mayar, you look amazing."

Of course he'd never seen me dressed like this. In Thornhill most celebrations involved woollen dresses or plain cotton dresses with a little embroidery here and there. This dress was far from that, a Velaris cut with luxurious fabric and leather that I had no doubt had been made by very careful hands.

"Thank you," I said and he sat down beside me.

"I need your seamstress," Erein agreed, although her gown was beautiful too and I wondered if the clothier in the camp had made it or it had been sent from somewhere else. "Is it from Hewn City?"

I'd seen Hewn City on maps. I'd heard many things about that part of the Night Court, the city tucked inside a mountain. The city that seemed to be for parties and things that were not pleasant. At least that's what I'd heard my father tell my mother after a visit once. There was a reason why Rhys kept Velaris a secret.

"It was a gift," I told her. Truth. "I'm not sure where it came from." Lie.

She looked curious but instead said, "I've not visited the Hewn City many times but some of the gowns there are divine." A grin then, similar to the smirk often on her brother's mouth, "They certainly turn heads." I followed her eyes to a few females that looked her way under dark, fluttering eyelashes. She shot a feline smile back and I stared at the cup of wine in front of me. "I prefer females for company," She murmured, "Although I don't object to males joining us."

Elric choked on his wine on the other side of me and I just gave a nod.

"What's your preference, Mayar?" Logan's voice this time, from several seats away.

"Male," I replied. My mate, I added in my head.

"Just the one?" A dangerous line I walked on.

"Just one," I took a sip on my wine, ignoring the eyes that were on me now. I sat up straighter, "I'm not sure I'd be willing to share."

An amused smile crossed Logan's lips and he raised his tankard, "Fair enough."

The wine was strong, I realised, after we had finished dinner- venison and other meats (courtesy of our hunting trip), vegetables, platters of fruit and sweet pastries for dessert. I'd eaten as much as I could stomach, attempting to reduce the effects of the wine, but to little avail. The entertainment soon started up again and the dancing started.

Erein would dance with anyone who looked her way and her brother would watch from his chair, checking that no one laid a hand on her against her will. Elric stood beside me, quietly, watching the scenes in front of us.

"Why did you leave that day?" I asked him.

"I didn't know…" He replied defensively.

I looked at him, my eyes wary, "Didn't you?"

"I knew things were bad," He said, "I knew some people here and when your father had no intention of retaliating, I decided to leave." He was quiet for a moment. "I wanted you to come with me."

I broke his gaze and looked at those dancing in front of us, "I know."

"You should have."

"I would never have left my family," But as I said it, I felt the ash in my mouth. Because I had left them. They'd killed my mother and just before they killed my mother… I'd ran away. Escaped.

"I thought you'd died with all of them," He said, "I went back and there was no one left and nothing." He took a deep breath. "And then I heard about a female training other females in Windhaven and then the Blood Rite…I thought it was pure coincidence until Ironcrest attacked your camp and then I knew it had to be you."

"I always did say I planned on being a warrior," I told him and he smiled.

"The best female warrior," He corrected me. "Why were you hunting in the woods so far from Windhaven that day?"

"Some friends and I were staying elsewhere for a few days."

"You're friends with the General and the shadowsinger?"

"It would appear so," I watched as he took another sip of wine.

"They don't like me."

I raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?"

"The way the General stared me down last week," A laugh at that, "And that day in the woods… well I thought the Shadowsinger might've ripped my head off." He shrugged, "He was here months ago and didn't have a problem with me then."

"Months ago?"

"Around the time of the Blood Rite. I suspect the High Lord sent him to see Logan or some other errand."

Where he'd been when I was clambering over ravines and fighting a beast… I swallowed. Azriel had not mentioned that, but then I'd not told him I was coming to Mountiel as I hadn't seen him- Cassian had promised to pass that message on.

"Oh," I gave a nod.

"How did you do it?"

"I nearly didn't," I admitted, "I came out pretty battered." I looked down at my hand. "There was a beast like the one that night." His face paled as I continued, "But this time I killed it."

"You've always been brave," Elric said, "I always envied you for your courage… more balls than us males."

"Reckless in ways, I suppose," I murmured and the song changed as did the dancers, into a routine that was almost choreographed. The couples didn't touch as they moved, stepping around each other, hands up yet a short distance apart. It was as if the aim was not to give in, not to touch your dance partner.

Logan stood from his spectator seat and sauntered over to me, holding out a hand, "That dance you owe me, Mayar."

Captain. I wanted to correct him. I was only here for professional reasons. But I knew to make snide comments or refuse somebody in his position was unlikely to end well. I didn't take his hand but I did let him lead me to the dance floor.

"I don't know this kind of dancing," I told him and he smirked.

"It's almost like a duel… or like looking in a mirror at your reflection," His steps were careful, his hands close to mine, so close that I could feel the heat radiating from them. I copied his movements, moving the opposite way, tracking him this way and that as his eyes watched mine. "The aim is try to resist your dance partner. It's a common dance in Hewn City."

The Hewn City. There it was again. I supposed we couldn't be far from it. I'd seen maps in the war rooms. Were they frequent visitors? Erein had already mentioned it. The pace of the song picked up but I held my posture and tried to keep my facial expression blank, which was becoming more challenging as the wine was pumped around my bloodstream.

"Why am I here really?" I asked boldly.

"Intrigue," He replied. "I needed to meet this powerful female they were talking about."

"Afraid I was a threat?"

Another smirk. "Quite the opposite. Selfishly, I wondered how you would benefit us. If perhaps we could make a powerful ally out of you." We changed direction. "After all, you're quite interesting. Your parents were mates, I hear… Your father an Illyrian war-lord, your mother High fae from the Autumn court." I wondered if he had his own spies, much like Azriel did, or if Elric had passed the information on. "You're more breathtaking than I expected, though."

My heart thudded in my chest, each beat echoing the word danger. The two yellow siphons on his wrist, which I'd only just spotted, shone as the light caught them and I swallowed. Two. Not as powerful as Cassian or Azriel, but more powerful than me.

"I'm here to train the females," I reminded him.

Humour sparked in his eyes and he bent down and whispered in my ear, "Perhaps you'll find more than you expected."

The song ended and everyone applauded. My mouth was dry. I needed to get out of here. I bowed, excusing myself and then I wove in and out of the guests until I reached the door. I grabbed my cloak as I passed before stepping outside. It was raining. Typical. Not a single star was overhead, all of them hidden by the clouds that hung across the sky like a mist. I heard someone call out my name behind me, Elric, I noted, but I didn't stop hurrying until I was back in my tavern room. I stripped the dress off of me and sank into the lukewarm bath, scrubbing myself clean until I was tired enough to sleep.